158 Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. V. 



he made a larger hole. Going to the northwest, he charged from there, 

 and again cut deeper, but broke his right horn. Going then to the 

 northeast, he charged the tree with his left horn and made a still larger 

 hole. The fifth time he went straight east, intending to strike the tree 

 in the center and break it down. He pranced about, raising the dust ; 

 but the tree said to him : "You can do nothing. So come on quickly." 

 This made him angi-y and he charged. The tree said : "This time you 

 will stick fast," and he ranjiis left horn far into the middle of the wood 

 and stuck fast. Then the tree told the young men to shoot him in the 

 soft parts of his neck and sides, for he could not get loose or injure 

 them. Then they shot him and killed him, so that he hung there. Then 

 they cut him loose. The tree told them to gather all the chips and 

 pieces of wood that had been knocked' off and cover the bull with them, 

 and they did so. All the buffalo that had not been killed went away. 

 The tree said to them : "Hereafter you will be overcome by human 

 beings. You will have horns, but when they come to hunt you, you will 

 be afraid. You will be killed and eaten by them and they will use your 

 skins." Then the buffalo scattered over the land with half-broken, short 

 horns. 



A'fter the people had descended from the tree, they went on their 

 way. The magpie came to them as messenger sent by Tceyoginen 

 (merciless -man) to ask the young men for their daughter in marriage. 

 He was a round rock. The magpie knew what this rock had done and 

 warned the men not to consent to the marriage. He said, "Do not have 

 anything to do with him, since he is not a good man. Your daughter is 

 beautiful, and I do not like to see her married to the rock. He has 

 married the prettiest girls he could hear of, obtaining them somehow. 

 But his wives are crippled, one-armed, or one-legged, or much bruised. 

 I will tell the rock to get the hummingbird for a messenger because 

 that bird is swift and can escape him if he should pursue." So the 

 magpie returned and said that the young men refused the marriage. 

 But the rock sent him back to say: "Tell them that the girl must 

 marry me nevertheless." The magpie persuaded him to send the hum- 

 mingbird as messenger instead of himself. Then the hummingbird went 

 to carry the message to the young men ; but, on reaching them, told 

 them instead: "He is merciless, and not the right man to marry this 

 girl. He has treated his wives very badly. You had better leave this 

 place." So he went back without having tried to help the rock. He 

 told the rock that he had seen neither camp nor people. "Yes you saw 

 them," said the rock; "you are trying to help them instead of helping 

 me. Therefore you try to pretend that you did not see them. Go back 



