144 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 194 



The women all agreed to it, thinking that it would make me a good husband; 

 then my wife would be with me always and we would have a good living. My 

 wife's brother said, "It is a great thing for it is hard to do. If he puts you in the 

 ceremonies that way, it is like giving you to the gods. Then the gods will take 

 good care of you. You must not be bashful or refuse the holy men for they are 

 doing that for your welfare." 



When everything was arranged between my wife's relatives, I talked to her 

 about it, telling her how much I wanted to give the ceremony and have her 

 "walk" with the gods and become a "granddaughter" to my fathers '* but that 

 I hated to ask her. She immediately replied "It is all right; my people have 

 advised me to do tliis for you, for then you will stay with me. It will show that 

 we love and respect each other and that you want to get along with me and not 

 leave me." 



My father said to me, "l think this is a good thing you are doing. I had your 

 mother in the same ceremony and she was always the right kind of woman after 

 that. Your wife is old enough to understand and this way you will have a good 

 hving and she will be faithful to you. If you give it four times as in your dreams 

 you will be a great man and have good luck and a good home. You must go onto 

 the lodge and announce the ceremony saying, 'I am promising to hght the fire 

 and give you the Ught. I promise to make feasts for my fathers all over the world. 

 I want to see my people well fed with enough food for a good Uving.' " 



Brown Blossom was in the ceremony 2 nights, going to the various holy men 

 and saying, "I will take you out," but each would pray for her in the lodge in- 

 stead of having intercourse with her. My father had told me not to think about 

 it if I saw her going out, saying "If you think of your wife when someone takes 

 her out, you will not be successful. When I was doing my part in the same 

 ceremony, sometimes the men took my wife out and other times they gave her 

 the red sticks to press to her chest. Then when we went to bed I could always 

 tell the diflference for it seemed that she smelled good and had new life." 



I happened to look in the direction of the door and saw that Walking Chief 

 of my father's clan, the Waterbusters, was taking her out. When they returned, 

 I asked her to go to Poor Wolf, Waterbuster Clan, and he prayed for her. The 

 next day she hid and was afraid to go through with the ceremony. I thought 

 that I would not be able to finish the ceremonies; then I would surely have bad 

 luck for not finishing what I had promised the gods. I went to a clan brother, 

 Knife, who said, "My younger brother, you do not need to stop the ceremony. 

 All the women married to men of the Prairie Chicken clan are eligible to go in 

 with you and help you out. So you can use my wife for the next 2 nights." 



I was angry at my wife for hiding. My people thought that some women 

 were afraid of the ceremonies and that I should not beat her. I began seeing 

 Iron Woman every day and 5 daj's after the ceremony was finished she told me 

 that my wife was seeing Small Bull. He had gone along when the women were 

 picking Juneberries and had picked for my wife. I was angry at my wife so I 

 brought Iron Woman to my father's lodge without paying her, for she was looking 

 for a man at that time. Then I had two wives. After 4 days with two wives, 

 during which time I directed all of my attentions to Iron Woman, the other took 

 her things and left. I was glad that Iron Woman was looking for a man and had 

 told me about my wife's aS'air with Small Bull for, by getting her, my "joking 

 relatives" no longer teased me about my wife who ran out on me at the ceremony. 

 So I proved to them that I could get plenty of wives, even without paying horses 

 for them. 



8 Heretofore she was a daughter-in-law to Wolf Chief's "fathers. 



