1873: Grand Round Jargon-related humor
Are we to understand that “Frank”, “John”, and the girls are Grand Ronde Indians talking Chinuk Wawa?
Salt Creek Falls in winter (image credit: Wikimedia Commons)
See what you think!
CORRESPONDENCE.
Ed. REPUBLICAN: — I wish to give you the croppings for a few days. Saturday 26 inst. I took up a team and with two of my friends started out on a prospecting trip for berries; first night camped on Nes Tuck [Nestucca River?] 8 miles west of Grand Round agency on the Salt Chuck road, next day went to long prairie, next day went as far as the last crossing of Salmon River, and then returned. Found berries rather scarce, road good, had a good time, plenty of fun, and plenty to eat. Not so with some of our Dallas friends who started from Dallas some time on Monday, got as far as Salt Creek, at dark and mistook it for the Skookum Chuck. Our friend, who we will call Frank, for convenience, got out of the wagon and says to John, you picket out the animals and we will get fish, flesh and fowl, gracious girls you pitch tent! when the girls come to look they had forgot their muckamuck, also their bedding and shoes, Frank had a gun minus amunition, he says well old Salt Chuck John lives up here so I will run up and get some blankets and muckamuck, when he went to Johns as he supposed, he was informed Mr. Graham lived there, so he soon found they were only five miles from home. Mrs. Graham supplied their wants as to eatables and the next morning they started for Salt Chuck with the calculation of getting an outfit at Mr. Litchfield’s. well Lich keeps everything from a willow basket to a barrel of sugar and is always ready to wait on customers. So I am in hopes they will get all the etc., and go on their way rejoicing, they will find the roads good and when they get in sight of the big waters Frank will say, gelosius galls, that’s maynum borum multum in paroo epluribus you bet! and then return home all O.K. Furthermore this old Salt creeker sayeth not.
— from the Dallas (OR) Liberal Republican of August 2, 1873, page 2, column 3
Beyond the obvious Chinook Jargon words here, it seems to me there are clues in the English meant to suggest CJ, and that “gelosius galls”, etc., bit may evoke an Indigenous language.
I suspect there’s some racial stereotyping of Native people’s supposed grasshopperlike improvidence here, too.
Interesting! I think those falls must be on another Salt Cr., unless I just happened not to ever hear about the one in the picture (pretty spectacular!). Dallas, Ore, is SE of Grand Ronde and this Salt Cr heads in the mountains in between those two places. Long Prairie is on Salmon R, on the route of modern Hwy 18 in between Grand Ronde and Lincoln City. Yes, Nes-stuck is old settler talk (also “Nestuckker” for a winter storm from the SW bringing a big rain). So these guys first wandered west of Grand Ronde (there was a wagon road more-or-less following modern Hwy 47), then SW (to Salmon R, modern route of Hwy 18). That name Litchfield rings a bell I think, but can’t place it immediately. In 1873 there was a real reservation with real boundaries, so Frank and John could well have been Indians, though the writer doesn’t say.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Er, I mean Hwy 22 (not 47; where did I get that?)
LikeLiked by 1 person