26o Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. V. 



covered by a robe." So the skeleton took the man out and led him 

 straight toward the camp. 



One day there was a hand-game in the camp and this man, who 

 was possessed of the skeleton's gift, took part, sitting at the door of the 

 tipi. When the people had collected inside and the game was well 

 under way, they gave this man something to hide. He held it in his 

 hands while they threw a robe over him, and he became a pile of bones 

 under the buffalo robe. Then the ghost said, "You people must not use 

 my name in vain." 



The slang for taking a name is, "You are a ghost," or, "You are a 

 dead one." The Indians do not speak of themselves as ghosts or 

 spirits, for this man who was gifted turned into a pile of bones. When 

 the Indians say, "The ghost shot me." they mean, a piece of flesh, bone 

 or hair has penetrated into the skin, causing pain. — D. 



Told by Little-Chief. The Pawnee have a similar story. 



III. — Mulier cuius vagina multis dentibus insita est. 



Th^re was a woman who was very handsome and who had been 

 married several times. Her husbands would live a certain length of 

 time with her, but when they knew her in the night time they would 

 die without first showing symptoms of disease. In spite of many men 

 dying at her side, others came and married her. One day a man felt 

 suspicious about this woman's ill luck and tried to see where the trouble 

 came from. So he courted her for a short time and finally married 

 her and settled down. 



This man, who was just married to the woman, anticipating some 

 trouble ahead, went and provided himself with an instrument, which 

 was a slender whetstone. When this man went to bed with his new 

 wife, he of course was very attentive. When the wife and husband 

 were lying together, she took the lead in conversation. Tandem ali- 

 quando vir cum uxore coiit. Haec valde liberalis fuit et cruribus dis- 

 tentis eum exspectabat. Tum ille non membro suo sed cote. Usus non 

 multum intravit. Vagina, cum sentiret, statim mordere coepit. Ille, 

 cum ientes inesse intellexisset, eos cote limavit. Ex illo tempore vagina 

 innocens semper fuit. — D. 



Told by River- Woman. For discussion of distribution of this tale, see Bogoras, .'American 

 Anthropologist (N. S.) VoL IV, p. 667. 



