  We present results from a spectroscopic search for massive companions to
dust-making Galactic WC9 stars as a step to testing the paradigm that dust
formation in these systems requires colliding winds to produce over densities.
We find evidence for OB companions to the WC9 stars WR 59 and WR 65, but not WR
121 or WR 117. We identify lines of N III-V and possibly N II in the spectrum
of WR 88, one of the few Galactic WC9 stars which do not make circumstellar
dust, and suggest that WR 88 is a transitional WN-WC9 object and less evolved
than the other WC9 stars. On the other hand, the possible identification of a
strong emission line at 4176A in the spectrum of WR 117 with Ne I suggests that
this star is more evolved than other WC9 stars studied.
