mitlite cofa nika tenas,—mika tikky him potlatch; great chief thou,—with thee plenty traps abide,—no traps hath my son,—thou wilt give him abundance."
I.Pe hyas tyee Owhhigh,—conoway ikta mitlite-pe hin yaka potlatch copa liticum; and a great chief is Owhhigh,—all kinds of property are his, and many presents does he make to his people."
Profound silence followed these mutual hints. … The choir bore their failure stoically. They had done their best that their comrade might be arrayed at my expense. … At last, to please Owhhigh, and requite him for the entertainment of his oratory, I promised that, if his son were faithful, I would give him a generous premium, possibly the very shirt and other articles they had admired. …
8
Nesika Wa-wa
A Chinook Letter from Yoncalla
Here we find the jargon used for business correspondence. What the letter says will be left for the reader to decipher for himself, and its translation, with the help of one of the well known dictionaries, might furnish an hour of pleasant occupation. It was printed in the Oregon Native Son in September, 1900, with this explanatory statement: "Several of our subscribers became somewhat alarmed over the non-appearance of the last issue of the Native Son at its usual date of delivery, and wrote asking as to the reason why they did not receive it. Among those enquiring about the delay was one of our agents. Her message was as follows:"
Yoncalla, Oregon, August 8th, 1900.
Native Son Pub. Co.,
Klose Tenas Man:—Klone moon o'coke mika papah wake chaco copa conomox o'coke kloochman, Mrs. Susan Smith, pee ole man C. H. Westernheiser, Yoncalla. Nesika hyas mesahche, copa nesika spose mika wake copa yaka. Klose mika hyas mamook chaco o'koke papah, copa skookum chickamin kuitan, pee klonas mesika kokshut klose tumtum.
Mika Klose Tilicum,
Sue Burt, Agent.
