Native Amircan stories

heres the secound one i'll post more tomarrow morning


THE NATURE OF MAN
A Hopi Legend
The First People, then, understood the mystery of their parenthood. In their pristine wisdom they also understood their own structure and function: the nature of man himself.

The living body of man and the living body of the earth were constructed in the same way. Through each man ran an axis, man's axis being his backbone, the vertebral column, which controlled the equilibrium of his movements and his functions. Along this axis were several vibratory centers which echoed the primordial sound of life throughout the universe or sounded a warning if anything went wrong.

The first of these in man lay at the top of the head. Here, when he was born, was the soft spot, kópavi, the "open door" through which he received his life and communicated with his Creator. For, with every breath, the soft spot moved up and down with a gentle vibration that was communicated to the Creator. At the time of the red light, Tálawva, the last phase of his creation, the soft spot was hardened and the door was closed. It remained closed until his death, opening then for his life to depart as it had come.

Just below it lay the second center, the organ that man learned to think with by himself, the thinking organ called the brain. Its earthy function enabled man to think about his actions and work on this earth. But the more he understood that his work and his actions should conform to the plan of the Creator, the more clearly he understood that the real function of the brain was carrying out the plan of all Creation.

The third center lay in the throat. It tied together those openings in his nose and mouth through which he received the breath of life and the vibratory organs that allowed him to give back his breath in sound. This primordial sound, as that coming from the vibratory centers of the body of earth, was attuned to the universal vibrations of all of Creation. New and diverse sounds were given forth by these vocal organs in the forms of speech and song, their secondary function for man on this earth. But, as he came to understand its primary function, he used this center to speak and sing praises to the Creator.

The fourth center was the heart. It too was a vibrating organ, pulsing with the vibration of life itself. In his heart man felt the good of life, its sincere purpose. He was of One Heart, but there were those who permitted evil feelings to enter. They were said to be of two hearts.

The last of man's important centers lay under his navel, the organ some people now call the solar plexus. As this name signifies, it was the throne in man of the Creator himself. From it he directed all the functions of man.

The First People knew no sickness. Not until evil entered the world did people get sick in the body or head. It was then that a medicine man, knowing how man was constructed, could tell what was wrong with a man by examining these centers.

First, he laid his hands on them: the top of the head, above the eyes, the throat, the chest, the belly. The hands of the medicine man were seer instruments; they could feel the vibrations from each center and tell him in which life ran strongest or weakest.

Sometimes, the trouble was just a belly ache from uncooked food or a cold in the head.

Other times, it came "from outside," drawn by the person's own evil thoughts or from those of a Two Hearts. In this case, the medicine man took out from his medicine pouch a small crystal about an inch and a half across, held it in the sun to get it in working order, and then looked through it at each of the centers. In this way, he could see what caused the trouble and often the very face of the Two Hearts person who had caused the illness.

There was nothing "magical" about the crystal, the medicine man always said. An ordinary person could see nothing when he looked through it, the crystal merely "objectified" the vision of the center which controlled his eyes and which the medicine man had developed for this very purpose.

Thus the First People understood themselves. And this was the first world they lived upon. Its name was Tokpela, Endless Space. Its direction was west, its color sikyangpu (yellow), its mineral sikydsvu (gold). Significant upon it were kato ya, the snake with a big head, wisoko, the fat eating bird, and muha, the little four leaved plant. On this world the First People were pure and happy.

as promised i am going to add 2 more stories

THE WISE MAN OF CHIEF MOUNTAIN
A Blackfoot Legend
Chief of the Mountains is grim, rugged, and majestic. Indeed, these are very good reasons for the Blackfeet Indians to have named the awesome peak, Chief Mountain. It is located in Montana, in the northeastern corner of Glacier National Park.

Tribal historian Yellow Wolfe of the Blackfeet tribe always enjoyed telling the following story about Chief Mountain and the people who once lived in its shadow.

Two members of the Blackfeet tribe were Wise Man and his wife. Their people called him Wise Man because he always seemed to know how to do everything right.

At that time, the Blackfeet wore the plainest kinds of clothes. Wise Man thought about this for a long time. One day he said to his wife, "Let us go away for a while. I wish to make some things that I have been planning for a long time."

