2 
symptoms) than is the case with us or with woodland Indians. This, how- 
ever, is not true of all informants, notably not of Coming-Day, nor of 
Louis Moosomin, nor have I observed it in women. 
None of the preceding speaks English. Two English-speaking Cree, 
Harry Watney and Norman Standinghorn (mdyiskimkiw) , both young 
men, gave me my foundation in Cree. The former speaks Cree poorly; 
neither of them can translate. Baptiste Pooyak, a man of middle age, 
is the only person I found who can with any consistency tell in English 
the meaning of a Cree expression. Unfortunately his help was available 
only for short periods. Many a word or phrase in the texts has reniained 
unintelligible to me. 
In order to help the reader evaluate the texts I have dwelt too much, 
perhaps, on the shortcomings of the Sweet Grass informants. In reality, 
the Sweet Grass people were, without exception, kind, helpful, and hospit- 
able. I owe thanks also to the untiring farm-instructor, Mr. Matthew 
Layton, and to Mrs. Layton; also to the Agency staff at Battleford, Mr. 
L. S. Macdonald, Dr. Norquay, and Mr. Smith; and to Father Lacombe 
(nephew of the author of “Grammaire et dictionnaire de la langue des 
Cris,” Montreal, 1874). 
The work was throughout made possible only by the kindness of 
officials of the National Museum of Canada, Mr. E. Sapir and Mr. L. L. 
Bolton, and by the courtesy of the Indian Department. 
Distinctive Sounds of Plains Cree 
(1) Consonants: 
Bilabial : 
Dental : 
Velar: 
Glottal : 
(2) Semivowels; 
Labiovelar : 
Palatal ; 
(3) Vowels; 
Short, high: 
Short, low: 
Long, high: 
Long, low: 
p, m 
t, ts, s, n 
k 
h 
w 
y 
if u 
a 
If 6 
The consonant combinations consist of h or s before p, t, ts, k. 
For the general character and historical relations of these sounds, see 
the discussion of the Central Algonquian sound system in “Language,” 
I, 130. A list of the symbols used in these texts with rough description of 
their sound values is given at the end of this introduction (page 6). 
A non-significant stress accent falls on the third syllable from the 
end of words or close-knit phrases: nd'hiyaw: a Cree; ndhi'yawak: Crees; 
iskwd'w ana: that woman. 
Initial vowels have an on-glide of h under stress, especially in inter- 
jections; hay hay ! splendid! 
Final vowels have nearly always an off-glide of h ; maskwa, maskwah : 
bear. In the word dha^ : yes, the off-glide always takes the form of a 
glottal stop; this I have indicated by the symbol \ 
