The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-07-05
The Chinook Language.

The first object sighted by the pas
senger by steamer from this city to
Portland, Or, after the vessel has fairly
crossed the bar on the south channel
entrance of the Columbia river, is
bold promontory named Chinook Point.
1t rises from 800 to 1,000fee above the
level of The sea, is four miles inside of
the reef eight miles northwest of AS
toria, and, in connection with Cape Dis
appointment, forms the semicircular
sheet of water known as Bakers Bay.
Like all the shores of the Lower Column
bia, it is densely wooded with mighty
pines, cedars and frs, which rise to a
height of 200 and even 800 feet, and
seen from distance of one mile appear
to stand as thick as bristles on hogs
back. Rounding this prominent land
mark there is seen slight curve in the
water-line, which forms the frontage,
looking across the'estuary toward As
toria, of few acres of low-lying and
level land, which was partly cleared of
its timber growth thirty three wears
ago. A rivulet tlmbes down through
a precipitous channel, entering the salt
water after passing through this blight
in the landscape. Here was once, and
perhaps for ages, the home and head
quarters of the Chinook Indians, the
tribe after which the Hudsons Bay
Company named the lingo known as
Chinook iargon," which for two CEN
turtles was the medium of linguistic
communication between its traders and
all the tribes of the great river. Puget
Sound, the Gulf of Georgia and the en-
tire possession of the great corporation
on the waters of the Pacific coast. The
entire vocabulary of this new language
does not exceed four hundred words,
but the different meanings con
veyed by the variations in the tone
and accent serve the purpose of adj
iectives and adverbs and multiply the
power of the words many fold. Thus,
for example, SiGk or SyGb literally
means the same as the English advert
of distance, away" But it may be
so accented in speech as to signify
much more than this. If spoken in the
ordinary tone it implies short distance
off. If the distance be, say five or ter
miles of, the word is spoken Staf-G
If fifty miles, Siah-o-a. Ii five hundred
miles, Stab-d-n-d-n. Some of the word:
are as resonant and graceful as the
Latin of the age of Cicero. Others, anC
| by far the most, are as barbarous and
gutteral as the language of the
Dacotahs. Mjna5Luse is used alike fol
dead" "death," the grave, or the
canoe and the clothes in which the
dead are invariably deposited. Clutch
man. is the jargon for female. whether
a woman, dog, or any other animal
HiyGS or LsjghaS is either an adjective
or an adverb, which may indicate size
strength, distance, weight, measure
but always implies something big OIL
uncommon of its kind
1t is needless to add that this is no
the original language of any tribe. ol
of the Chinooks. 1t was compounded
by the traders for the purpose of trade
with this particular tribe. 1t ha
naturally found its way into the Spoken
language of the Oregon and Washing
ton Territory whites, and the ability t.
use it freely was once regarded by then
as an accomplishment. 1t is an &C
complishment that stands on the SAM
level with the more pretentiou
pedantry of interlarding bad French
or Spanish. or Latin with good English
The mixture is disgustingly vulgar
San Francisco Chronicle.