DAKOTA MYTHS. 119233 
“My sister, itis I.” She said, “ Brother, let us go home.” But he said, “ Presently, 
my sister. We have now found you. Tell all about it,” And she said, “ Brother, 
the otters brought ne home. They dug from within the earth, and made a hole up 
to where I was and dragged me in. Then they closed up the hole in the earth so that 
you could not find me.” : 
When she had said this, he said, ‘Yes, I will go for my brothers.” When he 
came home to his brothers, he said, “It is our sister.” And they went with him. 
And they came to a house that was stretched out very long, outside of which their 
sister was placed with her four limbs fastened. Then she said, “My brothers, I have 
been now four seasons in this suffering state, but I am still alive, as you see me. That 
is owing to one thing, of which I will tell you. There are five kinds of otters here; 
one is red, one is blue, one is yellow, one is white, and one is black. It is because of 
the last one that Iam alive, brothers. When they boiled fish and threw out the 
bones they emptied the bones and the hot soup upon me, so that Iam burned by the 
heat, and the bones pierced me so that my face is all sore. That is the reason of my 
being so. But when the black otter came to empty out the bones he would put into 
my mouth some of the meat and of the soup also. On account of that you see me 
alive. Therefore my desire is that the black otter may live.” 
“When the evening comes then they return from their hunts. When the red 
one comes he makes red lightning shimmer through the house; when the blue one 
comes he lights up the house with blue lightning ; when the yellow one comes he 
makes yellow lightning shoot through the house; when the white one comes he make 
white lightning shine through the house.” 
Now, when her brothers had made themselves war clubs they took their stations 
at each side of the door of the long house. Now it came to pass when the red light- 
ning gleamed through the house and the red otter put his head in at the door and 
said, ‘‘My house smells of something,” then they killed him and drew him inside the 
house. Then, again, the blue lightning gleamed through the house, and as he said, 
“My house smells of something,” he put in-his head, but they killed him and drew 
him into the house. The yellow lightning gleamed through the house, and the yellow 
otter, saying, ‘‘ My house smells of something,” pushed in his head, but they killed 
him and pulled him into the house. By and by a white lightning gleamed through 
the house and a white otter pushed in his head, but they killed him also and drew 
him into the house. Then the black otter came home, and the sister said, ‘*That is 
the one that did it.” So they took him alive. Then they cut all the cords that bound 
their sister and washed the sores on her face, after which they took her and the otter 
to their home. Now, when they had come home they watched over their sister better, 
and they took good care of the otter that they saved alive. But he was always sad of 
heart, and as he sung to himself, he said, ‘Brothers Haypan! Brothers Haypan! I 
said we ought to use a different ladle; you did not listen to me, and I, the bad-furred 
one, alone am saved. Brothers Haypan! Brothers Haypan!” 
And they said this to him, ‘‘ You did well to us, and therefore we want to treat 
you well, but if you are going to be always sad of heart, you shall do what pleases 
you; if you want to go where you please, so you shall do.” And he said, “Yes, I 
want to be free to go where I please.” And they said to him, “Go, you shall be 
called the Western Child Otter.” And they let him go. 
Therefore they say it is that now there are only black otters. 
