226 Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. IV. 



going away to leave you. I think I have done enough with you. It 

 is better for me to go back to my father. So this day I shall leave 

 you, dear grandmother." So he took his lance and went out of the 

 tipi, starting on the journey toward the east, following the course of 

 Eagle River. For days and nights he walked and walked, until he 

 came to a place well trodden by people. 



The ground was smooth and slippery in appearance, and beyond 

 it there was a black tipi painted with black paint. It was about twi- 

 light when he ran on to a snake. "Say, get up, you lazy thing. The 

 day has already gone far enough," said Little-Star, poking at the 

 snake with his lance, which made the snake rigid. "Well, are you 

 that sensitive?" said Little-Star, laughingly. As he went on he 

 repeated the same trick with the serpents yet asleep. Amusing him- 

 self by killing the serpents with his well-feathered lance, he would 

 laugh very heartily, until he awoke some people at a distance who 

 gave the alarm. "Ah! Get up all of you people! You might all be 

 exterminated by Little-Star. He is very mischievous and very daring. 

 Stir around, you people, and let us obstruct his journey and thus save 

 our kindred. Look at him with that 'crazy' lance," said a man (per- 

 haps a chief), with commanding voice. So the serpents, small and 

 large, woke up and moved about, and soon covered the earth entirely. 



Little-Star, seeing that it would be quite an undertaking to pass 

 the people, walked to and fro to find a trail to get to another land, 

 but the whole horizon was thickly covered with serpents. For four 

 days and nights he walked about in search of a passage, but without 

 success. At this time he was getting somewhat tired and sleepy. As 

 he walked about to steal a passage through the crowd, he said to his 

 lance with great faith, "Now, if anybody comes to injure me while I 

 am resting (sleeping), I wish you would fall on top of me." So, stop- 

 ping on good level ground, he staked his lance, his head at the foot of 

 it, and went to sleep to renew his strength. As the serpent came up 

 to attack him, the lance lighted on his body, waking him instantly. 

 "Get away from me or you will get hurt," said Little-Star, gaping and 

 getting up with his lance and beginning to walk around again. Find- 

 ing a good level place, he again staked his lance, laid his head at the 

 foot of it, and went to sleep. Shortly after he had gone to sleep, 

 another serpent came crawling slowly for an attack, but this lance 

 lighted on Little-Star again and awakened him instantly. "Oh, pshaw! 

 Keep away from me, you ugly creatures, or you will get hurt!" said 

 Little-Star, gaping, dusting his hair, and getting up with the lance. 

 Wandering to and fro along the vast throng of serpents he finally got 

 sleepy again, and rested on good level ground at the foot of his lance. 



