as told by Tom Charles
transcribed from the Klallam Language by Harmony Arakawa
| nc’áxʷ yaʔ | One time |
| kʷi stáyis cə ʔásxʷ | the seals went upriver |
| ʔaʔ cə nəxʷyéy’əč ʔiyá ʔaʔ x̣ʷáyəŋ. | to the bay at Bentinck Island |
| níɬ č̕ suʔtáyis cə ʔásxʷ ʔiʔ | the seals went up in the bay and |
| tsnə́səŋ ʔaʔ cə | they were attacked by |
| qɬúm… q̕aʔyəɬúməčən, ŋə́n’ q’ɬúməčən | blackfish, plenty of blackfish |
| ʔiʔ níɬ suʔ… x̣ʷčatəŋ cəw̕níɬ ʔaʔyásxʷ. | and so they killed the seals. |
| húʔ č̕ sƛ̕éʔs ti shiyáʔs | When they wanted to go |
| sqaʔwíyəŋ ʔaʔ cə nəxʷyéy̕əč, | outside of the bay, |
| ʔiʔ sqiʔám̕, ʔáw̕. | they couldn’t, no. |
| mán̕ č̕ ʔuʔ ŋən̕ q’ɬuməčən. | There were a lot of blackfish. |
| níɬ č̕ suʔq̕ʷčútəŋs cə ʔaʔiyaʔs kʷi ŋut. | Then those there were slaughtered to eat. |
| ʔiʔ xʷənʔáŋ č̕ kʷaʔčaʔ | And it was like that |
| ʔiʔ ʔuʔtxʷəncəqʷcə ƛ’ɬaɬc cə stúyəkʷəns | the ocean red with the blood of |
| cə ʔásxʷ. mán̕ č̕ yaʔ ʔuʔ ŋən̕ ʔásxʷ | the seals. There were many seals |
| q’ʷúynəŋ ʔaʔ cə q’ɬúməčən. | that were killed by the blackfish. |
| ʔáwənə nəsx̣čít, nəsx̣čít | I didn’t know |
| kʷaʔ ʔuʔəstúʔŋəts yaʔ čtə | what was happening |
| šxʷxʷənəŋs ʔaʔ cə | because it was said by the |
| ʔuʔ nəsyaʔcústəŋ yaʔ ʔaʔ nə́c’uʔ kʷi ʔəsʔáyəxʷ. | the one of my elders that told me. |
| níɬ suʔhúys x̣čtín̕ ʔaʔ cə. | That’s all I know about that. |
Tom Charles Sr., a native speaker of Klallam from the Becher Bay Reserve across the Strait of Juan de Fuca on Vancouver Island in Canada, moved to Elwha to participate in the language revitalization program.
Harmony Arakawa is a teacher for the Klallam Language Program.