Oct., 1903. Arapaho Traditions — Dorsey and Kroeber. 41 



marked beforehand, and the herd moves around the lodge and enters 

 into the lodge, where they seat themselves all around the center pole. 

 When they are going in the lodge these calves look for their mothers, 

 by walking around, and suddenly sit down by their sides. Then this 

 man goes around and looks for the buflfalo (cow) he shot at, and finally 

 he locates it. He pulls the arrow out of the side of the cow, perhaps, 

 and rubs the arrow on the head of the dead cow. Then he tells his 

 war story, how he took the scalp from the enemy, sharpens his knife and 

 begins skinning the beef on the side, to see if it is fat. He cuts the 

 piece of tallow (the woman gives him the tallow secretly), and holds 

 it in the air so that the people may see it. He says to the people that 

 the beef is fat. The old men and old women thank him for it, so this 

 tallow is divided equally among them for their use in painting, etc. 



On the fourth day, toward evening, when all others have danced, 

 White-Buffalo- Woman is raised and carried around the lodge (the 

 people touching her for long life and happiness), and is brought back 

 to the place again. Then she removes her headdress and sits down. 

 The others then take off their caps, and at the opening of the song, 

 run to the river for a drink, each carrying a dipper with which to drink. 

 Some who can afford to do it, ride ponies; the rest run for a drink, 

 just the same as do real buffalo, when going to the river for drink. 

 They return to the lodge and then undress themselves, hang up their 

 caps, with all their paraphernalia ; so with White-Buffalo- Woman. All 

 of the men who had wives in the ceremony filled their pipes and placed 

 them in front of the priests and old women. 



This night these old people are to sing all night until sunrise. 

 Every time they sing four songs they smoke a pipe for recreation. 

 They smoke the pipes until they are all used up. and if they should be all 

 smoked before morning, the old men call for the pipes to be filled. 



When the sun rises, they cease and proclaim the ceremony at an 

 end, in accordance with the Giver. Then the old men and women and 

 the dancers all disperse to their homes, getting out from the lodge at 

 all sides. The camping ground is then left and the whole camp-circle 

 move to decent ground. — D. 



Told by Little Chief. Cf. No. 13. That buffalo formerly ate human beings was also 

 believed by the Cheyenne (Journ. Am Folk- Lore, Vol. XIII, p. 161) and Blackfeet (Grinnell, 

 Blackfoot Lod?e Tales, pp. 138, 272). According to a Pawnee tale the buffalo resented the action of 

 a certain witch-woman who ate human beings, and devised ways of killing her as a punishment for 

 . not eating buffalo meat. 



For the incident of the rescue from the trees, see also No. 83. In a Pawnee tale, a boy con- 

 fined in a tree by furious buffalo is rescued by a boh-tailed dog. 



The idea of the reanimation of the buffalo calf, after having been used for food, is responsible 

 for certain rites in some Pawnee ceremonies of to-day. 



