Cortes Island Museum website: Jargon story and photo
For educational purposes only, I’d like to share an exciting find of a Chinook Jargon story from Cortes Island, British Columbia.The Cortes Island Museum and Archives contains a 1946 photo of John Manson in front of a local rock formation that looks something like a seal. (Many thanks to Leo Barker for directing my attention to this.)
The back of the photo bears a typewritten bilingual text:
“According to Indian legend, an Indian boy who persisted in going in swimming in spite of his mother’s repeated warnings, was turned into a seal visible here as the black rock formation I am looking at. Summer, 1946.”
“Ankity tillicum wawa, Ikt wake kloosh Sliamin tenasman quansum tickie klatawa cupa chuck. Yaka mama wawa, ‘Klush halo!’ Tenasman delate sahalie tumtum, halo iskum okok wawa. Wight wawa yaka mama, ‘Spose halo kopate kloness elkie mica clap hias cull.’ Pe nawitka yaka chaco delate klahowyum, chako kohkwa Siwash cusho mitlite cupa okok klale [s]tone. Nika nanitch [Ø] alta. Waum Illahee, 1946.”
That’s very good Northern-Dialect Chinook Jargon. I might translate it into English this way:
The oldtime people used to say that a bad Sliammon boy was always wanting to get into the water. His mother said, “You better not!” The boy was really stubborn (and) didn’t pay attention to that advice. Again his mother said, “If you don’t stop you might wind up in big trouble.” And indeed he got really badly-off (and) turned like a seal (and) remained in this dark stone. I’m looking at it now. Summer of 1946.
