the girl to tell her youngest brother that when the party should
be out three days he should get some long intestines from the
buffalo that the warriors would kill, and also some bones; these
he should put in the fire; and that in the night he would hear
the whistling of a young eagle, and he must know that it was his
brother-in-law coming. The girl told her youngest brother all that
Young-Eagle had said, and the boy said that he would do so, only
he was afraid that what she had told him would not come true; he
did not believe that his brother-in-law would come. But the girl
said, “Brother, watch out, and when he comes, do as he tells you,
for he is wonderful.” But the brother felt like making fun of his
brother-in-law, Young-Eagle. It was announced through the camp that
the Big-Belly-Boy was going on the war-path with the rest. They
all laughed at him and made fun of him because he was going on the
war-path for the first time.
The warriors started out, and after they had been gone three days
Young-Eagle took his wife out to the lake where he had dived once
before, and there he told her to take a swim. The girl went in and
washed. After she came up, Young-Eagle went in, just the same as
he had done before, with leggings, moccasins, etc., and he waded
into the lake, then he dived, and stayed a long time. At dusk,
Yellow-Calf heard a noise in the water, and Young-Eagle came out,
the same man that she had first met. Young-Eagle told her not to
touch him, but to go home; that he would come home soon; and that
she should watch for him. He sat down and covered himself with
his robe. All at once the robe rattled, and there flew up a young
Eagle. It flew towards the southwest, where the warriors had gone,
and in the night, the brother-in-law heard the cry of an Eagle. He
rose, and said, “That is my brother-in-law; he has come.” The other
warriors who heard it made fun of him, and said, “Do you think
that that Big-Belly-Boy brother would come this far?” But the boy
did not say anything. He went out, and sure enough, there was his
brother-in-law.
The boy gave Young-Eagle the intestine to eat, and also some bones
to gnaw. Young-Eagle told his brother-in-law that the enemy were
within a short distance, and that he was going out to bring all the
ponies that they had in the village; and that he was to turn all
the ponies over to him; and that his brother-in-law should divide
the ponies among the warriors.
The leader of the war-party had sent out different scouts, but they
had seen no enemy’s village, nor any ponies. But every once in a
while Young-Eagle would appear, and this brother-in-law of his
would go to meet him. The warriors still doubted that they were
brothers-in-law.
The next day, when they saw a drove of ponies coming towards them
and Young-Eagle driving them afoot, they knew him. Young-Eagle’s
brother-in-law went out to meet him. Young-Eagle gave him all the
ponies and told him to divide them among the people. Young-Eagle
went back into the enemy’s camp. He killed one man, took his
scalp, and gave it to his brother-in-law, who in turn gave it to
the leader of the war-party.
Young-Eagle went back to the village, and about this time the enemy
were coming after him. Young-Eagle killed several more, taking
their scalps. He gave the scalps to his brother-in-law, who in turn
gave them to the leader. They knew that the young man was brave.
After the battle he went home as Young-Eagle. The others drove
ponies.
Young-Eagle went into his lodge where his wife was. He did not tell
her what had happened. Two days afterward, the war-party came,
singing scalp songs and telling all that Young-Eagle had done.
Yellow-Calf’s father sat upon the lodge, listening, and thought
that they were making fun of his son-in-law.
The warriors entered the lodge of the priests, and there they
told the story, from the time they had left and from the time
Young-Eagle overtook them, and the capturing of the ponies and the
killing of the enemy. This was all true. Scalps were brought to
Young-Eagle’s lodge, and the old man put them upon a long pole, and
stuck the pole in the ground outside of the entrance of his lodge.
The ponies that were left over after dividing them up between the
warriors were given to Yellow-Calf’s father, who took only so many.
Then Young-Eagle went out and gave the remainder of the ponies to
the poor people.
Some people went to the other village, and reported all that
Young-Eagle had done, and the father of Young-Eagle was ashamed,
for he thought they were making fun of him, for when Young-Eagle
had been at home he would never go out on the war-path. He did not
believe the story; he believed the boy to be dead, for he had been
away for some time. So all the sisters of Young-Eagle had cut their
hair and mourned, as had also his father and mother.
