366 THE (EGIHA LANGUAGE—MYTHS, STORIES, AND LETTERS. 
TRANSLATION. 
Some Dakotas camped. And they killed a Pawnee. Having cut off his hands, 
they hung them up on a hill which was about two miles away. And at night, when 
it was dark, there was a very high wind. And the men collected and sai. And they 
sat telling their own adventures; they sat talking incessantly; in fact, they sat speak- 
ing of different kinds of news. And aman who was a boaster sat by the door. And 
one man, who was said to be very stout-hearted, was coming from the outside—in fact, 
a man who was said to be very sedate and very brave, was coming from without. The 
man who came from without said, “I have barely come!” And the boaster said, 
“How is it that you have barely come?” ‘Why! as there is a high wind, and it is 
very dark, I was very much afraid, so I have barely come,” said he. “ Were it I,” said 
the boaster, “how could I possibly be hindered in getting here? There is nothing at 
all to fear.” ‘Nevertheless, | was very much afraid when I was coming,” said the 
other. ‘Nevertheless, as you feared even when you were right among the tents, it 
was wrong,” said the boaster. And the sedate man said as follows: ‘Let us see! if 
you tell the truth, and do not fear, go after the hands of the Pawnee. If you bring 
them back, I will give you a good horse.” “If I wish to go for them, I will go for 
them,” said the boaster. “Fie! come, go for them. I will give you a very good horse 
if you bring them back,” said the sedate man. The other one went after the hands. 
And this man said as follows: ‘ What if he does not tell the truth! Let two of you 
walk thither.” So they went thither. When the two arrived very near, they sat 
down, not going any further; they sat waiting for him to appear. Behold, after a long 
while he had not come back. And as he had not come back, the two went back to the 
tents. And the brave man said, “‘ Have you come home witbout him?” ‘Why! when 
we sat down on this side of the place, waiting for him to appear, he did not come 
back, so we came back,” said they. ‘Fie! he died. Let me see! I will go thither,” 
said he who was sedate. Without any weapons at all he went thither; having only 
his pipe, he went alone to the man’s hands. Behold, when the first man who went 
drew very near to the man’s hands, he had died. But this man took the hands, and 
carried them back. As he reached the tents, the sedate man said, “I have brought 
the hands back.” And this sedate man spoke: “J, too, have been accustomed to travel- 
ing and going on the war-path since I was small. Aud no matter what kind of trouble 
I encountered, I always found a loop-hole by which I managed to get out of it alive. 
And not even once did I say beforehand, ‘I am going to do that;’ I always concealed 
my plans. When I encountered any difficulty, I always thought that I wasa man. I 
am not used to talking at random. I prize women, and I prize horses, too.” And the 
sedate man called two*very poor men. He gave very good horses to both of the poor 
men, a very swift horse toeach. And the sedate man gave a woman, too, toa man who, 
perhaps, had not married. ‘*Though the woman only is precious, I shall live after 
giving her away. I wish to know my own heart, therefore I have done that. Go ye 
after the dead man,” said the sedate man. 
