282 Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. V. 



watch the skull. After a long time the skull came out of the timber, 

 still rolling along on the trail. So she started off again and said, "I 

 wish there was an obstruction placed behind us which would obstruct 

 its way !" So there was a thick patch of cactus placed across the trail. 

 The daughter reached the hill and saw her father and mother still 

 going. Stopping again to watch the skull, she saw it tossing from 

 place to place among the cactus. The skull managed to get through 

 all right. So it kept on rolling after the family. The father and 

 mother ran faster. "It is coming fast," said the daughter. "I do wish 

 there was something to obstruct that skull this time !" she said. So 

 there was a deep canyon behind them. The skull would go rolling up 

 and down to find the narrowest place to leap. Then the skull came 

 right opposite the daughter, when she told it to leap. Finally the skull 

 made a leap, but the canyon was too wide for it, and it whirled down 

 below and struck the bottom with a tremendous noise like the report 

 of thunder. After the noise the canyon itself closed and buried it. 

 Therefore we shall be hereafter buried in the ground after death. 



When the daughter reached the hill where her father and mother 

 had waited for her, they saw beyond a big circle of tipis. They went 

 into' the camp and told the people the circumstance of their arrival : ' We 

 were running from a strange object, which proved finally to be a skull. 

 But there was a deep canyon behind us, into which this object whirled 

 down, being broken to pieces and buried by the caving sides of the 

 canyon. "Now that is the way we shall be placed in the ground when 

 we die," said she. 



This skull acted as the servant for the parents, as if desiring to 

 get possession of the girl (the method of obtaining a wife from the 

 parents). The skull was providing the necessities of life, but it said 

 that the people were about fat enough to be devoured. Being fright- 

 ened, they ran away. — D. 



Told by Holding-Together. For the magic flight, cf. Nos. 32, 33, and 34, and a note to No. 32. 



125. — The Deceived Blind Man. 



Blind-Man and his wife were camping out in a lonely place. Be- 

 cause of this man's misfortune they were starving day after day. The 

 wife would occasionally go out on the prairie and in a ravine she would 

 gather tomatoes for herself and husband. This plant grows in buffalo 

 wallows and bears small seeds, its flower being pink. Both of them 

 tried hard to live on this scanty food, but chiefly on berries. 



