DORSEY-s WANTON] THE BILOXI AND OFO LANGUAGES 27 



8. taho' ne-kde\ would be "he lay down so long;" xena^'x sahi'xy^^ 

 "he was standing so long," or si^M^' n§kde\ "he was standing so 

 long." 



dSx-ne; ide'tu and nd^'tu are not used. 



9. a/peni=adu'di (stem du). 



11. wus-se^ the crackling noise of a breaking stick, 



TRANSLATION 



The Ancient of Opossums thoifght that he would reach a certain 

 pond very early in the morning [and catch the crawfish that might be 

 found on the shore]; but some one else had reached there first and had 

 gone round the pond and then had started home long before the An- 

 cient of Opossums had arrived there. This unknown person acted thus 

 regularly every day. So at length the Ancient of Opossums lay in 

 wait for him. At length he found the person, who proved to be the 

 Ancient of Raccoons. They conversed together, and they agreed to 

 see which one could rise the sooner in the morning and go round the 

 pond. The Raccoon said, "1 rise very earl3^ I never sleep till day- 

 light comes." The Opossum made a similar assertion, and then they 

 parted, each going to his home. The Opossum lay down in a hollow 

 tree and slept there a long time. He arose when the sun was very 

 high and was going to the pond; but the Raccoon had already been 

 there ahead of him and had gone round the pond, devouring all the 

 crawfish. The Raccoon sang as he was returning home. The Opossum 

 stood listening, and then he sang thus: '"''Hi'na ki'-yu wus-se' -diP He 

 met the Raccoon, who had eaten all the crawfish. The Raccoon said, 

 " I have been eating very long, and I was going home, as I am sleepy." 

 To this the Opossum said, "I, too, have been eating so long that I am 

 sleepy, so I was going home." The Opossum was always telling a lie. 

 The people say this of the Opossum because when one hits that animal 

 and throws it down [for dead, pretty soon] he [the opossum] gets up 

 and departs. 



8. The Wildcat and the Turkeys 



Tumo'tchkana'di Mani'-k akde'di-daha' hande' o'^'dS; tci'dikg ni'ki 



The Ancient ofWild- Wild Tur- he crept (pi. ob.) he was in the past what the not 

 cats (sub. ) key (ob. ) up on matter 



[=in vain] 



ha°' pa°hi°' utoho' xa'nina'ti ha'nde. Ma' i°tci'na a'tckaye ind-h§' 



when bag he lay in it he was rolling along. Turkey Ancient of he got near he too 



old men 

 [= Ancient of Turkey 

 gobblers] 



utoho' do'^'hi hi' pa°hi'^'-ka kiya' kiye' ka" utoho' ka"^ dukutckS' 



to lie in it to see how it is bag (ob.) again said to when he lay when he tied It 



him in it 



de' - hed - ha^' Tumo'tckana'di xa'ninati' kde'. De'-heya*" kidi' ka"* 



that finished when Ancient of Wild- rolled it ofE for some So far he when 



cats (sub.) time. reached 



again 



83515°— Bull. 47—12 3 



