Oct., 1903. Arapaho Traditions — Dorsey and Kroeber. 285 



tipi pole and attracted the attention of Blind-Man. "I want you to know, 

 man, that you did kill the buffalo, but your wife does not tell you so, for 

 she is over yonder eating the meat by herself. She has been doing this 

 way all the time. Now I want you to get even with her some way. 

 Listen to me, man"! Before you do this, look up to me, right straight 

 to the top of the poles and see my eyes," said Owl. When Blind- 

 man looked, his eyesight was entirely restored, but he had eyes like those 

 of an owl. Without much delay, he took up his bow and arrows and 

 went to the place where his wife was feasting. When he got there 

 he found her with plenty of food around her. "Oh ! I was getting 

 ready to take some meat to you to-day, of course. I kept this meat from 

 you for some time, but to-day I am to feed you well," said the wife. 

 *' Yes ! You will !" said the husband in a low tone. The husband took 

 his bow and arrows and shot his wife through the body several times, 

 until she dropped dead. Thus he paid her in return for her hatred 

 and bad temper. 



This is the reason that nowadays a wife sometimes treats her 

 husband in an underhand manner, and thus it is that husbands are made 

 murderers and separations occur. — D. 



Told by Cut-Nose. Cf. No. 126. In the Osage version a similar story is told of a boy and his 

 grandmother. 



126. — The Deceived Blind Man.* 



In a tent which stood alone lived an old man who had become 

 blind. There were many buffalo about ; so getting his wife to aim for 

 him, he shot at them. He said, "I feel that I have killed a buffalo." 

 But his wife said to him, ''No, you are blind, how can you hit any- 

 thing?" He had killed one, but she lied to him. Instead of bring- 

 ing back the meat, she brought only shin bones, ribs scraped of the 

 meat, and the lungs. The man said to her, "You smell of grease. 

 You have handled meat." She said, "No, I only picked up the bones 

 from a camp site." Four times the old man shot buffalo in this way, 

 and the woman went out and skinned and butchered the buffalo and 

 made pemmican of the meat, and gave none to her husband. Then 

 the old man went out of doors and cried because he knew that he had 

 killed the buffalo and that there was no one to provide food for him 

 except his wife who treated him without pity. On his tent was an 

 owl. This said to him : "I will give you my eyes so that you can see 

 how your wife is treating you." Then the old man could see again. 



' Informants J. " 



