----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Phil Hoehn Michael Cooley I am disappointed in the knee-jerk response from USGS. I had taken the term to be Sheep's Hit, 'hit' thought to be derived from the Old High German 'hytte', a worn place on a hilly knoll from where animals, in this case sheep, are accustomed to jump an intervening narrow gully to a similar hump on the other side to reach other grazing grounds. 'Hytten' are identified by the diaspora of narrow sheep tracks focussing towards or fanning away from them. With such a density of use it is natural to find faecal deposits in the vicinity, but I think the term describes a legitimate topographical feature. It is interesting to find the term put to use, and appearing on a map, so far from its place of origin. Andrew Cook Dr A S Cook Map Archivist India Office Records 197 Blackfriars Road E-mail: [log in to unmask] London SE1 8NG Phone: +44 171 412 7828 United Kingdom Fax: +44 171 412 7858 P.S. Only two months to go. ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: response to "Carto-humor" posted Jan 28,1998 Author: Michael Cooley <[log in to unmask]> at Internet Date: 30/01/98 15:30 Phil: This notice is in response to your message posted Wednesday Jan 28, 1998 titled Carto-humor? Sheep Mountain, ID 7.5 minute topographic map was revised by the US Forest Service and printed in August by the US Geological Survey (USGS). The name "sheepshit" did not appear on the previous edition of the map and is not the name of a feature on the map. Forest Service has been notified of the error. The map has been put on hold pending an investigation and will be reprinted by USGS as soon as possible. We apologize for any offense this name might have caused. Michael Cooley, Cartographer [log in to unmask]