ABSTRACTS. 507 
73. THE BASKET GAME, OR THE WOMAN IN THE MOON. 
Spider-Woman and her people control seeds. When people visit her for seeds 
they are challenged and killed. In contest they jump up, storms are called, and 
they are frozen. Two young men decide to put end to Spider-Woman. They 
come to her corn-field with its grass-lodge and many skulls. They are warned by 
daughter against old woman, especially not to eat of food which she will offer them, 
for it will be human flesh. They are welcomed to old woman’s lodge, are offered 
food, of which they eat, first having eaten some medicine. Boys leave lodge and 
emetic takes effect. Again they take medicine and eat of bowl of human eyes, and 
again they go out and allow emetic to take effect. Following morning they are fed 
squash, which is human ears. They vomit it up. They prepare to play game, 
covering their bodies with white clay, and from their eyes extend little black streaks. 
They begin to dance up and down by steep bank, which old woman pushes her vic- 
timsover. Asthey dance old woman sings of snowstorm and other storms, but boys 
turn into snowbirds. She sings of air and they become larks. She then acknowl- 
edges defeat and offers her daughter to boys. They express wish to continue game; 
and they sing about storms, etc. Old woman survives until they sing of grasshoppers, 
which fly around and under her and take her up to Moon, hanging from which 
oven pices of her dress may be seen. Grasshoppers continue their flight to Sun, 
where they may be seen in summer time. 
74. THE GIRL, SPIDER-WOMAN, AND THE BALL GAME. 
Lame man and his niece live alone. He disappears each day, often remaining 
away late, which angers girl, and she tells him not to goso faraway. Once while he 
is gone being takes girl to far country in wind. There she meets Spider-Woman, 
who tells her that she must play game of double ball. Girl cries and is taken to 
lodge of Wood-Rat. Errand man appears that evening and invites girl to feast with 
Spider-Woman. Girl goes to Spider-Woman’s lodge, who whispers to herself that 
she will place girl’s head among her skulls. Girl refuses to eat human eyes, and in 
night she asks birds to tell her uncle that she needs hishelp. Girl asks for four days’ 
time and goes tohillandcries. In meantime uncle returns, misses girl, takes double 
ball game from bundle, places himself on them, strikes his ankle with stick, making 
motion as if throwing balls into air, and balls carry him. Thus he goes south look- 
ing for his niece, then west,then north. Not finding her, he returns home and a 
little bird offers to lead him to his niece, and flies toward east. Uncle finds niece 
and he gives her double ball with which to play, and blows his breath on string so 
that it will not break. When time for game comes, uncle tells her to strike him 
several times upon his ankle with stick. Game begins. As they progress, string 
holding balls breaks, and Spider-Woman suggests that they stop, but girl insists 
that they should use her set. She begins to beat her uncle’s feet and presently 
twin balls appear. Thereafter she is uniformly successful, finally winning Spider- 
Woman and her people. Old Woman is killed and burned, and jumps from fire into 
grass as spider. Girl whips her uncle’s feet, placing balls near them, and thus they 
enter his feet again, and he says that so it is that they rid themselves of Spider- 
Woman, and that hereafter people may have rheumatism and require bent sticks for 
support. 