Wise Man and his wife packed their travois, which was drawn by dogs, and moved to the base of the Inside Lakes. There they made their camp. He hunted and killed enough game for him and his wife and their dogs before beginning work on his plan.

First, he climbed to the high ridge between the lakes and Little River, where he dug an eagle trap. Beside the pit, he laid a deer and slashed its body to attract an eagle. When all was ready, Wise Man jumped into the pit and covered it with willow sticks and grass to make a blind. He waited for an eagle to come. Several eagles, with their wings swishing the air, sailed down upon the deer.

While the eagles ate at the deer, Wise Man reached up cautiously, snatched the legs of an eagle, and pulled it down into the pit. By repeating this method, he caught a large number of eagles. These he tied together, dragging them to his camp. There, he removed their tail feathers, their fluffy plume feathers, and other useful feathers that would help his plan.

As winter arrived, weasels appeared, and Wise Man hunted them This was more difficult than trapping eagles but he set many snares and caught about a hundred weasels.

Wise Man made himself an eagle headdress and hung white weasel fur skins upon it. Along the seams of his shirt sleeves and leggings, he hung more weasel skins. Adorned with his newly decorated clothes, he presented himself to his wife.

"Oh, you look brave and handsome!" she said. "Your new clothes with feathers and furs are the most beautiful ones I have ever seen!"

"I'm glad you like them," he replied. "Now I want to make something special for you."

Wise Man put away his new clothes, and dressed for hunting. He started out to look for elk. From these animals, he collected the skins, tusks, and teeth. He sewed them in decorative rows on the front and back of his wife's new dress. Both of them thought it most attractive.

"Now we have a fine new appearance," she said. "Shall we go home to Chief Mountain and show our people what you have accomplished?"

"Not yet," answered Wise Man. "Something is lacking, and I must discover what it is. I shall ask the Great Spirit to show me what more I must do."

On the very next day, when Wise Man walked through the timber, he found a dead porcupine. Its quills were scattered around on the ground. He examined them, thinking how he could dye the quills different colors. If he could, his wife's new dress would be even more beautiful, he thought. He shot another porcupine for its quills, and carried the animal home to cook.

"I know the yellow moss growing on pine trees will stain anything yellow," his wife suggested. "The color will not fade or wash off. I'm sure you can find other dyes for different colors, too."

He found green in another wood, and red in the juice of a certain plant. So Wise Man dyed the quills three colours--yellow, green, and red. He flattened the quills somewhat and sewed them side by side on the leather clothes, making different designs. He took a long time with his work. Finally, he had enough for his shirt and leggings, as well as for the neck the front, and the back of his wife's new dress.

Each of them were so pleased with the colorful and charming appearance of the other that they hugged and danced together for joy.

At last, Wise Man felt satisfied with the way his plan had developed. They broke camp and started home to their people near Chief Mountain. When they came within sight of their tribe, they put on their newly decorated clothes.

When their friends saw them approaching they did not at first believe they were Wise Man and his wife. But when they came closer, their people recognized them. All of the tribe crowded about Wise Man and his wife, staring, touching, and asking many questions about how their clothes were made.

Wise Man showed all of the people at Chief Mountain how he created the new ornaments. Immediately, the people began to gather the materials to make decorated clothes for themselves.

Since that time, the Blackfeet Indians have become very well known for their handsome and colorful dress. Wise Man became a strong leader in his tribe. He was acclaimed for discovering how to make everything more beautiful. This is why his people loved him and always called him Chief Wise Man of the Blackfeet tribe.

THE SUN, MOON AND STARS
A Navajo Legend
In this present, or Fifth World, the First People had four lights which had been brought from the lower world. White light appeared over the eastern mountains, blue light spread across the sky from the southern mountains, yellow light came from the western peaks and darkness from the north. These lights were far away and carried no heat, so the air was always of one temperature and no seasonal changes occurred although there was darkness and daylight.

"We do not have enough daylight," the people complained. "We surely need more light."

So First Woman sent Glowworm to the east and told Fox Fire to go to the south, Lightning Beetle to the west, and Firefly to the north. Then, when anyone needed extra light, these four were ready to serve him.

For a time this plan worked very well, but it was not long before the First People were saying, "These lights are too small. They flicker on and off so they are of little use to us. We cannot work in such dim light!" Then others asked, "How can we see to do anything? We do not have night eyes like Hosteen Owl or little Bat!"

