WA: Julia Pilchuck’s 1916 weather prediction
I’m not convinced the quoted stuff here is accurate — but it tells us more about the belief that Indigenous people could forecast the weather.
One definite inaccuracy is the headline here. After 35 years, the editor failed to see that Julia Pilchuck (‘Red Water’) had been portrayed in 1916 as speaking with pidgin English verbs: “snow-um”. That wasn’t meant to be seen as hesitancy (i.e. not as “snow…um…)!
For your consideration: a photo of the 1916 Seattle blizzard that did indeed happen
(image credit: KOMO News)
And the original 1916 report is awfully devoid of Chinook Jargon, which other reports indicate was a typical part of Julia Pilchuck’s way of talking.
Anyway here’s what was told in 1916 of Julia Pilchuck’s meteorological opinion:
“Um … Two-Squaw High”
Snow Prediction For Winter
A good share of Western Wash-
ington is in the dumps because an
old Snohomish squaw has predict-
ed deep snow for the coming win-
ter.The old lady is not without .honor
in her own country as attested by
the fact that the telegraph tolls
were paid by the newspapers to
get the following dispach to the
public:Everett, Oct. 6-‘Heap big snow’
is the warning of Pilchuck Julia,
the Snohomish Indian weather
prophetess, whose ability to fore-
cast the season has long been rec-
ognized locally. Julia has seen the
warning signs wherever she looks
for them and is spreading the
prophecy of heap big snow for thiswinter. She says: Snow-um two-
squaw high. Julia has built up a
great record for accuracy. She
foretold with astonishing correct-
ness the vagaries of last winter’s
weather performance when the
snow was all the way from a little
squaw to several squaws deep.She may not know the prophesy-
ing business very well, but she is
at least entitled to consideration
as a mighty good guesser.
— from “Valley Pioneer Days” in the Sequim (WA) Press of Fri, Oct 12, 1951 ·Page 4, columns 2 and 3
