Dr. Tolmie

[George Lang]

On the topic of Dr. Tolmie, these notes from a dormant ms:

In 1838 John McLoughlin reported that a Sunday School had been
opened in Fort Vancouver by a volunteer, Dr. Tolmie, "for the
instruction of the Natives, which they attended in great numbers.
The weekly lectures were delivered in the Native language [Jargon, my
conclusion, GL], & conveyed some idea of the Divine Attributes" (Rich
1941:239).

McLoughlin praises the success of Dr. Tolmie precisely because he
had some control of Jargon, constrasting his work with the failure of
the Rev. Mr. Beaver, who never learned it and who accordingly lacked
that "general acquaintance, and benevolent intercourse, with the lower
classes, which, without degrading, so greatly extends the power &
efficiency of the Clergy" (Rich 1941:239).

Dr. Tolmie was the source of the earliest published comparative
glossary of Pacific Coast languages: Scouler, John. 1841.
"Observations on the Indigenous Tribes of the N.W. Coast of America"
Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London 11:215-251.

Alas, I don't have it to hand as I write so can't check if he had Jargon
or broken Chinook proper in that glossary alongside the other PNW
tongues.