(1) êwako sâkahikan ê-misâk, nimitaw isi wîkiwak opwâsîmôwak, êkota ê-mihcêticik.

(1) To the south of that great lake dwelt some Assiniboine, and they were many.

(2) kîtahtawê pêyak awa nâpêw ocawâsimisa âhkosiyiwa. âta ê-atoskêmot, ê-nanâtawihimiht, ê-tipahikâkêt otêma mîna wîkiwâw mîna otayiwinisiwâwa, tahki mistahi âhkosiyiwa. piyisk kahkiyaw mêstinam otayâna; mîna pâskisikan mêkiw, "pitanê pimâtisit nitawâsimis!" ê-itêyihtah. mâka namôya kî-miyw-âyâyiwa. piyisk nipiw awa awâsis. êkosi êkwa kitimâkisiw awa nâpêw mîna awa iskwêw, pisisik ê-mâtocik, ê-mawîhkâtâcik otawâsimisiwâwa, piyisk kinwêsk.

(2) Then at one time a certain man's child fell sick. Although he employed medicine-men to have the child doctored, and paid out his horse and his tent and his clothes, yet the child remained very sick. At last he had spent all his belongings; he gave also his gun, thinking, “Would that my child might live!” But they could not get the child well. Finally that child died. And so then that man and woman were poor, and they were always weeping, lamenting their child, for a long time.

(3) kîtahtawê kîkisêpâ ê-wâpahtahk ê-wî-wâpaniyik, sipwêhtêw awa nâpêw, "nikwatis nika-papâ-ma-mâton," ê-itêyihtah. sipwêhtêw, mostoswayânisa ê-akwanahot, ê-mamêhkocinêt. nama kêkway oskotâkay; nama kêkway otâsa; piko otâsiyâna, êkwa omaskisina, êkwa ocahpihcisa, êkota ê-asiwatêyik êkota môhkomân ê-apisâsiniyik. êkosi isi sipwêhtêw awa opwâsîmôw, ê-sîkâwit. wâhyawês ê-ayât, ati-mâtôw. êkwa ê-pa-pimohtêt, ôma kâ-misâk sâkahikan êkota sisonê ê-pimi-ma-mâtot, piyisk wâhyawês ayâw. namôya wâpahtam mîkiwâhpa.

(3) Then early one morning, when he saw that day was at hand, that man went off, thinking, “Off by myself somewhere I shall go about and weep.” He went away, wrapping himself in a buffalo hide, without his inner garments. He wore no coat; no leggings; he had only his breechcloth and his moccasins, and his pouch, which contained a small knife. In this guise the Assiniboine set out, because he was in mourning. When he had gone a ways, he wept as he went on. And, as he walked along, weeping by the shore of that big lake, at last he had gone quite far. He could no longer see the tipis.

(4) êkwa pôni-mâtôw, ê-ay-ispatinâyik êkota ê-itohtêt, "êkotê ispatinâhk nika-ay-apin," ê-itêyihtah. pîhtaw ê-astâhikot ayîsiyiniwa, êkwa ê-nitawâpamikot, "kiyâm wâpamitwâwi ayahciyiniwak, nika-nipahikwak, iyikohk kâ-mihtâtak nicawâsimis," ê-itêyihtah. êwako ê-wî-ati-âmaciwêt, namôya mistahi ê-ispatinâyik, awasita kotak mistahi ispatinâyiw, êkota kâ-wâpamât, ôma itê kâ-ôh-ayât ohci, ê-ati-âmaciwêyit ayîsiyiniwa, wâpowêyân ê-kikasâkêyit, pâskisikan ê-tahkonamiyit, ê-ati-nîpawiyit mâna, ê-nanâtawâpiyit. êkwa wîsta ka-kitâpamêw. namôya wâpamik. piyisk kêkâc ê-kîsi-âmaciwêyit, nahapiyiwa, ê-ati-pimitâcimoyit. ê-kîsi-âmaciwêyit, êkota pimisiniyiwa, kâ-wâpamât itâpâkan ê-ayîtisinamiyit, ê-wî-kakwê-wâpamâyit awiya, itê kâ-wîkicik êkotê isi ê-isi-itâpiyit. mâka namôya nôkwaniyiwa mîkiwâhpa, awasâyihk ê-wîkiwiht.

