Franz Boas

Kathlamet Texts Franz Boas

These myths and tales were collected between 1890 and 1894 - a time when the Kathlamet dialect was spoken by only three persons, and originally published by the Smithsonian Institution in 1901. This book contains the texts and their translations into English, followed by a grammar and dictionary of the language, which contains a comparison of all the known dialects of the Chinookan stock. The Kathlamet is that dialect of the Upper Chinook which was spoken farthest down the river. Its territory extended from Astoria on the south side and Grey's Harbor on the north side of the river to Rainier.