470 COYOTE TALES. 
fooled you.’’ The other members of the war party were not found. The 
people knew that they were still in the lodge, but they could not find them. 
Finally, Mosquito went out of the lodge and flew into a swampy country, 
where he got his legs stuck in the mud. Ever since the time of the Tur- 
tle’s war party, crickets have lived in people’s lodges, and mosquitoes have 
lived near swampy places. 
148. THE ANIMALS’ WAR PARTY.’ 
Many of the people once gathered together and went on the war-path. 
They had heard of three men who lived at a certain place who were very 
hard to kill. Many people had tried to kill them, but none had ever been 
successful, and the ground about their camp was covered with skulls of 
those who had tried and failed. Among the many people who went out 
on the war-path were three little warriors, Rabbit, Turtle, and Spider- 
Woman. When they were near the lodge of the three men who were hard 
to kill, the three little warriors boasted that they were going to kill them. 
They told all the men to get their bows and arrows ready; that they were 
about to make an attack. Rabbit charged, riding a mule, and singing 
this song: 
I make the charge on the first man, 
Look out! Look out! 
Thus they are frightened away. 
Then Turtle came witha spear and something on his back, and he also 
sangasong. The spear that Turtle had was of grass, and the thing that 
he had upon his back was a shield. Spider-Woman came out and said: 
“Kill the other two, but I want to catch the youngest of the three men.” 
The men saw them coming, and the youngest of the three said: ‘‘Let 
us make a fire, for the enemy are coming. Let us cook for the enemy.” 
The three men went out with fire in front of them, and as they came to the 
chief of the men on the enemy’s side, the fire touched him and all of his 
warriors and killed them. Those whom the fire did not kill were hit upon 
the head with a war club and killed. At last they killed Rabbit and 
Turtle. The youngest of the three took Spider-Woman and had all the 
fun killing her. Thus the three men, who were Hawks, destroyed the 
great warriors who had come to kill them. 
Told by Thief, Kitkehahki. This story is told to show how the rabbit, turtle, 
and spider-woman made a charge against the warriors who were the hawks. The 
hawks were known among the Indians as warriors and they killed the rabbit, turtle, 
and spider-woman, The story is to show that the warriors should always imitate 
the hawks instead of the rabbit, turtle, or spider-woman. 
