Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/130

88 working on the boats and about Vancouver, while troubles were going on in the upper country.

And as another matter of interest in Indian life, part of the Chinook Dictionary is given in the form of conversational phrases. The "Chinook Jargon" is a made up language, composed of some Indian words picked up by Capt. Cook, and other navigators, to which was added many words of the Hudson Bay Company, and a still larger number by the Protestant missionaries. It was the sole means of conversation with the Indians for many years, and is still used to some extent with the older members of the different tribes, having been in use all over the country west of the Rocky mountains all the way up to Alaska.