(1) kîtahtawê ê-wîkicik nêhiyawak, mihcêt mîkiwâhpa, mitâtaht ihtasiwak pêyakosâp, iskwêw pêyak; sipwêhtêwak, ê-nitonawâcik ayahciyiniwa, miskawâtwâwi ê-wî-kimotamawâcik otêmiyiwa. pêyak mistahi miyosiw awa oskinîkiw; êkwa awa iskwêw mîna êwako miyosiw. êkwa ôki mitâtaht oskinîkiwak, pêyak awa owîkimâkana ôhi kâ-miyosiyit iskwêwa kâ-wîcêwât. kîtahtawê kisiwâsiw; owîkimâkana pakamahwêw, ôma ka-ati-mâna-pimohtêcik, ôhi kâ-miyosiyit oskinîkiwa, "kôwîcimosin," ê-itât owîkimâkana. mayaw kâ-kitâpamâyit, ê-itêyihtahk, âsay pakamahwêw owîkimâkana, namôya ê-owîcimosiyit, konita êkosi ê-itêyihtahk. nîsosâp tahtwâw ê-nipât, mostoswa ê-nipahâcik, êkota ê-nâh-nawacîcik wiyâs, ê-mîcisocik âsay, oskinîkiwa ôhi pâskiswêwak; nipahêwak. mîna owîkimâkana pâskiswêwak, ê-kâhkwêyimât.

(1) Once where some Cree camped in a great camp, ten men and one over, one woman, set out to look for Blackfoot and when they found them to steal their horses. One of them, a youth, was very handsome, and the woman, too, was beautiful. And of those ten young men, of one she was the wife, that beautiful woman, whom he took with him. Then after a time he became ill-tempered; he beat his wife; as they thus marched along, he would say to his wife, of that handsome youth, “You have taken him for your lover.” As soon as it seemed to him that she was looking at the other, he would beat his wife, not that she really had a lover, but from idle suspicion. When he had been twelve nights on the march, and they had killed a buffalo and were preserving meat after their meal, they shot and killed that youth. And they shot and killed the man's wife, because he was jealous of her.

(2) êkosi kotak awa, osîma awa oskinîkiw kâ-nipahimiht, ôhi kâ-miyosiyit oskinîkiwa otinêw, ê-kisîpêkinât, ê-wawêsîhât. mistikwa cimatâw, êkota ê-ahât osîma. otinêw ôhi iskwêwa, mîna êwakoni ê-kâsîhkwênât; êkota ahêw, ôhi osîma ita kâ-pimisiniyit. êkosi pasikôw; ôhi nâpêwa kâ-nipahâyit owîkimâkaniyiwa itohtahêw.

(2) Then that other young man whose younger brother was he who had been slain, picked up the handsome youth, washed him, and put his finery on him. He set some sticks upright in the ground and there laid his younger brother. He took the woman too and washed her face; he laid her where his brother lay. Then he arose; he took to that place the man who had slain his wife.

(3) ômisi itêw: "wâpam êsi-miyosicik nisîm ôhi iskwêwa."

(3) Thus he spoke to him: “Look how beautiful are my brother and this woman.”

(4) êkosi awa kâ-nipahât ôhi oskinîkiwa namôya wî-wâpamêw, ê-pakwâtahk, ê-miyosiyit.

(4) Then he who had slain that youth would not look upon him, hating his beauty.

(5) "hâw, êkâ kâh-wî-wâpamacik, namôya tahki ka-kî-kisiwâsin." "ka-mihtâtâw kiwîkimâkan." "êkâ wiya mâto isko ka-takosiniyahk kîkinâhk." "kîspin nôhtaw kimâton, ka-nipahitin kâ-nipahat nisîm."

(5) “Very well, since you will not look upon them, you shall not be angry. You shall mourn for your wife. But do not weep until we reach home. If you weep before that, I shall kill you, who killed my brother.”

(6) êkosi itwêw awa oskinîkiw kâ-nipahimiht osîma.

(6) Thus spoke the youth whose brother had been slain.

(7) êkosi sipwêhtêwak, ê-nitonawâcik ayahciyiniwa. pêyakwâw ê-nipâcik, ê-wâpaniyik, wâpamêwak ita ê-wîkiyit ayahciyiniwa. êkosi ê-tipiskâyik itohtêwak. awa osîma kâ-nipahimiht oskinîkiwa, êwako itohtêw mîkiwâhpihk, ê-nipâyit ayahciyiniwa. otinêw misatimwa, ê-kimotamawât. êkosi owîcêwâkana ê-otihtât, mâh-miyêw.

