"Kah-tah si-ah ko-pa Frazer chuck?" would be, "How far is it to the Frazer river?"
"Yutes kut klat-a-wa la-pe-a," "Only a short walk." If you wish to say good-morning or good-evening to an Indian you say:
"Mi-ka tik-eh mam-ook?" "Do you want to work?"
"Kon-si dat-la spose mi-ka mam-ook kon-a-way o-koke stick?" "What do you want for cutting that lot of wood?"
The numerals are ikt (one), mox (two), klone (three), lock-it (four), kwin-num (five), tagh-kum (six), sin-na mox (seven), sto te-kin (eight), twaist (nine), tah-tlum (ten), tah-tlum pee-ikt (eleven), tah-tlum pee-mox (twelve), mox-tah tlum (twenty), klone tah-tlum (thirty), ikt tali-kamo-nux (one hundred), tah-tlum to-ka mo-mik (one thousand), etc. It is often difficult to get accurate information from these Indians as to distances or time, as they have little idea of English miles or of the measurements of time, and very few of them own or know how to read a watch or clock. Under Pean's tutelage I learned rapidly, and was soon able to carry on quite an interesting conversation by the aid of the little dictionary.
By the light of a rousing camp-fire I cut a large quantity of cedar boughs and made for myself a bed a foot deep. On this I spread my sleeping-bag, crawled into it and slept the sleep of the weary hunter. Pean cut only a handful of boughs, spread them near the fire, threw his coat over them, and lay down. Then he folded his two blankets and spread them over him, mostly on the side away from the fire, leaving that part of his body next to the fire exposed so as to catch its heat direct. During the night, whenever he turned over, he would shift his blankets so as to keep them where most needed. At frequent intervals he would get up and replenish the fire from the large supply of dry wood we had provided. The night was bitter cold, at this high altitude, and snow fell at frequent intervals. A raw wind blew, and the old man must have suffered from the cold to which he exposed himself.
There are few of these savages that understand and appreciate fully the value of a good bed when camping. In fact, many white hunters and mountaineers go on long camping trips with insufficient bedding, simply because they are too lazy to carry enough to keep them comfortable. I would rather get into a good warm, soft bed at night without my supper, than eat a feast and then sleep on the hard ground, without covering enough to keep me warm. After a hard day's work a good bed is absolutely necessary to prepare one for the labor and fatigue of the following day.