1876 German letter quotes SW Washington Native’s CJ
On our CHINOOK listserv 22 years ago, Sue Schafer shared an 1876 German letter from her Satsop, WA, area great-great-grandmother Anna Schäfer.
That letter, using a Low German-oriented improvised way of writing, quoted some Chinuk Wawa from nearby Native people.
Schafer State Park on the Satsop River, WA (image credit: Washington State Parks Foundation)
Let’s keep in mind that the text as we have it is someone’s transcription from an original that was written in a now hard to read style of German handwriting.
And, it was transcribed by someone who probably didn’t know any Chinook Jargon.
Here’s the relevant selection:
Nun köns Du auch die nächste Woche auf den Heiesmän Gärk seine Hochzeit. Die haben sich aber was ferwunderd das Du schon verheirathet wars. Die Klutsch sagte (insertet: Heiesmäns) kawaneike dum Dum, bos mammak ekkuk Shie kod neke wauman. Komber Deneds Klumschemän, be kanisem wouwaure heller Iskum Män nike. Köms Du auch auf die Kömmitig.
‘Now you could be at Heiesmän Gärk’s wedding next week. They sure were surprised to hear that you were already married! Klutsch said (Heiesmäns) kawaneike dum Dum, bos ammak kkuk Shie kod neke wauman.Komber Deneds Klumschemän, be kanisem wouwaure heller Iskum Män nike. Are you coming to the committee as well?’
{Heiesmän} = háyás(h) mán = ‘big man’, or important man. In 2002, our little CJ community was guessing that Heiesmän could be identified with the known Quinault tribal family name “Hyasman“. Given the Satsop location, though, which is in traditionally Upper Chehalis-Lower Chehalis border territory, it occurs to me that maybe it’s not that same family. Either argument could convince me, when we learn more information.
{Klutsch} = the Jargon word łúchmən ‘woman; wife’, taken into Settler-colonizer English as “klootch” due to perceiving the “mən” element as a superfluous evocation of English “man”. (Funny how those Settlers didn’t turn the English word “woman” into “wo”!) This truncated form suggests the German immigrants’ substantial contact with English speakers.
The longish quotation is more challenging. I perceive that the speaker (as quoted) leaves out the 3rd person singular pronoun yaka ‘she, he’. My tentative reading will make use of that idea, noting expected yaka with “Ø”:
{kawaneike dum Dum, bos ammak kkuk Shie kod neke wauman. Komber Deneds Klumschemän, be kanisem wouwaure heller Iskum Män nike.}
= kákwa nayka tə́mtəm, pus Ø mámuk úkuk cháku(,) nayka wáwa(,) “kʰəpít tənəs-łúchmən Ø”, pi kwánsəm Ø wáwa(,) “hílu ískam mán(,) nayka”.
= ‘That’s what I thought; when [he] brought that one here, I said, “[she]’s just a girl”, but [she] kept saying, “I’ll never get married, me”.’
The way I’m reading it, the Jargon sounds solidly on the pidgin side.
Do you have additional ideas?
Bonus fact:
Elsewhere in Anna’s letters is the place name “Labush Satsop”. That’s also slightly unusual Chinook Jargon, for “the mouth of the Satsop [River]”.
And the name “Tiewitt”, if it’s a horse’s name as we’re guessing, would be Chinook Jargon for “Legs”.
