76 TRADITIONS OF THE ARIKARA. 
boy cut the serpent open and the birds feasted upon the serpent. As 
each bird was filled it spoke to the boy and gave him power. The 
power given to the boy was in the nature of objects, and he swallowed 
them. : 
The lake grew smooth after the serpent was taken out. The boy 
was now chief of all birds, and wherever he went the birds followed 
him. Wherever there was a bad animal the birds told the boy and the 
boy went and killed the animal. The boy made it his aim to kill all 
bad animals. He never went to his people, but roamed over the land 
as chief of all birds, but still kept the name “Antelope-Carrier.”’ 
While this young man was roaming about, two young boys from 
the village went to shoot birds. They were joined together with raw- 
hide. When they had gone far away from the village they came to a 
bottom land. Here they found an object that looked like a mushroom. 
_It was white. It was moving up and down. One of the boys said, “Let 
me shoot at this thing.” The other boy said, “No, it is wonderful.” 
But the first boy shot at the object and as soon as the arrow hit the 
object a strong wind came up and took both boys up, carrying them 
far away, and they were left on an island out in the great waters near 
where the sun comes up. 
When the boys were landed they cried. All this time they were 
still joined by the rawhide string. The boy who shot began to make 
fun of the other, because he cried the most. So the boy who cried the 
most tried to shoot the other with his bow and arrow, claiming that it 
was through him that they were now far away from home. The other 
boy said, “No, do not kill me, for we will go back home. We will first 
go to the setting of the sun, for that is where our home is. If we do 
not reach home then we must go east, where the sun rises.” So they 
went west. As they neared the big water they saw a patch of corn and 
squash. ‘They went on and saw an earth-lodge. They stood outside, 
and after a while an old woman came out and called them “grandsons” 
and asked them to enter her lodge. 
They went in and she fed them. They stayed with the old woman 
one moon. Then the old woman said: “My grandchildren, you are 
far away from home. You were brought here by a strong wind, be- 
cause one of you shot it with your arrow. I will help you so that you 
can go back to your people. I will pound much corn and I will make 
dried mush for you. I will make five large cakes. You must do as I 
tell you. It takes four days to cross the big water. Four of these cakes 
will be for your grandfather, who will take you across; one cake will 
be for you boys.” She made the cakes and gave them to the boys, and 