It seemed that First Woman could never please them. Finally she thought of Fire Man and his glowing mountain, so she sent a messenger to ask the Fire Man if he could help her.

"Yes," agreed Fire Man, "I can make the land bright all around Fire Mountain, but the light will not reach the edges of the land, and there will be smoke."

After that flames leaped high above the mountain top, and there was no more darkness for some distance. But soon the people were again complaining. "We do not like the heat and the smoke that is coming from Fire Mountain," they declared. "The heat scorches the earth and we are choked by the smoke!"

As everyone was complaining and no one was satisfied, First Woman decided that she must find a different way by which to light the earth.

After consulting with a council of wise men, she told her helpers to bring her a large, flat slab of the hardest and most durable rock they could find. After visiting every mountain and rocky pinnacle, they returned with a large, flat slab of quartz; it was twice as long as it was wide, and, when the helpers had placed it on the ground in front of her, First Woman decided it was large enough to make two round wheels of equal size.

She had hoped to make four in order to have one for each of the four directions, but the rock was too small for that many, so only two could be made. After First Woman had marked two large circles on the slab, they all set to work with sharp flints and stone hammers, cutting out the two equal sized wheels. This was not an easy task, as the quartz was just as hard as the implements with which they were working, but after a time two round, flat discs lay shaped and ready for their purpose.

Then First Man and First Woman started decorating the stones in a manner that would signify the powers that each was to be given. The first was given a mask of blue turquoise to produce light and heat, then red coral was tied to the ear lobes and around the rim. A horn was attached to each side to hold male lightning and male rain. Feathers of the cardinal, flicker, lark, and the eagle were tied to its rim to carry it through the sky, and also to spread the rays of heat and light in the four directions. Four zigzag lines of male wind and male rain stood at the top and four more hung at the bottom, and four sunspots were placed for guardians who sometimes stood on its face, but more often took their places in the four directions.

"Now it is finished," said First Man, "and I will give it a blessing of mixed pollens, and also a song which will be sung by a lark who hereafter will be known as the `sun's voice'."

"But this cannot remain here!" stated First Woman. "It must be placed in the sky!"

No one seemed to know how this was to be done until Fire Man suggested that it should be carried to the top of the highest mountain and placed on the tallest peak at the edge of the earth where it could shine on all of the land at the same time.

So it was taken to the eastern mountains and fastened to the sky with darts of lightning. Then First Woman and her helpers went back to decorate the second, round stone disc, which was the same size as the first.

But First Woman said, "We do not need another bearer of heat and light, so this one will carry coolness and moisture."

Then they decorated its face with white shell, placed a band of yellow pollen on its chin, and made a rim of red coral. Magpie, nighthawk, turkey and crane feathers were fastened on four sides to bear its weight and its horns held female lightning and soft winds. Four straight lines placed at the top, and another four at the bottom, gave it control over the summer rains. When it was finished this, too, was taken to the top of an eastern peak and fastened to the sky with sheet lightning.

"Now everyone should be satisfied," remarked First Woman as she looked at the discs. "Now we have light, heat and moisture, all coming from the sky."

But again many of the First People were complaining. "This is not right," they said. "If the sun stays in the east all the time it will always be summer on that side of the land, and it will always be winter on the other side."

"The sun must move across the sky," First Man agreed, "but how can it move when it is only a stone and has no spirit?"

Everyone looked at the two discs and knew that they were just decorated stones with no life of their own, and they wondered what could be done about it. Then two very old and very wise men stepped forth and said, "We will give our spirits to the sun and the moon so they will have life and power to move across the sky."

One entered the turquoise disc and he was called Jóhonaa'áí, or Sun Bearer; the other entered the white disc and he was called Tl'éhonaa'áí, or Moon Bearer. Immediately the two stones began to quiver and show signs of moving.

"But how shall I know where to go or which paths to follow?" asked the sun; and the moon asked the same question.

"The eagle is guided by his tail feathers," said First Man. "We will give you each twelve feathers from the eagle's tail to point the correct paths you are to follow, and the changes in the paths will mark the changes in the seasons."

