DOBSET-swANTON] THE BILOXI AND OFO LANGUAGES 107 



Fish must have been told that her brother would come back to-day." 

 At which she rejoined, " Do 5'^ou always come back after you have 

 died?" 



When the water was boiling, she said [to herself], "I wonder 

 whether the child would die if I put it in the boiling water." Saying 

 this she took the child and set it in the water. And then they wished 

 to kill her, and as she had fled they went along in pursuit of her, 

 going toward the place where her brother was standing. They were 

 on the point of killing her, one having raised a stick on her^ when her 

 brother came in sight right there. The Ancient of Long-necked Buz- 

 zards, who was one of the party, thrust a spade behind him to hide it 

 from Tube, and so he formed it into a tail for himself. [See variant 

 below.] 



When the sister saw Tube she was very glad. Then the people lay 

 down all along, touching one another, forming a line of bodies extend- 

 ing from the place where they were about to kill the sister to the 

 home of her uncle. "You must get home," said the sister to Tube, so 

 he walked along over the line of bodies, and thus reached home. 

 When he arrived there, he killed all the people who were there as soon 

 as night came, and by daylight he wished to go upward. So he asked 

 the Frog to sing a magic song for him, but the Frog replied, " I do 

 not know how." Then the Ancient of Toads said, "I can say it." 

 " If you can say it, let me hear you say it," said Tube. Then the Toad 

 began to sing. "That is it," said Tube. Next, addressing his sister, 

 he said, " When I leap upward, grasp my ankle." But when he 

 leaped she grasped at the ankle and missed it. "I shall remain here," 

 said she. "When the deer are fat, I will collect the fat and will carry 

 it to you," said she as Tube ascended. Therefore since that day they 

 always call the bird (snipe) " She-always-gathers-deer-fat." And since 

 then when a toad cries the people always say, "It is going to rain," 

 because Tube had said to the Ancient of Toads, " When you are very 

 thirsty, be crying out in that manner and rain shall come." 



[Variant of the last sentence of the first paragraph, above] 



The Ancient of Long-necked Buzzards hid a spade behind him 

 to conceal it from Tube; he made it resemble a tail. For this reason 

 the Biloxi say that the buzzard has a tail. Because of this act of the 

 Ancient of Long-necked Buzzards, his making a tail out of the spade, 

 the buzzard's tail is flat, they say. 



29. The Otter and the Sun 



Xyini'xkana' anixya' do'^hi' de' te ne' ka*^ ^u^lbi"' ya'ndi de 



Ancient of otters ball play to see to go wished stood when grandmo'ther the (sub.) togo 



ku'kiyo'ha'^ni. "De' kike' exti'k ne' ha'' xku' da'nde na'," e' 



did not wish for him. "That makes no far off stood and I will be coming ". said 



difference back (masc), 



86515°— Bull. 47—12 8 



