I have no idea why this particular thread, from over TWO YEARS ago,
stuck in my memory, but for the two who care, here's a follow-up.

Back in May 1998, Wirt wrote:

>Tim Ericson asks the probing question:
>
>> Thanks, Kemosabe!  (what *does* that mean, anyway?)
>
>It is a slangish transmogrification of the Spanish phrase, "¿Quien sabe?" (Who
>knows?). The speaker of that phrase, the Long Ranger's faithful sidekick, was
>Tonto, whose name is Spanish means idiot, fool, or stupid.

In playing the original "You Don't Know Jack" game (apparently published
jointly by Berkeley Systems and Jellyvision, Inc.) this evening, one question
concerned the meaning of the designation "kemo sabe."

The answer was:  it's a Navajo phrase, meaning "soggy shrub."

FWIW.

--Glenn