Skookum

They took her orders and followed her blind.

She was high you Shookum chief.

She told the Bucks to make a camp for me and to take care of my dogs, and they did too.

And they knew enough not to get away with as much as a moccasin lace of my outfit.

They took her orders and followed her blind.

She was high you Shookum chief.

She told the bucks to make a camp for me and to take care of my dogs, and they did too.

And they knew enough

[tense music]

In Chinook Jargon, Skookum means strong, powerful, something that does not yield.

Older still, in the languages beyond the Jargon, it carried another meaning: a spirit of the timber, a presence in the mountains that was not quite human and not quite safe.

Across Washington and the rest of the Northwest, the word is stamped on the map.

Skookum Meadows, Skookumchuck Lakes, creeks, and ridges that sit in a country where the canopy never fully lets go of the dark.

When you hear the word Skookum, the original meaning didn't necessarily mean wild men.

It seemed to be a catch-all.

Evil spirits were called Skookums.

"'They just fade away and die under the responsibility.'" Did you ever see one go wrong with a sensible name, like Cassier, Sawash, or Husky? No, sir.

Take a look at Shookum here.

He's...

Snap! The lean brute flashed up, the white teeth just missing Mason's throat.

You will, will you? A shrewd clout behind the ear with the butt of a dog whip stretched the animal in the snow, quivering softly, a yellow slaver dripping from its fangs.

As I was saying, just look at Shookum here.

He's got the spirit.

Bet you he eats Carmen before the week's out.

They took her orders and followed her blind.

She was high you Shookum chief.

She told the Bucks to make a camp for me and to take care of my dogs, and they did too.

And they knew enough not to get away with as much

ever see one go wrong with a sensible name, like Cassier, Sawash, or Husky? No, sir.

Take a look at Shookum here.

He's...

Snap!

The lean brute flashed up, the white teeth just missing Mason's throat.

You will, will you? A shrewd clout behind the ear with the butt of a dog whip stretched the animal in the snow, quivering softly, a yellow slaver dripping from its fangs.

As I was saying, just look at Shookum here.

He's got the spirit.

Well, see, my family, um, were Norwegian and German settlers ever since the logging community really took off in the Olympic Rainforest.

And in my family, there's been reports, and then I was also good friends and, uh, with the Makahs and the Suquamish tribes, and they have had stories for years about, um, uh, the men in the mountains or the tree men or Sasquatch or Skookums.

Skookum's-

Right

Did you ever see one go wrong with a sensible name, like Cassier, Sawash, or Husky? No, sir.

Take a look at Shookum here.

He's...

Snap! The lean

brute flashed up, the white teeth just missing Mason's throat.

You will, will you? A shrewd clout behind the ear with the butt of a dog whip stretched the animal in the snow, quivering softly, a yellow slaver dripping from its fangs.

As I was saying, just look at Shookum

here.