"J.M.J. Chinook Dictionary, Catechism, Prayers & Hymns"

[Jim Holton]

Dave,  Regarding written records of "na" as a pronoun prior to 1900, I have one
reference which may or may not be the usage.  I suspect it is though (no actually
read "would like to beleive" :-) )..  The only reason I'd have any doubt is that
it's the only reference (sort of a catch 22 situation).  It is from "Beyond the
Mississippi..." by Albert D. Richardson, 1857 - 1867(?).  On page 502 he writes:

"There are about fifty Indian tribes in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.  No two speak
precisely the same language; but a strange patois, known as the 'Chinook Jargon,' is
comprehended by nearly all of them, and by most white settlers.   As in all
rudimentary languages, the same word is either a noun or a verb, according to the
context; as '_Ni-wa-wa_,'-'I speak,' or 'My word.'  Here are a few common....."

Unfortunately the paragraph on Chinook Jargon is sort of just inserted so I didn't
trace it down to a specific locale.  It could also be a typo, as in the "ka" was
dropped, but then again it could be the real thing.  The fact that the "na" is spelt
"ni" should be considered, but it doesn't bother me too much as it seems to me that
spelling systems varied a lot and there's also the "na"/"nai" deal anyway....  Qhata
mayka tEmtEm?

hlaXayEm, Jim