94 OMAHA AND PONKA LETTERS. 
how you are, O brother-in-law, Black Elk. I remember you, too, O 
Black Elk. I have no relations. I remember you always, and also 
your wife. Send me a red Catlinite pipe very soon. When you visit 
my Dakota relations, let me know whether they give you any horses.) 
The woman whom I said that I have married is the younger wife of 
(the late) Big Elk. I married her. I have her. 
MA*TCU-HIX-QTI TO LENUGA-SABE, AT PONKA AGENCY, IND. T. 
JANUARY, 1881. 
ry, i: . oy: ~ . , , . ye Vv / f, 
Maja” ke weéahideé’qti ¢c¢u att, Nictide ké aa™b¢a att, 
Land the ata great distance here Ihave Missouri the faban- Lhave 
(ig. ob.) come, River (g.ob.) doned it come 
Isa” yati maja” eyai ké’ya. Edada® ¢ita™i té ata” ¢icta™ Mii, 
Santee land their atthe. What they work the how they fin- if, 
long ish it 
s bes , he / , / 
cak{ ti minke aha", eb¢éga® ¢a™ja, nié at‘a™ téga®-na*-ma” 
Iwill reach you again ! (in so- J think. it though, pain Ihave apt atin- I use, 
liloquy) tervals 
awan'kega ta minke dha", eb¢éga" ag¢i™. Cin’ gajin’ga ¢anka 
I eral be sick !(inso- LI think it i sit. Children the ones 
liloquy) who 
os (eek vy , e pey , 1 / ld bao] 
nié t‘a® yi'ji, wawéci té donizaji etéde. Ceta?’-na” pi-maji 
pain they if pay the you should not have So far I have not 
have grasped it lightly. reached 
there 
w , / ° f , Roe. , he ts - 
ha, b¢é ¢an’di ada® wagazuaji ca™té waqi™ha ¢a" cu¢edag¢é. 
Igo (theland) — there- not straight while yet paper the I send it to 
to which fore (or, at cv. obj. you. 
present so) 
NOTES. 
Mat*teu-hi®-qti and Cahie¢a were the two Ponkas appointed, with 
Peter Primeau, the interpreter, as an embassy to Standing Bear and 
the other Ponkas at Niobrara. They were sent to urge them to return 
to the rest of the tribe. The proposal was rejected. Ma*tcu-hi®-qti 
was sick after sending this letter. 
94, 5, agnizaji etede (Ponka) =anizaji etede (or, etega", Omaha—G.). 
This means the very opposite of its literal rendering. Compare, wa¢aha 
pejiqti, very bad clothing (said in praise of good clothing), wa¢ate pii- 
jiiijiqtci, ‘food very-not-bad,” very good food (said of food that is bad). 
TRANSLATION. 
After traveling a great distance I have reached here, near the Santee 
teservation, having left the Missouri River. I have thought, ‘‘ When 
the business to which they are attending is transacted, I will return to 
you;” but now I am thinking, “I am inclined to be ill (or, I have fre- 
quent indications of coming illness). [T shall be ill,” When the chil- 
