Democratic Sentinel, Volume 10, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 October 1886 — Origin of the Word Texas. [ARTICLE]

Origin of the Word Texas.

In a recent article published in the North American Review , Gov. Ireland, of Texas, asserts that the word Texas means “■welcome,” and that on the landing of the first white man on the coast of Texas the Indians greeted them with the exclamation of “Texas,” or “welcome.” This theory, according to a correspondent in the Texas Vorwaerts, is not correct. In the ancient Spanish archives, stored away in the Land Office at Austin, it appears that certain lands were situated en el pais de los Tejas , or in the country of Texas or Tejas Indians, x and j being pronounced alike. It is well known that the Texas or Tejas Indians were a tribe of Indians living in the valley of the Rio Grande, who were exterminated or driven off by a more savage tribe. The word Texas or Tejas is the root of the names of all the Indian tribes in Texas and Mexico. The prefix ihdicated the locality of the tribe. The As-Tejas, or Astecs, dwelt on the high lands of the Anahuac. The TolTejas, or Toltecs, lived as far south as Yucatan. The Huas-Tejas lived on the Gulf coast, between Matamoras and Vera Cruz, and the Teal-Tejas were situated in the State of Coahuila.