DORSBT-swANTON] THE BILOXI AND OFO LANGUAGES 51 



8-9. Ani-ya"^ hu o'^ni^ "the water was rising* and approaching the 

 bank." 



10. Kvlci'^hi'^Tiixti really applied to one person, the regular plural 

 being hiiki^xtunixti ; indahade^ contracted from indahi and ade. 



12. Anihu d^de taho klpanax kane; here are three stages: 1, the 

 rising {hu d^de); 2, the turning point {taJio); 3, the receding of the 

 water. 



13. wahetu refers to the two children. 



14. hudd^ xto'^nixti^ used instead of Jcudx/^xtu-daha-nixti^ "they did 

 not see them." 



17. sa'^ha'^hadi is here the imperative (a male speaking to a female) 

 of the indicative, which has the same form {saPha^hadi^ sd^ha^ha- 

 yedi^ etc.). 



18. anitkak^ contracted from am, "water," iika^ "within," and 

 ^a", the objective sign. 



Another ending of this account is: 

 Ekeo^'xadi' a°ya'adi ani'-k yuke'di etu' xa. 



That is usually people water in they are they usually, 



the reason why (sub.) say 



TEANSLATION 



An old couple had the care of two orphan children. One of these 

 children was a boy who was disobedient, paying no attention when 

 the old people spoke to him. Whenever they said anything to him, 

 no matter what it was, he always thought, "It will not be so." Since 

 he acted so, the woman often said to him, "Some of these days there 

 will come deep water which you shall find will take you beneath it;" 

 but whenever she said this, he replied, " It will not be so." As he 

 always made this response, the old people sent him on an errand, 

 allowing him to take his sister. They went close to a lake, and as the 

 boy stood looking at the water, he thought, "This must be the water 

 that is to sink us." And then the water rose higher. The boy and 

 his sister stood there, being unable to' find any way of escape, and 

 finally they were submerged. 



As the children did not return home, the old people started out to 

 seek them; they were going somewhere following the trail. At length 

 they stood close to the lake, where they were standing looking at the 

 water which after rising had receded again, and by and by they 

 departed. On reaching home, they were saying, "They must have 

 gone into the water." And as from that day they watched the lake 

 for a very long time, they did not see the children at all. So at length 

 they took an old woman close to the lake, and commanded her to sing 

 [magic songs?]. As the old woman was singing, the children appeared 

 above the surface in the middle of the lake; they were standing there 

 laughing and were looking about. 