(4) Then he ceased weeping, and went to where there were some hills, thinking, “There on a hilltop I shall sit.” Now that he had come here, he began to be frightened by the thought of Blackfoot, who might come and see him, but he thought, “If the Blackfoot see me, let them kill me, so much do I grieve for my child.” As he was on the way, climbing a smaller hill, there rose beyond it another very high one, and there he saw, from the place he had reached, a man climbing up, a man wearing a blanket-robe and holding a gun, who stood still every little ways to reconnoitre. Then he, in his turn, kept watching the other. The other did not see him. At last, when the other had nearly reached the top of his hill, he squatted down and went on, crawling. When he had reached the summit, there he lay, and he saw him turning a spy-glass this way and that, trying to get sight of someone, as he kept looking out in the direction where the Assiniboine were encamped. But the tipis were not visible, for they were camping behind a rise in the land.

(5) piyisk kinwêsk kitâpamêw. kîtahtawê kâ-wâpamât ê-tapahtiskwêyiyit, namôya ê-nanâtawâpiyit. "miyâmay ê-nipât," itêyihtam, êkwa kâ-itohtêt. ita kâ-kî-ati-âmaciwêyit, êkota ati-ay-itohtêw. "mâskôc ayahciyiniw, ahpô êtokê opwâsîmôw," itêyihtam. ita kâ-kî-nahapiyit ê-ihtât, kâ-wâpamât ê-tapahtiskwêsiniyit. namôya nisitawêyimêw. namôya wâpamêw ohkwâkaniyiw. êkwa pêyâhtik pimohtêw, "mâskôc pêkopayici, nika-nipahik," ê-itêyihtahk. piyisk kisiwâk otihtêw. ê-kitâpamât, kâ-wâpamât ê-kitôwêhkwâmiyit. piyisk otihtêw. ê-kitâpamât, êkota pâskisikan astêyiw êkwa itâpâkan. êkwa ê-pakwahtêhoyit wâpahtam, maskisina ê-sêkwasoyit. ê-kitâpamât, ocihcîyiwa ômisi isi ê-nipâyit, "ê-aspiskwêsimot ocihciya," kâ-wâpahtahk ê-kâh-kîskicihcêyit. "ayahciyiniw êcika awa!" itêyihtam.

(5) At last he had watched him a long time. Presently he saw him lower his head and no longer look about. “Doubtless he is sleeping,” he thought, and started to walk in that direction. He kept walking along where the other had climbed to the hilltop. “Probably he is a Blackfoot, and yet for all I know, he may be an Assiniboine,” he thought. When he came to where the other had squatted down, he could see him lying with lowered head. He could not tell who he was. He could not see his face. He walked carefully, thinking, “If by chance he should wake up, he would kill me.” At last he got near to him. When he looked at him, he saw that he was sound asleep and snoring. At last he came right up to him. When he looked at him, there lay a gun and a spy-glass. And he saw that he had extra moccasins tied in his belt. When he looked at him, as he slept there with his hands like this, “He is resting his head on his hands,” he thought, and then he saw that he had some fingers cut off. He concluded, “And so he is a Blackfoot.”

(6) ê-nanâtawâpit, kâ-wâpamât asiniya. asêhtêw, ê-otinât asiniya. êkwa ê-itohtêt ita kâ-nîpawiyit, ê-nahikâpawistawât, ostikwâniyihk ê-pakamahwât asiniya ohci, nipahêw. êkosi pâskisikan otinam, mîna itâpâkan, oskotâkayiyiw, omaskisiniyiwa, otâsiyiwa, mîna kaskitêw, mîna môsw-asiniya.

(6) He looked about him and saw a stone. He walked back and took the stone. Then he went there where the other had stood, and took a good footing close to him, and hit him on the head with the stone, and killed him. hen he took the gun, the spy-glass, his coat, his moccasins, his leggings, and the powder and bullets.

(7) êkosi kîwêw. êkâ ê-nisitawêyimât, "mâskôc ahpô nêhiyaw nipisci-nipahâw," ê-itêyihtahk, êkâ kâ-ôh-manisamwât wêstakayiwa. êkosi kîwêw. kêkâc âpihtâ-kîsikâyiw; osâm kinwêsk nôcihtâw, ôhi kâ-wî-kakwê-nipahât. êkoyikohk kêkâc ê-âpihtâ-kîsikâyik, takohtêw wîkiwâhk, êkwa ê-âcimot ôma, kâ-isi-wâpamât ayîsiyiniwa, asiniya ohci ê-pakamahwât.

