Page:Life among the Apaches.djvu/245

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LIFE AMONG THE APACHES.
239

ten hundred; two thousand is termed nah-kee-go-nay-nan-too-ooh, etc.

Here we have evidence sufficient to prove that the Apaches must have possessed objects of sufficient importance and numbers to have compelled the creation of terms by which the number could be indicated. In the absence of any other object furnished by the region they inhabit, it is fairly presumable that the numerical strength of their race was the impelling cause.

Their verbs express the past, present and future with much regularity, and have the infinitive, indicative, subjunctive and imperative moods, together with the first, second and third persons, and the singular, dual and plural numbers. Many of them are very irregular, and depend upon auxiliaries which are few. In all that relates to special individuality the language is exacting; thus, shee means I or me; but shee-dah means I myself, or me myself; dee means thee or thou; but dee-dah means you yourself especially and personally, without reference to any other being. When an Apache is relating his own personal adventures he never says shee, for I, be cause that word, in some sense, includes all who were present and took any part in the affair; but he uses the word shee-dah, to show that the act was wholly his own. The pronouns are: Shee—I; shee-dah—I myself; dee—thee or thou; dee-dah—thee thyself; aghan—it, he, her, or they. The word to-dah means no, and all their affirmatives are negatived by dividing this word so as to place the first syllable in front and the second in the rear of the verb to be negatived. For example, ink-tah means sit down, but to say, do not sit down, we must express it to-ink-tah-dah; nuest-chee-shee, come here; to-nuest-chee-shee-dah, do not come here; anah-zont-tee, begone; to-anah-zont-tee-dah, do not begone, and so on throughout the language.