1873, OR folklore: Earliest known version of the “sitkum dolla” joke?
I think we may have just antedated the classic Pacific NW “sitkum dollar” joke by 24 years!
It’s a crime to explain a jest…which I’ll do after you get a chance to read this & see if it makes you laugh:
A friend tells us a good story on Capt.
Whyte, of the Forward. While at Astoria a
clootchman stepped up to him and presenting
to his notice a basket full of crabs, offered to
sell the lot for sitkum dolla — half dollar. The
Captain planked down a dollar and took six
remarking that ‘It was a mighty high price.’
He hadn’t got the hang of Chinook jargon
evidently.
— from the Portland (OR) Morning Oregonian of September 4, 1873, page 3, column 2
Captain Whyte is represented as misunderstanding sítkum dála to be an offer of ‘6 a dollar’!
Comedy gold, because it’s from my home territory.
Aside from the Chinook, modern audiences also need some… historical economic context. Crab at 6 per dollar? What a steal!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Modern audiences might also require some… historical economic context. Six for a dollar?! What a bargain!
LikeLike