Alphabetical Vocabularies of the Clallum and Lummi

Alphabetical Vocabularies of the Clallum and Lummi

The tribe of Clallams, as they are usually called by the residents of Washington Territoryby the neighboring Indians named S'klalam, and denominated by themselves Ns-kli yminhabit the southern shore of Fuca Strait, from about the Okho River on the west, to Port Townshend on the east, bordering in the first direction on the Makahs, sometimes called Classets (the Klaizzart of Jewitt), a tribe of the Nootka family who inhabit Cape Flattery, and in the other on the Chemakum, like themselves a branch of the Selish, though a yet more remote one. Their language is the same, with some dialectic differences only, as that of the Songhus and Sokes of Vancouver Island opposite. It is this which has been referred to by Drs. Scouler and Latham as the "Nusdalum," undoubtedly, in the first instance, a misprint. The Clallam differs materially from the other Selish languages of the Puget Sound country, though less from the Lummi than the rest. Its noticeable feature is the frequent occurrence of the nasal ng. The Lummi tribe live on the lower part of a river heading in the Cascade Range, north-east of Mount Baker, and emptying by two mouths, one into Bellingham Bay, the other into the Gulf of Georgia, the upper waters of which are inhabited by the Nook-sahks (Nk-sk). They are, however, intruders here, their former country having been a part of the group of islands between the[Pg vi] continent and Vancouver Island, to which they still occasionally resort. Their own name is Nkhlum-mi. The Skagits call them Nkh-lsh, and some of the other tribes H-lum-mi. Their dialectic affinities are rather with the Sannitch of the south-eastern end of Vancouver Island than with any of the Indians of the main land, and the two probably at one period formed a single tribe, which more remotely was connected with the Clallams and Songhus. The Simiahmoo (Si-mi--mu), a small remnant, living on the bay of that name, north of them, belong likewise to this group. On the south the Lummi adjoin the Samish and other bands of the Skagits, who in language approach the Nisquallies. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 22228
Author: Gibbs, George
Release Date: Aug 3, 2007
Format: eBook
Language: English