Every time a war-party came to attack the village Young-Eagle was
there to save the village. Once in a while, when a war-party went
out, Young-Eagle followed. He did the same as he had done before.
On one of these occasions he made up his mind that he would go and
get his own likeness; for, although he had changed once, when first
he had gone on the war-path, he still retained his big belly. One
evening he went with his wife to the lake. He went into the lake.
When he came out he had on his fine leggings, a fine robe and a
mountain-lion quiver, and he was fine-looking, with long hair. The
girl was proud of him now. They went home.
In a few days, Young-Eagle told Yellow-Calf to take all the scalps
that he had taken, and saddle the ponies; for they were going to
visit his father’s village. His father’s name was “Black-Sun.”
They went south to Black-Sun’s village. One evening they came to
the village. Young-Eagle left his wife outside of the village, and
went to his father’s lodge. He told his father that he had come
back. His father got up and made a fire. He told his woman to get
up, for their son had come back. The four sisters got up from their
beds and hugged their brother, for they had been mourning for him
as dead. Young-Eagle told his sisters to go out and to bring their
sister-in-law. They went out, and they found Yellow-Calf sitting
outside of the lodge, holding three ponies. The girls embraced
their sister-in-law and led her into the camp, took in the things
that belonged to Young-Eagle and his wife, but led the ponies away.
The stick with the scalps was fastened upon a long pole and stood
up in front of the lodge.
Early on the next morning, Black-Sun got up and went through the
village singing scalp songs, thus letting the people know that
his son had returned with many scalps. The people heard it. They
went out, and they saw the pole that had the scalps upon it. The
people rushed into the lodge, and that very same day the braves and
warriors decided that this Young-Eagle should lead the people to
the girl’s village.
So the people of the other village went north, and the north and
south tribes of the Arikara came together and became one tribe
again.
FOOTNOTES:
[48] Told by Yellow-Bull.
48. THE GIRL WHO BECAME A WHIRLWIND.[49]
Many, many years ago the Arikara left their village and went
west on a buffalo hunt. They left behind a family, the woman of
which was leading a pony that dragged a travois with two children
on it—a girl seven years old and a boy of five. As these people
were crossing a little stream of water the pony jumped across
the stream, and the children fell off. The woman, supposing the
children still to be on the travois, never looked behind, and did
not miss the children until she came into camp.
The men were then sent back to try to find the children, but they
could not be found; for when they fell off, instead of following
their parents they had gone back in the direction of their village,
but instead of going into the village they had gone into the timber
west of the village. There they wandered through the timber, and
at last they came to a cave, where they stopped. The girl left
the boy there while she went about trying to find something for
him to eat. While the girl was gone, a Whirlwind came and took
her far away. It was not long before the girl returned; but often
after that she would go away for days. When she returned she was
always very happy. Now, the boy told his sister that he wanted a
bow and arrows; that he was all the time going around through the
timber seeing rabbits and smaller game. The girl disappeared, and
when she came back she had a bow and four blunt arrows. For many
days the girl would disappear and then would return. One day the
boy said: “My sister, I wander through the woods, and I am getting
older; I think I ought to have a larger bow and many arrows.” So
the girl said, “All right.” She went away, and when she came back
she brought the bow and quiver filled with arrows for the boy. The
boy was thankful for this. The girl disappeared very often. Every
time she came home the boy would hear the storm coming, then, all
at once, the girl would appear.
One day when the boy was out hunting, an Owl came to him, and said:
“We have taken pity upon you. We have an animals’ lodge close by.
We have taken pity upon you because your sister is now a wonderful
being—a Whirlwind. She goes from one place to another, killing
people. She has planned to kill you, that she may be the Whirlwind
always. She thinks that you are in her way, for she has to look
after you. Now, the girl travels far over the land. She visits
places where people have food, and there she finds bows and arrows,
knives, axes, and hoes, and she brings them here to your place.
Testes autem moribus excidit, domumque adfert; eos frictos, dum
dormis, dentibus frangit et mandit. To-night when she comes home,
stay awake, for she intends to kill you soon. You will find out
what she eats.” That night, when the boy lay down, he watched and
waited for his sister. She came at last. She looked down and saw
that her brother was sleeping, then she took some of her special
meat and placed it upon hot coals, took it off and began to eat.
