Mysteries of Marfa, Texas (1882, from J. Verne--not Dostoyevsky)
Barry A. Popik
Bapopik at AOL.COM
Mon Aug 20 03:17:20 UTC 2007
I might be getting started soon on putting PLACENAMES OF AUSTIN, TEXAS
online on my website. If anyone can help me or knows anyone who can, please give
me an e-mail.
...
One Texas placename that has always intrigued me is Marfa (location for the
movie GIANT). It's always said that the wife of an engineer in the Southern
Pacific Railroad was reading Dostoyevsky's THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV (in 1882 or
1883), and she named that town after a minor character in that novel.
...
Didn't anyone ever realize that THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV was translated into
English by Constance Garrett in 1912? How could the Handbook of Texas and Fred
Tarpley (1001 TEXAS PLACE NAMES) have believed this myth?
...
It's the 125th anniversary of Marfa. The newly digitized December 17,1882
Galveston Daily News (_www.newspaperarchive.com_
(http://www.newspaperarchive.com) ) nails down the Marfa mystery--the name is from a character in Jules
Verne' MICHAEL STROGOFF...What are the other Texas names from Jules Verne?
...
(A little off topic for the American Dialect Society, but I'm sending this
to the American Name Society list as well.)
...
Barry Popik
_www.barrypopik.com_ (http://www.barrypopik.com)
...
...
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_http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/MM/hjm4.html_
(http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/MM/hjm4.html)
MARFA, TEXAS. Marfa, the county seat of Presidio County, is at the junction
of U.S. Highways 90 and 67 in the northeastern part of the county. It was
established in 1883 as a water stop and freight headquarters for the Galveston,
Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway. Reportedly, the wife of a railroad
executive suggested the name Marfa from Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Brothers
Karamazov, which she was reading at the time. Marfa is in an area that has been called
one of the last American frontiers.
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...
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1001 TEXAS PLACE NAMES
by Fred Tarpley
Austin: University of Texas Press
1980
Pg. 132:
Marfa (Presidio)
The wife of the chief engineer of the Southern Pacific was given the
privilege of choosing the name of a watering place and freight headquarters in 1882.
She happened to be reading Dostoevski's _The Brothers Karamazov_ (published
in 1880) at the time, and she named the town _Marfa_, for the servant in the
Karamazov household.
PO Apr. 30, 1883--; Pop. 2,497; Inc.
...
...
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_http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:Constance_Garnett_
(http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:Constance_Garnett)
_The Brothers Karamazov_
(http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Brothers_Karamazov) (1912, Dostoyevsky)
...
...
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_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marfa,_Texas_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marfa,_Texas)
Marfa is a city located in the high desert of far _West Texas_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Texas) . The population was 2,121 at the 2000 census. It
is the _county seat_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_seat) of
_Presidio County_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidio_County,_Texas) _GR6_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Geographic_references#6) . Its _ZIP code_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_ZIP_codes_in_Texas&action=edi
t) is 79843.
Marfa was founded in _1883_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1883) as a
railroad water stop, and grew quickly through the 1920s. Marfa Army Air Field (_Fort
D.A. Russell_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_D.A._Russell_(Texas)) ) was
located east of the town during _World War II_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II) and trained several thousand pilots before closing in _1945_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1945) (the abandoned site is still visible ten
miles east of the city). The base was also used as the training ground for
many of the U.S. Army's _Chemical mortar battalions_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_mortar_battalion) .
Today Marfa is a tourist destination, located between the Davis Mountains and
_Big Bend National Park_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bend_National_Park) . Attractions include the historical architecture and classic Texas town
square, modern art, _soaring_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soaring) , and the
_Marfa Lights_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marfa_Lights) .
(...)
Marfa Lights
Marfa may be most famous for the _Marfa Lights_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marfa_Lights) , visible every clear night between Marfa and the Paisano Pass
when one is facing southwest (toward the Chinati Mountains). According to
the Handbook of Texas Online, "at times they appear colored as they twinkle in
the distance. They move about, split apart, melt together, disappear, and
reappear. Presidio County residents have watched the lights for over a hundred
years. The first historical record of them recalls that in 1883 a young
cowhand, Robert Reed Ellison, saw a flickering light while he was driving cattle
through Paisano Pass and wondered if it was the campfire of _Apache_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_(tribe)) Indians. He was told by other settlers
that they often saw the lights, but when they investigated they found no ashes
or other evidence of a campsite."
Presidio County has built a viewing station nine miles east of town on U.S.
67 near the site of the old air base. Each year, enthusiasts gather for the
annual Marfa Lights Festival.
These objects have been featured in various media, including the television
show _Unsolved Mysteries_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsolved_Mysteries) .
