Once there was a lot of sound in my grandmothers house, a lot of coming and going, feasting and talk. The summers there were full of excitement and reunion. The Kiowas are a summer people; they abide the cold and keep to themselves; but when the season turns and the land becomes warm and vital, they cannot hold still; an old love of going returns upon them. The aged visitors who came to my grandmother's house when I was a child were made of lean and leather, and they bore themselves upright. They wore great black hats and bright ample shirts that shook in the wind. They rubbed fat upon their hair and wound their braids with strips of colored cloth. Some of them painted their faces and carried the scars of old and cherished enmities. They were an old council of warlords, come to remind and be reminded of who they were. Their wives and daughters served them well. The women might indulge themselves; gossip was at once the mark and compensation of their servitude. They made loud and elaborate talk among themselves, full of jest and gesture, fright and false alarm. They went abroad in fringed and flowered shawls, bright beadwork and German silver. They were at home in the kitchen, and they prepared meals that were banquets.
在我祖母的房间里曾经有过许多声音，人来人往，举行宴会或放声谈论。夏日里充满了兴奋与重聚。克尔瓦人是一个喜爱夏季的民族，他们忍受冬季的寒冷离群索居；但当季节转换、大地复苏、生机勃勃的时候，他们就再也静不下来了；一种古老的对游牧的热爱又恢复了。我小的时候，有许多上了年纪的人到我祖母家来，他们都瘦得皮包骨头，但身板笔挺。他们头戴大黑帽子，身穿在风中摇曳的鲜亮的大肥衬衫。他们在头上抹上油，用彩色的布带把辫子缠绕起来。一些人把脸涂上颜色，身上带着旧时征战时留下的珍贵的伤疤。他们是一群旧军阀，来这里是为了提醒别人也提醒自己他们的身份。他们的妻子和女儿把他们服侍得很好。女人们或许可以放纵自己；闲聊顿时成为她们平时辛苦工作的标志和补偿。她们可以大声专注地谈论，谈话中充满了玩笑、手势、恐怖故事和假警报。她们披着带有流苏和印花的披肩，带着鲜亮的珍珠或者镍黄铜首饰出门。而在家里，她们却得在厨房忙着准备丰盛的宴席。
There were frequent prayer meetings, and great nocturnal feasts. When I was a child, I played with my cousins outside, where the lamplight fell upon the ground and the singing of the old people rose up around us and carried away into the darkness. There were a lot of good things to eat, a lot of laughter and surprise.
经常会有祷告会和大型的夜宴。我小的时候经常和表兄妹们在外面玩耍，在那里灯光总是照在地上，会有老人们的歌声在我们的周围响起，并传到黑暗处。有许多好吃的东西，许多笑声和惊喜。