When she got through eating, the boy arose and said, “Sister, I
am glad you are back.” She said, “Well, I am going away, far away
from here to-morrow, and I want you to stay here until I come
back.” The next day the girl was gone. The Owl came to the boy, and
said: “Make haste! Come!” So the boy followed the Owl, and as they
traveled along the Owl said: “Do you see that cloud coming? That is
the Whirlwind coming to destroy you. Make haste and come with me!”
They ran, and as the Whirlwind was near, the boy was taken into the
den of the Owls.
The Owls told the boy that when the Whirlwind should come it would
make threats, but that they had taken pity upon him and would keep
him there; but that there was something that this girl wanted, and
they were going to tell him what it was. They said: “Your sister
wants a woman. You tell her that the first woman you marry you will
give her.” So the Whirlwind came to the side of the hill where the
Owl’s den was. The wind blew and the girl spoke, and said: “You big
Owl, turn that boy loose! He is mine! I must kill him!” But the
Owls would not turn the boy loose. They said, “He is here under our
protection.” The girl kept on demanding the boy. At last, the boy
said, “My sister, if you will let me go, the first woman I marry I
shall give to you.” The girl said: “That is what I want; I shall
let you go.” So the boy was turned loose, and traveled towards his
people.
When the boy came to his people, he saw that they were very poor.
He entered his father’s lodge and told his father that he had come
back. His father arose and built a big fire. He saw the boy sitting
there and recognized him. The father asked about the sister. The
boy said that his sister was well, but that she was far away.
Then the boy told his father to tell the chief to come to their
lodge. The boy told the chief that he had come to tell them that
the buffalo were not very far away and that the people must go and
kill these buffalo. The people sent hunters out and they found the
buffalo as the boy had said they would. In a few days the enemy
attacked this village, and they saw that the boy was a wonderful
boy, for he made a way for his people to kill the enemy. The people
cried through the village, and said that they should give him a
nice young woman to marry. The chief’s daughter was the one to be
given to him.
That night the boy went out and called for his sister. The sister
came that night into the tipi and sat down by her brother, and
said, “I have been far away.” The boy said: “My sister, I am now
to marry. Here is the girl that I promised you.” The boy’s sister
said, “That is what I want.” She went to the girl, and the sister
and the boy’s wife were together. The boy went out. The next day
the brother came into the lodge, and his sister said: “My brother,
I give you this club and this medicine, and I give you the power
that I possess—that of the Whirlwind. You will have power to kill
the enemy. They will try to shoot you, but they can do you no
harm. For many days I shall now go towards the southwest, where I
shall always stay. When the wind comes you must know that I am the
Whirlwind. I will listen to the prayers of our people. When I am
coming do not let my people be afraid of me, for I shall always
hear their prayers and shall always heed them. I shall not destroy
them, but will always comfort them.” The young man became a famous
warrior, and finally became a chief.
FOOTNOTES:
[49] Told by Many-Fox.
49. THE COYOTE AND THE MICE SUN DANCE.[50]
While the Coyote was wandering in the evening he heard dancing, but
he could not see the dance anywhere. He went on walking around and
hunting for the dance. He was about to give up, when he found that
the noise of the dancing came from an elk skull in the bushes.
The Mice ran away as soon as the Coyote came up, but the Coyote
begged to see them dance. He addressed them thus, “Uncles, I want
to see you dance.” The Mice said: “We are afraid of you, for you
may eat us. We would like to see you, but you are very tricky, and
you might eat us.” The Coyote begged so hard, saying he had not
seen his uncles for many months, and he wanted to see them; so the
Mice agreed to let him into the dance. They let the Coyote peep
into the back part of the skull, so that he could see the dance. As
soon as the Coyote had run his head through the skull the Mice ran
away, and the Coyote was held fast with his head in the skull. The
Coyote begged the Mice to take the skull off, but the Mice would
not listen to him. They told him to go away. So the Coyote went on
his way, with the skull on his head.
