Feb., 1904. Traditions of the Osage — Dorsey. 31 



did not pick it up. Again she went on crying, and she found another 

 girl baby, but she let it alone also, and she came to another girl baby, 

 but she did not pick it up, and she went on and found the fourth girl 

 baby, but she did not pick it up. She went on again, and found a boy 

 baby. She picked him up and carried him with her and built him a 

 tipi. Finally, the boy was big enough to use a bow and arrow. 



So Mitsihi made a bow and some arrows for the boy. The boy 

 went out to shoot birds. He killed a bird, but did not know what it 

 was; but his mother said it was a jay bird. He went out and killed 

 another bird, and said, "Here is something I killed, but I am afraid of 

 it." His mother said, "It is a blackbird." He went again, and killed 

 another bird. 



Now his mother wanted to name her child, so she got an Owl to go 

 and get all kinds of birds to come. The birds all got together and 

 were waiting for the Eagles. The Owl said, "I want to name the child, 

 so I will give him my name, — it shall be Owl." The birds got mad, be- 

 cause the Owl named the boy, and they all made fun of the Owl. 



The boy grew to be a man and killed deer, and he was a fine-looking 

 man. He went off hunting, and found a camp, so he did not return 

 home. 1 



25. — The mourning Woman and her Lover. 



There were once a man and a woman living together. The man 

 died. The woman grieved much over the death of her man. She cried 

 all the time. 



The Indians went buffalo hunting. They returned with buffalo 

 and camped on a hill where there was a creek. There was a big elm 

 tree out by itself. The woman was still mourning for her husband. 

 She always went out to this elm tree and cried under it. Every time 

 she went there she would find some one, and they would have a good 

 time. 



Two boys saw her going many times to the tree. One said to the 

 other, "Friend, we had better watch that woman who is mourning for 

 her husband, for I think she is doing something." They started to the 

 tree and climbed it. They were in it all day. They heard the woman 

 crying at the camp. She started to the tree, and one of the boys saw 

 she was coming, and said, "She is going to do something funny, and 

 you must not laugh." She got. there, under the elm tree and looked 

 back toward the camp. She sat down and looked again, to see if her 

 lover was coming. Sure enough, he was coming. He wore a black 



1 Compare Dorsey and Kroeber, Traditions of the Arapaho, No. 45. 