(7) So they went from there to look for Blackfoot. After sleeping once on the way in the morning they saw some Blackfoot encamped. At nightfall they approached them. He whose brother was the youth that had been slain, went to the Blackfoot where they slept in their tent. He took horses, robbing them. When he reached his companions, he distributed them.

(8) "têhtapik; tapasîtân; kîwêtân," itwêw awa oskinîkiw.

(8) “Mount; let us flee; let us go home,” said that youth.

(9) tâpwê tapasîwak. êwako kapê-tipisk pimipayiwak. ê-wâpaniyik êwako âpihtâwi-kîsikâk takohtêwak ôhi ita kâ-pimisiniyit oskinîkiwa êkwa iskwêwa kâ-kî-nipahât ôhi.

(9) Accordingly they fled. All that night they rode. That noon they reached the place where lay the youth and the woman whom that man had slain.

(10) "hâw, wâpam kiwîkimâkan;" "kêyâpic miyosiw;" "awa oskinîkiw mîna êwako kêyâpic miyosiwak, âta ê-nipicik."

(10) “So now, behold your wife; she is still beautiful; she and this youth, still they are beautiful, though they have died.”

(11) êkosi awa kâ-nipahât pakwâtam ta-wâpamât, ê-mihtâtahk ê-kî-nipahât owîkimâkana. tahki ta-nôhtê-mâtôw; mâka kitahamâk ôhi oskinîkiwa.

(11) Then he who had killed them hated to look at them, regretting that he had killed his wife. He was always on the point of weeping, but that youth forbade it.

(12) "êkâya mâto." "ka-nipahitin, mâtoyini." "iyikohk takosiniyahko kîkinâhk, êkospîhk mâtoyini, namôya ka-nipahitin," itwêw awa awa oskinîkiw kâ-nipahimiht osîma oskinîkiwa.

(12) “Do not weep. I shall kill you, if you weep. Only when we reach home, then I shall not kill you, if you weep,” said the youth whose young brother had been slain.

(13) êkosi kîwêwak. nama isko ê-takosihkik wîkiwâhk, mostoswa wâpamêwak. pêyak nipahêwak, êkota ê-nâh-nawacîcik, ê-mîcisocik. ê-kîsi-mîcisocik, awa kâ-kî-nipahât owîkimâkana pasikôw; sipwêhtêw, ohpimê ê-nitawi-nahapit, ê-wayawîhtamâtot, ê-tapahtiskwêyit.¹

êkosi awa kotak oskinîkiw kâ-kî-itât, "mâtoyini, ka-nipahitin", kâ-kî-itwêt, wâpamêw ê-tapahtiskwêyiyit, ê-mâtoyit, ê-itêyimât. otinam pâskisikan, ê-nitawâpamât. ê-wâpamât, tâpwê mâtoyiwa. pâskiswêw; nipahêw.

(13) So they went home. Before they reached their camp, they came in sight of some buffalos. They killed one and stopped to preserve the meat and to eat. When they had eaten, he who had slain his wife arose; he went and sat down somewhere, weeping alone, with his head bowed in grief. Then that youth who had said to him, “If you weep, I will kill you,” saw him with bowed head and, as he thought, weeping. He took his gun and went to look at him. When he saw him, he was really weeping. He shot and killed him.

(14) "êkosi kâ-kî-ititân." "nimiywêyihtên, nisîm ê-kî-nipahat, êkwa ê-nipahitân." "â, oskinîkîtik, êkâya pisiskêyimihk." "êkota ta-pa-pimisin."

(14) “This is what I told you. I am glad to kill you who killed my brother. Come, young men, pay no attention to him. Let him, lie here.”

(15) êkosi sipwêhtêwak; kîwêwak. nîswâw ê-nipâcik, takohtêwak wîkiwâhk; misatimwa pêsiwêwak. êkwa ê-âcimocik ê-nâh-nipahitocik wiyawâw, namôya ayahciyiniwa ê-nipahikocik, mistahi owâhkômâkaniwâwa mihtâtikwak awa kâ-miyosit oskinîkiw awa mîna iskwêw kâ-nipahihcik.

(15) So they departed; they returned home. After two nights on the way they reached their camp; they brought home the horses. And when they told of how they had done killing among themselves, and that it was not the Blackfoot who had done killing among them, then greatly their relatives mourned for that handsome youth and for the woman who had been slain.

(16) êkosi êwako âcimowin.

(16) So goes this tale.

Footnotes

¹LB on êh-wayawîhtamâtot: A particle, wayawîhtah “going outside,” is here compounded with the verb; if correctly recorded, it is of unusual formation.