Feb., 1904. Traditions of the Osage — Dorsey. 35 



said, ''I am afraid I will get a whipping." Then Big-Nest said, "If you 

 will go with me, I will give you something that will make you power- 

 ful, if you will leave your people." So the boy finally opened the door, 

 and Big-Nest started right out for the creek. 



At evening, the men came to see if the man-eater was in the house, 

 but he was gone, and the boy's father said, "Did you let that Big-Nest 

 get out or not?" The boy said, "Yes." So the boy's father said, "You 

 get out, and stay away from here." Then the boy started off down 

 the creek and came to where this man-eater was, and the boy said to 

 him, "My father gave me a good whipping, and told me to go and 

 stay away and never return." Big-Nest told the boy that he was about 

 to give him four round clay balls that he had ; that the first one he was 

 to use to catch anything that he wanted to eat, the second was to kill 

 anything that he wanted to eat, the third was to catch fish in the 

 creek,, and the fourth was for killing anything of the size of a buffalo, 

 that he wanted to eat. 



So the boy started across the creek, and he was crying as he went, 

 and he saw a man with two dogs. The man asked him where he was 

 going. The boy told the man that his father had been whipping him, 

 because he had let the man-eater out of the house. The man then told 

 the boy that he had heard that if any one would kill this man-eater 

 he could have the chief's daughter. So this man went to the creek and 

 waited for Big-Nest, and pretty soon Big-Nest appeared on dry land. 

 Then the man set his dogs on him, and the dogs killed him in no time. 



The boy watched what was done, then he went on, and was gone 

 for two days, when he saw some deer. He threw his clay ball at them, 

 and the ball turned into a Mountain-Lion. One of the deer he caught, 

 killed, butchered and cooked on the fire and ate it. 



Again he started, and he came to a big creek, and he saw some 

 big fish, and he threw his ball for fish in the creek and brought out 

 two big bass, and he cooked them on the fire and ate them. 



Now he started again, and went on. He came to some turkeys 

 picking acorns. He threw his third clay ball ; then it turned into a 

 Wild-Cat. It caught a turkey for him and he cooked it on the fire and 

 ate it. 



And so he went on, and came to a big prairie. He saw a big herd 

 of buffalo, and he told his buffalo clay ball that he wanted the biggest 

 one in the herd. So the ball turned into a Mountain-Lion, and he went 

 and killed the biggest one. Then the boy butchered it and cooked it 

 on the fire. He stayed there two or three days. 



Then he went and came to a house where a man was living. He 



