1889, WA Territory: Palouse horse race invitation
I think it’s typical of my home region, far eastern Washington, that folks weren’t quite as good at Chinook Jargon as those elsewhere.
Exhibit A is this published invitation:
Spose cooley cueitan hyas clatwa,
spose mika potlatch sitkum dollar, spose
nika cocksit, April 29th.
— from the Rockford (WT) Enterprise of April 13, 1889, page 3, column 1
I won’t get too analytical with that text, because it’s got problems.
It seems to be saying something like “How about racing horses real fast? How about you bet 50 cents that I’ll go bust, April 29th?”
