October, 1903. Traditions of the Crows — Simms. 297 



warpath they must come by the lake and see him ; that he would give 

 them power; 



When the two reached home, and told all about their friend, his 

 people mourned for him. The young men said, "Do not mourn for 

 him ; he is not dead, but living, and is only transformed." 



Whenever the two remaining young men went to the lake to see 

 their former companion, he would give them power, and they were 

 always successful in War, and became noted chiefs. 



15. — Old Man Coyote, the Young Man and Two Otter Sisters. 



Once upon a time there lived a young man who had riches as well 

 as being handsome. 



Old Man Coyote said to him one day, "You had better get married, 

 and 1 will find you a suitable wife." One winter when the ice was all 

 smooth and nice, the people of the earth were sitting on buffalo skulls 

 (for sledges), while the young men pulled them over the ice. 



The rich and handsome young man came to this place and saw two 

 beautiful women he had never seen before. He approached them and 

 subsequently pulled them over the ice on buffalo skulls until late, and 

 after all the other people had gone home. These two beautiful women 

 proved to be long otters with fine fur, who had been transformed into 

 young and beautiful women (sisters) to ensnare a husband. As they 

 were nearing an air hole, one of them threw her robe over the head 

 of the young man, while the other sister pushed, so that all three of 

 them went into the air hole; and when he came to, he was sitting in a 

 tipi under the water, where these women lived with their people. 



While he was lying in the tipi with the two sisters that he had 

 married, he could see people coming for water, and could hear the camp 

 criers announcing that they would have a buffalo hunt. One of the 

 wives said : "You had better go and get some meat for us and our 

 father." He went, leading a string of horses by a rope, and after 

 a successful hunt, he loaded the horses with the choicest parts of the 

 buffalo and took them to his wives after dark. He saw them sitting 

 on the bank waiting for him. He told them to unload the horses, 

 which they did, and they dumped the meat through the air hole. One 

 of the wives took the horses to where his other horses were, and they 

 then went under the water to their tipi to see his father-in-law, a large 

 otter, eat. He was eating marrow, bones and all. 



The following day, the husband of the two sisters went to his 

 former camp and people and told the chief to have it announced that 



