Oct., 1903. Arapaho Traditions — Dorsey and Kroeber. 157 



sitting on one of the branches, and the girl getting into the nest. So 

 they waited for the bull who would pursue them. 



When the bull touched his wife in order to go to water, she did not 

 move. He spoke to her angrily and touched her again. The third 

 time he tried to hook her with his horn, but tossed the empty robe 

 away, "They cannot escape me," he said. He noticed the fresh 

 ground which the badger had thrown up in order to close the hole. 

 He hooked the ground and threw it to one side, and the other bulls 

 got up and did the same, throwing the ground as if they were making 

 a ditch and following the course of the underground passage until 

 they came to the place where the people had lived. The camp was 

 already broken up, but they followed the people's trail. Coming to the 

 stone, the bull asked, "Have you hidden the people or done anything 

 to help them?" The stone said: 'T have not helped them for fear 

 of you." But the bull insisted : "Tell me where you hid them. I know 

 that they reached you and are somewhere about." ''No, I did not hide 

 them; they reached this place but went on," said the stone. "Yes, 

 you have hidden them ; I can smell them and see their tracks about 

 here." "The girl rested here a short time, that is .what you smell," said 

 the stone. Then the buffalo followed the trail again and crossed the 

 river, the bull leading. One calf which was becoming very tired tried 

 hard to keep up with the rest. It became exhausted at the lone cotton- 

 wood tree and stopped to rest. But the herd went on, not having seen 

 the people in the tree. They went far on. The girl was so tired that she 

 had a slight hemorrhage. Then she spat down. As the calf was rest- 

 ing in the shade below, the bloody spittle fell down before it. The 

 calf smelled it, knew it, got up. and went after the rest of the buffalo. 

 Coming near the herd, it cried out to the bull : "Stop! I have found a 

 girl in the top of a tree. She is the one who is your wife." Then 

 the whole herd turned back to the tree. When they reached it, the bull 

 said : "We will surely get you." The tree said : "You have four parts 

 of strength. I give you a chance to do something to me." Then the 

 buffalo began to attack the tree ; those with least strength began. They 

 butted it until its thick bark was peeled off. Meanwhile the young men 

 were shooting them from the tree. The tree said : "Let some of them 

 break their horns." Then came the large bulls, who split the wood of 

 the tree ; but some stuck fast, and others broke their horns or lost the 

 covering. The bull said, "I will be the last one and will make the tree 

 fall." At last he came on, charging against the tree from the southeast, 

 striking it, and making a big gash. Then, coming from the southwest. 



