Part 16

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 the village they separated, one going through many lodges, while the other went another way. The leader came to a lodge, and there he saw pounded corn, in lumps, running into the mortar. The Coyote ran into the lodge and begged the lumps of pounded corn to come out, saying that he was an old man who sang for people in their sacred ceremonies. The Coyote walked around the fireplace and began to sing. The lumps of pounded corn came out and danced. The lumps began to dance with the Coyote. “Close your eyes,” said the Coyote. The lumps had danced so hard that they had raised a dust, and the Coyote thought it was time to act. So he ran to the mortar, stuck his head into the bowl, and became fast. After a time the brother of the Coyote came, and said, “Wa, what are you doing?” The captive Coyote said: “I am fast, but I have lots to eat in this bowl. Take an axe and cut the bowl open.” The other Coyote took the axe and chopped the mortar open, cutting the other Coyote on the head so that he died. There was nothing in the mortar. The Coyote went away crying, for he had killed his brother.

FOOTNOTES:

[56] Told by Little-Crow.

56. THE COYOTE AND THE TURTLE RUN A RACE.[57]

One time a Coyote met a Turtle. The Coyote began to boast of his swiftness, and the Turtle said, “Why, I can beat you running!” So the Coyote said, “We will run a race to-morrow.” That night they parted, and went to their homes, so that they could get ready for the race the next morning. After the Turtle reached home he began to worry, and he could not get to sleep, for he knew that the Coyote could run fast. But the Turtle said to himself: “I will take him up there and go to the other Turtles, and ask them to assist me.” So the Turtle went to the other Turtles, and said: “I am about to run a race with the Coyote. I want you to help me.” He told them the place where they were to run, and the distance they were to run. So several Turtles volunteered to go and help the Turtle to beat the Coyote.

All the Turtles went to the place. They placed one Turtle at the end of the course; then they placed another one at a certain distance back of him; then another back of this one, and so on, and finally the Turtle himself took his stand. Each Turtle carried a long pole, and hid in the ground.

The next morning the Turtle met the Coyote. The Coyote began to run around and was happy, for he thought that he was going to beat the Turtle. The Turtle and the Coyote got ready to start. The Turtle gave the command to start. The Coyote ran and the Turtle crawled into his hole. When he got over a little ridge the Coyote saw the Turtle going ahead of him. Coyote ran and caught up with the Turtle. The Turtle threw his pole away and crawled into the ground. When the Coyote got to another knoll, there was the Turtle ahead of him again. The Coyote caught up with him. The Turtle crawled into the ground. The Coyote ran, and when he got up to another hill, there was the Turtle going ahead. The Coyote caught up with and passed him. At the end, the Turtle was at the goal, and the Coyote got up, and said, “You have beaten me.” This fine stretch of running killed the Coyote.

FOOTNOTES:

[57] Told by Standing-Bull.

57. THE COYOTE AND THE STONE RUN A RACE.[58]

The Coyote went up on a high hill, and there he saw a stone. The Coyote asked of the stone its name. The Stone said, “Run-Fast.” “A good name,” said the Coyote, “but I can beat you running.” The stone said, “You will spoil my rest, but if you want to race I will run with you.” The Coyote said, “All right, I want to race with you.” So the Stone told the Coyote to carry him to the top of the hill. The Coyote placed the Stone upon the hill and started him rolling down the hill. For a time the Coyote ran along side of him, then passed him. The Stone ran down the hill and caught up with the Coyote, and rolled upon his back. The Coyote then tried to shake off the Stone, telling him that he had beaten him and begging him to get off his back. But the Stone stayed upon the Coyote’s back. As the Coyote walked along the Stone grew heavier. It was now towards evening, and as the Coyote walked along he saw the Bull-Bats fly overhead. He told them to fly lower; that he had something to tell them. The Bull-Bats flew down. The Coyote told them that the Stone had been calling them names. He said: “When I told the Stone that I would tell you he jumped up on my back so that I could not tell you.” The Bull-Bats said, “We will take the Stone off.” So the Bull-Bats flew up high in the air, then came down with a swoop, making a peculiar noise upon the stone and cracking the Stone. The Bull-Bats kept on flying towards the Stone, until the Stone split in two.

