296 Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. V. 



my son-in-law. Again do something for me," said the old man. "I 

 wish I were provided with long wide feathers with black tips ; feathers 

 v/hich break evenly in the center when they are split." The young 

 man started out "again and went along crying. He was called by a 

 voice and shown a plant which had large leaves. When he said that the 

 tips of the feathers must be black, the ends of the leaves became black. 

 He brought these back and the old man accepted the feathers gladly, 

 thanking him for bringing what he wanted. Meanwhile he had peeled 

 the sticks for the arrows, and now he told his daughter : "Tell my son- 

 in-law that I wish arrow points ; sharp, smooth, and evenly shaped 

 ones." The young man went out crying, going in the same direction 

 as before ; first east, then south, then towards the west, and again a 

 voice called him. It showed him large willows and told him : "Pick 

 the leaves." He did so and brought them to the old man. Then the 

 old man said : "I wish an animal with horns like bird-claws." The 

 young man went out crying again. He came to a hill, on the side of 

 which seven buffalo were lying (''sitting"). The young man called 

 to them and told them that he wished an animal with horns like bird- 

 claws. They said, "Very well." One of them was a young bull (wax- 

 agou), another a little older ("two- teeth"), a third had fully grown 

 horns. The four others were the four old men. The oldest buffalo said : 

 "I give you these three, you can take the one you want." The young 

 man looked them over and said, "This one is the one I take," and he 

 chose the oldest of the three, the one with full grown horns. Then 

 the oldest bull said to this one, "You have boasted much. Now is your 

 time to show what you are able to do." "Very well," he answered. 

 There was a black, hard rock just sticking out of the ground. Then the 

 bull rose, stretched himself, shook himself, stuck up his tail, and 

 looked about him. Then he went to the southwest and snorted out 

 black ; then he went to the northwest and snorted out blue ; then 

 to the northeast, red ; then to the southeast, white. . Then he wal- 

 lowed and shook himself, so that the white dust rose, and rubbed 

 his nose on the grass. Then he hooked the rock with his horn and 

 chipped off a piece so that it flew away buzzing. Then with his left 

 horn he pierced the rock in the middle at the bottom and split it so 

 that the halves fell apart. "If I do not succeed the first time, that is 

 what I will do the second time," he said. The old buffalo said to the 

 man, "Now this bull will lead you ; you must follow him. Remember 

 that that man is powerful and hard to overcome. We know what he is 

 doing. He will be on a tree with his bow and arrows, and when he 

 shoots he will pretend to shoot at the bull, but will shoot at you. Stand 