Miscellaneous
The famous film "_Giant (film)_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_(film)) "
starring _James Dean_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Dean) ,
_Elizabeth Taylor_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Taylor) , _Rock Hudson_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Hudson) , _Sal Mineo_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sal_Mineo) , _Carroll Baker_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carroll_Baker) and _Dennis Hopper_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Hopper) was
filmed in Marfa, Texas for two months. _Director_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Director) _George Stevens_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Stevens) did
not have a closed set but actively encouraged the townspeople to come by,
either to watch the shooting, or visit with the cast and crew, or take part as
extras, dialect coaches, bit players and stagehands.
(...)
Trivia
Much of the film _Giant_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_(film)) was
made in and around the remote town, and dry plains of the Marfa region.
The city is thought to have taken its name from a character in _Fyodor
Dostoevskys_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fyodor_Dostoevsky) novel _The Brothers
Karamazov_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brothers_Karamazov) . According
to the story the wife of a railroad engineer suggested the name, as she was
reading the novel at the time.
An episode of _King of the Hill_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Hill) (_"Of Mice and Little Green Men"_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_King_of_the_Hill_episodes#Season_6:_2001-2002) ) was based around the belief
of extra terrestrials in Marfa, Texas.
Marfa is the setting for _Michael Chiappetta_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Chiappetta&action=edit) 's novel _Journey into Darkness_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_into_Darkness) .
As of August 2006, two movie production units were using locations in Marfa:
the film _There Will Be Blood_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_Will_Be_Blood) , an adaptation of the _Upton Sinclair_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upton_Sinclair) novel Oil, directed by _Paul Thomas Anderson_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Thomas_Anderson) , and the _Coen Brothers_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coen_Brothers) ' adaptation of the _Cormac McCarthy_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormac_McCarthy) novel "_No Country for Old Men_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Country_for_Old_Men) ".
Marfa is also well known for its soaring activities. In 1969 the US National
Championship was held here and was featured in the Bob Drew film "The Sun
Ship Game", which featured famed New York fashion photographer Gleb Derujinsky,
son of the sculptor of the same name. This contest was won by George Moffat
who went on to win the World Championship in 1970, also held at Marfa.
The British poet _Lachlan Mackinnon_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lachlan_Mackinnon) wrote 'Marfa, Texas', a poem about _Donald Judd_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Judd) .
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_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Strogoff_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Strogoff)
Michael Strogoff: The Courier of the Czar (French: Michel Strogoff) is a
_novel_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novel) written by _Jules Verne_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne) in _1876_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1876) . It is considered one of Verne's best books by critics. Unlike some of
Verne's other famous novels, it is not _science fiction_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction) .
The book has been adapted several times for films and cartoon series.
Plot summary
Michael Strogoff is a _courier_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courier) for
the _czar_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czar) _Alexander II of Russia_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_II_of_Russia) . When the _Tatar_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatars) king Feofar _Khan_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khan) invades Russia, Strogoff is sent to _Irkutsk_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irkutsk) to warn the governor, who is the brother of the czar, against
the _traitor_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traitor) Ivan Ogareff. On his
way he meets Nadja Fedor (in some translations, Nadia) and the _war reporters_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_reporter) Harry Blount -- reporting for
an _English_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England) paper -- and Alcide
Jolivet, a _Frenchman_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France) -- reporting for his
'cousin Madelaine'. Blount and Jolivet tend to follow the same route as
Michael, separating and meeting again all the way through _Siberia_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberia) . Michael, with his mother and Nadia, are eventually
taken prisoner by the Tartar forces. Ivan Ogareff says that Michael is a
spy. Feofar, after consulting the _Koran_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koran) ,
decides that Michael will be blinded in the Tartar fashion, with a hot blade.
Michael and Nadia escape, and travel to Irkutsk with a friendly peasant.
They are delayed by fire and the frozen river. However, they eventually reach
Irkutsk, and warn the Czar's brother in time of Ivan Ogareff. Michael's mother
joins them and Michael and Nadia are married.
...
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20 August 1882, Atlanta (GA) Constitution, pg. 5, col. 4:
_Death of a Well Known Actress._
DETROIT, August 29.--Mrs. James L. Carhart, wife of a veteran actor, died
last evening at a hospital in the city, from cancer of the breast. When she
married Carhart, fourteen years ago, she was a well known actress, under her
maiden name, Cadilla Capel. Since marriage she had been on the stage most of the
time, traveling last season with the Kiralfy's, playing Marfa in "Michael
Strogoff." Her last public appearance was in Chicago last March.
...
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17 December 1882, Galveston (TX) Daily News, pg. 7, col. 5:
PRESIDIO.
(...)
The fort is twenty-two miles north of the Southern Pacific railroad. The
nearest station is at Marfa, so named after one of the characters in the play of
Michael Strogoff, and two or three other stations derive their names from
Jules Verne's story.
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