Buckwheat Donahue on Ballad of Blasphemous Bill

Buckwheat’s Introduction to “The Ballad of Blasphemous Bill”

Chi Chaco vs. Sourdough: Understanding the Language of the North

"When you're listening to Blasphemous Bill Mackay, you should be aware of a couple of terms that run through this piece. Even though this slang is more than a hundred years old, it’s still part of Alaskan and Yukon lingo today."

"One word you’ll hear is Chi Chaco—as in ‘Chi Chaco coin.’ A Chi Chaco is someone who’s brand new to the territory. If you’ve never spent a winter up here, you’re a greenhorn. You could come up here for 30 summers in a row, but if you never tough out a winter, you’ll always be a Chi Chaco."

"But if you stay through a winter and survive it, then you’ve earned the right to call yourself a Sourdough. That’s the mark of a real veteran. You’ll hear both words—Chi Chaco and Sourdough—a couple of times in this piece, so now you know what they mean."