My pet subject: Interior CJ! :-)

[David Robertson]

Klahowya, sikhs, kahta mesika?

Nika kopet kumtux pus ahnkuttie nika wawa okoke...
I forget whether I've previously mentioned this one...

Portman, Sally.  "The Smiling Country:  A History of the Methow Valley."
Winthrop, WA:  Sun Mountain Resorts Inc., 1993.

Page 40:  'When Ruth Davis, born in 1894, was a child, Indians camped on
the flat below her dad's store in Heckendorn near Winthrop.  Since they
were frequent customers at the Davis' general merchandise shop, Ruth got
to know them well.
		'We kids used to look forward to their coming and had fun
		playing with the Indian kids.  They taught us some Chinook
		and we taught them some English so we were able to	
		understand each other.
		-- _Okanogan County Heritage_, Fall 1974.'

Page 39:  'In the early 1900s Virgil Webb watched spellbound as day after
day a steady stream of hundreds of Indians headed to the upper valley in
search of wild vegetables and fruits.  Feeling at home with the Indians,
Virgil soon formed strong attachments to them.
		'Ninety percent of my friends at that time were Indians.
		I learned their language and I knew [L]ong Jim; he was a
		big man and rode fine horses.  I also met Chief Joseph.
'Pioneer Perry Clark felt an immediate kinship with the Indians.  When 10-
year-old Perry arrived in the Methow in 1900, he saw more Indians than
whites here in the summer.  One time Perry counted 32 teepees near Lake
Creek (north of Winthrop).  "We boys took a liking to those Indians,"
Perry said.  He learned the Chinook language so he could communicate with
his native friends and he spear fished for salmon with two famous Indians
-- Methow George and Chiliwhist Jim.'

Page 38 (I'm skipping around):  'I [Samuel Rodman, exploring the Moses
Reservation in 1883] asked my guide one day how far it was to a certain
place.  He pointed to the sun and pointing to a position it would occupy
later on, said:  "Sun leah-wa [? for yah-wa?] mi-ka klap o-cook il a-he,"
meaning, "When the sun is there you will reach that place."  His reckoning
was correct, time and rate of travel being his basis of estimating
distance.'

Page 46:  'Mary's mother, Grace Thurlow, and Matilda Wapato shared a
genuine and affectionate friendship.  Over leisurely cups of coffee, the
women talked about their children.  Grace knew some Chinook, Matilda knew
some English, and the two would talk and laugh for hours.
'Grace, who taught at the Beaver Creek School, wanted her children to
learn the Indian language to broaden their education.  Daughter Nedra said
she did acquire some indispensable Chinook vocabulary as a result; for
example:  "skookum" meant good, and "hi yu skookum" very good; "klatawa"
meant scram and "c[ul]tus" bad.'

An entertaining book, well put together.  Worth finding at the library.

Dave



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