So 2 chiefs & a priest go to Europe…part 11
[The visit of Bishop Grouard to Kamloops Indian Reserve mentioned below is very entertaining; I’ll have to copy it out from Kamloops Wawa in a future post for you.–Dave]
(Previous installment, updated with English translation, here.)
<Winnipeg.>
Thyursdi Shulai <21>, taham tintin kopit sitkom son, nsaika kro
Thursday, July 21, at six in the afternoon, we arrived
kopa Winnipig: aias tawn ukuk, mitlait <75000> tilikom.
at Winnipeg: this is a big town, it’s got 75,000 people.
Nsaika stop iawa iht awr. Nsaika tomtom kuli tanas
We stopped there for one hour. We thought of wandering a
saia kopa tawn, pi wik kata: nsaika kwash klatwa kah saia
ways around town, but couldn’t: we were afraid to go anywhere far,
kakwa nsaika aiak kilapai kopa stishon.
so we came right back to the station.
Alta nsaika nanich iht lisivik pi iht liplit klaska
Then we met a bishop and a priest who
lolo klaska iktas, klaska tiki chako kopa stim kar; wik lili
were carrying their luggage, about to get on to the steam car: after a short time,
pi naika komtaks klaska: iht, iaka lisivik Grwar, iaka chako
I recognized them: one was Bishop Grouard, who came
kopa Kamlups alta nain sno wik saia Krismas, pi iaka
to Kamloops nine years ago now around Christmas, and
shanti kopa nsaika: “Casii Manito Awasis”.
sang for us: “Tsasii Manito Awasis” [a hymn in Cree].
Pi ukuk liplit iaka kanamokst, kakwa pus drit ol man iaka,
And the priest who was accompanying [him], he looked like a really old man,
naika tomtom pus <70> iaka sno; naika tiki komtaks iaka nim.
I thought he must be 70; I was curious about his name.
Iaka wawa kopa naika: = Kata? Wik na maika komtaks naika,
He answered me, “How can this be? Don’t you know me,
pi nsaika ankati kanamokst kopa skul: Naika nim Pir Dshambii.
and we used to be at school together? My name is Pere De Chambier (sp.).”
Ukuk lisivik pi ukuk liplit chako kopa drit saia
This bishop and this priest came from a very far
ilihi, iawa kopa Shaspir Haws, pi wiht drit saia kopa
place, over by Jasper House [Alberta] and even a good deal farther than
ukuk. Klaska tlap drit aias til pi aias kol pus klatwa
that. They get awfully tired and cold
nanich klahawiam tilikom kah klaska mitlait.
visiting the poor people where they live.
Nsaika mash Winipig, nsaika wiht kuli kopa tipso ilihi;
We left Winnipeg, and we were traveling over the prairie again:
<1000> mails alta nsaika kuli kopa tipso ilihi; pi ukuk tipso
1,000 miles we’d traveled now across the prairie: and that
ilihi iaka drit saia kopa north pi kopa sawth: alta ayu tkop
prairie stretches very far to the north and to the south: nowadays a lot of white
man chako kopa ukuk tipso ilihi, klaska makuk ilihi, klaska
people come to the prairies, buying land,
mamuk haws, klaska mamuk plaw ilihi, klaska tolo ayu oc
building homes, plowing the land, harvesting lots of oats
pi hwit pi kanawi ikta tlus. Ayu tanas tawn mitlait alta
and wheat and all sorts of good things. Lots of small towns are situated now
kanawi kah kopa ukuk tipso ilihi, pi ukuk tawn chako ilip
all over the prairies, and those towns grow
ayu kanawi sno: alki ukuk ilihi chako drit patl kopa tawn
more numerous every year: some day the land will be filled up with towns
pi kopa tilikom. Kopa stim kar oihat nsaika nanich ayu hwīt
and with people. Along the rail line we saw lots of grain
haws, kah tkop man lolo klaska hwit pus mash kopa stim kar pi
elevators, where the white people bring their wheat to load onto steam cars and
lolo kopa saia ilihi. Pi alta wik saia sitkom pulakli
take to far-away places. But now it was almost midnight
pi nsaika klatwa slip. <x>
and we went to sleep.
Thursday July 21, 6.30 in the afternoon, we arrived at Winnipeg. It is a big city of 75,000 people. We stopped there for one hour. We thought of wandering a little ways through the city, but it was not possible. We were afraid to go anywhere far thus we returned quickly to the station. Now we see a Bishop and a Priest carrying their things. They wanted to come onto the train. After a little while I recognized them. One was Bishop Gloire who came to Kamloops 9 years ago at Christmas and sang to us ””. And the priest with him, seemed quite old, I estimate possibly 70 years, I wanted to know his name. He said to me, Huh? You really don’t know me? A long time ago we went to school together. My name is father Dechambee. The bishop and the priest came from a distant place, somewhere around Jasper House, and even further than that. We were very tired and cold in order to go see the miserable people where they liv lived. We left Winnipeg, we traveled further through the prairies, 1000 miles now we traveled through the prairies. And this prairie stretched far into the north and the south. Now a lot of white people have come to the prairie. They buy land and they build a house, They plow their field, they bring a lot of wheat and a lot of good things. Many small towns are all over the prairies and there is more of them every year. In the future this place will be full of towns and people. On the train tracks we see a lot of granaries, where the white people bring their wheat in order to send them by rail and take them to a far country. And now it’s almost midnight and we will go to sleep.
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Pingback: So two chiefs and a priest travel to Europe, part 12 | Chinook Jargon:
In the line here transcribed “kakwa nsaika aiak kilapai kopa stishon”, the final word should be “stim kar”.
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