Abstracts — Dorsey and Kroeber. 467 



iitid change of life is made. Instead of buffalo eating people, they become sub- 

 sistence for human beings. Buffalo-Bull sends word to son-in-law by grand- 

 son that before they can return, there will be singing, dancing, running race 

 and telling myths, each for four days, and if he goes through it all he will 

 be all right. (Continued as in Blue-Feather story.) — D. 



135. — The Porcupine and the Woman who climbed to the Sky. 

 Women go out for firewood. See porcupine, which begins climbing tree. 

 Women try to hit animal but it dodges. One of them starts to climb tree to 

 catch porcupine, which gets higher and higher. It reaches top of tree, and as 

 woman approaches top, tree suddenly lengthens. Porcupine and woman con- 

 tinue climbing and finally reach sky. Porcupine takes woman into camp-circle 

 where father and mother live. Lodge is put up for them to live in. Porcupine 

 is very industrious and old folks well supplied with hides and food. Woman 

 decides to save all sinew from buffalo and work on buffalo robes and other 

 things to divert suspicion. Husband cautions her not to dig too deep with 

 digging stick and to go home early. Woman goes in search of hog potatoe.s. 

 While digging, she accidentally strikes hole; looks through and sees green 

 earth, with camp-circle, which she recognizes. She carefully covers spot 

 and marks it. She goes home. One morning husband starts off for more beef 

 and tells wife to be careful of herself. She takes digging stick and sinew to 

 hole. She ties string, to make sinew long enough to reach bottom. She lays 

 digging stick across hole, ties one of sinew strings in center of stick and 

 then fastens herself to lariat. She lets herself down, finally finding herself 

 suspended above top of tree which she had climbed, but not near enough so 

 that she could reach it. Husband tracks her to hole. He looks into hole and 

 sees wife suspended from digging stick by sinew lariat. He finds circular 

 stone and drops it along sinew string, striking top of her head, breaking her 

 off and landing her safe on ground. She takes stone and goes to camp-circle. — P 



136. — The Porcupine and the Woman who climbed to the Sky. 

 The sun and the moon, two brothers, speak of marrying women on earth. 

 The moon turns to a porcupine which entices a woman to climb a tree. Then 

 he takes her to the sky. The sun returns with the frog. The woman and the 

 frog are made to contest in chewing. The frog attempts to use charcoal in 

 order to produce more noise, but is discovered. The moon ridicules her and 

 she jumps on his breast, where she, remains. The moon's wife is told not to 

 dig roots. She does so and through the hole sees the earth. She makes a rope 

 of sinew and attempts to let herself down, but fails to reach the earth. The 

 moon finds her hanging, throws a stone, and kills her. Her child falls to the 

 ground unhurt. He is found by an old woman, who raises him. The boy 

 discovers some one eating their food and kills the monster. The old woman 

 cries because it is her husband. The boy starts out. He kills many snakes 

 which he finds asleep. One threatens revenge and follows him. He is warned 

 by his bow, but the fourth time the snake enters his body while he is asleep. 

 The boy lies like dead and becomes a skeleton. At last he causes it to rain 

 and become hot until the snake emerges from his skull, when he seizes it. 

 He attaches the snake to his bow. He returns to the old woman. Then he 

 goes to the people and gives a young man his supernatural bow. He himself 

 turns to a star. — K. 



