Additional Ethnographic Items in the Richard Madox and John Drake Accounts
In the second deposition of John Drake, cousin to Francis Drake (see below, App. I), there is no new information. There is, however, independent corroboration of the weeping and self-laceration referred to repeatedly in the World Encompassed account. The natives are mentioned as having bows and arrows and as being naked, both of which items are mentioned by Fletcher. The Indians’ sadness at the departure of the English, as remarked by John Drake, is a further verification of Fletcher’s observations as presented in some detail in The World Encompassed.
The brief Madox account is of particular interest since a number of words in the Indian language, a song, and the episode of the crowning are mentioned. The linguistic items are given as follows:
| Cheepe bread | Nocharo mu tuch me not |
| Huchee kecharoh sit downe | Hioghe a king |
As Elmendorf and I have already pointed out, the vocabulary may be assigned conclusively to the Coast Miwok language.105 Cheepe, “bread,” is equivalent to modern Coast Miwok tcipa, “acorn bread.” This word alone is the clearest possible evidence that Drake’s Indian acquaintances were Coast Miwok. Huchee kecharoh, “sit down,” probably is an incorrect translation of the phrase. The closest approximation in modern Coast Miwok is atci kotcáto, “step into the house,” and hoki kotcádo, “go into the house” (tc is phonetically equivalent to the sound ch as in chin). It is possible to explain these differently stated meanings of these phonetically similar phrases as owing to incorrect inductions of meaning under specific circumstances. Kelly’s Coast Miwok ethnographic informants stated that, according to old custom, whenever people came to a house they were asked to walk in and were offered a seat in the rear of the house, and food was placed before them. In some such situation, particularly if the English had occasion to be often in the Indian village, they may have repeatedly heard the invitation, “step into the house.” Likewise, the phrase Nocharo mu, “touch me not,” may have been translated by Madox (or his informant) only vaguely, since it represents a situation rather than a concrete object, which would be less liable to misinterpretation. Modern Coast Miwok offers a close parallel in the form of notcáto mu, which may be literally translated “stay over there,” or “stay away” (notca, “farther,” “yonder”).
Madox’s word for king, Hioghe, is similar to that given by Fletcher (Hioh or Hyoh), except that the ghe ending is unusual. From the words of the Indian song given by Madox (see below), in which heigh (i.e., hai) appears, it might be suspected that the gh is silent; yet why is the terminal e present? It may be that if Hioghe were exactly similar phonetically to Hioh, there would not be a terminal e in Hioghe. Thus Madox’s’ Hioghe may indicate a terminal sound (short or weak e?) and therefore be close to modern Coast Miwok hoipa (and Sierra Miwok haiapo). That the gh might be an indication of the p sound is possible, or, again, it could represent Madox’s attempt to render a weak or indefinite labial sound which was imperfectly remembered by his informant. Too close a phonetic transcription of an Indian language by Elizabethan Englishmen should not be expected—there was little standardization in English spelling106 at that time. The foregoing is not advanced as an argument to show that the terminal “e” was sounded, but is merely presented as a possibility. Elizabethan English commonly used an unpronounced terminal “e.” The song of the Indians “when they worship god” is given by Madox as Hodeli oh heigh oh heigh ho hodali oh. No Coast Miwok or Pomo song on record accords exactly with that given by Madox, although some are quite similar. For example, a Coast Miwok Suya song transcribed by Kelly is a repetitive line Yo ya he yo he o. Other examples from the Coast Miwok are not available, but some Pomo ceremonial songs may be cited. Stephen Powers107 gives a Sanel Pomo song:
Hel-lel-li-ley
Hel-lel-lo
Hel-lel-lu
E. M. Loeb108 gives several Pomo songs which are associated with the Kuksu or ghost ceremony:
1. He yo he yo he yo
He yoha eheya ye
To ya he yo ho ho
2. Tali, tali, yo yo weya yo, weya yo, ha hi he ya he hotsaii ya hi ho.
3. He ha le me, le lu hi ma humane, hu...
Other Pomo songs used in ceremonies are given by Loeb:109
1. Ū ū hulai leli ha ha. 2. He he la le ha hi hi hi, ya ya ya, hu wa! 3. Yo yo hale e he na gagoyá ō he he! 4. Ho yu ko, he he, a ha a a. Hi ye ko, lai ye ko, He tsi ye. 5. Yo ho yo ho yaho, he yo ho waha.
These examples show how generally similar are the Coast Miwok110 and Pomo ceremonial songs of today to the song of 1579 given by Madox. Here again an exact correspondence should not be expected, since it is not known whether the song given by Madox was one associated with a particular ceremonial occurrence, nor is it known how changeable these songs are. And again, in the time that has passed and in the changing course of circumstances since 1579, some exactness has almost inevitably been sacrificed. Madox’s statement that the natives sang “one dauncing first wh his handes up, and al ye rest after lyke ye prest and people” verifies Fletcher’s description of the singing and dancing at the time of the great ceremony of June 26.