The Coyote could not see very well, on account of the skull
being over his eyes. He heard some noises at a distance. He went
straight to a camp. He came to the edge of some water. The people
saw the animal coming on the other side of the water, and some of
them hallooed, “A wonderful animal coming on the other side of
the water!” When the Coyote saw that the people were scared he
commenced to make funny noises. Some of the people said, “Make way,
so that we may be spared and live.” The Coyote said, “Give me the
chief’s daughter and you shall all live.” The people gave him the
chief’s daughter. The Coyote swam across the water and the people
made a tipi for him. The girl took the Coyote by the horns and
led him to the tipi. The Coyote stayed with the girl all night.
In the morning the Coyote and the girl were sent for to come and
eat. The Coyote was still close to the girl, and some boy saw that
it was a Coyote. The boy yelled, “This being that is in the tipi
with the girl is nothing but a Coyote!” The people rushed there
and the Coyote was forced out beyond the tipi. As he could not see
very well he ran into people and dogs. The people struck the skull
until they broke it to pieces. They caught the Coyote and brought
him home. They tied his legs with strings, drove some pegs into
the ground, and tied him fast to the pegs. As the people went out
they would go to the Coyote and urinate and defecate on him. One
old woman went out to defecate on the Coyote, and as she lifted her
dress she wanted to know how she was to do it. The Coyote told the
woman that the first thing to be done was to pull the pegs, then
pull up her dress, then defecate on him. The Coyote took a long
stick, and as the woman lifted her dress and tried to defecate on
him he ran the stick into her rectum, then stuck the stick in the
ground. He then ran away and defecated as he went. For this reason
the Coyote defecates easily and is always running from the people.
FOOTNOTES:
[50] Told by Joe Reed.
50. THE COYOTE BECOMES A BUFFALO.[51]
The Coyote was going along when he saw an old bull sitting down on
the side of a hill. The Coyote went up to him, and said, “Well,
my grandfather, are you sitting here sunning yourself?” The bull
said, “Yes.” The Coyote said that he was hungry; that he would like
the Buffalo to give him something to eat. The Buffalo said, “Why
are you not like myself, a big Buffalo, eating grass.” The Coyote
said, “Well, grandfather, I wish that you would make a Buffalo
out of me.” So the Buffalo said: “All right. You will then have
to break up your bow and arrows, for you will need them no more.”
So the Buffalo placed the Coyote, and said, “Now you must keep a
strong heart; do not get scared.” The Buffalo rushed at the Coyote,
and just as he was about to hook the Coyote, the Coyote jumped
sidewise. Then the Buffalo said: “Why did you get scared? Now stay
right at this place, and I will come and make a Buffalo out of
you.” But every time the Buffalo ran toward him the Coyote would
jump away. The last time the Coyote stayed, and as the Buffalo
went up against him there were two Buffalo bulls. They locked
horns, then the Buffalo told the Coyote-Buffalo to eat grass. The
Coyote-Buffalo obeyed and ate until he was filled. Then the Buffalo
said, “We must go to the Buffalo herd, for there is one bull there
who has control of all the female Buffalo, and we will fight him,
and when we have killed him we can have all the female Buffalo.” So
they went to the Buffalo herd. The Buffalo bull was going around
among the Buffalo. They were waiting to fight him when it should
come time. They fought, and they killed the Buffalo bull.
Now each bull took many cows to look after. When they all came
together they lay down in a hollow for the night. The next night
the Buffalo all jumped and traveled toward the western country.
When the Coyote-Buffalo got up he saw that he had been left
behind, all alone. He arose, but did not follow the other people.
The Coyote-Buffalo came across a Coyote, and said: “Why are you
not as I am? I was a Coyote once, but now I am a Buffalo.” The
Coyote-Buffalo told the Coyote to throw his bow and arrows away,
for he was going to make him into a Buffalo. He set the Coyote in a
certain place and made a rush at him. The Coyote jumped sidewise.
