346 Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. V. 



had shot it with the bows and arrows which their father had made for 

 them. 



"Well, my boy^, although you have done brave deeds, do not begin 

 to think of going to that precipice on the other side of the river, for a 

 very strong, unmerciful being lives there," and he started off to hunt 

 for game. The wife was still busy with her usual work in and about 

 the tipi, principally engaged in quill work. "Say, brother, let us go 

 there and see who lives there," said one. "All right!" said the other. 

 So they went, without any fear whatever, and reached the place. 

 Against the rock there was a nest of young eagles (thunder-birds), the 

 father and mother being away. These boys went up to the nest and 

 asked them if their father got mad what kind of a sign there would be 

 in the sky, at the same time twisting the noses of the little ones in the 

 nest. "When our father gets mad there are dark clouds and rain in 

 torrents," said the young eagles. "All right ! Let us see whether he is 

 powerful or not," said the boys, twisting the noses of the young eagles 

 again. "You may tell him when he comes back that if he can pull the 

 arrows out of the wall of rock below your nest, he is surely powerful." 

 These boys stepped below and went to the other side of the river and 

 shot two arrows into the rock below the nest. The father of the thun- 

 der-birds returned with much noise, and at once made a rush at the ar- 

 rows, grabbed the heads of them and flew back, stretching the arrows to 

 a distance, but the arrows contracted back to the rock. (The contrac- 

 tion of the arrows was due to the tendon of beef which is found along 

 the neck of the animal.) The boys killed Thunder-bird and the little 

 ones. They pulled the feathers out and returned home, gave them all 

 to their father for bonnets, and arrows and the wings for sweat fans. 

 ."Well, well ! Did you kill that powerful bird ?" said the father. "Yes ! 

 We managed to kill him." 



Now the boys were at home, and the father thought that by making 

 a netted wheel he could keep them close at home. So he made one for 

 them. "Now, my dear boys, I want you to play with this netted wheel 

 and these arrow sticks, but be careful not to throw it with the wind ; 

 always throw it across the wind to each other, and shoot it with those 

 arrow sticks." "Our father has told us not to throw the wheel with the 

 wind ; I wonder what is the reason ; let us see what will happen if we 

 do," said one of the boys. "All right," said the other. So they played 

 a decisive game, when all at once there came a big whirlwind, which 

 carried both of the boys off to a distant land. 



There was a moving camp coming, which camped near the slough, 

 where there were very tall weeds. An old woman, after she had pitched 



