1886, WA: Olney appointed interpreter
Late in the frontier era in Washington Territory, there was still a real need for experts at talking Chinuk Wawa.
Thus this terse announcement in the local newspaper:
Tho[ma]s Olney appointed interpreter of
Chinook jargon.
— from “District Court Proceedings”, in the Port Townsend (Washington Territory) Puget Sound Weekly Argus of November 11,1886, page 3, column 5
The language was still mighty alive ‘n’ kicking!
The need for a government-salaried translator of Jargon was self-evident.