So twelve tall, white feathers were fastened to the top of each headdress to indicate a different path for each month of the year. Sun was the first to start on his journey across the sky, while Moon waited all day, until Sun had reached the peaks of the western mountains but was still looking back across the land.

At this point Moon queried, "Now?"

And Sun answered, "Now!"

So Moon was about to climb into the sky, when Wind Boy, who had been standing just behind him, thought he would help by pushing with a stiff breeze. This breeze hit the Moon Bearer in the back and blew the twelve feathers forward across his face, so he could not see where he was going. All he could do was follow where the tips of the feathers pointed, and, as these were now slanted in different directions, Moon has always followed strange paths across the sky.

First Man and First Woman could do nothing about this, so everyone went back to where they had been working on the slab of quartz. On the blanket which had held the two large discs were now many small pieces of stone of every size and shape, along with the dust that the chipping and shaping had created. "Look at all this good quartz that is left!" First Man exclaimed.

And First Woman said, "It must not be wasted! We will use it to make more lights in the night sky."

So again they took their flint knives and their chisels and stone hammers, to shape the stars that would shine only at night. There were a few very large pieces of quartz but there were myriads of small chunks, and much stardust by the time they had finished their work.

When all the stars were ready to be placed in the sky First Woman said, "I will use these to write the laws that are to govern mankind for all time. These laws cannot be written on the water as that is always changing its form, nor can they be written in the sand as the wind would soon erase them, but if they are written in the stars they can be read and remembered forever."

After that she drew a sky pattern on the ground and placed one of the large stars in the north. "This will never move!" she said, "and it will be known as the Campfire of the North. It will also be known as the traveler's guide and as the lodestar."

Then she placed large stars in the other three directions and one in the very center of her sky pattern. "These must be placed in the sky in their correct positions," she told Fire Man, who had shot two crooked fire arrows into the sky so their trails formed a ladder, and who now undertook the task of placing the stars in their proper locations on the blanket of night.

Before Fire Man picked up the first one, First Woman had traced in the sand a path for each to follow across the skyways, and First Man had tied a prayer feather on its upper point, giving each star a prayer to chant as it marched along its designated path. Fire Man began with the north star and continued climbing the ladder until all the large stars were in the sky, while First Woman placed other stars into groups to form the constellations.

It was slow work, as there were many stars and the ladder was very tall. While all this work was taking place Coyote had been standing close by, watching every move Fire Man made. Now he saw one fairly large star still lying on the ground, so he asked First Woman if he might have it for his own. "You may have that star," First Woman agreed, "if you will place it in the sky directly over your mountain. Part of the time it will be quite dim, but when it shines brightly its brilliance will indicate your mating season."

So Coyote carefully climbed the zigzag ladder, clinging to the rungs with one paw while grasping the star with the other, and placed Canopus, which the Navajo call M'ii Bizo', in the southern sky directly over Coyote Mountain.

The first two constellations designated by First Woman were Ursa Major, which was named Náhookos, meaning Cold Man of the North, and Cassiopeia his wife, who was called Nahookás Ba'áád. These two were placed on opposite sides of S'tsoh, or the North Star, which was their home fire; they move around its center and never leave it. No other constellation approaches them to interfere with their set routine.

This arrangement of constellations established a law that has persisted to this day. This law stipulates that only one couple may live by one hogan fire.

After these, First Woman designed a slender constellation in the shape of two rabbit tracks, one following the other. This is the constellation that governs all hunting, and, during the spring and early summer when the open end points upward, no one may hunt game animals. In the late fall, when the open end tips toward the earth, the hunting season begins.

In the days when the Navajo people depended mostly on game for their food, the laws governing hunting were very strict. No hunting was allowed during mating season nor when the young were still with their mothers; and no deer or antelope under the age of two years were ever killed.

Even today the Navajo do not care for meat from lambs or young kids, and, now that deer and antelope have almost disappeared from Navajo territory and have been replaced by sheep and goats, they use only the older ones for their food, as they believe the meat provides greater strength.

The next pattern to be made by First Woman was one recognized as a man with wide shoulders standing in a stooped position with his hands on his knees in order to support a heavy load of harvest. This constellation, or "the harvester," commands the Dine'é to work hard during the harvest season so they may garner sufficient food for the long, cold winter.

