Oct., 1903. ' Arapaho Traditions — Dorsey and Kroeber. 135 



legs. "Perhaps it is not really a woman," they said to each other, for 

 her legs did not look right. But they decided that one of them was to 

 marry her. Then he married her. Sed nocte non cum ea copulavit. 

 The young men, including the one who had married her, used to go 

 hunting. When they were successful, they all gave to their sister-in- 

 law. The supposed woman received what they gave her gratefully, 

 and was pleasant to all. Once they went. hunting again, but one of 

 them offered to stay with his sister-in-law. When the rest had all 

 gone, she said to him : "Come, let rne louse you." Then she loused 

 him. While he was being loused he fell asleep. When he was sound 

 asleep, the supposed wcman took a knife and cut off his head and im- 

 mediately fled with all speed. As soon as she started, the birds made 

 a noise again and at once the other men knew what had happened. 

 They pursued the fleeing young man, who ran as hard as he could, 

 looking back now and then. Finally he reached an old woman's tent, a 

 tent entirely of iron. "My grandmother, powerful ones are pursuing 

 me!" he said. "Run around [the tent] four times," she said. Then 

 he ran about it four times, as she told him ; then the door opened and 

 the old woman said : "Come in," and the young man went in. As soon 

 as he had entered the door fell down. Just then the pursuers arrived. 

 ''Bring out our food," they said to the old woman ; "bring her out at 

 once or we shall take you with her." "Well, then, I will push her 

 close to the door ; come up close," the old woman said to them. Then 

 they came up near the door. "Well, are you all ready? Put your 

 heads inside and I will shove her toward^ you." Then they all put 

 their heads in. "Put your heads still farther in," said the old woman 

 who owned the iron tent. When their heads were well inside, the door 

 descended and cut oflf their heads. ^'Now, go and cut them up for me," 

 the old woman told the young man, and fie went and cut them up. Out- 

 side, about the tent, many bones were lying, for the old woman was 

 powerful and dangerous on account of her tent. The young man started 

 to go back and continued on his journey, until at last he reached his 

 people's camp at night ; he looked for his tent, and when he found it, 

 went in and lay down. In the morning his parents said : "It looks like 

 him ! It looks like our son !" They had cut their hair and were in 

 mourning. Well, it was he, himself. When he awoke, he said : "My 

 father, take this for your ropes," and threw the heads of hair to his 

 father.'— K. 



' Cf. Schoolcraft, Hiawatha. 216 (Dakota); J. O. Dorsey, Contr. N. A. Ethn.. VI, 185; Cham- 

 berlain, Rep. B. A. A. S., 1S92, p. 579 (Kootenay). Other instances of the marriage of a man with a 

 disguised man are found in Schoolcraft and Dorsey; also in No. 46 and its eastern analogues. 



