262 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 194 



hill and cry and stay in a cave nearby at night. A rain came and they went under 

 the rocks; it turned hot as though they were near a fire. They saw a bird as large 

 as a bullboat with the head as large as a human's; something shiny-looking like 

 silk was hanging down from the bill. 



Because they were frightened, they ran back into camp and the people closed 

 the tent flaps. When I was born, he gave me a name and said that I would live to 

 old age. He called me He Comes, for when the clouds and thunder come from the 

 west, they make a loud noise. 



When I was 7 or 8 years old, Big Cloud made up a cloth of this big bird with a 

 round clamshell bead and said that if I wore it, I would live to be an old man. I 

 was 15 when he was taken ill; I stayed near him because he had been so good to me. 

 One day he asked me to sit by him and he said, "My grandson, I am getting old 

 and I think it is the best time to go. When I die, you will know where they bury 

 me ; you come there to fast. If I remember, I will give you a holy song or mention 

 something so that your wishes will come true. If I can't do it, it will still be all 

 right." 



They buried him where some others were buried. I remembered how he had 

 treated me and was crying. My father said to me "Don't forget what your grand- 

 father said to you before he died. He was a great man and struck many enemies; 

 he fasted much; you must do the same. You should go out there where he is 

 buried; he may be able to help you. You could go out there evenings for 30 days. 

 If you do not get a dream, you might try another 30 days." 



Because my father asked me to go out, I went out there for part of the night for 1 

 month. I rested and then went out 30 nights again. I would cry and say that I 

 was poor and wanted a god so that I would have a good living. I tried it 30 days 

 but no dream came. I went to 90 nights when the weather was getting cold so 

 I gave it up. 



The next spring I tried it again. My father talked to me and said, "If you go 

 out again, you should stick to it. There are some bodies on scaffolds out there. 

 You might go to those scaffolds and hold onto the posts while fasting. Perhaps 

 that will help you." 



I was a little frightened out there with the human bones scattered around from 

 the fallen scaflFolds, the circles of skulls, and the skulls and other bones sticking out 

 of the sunken graves. I thought, too, of our enemies who might come and attack 

 me. I would stay around there until late in the night and then go back home. 

 Once the men told of seeing enemies about but I went out to fast. One night I had 

 the sensation that something was seizing me and at the same time I heard a 

 "woosh" from my grandfather's grave. Then all the bodies made the same noise; 

 I was so frightened that I nearly ran away. 



That night when I came back and went to bed, my grandfather came back, I 

 saw my grandfather standing on a high hill about 30 miles downstream from Fish- 

 hook. His hair was white and he was smiling. 



The next year ray father went out west to Shot in Nose Creek. There were 

 many young men fasting on the side of a high hill with sticks put through their 

 skin. Because I was not among them, my father's joking relatives teased him 

 about his worthless son who did nothing but eat and chase the girls. This made 

 my father very angry so he came to me while other men in the camp were crying to 

 their gods to send their sons good dreams, saying, "You should not sit around here 

 and do nothing but eat all the time. You should follow the example of the other 

 young men and fast for a god so that you will be successful." 



Takes-the-Gun [Three-clan moiety] and Moccasin Carrier [Waterbuster clan] 

 came to take me out without asking if I wanted to go and said, "We are glad that 

 you are going to do this so that you will get a god." 