Thunderbird, who carries all the clouds in his tail and all the rains under his wings, was the next constellation, along with Hydra, "the horned rattler," who was given charge of the underground water channels.

The task of placing all of these stars in their proper places was going slower and slower, for Fire Man could take only a few stars at a time as he climbed the ladder. Coyote became impatient as he watched this slow process of placing the constellations. He said to First Woman, "This is taking too long! Why do you not permit me to help? Then we would have this work finished twice as fast!"

First Woman answered, "You always make mistakes and then there is trouble."

But Coyote insisted, saying "I will do exactly as you say and follow the pattern just as you have placed it on the ground."

First Woman was putting two identical stars into her pattern and had named them "the twins." The two lines which marked their paths ran side by side across the sky. She pointed to them and said to Coyote, "Take these two stars and place them somewhat to the west where they will walk hand in hand across the center of the sky."

Then Coyote picked up the two identical stars (Gemini), one in each hand, and walked to the ladder. He had seen Fire Man climb the ladder with his hands full of stars and thought he could do the same, but when he was half way up he chanced to look down, and the distance was so great that he became dizzy and almost fell.

To make matters worse, Wind boy came whistling by to see what Coyote was doing, and shook the ladder from east to west. Quickly shifting the star in his right hand into his left which then carried both stars, he continued to climb, using his right hand to cling to the ladder. When he reached the sky he soon found the two places where the stars belonged, but when he looked at the stars in his hand he could not tell them apart and did not know which one went to the right or which to the left.

So he closed his eyes and put one star in place with his left hand and the other with his right. Immediately a harsh, grating noise was heard, and he knew they were in the wrong spots and were trying to change places. He could do nothing about it now, as they were well beyond his reach, so he hurried down the ladder while the two stars crossed, one in front of the other to gain their proper paths.

First Woman met him at the foot of the ladder and berated him with angry words and fierce gestures. "Now look what you have done!" she cried. "Those two were supposed to establish peace and friendship among all peoples of the earth. Now they will cause enmity, strife, and dissension that will plague mankind forever. You shall carry no more stars to the sky!"

Coyote grumbled as he walked away, "It was not my fault! Wind Boy shook the ladder and I almost fell off!"

First Woman told him to go away as she was too busy to be bothered, and went on laying out patterns for constellations which Fire Man carried to the sky. There was K'aalógii, or Butterfly; Tsídiitltsoii, the lark who sang his song to the sun every morning; there was Na'ashii, the lizard; M'iitsoh, the wolf; Atsá, the eagle; Dahsání, the porcupine, who was given charge of the growth of all trees on the mountains; and the caterpillar.

First Woman made many, many more until nearly every animal, bird, and insect had star counterparts in the sky. As Fire Man bore these up the ladder he carried his fire torch which held burning coals strapped to his left arm, and as each star was put into the sky he gave it a spark of fire to light its path so it could find its way even through the darkest night. All was going very well, but, as Fire Man was carrying a medium sized star to the east, the straps that held his torch came loose and the torch fell to the ground so he had no spark to give this star.

He placed it in the sky, ran down the ladder to recover his torch, and then hurried back to give it a light, but he could not find it, as it had started to move and had lost its path in the darkness. This is called the "black star;" it wanders here and there and brings bad luck wherever it goes.

It sends out little black arrows to cause pain and sickness and, if a person who is traveling at night feels a sharp prick in his shoulder or his back, he will know that the black star is not far away.

When Fire Man returned to earth, First Woman did not know whether to give him another constellation to carry to the sky, or not. Not many stones left on the blanket were large enough to make stars, but many chips and piles of dust remained.

She filled Fire Man's hands with stone fragments, and he started climbing; he was halfway up the ladder when he glanced at the stones in his hands and decided that they were too small and too many to place individually, so he gave each one a spark of fire and then, handful by handful, he threw them against the night sky.

Here they may still be seen as close groups of small stars which represent the small, fire carrying creatures of the earth such as the lightning beetle or firefly, and the glowworm. As Fire Man was descending the ladder, Coyote stepped up to the blanket and, grasping it by two corners, swung it into the air so the stone fragments and the star dust swept across the sky in a great arc that reached from horizon to horizon.

This formed the Milky Way which the Navajo call Yikáísdáhí. They believe it provides a pathway for the spirits traveling between heaven and earth, each little star being one footprint.

