then brought in, and for the first time the French, or rather the Canadian
and Missouri patois of the French, was introduced. The principal seat of
the company being at Astoria, not only a large addition of Chinook words
was made, but a considerable number was taken from the Chihalis, who
immediately bordered that tribe on the north,--each owning a portion of
Shoalwater Bay. The words adopted from the several languages were,
naturally enough, those most easily uttered by all, except, of course,
that objects new to the natives found their names in French or English,
and such modifications were made in pronunciation as suited tongues
accustomed to different sounds. Thus the gutturals of the Indians were
softened or dropped; and the _f_ and _r_ of the English and French, to
them unpronounceable, were modified into _p_ and _l_. Grammatical forms
were reduced to their simplest expression, and variations in mood and
tense conveyed only by adverbs or by the context. The language continued
to receive additions, and assumed a more distinct and settled meaning,
under the Northwest and Hudson's Bay companies, who succeeded Astor's
party, as well as through the American settlers in Oregon. Its advantage
was soon perceived by the Indians, and the Jargon became to some extent a
means of communication between natives of different speech, as well as
between them and the whites. It was even used as such between Americans
and Canadians. It was at first most in vogue upon the lower Columbia and
the Willamette, whence it spread to Puget Sound, and with the extension of
trade, found its way far up the coast, as well as the Columbia and Fraser
rivers; and there are now few tribes between the 42d and 57th parallels of
latitude in which there are not to be found interpreters through its
medium. Its prevalence and easy acquisition, while of vast convenience to
traders and settlers, has tended greatly to hinder the acquirement of the
original Indian languages; so much so, that except by a few missionaries
and pioneers, hardly one of them is spoken or understood by white men in
all Oregon and Washington Territory. Notwithstanding its apparent poverty