Snass Sessions 09.23.2023: Pete Nhinaskrit letter, Alkali Lake, 18951
David Douglas Robertson, PhD
Consulting linguist, Spokane, WA, USA
NOTE:
I’d like you to make our own notes about understanding the Chinuk Wawa here,
based on the fluent English translations I’m supplying to you.
Some background information:
“Pit N’hinaskret” wrote 3 letters that I have found so far, and is mentioned in a fourth.
Kamloops Wawa connections: letter from watchman Pete / Pit Nhinaskrit / N’hinaskret of Alkali Lake
(KW#115, April 1894, pages [back wrapper 1-2]), shown here:
1 Alkali Lake (Eskét), BC is a historically Secwépemc (“Shuswap”) Salish community.
• If you see [SIC] in square brackets it shows possible mistakes in the writing; other material [in square brackets] is
inferred and added by me.
• *Asterisked* material shows an uncertain reading of the Chinuk Pipa writing.
• Underlined material is in Chinuk Pipa, but in other languages than Chinook Jargon.
• Anything < in angled brackets > is non-Chinuk Pipa, i.e. written as standard English in the original document.
• The notation (Ø) shows that you can understand a clause to contain either “silent IT”or a “silent preposition”.
• I have put line breaks between every clause-containing sentence, and added punctuation, to help the reader. (But
I’ve preserved the writer’s own punctuation marks, whenever I find them.)
I’m experimenting with extra indentation to show the existence of subordinate clauses. (And to reflect the flow of
the speaker’s thoughts.)
Kanawi ukuk pipa, iaka kopit pi chako
‘This whole issue was finished when there came’
pipa kopa Alkalai Lik, iaka nim wiht Ashkat
‘a letter from Alkali Lake, also called Esk’ét.’
Iaka wawa ukuk pipa: Mokst tanas man klaska
‘This letter says: “Two young men’
[mim]lus pi iht ol kluchmin iaka mimlus, pi
‘have died and one old lady has died, and’
iht ol man iaka mimlus. Lakit klaska
‘one old man has died. The four of them’
mimlus ukuk sno kopa Alkalai Lik. Kanawi klaksta
‘died this winter at Alkali Lake. Everyone’
nanich ukuk pipa kopa kanawi kah ilihi klaska
‘who read this paper in villages everywhere can’
mamuk hilp kopa styuil kopa ukuk mimlus tilikom.
‘help with prayers for these dead folks.” ’
[likalisti] wach man kopa Alkalai Lik, Pit Nhinaskrit iaka nim,
‘The communion watchman at Alkali Lake, Pete Nhinaskret by name,’
[ia]ka ukuk iaka mamuk tsim kopa nsaika: pi iaka drit*
‘that’s who wrote to us: and it’s really’
tlus iaka tsim. Wiht iaka wawa, kanawi tilikom
‘good, his writing is. He also says, everyone’
kopa Alkalai Lik klaska skukum tomtom kopa Chinuk
‘at Alkali Lake is strong-hearted for the Chinook’
pipa.
‘writing.’
He subscribes (KW#132, September 1895, page 133):
Kopa Alkalai Lik, <27> tilikom iskom Kamlups Wawa:
‘At Alkali Lake, 27 people take the Kamloops Wawa:’
<1.> Pit Nhinaskrit <10.> Itamka* <19.> Noi
‘#1. Pete Nhinaskret #10. Itamka* #19. Noé (Noah)’
About a “curious letter” from him (KW#152, May 1897, page [67]):
which is reproduced including cartoons (KW#153, June 1897, page 92):
[Pit’s Winter.]
[left column:]
<I. September>
Hihihi alta naika kopit mamuk naika tipso, naika tiki
klatwa makmak mawich kopa stik.
‘Hahaha, now I’m done harvesting my hay, I feel like
going and eating deer in the woods.’
[first subcolumn:]
Drit ayu naika tipso: wik kata
pus naika kwash pus mimlus naika
musmus pi naika kyutan
‘I really have lots of hay: no way
that I’d be afraid my
cows and horses would die.’