The Coyote dropped the blanket and everyone looked at the sky which was now filled with stars.

First Woman said, "Now all the laws our people will need are printed in the sky where everyone can see them. One man of each generation must learn these laws so he may interpret them to the others and, when he is growing old, he must pass this knowledge to a younger man who will then be the teacher. The commands written in the stars must be obeyed forever!"

Nowadays, it is only the Navajo medicine men who know the constellations and can explain the laws they represent.

I loved all of them. Thanks for sharing, slayeress : )

you are welcome i will post more when i figure out witch ones i want to post next

i've always loved any mythos or older story.

keep it up dear :)

they are beautiful, thank you for sharing

thanks .... still looking through them to find my next two i think i'll have more before nightfall if not in the next morn

very well done slayeress i realy enjoyed them and from a shamnic view i love them much thank you

heres one more

THE GIRL WHO WAS THE RING
A Pawnee Legend
By the bank of a river stood a lodge, in which lived four brothers and their sister. The boys made arrows. To the branch of a tree in front of the lodge they had hung a rawhide strap, such as women use for carrying wood, to make a swing for the girl.

Whenever their meat was all gone and they began to get hungry, The girl used to send her brothers into the timber to cut dogwood shoots to make arrows. When the arrows were ready, she would get into the swing and the boys would swing her. As the swing moved, they would see dust rising all around the horizon, and would know that the Buffalo were coming.

Then all four boys would take their bows and arrows, and stand about the swing so as to protect the girl and not let the Buffalo come near her. When the Buffalo had come close, the boys would kill them in a circle all about the swing. They would quickly carry the girl into the lodge, and would kill so many Buffalo that the rest would be frightened and run away. So they would have plenty to eat, and the dried meat would be piled high in the lodge.

One day the boys went out to get wood for arrows, and left the girl in the lodge alone. While they were away a Coyote came to the lodge and talked to the girl. He said to her: "Granddaughter, I am very poor, and I am very hungry. I have no meat in my lodge, and my children also are hungry. I told my relations that I was coming to ask you for food, and they have been laughing at me. They said, 'Your granddaughter will not give you anything to eat.' "

The girl answered him: "Grandfather, here is plenty of meat. This house is full of it. Take what you want. Take the fattest pieces. Take it to your children. Let them eat."

The Coyote began to cry. He said: "Yes, my relations laughed at me when I said I was going to visit you and ask you for something to eat. They said you would not give me anything. I do not want any dried meat -- I want some fresh meat to take to my children. Have pity on me, and let me put you in the swing, so as to bring the Buffalo. I do not want to swing you hard so as to bring the Buffalo in great herds. I want to swing you only a little so as to bring a few Buffalo. I have a quiver full of arrows to keep the Buffalo off."

The girl said: "No, grandfather, I cannot do this. My brothers are away. Without them we can do nothing."

Then the Coyote slapped his breast and said: "Look at me. Am I not a man and strong? I can run around you fast, after you are in the swing, and I can keep the Buffalo off. I can shoot clear through a Buffalo. I have plenty of arrows, and I need only use a single one for each Buffalo. Come on, I want to swing you just a little, so that but few Buffalo will come." So he coaxed the girl, but still she refused.

After he had begged her for a long time, she agreed to let him swing her a little, and got in the swing. He began to swing her, at first gently, but all at once he pushed her very hard, and kept doing this until she swung high. She screamed and cried, and tried to get off the swing, but it was now too late. All around -- from all sides -- the Buffalo were coming in great crowds. The Coyote had made ready his arrows, and was running around the girl, trying to kill the Buffalo and keep them off, but they crowded upon him -- so many that he could do nothing -- and at last he got frightened and ran into the lodge. The Buffalo were now just all over the ground about the lodge, and suddenly one of the young Bulls, the leader of a big band, as he passed under the swing, threw up his head, and the girl disappeared, but the Coyote, peeping out of the lodge door, saw on the horn of this Bull a ring, and then he knew that this ring was the girl. Then the Bull ran away fast, and all the Buffalo ran after him.

