Oct., 1903. Arapaho Traditions — Dorsey and Kroeber. 121 



suddenly the dwarf let go and struck him in the eye. "That hurts," 

 said Nih'a"(ja'', and laid his burden en the ground. He thought that 

 the dead dwarf's hand had caught in the brush and being "suddenly 

 released had swung around and hit him. So he stepped on the dwarf's 

 arms and they appeared to break. He put him on his back again and 

 went on. As he continued through the timber the dwarf again hit him 

 in the face. "I thought I had killed him," said Nih'a°ga''. Then he 

 pulled out his arms and stepped on them again, and when he felt of an 

 arm it hung loose as if it were broken. Meanwhile his eye was swelling 

 and hurt him very much. He went on again and a third time the 

 dwarf's hand struck him. Again he broke his arms, and taking him up, 

 went on. When he came near his tent he was tired and laid the dwarf 

 down. When he reached his tent he told his wife, "I have killed a dan- 

 gerous being, one of the Ha'^tceciitehi (little people). His wife said: 

 "What, you have killed a dwarf? They are very dangerous persons to 

 meet. Are you sure that you have really killed him?" "Yes, I have 

 killed one. Go to that place and you will find him. Do you not see 

 the marks I bear?" and he told her how he had been struck by the 

 dwarf's arm. Then the woman went where he had told her; but the 

 dwarf was gone. She came back and told her husband, "The dwarf 

 has gone !" "Well," said Nih'a"<;a°, "then he was hitting me ! He held 

 the limbs, and, letting go of them, struck me. Well, it is too late now." 

 — K. 



63. — The Woman and the Horse.* 



A tale (a'^gita^) of the Southern-people (na^wuunenitana"). Once, 

 as the Southern-people were traveling, a woman missed a colt, and went 

 back towards the place they had left, looking for it. As she was on 

 her way, she saw a person coming toward her on the trail. .She 

 stopped. It was a }'oung man, and he came to her, but she wtondered 

 why she did not knew him. He was a wild horse (nahou). She asked 

 him: "Where are you going?" He said: "I came to get you. I 

 want to marry ycu." She did not know what to say. After a time 

 she said : "Well, you may marry me." The young man told her : "Let 

 your horse go and come with me." So she let the horse that she 

 had been riding go and went with the young man. The horse went 

 back along the trail and reached the camp. When it came l)ack alone, 

 the woman's husband did not know what to think. "It must have 

 thrown her off and run away from her and come home alone," he said. 



' From an unfinished text from informast B. Though incomplete, it is given for comparison 

 with a Gros Ventre tale. 



