TIME AND NAMES.
We have ten months for one year, and four seasons, as follows:—
1st month: Caw-cha-witch.
2nd month: Nan-ah-wetch.
3rd month: Nachk-sa-witch.
4th month: Chaw-na-ah-wertch.
5th month: Mere-i-yaw.
6th month: Cauh-chow.
7th month: Chere-wer-sere.
8th month: Cana-wal-a-ture.
9th month: Cher-mick.
10th month: Wealth-ah-wah.
Spring: Key-atch-ker.
Summer: Kis-sa-no.
Autumn: Ka-yock-ka-muck.
Winter: Cah-mah.
We lose time in our count each year, so we throw in or stop counting
until the time comes around to start again. The Klamath Indians are
good in counting and can count up into the thousands. We count ten,
and ten hundreds for one thousand. All of our counting is done by
whole numbers; we have no fractions. All the women have to count and
count closely in weaving baskets in order to make the designs come out
correctly. We have astronomers, called Haw-getch-neens, and they keep
close observation of the sun, which we call Ca-chine-wan-now-slay. Day
we call Ca-chine; the moon, Nas-cha-wan-now-sloy, this means the night
sun.
English names. Klamath Indian.
An old woman Ca-par-a
Young women Way-yun
Little girl Wer-yes
Baby Oaks
Boat or canoe Yacht
House Och-lum-ilth
Come in the house Och-la-may
How do you do my friend I-ya-quay Nec-tor-mer
Me or I Neck
Yes A
Fire Metch
Mother Calk
Father Tat, or Tatus
Grandfather Peach
Grandmother Gooch
Old man Ma-we-mer
Young man Pay-girk
Large boy Che-na-mouse
Small boy May-wah
Mother-in-law Cha-win
Father-in-law Par-ah
Sister-in-law Netch-nah
Brother-in-law Weitch-tay, or Tay
Uncle Jim
Aunt Tool
Klamath river Health-kick-wer-roy
Redwood timber Keilth
Mermaids Squer-tuck
Silver Salmon Nep-puoy
Steelhead Salmon Squalth
King Salmon Ah-pus
Hook-bill Salmon Cha-goon
Grizzly Bear Nick-witch
Sea or Ocean Pis-calth
The Bald Hills we call Cho-lu, contains many hundreds of acres of open
land, high up where one can see as far as the eye can reach in all
directions.
There is another species of the Salmon caught in the Klamath river, the
English name of which I do not know but we call it Ra-gawk.
In the year 1850 my people had never heard of the present white race
and we were then making our fires with two pieces of wood, one the
willow and the other of hardwood.
My mother and father never learned to talk English, so I talk to them
only in our own language.