Land of Little Rain

"I Confess to a great liking for the Indian fashion of name-giving: every man known by that phrasewhich best expresses him to whoso names him. Thus he may be Mighty-Hunter, or Man-Afraid-of-a-Bear,according as he is called by friend or enemy, and Scar-Face to those who knew him by the eye's grasp only.No other fashion, I think, sets so well with the various natures that inhabit in us, and if you agree withme you will understand why so few names are written here as they appear in the geography. For if I love alake known by the name of the man who discovered it, which endears itself by reasonof the close-locked pines it nourishes about its borders, you may look in my account to find it so described.But if the Indians have been there before me, you shall have their name, which is always beautifully fit anddoes not originate in the poor human desire for perpetuity."Austin, Mary is the author of 'Land of Little Rain ', published 2006 under ISBN 9781594622557 and ISBN 1594622558.