470 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 194 



I finish smoking. I want you out there for some of the others might shoot me 

 with arrows. Then there would be too much suffering." 



On the fourth day the attack was made and the Eagle Man hurried out with 

 his pipe. There were many arrows flying around and some were sticking in his 

 friend's body. He said, "I told you to hurry; I am suffering a httle now." He 

 smoked the pipe and died. 



When his friend was dead, he cut the other's head off, breaking the Juneberry 

 stick inside.^2 All the others at Awatixa fought long and killed off nearly all the 

 enemies. The people gave Knife River the name Walking-in- Water Creek by 

 which it is still known because the enemy were driven across the water. He took 

 his friend's head home and put it in an anthill for the ants to clean the flesh from 

 the bones. 



In 10 days the bones were cleaned of flesh so he fixed a platform on four posts 

 on which the skull rested. While he was doing this, the skull said, "Do not let 

 my head touch the ground. Put it on a soft place." He fixed a place for it on 

 soft hides, painted it red, and left it on the platform he had prepared for it. 



After that the people thought the Eagle Man from Siwaxuwa was very holy so 

 they often made offerings of corn mush to the skull. He could not eat it but his 

 friend sat beside him. He would offer a little to the skull and then eat the rest 

 himself. If he could not eat all of it, the Skull would say, "Don't give any of 

 it to another; if you can't eat it all, put it in the fire" and the other would do 

 that. Whoever made an offering to the skull always got a small bunch of the 

 peppermint to rub on his body. Then he would get his strength back again. 



The Eagle Man said, "The supernatural powers I have made and given to the 

 Awatixa will last forever; we will use these things for sickness and they will make 

 you strong." After that they made offerings to the bundle and called the Eagle 

 Man "grandfather." ^ 



Whenever the people wanted good luck, they made a sweat lodge, brought in 

 robes for payment to the bundle owner, and had the hot stones put in. The 

 Eagle Man would say, "You will be lucky and prosper." While he was living, 

 he would roll the pipe towards the enemy and the Awatixa would have no bad 

 luck. 



One day Eagle Man said, "Before long I am going back to the eagles" and the 

 people wept. The people were sitting in a circle when he told them of his plans. 

 He added, "I belong to the Waterbuster clan. I am leaving so listen to what 

 I have to say. After I die, take my head out and put it in an anthill until it is 

 clean of flesh. Then wrap it in a soft hide and place it beside my brother, the 

 other Eagle."* Though my body is gone, my spirit will be here to look after you 

 and see that you have plenty of food. It may be that sometime you will need 

 rain; have both of our skulls placed on the ground with a hide under us; sprinkle 

 water with the peppermint on us and it will not be long until the clouds will 

 come from all directions. Since you have seen how I did it, anytime the enemy 

 comes, take out my skull and place it on the ground, and take the pipe out and 

 roll it on the ground. Then you will not have any difficulty killing off the enemy 

 just as I did. When you want the buffaloes, take our skulls and the buffalo 

 skull out and lift the pipe up. The buffaloes will come near the village. Any of 

 you who wish to, may make an offering of corn balls before I leave. I have 

 always eaten what my friend did not. Speak to us as though we were alive and 



•' Pepper and Wilson said "chokecherry." Wolf Chief corrected this to read "Juneberry," as he claimed 

 the spinal cord was of the same wood as the arrows. 



" All the people so address the skulls. Those of the Four-clan moiety classify Eagle Man as a paternal 

 grandfather. This is consistent with the kinship system. 



M Note here Wolf Chief changes the kinship relationship between the two Eagle Men. 



