Oct., 1903. Arapaho Traditions — Dorsey and Kroeber. 385 



the mountain they saw young eagles at the top ; they had nests in the 

 rock and were young thunders. When the boys came to them, they 

 asked them: "Well, tell us, how is your mother when she comes?" 

 "She is a black cloud," one of the young birds answered. "Indeed !"^ 

 they said, and twisted its head off. "Well, now, you tell us," they said 

 to another of the young eagles, "how does your mother look when she 

 is angry?" "She is a black cloud with red lightning," said the young 

 thunder. "Indeed, is that so?" they said to it and cut ojT its head. 

 Then they asked another one : "How does your mother look when she 

 comes fiercely?" "The wind blows hard when my mother comes." 

 "Indeed, is that so?" they said to it, and cut its head off also. Then 

 they went to where the fourth one was sitting, and said to it: "How 

 does your mother look when she comes back to see you?" "There 

 is a strong wind and a hard rain and the thunder strikes when my 

 mother comes to see me," it said to them. "Indeed, is that so? Now I 

 see how she looks when she comes," they said, and cut off its head. 

 Then they went home. As they were on their way, the clouds came 

 while they were still far from the tent. Then it began to rain and the 

 lightning struck near them. Then they were angry at the thunder. 

 "Come." they said to her, 'if you can pull this off you will really show 

 yourself to be strong." Then they shot one of their arrows against a 

 great rock in front of them. Then they told the thunder: "Now, 

 pull it off if you can." Then the thunder shouted and prepared to fly 

 down and pull both their arrows out of the rock. Then she swooped 

 down and seized the arrows that stuck in the rock ; and when she had 

 seized them she flew upward with the arrows. Then the arrows, which 

 were made of tendon, stretched and pulled her down again, and she was 

 dashed to death on the rock. "Well, let us go there.'' they said to each 

 other. "She has dashed herself to death on the rock with our arrows. 

 Let us take the feathers to our father." "Yes, you are right," said the 

 other one. Then they took the thunder's feathers. After they had 

 taken them, and had got home, they said to their father : * Here, father, 

 are your feathers." "Thanks ! How did you get them from this power- 

 ful one?" said their father. "We pulled her down by means of our 

 tendon arrows, and she was dashed to death." 



Then they were about to go shooting again, and their father told 

 them : "Do not go where the sage-brush is." Then Door-child said to 

 his older brother. Spring-child : "Let us go where he told us not to go, 

 where the sage brush is thick and where the powerful birds live that are 

 called prairie-chickens." Then they went to the place where the sage 

 brush was, and after they got there, they found the prairie-chickens. 



