More from Edwards, "Short Portage to Lillooet"

[Dave Robertson]

Thanks again to Mike Cleven.  This passage contains some information relating to Chinook Jargon as well as to local varieties of Salish and English.

The young woman who was staffing the Lilloet museum when I recently visited shared some of her knowledge of Chinook Jargon with me.  An example which she gave, which I found really interesting, was "buck mowich", which she defined as "a moose".  --  Dave
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   Some Indian Lore from Sam Paul

   Sam Paul - Indian name - Paliyas, meaning 'wild'

   Sam was the story teller of the Portage.  He was born in 1885 and was 85
   years old when he died.  These are some of the interesting items he
   told.

   He remembers salmon in the river and lakes so thick that water could not
   be used.  Drinking water was taken from Whitecap or Bear Creeks.  Small
   fry or salmon fingerlings were caught on way to the sea and smoked.
   Floaters piled up on shores of the lakes by the thousands, black and
   oily.

   SASKATOON or CHOKUM - berries were sun-dried, molded into flat cakes,
   and kept inside folds of cedar bark.
   INDIAN POTATOES - yellow Glacier Lily, and bulbs of Chocolate Lily and
   Balsam Root, were main items of food.  Free gold was often found when
   digging potatoes.
   SALAL BERRY - was a source of medicine.  It has a foamy juice often
   called "Soap a lal" - boile up for tonic and a refreshing drink.  Pitch
   from the trees was used for heating.  [Mrs. Edwards is confusing salal
   with xoosum/Soapberry here; xoosum looks a lot more like huckleberry
   BTW; modern Band members exclusively use the term "xoosum"; Soap a lal
   must be a Chinookism]
   MOWITCH or DEER - The people used to dig a large hole in the ground big
   enough to hold a deer or two.  Rocks were laid in the bottom, then a
   pile of birch.  The deer was laid on this and covered with rocks and
   brush on top.  It cooked for a day and a night, and was so tender the
   bones fell away from the meat.  The meat could be dried out and kept
   like "pemmican". [pemmican is a common Canadian English word
   identifiable to most readers, or was a few decades ago anyway]
   SALMON - were roasted in pits also. The oil was skimmed off and the
   pulverized salmon mixed with Saskatoon berries.
   CANOES - were made from cedar at Pemberton Portage [D'arcy/Nequatqua, I
   think she means here, where red cedar is found; it's not at the Portage;
   in frontier times the Seton Band were the Lakes Lillooet and were a
   unified community on all shores of the lakes from D'arcy to Skimka,
   which is now under the control of the Lillooet/Tlk'it'klt (sp?) Band as
   a result of DIA rearrangement of traditional lands; the Lakes Lillooet
   also had the middle Bridge River Country under their jurisdiction]

   CUSTOMS

   CA-LEATHS EYE or potlatch was held in the fall.  It called all the
   people together to have a good time.  Hundreds would gather for days at
   a time.
   WEAR BUCKSKIN STRING - every month make a knot; make a different one for
   a year.
   DEATH IN THE FAMILY - When a close relative dies - don't eat fresh meat
   - don't use paint or touch eyes - boil hot balsam bark - use sweat house
   made with hot rocks - beat oneself with brush wand every day and leave
   branches in a pile. [in the Portage area, these piles were left in the
   region of the present Hurley estate en route to a certain spring,
   according to Mrs. Hurley, although younger Band members are unaware of
   this location]
   CHILCOTINS - came over pass at night and raided as far as D'Arcy - stole
   food, weapons, utensils, women.  Lots of Ke Kuli holes on both sides of
   Seton Lake - great battle with Chilcotins there - shot hot arrows.
   Portage Indians used to go to Retaskit and Slide on the opposite shore
   to get away from the raiders [Retaskit is an isolated alluvial fan on
   the lake defended by 5000' cliffs on the upper side, about 1/4 way along
   the lake towards Seton from Lillooet end; Slide is now in white hands
   and is no doubt under dispute in the claims agenda].
   WAY BACK - One man who passed through was so good, people said he was
   God.

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--
"Asking a linguist how many languages she knows is like asking a doctor how many diseases he has!" -- anonymous



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