Winthrop & Kalapuya

[Leanne Riding]

I've only seen this particular "philippic/brief rejoinder speech" in
Winthrop's book, and only against his "frowzy/insolent varlet" guide.
Maybe this particular figure of speech was especially designed to annoy
that one particular person.

Winthrop was quite sardonic wasn't he? "Klosche nika tum tum copa hyas
Baasten tyee. Tender is my heart toward thee, o great Yankee don." That
just takes the cake.

He did mention a song sung in CJ. "Steilacoom. ...an Indian ditty, oddly
sung to the air of Malbrook. -- Klatawah ocook polikely, Klatawah
Steilacoom." I looked up the song - it's "Malbrouk s'en va-t'en guerre".
This is better known as "The bear went over the mountain".

I'm getting ready to put entries from this book in my database,
Winthrop's glossary is already in.

WInthrop was a believer in keeping the old names for everything. He
objected to the names Mt. Ranier, perfering Tacoma, and Mt. Baker,
preferring Kulshan (he said he learned that name from Lummi, and also
included a story about those mts and other mountains).

The funny thing about the name Kulshan is that it sounds remarkably like
the chinese word for America, Gum Shan or Jin Shan, meaning "Gold
Mountain". That is a coincidence, but I would think that a chinese
speaker would not fail to notice the similarity.


On Saturday, March 27, 2004, at 09:58 , David Robertson wrote:

> "...they would scoff, and call him Kallapooya, meanest of Indians..."
>
> (p. 49 of Theodore Winthrop, n.d. Canoe and Saddle (Nisqually Edition).
> Portland, OR:  Binfords & Mort.)
>
> This was in the 1850s.  The ethnic insult mentioned is found elsewhere,
> later, in Jargon, isn't it?
>
> (This is meant as a scholarly note.  PLEASE DON'T use this word
> carelessly.  We've seen the bad effects before when people have used CJ
> in
> thoughtless ways.)
>
> --Dave R.
>

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