Wishram texts / by Edward Sapir ; together with Wasco tales and myths, collected by Jeremiah Curtin and edited by Edward Sapir.

  • Sapir, Edward, 1884-1939.
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Wishram texts / by Edward Sapir ; together with Wasco tales and myths, collected by Jeremiah Curtin and edited by Edward Sapir. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Yakima Reservation belong to two quite distinct linguistic stocks. The greater part (chiefly Yakima and Klickitat Indians) are speakers of Sahaptin dialects, the minority (Wishram, more properly Wbcxam, Indians; their own name for themselves is Ila^xluit) speak that dialect of Upper Chinookan that is illustrated by the present texts; before their removal they occupied the northern bank of the Columbia about The Dalles. The number of the latter was given by Powell as 150 for the year 1885-86. Ac- cording to the information supplied by Pete McGuff, the number of Wishram individuals still able to speak their own language is about 150, this estimate including those that regularly live at the fishing village of Wishram on the Columbia. The more numerous Wascos (238 accord- ing to Powell) of Warm Spring Reservation, Oregon, speak the same language. As is to be expected from the decided preponderance of Sahaptin Indians in Yakima Reservation, most of the Wishrams speak, or at least have a smattering of, Klickitat, as well as their own lan- guage and the Chinook jargon; very few, however, if any, of the Sahaptin-speaking Indians, can also speak Wishram, the language having a reputation for great difficulty, chiefly, it is probable, because of its harsh pho- netics. The bulk of the linguistic material obtained in the field (I, I [except last two episodes], 2-10, 12-16; II, 1-5; IV, I, 2) was dictated by Louis Simpson (Indian name Me^- nait), Pete McGuff serving as interpreter; Pete McGuff himself was the narrator of most of the remainder (I, 11 ; II, 6-10; III); while Louis’s brother Tom Simpson (In- dian name Ta^xcani), the since deceased head of the Shaker Church in Yakima Reservation, was the source of two very short texts (I, i [variant of second episode]; II, 12). The seven texts already referred to as having