DORSE Y-s WANTON] THE BILOXI AND OFO LANGUAGES 71 



thinking, " Perhaps they wish to drink all of my whiskj'^, and leave me 

 none." " You must be thinking, ' Perhaps thej^ wish to drink up all of 

 my whisky,'" said one of the ghosts as he handed the man the bottle. 

 When the man examined the bottle, behold, it was just as full as it 

 had been when the ghosts had appeared! But when the man took a 

 drink, the supply of whisky ran low. Then said the ghosts to him, 

 "If you tell about this very soon you shall die; but if you do not tell 

 it, you shall live always." So the man did not tell of this incident 

 till he had become a very aged man, and his time to die had arrived. 

 Then were the people telling news to one another, when this old man 

 lay there listening. After a while he, too, said that he had seen such 

 [things as ghosts]. And then he died before day, and when day came 

 he was lying there dead, so they say. 



26. A Fox Story 

 Toxka' di netkohi' i'^de' xehe'yg ha"* 6'tik6 ha'nde ha*" 



Fox (sub.) road, dung caused it and he had done so when 



path to sit 



e-k wa'ta. NaVi na'^'ni eya'^'hi" do'^'hi. Ka'wa kike' ku'sini' 



it he Day every he came he What ever had not 



(ob.) watched. ' there looked. stepped 



in it 



ka° akxi' ha^ a'^ya -ti' -k i°hi"' akxi' ne' ka"^ a'^ya' ya'ndi 



when he got and man house (ob. ) reached angry stood when nian the 



(past) angry (past) (sub.) 



i^ske'ye ka° kokta' de o°'xa. E'ke- o°'xa- di^^' a^'ya' -k 



scared liim when ran off went in the Because of this which oc- man (ob.) 



(past) past. curred in the past 



i^si'^hi'^'xti etu' xa. E'ke o'^'xa toxka' 6 ya'tctu. E'ke o°'xadi' 



he is much they usu- Therefore [from toxka that they name Therefore [on ac- 



afraid of say ally, this past act] him. count of this past 



act] 



toxka'-di netkohf -k i°de' ni'tu a°ya'di kike' usi' dixya°' kine'pi 



fox (sub.) road (ob.) dungs they person soever steps if he is glad 



walk (sub.) (some) in it 



wa'adi tako'tci taho' ande', xa, a°ya'adi etu' xa. 



very turning falling he is usu- the" people they usu- 



somersaults ally say it ally. 



NOTES 



This story was told by Bankston Johnson alone, the women being 

 absent. He would not- tell it in their presence. Biloxi men used to 

 say that when a fox saw a person stepping in his (the fox's) dung, he 

 was so delighted that he turned somersaults. 



2. Katra kilce^ "whatsoever," followed by 'a negative, means 

 " nothing at all" (^egiha, edada''^ ctewa^—ji or maji, or laji); kusini 

 {iisi) — akxi < hakxidi. 



4. Eke d^xa-di^^ and (5). Eke-d^-xadi forms of " therefore," refer- 

 ring to an act in the (?) remote past (sign, d^xa). 



5. toxka <5 yatctu, "The}^ named the fox;" Toxka^ " because he had 

 run away {kokta or koxta) from the man. " Is this a case of metathesis ? 



