Benonie Harrie: "Coyote Pups" (1927)

Primary participants: Benonie Harrie (speaker), Jaime de Angulo (researcher), L.S. Freeland (researcher)
Date: 1927
Location: Northern California
Project identifier: DAF_KT-05a
PDF of published text: http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/~karuk/text-pdfs/DAF_KT-05a.pdf
Additional contributors: Line Mikkelsen (annotator), Michelle Park (annotator), Elizabeth Lieu (annotator), Andrew Baker (annotator), Miranda Guerrero (annotator), Yichuan Yang (annotator)

Note: This text has been retranscribed in current spelling, including wovel shortening in compound words even where de Angulo and Freeland wrote a long vowel.

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[1]	yée ôok pámit ni'ákunvarat.
	Not long ago I was out hunting.

[2]	kári xás máruk ikúkak nivátaroovutih.
	I was in the hills, walking along on a log.

[3]	chí 'axmay u'árihrishuk nixúti " vinusuná'anamahich."
	Suddenly something ran out. At first I thought it was a little bear cub.

[4]	yánava pihnêefich'anamahich.
	But it turned out to be a coyote pup.

[5]	ta'ítam ni’áharamaheen.
	I started after him.

[6]	sáruk niyvúrunih xás áavkam ni'áapish xás máruk upikvíripraa.
	I followed him down hill at a run. I headed him off and he ran back up hill.

[7]	xáyva nipáhariithun.
	I was lucky enough to catch up with him.

[8]	kári xás xuskáamhara mûuk nitátararish.
	I held him down with my gun.

[9]	kári xás axvâak ni'axaychákish xás pûuvishak nisaanámnih.
	Then I grabbed him by the head and shoved him into a sack.

[10]	xás máruk nipíthváraa.
	I packed him back up the hill to that log.

[11]	kári xás kaan níkrii xára.
	There I sat down and waited a while.

[12]	xas sâam ni'árihfak.
	I was just starting down again.

[13]	xas chí'axmay uxrúunha xas nixús " pakéevriikshahan xas vúra hôoyvarihva vúra."
	I heard a growl. I thought it must be the mother, but I didn't know where the sound came from.

[14]	yánava ikuk káan utháaniv.
	Then I saw the log lying there.

[15]	u'ahváraahitih.
	The log was hollow.

[16]	yánava váa kaan su pa'úxruunhitih.
	And the growling came from inside.

[17]	kári xas kúuk ni'úum.
	Then I went to the log.

[18]	yánava su hôoyvarihva xas áhup nikrúkukaa.
	I poked a stick in.

[19]	ipshûunkinichhiruva pa'áhup.
	But it was too short.

[20]	xas máruk níkfuukraa kaan xas taskaraxárah nivúpaksip.
	I climbed up on the hill and there I cut a long pole.

[21]	xas pasáruk nipitfákutih víri kúna su upárihkaa pihneefích'anamahich.
	I looked back just in time to see a coyote pup running back into the log.

[22]	kári xás ni'ûufak pataskaná'anamahich kaan ni'íipma.
	I took my little pole and climbed down.

[23]	yánava pananipihneefích'anamahich tóo psírheen íp pani'íithvutihat.
	And found the little pup I'd been packing had got away already.

[24]	kári xás patáaskar su' nikrúkukaa.
	I stuck my pole into the hole.

[25]	súva su’ kuníxruunhitih.
	I could hear them growling.

[26]	xás ipan patáaskar nitáxaxar.
	Then I split the end of the pole.

[27]	xás xára chavúra apsíik nitápuchrishuk.
	After poking around a good while, I caught one by the leg and twisted him out of the hole. I put him in the sack.

[28]	xás pûuvishak nisaanámni.
	I put him in the sack.

[29]	xás kúkuum vura xára níhmachiichva.
	Then I tried quite a while.

(de Angulo and Freeland translates this sentence "Then after trying quite a while." It has been changed here to better reflect the Karuk sentence structure.)

[30]	xás kúkuum xáyva yítha nitápuchrishuk.
	I had the luck to catch another and twist him through the hole.

[31]	ta’itam kúkuum pûuvishak nisaanámniheen.
	I put him in the sack too.

[32]	kúkuum vura pâanpay yítha nitápuchrishuk.
	Later I twisted out a third one.

[33]	kári xás kúkuum pûuvishak nisaanámni.
	And put him in the sack.

[34]	kári xas kárivarih sú' kuníxruunhitih.
	The rest were growling inside.

[35]	káruma vúra tá neekvúrish káru vúra tá naxuniháyaachha xás panani'akunvarasímsiim mûuk nipárupkurih.
	But I was getting tired and I was hungry besides. I took my hunting knife and began chiselling.

[36]	chavúra pâanpay tá nipáruprin.
	Finally I made a hole through.

[37]	yánava sú' kári kunimtaránamhitih.
	And I could see more pups inside.

[38]	púyava kári xas kúkuum kêechich vúra nipárupkurih.
	Good. I kept on and made the hole large enough.

[39]	chavúra pâanpay vúra vaa kóo tah pavaa káan nithyúrurupukeesh.
	After a while it was big enough that I could pull one out.

(de Angulo and Freeland translates this sentence "So that I could pull one out." It has been changed here to better reflect the Karuk sentence structure.)

[40]	xás ta'itam kúkuum pûuvishak nisaanámniheen kúkuum vúra yítha nithyúrurupuk
	I put him in the sack with the rest. Then I dragged out another one.

[41]	yánava kári vúra sú kári xas vaa kúna nithyúrurupuk táma ikrívki papihnêefichtunvêechas
	And there was one more still inside. Then I pulled out that one too. There they were, six little coyotes!

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[42]	itha'ithvákaam u'árihish
	It made a big load.

[43]	tée kxúrar xas ni'ípak.
	It was late evening when I got back.

[44]	kári xás iinâak xás niknúpishrih.
	Then I dumped them out inside the house.

[45]	kári xás itha'îirish vúra kunihmáravarayva.
	And they ran around all over the floor.

[46]	xás ahup'ásipak sú' nimáhyaan.
	I put them in a big wooden box.

[47]	chavúra axaksúpaa kaan sú' kun'áraarahitih.
	And kept them there two days.

[48]	nixus " áavahar vúra niyêeshriihveesh."
	I thought I might be able to sell them alive.

[49]	chímiva púxay vúraxay kaneekvárishap.
	But it turned out that I couldn't.

[50]	kári xás ta'ítam áhup mûuk axvâak nipakóonaaheen.
	Finally I clubbed them on the head with a stick.

[51]	kári xás pamukunaxvâa kich kaneekvárish.
	Then they bought just the heads from me.

[52]	itnoopámahich ník kana'êeh xás váa káru vúra pa'íshpuk púvaxay kana'êehap káruma chímiheesh ithakûusrah véenik mit paniykáranaat.
	They would scarcely give me five dollars apiece for them. And even that money they haven't paid me yet, and it's almost a month since I killed them.