LETTERS DICTATED BY OMAHAS AND PONKAS. 503 
a"nd‘a"-baji-ctea™i, ceta™ ifddi¢ai aké udwagi¢a-baji. Udwagi¢at tédthi 
we have heard nothing about it, so far agent the (sub.) has not told us. He tells us it arrives at 
y / : Os vite *y v “ 
yi, efa™ tatdéite a™¢a™ baha™-baji: wéca™ eté yi'ji, wéca"-baji yi, a®wat waté 
when, how it may be we do not know: weagree ought if, we donotagree if, which one of the 
(two) 
tatéi*te. Ci wi” gi¢a-gd, ¢é hnize yi. 
itmay be. Again one send back, this youtakeit when. 
NOTES. 
This letter was dictated partly by Sanssouci, the ex-interpreter, and partly by 
Cange-ska. The interpreter appointed by the agent was Charles P. Morgan, who had 
been Ponka interpreter before the removal of the latter tribe in 1877. 
503, 1. a™na‘a®-baji-ctea”i. The ending “ctea"i” shows that what was done, or 
left undone, was against the wishes of the speaker and his friends; but “a"na‘a®-baji- 
qtia"i,” we have heard nothing at all, would convey a different idea. 
503, 2. tatéinte, 7. ¢., taté éite, has a future signification. 
TRANSLATION. 
I have received the letter which you sent. You told of yourselves that you were 
sick, and we are so, too. The choicest ones of the most stout-hearted of our young 
men have died. Wacuce is dead, so is Cuya-mam¢i", and gahe-yadé, and Heqaga- 
jinga, He-snata, gede-gahi’s daughter (the wife of yra"ze-hatiga), White-feather’s son, 
Cyu-jinga’s son, Wauqtawa¢e’s wife, Gahige-wada¢inge’s wife, and the grandchild of 
Ickadabi (7. ¢., of Louis Sanssouci); and in addition to these, many very small children 
have died. And up to this time have I been wishing to hear the news from you, how 
you were. There is nothing else for me to tell you about the Omahas. You should 
have mentioned the names of the deceased Ponka chiefs. We are poor and suffering. 
The President does not give us even money annuities. And as to work, we have done 
our best, but we are still below the mark, as it was not much. We have not done 
very much. Work alone should be pleasant for us, as it is apt to benefit us. I refer 
to working for ourselves. Our gentes do not behave when they speak; they do not 
listen to the words of us chiefs. That is the only thing which is a little difficult for 
us to bear. The President having caused it for us, the gentes do not listen to our 
words. The interpreter has just abandoned them, by resigning and taking himself 
out of their company. He got out of patience with the gentes on account of their 
words. And the agent has just appointed as interpreter the man who was made 
Ponka interpreter yonder at the old reservation in Dakota. We did not appoint him; 
in fact, we chiefs have heard nothing about it officially. The agent has not yet told 
us. We do not know how it will be when he tells us. It will probably be one thing 
or the other in that case; we may consent or we may not consent. Send back a letter 
when you receive this. 
