Peter Lewis Paul
Woodstock, NB
August 2, 1963
1. Nèqt yùt sontihìw api-witimiyày, nsesŏmitahàs tamà=hc ntolì, kòsŏna kèq ntollùhk. Ntihinéhpon nkanèy, pisŏwi-pŏmíyak. On nìt yúhtol pisŭwi-pŏmiyákil cèl mocimahtétul. On nìt, ma-te keqsèy ntihìw…
‘One Sunday when I had been to church, I was wondering where I could go or what I could do. I had an old vehicle. It was one of those things that go by themselves—and stink. [laughing:] But I didn’t have anything…’
2. Malom=ŏte nìt ntolitahásin naci-esŭwoníkan. Téhpu èyi pehkŭwoskéssoss. On nìt nmacáhan wàht sehtayìw, liwihtásu utenéhsis Hartland. Nìt weci-mace-wesŭwonìki.
‘After a while I decided to go and do some trading. All I had was a folding knife. So then I went out back of this little town called Hartland. That’s where I started in trading.’
3. Nònŭwak nìt ikŏlisŏmánok sehtayìw, on pèsq cenessì. Cèl nìt nkisi-pasqihíhpin. Ntíyan, “Ma=te kèq ktihìw keti, keti-ésŭwon… esŭwònŏmon?”
‘I knew some white people back there, and at this one fellow’s place, I stopped. I even had my dinner there. I said to him, “Don’t you have anything that you’d like to trade?”’
4. Ítom, “Cù, milíkon yùt èyi.” Ítom “Kìl=lu kèq èyyin?”
‘He said, “Sure, I have all kinds of things.” He said, “What have you got?”’
5. “Tàn téhpu èyi yùt pehkŭwoskéssik mihkutánis.”
‘“All I have is this folding knife.”’
6. Om. Ítom, “Kèq=op=al yùt èyi, petàwŏtik=op kmihkutákon? Cŏké nsakíhtun.”
‘Hmm. He said, “What do I have here that would be worth about the same as your knife? Here, let me look at it.”’
7. Nmessunŏmúwan míyawíkon=ŏkahk mihkutákon. On nìt ítom, “Kmìllon, kmìllon nìsŭwok ehemúwok.”
‘I showed him that it was in fact good a good knife. And then he said, “I’ll give you, I’ll give you two hens.”’
8. Ntíyan, “Tàn-ŏte.” On nìt ntesŭwonŏmawŏtinèn.
‘I told him, “All right.” So then we traded.’
9. Ítom, “Koti-esŭwonòt nìkt éhemúwok yèt nokilo… Kótok íya wénuhc tùtŏpu, cù=al nìsŭwok—u wecŭwàw=ehtá=te.” Ítom,“’Tiywà íhi, wapikilàhq. Nkoti-esŭwonŏmakunepŏníhi, peskúwol ’cìw nìsu ehèmu.”
‘He said, “If you want to trade those hens… This other white man lives about two—oh, right handy.” He said, “He has these geese. He was going to trade them with me, one for two hens.”’
10. On=ehta nìt àpc ntoliphukèn níta. Ntíyan, “Kìl=yaq koti-esŭwonìk wapikiláhqok.”
‘So then I drove on to that place. I told (the man there), “They say you want to trade some geese.”’
11. Ítom, “Ahà.” Ítom, “Kèq èyyin?”
‘He said, “Sure.” He said, “What have you got?”’
12. Ntíyan, “Nìsŭwok miyawìkŭwok ehemúwok eywúkik.”
‘I told him, “What I’ve got is two nice hens.”’
13. Ítom, “Pèsq kmìllon wapikílahq, tàn=ŏte wòt welìnŭwot.” On nkísi-mkónan pèsq nekŏmókil.
‘He said, “I’ll give you one goose, whichever one you like.” So I picked out a fairly large one.’
14. Ítom, “Tŏkèc=op wahkéhsŭwok, yé wahkéhson màn wici-punŏmòn wòt wapikílahq kmòsŏna=hp kuhúsis. Yùt ĭyá, kótok yùt elŏmawtóssok skítàp íyu kuhusísol=op milŭwánol ’cìw nìsu wapikilàhq.” Ítom, “Nit=ŏlu kekèsk ankuwhomŭwòt, cù kisi-esŭwonŏmúwa.”
‘He said, “If you would put a few—a little money with this goose, you would get a calf. There’s this other man down the road here, and he would give a calf for two geese. So if you put in a little extra,” he said, “you could trade with him for sure.”
15. On nìt nmacephúken. Am=ŏte wòt wénuhc. Ma nonŭwáwi.
‘So then I drove on. To this other white man’s place. I didn’t know him.’