After the Stone had fallen from the Coyote, the Coyote ran along making fun of the Bull-Bats, calling them names. He said, “You spoiled my hair by scattering some of these stones upon my back.” The Bull-Bats told the Coyote to go his way and they would go theirs. They separated.

FOOTNOTES:

[58] Told by Cut-Arm.

58. THE COYOTE AND THE ROLLING STONE.[59]

The Coyote was once going along, and he became hungry. He heard a noise in the distance which sounded like dancing. He went to the place from where the noise came and there were some men dancing around the fire. When he came close to the place he saw that these men were Jack-Rabbits and that they had taken out intestines from the fire. One took them out, and they began to eat them. The Coyote asked them where they got the intestines. The Rabbit men told the Coyote that they would not tell him. The Coyote was very hungry, and he wanted very much to find out. He made all kinds of promises to the Rabbits, if they would only tell him, and if they demanded pay he promised that he would pay them. The leader of the Rabbit men said, “If you will pay us a good price we will teach you how the big intestines are made.” The Coyote was willing to pay them. He stood up, and said: “Grandchildren, I have been very far away, on the war-path. You can see that I am a warrior by this headdress that I have on; but, to know the secret of making these intestines I am willing to part with this eagle war-bonnet.” The Rabbits told the Coyote to go and get some red willows. The Coyote went and brought a few red willows, and these the Rabbits threw into the fire. Then they began to sing a song, and all the Rabbits stood up and danced around the fire. As the willows burned they turned slowly into large buffalo intestines. When these were roasted on the coals the Rabbits told the Coyote to take the intestines off from the coals and eat them. The Coyote took the long intestines, and they were so good that he asked the Rabbits to do the same thing again, for he was still hungry. The Rabbits told the Coyote to get a good armful of willows. When they were brought and placed upon the fire all the Rabbits stood up, and the Coyote was among them. They danced around, and as the willows burned they turned into large intestines. As each intestine was roasted the Coyote went and pulled it off the fire. The Rabbits had been eating these things, so they did not care for any. The Coyote ate them all, and was filled.

The Coyote then began to look around to see how he might get back his war-bonnet; for he thought he now knew the secret of making these long intestines on the coals. He said to the Rabbits: “Let me take this war-bonnet, and let me show you how it must set upon the head; let me show you how I wear it.” The leader of the Rabbits said: “We are afraid of you; you are tricky, and you might get away with it.” The Coyote said: “I will not get away with it. All that I want is to show you the way it must be worn.” “Well,” said the leader, “you may have it, and show us how you wear the bonnet.” As the Coyote put the war-bonnet upon his head he made a long jump sidewise, and got away from the Rabbits. The Rabbits got after the Coyote, but he was too swift for them. The Rabbits said: “You can go; you will not be able to do the trick four times.” The Coyote turned around and laughed at the Rabbits.

The Coyote ran far away, and as he was becoming hungry he made a fire, gathered some red willows, threw them into the fire, and danced around the fire all alone. He succeeded in making the buffalo intestines. He did it again, but the third time it began to fail. The fourth time the red willows burned up into ashes. They did not turn into intestines for him. The Coyote began to cry, for he knew that now he must go hungry. He went along, and after a while he began to have the stomach ache. Deinde ventrem facere volebat, et, loco idoneo reperto, insedit. Dum defæcabat leporem circumcursantem vidit, undeque esset miratus est. Quo magis defæcavit, eo plures lepores vidit. Tum se lepores emittere repperit. Paulum cunctatus, dixit: “Cogitem quo modo hos lepores prehendere possim.” Nam lepores occidere volebat. Itaque pulchrum pallium quod armis trahebat sibi humi sedenti circumposuit. Hoc saxis gravibus onerato, iterum defæcare incipit. Usque ad vesperum defæcabat; tandemque exortus locum pallio operuit, eique saxum imposuit. Deinde ingentem stipitem nactus, lepores quos sub pallio esse putabat occidit. Pallio autem remoto, nihil nisi excrementum repperit. Quod cum vidisset, se dixit stultissimum esse.

