There were two young men growing up in the Blackfoot camp. They were
both good warriors and were making great names for themselves. One was
lucky in taking horses. His name was Shield Quiver. The other was
fortunate in killing enemies when he went to war. He was called
Bearhead. When either of the two went to war, he always had a big party
to follow him. Bearhead was jealous of Shield Quiver, because he always
brought in horses.
One time the Blackfeet were camped at the Bear Paw Mountains, when
Shield Quiver made up his mind that he would go off on the war-path.
When he said that he was going, a large party intended to go with him.
Before he started the chief of the camp sent for him to come to his
lodge, saying that he wished to speak with him. When Shield Quiver had
come to the lodge the chief said: “Here, my young man, now that you are
going to war, take my daughter with you, for you are the man that ought
to have her. But you will have to be on your guard against Bearhead. He
wants my daughter, and for a long time has been trying to get her, but
I cannot let him have her. He has a bad disposition. He has had many
wives, but, after living with them for a short time, he has got angry
with them and killed them. I am afraid that if I give him my daughter
he might kill her.”
Shield Quiver thought for a little while, and then said: “Very well; I
will go to war, and I will take your daughter with me, but if I go with
a woman I cannot let men go with me. I shall have to go alone.”
The chief said: “I cannot say anything about that. You will do what you
think best. I cannot advise you.”
So Shield Quiver took the chief’s daughter for his wife. He said to his
followers: “Now I am going to war, but you men cannot come with me. I
shall be gone two moons, and then I will come back. I am going alone.”
He started with his young wife, and they went towards the Snake
Country. They travelled for a good many days, until they came to a
range of mountains and crossed it. Then they went on towards the head
waters of a stream that they could see a long way off. When they
reached this stream they found that the Snakes had been camped there,
and had moved away that day. The fires were still burning in the camp.
When Shield Quiver found that the Snakes had only just moved from
there, he said to his wife: “Here, let us get back in the brush. These
people are not far from here. They may see us. We must hide ourselves.”
They went back into the brush and hid.
While they were waiting in the brush a dark cloud came up in the west,
and it looked as if they were going to have a storm. Shield Quiver said
to his wife: “While we have to wait, I will fix up a little shelter of
brush here, so that we may keep dry; but to-night we will go to the
camp and take horses.”
“Very well,” said his wife, “while you are fixing the place, I will go
around the point and into the old camp and will see if I can find
anything there that has been left behind.” For often something may be
forgotten and left in the camp.
That day the Snakes had left this camp, and had moved over to another
creek. The head chief of the Snakes had but one son, a fine-looking
young man—the handsomest in all the Snake camp. That morning, before
they moved, he had painted himself and had dressed himself finely, and
after he had finished he handed his mother his sack of paints to pack.
While his mother was packing, she put down the paints in a little patch
of brush, near the lodge, and then went away and forgot them.
When the young man came into camp that evening he said to his mother,
“Mother, where are my paints?” Then his mother remembered that she had
left them in the camp they had just come from. She said, “Oh, my son, I
forgot the sack, and left it in a little patch of brush just back of
where the lodge stood.” The young man caught up a horse and went back
to get it that same evening.
When he rode into the old camp, and came to where the lodge had been,
he saw there on her knees a woman with an elk robe over her head, and
in her hands his paints, which she was looking at. When he rode up to
her, and when she looked up at him, he saw that she was very pretty,
and he liked her as soon as he looked at her; and she, when she saw
him, so handsome and finely dressed and painted, liked him.
He made signs to her, saying, “Who are you, and what tribe do you
belong to?” She signed back to him that she was a Blackfoot. Then she
asked him, “Who and what are you?” He answered, “A Snake.” He asked her
by signs, “Where is the party that you are with?” She said, “There are
only two of us.” He said, “Come, get on my horse behind me here, and
let us go to my camp.” She answered: “No, there are some things that I
have here that I want to get. Then I will go with you.” Then she
thought a little and said: “The only other person here is my husband.
Why do you not kill him? I will help you.” The Snake said: “It is good.
I will do it.” The girl said to him: “I will go to him, and do you
creep through the brush, and as soon as I see you I will throw my robe
around him and hold him, and you can kill him with your lance.”
She went back to the camping-place, and when she got there her husband
was stooping down hobbling the horses. The Snake was right behind her,
creeping through the brush. She walked up to her husband and threw
herself down over him, and kissed him while he was hobbling the horses.
He looked up at her and laughed. He thought she was only playing with
him. In a minute he heard the footsteps of some one coming, running,
and he said, “Look out! here comes somebody,” and he tried to throw her
off, but he could not. He raised himself up while she clung to him, and
the Snake made a pass at him with the lance, but he was afraid of
killing the woman, and he missed the man, and Shield Quiver caught hold
of the lance. He kept calling to his wife: “Let go of me. This man is
trying to kill me. He will kill us both. Let us try to save ourselves.”
Shield Quiver and the Snake wrestled and tugged backward and forward to
see who should get the lance. They were both strong men, and at length
the shaft broke, and Shield Quiver held the piece on which was the
head. Then he jumped back and shook off his wife, and rushed at the
Snake and thrust the lance into his breast, and so killed him with his
own lance.
Then he turned to his wife and said: “Now, woman, I have killed this
man that you have tried to help, and I would like to have you tell me
what is the reason that you acted as you did, and tried to help him to
kill me.”
Then the woman explained her reasons, and said: “When I left you I went
into the camp and found this sack of paint, and while I was looking at
it he came up and asked me to go to his camp with him, and I liked him,
and thought that I would go with him. So we laid a plan to kill you
before we went to camp.”
Shield Quiver said to her: “Now, woman, listen. Bearhead wanted you. He
has had a good many women, and he has killed all that he had. Through
pity I took you. I never expected to take a wife. I will not do
anything to you for what you have done to me, but will take good care
of you and will give you back to your father.”
He scalped the Snake and took everything that he had. The woman was
crying hard. He asked her what she was crying about, and she answered:
“I am crying for my lover, who is dead.” He said: “Saddle up your
horse. We will go home.”
They started, and after many days’ travel reached the Blackfoot camp.
It was in the night. The next morning Shield Quiver said to his wife:
“Put on your best clothing. I told you I was going to give you back to
your father, and I am going to take you there this morning. So get
ready to go.”
The woman put on her best clothes, and painted herself up nicely, and
they started off to the old chief’s lodge. The old chief was glad to
see his son-in-law and his daughter back again. No one knew that Shield
Quiver had killed a Snake. He had not spoken of it to any one. After
they had sat down the young man reached down into his belt and drew out
the scalp and said: “Here, old man, here is all I have done on this
journey. I have taken no horses, but I have killed a Snake. I have
killed your daughter’s lover. It is only by the help and the power of
the Sun that you see me here to-day. Your daughter tried to kill me on
this trip, while I was fighting with this Snake Indian. I am afraid to
live with her, and have brought her back to you again. This is the best
I can do, to give you this scalp and your daughter back again.” When
Shield Quiver had said this he got up and walked out of the lodge, and
went back to his own home. The old man said nothing.
The girl had two brothers, and both were sitting in the lodge while
Shield Quiver was speaking; and when they had heard the story told, and
had thought about it, they got up, and each took hold of one of the
girl’s arms, and they led her out of the lodge. Then they said to her:
“You cannot live here with us. You had better go and join your dead
Snake lover.”
So they killed her there.