Forty-two years amongst the Indians and Eskimo

by Beatrice Batty

Greek and Latin he declared to be tame affairs ‘in comparison with Sakehao and Ketemakalemāo, with their animate and inanimate forms, their direct and inverse, their reciprocal and reflective, their absolute and relative, their want of an infinitive mood, and their two first persons plural. This I found very troublesome for a long time; to use kelananow for we, when I meant I and you; and nelanan, when I wished to express I and he. If merely the extra pronoun had required to be learnt, I should not have minded, but I did mind very much when I found in the verb the pronoun inseparably mixed up with the verb, and that in portions of it the whole of the personal pronouns were expressed by different inflections of the verb. But I had the very strongest of motives to urge me forward: the desire to speak to the Indian in his own language the life-giving words of the Gospel.

‘I had been at my new home but a few days before I set to work in earnest. The plan I adopted was this: every week, with the assistance of an interpreter, I translated a small portion of the service of the English Church. This I read over and over again, until I had nearly committed it to memory, and was able to read it on Sunday. The Lord’s Prayer and a few hymns I found already translated, and I soon added a few hymns more. Chapters of the Bible and sermons were rendered by the interpreter sentence by sentence. Rather tedious, but we improved fast, and I shall not soon forget the expression of surprise and joy on the countenances of my congregation, when, after a few months, I made my first address to them without an interpreter—but I am anticipating.

‘My plan was threefold. I provided myself with two books and a living instructor; the latter a young Indian with a smattering of English. The first of the two books was a small one to carry in my pocket; in it I wrote a few questions with the aid of the interpreter. Having learnt them, I went into an Indian tent, sat down among its inmates, drew out book and pencil, and put one of my questions. One of those present would at once give me an answer, entering generally into a long explanation, of which I did not understand a word. However, they, knowing my aim, talked on, and I listened, wondering what it was all about. Getting gradually bewildered, I returned home. I repeated the process again and again, and after a few days light began to shine out of darkness, the jumble divided itself into words, the book and pencil no longer lay idle, every word that I could separate from the others was at once jotted down, all were copied out, translated as far as possible, and committed to memory; and presently I got not only to catch up the words, but likewise to understand a good deal of what was said.

‘The second book was a much larger one, and ruled. Having this and pen and ink by my side, I would call an Indian, and he would take his seat opposite; I then made him understand that I wished him to talk about something, and that I wished to write down what he said. He would begin to speak, but too fast; I shook my head, and said, Pākack, pākack—“slowly, slowly,” and at a more reasonable rate he would recommence. As he spoke, so I wrote, writing on every other line. We sat thus until I could bear no more. Then, with the interpreter’s assistance, I wrote the translation of each word directly under it, thus making an interline. The work was a little trying, but by it I gained words, I gained words in combination, I gained the inflections of words, I gained the idiom of the language, I gained a knowledge of the mind of the Indian, the channel in which his ideas ran, I gained a knowledge of his mode of life, the trials and privations to which he was subjected.

‘Now as to the Indian lad. I began by drilling him in the powers of an English verb, and after a few days we said a lesson to each other, he saying—First person singular, I love; second person singular, thou lovest, &c. Then I going on with mine, thus:

Ne sakehou	I love him.
Ke sakehou	Thou lovest him.
Sakehao	He loves him.
Ne sakehanam	We love him.
Ke sakehanou	We love him.
Ke sakehawou	You love him.
Sakehawuh	They love him.

Then the inverse form:

Ne sakehik	Me loves he.
Ke sakehik	Thee loves he.
Sakehiko	He is loved by him.
Ne sakihikonau	Us loves he.
Ke sakehikonau	Us loves he.
Ke sakehikowou	You loves he.
Sakehikowuk	They are loved by him.