298 Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. II. 



he was married to two women otters under the water ; also to have it 

 announced that his father-in-law never got enough to eat, and that he 

 would like to have the whole camp go buffalo hunting again, which 

 they did, with instructions to leave nothing behind, but bring every- 

 thing, entrails and all. 



A big killing was made, and when they returned, the procession 

 was a very large one. The horses were unloaded of the results of the 

 hunt on the edge of the air hole, until it reached a big pile. When thev 

 had put all the meat in the air hole, the young man came out and 

 announced that his father-in-law and the friends of his father-in-law 

 would come and have a feast, and that when they did come, they would 

 break up the ice, so that they had better camp on the hills. When the 

 otters came, they broke up the ice, and the water rushed on the ice, and 

 high on the banks, but the people were safe. Then they had a big feast. 

 Afterwards the camp moved away, leaving the man with his wives 

 and his father-in-law. His father-in-law told him to plait his scalp 

 lock and tie the ends with otter skins, and whenever hunting, to watch 

 out for the enemy, for they were watching him, and that when they came 

 up to him he was to touch his scalp lock to the ground and he would 

 disappear under the ground. But one day he was ambushed by his 

 enemies and was shot all over with arrows. He started to run, not 

 thinking of his medicine (the otter skin). When he fell, his scalp locks 

 touched the ground and he immediately disappeared under the ground, 

 and his medicine carried him home to his wives and father-in-law, 

 where he was shortly restored to health. 



His father-in-law said to him: "You have lived with me long 

 enough. You must want to see your people now, so take your wives 

 and go home to your people." Upon his return to his people he was 

 made a chief, a leader in war, and every time a warrior was shot he 

 was taken to the water and with his medicine cured. 



One day one of his wives went home and the otter gave birth to a 

 boy child. This one said to him: "Don't call me a bad name, for 

 if you do I will leave you." One day when he was angry, he did so, 

 and she was transformed into an otter and went home under the water 

 with her child. Her husband followed her, but he could no longer 

 ' stay under the water, as he used to, and reached the bank almost 

 drowned, when he met Old Man Coyote, who said to him, "Put a lot of 

 rocks in a bag and tie it around your neck." So he did this, and went 

 down under the water and barely came out alive. He then went to the 

 river bank near the home of his wives and cried, and his father-in-law 

 said to his daughters, "Take him back to his own people." But the 



