Oct., 1903. Arapaho Traditions — Dorsey and Kroeber. 73 



37. — Nih'a^ca^ and the Two Maidens. 



There were two pretty young girls in a family. They had their 

 own tipi to live in. On account of their beauty, the young men would 

 come around to their lodge to court them, but they would not accept any 

 company. Even the very best looking young men of the tribe were 

 disappointed and ceased to go to their tipi. 



Nih'a'^ija^ was planning a way to catch the girls. So early one 

 morning he went to their tipi to watch from outside. Just as soon 

 as the old folks were getting out, he rushed in with human excrement 

 and placed it between them and \vent out. He went around and waited 

 for the girls to awake. Finally the girls awoke and one of them saw 

 the excrement lying between them. "Say, sister, did you do this? 

 Look at it ! We are in a fix surely," said one girl. "Oh, no, sister, I 

 didn't do it! Maybe you are the one, but you lay the blame of it on 

 me," said the other. They were accusing each other greatly. Nih'a^ga" 

 standing outside, heard every w^ord they said. All at once he rushed 



in. "Oh, pshaw! you girls must ," said Nih'a°9a°. Before he 



had finished his sentence, the girls would tell him to be quiet. He 

 would try to tell on the girls about the excrement, for some time, but 

 the girls finally told him to keep silent. "Age, Nih'a°9a°," inquunt 

 puellae, "si tu nos non prodideris, patiemur te nos nocte visitari 

 et nobiscum dormire," said the girls. "All right, I agree to that," said 

 he, leaving them. 



Just a little after sunset he was close to the tipi, anxiously waiting 

 for them. "Tum puellae recumbuerunt et Nih'a'^Qa^ ingressus in taber- 

 naculum inter eas se posuit. Per noctem cum puella pulchriore coivit 

 Haec, quod jam primum coitum experiebat, tantum sanguinem emitte- 

 bat ut mane inundata esset. The other sister got up from the bed and 

 left her sister still lying on the bed. "Why is it that your sister sleeps 

 rather later than usual ?" said the mother. "I don't know, mother," said 

 the girl. So the mother went to the tipi and called for her to get up. 

 She noticed the girl lying in bed, carelessly, looking very pale, et ad 

 lectum progressa vidit filiam sanguine inundatam esse. "Mehercle 

 quis filiam meam perdidit?" said the mother, stepping out quickly and 

 getting the old man to call for all of the young men of the tribe. 

 (This girl was the daughter of a ruling chief.) So all the young men 

 came, for they knew very well that none of them had done anything 

 wrong. 



Interim Nih'a^qa** egressus membrum a sasshechabihi (animali 

 parvo) mutatus est et illi suum ipsius membrum dedit. The young 