The Coyote did not know what to do with the robe. He got hold of the robe and dragged it along until he came to a big Stone. He said to the Stone: “I am going to make you a present of this robe.” The Stone was pleased with the robe. The Coyote went away. When the Coyote was a little way off he saw a big hail-storm coming. He had nothing to cover himself with. He turned and went back to the place where the robe was. When he got to the robe it was clean, and it smelled good. The Coyote said to the Stone: “O, you have made the robe nice and clean. I came after it.” The Stone never said a word, and the Coyote stepped over and took his robe again. He went on. The storm never came near the Coyote. Soon he heard something coming behind him. He did not pay any attention to what he heard. By and by he looked back and saw the great, big Stone coming toward him. The Stone spoke to him, and said, “You, Coyote, stop!” This scared the Coyote very badly, for he knew that he would be killed for taking the robe back. The Stone chased the Coyote all the evening, and the Coyote became very tired and was about to give out, when he saw two Bull-Bats flying around in the air. He called to them, and said, “My brothers, this big Stone is after me and wants to kill me.” The Bull-Bats asked the Coyote why the Stone was chasing him. The Stone then spoke up and told the Bull-Bats not to believe anything that the Coyote might tell them. The Coyote begged the Bull-Bats, and said that the Stone had said something bad about the Bull-Bats; that the Stone was afraid that he would tell the Bull-Bats about it; and that was why the Stone was mad and ran after him and was trying to kill him; that he wanted them to help him by destroying the Stone. He said: “If you will stop the Stone I will change the color on your wings and tail.” The Bull-Bats said: “We will destroy the Stone, but you must first tell us what the Stone said about us, and what names he called us.” The Coyote said: “The Stone said that you were the ugliest-looking birds that he ever saw, because you have short beaks and big mouths, short legs, and are very dirty.” The Bull-Bats and the Coyote were talking on the top of a hill, and the Stone was trying to climb the hill, but could not get to the top.

After the Bull-Bats had accepted the Coyote’s word, one flew up, and when he came down, he expelled flatus upon the Stone and it burst in two. Another Bull-Bat split the Stone again, and soon they had it all broken up. (It is claimed by the people that there was no stone in the world except this big stone; and when the Bull-Bats broke the stone it scattered all over the world.) The Coyote was saved. He got some white clay and put it on the top of the Bull-Bats’ heads and bodies. The Coyote went on his way, happy.

FOOTNOTES:

[59] Told by Two-Hawks.

59. THE COYOTE AND THE ROLLING STONE.[60]

One time when the Coyote was going along he met a Rabbit. The Coyote said to the Rabbit: “Let us gamble to-night. Let us gather dry limbs and make a big fire, that we may look at one another, and the one who goes to sleep first is to be covered by the other.” The Rabbit agreed to this. So the Coyote and the Rabbit gathered a lot of dried limbs and made a big fire. The Coyote sat on one side and the Rabbit on the other side of the fire, so that they both looked at one another. The Rabbit went to sleep, but he had his eyes wide open. Every time the Coyote looked at the Rabbit he saw that his eyes were wide open, but all this time the Rabbit was asleep. By morning the Coyote went to sleep. The Rabbit went over and covered him and then went his way.

The Coyote woke up and was very mad. Profectus, ventrem facere volebat. Dum defæcavit, multos lepores parvos emisit, qui autem extemplo evanuerunt. Idcirco viatus est. Itaque pallium suum deposuit, ut, cum defæcavisset, eo lepores prehendere posset. Cum igitur in pallio defæcavisset, se lepores eo prehendisse arbitratus, pallium stipite iterum atque iterum feriebat. Cum autem pallium aperuisset, nihil nisi excrementum repperit. He dragged the robe along and gave it to a Stone that was lying near by. When the Coyote turned around to look at the robe that he had given to the Stone, he saw that it was clean and white. So he went and took the robe, and as he dragged it away from the Stone he found that it was as before. Again he gave the robe to the Stone, and said: “It is yours; I did not mean to take it.” The Coyote started off again, but he looked back and he saw that the robe was all painted in colors and was very beautiful. He went and pulled on it to take it away, and again it was as at first. Four times the Coyote gave the robe back to the Stone, and four times he took it away from the Stone.

