1869, OR: thank golly Jenny’s not dead!
Solidly within the frontier period, after Oregon became a state, we find this neat quotation of a Northwest Oregon Native man’s Chinuk Wawa.
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You’re about to read some Chinook Jargon from the early reservation period, before the Grand Ronde folks had innovated what came to be some different ways of saying the following:
NOT DEAD. — The Commercial stated last evening that
the Indian woman, Jenny, wounded in the brawl Wednes-
day morning, had since died of her wounds. An Indian
who seems to know all about Jenny, came to us last even-
ing with an indignant denial of the statement. He says
Jenny has “hyas skookum tum-tum — mamook hyou
muck-a-muck — wake memaloose — klonas okoke mesache
tillicum chako kopa town wawaw kliminiwit — cumtux?”
We told him “nowitka — hyas klose cumtux,” and Lo
went his way rejoicing.
— frm the Portland (OR) Oregonian of Jul 31, 1869, page 3, column 1
Some interpretation, because it’s no longer 1869 and not everybody reading this knows good Jargon yet:
- hyas skookum tum-tum
= hayas-skúkum tə́mtəm
= ‘a very strong heart;’ - mamook hyou muck-a-muck
= mámuk háyú mə́kʰmək
= ‘is making (using/eating?) lots of food;’ - wake memaloose
= wík míməlus
= ‘isn’t dead.’ - klonas okoke mesache tillicum chako kopa town wawaw kliminiwit
= t’ɬúnas úkuk másháchi tílixam cháku kʰupa tʰáwn wáwa t’ɬəmínxwət
= ‘Maybe those bad folks came to town telling lies’ - cumtux?
= kə́mtəks?
= ‘Understand?’ - nowitka
= nawítka
= ‘Yes.’ - hyas klose cumtux
= hayas-ɬúsh kə́mtəks
= ‘Understand quite well.’
