1898, BC: A friend’s letter tells of Baptiste’s dying words
Here’s an Indigenous young man’s Chinuk Pipa letter that got published in the Kamloops Wawa newspaper. Our Stó:lō correspondent tells of his friend Baptiste George on his deathbed.
Image credit: Wikipedia
“Baptiste Emory”, as he was also called, is written about also in the Kamloops Wawa of April 1895, as a teacher of Chinook Writing to his people around Yale, BC.
The letter is introduced by Father Le Jeune of Kamloops:
Batist Chorch kopa Imori iaka mimlus kopa < 26 >
‘Baptiste George from Emory (City) died on the 26th of ’Shanwari < 1898 >. Kanawi Stalo tilikom tlap
‘January, 1898. All of the Stó:lō people got’drit sik tomtom pus Batist mash klaska.
‘really sad when Baptiste left them.’Ankati iaka drit komtaks kanawi pipa, kopa
‘He used to really understand every kind of writing, in the’Inglish pipa pi Chinuk pipa, pi iaka wiht chako kom=
‘English alphabet and the Chinook one, and he also learned’taks ukuk Stalo buk, pi iaka mamuk komtaks
‘that Stó:lō book, and taught’kopa iaka mama kanawi katishism pi kanawi
‘his mother the whole catechism and every-’ikta ST iaka wawa iaka tlap kopa iaka pipa. Iaka
‘thing God says that he found in his newspaper. His’mama drit klahawiam tomtom alta.
‘mother is really miserable now.’Iht tanas man iaka mamuk cim kopa Kamlups
‘A young man has written to the Kamloops’Wawa pipa, iaka wawa:
‘Wawa paper, saying,’“Pus Batist wik saia mimlus, naika klatwa ‘
“When Baptiste was close to dying, I went to’nanich iaka, pi iaka drit klahawiam; kopit skin pi
‘visit him, and he was really pitiful; just skin and’bon, ilo ikta iaka makmak; o, pi ilo iaka mash
‘bones; he wasn’t eating a thing; oh, but he didn’t for-’ komtaks iaka Chinuk pipa. Kanawi son iaka nanich
‘get about his Chinook paper. Every day he read’kanawi ikta ST wawa pi ShK iaka wawa, pi
‘everything God says and Jesus says, and’kanawi styuil pi katikism. Kakwa iaka ilo
‘all of the prayers and catechism. So he wasn’t’kwash pus mimlus. Kopit styuil iaka tomtom
‘afraid to die. All he thought of was prayers’kanawi son. Mokst son pi pulakli naika mitlait
‘all day long. I stayed at his house for two’kopa iaka haws, pi kwanisim iaka kakwa.
‘days and nights, and he was like that the whole time.’Iaka wiht wawa kopa iaka papa pi iaka mama
‘He also told his dad and mum’pus tlus klaska ilo mash komtaks iht styuil kopa
‘how they shouldn’t forget a single prayer’iht son. Pus kopit iaka wawa kopa iaka papa pi
‘in the day. When he was done, he told his dad and’iaka mama, Iaka ukuk wiski naika makmak kwa=
‘mum, “It’s that whiskey I was always drinking’nisim pi kakwa ST sik tomtom kopa naika. Pi iaka
‘that’s why God is upset with me.” And he’wawa kopa naika pus naika kwanisim skukum tomtom
‘told me to stay committed’kopa Chinuk pipa, pus iawa naika kwanisim nanich
‘to the Chinook newspaper, so I’d always read’ST iaka wawa.
‘God’s words there.” ’ —
— Kamloops Wawa #162 of March, 1898 (page 35)
