448 COYOTE TALES. 
Here my skull rests, 
But there you stand, Coyote, 
Dying of starvation. 
Here my skull rests, 
Here my skull rests, 
But there you stand, Coyote, 
Awaiting the odor of meat borne by the wind 
Here my skull rests. 
Coyote looked up and said: ‘‘And who are you that I should be afraid 
of you?’ Just then a skull rolled up, and when Coyote saw the skull he 
ran. Heran from one place to another, but the skull pursued him. At 
last he ran to a village of people and just as he ran into the village and 
called to them the skull devoured him. The people who ran out from their 
village were also devoured by the skull. Four girls escaped and started to 
run, but the skull pursued them. When the skull was about to catch one 
of the girls,she threwher pack strings upon the ground, and many bunches 
of cactus sprang up over the land. The girls ran on, and the skull tried 
to get over the cactus, but could not until it had tried many times. When 
it did get over it ran and killed the woman who had thrown the pack 
strings. The second woman threw her pack strings upon the ground and 
there was a big stream of water and asteep bank. The skull could not 
cross the stream of water, but somehow it managed to jump upon logs 
which were floating down and so crossed the stream. Then it took after 
the woman and killed her. 
When the skull was about to overtake the other two women, one of 
them threw her pack strings upon the ground and there was a steep bank. 
But somehow the skull managed to climb up and took after the woman 
and killed her. Then the fourth girl, the youngest, ran and cried for help. 
A Bull-Bat flew by her and told her to go down into the hollow; that there 
she would see a man; that he alone could help her. The girl went down 
into the ravine and there she saw a little lodge and a small boy, as she 
thought, sitting outside of the lodge. She told him that a skull was com- 
ing after her. He told her to go into his lodge, and he would stay where 
he was. The skull came and asked the little fellow if a girl had gone on 
by. He paid no attention to the skull, and the skull became angry and 
was about to devour him, when he opened his mouth and blew with his 
breath a little blue bead. The blue bead struck the skull upon the fore- 
head, killing it. The little fellow told the girl to go on her way; that the 
skull was killed and would never molest the people any more. The little 
fellow was Milk-Weed and the girl was called Rolling Skull. 
