^"ewS] fiction 179 



him down at a great rate. Presently he ran up again to the place 

 where he started. " 'Where did you leave the bowl ? " asked Stone 

 Coat. " Oh I I do not Imow ; it has gone down there I suppose," 

 replied the little fellow. " Well, let us try to see who can kick this 

 log highest." said Stone Coat. "You try first." said the little one. 

 The log was two feet in diameter and six feet long. Putting his 

 foot under it, Stone Coat lifted the log twice his own length. Then 

 the little boy, placing his foot under the log, sent it whistling 

 through the air. It was gone a long time; then it came down on 

 Stone Coat's head, crushing him to death. " Come here," said the 

 little fellow to Stone Coat's dog. The dog came and the boy got on 

 his back and rode home, saying, " Now my father will have a splendid 

 hunting dog." When the father saw the dog he cried out, '' Oh ! 

 what have you done? Stone Coat will now kill us all." "I have 

 killed Stone Coat. He will not trouble us any more," replied the 

 Potent One. 



" Now, my boys, you must never go to the southwest, to the 

 gambling place," said the father. The next day about noon the little 

 boy started off alone. He came to a beautiful opening in the woods, 

 at the farther end of which was a lean-to, under which was a man 

 with a very large head (far larger than the head of a buffalo), who 

 played dice for the heads of all who came along. Crowds of people 

 were there betting in threes. When the game was lost the big-headed 

 man put the three persons on one side in reserve; then he played 

 again with three more, and when they lost he put them with the first 

 three, and so on until the number was large enough for his purjjnse: 

 then, getting up, he cut all their heads off. As the boy approached, 

 a number who had lost their bets were waiting to be killed. Hope 

 came to them all. for they knew that this little fellow had great 

 orenda. Immediately the game began. When the big-headed man 

 threw the dice the boy caused some to remain in the dish and 

 others to go high, so the dice in the throw were of different 

 colors. When he himself threw, all the dice, turning into woodcocks, 

 flew high and came down sitting, and all of one color in the bowl. 

 The two played until the boy won back all the people and the big- 

 headed man lost his own head, which the boy immediately cut off. 

 The whole crowd shouted, " Now, you must be our chief." " Oh ! 

 how could such a little fellow as I be a chief. Maybe my father 

 would consent to be your chief. I will tell him." said the boy. So 

 the boy went home and told his father, but the lattei' would not go to 

 the land of gambling. 



" Now," said the father, " you must never go to the east ; they play 

 ball there : you must never go there." The next day the boy, starting 

 for the east, traveled until he came to beautiful plains, a great level 

 country, where the wolf and the bear clans were playing on one side 