[second subcolumn:]
Alki chako sno naika kilapai
iakwa pi naika patlach ayu makmak
kopa naika musmus pi kopa naika
kyutan mitlait* kopa Alkalai Lik
‘Some day snow will come (and) I’ll come back
here and I’ll give plenty of food
to my cows and to my
horses that are staying at Alkali Lake.’
[on center haystack:]
Wam ilihi
‘It’s summer.’
<II. November>
[first subcolumn:]
Gitop bois
Klunas aias til ukuk lod
pi wik naika kwash pus
naika musmus mimlus
kopa olo
‘Get up, boys!
This load (haystack) may be mighty heavy
but (at least) I’m not afraid about
my cows dying
from hunger!’
[second subcolumn:]
Chako sno ayu sno
Wik kaltash naika mamuk ayu tipso
Naika tiki patlach Ø kopa naika musmus
‘Lots of snow coming;
not for nothing did I harvest lots of hay,
I intend to give it to my cows.’
[right column:]
<III. December>
[first subcolumn:]
Ilo ayu naika tipso
Ilo aias ukuk lod
Naika chako kwash alta
Ho! Isi bois
‘I don’t have much hay;
This load (stack) isn’t so big;
I’m starting to get afraid now;
Whoa! Easy, boys!’
[second subcolumn:]
Sitkom kol ilihi
‘It’s mid-winter.’
<IV. February>
[first subcolumn:]
Ankati ukuk lamiai musmus
aias olo iaka tiki makmak
naika tipso* kopa naika*
‘This old lady cow used to
be mighty hungry, trying to eat up
my hay on me.’
[second subcolumn:]
Ikta maika tiki kopa naika Ilo ayu kaltash tipso mitlait kopa naika
Alki* tamolo* mitlait* makmak* kopa maika2
‘What do you want from me?! There’s not (even) very much rotten hay left at my place.
Give it time, tomorrow there’ll be food for you.’
2 Alki tamolo: this is written in large thick letters, perhaps as an emendation of an original ilo – which would mean that
the sentence originally was ‘There’s no food for you.’.
[third subcolumn:]
Ilo kopit sno
pi kopit naika tipso
pi kopit tlun naika musmus
Alta nsaika klahawiam
‘Winter’s not finished
and I’m out of hay
and I only have three cows;
Now I’m pitiful.’
[above pitchfork:]
Naika ilo tiki fork* alta
‘I won’t be needing a pitchfork now.’
[single column:]
<V. March.>
[left side, vertically:]
Tlus naika ilo sik tomtom Naika sawash
Wik kata pus sawash tlap ayu iktas kopa ukuk ilihi.
Tlus pus naika tolo sahali ilihi.
Klunas iawa ilo naika komtaks klahawiam
‘I shouldn’t be upset. I’m a Native.
Natives can’t get much material (stuff) in this world.
I should (focus on) earning (my way to) heaven.
Maybe there I won’t be pitiful all the time.’
[on Pit’s sleeve, diagonally:]
Wik kata pus naika tolo
‘I just can’t win.’
[on the hill above Pit, diagonally:]
Kopit ukuk naika musmus pi wik kata iaka gitop
‘I just have this (one) cow and she can’t get up.’
[on the cow, diagonally:]
Drit blak
‘Real black.’
[right side, vertically:]
Nanich tilikom kata ST patlach aias lapilitas kopa
nsaika ilihi. Pi klunas kata kopa Kamlups. Klunas msaika
wiht tlap kakwa lapilitas Tlus nanich tilikom
Pus kwanisim nsaika tsipi alki klunas nsaika wiht
tlap ilip skukum lapilitas / Iawa nsaika drit klahawiam.
‘Look, people, how God gives big suffering to
our land. And who knows how it is at Kamloops. Maybe you folks
also get sufferings like this. Take care, folks.
If we’re always in the wrong, we may go on again to
catch even worse suffering. Then we’ll really be pitiful.’
[beneath the illustration:]
Kopit naika tipso pi kopit naika musmus…alki pus chako wam ilihi naika
wiht klatwa mamuk tipso. Pi klunas klaksta makmak naika tipso.
Kopit naika musmus: A! Kaltash kopa naika, tlus klaska mimlus.