16. Nconéssin. Ntíyan, “Ntíyoq wòt skítàp pápkiwòss eli-=yaq=op -wesŭwonòt kuhúsis ’cì nìsŭwok íyok wapikiláhqok, on pèsq=ŏte=lu wapikílahq èywuk nìl.”
‘I stopped there. I said to him, “This man down the road tells me that you would trade a calf for two geese, but I’ve only got one goose myself.”’
17. Ítom, “Ahà, [nt]esŭwonìk=op, tŏkèc nìsŭwok, nìsŭwok iywòt.”
‘He said, “Yes, I would trade if you had two.”’
18. Ntíyan, “Nìsŭwok ntiywàwĭyik, kénuk=ŏlu wòt pèsq kmìllon. Àpc sŏlahkìw, sŏlahkì keqsèy om, wesŭwonŏmawŏtíyoq, kekèsk=oc nìl ktíyul. Ktankuwúmul.”
‘I said to him, “I haven’t got two, but I’ll give you this one. When we trade again sometime, I’ll have a little something for you. I’ll give you extra.”’
19. Ítom, “Tàn=ŏte. Nìl ncossìnŭwa kuhúsis. Pèsq=ŏte èywuk, na tucìw ntotŏlolùhk kcíhkuk. Ma nkisankeyuwàw. Ntéhpítem=na ma ’kotŭwankeyuwàwĭyol. Ntahcŭwi=na mŏnúwa mŏláqs.” Ítom, “Ktesŭwònŏmul.”
‘He said, “All right. This calf is a bother to me anyway. I only have the one; and besides, I’m working in the woods. I can’t take care of it. My wife doesn’t want to take care of it either. I have to buy milk, too.” He said, “I’ll trade.”’
20. Ítom, “Pal koti-esŭwonòt kuhúsis.” Ítom “Yùt=te íhic. Wòt àpc kótok skitàp wàht papkiwi-wíku ’tíhin nkanèy yèy, pisŭwi-pŏmíyak, mecimáhtek.” Ítom “Nòt nòt kwesŏwònŏmaq.”
‘He said, “Maybe you’d like to trade that calf.” He said, “Leave him right here. Another man lives up the road here a ways and has an old vehicle of some sort—the stinky kind.” He said, “He’ll trade it with you.”’
21. On nìt nokka-nòkŏlan wòt kuhúsis eli, eli-kŏlatŏkopísit pemskútek. Nmacephúken. Malom=ŏte nmoskúwa àpc wòt éyit yùt pisŭwi-pŏmíyak.
‘So I left this calf behind, tethered in the field. I drove on. Finally I found this other fellow who had the vehicle.’
22. Ntíyan, “Ntíyoq wòt papkìw skítàp eli-=yaq -koti-esŭwonìkĭyon yùt…” Nomíhtun=na éhtek yùt [y]èy, pisŭwi-pŏmíyak íyok, ’qahakŏnúmok. Ntíyan, “Yùt nìt keti-esŭwònŏmon ’cìw kuhúsis?”
‘I told him, “This fellow down the road tells me that you want to trade this…” I had seen this vehicle of sorts, out in his dooryard. I asked him, “Is this what you’ve been wanting to trade for a calf?”’
23. Ítom, “Ahà.”
‘He said, “Yes.”’
24. Ntíyan, “Nìl=ehta nòt tŏké ntìywa. Ntopèlŏma. Koti-esŭwonikĭyòn, ktesŭwònŏmul.”
‘I told him, “I have it now. I own it. If you want to trade, I’ll trade with you.”’
25. Ítom, “Wolíye.” On nìt nmacéphan yúhtol kuhusísol eyílit. On nìt nékom uckuwatŏkúhsŏlan, mácĭyatŏkúhsŏlan wìkŭwak.
‘He said, “All right.” So I took him to where this calf was. And then came back leading it, and led it off to his house.’
26. Nìt=kahk nwesŭwéssin. Nkisi-[si]tŏpìlŏmon yùt kisi-esŭwònom. Yùt acqìtu tokkìw, tokkìw yùt.
‘Then I went back. I tied up to this thing that I had traded for. I towed it from there to here.’
27. Àpc wespasahkíwik utének eliyày, on àpc nkisankúman kótok ĭyá, wénuhc. Well, nisìnsk cèl nàn kehsakìsŭwok ntolŏnummákun. Nit elí-mehcíyak=kahk=ŏlu yut yèy, wesŭwonikewákon.
‘The next morning I went to town again, and I sold it again to another white man. Well, he bought it from me for twenty-five dollars. That’s how this thing ended, this trading.’