Swapping Stories

Fred Tomah and Simon Gabriel

Peter Dana Point, Maine

1977

SG    Nehé, kìl-ŏna keqsèy akŏnutŏmùn.

         [Hey, you tell about something now.]

FT     Well, nìl-ŏkahk téhpu kisi-wihqessì wàht ĭhík, St. Croix River, well, well, ’címaci Vanceboro tókki ĭhík Loon Bay, nìt-ŏlu Grand Falls. Nèqt nkoti-kahtopássin. Keqsèy-al yèy… Well, nkoti-kahtopàss-ehta nìt. Nuskitŏmélkin yá, ’kankéhson. Moccokíye, pihcéyu, nìt-al ’taspópin. On-ŏtahk yèy, nmoccokkúwan eli-skitkomelkì.

         [Well, I had just come down the St. Croix River, from Vanceboro by way of Loon Bay, and then Grand Falls. At one point I wanted to land. There was something there… Well, I wanted to land there. And I stepped out onto an old log. It was rotten and long, about this high. I got my feet dirty as I stepped onto it.]

SG    Mm, hm.

FT     Naka pileyal-ŏte npolcisol, khaki pants. Naka kinahqekíye, yèy…

         [And My pants were new, khaki pants. And the legs flared out, you know…]

SG    Bell bottoms.

FT     Ahà. Cèss-ŏte-na elŏmatŏkomessìk yùt olŏqìw. Nìt-te ali-kikcokihpútek yúta. Ntahtŏlitahasíhpon athusòss.  Ntahtŏlalŏkittiyenukcíkŏnan. Ntahtŏli-alŭwinéhtun npolcísol.

[Yes. And then it felt like something was wriggling up this way. Then it was tickling and wiggling around here. I kept thinking it was a snake. I kept on squeezing the damn thing. I kept trying to rip my pants.]

SG    [laughs]  Wèn-ŏlu? Apiqsèhs?

         [But what was it? A rat?]

FT     Apiqsehsalŏkittis-ŏte-na. Nìt-al ’qonéyin, wapéyu. Nìt-al ’qonalŏkittiyahqálŭwan. Nìkk-ŏlu wapeyícik.

[A damn rat it was, too. It was about this long, and white. It had a damn tail about this long. It was  (one of) those white ones.]

SG    Ahà.

         [Yes.]

FT     Nòt-ehta níta. Kìs, kìs-ŏte etŏli-ketapekhòm npolcísol. Naka tètt olŏqìw yùt-tahk sakhi-nutiyámit apiqsehsalŏkíttis. Kinalŏkittiyéna. Élŭwe-te nsiktalŏkittiyehpáwŏloq. Oh boy, oh boy.

         [That was it. I was already undoing my pants. And down there here comes flying out this damn rat. Holy smokes. The damn thing almost scared me to death. Oh boy, oh boy.]

FT     Àpc nekè yèt olŏqìw ĭhík… Ntoli-sŏliposkahtinèn Waite.  Elápŏmuk wòt cedar. Nòt-ŏna, ma-na…  Ma-te yúhtol wèn ’tomiksáwĭyil. Ma-te wèn ’tomihpuláwĭyil. Ma nkociciyàw eli-ihìts nòt yá… Amŭwésok nìt tamà ’tihinĭyasŏpónik. Kí! Nmacĭyalŏkittiyeksáwan níla. Níktok-ŏna mèc-al dozen kisi-pisapasíhtit npolcisíhkuk. Boy, on nmace-pokehlókun, lamìw. Boys, oh boys, oh boys. Nìt-te ntotoli-apuckolŏtòqq ĭhík, tàn-ŏte eli-wewŏliqetqihì, àpc-ŏtahk kótŏkik nmatŏliqénkun. Níta, on nkisi-pisŏtóqqin ĭhík jackfirs, nìt-al ’qoneyossínĭya, lamìw. On nkisi-ketséwan. Tókki kisi-ketsewì, psí-te nokka-soqskómkuk yùt olŏqìw.

[Then another time out there in… We were cutting sleepers (railroad ties) in Waite (ME). I was looking at this cedar. It hadn’t been… No one had sawed this one down. No one had cut it down. I didn’t know there was this thing in it… Apparently there were bees in it there somewhere. Well! I started sawing away on it. And about a dozen of them crawled on into my pants. Oh boy, then they started to bite me, inside there. Boy, oh boy, oh boy! Then I flipped right over there, jumping any damn way I knew how, and sure as hell some others went after me. Well, then I jumped into a stand of jackfirs, about this high, inside there. And I took my clothes off. By the time I got my clothes off, they had bitten me all over, down here.]

SG    Yá.

         [Oh.]

FT     Yá.

         [Yeah.]

SG    Psí-te knokka-pokehlòk?

         [They bit all over?]

FT     Alŏkíttis, alŏkíttis.

         [Hell yes.]

SG.   Yellow jackets nìkk.

         [Those were yellow jackets.]

FT     Ahà yá…

         [Oh yes…]