Indian Names/Red Clay

[David L. White]

> [David White]  In any event, there is certainly a lot of non-red soil
> around, and I find it difficult to imagine that the proposition "The soil
> of Texas is (generally or universally) red" is true.

> In a message dated 4/19/2001 9:11:29 PM, mclasutt at brigham.net writes:
> << But that red clay.  You remember it.  Forever.  It doesn't take a lot of
> it. >>

> Yes, I think what you are saying sounds true.

        Yes, but Sulphur Springs is 250 miles from the Colorado, and in the
basin (indirectly) of the Red River (which might explain a few things, but
not "Colorado"), so attempting to connect "Colorado" with anything around
there is roughly equivalent to attempting to connect "London" with some
feature of the land around Snowdonia.   I saw the Colorado about half way to
the sea from Austin not long ago (no, I was not on a field-trip for the
edification of the list:  I was on my way to play Crocodilian Hunter, which
I did with fair success, in the wilds of suburban Houston), and it is not
red there either.  It is a sort of olive green.    Therefore I continue to
suspect that the original meaning intended was 'colorful' (which the
Colorado is, compared to the muddy brown competition), not 'red'.
        But perhaps what was meant was to connect red clay in NE Texas (more
or less) with "Tejas", but there is no reason to think that the original
perceived link is anything more than a classic example of folk etymology,
which surely would have occurred regardless of whether the story connecting
"Tejas" with a Caddo word meaning 'allies' was true or not.  There is, as
far as I know, no reason at all to doubt the original tale told by the
Spaniards about why they named "Texas" as they did, and as folk-etymology
would have occurred anyway, it means nothing.  It is not as if we are to
imagine that these people would have bothered to check historical records
before concocting a connection.  In any event, I was at Mission Tejas over
the winter, and though I did not check the color of the soil, having of
course no reason to think the issue would come up, I vaguely recall that it
was grayish brown.  One would think that if red soil inspired the name
"Tejas", the soil in question would be found, if anywhere, at Mission Tejas.

Dr. David L. White