36 Field Columbian Museum— Anthropology, Vol. V. 



watched them carefully. Then Gopher went under the ground and he 

 reached one arrow ; it gradually disappeared from sight ; and so on. 

 until all had gone out of sight. Gopher carried these arrows with 

 him in search of the lost woman, until he reached the tipi where this 

 young girl was sitting. Gopher dug his way to the door of the tipi 

 and got behind the tipi pole, on the right of the door, and slowly peeped 

 around the pole to see the eloped wife. Just at this time the woman 

 was getting anxious to go out for a moment. This animal (Gopher) 

 knew that the woman was very tired. "I want to get out, man." "Why 

 do you want to go out?" said the husband. "Well, you know," said 

 the woman. "Do take me out, to the same place, quickly," said the 

 woman. Gopher understood the conversation. This party, husband 

 and wife, had a sage mattress, thick (it was all loose), which made 

 it impossible for Gopher to work his way to the woman. 



When the husband and wife were getting ready to go out, this 

 animal understood the place they were going to and so he went on 

 ahead, under ground, and made a circular hole, deep enough for her. 

 Just as soon as she sat down, there came up Gopher to her collar bone 

 and said to her: "I have come under ground on an errand, to get you 

 back h'ome." "Oh! You don't say so!" said the woman, quivering. 

 "Well, yes, I am doing it for your own benefit," said Gopher. "Make 

 haste now and take these arrows and stake them in four places around 

 the hole — two black ones on the south and two red ones on the north." 



"When the steer asks me to get up. if I am through, tell him, 'Not 

 quite ready,' while I am making tny escape," said the woman to her 

 own robe. This robe was supported by the arrows, which made it look 

 natural. "Are you ready to go back to the tipi?" said the steer. "Not 

 quite ready," said the robe. This steer was walking to and fro, and 

 for the third time, asked, "Now are you ready?" "Not quite ready 

 yet !" said the robe. "Didn't I tell you before of my horns," said the steer, 

 looking ver}'^ mad. "Now for the last time, are you ready to go inside 

 again?" "Not quite ready yet," said the robe. "I will not accept your 

 word ! here it goes !" said the steer, walking backwards to make a 

 plunge. He went to her and hooked her with all his strength and 

 mjght, and landed her quite a distance. Then he went to her, hooked 

 at her many times ; but it was merely a robe. After finding out that it 

 was just the robe, the steer rushed at the arrows still standing: and 

 hooked them and broke them into several pieces. This steer then went 

 from place to place, inquiring about his wife, but nobody could tell 

 him anything of her. 



While he was running around, a different gopher, who happened 



