CHAPTER X. 

 AMUSEMENTS AND CORPORATIONS. 



§ 225. Biddies, Wa^ade. — "Niaci D ga wi n ni kg'di hi egaV da n/ be ^i, 

 xag6 gi. Edada n a? — A person having gone to the water, and looked at 

 it is coming bach weeping. What is that?" The answer is, "<f!6x6 aine\ 

 Ni kg i£ijai ql, a£i n/ agii ju, ga'8"8. E xag6, ai." — It is a kettle. When 

 it is dipped into the water, and one is bringing it bade, it is dripping. 

 That, they say, is weeping. 



jahe" ijafigaqti wi n 6dedi^i n jjl'jl, qf ab6 aba6qtia n ! Can'ge 8dediama ; 

 hi n sab6, jide eti, ska cti. Indada" a?" — There is a mountain that is cov- 

 ered with trees. Horses are moving there; some have black hair, some 

 red, and some white. What is it ? The answer is, "A person's head is 

 the mountain ; the hairs are trees, and lice are the horses." 



"Gaw^xe wi n 8dedi£a D . Indada" Si?" — There is a place cut up by gul- 

 leys. What is it? Answer: Wa'ujinga ind8 ha, An old woman's face. 

 (It is furrowed with wrinkles.) 



§ 226. Proverbs, Wiufa. — Sometimes they say of an obstinate man, 

 " Wanija ega n aka n ," He is like an animal, meaning that he is "naxide- 

 <f;inge\" Another ancient comparison is this : " Je" ega n aha n . Wana n/ - 

 paji aha Q ." — He is like the membrum virile! He fears the sight of noth- 

 ing! This refers to a bad man, who fears not to commit a wrong, but 

 pushes ahead, in spite of opposition, or, as the Omahas say, "ajjida- 

 tcije," regardless of the consequences to others or to himself. 



A proverb about the " Wauaxe piaji," the bad spirit, is a modern 

 one, introduced after coming in contact with the white men. 



Ictinikeqtia n 'i, He is like letinike; i. e., he is very cunning. Misja 

 da nuqagtyai, The raccoon wet his head. This refers to one who talks 

 softly when he tries to tempt another. 



§ 227. Puns. — Two youths accompanied their mother's brother when 

 he hunted game. Having killed a deer, the two young men proceeded 

 to cut it up, while the uucle looked on. He made this observation to 

 them : " Sab8 a n ^a n/ da f a n/ ja, ga n 'adi i^isabe ha." — Though I was born 

 black (sabB), now you suffer (i^isabe). 



GAMES. 



§ 228. Plumstone shooting, ^a u '-si kide. — This game was thus de- 

 scribed by Dougherty. "Five plumstones are provided, three of which 

 are marked on one side only with a greater or smaller number of black 



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