At last the Stone moved, for it was angry, and the Stone ran after the Coyote. The Coyote ran down a hill, crying: “Father and mother Bull-Bats, this Stone that is running after me called you names! I told him that I would tell you Bull-Bats, and now he is trying to kill me!” The Bull-Bats told the Coyote to climb up a tree, where the young Bull-Bats were. The Bull-Bats expelled flatus on the Stone and broke it all to pieces. The Bull-Bats, as soon as the Stone was broken to pieces, flew up high in the sky, and when they were gone the Coyote saw the young ones in their nest and ate them up; then he came down from the tree. The Bull-Bats missed their young ones and they knew that it must have been the Coyote who had eaten them, for they heard the young ones crying in the Coyote’s belly. They were mad, and they expelled flatus on the Coyote and killed him.

Because the Coyote is up to all kinds of mischief he is often killed, and this is why we so often find a dead Coyote on the prairies.

FOOTNOTES:

[60] Told by Cut-Arm.

60. HOW THE SCALPED-MAN LOST HIS WIFE.[61]

One time the women went into the timber to gather some grapes. One of the girls went far. She saw some grapes away up in a tree, so she climbed the tree to get them. While she was up there, a Scalped-Man found her. The woman cried for help, but the other women had already gone home. The woman came down from the tree and went with the Scalped-Man to his den. But before getting to the den, they had to cross a creek. Before they crossed the creek, the girl said, “Now, if you will just go in and swim and wash your head, then I will be your wife and will not be afraid of you.” The girl made the Scalped-Man dive many times, and while he was diving she ran away and came to a grapevine, and crawled under it.

When the Scalped-Man came out from the water the girl was missing. He followed her tracks to the grapevine, and he said, “You are to come out from there!” But the girl said nothing. After a while he went on. He kept going through the timber back and forth, until at last he gave up. The woman got out from the place, and ran home. She told her people about the Scalped-Man.

FOOTNOTES:

[61] Told by Many-Fox.

61. THE GENEROUS SCALPED-MAN AND HIS BETRAYER.[62]

There was a man from an Arikara village who went hunting, going west from the village. He saw some antelope in a valley. He crawled up to them, and just as he was about to shoot he saw one antelope hold its head up, so that the man knew that it must have seen something. A mysterious being jumped up by the antelope, and before the antelope had time to jump the being had struck it and killed it. This being, who was a Scalped-Man, walked around the antelope, then took it by the legs, swung it upon his back and carried it off towards the Bad Lands. The hunter followed. The Scalped-Man came to a steep bank. He entered the bank and disappeared. The man kept his eye on the place where the Scalped-Man had disappeared. He came to the bank, looked in, and saw that there was a door, made of willows sewed together with sinew. Mud had been put over it and there was a root sticking out for a handle. By catching hold of the root the door was opened. The man went in and closed the door. Then he went in further, where the cave was, and there he saw the Scalped-Man sitting down by the fireplace. The antelope was lying by the entrance and the Scalped-Man was sitting down waiting, for he knew that the man was coming. The man spoke to the Scalped-Man, and said: “Why do you hold your head down? Speak! I am here. I am not afraid of you.” The man kept talking to the Scalped-Man until the Scalped-Man became friendly, then the man sat down. The Scalped-Man began to cut the meat. The man stayed with the Scalped-Man four days and nights.

