Why are there two different 'k's in mërèchi?

Well, yes, "because T.E. Hastely spelled it that way," sure. But in the case of 'k' and 'c', he was simply reflecting a distinction preserved in the native orthography. In fact, while the dialect he studied had merged the sounds represented by 'c' and 'k', the distinction was alive and well elsewhere: 'c' is labialized before front vowels, and 'k' is palatalized before back values, giving pronunciations as follows:

Spelling	Pronunciation (mërèchi)	After sound shift (mirexu)
kà	/kja/	/kje/
cà	/kwa/	/kwe/
kè	/kE/	/kE/
cè	/kwE/	/kwE/
ké	/ke/	/ki/
cé	/kwe/	/kwi/
kí	/ki/	/ku/
cí	/kwi/	/kwa/
kú	/kju/	/kjo/
cú	/ku/	/ko/
kó	/kjo/	/kja/
có	/ko/	/ka/
kò	/kjO/	/kjO/
cò	/kO/	/kO/

Note that the mirexu pronunciation which would have sound-shifted into */kwu/ dissimilates into /kwa/, giving a three-way distinction between cí /kwa/, có /ka/, and kó /kja/! Mirexu is also left without a /ke/ or /kju/ sound.

New words for 8/16/07

-dúr: to be anxious about X
yirdúr: to stress over everything
kàkesdür: to stress over nothing at all

-madü: an X which happens regularly or periodically
càlëmadü: menstrual period
yirdúria calëmàdüki: PMS
calëmadüdúria: anxiety about one's period

yirdúria màmi: anxiety of being a mom
mamiadúria: anxiety about motherhood
mamëdúria: anxiety over one's mother!

síri: moist, humid (but not necessarily càshi)
làri: arid, dessicated (but not necessarily kàli)
càshi: wet, dripping (but not necessarily síri)
kàli: dry, can be moist but not damp (not necessarily làri)