Traditions of the Arikara

The Arikara traditions in this volume were collected during the year 1903, with funds provided by the Carnegie Institution. The work was part of a systematic and extended study...

The Badger began to dig upwards. He became tired, and said, “Mother, I am tired.” Then the Mole began to dig. The Mole became tired. Then the long-nosed Mouse came and dug until...

Mother-Corn stayed with the people until she had taught them the bundle ceremonies. When she had completed telling them concerning these ceremonies, she told them that she was n...

After they had been gone for some time, a Dog came up, and said: “Why did you people leave me behind? I shall be the one that you shall kill, and my meat shall be offered to the...

One day, as the boy was crossing a ravine, he saw sitting on the side of a hill a fine-looking woman. The woman’s hair was not braided, and she wore a buffalo robe. The robe loo...

The old woman then told the boy that he must not go into the southwest country; that there were four wonderful men there. The boy went, though, and he saw the four wonderful men...

The next day the boy started out on the prairie for game. He met a camp of Snakes, mostly deadly Rattlesnakes, and there were all the other kinds of Snakes. They were glad to ha...

A long time after this chase the chief gave out an order for everybody to go on an elk chase. Red-Bear had been accustomed to collect all the elk teeth. This was his object for...

Now the boy on dry land said: “Grandfather, I am about to leave you. Grandmother said that I was to feed you with your own lice” (turtles). The boy took turtles from the monster...

One day the village was attacked by a large party of Sioux. The inhabitants were being defeated on every side. Pretty-Voice was tardy in coming to the fight, and the men made re...

No sooner had the boy entered the lodge than the old woman on the man’s back became scared. She did not talk much. The boy walked up and said: “Woman, you did wrong. You were se...

In olden times the animals met in a lodge to have sleight-of-hand performances. All the medicine-animals and all the birds who had magic power went to this lodge. The animals de...

He entered his house and saw his wife. He sat down and told her that he regarded as nothing all the wounds he had received from the men who tried to kill him. The woman was surp...

After they had drunk the water, the poor boy told the story. He said that all the other warriors had been killed; that every one of them was scalped and was lying in the lake; t...

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 p...

Two Coyotes were going along, and as they became hungry one of them said: “Let us go where the people have left their village. We will find some pounded corn.” As they came to t...

In olden times there were certain men who went upon the war-path. Scouts were sent ahead, and when the scouts came back they brought word that they had seen a mysterious being....

One night as the medicine-men were having their ceremony this man who had been put upon the scaffold came into the lodge. All the medicine-men ran out of the lodge. Word was sen...

Many years ago it was a common practice for the Arikara to go upon the hills and dig holes in them and stay in the holes many days, to catch eagles. One young man went away off...

Mother-Corn is assisted by Badger, Gopher, long-nosed Mouse, and Mole to get people out of ground, as in No. 3. People see where other people helped out of ground by Buffalo. Th...

Boy gifted with powers by four-world-quarter gods kills so many antelope he is called Antelope-Carrier. Wood-Rats have given him bow and four differently colored arrows. He wand...

Woman has boy and girl on travois drawn by pony. Children fall off unknown to mother and wander away to cave. Girl goes to find something to eat and is taken far away by Whirlwi...