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Show By ELMO SCOTT WATSON V ' M s fn ' 1 1 HI KL are eijit states in v - " . v j the Union with nicknames , related to buds or anl r , t" ' v 5 " k M mals presumably becau e 1 , 1 y ' ' , Z v ( N thev are 0 characteristic " ( v . ' ? ' p 4 1 jy of those state that a per " N son invariably think of v rMT?; . them together They are & c f, t W- .-JJ the following . , ' , , " x Arkansa , the Bear . f ' k t 'ate L. . " x Ar Delaware, the Blue Hen state. .. ? ' " -L. ' Iowa, the Hawkeye state. . TSt ' 7ZAZOKBACK By ELMO SCOTT WATSON f fl-rTI H1'tl1' are eight states In vp the Union with nicknames y related to birds or anl-M anl-M mals. presumably because M thev are so characteristic of those states that a per-son per-son invariably thinks of fr them together. They are l J the following : Arkansas, the Bear state. Delaware, the Blue Hen state-Iowa, state-Iowa, the Hawkeye state. Louisiana, the Pelican state. '-Michigan, the Wolverine state. Minnesota, the Gopher state. Oregon, the Beaver state. Wisconsin, the Badger state. But it is a curious fact that In addition ad-dition to every state having a popular nickname, there are some states which have symbols that are In no way connected with the nickname. If they were connected, whenever you thought of Arkansas, you would think of a bear. But the fact Is that whenever you think of that state, the chances are that there rises to your mind the image of one of those lean, lanky porkers with its long snout and high, sharp backbone which gives It the name of razorback. For the razorback, descendant of the pigs which the Spanish Span-ish explorer, De Soto, brought to America and which escaped to the woods and ran wild for generations. Is Arkansas' native hog and as such has become that state's symbol rather than the bear. Time was when the razorback was Kuch a familiar figure in the Arkansas landscape that It became a part of those "popular legends" which are responsible re-sponsible for fixing in the public mind certain ideas, as often erroneous as not, about the people In some one state or some section of the country. Hence the tradition of the "Ozark hill billy" whose "shiftlessness" has been perpetuated per-petuated in the famous "Arkansas Traveler" story. And a similar story In which the razorback figures Is this one: Traveler Through Arkansas (observing (observ-ing a razorback scratching itself against a post) Your hogs seem to be troubled with the mange. Ozark Hill-Billy Mange nuthin', stranger. That there is a razorback and he's Just stroppin' hisself! So while It may be true that the razorback hog was once the most distinctive dis-tinctive domestic animal In Arkansas, modern farming and modern live stock raising in Arkansas have largely done away with him and he Is more of a relic and a tradition than a- living fact. The tradition has been preserved, pre-served, however, by the athletic teams of the University of Arkansas which have become widely known as the "Razorbacks," especially since an Arkansas Ar-kansas football star made the All-American. All-American. In fact, such has been the widespread wide-spread Interest in college nthletlcs In recent years that the mascots and nicknames of athletic teams, especially espe-cially those of the state universities, have done much to fix in the public mind a certain state symbolism, even though It may not always agree with that suggested by the "official" state nickname. Outstanding examples of those which symbolize both the state and the college athlete nre the "Wolverines" "Wol-verines" of the University of Michigan, Michi-gan, the "Gophers" of the University of Minnesota and the "Badgers" of the University of Wisconsin. In t3uU correction there has come to light recently the curious paradox that in all probability Michigan, the Wolverine state, does not now have a single wild wolverine within its borders! bor-ders! That is the discovery that Fielding II. Yost, famous football coach and athletic director at the University Uni-versity of Michigan made, according to an article which appeared recently In the Detroit Free Press which says : "When Professor Yost started out to ascertain why Michigan Is known as the Wolverine state, he ran up against two printed explanations. It appears most likely that the name was given Michigan because bales of wolverine furs used to reach the New York fur market from the trading post at Sault Ste. Marie, although most of the furs were brought in from Canadian trappers trap-pers and not from. Michigan territory. " 'In the early days of exploration,' said Yost, 'a trading post was established estab-lished at Sault