The Geographic Board, in its laudable effort to simplify American nomenclature, has played ducks and drakes with some of the most picturesque names on the national map. Now and then, as in the case of /Purgatoire/, it has temporarily departed from this policy, but in the main its influence has been thrown against the fine old French and Spanish names, and against the [Pg296] more piquant native names no less. Thus, I find it deciding against /Portage des Flacons/ and in favor of the hideous /Bottle portage/, against /Cañada del Burro/ and in favor of /Burro canyon/ against /Canos y Ylas de la Cruz/ and in favor of the barbarous /Cruz island/. In /Bougére landing/ and /Cañon City/ it has deleted the accents. The name of the /De Grasse river/ it has changed to /Grass/. /De Laux/ it has changed to the intolerable /Dlo/. And, as we have seen, it has steadily amalgamated French and Spanish articles with their nouns, thus achieving such forms as /Duchesne/, /Eldorado/, /Deleon/ and /Laharpe/. But here its policy is fortunately inconsistent, and so a number of fine old names has escaped. Thus, it has decided in favor of /Bon Secours/ and against /Bonsecours/, and in favor of /De Soto/, /La Crosse/ and /La Moure/, and against /Desoto/, /Lacrosse/ and /Lamoure/. Here its decisions are confused and often unintelligible. Why /Laporte/, Pa., and /La Porte/, Iowa? Why /Lagrange/, Ind., and /La Grange/, Ky.? Here it would seem to be yielding a great deal too much to local usage. The Board proceeds to the shortening and simplification of native names by various devices. It deletes such suffixes as /town/, /city/ and /courthouse/; it removes the apostrophe and often the genitive /s/ from such names as /St. Mary's/; it shortens /burgh/ to /burg/ and /borough/ to /boro/; and it combines separate and often highly discreet words. The last habit often produces grotesque forms, /e. g./, /Newberlin/, /Boxelder/, /Sabbathday lake/, /Fallentimber/, /Bluemountain/, /Westtown/, /Threepines/ and /Missionhill/. It apparently cherishes a hope of eventually regularizing the spelling of /Allegany/. This is now /Allegany/ for the Maryland county, the Pennsylvania township and the New York and Oregon towns, /Alleghany/ for the mountains, the Colorado town and the Virginia town and springs, and /Allegheny/ for the Pittsburgh borough and the Pennsylvania county, college and river. The Board inclines to /Allegheny/ for both river and mountains. Other Indian names give it constant concern. Its struggles to set up /Chemquasabamticook/ as the name of a Maine lake in place of /Chemquasabamtic/ and /Chemquassabamticook/, and /Chatahospee/ as the name of an Alabama creek in place of /Chattahospee/, [Pg297] /Hoolethlocco/, /Hoolethloces/, /Hoolethloco/ and /Hootethlocco/ are worthy of its learning and authority.[44]