Oct., 1903. ' Arapaho Traditions — Dorsey and Kroeber. 71 



it is?" he thought, and looked where he heard the sound. But he could 

 not see anything. Suddenly there emerged from the hole in the ice 

 a skull. Nih'a"9a" was terrified. He fled as fast as he could. "I will 

 kill you," said the skull, pursuing him. In vain Nih'a,"ga° ran here and 

 there, up and down hill, among the trees, and on the sand; still the 

 skull followed him. "I wish there were a sandy place," said Nih'a"qa°. 

 And sure enough it was sandy there. The skull barely moved. At last 

 it rolled through. "I wish Jt were brushy," said Nih'a"<;a". Then 

 there was undergrowth, and the skull was retarded. While it was try- 

 ing to roll through, Nih^a"(;a° was already far away. At last the skull 

 went around. When it had got by, it pursued Nih'a°Qa° again. When 

 it had nearly caught him, he said: 'T wish there were a mountain (" 

 And a mountain was there. It rolled up, but grew tired. Half way up, 

 it rolled back again. Meanwhile Nib'S-^qa"* had fled far. Three times 

 the skull rolled back down. The fourth time it just reached the top 

 and rolled over. Then it rolled on as if thrown. Again it had almost 

 caught Nih'a°qa*'. "'Oh !" he said, "I wish there were a great fissure in 

 the ground at the spot from which I am running!" Ah, indeed, there 

 extended a great fissure at the place which he had just run from, and 

 the skull was stopped again. Then it begged him. '"After I have 

 crossed over, I will do you no harm,"' it said. ''But if you do not 

 bring me across, I shall be angry and will kill you. Come, make a 

 bridge for me!" "Well, then," he told it, "come over!" He put a 

 stick across as a bridge for it. "Hold it firmly!" it said to him. So 

 ne held the stick fast, and it rolled along it. When it had rolled to the 

 middle, he turned the stick and the skull dropped down into the great 

 crack. As soon as it fell, the earth closed up over it, and it never was 

 seen again. Thus Nih'a'^qa" succeeded in saving himself.' — K. 



36. NlR'A^gA^ DISGUISES HIMSELF AS A WOMAN. 



Nih'a"9a" went down the river and got to a camp-circle. When he 

 was about to enter the circle there was a young woman just going 

 out from the circle, weeping ; she had her head covered up. Nih'a°<;a° 

 seeing that the woman was mad at something, went to her as a woman 

 (changed to a real looking woman by a dress) and stopped her "Say, 

 my partner, where are you going to this time of day?" said he. "Well, 

 my own mother scolded me and I did not like it," said the woman. 

 "Well, I am always getting scolded too, so I will go with you," said he. 



So they went down to the bottom of the river and reached the bank. 



• The pursuit by a round rolling object occurs in Nos. 5, 6, 33, 34, 35, 81. In Nos. 6 and 35 it is 

 also a skull that emerges from the ice, in No. 5 a wart, in Nos. 33, 34, 81, a rock. 



