The Hassayampa
River is in
Arizona, northwest of
Phoenix. It is nearly 100 miles long, but the majority of its length flows
underground, beneath the
sand but above the
bedrock; a portion near
Wickenburg where the river is above ground is set aside as a
nature preserve, since it provides a fairly well-watered habitat for wildlife which cannot survive in the surrounding
desert. In other places there only appears to be a dried-out
riverbed unless there is a severe
storm. In theory, the Hassayampa is a
tributary of the
Gila River, but much of the time the water does not make it all the way to the Gila.
The name of the river is Indian in origin and means "the river that flows upside down." When gold nuggets were discovered near the river's course before the American Civil War, the United States became a lot more interested in making this area a territory; afterwards many miners came to the area and "Hassayamper" started to mean someone who came to the area for the gold. After a while the meaning of the word changed to "old-timer." Eventually the river became linked in folklore to lying and exaggeration; supposedly drinking its water made a person unable to tell the truth. For some time "Hassayamper" or "Hassayamp" meant "liar," but that meaning has left the language enough for the Wickenburg, Arizona Chamber of Commerce to call its newsletter "The Hassayamper."
Metcalf, Alan. How We Talk: American Regional English Today. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000.
http://www.wickenburgchamber.com/atractions.asp
http://www.kidstreehouse.com/public/hassyampa/has1.htm
http://www.kidstreehouse.com/public/hassyampa/has2.htm
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tw/08-13-98/outthere.htm
http://www.adwr.state.az.us/AZWaterInfo/OutsideAMAs/
CentralHighlands/Watersheds/hassayampariver.html