Three times did the Coyote-Buffalo try to run into the Coyote,
but every time the Coyote jumped sidewise. The last time, the
Coyote-Buffalo said, “Now you must close your eyes and let me run
over you.” The Coyote obeyed and the Coyote-Buffalo ran into him,
and there were two Coyotes instead of the Coyote-Buffalo and the
Coyote. So the Coyote-Buffalo turned back into a Coyote.
FOOTNOTES:
[51] Told by Antelope.
51. THE COYOTE AND THE ARTICHOKE.[52]
The Coyote was going along through thick timber. He saw an
Artichoke plant, which he dug up. He asked it its name. The
Artichoke said, “Cososit,” meaning artichoke. The Coyote wanted to
know if he had any other name. The Artichoke said, “Take-a-Bite.”
When it said that, the Coyote took a bite. The Artichoke repeated
this name four times, and every time it repeated it the Coyote
took a bite of the Artichoke. Finally, the Coyote had eaten the
Artichoke.
The Coyote went on, and again and again he expelled flatus, moving
his feet each time. Every time he expelled flatus he seemed to
grow worse. Once it threw him up in the air. Now, before expelling
flatus, he got hold of a tree, and he said, “Now let me expel
flatus.” The flatus threw him up in the air, tree and all. Again he
went on, and he came to a stone, and when he knew he was to expel
flatus, he said, “Now let me expel flatus.” This he did, and the
stone went up with the Coyote. The stone fell on the Coyote and
killed him. This is the reason we find coyotes lying beside stones.
FOOTNOTES:
[52] Told by Cut-Arm.
52. THE COYOTE RIDES THE BEAR.[53]
The Coyote was going along through the timber, and he met a Bear.
The Coyote made all kinds of threats against the Bear, and finally
got on his back and rode him. All at once the Coyote jumped off and
said, “You can go your way, and I will go mine!” The Coyote went
up on the top of a hill, to see if the Bear was still going, but
he did not see him. Then the Coyote yelled, and said, “You Bear,
you claim to be a fierce animal, and here I have ridden upon your
back!” The Bear, hearing this, became mad. He turned around, and
said: “I will kill that being, whoever he is. No matter where he
goes, I will follow him.” So the Bear ran up the hill, and when
the Coyote saw the Bear coming he ran. The Bear caught up with the
Coyote on the next hill, and killed the Coyote and tore him up.
FOOTNOTES:
[53] Told by Antelope.
53. THE COYOTE RIDES THE BUFFALO.[54]
There was a village, and in the village lived one young girl who
was very pretty. All the young men courted her, but she did not
care to marry. A Buffalo came who wanted to marry her. Once in a
while he would turn into a young man, nicely dressed and smelling
very fine. The girl became very much attached to the Buffalo.
The Coyote came to visit the girl, and he talked to her. The girl
said she did not care to talk to anybody now, because she had a
young man, and that young man was the Buffalo. The Coyote said:
“Why, that Buffalo is my horse. I ride him.” The girl said, “If
you will ride that Buffalo here I will marry you.” The Coyote went
home, took a club and hit himself very hard on the knee, so as to
make it sore. The Buffalo came to the girl to talk with her. The
girl told the Buffalo what the Coyote had said. The Buffalo was
mad, and said, “I am going to bring the Coyote here and kill him.”
The Buffalo pawed the ground and threw up the dirt. The Coyote saw
the Buffalo coming. The Buffalo called to the Coyote to come out.
He said: “I want you to go with me to the girl’s tipi; I am to kill
you.” The Coyote said, “I am a cripple, I can not go.” “It is not
true,” said the Buffalo. “Come out, uncle, can’t you? Come on.”
Said the Coyote, “If you want me to go, and can carry me to the
girl’s tipi, I will go.” The Buffalo agreed to carry the Coyote.
The Buffalo got down on his knees and the Coyote got on top of him
and sat upon him. The Coyote had a cane that he was to hit the
Buffalo with.
The Coyote jumped up and ran back to the village and married the
girl. The Buffalo was so ashamed that he never came back to the
village. For this reason, the descendants of the Coyote are bad and
tricky. By foul means, they marry.
FOOTNOTES:
[54] Told by Cut-Arm.
54. THE COYOTE AND THE BUFFALO RUN A RACE.[55]