This word, in the “Chinook jargon,” means worthless. An early resident of Oregon has told the writer that an Indian, describing any one as “cultus,” would move his shoulders, sink his body, and execute an indescribable pantomime. Also, he would disparage the value of a gift he brought, saying it was “cultus.”
1855. The eggs were examined, pronounced cultus, and found no sale.—Weekly Oregonian, July 28.
1857. Davis and Monnastes advertise in the Oregon Weekly Times that they can do “all manner of wrought and cast work! From a Steam Engine and Boiler down to Shoeing a “Cultus” Cayuse Horse!”
1884. The Cultus Codfish, ophiodon elongatus, is mentioned in the Report of the U.S. Fishery Commission, p. 267. (N.E.D.)
