1909, WA: Jake Harding called quadrille dances in Chinook, in the frontier era
“JAKE HARDING FIDDLED FOR FIRST DANCE IN SEATTLE”!
Image credit: “Chechacos All: The Pioneering of the Skagit“
That’s the headline on one of the articles about an IOOF gathering in 1909.
IOOF = the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, one fraternal organization among the many in post-frontier Settler society.
You’ll still find their temples all around the Pacific Northwest USA; one here in Spokane was bought not too long ago by a consortium of women, and renamed the Odd Girls.
Fun fact: apparently Seattle went Republican in Civil War times, as you’ll read below. Locals wanted to lynch a guy who cheered the assassination of Abe Lincoln.
You’ll also see another colorful episode for the book on Chinook Jargon folk culture that I’m putting together from my zillions of posts on this here site…
Aged Pioneer and Odd Fellow
Used to “Call” Quadrilles
in Chinook JargonOne of the proudest arrivals yester-
day was Jake Harding, 77 years old,
of Bow, Skagit county, one of the most
familiar figures at the sovereign
grand lodge sessions for several years.
He bears the title of past grand chief
patriarch, and retired aide-de-camp
with rank of captain. He has been a
resident of Puget sound for fifty years,
and an Odd Fellow for twenty-six
years. He has organized four subor-
dinate lodges, four Rebekah lodges and
two encampments, and is a member
of two cantons.Years ago “Jake” Harding was as
familiar a figure to pioneer Seattle as
he is now to Odd Fellowship. He was
a clerk in the old Eureka bakery, on
the present site of the Olympus cafe,
when the news reached the settlement
that President Lincoln had been assas-
sinated.”When the news came,” he
sald yesterday, “a sawyer in Yesler’s
mill, named Bill B. Dillon, said he was
‘d____d glad it had happened.’ We got
together a posse and hunted for that
fellow for days for the purpose of
swinging him from a tree, but he es-
caped in a canoe and was never seen
again.”In those days Mr. Harding made his
living by playing for dances, and he
and his lone fiddle were the only or-
chestra. He played for the first white
people’s dance ever given in Seattle, in
a hall over Yesler’s store, on Mill street,
now Yesler way. The Indians who fre-
quented the settiement were taught
how to dance by the white men, and
“Jake” was put to it to make them
understand the figures of the popular
quadrille. So Jake learned the Chi-
nook jargon, and sing-songed the calls
to the accompaniment of his fiddle,
while the squaws laughed in great
glee. While the lights gleamed across
the floor Jake would sing out:“First couple right and left,” “bal-
ance four,” “ladies, change,” “promen-
ade four.” “side four right-and-left,”
“alaman* left,” and “all promenade.”
He earned $10,000 with his violin, when
friends in the order of Odd Fellows
took him in charge and made a loyal
member and worker of him.
— from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer of September 20, 1909, page 4, columns 4 & 5
𛰅𛱁𛰃𛱂 𛰙𛱁𛱆𛰅𛱁 𛰃𛱄𛰙𛰃𛱄𛰙? qʰáta mayka tə́mtəm?
kata maika tumtum? Qu’en penses-tu?
What do you think?
And can you say it in Chinuk Wawa?
Hey! Free stuff! Teach Yourself northern-dialect Chinook Jargon! Free, I say!
And join free Zoom sessions…
Contact me for the Zoom link and times.
