154 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuU. 194 



relatives who lived with the Crow 21 would not help him so he had to walk back 

 to the camp unassisted after the bleeding had stopped. 



Some time later, a Crow who had been a good hunter but was then ill wanted 

 raw kidneys to eat. Hearing that Bears Heart was a good hunter but had no fast 

 horse, the Crow sent his young wife with Bears Heart to get meat. When Bears 

 Heart saw how pretty the woman was, he thought how lucky he was; he could kill 

 a buffalo at a distance from the other hunters and possess her while they were 

 butchering. With this idea in mind, he sent her to a distant point near the woods 

 and killed a buffalo there. Before he could tie up his horse and begin the butcher- 

 ing, the woman's father and brother joined them, never giving him a chance to 

 be alone with her. Bears Heart suspected that a trick had been played on him so 

 the next time the Crow offered to send his young wife with Bears Heart, he refused. 

 The Crow men tease each other a great deal and talk about sex all the time so 

 they would say, "The next time we go out hunting, we will let Bears Heart take 

 our wives. Then we will get much fat meat." 



Bears Heart stayed with the Crow Indians 1 year and then he brought June- 

 berries back to the village. When Bear-Looks-Out heard that they were back, 

 he had his other two wives, the sisters of Juneberries, cook a big meal. Then he 

 invited Bears Heart to come and eat with him. Some people thought that he 

 should not go but Bears Heart said to them, "I have to go for he has invited me. 

 I have to die sometime." 



Three of his friends went with him to protect him if there was trouble. After 

 they had smoked, one of the men said to Bear-Looks-Out, "I heard that you 

 invited Bears Heart so I came along with him to see whether you were angry or 

 whether you had just called him in to feed him." 



Bear-Looks-Out said, "I am not angry at Bears Heart. I was angry at those 

 women because they did not want me any longer and left me. I want you to come 

 here, my brother,22 whenever you want to smoke." 



Bears Heart and Bear-Looks-Out were often seen together after that. Bears 

 Heart often called on his former family but he never went there to live again for 

 his other wife had grown children to take care of her. [End of Crows Heart's 

 narrative.] 



Reactions to the loss of a wife by elopement differed with the indi- 

 viduals. One should pretend disconcern, or, when the elopers had re- 

 turned, invite the woman back home and there, after painting and 

 dressing her up, put her on a good horse and take her back to her new 

 husband. When this was done the woman would cry from shame. 

 Should a man demand his wife back, she should return to him. It 

 was considered cowardly to force a woman to come back against her 

 will. Frequently a man, on discovering that a wife had eloped, would 

 set out alone or with a small party of close friends and relatives to 

 raid some adjacent enemy camp. However much his feelings may 

 have been hurt, he should conceal these feelings and pretend not to 

 care. It was believed that the woman's reputation was injured if he 

 returned with scalps and horses because she could not partake in the 

 victory celebration with her husband. Since families wanted to marry 

 their daughters to men with good war records, one returning as leader 



M These were people who abandoned agriculture after the smallpox epidemic of 1837 and joined the Crow. 

 M Men married to sisters are classified as "brothers." 



