Bass, Sophie Frye. "When Seattle Was a Village". Seattle:

[David Robertson]

Lowman & Hanford, 1947.  More selections:

	"There were many queer characters in the early days, and one of
them was this white man whom the Indians called "Big Skookum."  ("Skookum"
is Chinook for "big," "strong.") ... The Indians would say of him as they
said of other pompous men, Hiyu kope nika.  (He thinks much of himself.)"

	"Later a canoe arrived at Yesler's wharf.  In it was Pat Kanim
dressed in Boston man's itkahs (white man's clothes)."

	"My memories of these Indian tillicums are redolent with many
things, chiefly dog-fish oil."

	"One can scarcely imagine the plight of the settlers on this side
of the bay in being hemmed in so securely by the forest that, until they
had time to go exploring, they knew of Lakes Washington and Union only
from the Indians.  The Indians called these lakes It-how-chug and
Kah-chug, respectively, both chee-chuck (fresh water)."

	"At first there was no way for Dr. Smith to come to the village
except by "Siwash buggy" (Indian canoe) or along the beach on "shank's
mare" [by foot? :-)], until a rough road was made through the heavy timber
over the hill (Queen Anne Hill) connecting with the Military Road north."

	"The best known of [Dr. Henry A. Smith's] writings is the
translation of Chief Seattle's famous speech delivered in reply to one
given by Governor Isaac Stevens when he visited the settlement in 1854.
The chief scorned Chinook and spoke in his native Duwamish."

	"The confluence of the Black and White rivers, forming the
Duwamish, was called by the Indians Mox-la-Push (two mouths), now Renton
Junction.  It is interesting to note that a corruption of the French
bouche is tied to the Chinook mox.  This mingling of French words with the
Chinook no doubt was due to the many French Canadians who were with the
Hudson's Bay Company in the early days."

	"There were many bullet holes in the woodwork and windows of this
little church [Mr. Blaine's "White Church" at the SE corner of Columbia
Street and 2nd Avenue] made by the guns of the mesatchie Indians during
the Indian war of '55-'56.  These holes were one of the sights shown to
chee chackos."

	" When Mother asked [an Indian man] what he wanted, he told her he
was solecks (mad) and was after a mesatchie (bad) man.  Mother said there
were no mesatchie men around and told him to klatawa (go away), and went
to the door ... In the meantime I was clutching her dress as I walked
beside her with a queer feeling in my throat.  Mother finally persuaded
the Indian to go and said, Klatawa kopa mica tillicums (go to your
friends)."

	"Skookum Jake, an Indian, came upon us during one of our snake
drives.  Much upset, he rushed to Father and asked him to make the tenas
kopet snake memaloose (children stop killing snakes).  He said it would
hiyu snass (bring much rain) and cause a flood, which it did ... [Another
time] the Indians protested, calling us mesatchie tenases (bad children)."

I hope you'll all enjoy these for the glimpse that they give us at the
past.  Nixwa msayka dret yulh pus uk chxi sno! / Happy New Year!

Cheer,
Dave

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