Ste. Marie. Many wolverine furs were shipped to the New York market from this post. A large proportion of these furs were supplied by Canadian trappers, although al-though Michigan had wolverines at this time. As the result of these large shipments of wolverine furs, this territory ter-ritory came to be associated with wolverines wol-verines and eventually the state same to be known as the Wolverine state.' "This explanation does not coincide with the theory of A. D. P. Van Buren, In volume five of the Michigan Pioneer Historical Collections published in 1SS4, but Dr. Norman Wood of the university univer-sity museum faculty, who co-operated with Yost In his search for living wolverines in the state of Michigan, declares that the second explanation is not at all plausible. "Van Buren's explanation holds that the appellation, Wolverine state came about as the result of an Incident which occurred at the old Ten Eyck tavern at Dearborn. A party from Detroit stopped there one day and were served wolf steaks, his story relates. One of the men facetiously remarked, 'We have eaten wolves; we must have the appetites of wolverines.' The story spread, Van Buren says, and the name came to be applied to the natives of Michigan. "Game wardens, trappers, and fur dealers were called upon to aid Yost In bis attempt to learn whether the wolverine is extinct in Michigan. With two exceptions, these men supported the findings expressed by Dr. A, C. Roche, of Calumet, who wrote: T waited to look this matter up pretty thoroughly. I have seen practically all the game wardens and hunters In these parts and not one has ever seen a wolverine up here,' " Mr. Yost's inquiry was made during bis quest for a native Michigan wolverine wol-verine to be used as a mascot for the Michigan athletic teams, a quest which was unsuccessful. True, live wolverines wol-verines have been displayed at some of the big football games at Ann Arbor in recent years but they had been captured in Alaska and bor rowed from the Detroit zoo for the occasion I In contrast to the "Wolverines," the "Gophers," the "Badgers" and the "Hawkeyes" which symbolize the state, its inhabitants and Its university univer-sity teams, there are states In which all three are vastly different. South Dakota Is the Sunshine state but It has an animal symbol the coyote and South Dakotans and the athletes of its state university are known as "Coyotes." Louisiana Is the Pelican state but its inhabitants are more widely known as "Creoles" than they are as "Pelicans." For the chances are that mention of the latter word, Instead of painting a word picture of a state, will more likely result In there being quoted the famous jingle about: A wonderful bird is the pelican Its neck holds more than its bellain: It can hold in Its beak enough food for a week But I don't see how the hellcan. The largest state In the Union Is called the Lone Star state but it has a symbol which never fails to bring to mind Instantly the name of Texas. "Kicked like a Texas steer" and "wild as a Texas longhorn" are similes which are a part of our everyday language, lan-guage, so the Ideas of Texas and longhorn steer are inseparably linked. It is wholly appropriate that this animal ani-mal should be the symbol of Texas for upon the vast cattle trade which began be-gan after the Civil war was Texas' present prosperity based. If you don't say "kicked like a Texas steer" then you probably say "kicked like a Missouri mule" and every one knows of the dynamite that is concealed con-cealed In the heels of that animal. Which brings up the fact that Missouri, Mis-souri, the Show Me state, Is blessed with not just one state symbol but two and either one of them as surely spells "Missouri" In the mind of the average American as longhorn steer spells "Texas." One of them Is the mule and the other Is the noun' dog. Not only Is Missouri famous for the number of its houn' dogs, nnd their high value for hunting purposes, but there are two other reasons for the association of the words "Missouri" and houn' dog." One is the famous oration delivered by a famous Mis-sourlan Mis-sourlan Senator Vest's "Eulogy on the Dog" delivered during a lawsuit over the killing of "Old Drum." The other Is the famous Houn' Dog song, "They Gotta Quit Klckin' My Dog Aroun'," which played an Important part In the campaign for the nomination nomina-tion for President of another famoui Missourian, Champ Clark. Senator Vest's oration, which has become r classic In American literature, litera-ture, not only immortalized the .Missouri .Mis-souri houn' dog but has become it veritable monument to "man's best friend." 4) tr Wiltui Unmw Uol- |