The Scalped-Man told the man that he knew the country all around, and that he took long journeys into the enemy’s country and had killed many enemies; that if he would keep his secret of his living in the Bad Lands he would help him to become a great man like himself. The man promised, so the Scalped-Man told the man to remain in his cave while he should go off to the enemy’s country. The Scalped-Man went off, and was gone for several days. When he came back he took the man out of his den and told him that he had brought several ponies for him. The ponies were in a valley. The man thanked the Scalped-Man. He took the ponies home. The people were surprised to see the man coming with the ponies, for he had not been on the war-path, but had been out hunting, as they thought. The man stayed in the village several days, then he went out again.

The man went to the Scalped-Man’s cave. The Scalped-Man asked him what he wanted. The man told him that he wanted many ponies. The Scalped-Man told him to remain in his cave; that he himself was going out into the enemy’s country. The Scalped-Man disappeared and in a few days returned. He gave the man all the ponies he had brought from the enemy’s country. The man now thanked the Scalped-Man and drove the ponies to the village. The people knew that the man had gone off alone on the war-path, and now they were glad to see him bring many ponies. The people did not know that the Scalped-Man had helped this man.

When the man had been home with the ponies for several days he again started on the war-path. He went to the home of the Scalped-Man and told him that he wanted scalps. The man stayed right in the Scalped-Man’s cave when he received the scalps. He fixed them on sticks. The man now returned to his village, singing war songs. The people heard the songs and knew that he must have killed the enemy. When they went out to meet him, sure enough, he had several scalps hung upon poles. There were dances all through the village on account of the scalps.

In a few days the man went out again. He told the Scalped-Man that he wanted some more scalps. The man remained in the cave while the Scalped-Man went off into the enemy’s country. In a few days the Scalped-Man came back with the scalps. The man received the scalps. He stayed in the cave while he fixed them on poles. At this time the man told the Scalped-Man that several men wanted to join him on the war-path. The Scalped-Man said: “Very well, come with them and stop near this place. Leave them in a hollow and come into my cave, and we will go together. I shall be glad to scout for your people.” When the man went home there was again rejoicing in the village and scalp dances were had in the village.

In a few days the man made it known to the people that he was about to go on the war-path. The old men flocked to him, for they knew that he was very lucky capturing ponies and bringing scalps. When the war-party started out the man who was in the lead led them to the cave of the Scalped-Man. He told the warriors to remain in a valley, while he went a short distance to look for some deer. The man went to the Bad Lands to the cave of the Scalped-Man. He entered the cave. He found the Scalped-Man sitting there. They started on their journey, but the Scalped-Man would not join their party, but he went on ahead. The Scalped-Man led them to the village, helped to kill the enemy and capture ponies. The war-party returned with scalps and many ponies.

The friend of the Scalped-Man was afraid that the people would find out about the Scalped-Man, so he thought it was about time that the Scalped-Man should be caught; for the Scalped-Man had not been really scalped, but had been wounded a little on the top of his head, and so he had stayed away from the people and had become accustomed to stay by himself. The friend of the Scalped-Man was afraid that if the people found out that the Scalped-Man had done all the killing and capturing of the ponies he would be looked upon as a coward, for he was now a chief for having done all his great acts. So this man invited a lot of men in the night and told them that it was his intention that morning to go out and capture a Scalped-Man who dwelt in the Bad Lands; that this Scalped-Man was the one who was assisting him to get the ponies and kill people. The men in the village thought this very wrong and did not want to do it. But the man was determined.

The next morning the people went out. They surrounded the bank where the Scalped-Man lived and the man went into his cave; but the Scalped-Man was gone, for as they were holding their meeting in the night the Scalped-Man had come to the man’s lodge to listen to the council that they were having, for each night when the man was home, the Scalped-Man watched around his lodge to see if he would betray him. At this particular council the Scalped-Man had listened to all their plans about catching him. So when the Scalped-Man returned into his cave that night he picked up his things, moved them away from that country to some other place, so that after that, when the men went out to capture this Scalped-Man he was gone. The Scalped-Man was never seen any more.

FOOTNOTES:

[62] Told by Elk.

62. THE SCALPED-MAN.[63]