LETTERS DICTATED BY OMAHAS AND PONKAS. 501 
MAQPIYA-QAGA TO CEKL. 
October 19, 1878. 
Te ‘aga, wamuske ab¢i™ beugadti ina¢in’gega", ¢and‘a® taf eb¢éga™ 
O old man, wheat Thad destroyed forme by youhearit will Ithink 
©, a8, 
ca™ waqi™ha cu¢é. Ja™-ma™ ¢i” fe sidjudqtci wi" cte; éna ucté ag¢ab¢i”. 
yet letter goes to Wagon alone remains tome; that remain- I have mine. 
you. alone ing 
Ca” éawa¢é édf-ma awana‘a" ka™b¢a hi: Nudja”hanga, Hidiga cti, Jadé-gi 
Now Lhavethem those who [I hear from I wish : Nudja*haiiga, Hidiga on Jade-gi_ 
for kindred are there them 
eti, and‘a" ka” b¢a, ni™ya méite. Gahige-yéga cti, Wajin’ga-da, Agdha- 
too, I hear I wish, alive if se are. Gahize: -ega too, Wajifiga-da, Agaha- 
ma ¢i" ic‘4ge, Ickadabi jin’ga, Ma™tet-ska cti ha, wa‘tijinga iha”aw¢é 
mar¢i® old man, Ickadabi sis Mattet-ski too ; old woman IT had them for 
mothers 
ceti na” ba édi-ma awdna‘a™ ka™b¢a hai. Ca™ ucté fwidaha™i-maji. ga¢i?- 
too two those who = I hear from I wish 5 Now the rest I know you not. da¢ir- 
are there them a 
na™paji aka Awa" ¢inké igdg¢a " ¢inké éa¢é, ighepa wiwfaqti, a®¢a™ baha™- 
na®paji the the one for whom the (ob.) I[haveher grandchild my very own, she does not know 
(sub.) he danced the asa rela- 
pipe dance tion, 
Ji'qti éde, r’tca™ i¢4paha™ cu¢é. Ca™ ata” fwidaha’-maji-mace, dna ¢at’ai 
meatall, but now 1 know her it goes Now howfar Ihaveknownyounot yewho, how you have 
to you. many died 
éda® eb¢eg ga, and‘a" ka™b¢a hai. Ca niin‘de ¢a” da™qti ipi-maji. I’ta® 
I hear I wish 0 And heart the beyond I am sad. Now 
measure 
nuynee judwag¢e uidamqti éde, hégaji taf, dda™ nin’de i” pi-mdji-hna™ 
I with them very good, but notafew died, therefore heart sad to me regularly 
ca ca? . Ita" wamiske i na¢in’gega", ta" da” qti ?pi-méji. Wa‘tjinga 
always. Now wheat has been destroyed for now beyond Tam sad. Old woman 
me by fire, as, measure 
iha”a¢é ¢inké wakége-de gig¢azu-baji. (iytepa cti wan ‘gigeqti wakégai. 
Thad her for theone is sick but she has not regained Your grand- too are sick 
a mother who her strength. child 
I¢ddi ké pahan’ga té'‘di t’é ha. Wa*‘ijinga ganka ga™ twagi¢a-ga. 
Hisfather the before when died . Old woman the(pl.ob.) 80 tell them. 
TRANSLATION. 
Venerable man, as all the wheat which I had has been destroyed by fire, I send a 
letter to you that you may hear it. I have nothing left but the wagon. I desire to 
hear about my kindred which are there: Nudja™hanga, Hidiga, and Jade-gi. I wish 
to hear if they are alive. I also wish to hear about Gahige-jega, Wajitiga-da, the 
venerable Agaha-ma*¢i", the younger Ickadabi, Ma*tcu-ska, and the two old women 
whom I call my mothers. And the rest of you I knownot. The wife of one for whom 
qa¢i?-na*paji danced the calumet dance is my relation. She is my own grandchild, 
though she does not know me at all; but now I know her, and so the letter goes to 
you. Now I wish to hear how many of you have died among those I did not know. 
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