Chee-Chee-Ka

[Ross Clark (ARTS DALSL)]

There is a story with this name in "Folklore of the Cowichan Indians",
by Martha Douglas Harris (Victoria: The Colonist, 1901), pp.43-49. The
CJ version runs about two pages, followed by an English translation. The
punctuation and spelling do not inspire total confidence, and there may
well be errors in the text; also the translation is very free, so I have
difficulties in explicating some passages. I'm mainly asking here about
vocabulary that I don't find in my standard CJ sources. 

(1) These words seem to be of Coast Salish origin (I don't have any
vocabulary specifically of Cowichan). Do any of them have wider
currency?

chee-chee-ka "mink"
soyka "man"
schilt "fish trap"
stikya "wolf"
squani "head"
swaawa "cougar"
haam "crying, mourning"
scattle "land-otter" 
smand "mountain"
snais "fat"	 
...and maybe
scholtz "path, road"

(2) The meaning of these seems clear from the context, but I can't find
an origin for them (or in some cases be sure of the meaning):

quitsi "salmon-trout"
qualo "remove (?)"
in-a ti "by and by"
kalu "animal species"
klextimist "ask (for help)"
melalum "hold court (?)"
scickikwas "panther"
squal "raven"
nahko	(?) "type of shellfish?"
pok "hit? poke?"
chumouck "pitch"
chummult "stick with pitch ?"

(3) Finally, a mere list of words that I can make nothing of, just in
case anyone instantly recognizes them. 

atshim
klisumtum
stehue
squalish
schyus
enyalish
kentsum
kwek
takwatz
seewin
klatlum

To give the context for each would be to go on at tedious length, and
already I'm not sure I should be burdening the list with such minutiae.
But I would be delighted to hear from anyone who has studied this text
and can understand it better. Also I have an electronic version which I
can email to anyone who wants to look at it.

Ross Clark

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