Oct., 1903. Arapaho Traditions — Dorsey and Kroeber. 287 



were half dead. Now I am going out to gather berries. Stay at home 

 and I will take the children with me.'" So she left him in the tent and 

 went to the buffalo which the old man had killed, and butchered it, and 

 took the meat to the timber and cut it up there, and ate of it. She did 

 not tell him of this, but the old man knew it. Then she returned with 

 her children, bringing him berries which she gave him to eat. Again 

 there was a herd of buffalo that passed near the tent. Then the woman 

 deceived her husband in the same way. The old man went outdoors 

 and cried about the way in which his wife treated him. Then an owl 

 alighted near him. It said, 'T have come to help you. Your wife has 

 treated you badly and is trying to kill you. I will give you my 

 eyes and let you have my sight." Then the old man could see again. 

 Next morning he left the tent where he had been alone, and went to- 

 wards the timber where his wife and the children had stayed all night. 

 He soon came to where the buffalo had fallen and saw the blood and 

 offal. From there he tracked his wife and the children to the timber and 

 found her busy preparing the meat. Coming upon her unexpectedly, he 

 said : 'T am glad that you have meat and are living well." She 

 looked at him and said: "I am glad that you can see again. What 

 clean, beautiful eyes you have! I was just about to go to you, but had 

 not yet finished boiling the bones for the fat in them. What piece will 

 you have, tins one or that one ? Or would you like pemmican, or some 

 dried meat? All this is what I was going to take to you." "It makes 

 no differerxe to me what meat you give me," he said. Then she took 

 meat from the back, with fat in it, already cooked, and gave it to him. 

 He ate it. Then, saying nothing more to her, he killed her. Then he 

 said to his children in his thoughts : "Since you have abundance of 

 food, I shall leave you to take care of yourselves." Then he started 

 for the camp of his people and arrived there. After a month the chil- 

 dren had used up all the meat. Then they followed their father's trail 

 until they also reached the camp. When they arrived, their father cried 

 out aloud : "The unmerciful people have arrived. All prepare to break 

 camp and leave ! Let the children be tied up against poles and the poles 

 leaned against trees and left there." Then the people left their camp, 

 with the children bound on poles resting against trees. When the 

 wolves and coyotes, which always come about deserted camping places, 

 arrived there, an old wolf saw the two children fastened to the poles, 

 suffering thirst and hunger. He said to himself : "How pitiful those 

 children are !" Then he cried out to the wolves : "Come all of you 

 from all directions." The wolves and coyotes came from all parts of 

 the earth and the old wolf said to them : "I pity those children. I 



