Oct., 1903. Arapaho Traditions — Dorsey and Kroeber. 113 



man said to him, and he went up into a tree that was leaning out ever 

 the water, and standing there, he made a iruction forward four times, 

 at the same time blowing his whistle. As he moved each time, he 

 flapped his wings. The fifth time he plunged headlong through the 

 hole. After a while he emerged with a fish and some ducks. In this 

 way his friend gave Nih'a"ga" to eat. When he got up, Nih'a°(;a'' said 

 to him: "Now you in turn must come to my tent." 



Then again after some time his friend visited him in return. When 

 he arrived : " Wukaha, wukaha ! Sit down," Nih'a^ga" said to him, 

 and gave him a pipe to smoke. Then he said: "Now. old woman, 

 hand me my feathers and my whistle, and white paint and my shoulder 

 'belt." "Where are they? I cannot find your things," said his wife to 

 Inm. "Hurry up. They are over the bed — look for them ! Don't 

 l3e so reluctant," Ni'.i'a"ca" said to his wife. After a while she at last 

 found all his ornaments. Then after he had dressed himself, he and 

 his friend both went to the water. "Now, you too look at me, friend," 

 he said to the man. Then he slowly climbed the leaning tree ; then he 

 began to do just as the other man had done: he moved his body, 

 flapped his wings, and whistled. Four times he whistled. The fifth time 

 he made a mction to draw back, but fell down head-first and struck 

 the ice in the wrong place and broke his head. "Now you have done 

 it again," his friend said to him. After a while Nih'a"ga° became well 

 again. After he recovered, his friend again showed him how to do it. 

 Instead of being given food by Nih'a^ga'^ he procured it for him and 

 gave it to him.^ — K. 



58. — Nih'aNqan dives on the Ice.^ 



Nih'a'^ga*' was traveling down stream in the winter time. He saw 

 a fine tent ornamented with paintings. He looked at it carefully, think- 

 ing to paint his own tent with the same designs. Then he walked 

 about the tent, and coughed. A man came out from inside and said : 

 "Come in, come in !" Nih'a"ga" entered and sat for some time. Then 

 the man said : "My friend, I do not know what to do for you. I have 

 nothing to eat, but I will do what I can. Wife, give me my whistle 

 and paint." Then he combed his hair and painted himself white all 

 over. Going out, he went to a dead, bare tree, which leaned ever the 



'For the id6a of sharpening a leg,.see also Nos. io8, loq, and Journ. Am. Folk Lore, XIII, 

 169 (Cheyenne). For the imitation of the host by diving through the ice, cf. -J. O. Dorsey, Contr. 

 N. A. Ethn., VI, $57; Teit. Traditions of the Thompson River Indians (Mem. Am. Folk Lore Soc, VI), 

 41; Russell, Journ. .^m. Folk Lore, XI, 2% (Jicarilla .'Apache). See also Kand, Legends of the 

 Micmacs, 300; Leiand, Algonquin Legends of New England, 208. 



» Informant B. 



