54 TRADITIONS OF THE ARIKARA. 
strong wind from the southeast, and blew towards the den.” As the 
wind blew from the southeast the Snakes on that side went to sleep. 
Then he told about the wind coming from the southwest, and those 
Snakes in the southwest went to sleep. Then the wind from the north- 
west came, and those who were there went to sleep. Then the wind from 
the northeast came, and those Snakes on that side went to sleep. Now 
the boy waved his hand all around the circle, and all went to sleep as 
they were listening to Old-Woman’s-Grandson. 
In the center was the fire. There was a long stick in the form of a 
circle around the den, and all the Snakes were upon this, in a circle all 
around. ‘The boy now arose, took his flint knife, and commenced to 
cut the ‘heads on the stick around the fireplace. When he came to the 
last one, it opened its eyes and woke up. It ran into a hole, and said, 
“Old-Woman’s-Grandson, watch yourself, for hereafter I am your 
enemy.” The Snake disappeared in the ground. 
Now the boy went out and went home, and he told the old woman 
that he had killed the Snakes. The old woman was then afraid of the 
boy. She knew that he was wonderful. After that, the boy watched 
himself in all of his journeys, because of the Snake he had failed to kill. 
Whenever he wanted to drink he had to go among the rocks, where he 
would drink from the pools of water. The boy could not drink water 
from the springs, for the Snake was always ready to jump into his 
mouth. When the boy wanted to sleep he lay down, placing the arrows 
he had as follows: One outside of each knee and one outside of each 
shoulder, sticking them in the ground. The bow the boy used for a 
pillow. Whenever the Snake approached him sleeping the arrows fell 
upon him, so that he woke up. 
The boy became very sleepy one time, for he had not slept much 
during all this time. He lay down, and placed the arrows as usual, 
and went to sleep. The Snake came. One of the arrows fell on the boy, 
but failed to wake him. Another fell on him, but he did not wake. 
Then another arrow fell, then the last one fell, but the boy did not wake. 
The Snake crawled up to the boy, and, as it reached his stomach, the 
boy, in his sleep, reached for his knife and made motions to cut the 
Snake, but the Snake kept on going. The boy kept trying to get the 
Snake, but it went into the boy’s mouth. It crawled up into the skull 
and nestled itself there. ‘The boy lay there as though dead; but the 
Snake knew that the boy was not dead. The Snake remained there 
until the boy dried up and became nothing but a skeleton. 
The father of the boy studied hard as to how to get the Snake 
out of the boy’s skull. Although the boy was dead, the skull was the 
