224 Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. IV, 



behind the bed along the wall of the tipi. Shortly afterwards, Little- 

 Star having been directed to the splendor of the timber, the musical 

 notes of the birds, and the pecking of yellowhammers — all affording 

 harmony throughout the forest — asked his grandmother to make him 

 a bow and four arrows. "Well, well! My dear grandchild is very 

 ambitious and full of life," said Old-Woman-Night, taking up her 

 stone knife and going out of the tipi to cut sticks for bow and arrows. 

 The old woman brought in the sticks and began to make a bow and 

 arrows (origin of the so-called "lance," or "coyote-bow"). The 

 stick for the bow was not a choice one, for it had a knot near one 

 end that gave the bow an awkward appearance, throwing the "belly" 

 to one side of the center. The arrows were not exceptionally good 

 either. They were roughly peeled, had short corner wing- feathers 

 attached; the feathers were not sliced, but were yet in parts when 

 placed on the arrows. Two were painted red, the other two black. 

 After the old woman had finished them, she gave them to the boy, who 

 immediately went out and shot at a standing stick that he placed 

 against a mound. 



Early in the morning, this old woman said to the grandchild who 

 was about to go out to play in front of the tipi: "Say, dear grand- 

 child, I want you to rema'in inside, while I go out and see if my traps 

 have caught anything. You see this fireplace? From this there are 

 paths leading out to the ends of these traps. There is always a chance 

 for all of them," said the old woman, starting out from the tipi. 



After meal time, and while the boy played about, this old woman 

 would put away something around their lean-back.' She kept doing 

 this until the boy suspected her. Finally the old woman came back 

 with a whole buffalo and carried it into their tipi. "I should like to 

 know why you put things away behind the lean-back," said Little-Star 

 to Old-Woman-Night. "Oh, for my lunches," said she. This was 

 done several times, until one morning, after the old woman had gone 

 out to seethe traps, Little-Star said to himself : "lam going to see 

 what is behind that lean-back. My grandmother always places some- 

 thing behind there," said Little-Star, in a ridiculing voice. 



It was not long before> the old woman left for her traps. So 

 Little-Star went around the lean-back, and to his surprise, saw an 

 animal with two horns and blazing eyes, eating or chewing away at 

 the food given him by Old-Woman-Night. "Well! This is the crea- 

 ture that eats all the food that my grandmother puts away for me. If 

 that is the way this creature does, I cannot allow it," said Little-Star, 

 angrily. So, taking his bow and painted arrows, he shot the monster 



' Compare the placing of food under the skull for sacrifices. 



