1887, BC: “The Pot-latchers”, a super-racist piece
REALLY RACIST, FYI.
The Chinook Jargon in the headline, showing up so far back east, drew my attention.
But the contents made my eyes bug out.
It would be hard to find a more self-confidently ignorant and White supremacist travelogue.
The seeming headhunter-themed illustration tells you plenty:
Having warned you of all that, I will say that journalist Julian Ralph did in fact visit Victoria, BC, as well as coastal Washington Territory, and does document a couple of facts relevant to Chinook Jargon studies.
THE POT-LATCHERS,
A CURIOUS INDIAN TRIBE ON THE
SIWASH RESERVATION.The Apparent Mongolian Character-
istics of the People.The Pot-Latch Festival in Which
Their Hard Earnings Are
Thrown Away.
— from the Philadelphia (PA) Times of December 11, 1887, page 11, columns 6 and 7,
which you can go read if you want.
