January 1895: “Our Monthly Budget”, Part 2a (local news and Métis early adopters of Chinook Writing)
Take a look at the names of “the first of them to write” Chinook Writing at Kamloops — do they all seem Métis to you?
“5000 words” of Chinook Jargon (maybe slightly fewer, but wow!) on one page.
Today we’ll continue our look into Kamloops Wawa #124 (January 1895), page 2
[second column:]
[finishing the story of Saint Agnes from the previous installment…]
Chi Agnis kopit styuil, paia chako drit ilo. Alta taii
‘As soon as Agnes was done praying, the fire actually went out. Now the chief’
wawa pus iht solshir mamuk kyut iaka latit. Klaska wiht
‘told a soldier to cut off her head. They also’
mamuk k’aw iaka lima kopa chin, tilikom ayu krai pus klaska
‘tied her hands with chains; people cried and cried when they’
nanich, pi Agnis wik iaka krai, iaka yutl iaka tomtom.
‘saw it, but Agnes didn’t cry; she felt glad.’
Iaka k’o kah alta iaka mimlus. Iht solshir chako, iaka
‘Now it got to where she was dying. A soldier came,’
lolo aias naif, Agnis wawa: “Tlus maika chako, mamuk
‘carrying a big knife. Agnes said, “Come on,’
klatwa ukuk naif kopa naika tomtom: mamuk halak sahali ilihi
‘run that knife into my heart; open up heaven’
kopa naika. O ShK iskom naika kopa maika tomtom.”
‘to me. Oh Jesus, take me into your heart.” ‘
Iawa iaka ashnu: iaka mamuk haha ShK. Solshir iaka
‘Then she kneeled; she worshiped Jesus. The soldier’
kwash. Tanas lili iaka mitlait, pi iaka mamuk kakshit iaka
‘was afraid. He stayed there a while, then he broke her’
nik, iaka kyut iaka latit, pi Agnis iaka sili aiak flai kopa
‘neck; he cut off her head, and Agnes’s soul flew right up to’
sahali ilihi.
‘heaven.’
Sin Agnis iaka son, iaka Shanwari < 21 >.
‘St Agnes’s day is January 21st.’
—–
< Here and There. >
Iht mun iaka cim ukuk pipa pi iaka k’o kopa msaika. Iaka
‘This paper was (already) written for a month until it arrived to you. It’
klatwa kopa Kanada pus iawa chako ayu kopa pipa, pi iaka kilapai
‘went to [eastern] Canada to get turned into lots of papers, and it came back’
pi msaika tlap iaka.
‘and you’re receiving it now.’
—–
< Deadman’s Creek. > Kopa Okt. < 19 >, liplit k’o kopa
‘On Oct. 19th, the priest arrived at’
Skishistin. Aias lili Skishistin tilikom ilo nanich liplit kopa
‘Skeechestn. For a long time the Skeetchestn people hadn’t seen a priest at’
klaska ilihi, kakwa klaska chako kanawi kanamokst. Taham
‘their place, so they gathered all together. For six’
son klaska mitlait kanamokst liplit. Klaska mamuk aias tlus
‘days they stayed with the priest. They’ve built a very nice’
tanas haws kopa liplit, kimta kopa styuil haws. Wik kata
‘little hosue for the priest, behind the church. No longer’
alki liplit tlap kol pus iaka mitlait kopa Skishistin. < 50 > tilikom
‘will the priest have to suffer cold when he’s at Skeetchestn. Fifty people’
haha milalam kopa Skishistin.
‘made confession at Skeetchestn.’
—–
< Kamloops .> Kamlups tilikom chako kanawi kanamokst kopa
‘The Kamloops people gathered all together on’
Sondi Okt. < 28 >, pus liplit mitlait kopa klaska ilihi. Kwinam son
‘Sunday, Oct. 28, while the priest was at their place. For five days’
klaska mitlait kanamokst liplit, klaska ayu mamuk kopa Chinuk pipa,
‘they stayed with the priest, they worked hard on Chinook Writing;’
klaska mamuk cim kopa papa ukuk siisim “Ankati ST mamuk
‘they wrote on paper that story of “Once God made’
sahali ilihi pi ukuk ilihi.” Pi wiht Shushwap wawa. Klaska
‘heaven and this earth.” And also the Secwépemc language. They’
ayu mamuk pus chako komtaks mamuk drit tlus cim. Ayu
‘worked hard to learn how to do really good writing. Lots of’
tilikom kopa Kamlups, ayu man pi ayu kluchmin chako komtaks
‘people at Kamloops, lots of men and women, are learning’
mamuk drit tlus Chinuk cim kopa pipa. Ilip klaska mamuk cim,
‘to do really good Chinook Writing on paper. The first of them to write’
Andru Maklawd pi Shal Korbu* klaska tolo kopa man, pi Klarina
‘are Andrew McLeod and Charles Corbeau*, who beat out the men, and Clarine’
pi Nili Falardo klaska tolo kopa kluchmin. < 230 > man lahanshut
‘and Nellie Falardeau, who beat out the women. Two hundred fifty men made confession’
pi < 150 > iskom ⊕ kopa Kamlups kopa Novimbir < 1 >.
‘and 150 took communion at Kamloops on November 1st.’
—–
