Palmer ’s and Winthrop's Word Lists

[Francisc Czobor]

Klahawya wekt!

There is a very interesting “Words used in the Chinook Jargon” list
included in “Palmer's Journal of travels over the Rocky Mountains, 1845-
1846”, followed by “Words used in the Nez Percé language”. The scanned 1906
edition (A.H. Clark, Cleveland, Ohio) is available on The Library of
Congress website. The address is very long and complicated, but there is a
link to it on Leanne Riding’s “Dusty old jargon tomes from way back” webpage
(http://timetemple.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=4&Itemid=2)
What is interesting to this word list is that it differs considerably from
the other CJ dictionaries and vocabularies, in spelling as well as in
content. Some examples:

Keawale “love”

Krappo “toad”

Leloim “sharp”

Lemitten “mitten” (French la mitaine), found also in Demers (lamiten)

Lequim “white bear”

Lesitwell “stars” (French les étoiles)

Leshaw “shoe”

Lewash “snow”

Oepick “both”

Oepinpin “skunk” (Chinookan), found also in Demers (openpen)

Opeswa “wonder, astonishment”

Pes-hocks “thickety”

Peteck “the world”

Pish-hash “polecat”, Chinookan (Cathlamet & Wishram i-pish-hash “skunk”),
found also in Demers (peshes “skunk”)

Temahas “poison” [cf. tamanawas ??]

Tesum “pretty”

Tipee “ornament”

Tumpelo “back”

Also interesting are some words with the otherwise unusual s-ending:

Ilips “first”

Kilaps “turn over”

Klips “upset”

Klaps “find”

The word for “molasses” appears with the French definite article: Lomalas.

Unusual are also the compound numbers 11-19:

11 = Dilo-pe-iht, 12 = Dilo-p-maxt, etc.

I didn’t see this in other sources and it is not the Chinookan way to make
compound numbers:

In Chinook proper we have: 11 = táLilam-kun-ixt, 12 = táLilam-kun-mokwst,
etc.

This way to make compound numbers is found also in Franchère’s and Ross’s
early vocabularies:

Franchère (1810-14): 11 = Ekoun-icht, 12 = Ekoun-makust, etc.

Ross (1810-13): 11 = Eattathlelum equin ight, 12 = Eattathlelum equin muxt,
etc.

So, where could come Palmer’s “Dilo” from?

Interesting is also that Palmer’s CJ has somehow influenced Winthrop’s “A
partial vocabulary of the Chinook Jargon” (in “The canoe and the saddle :
adventures among the northwestern rivers and forests, and Isthmiana.
Boston : Ticknor and Fields, 1866, c1862. The link to the scanned version
is also to be found on Leanne Riding’s website).

It is not clear whether Palmer influenced directly Winthrop, or they used a
common source (or maybe described the same CW dialect?!), since the forms
are not always identical. Some examples:

P. Esil, W. Essil “corn”

P.&W. Kapwah “alike, like” (with p instead of k)

P. ka-was, W. kaw-wash “afraid” (with an extra “a”: other sources have kwas
or kwash)

P. Kaw-lo-ke-lo, W. Kaw-heloo “goose” (Palmer’s version looks like a
corruption of kalakala “bird”)

P. Keawale, W. Keeawali “love” (the word appears also in D. Pasco’s “Moola
John” as kiawali)

P.&W. kitlo “kettle”

P.&W. klahana “out”

P. Klaps, W. Kollaps or K’laps “find”

P. Klips, W. Klipsc “upset”

P. klowewah, W. klowawah “slow” (with an extra syllable compared to the
normal form klawa)

P.&W. Kollo “fence”

P. Komsuck, W. Komsock “beads”

P. la-cope, W. la coope “white”

P&W lavest “vest, jacket” (in other sources: lawest)

P.&W. lebya “old woman” (with b instead of the m in other sources)

P. lecreme, W. la crame “yellow” (in other source it means “cream-colored”)

P. & W. Leloim “sharp”

P.&W. lepolo “pan”

P. Lo-ma-las, W. le molass “molasses

P.&W. Oelk “snake”

P.&W. Oelhin “seal” (the same scribal error, n for u!)

P.&W. Pechi “green”

P. Pes-hocks “thickety”, W. Peshooks “thickets”

P. Peteck,W. Petick “the world”

P. Quack-quack, W. Quak-quak “duck”

P. Tamolack, W. Tamoluck “barrel” (with “ck” where “ch” would be expected,
probably a scribal error)

P. Tesum, W. tissum “pretty”

P. Tipee, W. tipu “ornament”

P.&W. Tit-the-co-ep “cut” (a very complicated way to write the word
Lk’up !!)

P. & W. Tumpelo “back”; something similar I have found in
Hutchings&Rosenfield (1860) and in Macdonald (1863): lapulla “back”; D.
Pasco uses lupulla, lupella “back”

P.&W. Wah-wah “talk” (other sources pell it wawa or wau-wau)

P. Wetch, W. Weltch “more”

Winthrop has also some strange words, not found in other sources:

Ahti, achti “sister”

Callapooya “mean Indian” (where the Kalapuya worse than other Native
People, or this is merely a mid-19th century’s prejudice?)

Ehee “uncle”

Katock “year”

Oree “brother”

It has also some strange forms of words found also elsewhere:

Attle “to be pleased” (maybe erroneously instead of uttle, youtl “proud,
pleased”)

Hoel “mouse” (unusually non-reduplicated form)

Ichfat “bear, animal”

Kullu or kulla, kullie “bird” (unusually non-reduplicated forms)

In conclusion, what kind of CJ is reflected in Palmer’s and Winthrop’s
glossaries?

Francisc

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