Ilo kopit naika klahawiam kopa ukuk ilihi. Wiht kanawi boston man klaska ilip klahawiam
kopa naika. Alta klaska ilo slip
kanawi son pi kanawi pulakli klaska klahawiam tomtom. Pi naika sawash; naika kwanisim
skukum slip. Naika komtaks,
ilo ikta naika tolo pus naika mamuk aias sik naika tomtom kopa ukuk.
‘My hay ran out and my cows are gone…some day when it gets to be warm weather I’ll
go again and make hay. But gosh knows who (i.e. what cows) will (there be to) eat my hay.
My cows are gone: Ah! I don’t care, let ’em die.
My suffering on this earth is never done. All the White folks too, they’re even worse off
than me. Right now they can’t sleep,
all day and all night they’re miserable-hearted. But I’m Native; I can always
sleep great. I know,
there’s nothing I can accomplish if I upset my heart about this.’
Pete Nhinaskrit won a prize in a shorthand competition (KW#159, December 1897, page 183; we’ve
read the same passage in Chinuk Wawa in previous weeks).
Now, to today’s reading…
The letter:
Text:
Alkalai-Lik < 1 > Oktobir < 1895 >
‘Alkali Lake, 1 October 1895.’
Wil, naika tlus papa Pir Lshyun kopa Kamlups, ukuk son naika siiisim kopa maika:
‘So, my dear father Pere Le Jeune at Kamloops, today I’m reporting to you:’
Pulin Lista* iaka tanas mimlus.
‘Pauline* Lester*’s kid has died.’
Kopa < 19 > Siptimbir klaska klatwa-saia kopa mawntin.
‘On the 19th of September they had taken off for the bush.’
Iawa klaska tanas iaka mimlus.
‘There, their kid died.’
Pi klaska kilapai klaska tanas kopa < 26 > Siptimbir,
‘And they returned their kid on the 26th of September,’
pi nsaika mash iaka itluil kopa mimlus-ilihi kopa < 28 > Siptimbir.
‘and we put his body in the cemetery on the 28th of September.’
Wiht tlunas-kansih tilikom klaska skukum sik iawa kopa mawntin;
‘Another gosh knows how many people are awful sick out there in the bush;’
pi ilo wiht klaksta mimlus.
‘but none others have died.’
Kopit ukuk tanas-man iaka mimlus.
‘Just this boy has died.’
Wiht iht naika siisim kopa maika:
‘There’s another thing I’ll report to you:’
Iht kluchmin iaka mimlus.
‘This one woman has died.’
Shugir-Kin iaka kluchmin iaka mimlus kopa < 30 > Siptimbir kopa Alkalai-Lik.
‘Sugarcane’s wife died on the 30th of September at Alkali Lake.’
Pi kopa Oktobir < 2 > nsaika mash iaka itluil kopa mimlus-ilihi.
‘And on October 2 we put her body in the cemetery.’
O, ukuk kluchmin drit lili iaka sik,
‘Oh, that woman was sick for a real long time,’
pi alta iaka mimlus.
‘and then she died.’
Kakwa,
‘So,’
naika wawa kopa kanawi iaka tilikom
‘I asked all of her relatives’
pus wik klaska sik-tomtom kopa ukuk.
‘to not be upset about this.’
Nawitka naika komtaks,
‘It’s true, I know’
drit ayu iaka tilikom,
‘she had lots of relatives,’
pi naika ilo mamuk-komtaks kopa klaska,
‘but I didn’t get news to (all of) them,’
pi nawitka naika ilo komtaks alta
‘and in fact I don’t currently know’
kah klaska mitlait.
‘where they are.’
Kakwa,
‘So,’
naika ilo mamuk-komtaks kopa klaska.
‘I haven’t gotten news to them.’
Kopit ukuk [naika] siisim kopa maika.
‘That’s all of this report (by me) to you.’
Klahawiam maika, Pir Lshyun.
‘Goodbye to you, Pere Le Jeune.’
Naika Pit Nhinaskrit kopa Ashkat.
‘I’m Pete Nhinaskret at Esk’ét.’