When the Buffalo had gone, the Coyote came out of the lodge and saw that the girl was not there. He did not know what to do. He was frightened. Pretty soon he heard the girl's brothers coming. They had seen the dust, and knew that some one was swinging their sister, and that the Buffalo had come. They hurried back, running fast, and when they reached the lodge they found the Coyote just dragging himself out of a mud-hole. He crawled out crying, and pretended that the Buffalo had run over him and trampled him. His bow and arrows were in the mud. He told the brothers his story and said that he had tried hard to save the girl, but that he had not known that so many Buffalo would come. He said he had thought that the girl must be swung high, so that the Buffalo could see her from a long way off.

The brothers felt very sorry that their sister was lost. They counseled together to see what they should do, trying to decide what would be the best plan to get her back again. While they were talking about this, the Coyote, with all the mud upon him, stood before them and said: "Brothers, do not feel sorry because your sister is lost. I will get her back again. Live on just as you always do. Do not think about this. Do not let it trouble you. I will get her back again." After he had spoken thus, he said, "Now I am going to start off on the war-path," and he left them and went away.

He journeyed on alone considering what he should do, and at length, as he was traveling along over the prairie, he met a Badger, who said to him, "Brother, where are you going?" The Coyote said: "I am going on the war- path against my enemies. Will you join my party?" The Badger said, "Yes, I will join you." They went on. After they had gone a long way, they saw a Swift Hawk sitting on the limb of a tree by a ravine. He asked them where they were going, and they told him, and asked him if he would go with them. He said he would go. After a time they met a Kit Fox, and asked him to join them, and he did so. Then they met a Jack Rabbit, who said he would go with them. They went on, and at length they met a Blackbird, and asked him to join them. He said: "Let it be so. I will go."

Soon after they had all got together they stopped and sat down, and the Coyote told them how the girl had been lost, and said that he intended to try to get her back. Then they talked, and the Coyote told them the plan that he -- the leader -- had made. The others listened, and said that they would do whatever he told them to. They were all glad to help to recover the girl.

Then they all stood up and made ready to start, and the Coyote said to the Blackbird, "Friend, you stay here until the time comes." So the Blackbird remained there where they had been talking, and the others went on. After they had gone some distance farther, the Coyote told the Hawk to stop and wait there. He did so. The others went on a long way, and then the Coyote said to the Rabbit, "You stay here." The others went on, and at the next stopping-place he left the Kit Fox; and at the next -- last of all -- he left the Badger. Then the Coyote went on alone and travelled a long way, and at length he came to the Buffalo camp. He went out to the place where the young Bulls used to play the stick game, and lay down there. It was early in the morning.

After a time some of the young Bulls came out, and began to roll the ring and to throw their sticks at it. The Coyote now pretended to be very sick. His hair was all covered with mud, and his tongue hung out of his mouth, and he staggered about and fell down and then got up again, and seemed to feel badly. Sometimes he would get over near to where the ring was being rolled, and then the young Bulls would call out: "Here, hold on! Don't get in the way."

After a little while the Coyote pretended that he felt better, and he got up and went over to where the young Bulls were sitting, looking on at the game, and sat down with them, and watched the play with the others. Every now and then two of the young Bulls would begin to dispute over the game, each saying that his stick was the nearer to the ring, and sometimes they would wrangle for a long time. Once, while they were doing this, the Coyote went up to them and said: "Here! You men need not quarrel about this. Let me look. I know all about this game. I can tell which stick is the nearer." The Bulls stopped talking and looked at him, and then said: "Yes, let him look. Let us hear what he says." Then the Coyote went up to the ring and looked, and said, pointing: "That stick is nearest. That man has won." The Bulls looked at each other, and nodded their heads and said, "He knows. He is right." The next time they had a dispute, he decided it again, and all were satisfied.

At length two of the young Bulls had a very fierce dispute, and almost came to fighting over it. The Coyote came up and looked, and said: "This is very close. I must look carefully, but I cannot see well if you are all crowding around me in this way. I must have room. You would all better go over to that hill, and sit down there and wait for me to decide." The Bulls all went over to the hill and sat down, and then the Coyote began to look. First he would go to one stick and look carefully, and then he would go to the other and look. The sticks were about the same distance from the ring, and for a long time it seemed that he could not make up his mind which was the nearer. He went backward and forward, looking at the sticks, and stooping down and putting his hands on his knees and squinting, and at last, when once his face was close to the ground, he suddenly snatched up the ring in his mouth, and started, running as hard as he could for the place where he had left the Badger.

