262 Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. V. 



know you do not like my conduct. You are ashamed of me. I cannot 

 be killed by the enemy in war, but any one In the tribe can kill me. Let 

 some man kill me." Then her father dressed her as a man. The wo- 

 man mounted a good horse, stood in front of her father's tent, closed 

 her eyes, and said : "Now I am ready." Then the man who had been 

 selected shot hsr. — K. 



114. — The Faithless Woman and the Kiowa.^ 



An Arapaho had a beautiful wife. His younger brother also was 

 handsome. This young man once went out hunting ; after he had gone 

 some distance he remembered that he had forgotten his bag. He went 

 back into the camp to get it. After he had taken his bag, he started off 

 again, but this time he eloped with his elder brother's wife. He came 

 again to the place where he had camped before and found there a 

 Kiowa. This Kiowa was very fine looking, and the woman was so 

 charmed with him that she fell in love with him. Then the young 

 man who had eloped said : "Now I will give him a smoke. After we 

 have smoked together I will attack him ; then you must stab him," and 

 he gave her his knife. Then he gave the Kiowa a smoke ; and as soon 

 as they had smoked, he attacked him. They fought and struggled and 

 rolled about, one getting on top of the other. The Arapaho was almost 

 killed, but the woman was not concerned. "Come stab him," he told 

 her, but she tried to stab him instead. "Let him be killed," she thought 

 of her husband, "then this Kiowa will have me for his wife." At last 

 they rolled to where the Kiowa's knife had fallen when it was knocked 

 out of his hand. The Kiowa had forgotten that he had dropped it, 

 but the Arapaho secretly seized it and at once began to stab him and 

 quickly killed him. After he had killed him they went back to where 

 the great camp of the Arapaho was. When this young man who had 

 eloped came to his elder brother's tent, he told him how he had been 

 almost killed by his wife who had helped the Kiowa instead of himself. 

 When his elder brother heard this he was angry at his wife. "All 

 take your arms," he said to his friends, and they all brought their bows 

 and arrows. Then he made his wife stand in the middle and they all 

 surrounded her. ' Now all shoot her," said her husband, and they all 

 shot the woman until she hung above the ground on the arrows. Thus, 

 it is said, this woman was punished for the wrong she had done.^ — K. 



' Text: Informant C. 



» There is a similar Gros Ventre version. ' , 