(7) Then he went home. Because he did not know who the other was, and thought, “Perhaps I have by mistake slain a Cree,” was why he did not cut off the other's scalp. So he went home. It was almost noon; he had been too long killing that man. When it was almost noon, he reached their camp, and then he told of how he had seen a man and killed him with a stone.

(8) "ninipahâw ê-micimihkwâmit." "êwakoni ôhi kâ-pêtâyân otayâna." "'mâskôc ahpô nêhiyaw,' ê-itêyimak, êkâ kâ-ôh-manisamwak ostikwân," itwêw.

(8) I killed him while he slept. These things which I am bringing are his possessions. Because I thought of him, 'perhaps he is Cree,' is why I did not take his scalp,” he said.

(9) ê-kiskinôhahk anima ispatinâw, ispayiwak ê-têhtapicik kotakak nâpêwak. ê-wâpamâcik, nisitawêyimêwak ayahciyiniwa. êwakonik manisamwêwak wêstakâyiwa, ê-kîwêhtatâcik. ê-takohtêcik, êkoyikohk êkwa miywêyihtamwak opwâsîmôwak, êkwa ê-nîmihitocik, ê-miyawâtahkik ê-nipahâcik ayahciyiniwa.

(9) When he had pointed out that hill, other men mounted and rode there. When they saw him, they recognized him as a Blackfoot. These men now cut off his scalp and took it home. When they arrived, the Assiniboine were glad, and danced, rejoicing because they had killed a Blackfoot.

(10) êkosi êwako.

(10) So much for this.

(11) kîtahtawê nitawi-sipwêhtêwak, êkwa awa ayahciyiniw ita kâ-pimisihk kâ-nipahiht, kîkway têhtahêwak.¹

êkwa ôma ita kâ-kî-pimisihk asiskiy ê-manisahkik, tâpiskôc ayîsiyiniw ê-pimisihk êkosi ê-isi-manisahkik; êkwa awa opwâsîmôw ita kâ-ôh-wâpamât ôhi ayahciyiniwa, êkota mîna asiskiy ê-ati-manisahkik, tâpiskôc ita ê-pimohtêt ayîsiyiniw ê-isi-manisahkik asiskiy. ita mîna ê-ati-nakît mâna, êkota ê-manisahkik asiskiy, piyisk ê-otihtât ôhi ayahciyiniwa. êkwa mîna asiniya kâ-otinât, êkota mîna ê-manisahkik asiskiy. ita ê-tahkoskêt, êkwa mîna ita ê-nîpawit, ôhi ê-pakamahwât ayahciyiniwa, êkosi ê-isi-kiskinawâcihtâcik. ôhi ayahciyiniwa ita kâ-pimisiniyit, ita ê-itiskwêsihk ita kâ-masinahikâsot, êkota ê-ahâcik ôhi asiniya. mâmaskâc êkwêyâk ê-isi-wâpahtahkik ôhi ayahciyiniwa, ê-nipâyit, ê-mosci-pakamahomiht asiniya ohci. êwako ohci kâ-ôh-masinahwâcik, "kinwêsk ta-nôkwan," ê-itêyihtahkik. tâpwê kinwês kê-nôkwaniyiw êwako.

(11) Presently they set out for that place, and where that Blackfoot lay who had been slain, they put him up on something. Then they cut away some of the ground where he had lain, cutting it like a man lying there; and there whence that Assiniboine had seen that Blackfoot, there too they went cutting the ground, carving it out like a man walking. And there where he had stopped on his way, they cut the ground, and finally where he had reached the Blackfoot. And where he had taken the stone, there too they carved out the ground. Where he stepped, and also where he stood as he killed the Blackfoot, even so they marked it. Where the Blackfoot had lain, there where the head of the image lay, there they placed that boulder. It wonderfully resembled their actual experience, the sleeping Blackfoot being struck by a stone held in the hand. The reason they made the image of him was that they thought, “For a long time let it be visible.” And truly, for a long time this thing was to be seen.

(12) êkoyikohk ê-iskwâk âcimowin.

(12) This is the end of the story.

Footnotes

¹LB on kîkwa: Word-avoidance, têsipicikan: “scaffold”.