As soon as he had started, all the Bulls on the hill saw what he was doing -- that he was taking the ring away from them -- and they started after him. They did not want to lose the ring, for it was very useful to them, and they played with it all the time. When the Buffalo in the camp saw that the young Bulls had started, they all followed, so that soon all the Buffalo were rushing after the Coyote. He ran fast, and for a long time he kept ahead of the Buffalo, but they followed, a great mass of Buffalo crowding and pushing, running as hard as they could run. At last the Coyote was beginning to get tired, and was running more slowly, and the Buffalo were beginning to catch up to him, but he was getting near to where the Badger was. After a time the Buffalo were getting nearer to the Coyote. He was very tired, and it seemed to him as if he could not run any farther. If he did not soon get to where he had left the Badger, the Buffalo would run over him and trample him to death, and get back the ring. At length, when they were close behind him, he ran over the top of a little hill, and down in the valley below saw the Badger sitting at the mouth of his hole. The Coyote raced down the hill as fast as he could, and when he got to the hole he gave the ring to the Badger, and just as the herd of Buffalo got to the place, they both dived down into the hole.

The Buffalo crowded about the Badger's hole, and began to paw the ground, to dig it up so as to get the Coyote and the ring, but the Badger had dug a hole a long way under the ground, and while the Buffalo were digging he ran along through this hole and came out far off, and ran as hard as he could toward the brothers' lodge. Before he had gone very far, some of the Buffalo on the outside of the herd saw him, and called out to the others: "There he is! There he goes!" Then all the Buffalo started again and ran after the Badger. When they had come pretty close to him, he would stop running and dig another hole, and while the Buffalo were crowding around the hole, trying to dig him out, he would dig along under the ground, until he had got far beyond them, and would then come to the top of the ground, and run as fast as he could toward the lodge. Then the Buffalo would see him and follow him.

In this way he went a long distance, but at length he got tired and felt that he could not run or dig much farther. He was almost spent. At last, when he dug out of the ground, he saw not far off the Kit Fox, lying curled upon a rock, asleep in the sun. He called out: "Oh, my brother, I am almost tired out! Help me! "

The Kit Fox jumped up and ran to him and took the ring in his mouth and started running, and the Badger dug a deep hole, and staid there. The little Fox ran fast, gliding along like a bird; and the Buffalo, when they saw him running, chased him and ran hard. The Kit Fox is a swift animal, and for a long time he kept ahead of the Buffalo.

When he was almost tired out, he came to where the Rabbit was, and gave him the ring, and ran into a hole, and the Rabbit ran on. The Buffalo followed the Rabbit, but he ran fast and kept ahead of them for a long time. When they had almost caught him, he came to where the Hawk was sitting.

The Hawk took the ring in his claws and flew off with it, and the Rabbit ran off to one side and hid in the long grass. The Buffalo followed the Hawk, and ran after him. They seemed never to get tired. The Hawk, after he had been flying a long time, began to feel very weary. He would sail down low over the Buffalo's backs, and was only just able to keep above them. At last he got near to where the Blackbird was.

When the Blackbird heard the pounding of many hoofs and knew that the Buffalo were coming, he flew up on a sunflower stalk and waited. When the Buffalo came to the place where he was, he flew up over them to the Hawk, and took the ring on his neck, and flew along over the Buffalo. The ring was heavy for so small a bird, and he would alight on the backs of the Buffalo and fly from one to another. The Buffalo would toss their heads and try to hit him with their horns, but he kept flying from one to another, and the Buffalo behind were always pushing forward to get near the ring, and they pushed the other Buffalo ahead of them. Pretty soon the herd passed over a hill and were rushing down to the place on the river where the brothers' lodge stood.

Ever since their sister had been lost, the brothers had been making arrows, and now they had piles of them stacked up about the lodge. When they saw the Buffalo coming they got their bows and took their arrows in their hands, and shot and shot until they had killed many, many Buffalo, and the rest were frightened and ran away.

The Blackbird had flown into the lodge with the ring, and after the brothers had finished killing, they went into the lodge. And there, sitting by the fire and smiling at them as they came in, they saw their sister.