THE BUFFALO WIFE AND THE JAVELIN GAME. 95 
One day the boy took his bow and arrows and went hunting for 
game. The game generally was plentiful, but on this hunt the boy 
failed to find any game. He kept on going south until he came to 
a valley where there was a large stream of water. There in the valley 
he saw a person. \He approached and saw that the person was an 
old woman. The young man spoke to the old woman, and she said: 
“My grandson, IJ am weak. Take pity on me. Carry me across 
the river, that I may go out to the village.” The young man told her 
to walk and that he would hold her while she crossed the river. But 
the old woman said: “No, my grandson; put me upon your back, 
take me across, and set me upon that nice grass on the other side.” 
The young man gave in, and he put the old woman upon his back. 
and waded the river. After the boy had crossed the river he said, 
“Well, you had better get off.” The old woman said, “My grand- 
son, take me a little further.” So the boy went on. When the boy 
stopped to put the old woman down she laughed, and said: “No, my 
grandson; you cannot put me down; I am your wife now.” The boy 
became furious and tried to throw the old woman off, but she was 
fast to his back. The boy stuck her with his knife and tried hard 
to get her off, but the old woman stuck on and laughed at the boy. 
The old woman said: “Grandson, you might as well go home, for 
I am to stay with you always. Let the young men see you carry an 
old woman. You are so proud that you do not look at the women.” 
The young man made up his mind to go home. So he went home 
with the old woman upon his back. 
People looked at the young man coming into camp with an old 
woman upon his back. Children crowded about him and followed 
the boy through the village. He went into his lodge and told his 
friends what had happened to him. ‘The people placed the young 
man in the lodge and medicine-men were sent for. All the medicine- 
men failed to get the old woman off the young man’s back. While 
the people crowded around, a poor boy came and stood with the 
people. He spoke out and said, “I can take the old woman from 
that young man’s back.” ‘Then he disappeared. The people heard 
the poor boy speak, and the people told the relatives what the poor 
boy said. The poor boy was living in a shelter with his grandmother. 
The boy spoke to his grandmother, and said: “Grandmother, the 
people are coming after me to take the woman off from the boy. I 
can take her off.””’ The old woman felt sorry for her grandson, not 
knowing that the boy had powers to take the old woman off. The 
relatives of the boy came and brought with them the medicine-men’s 
