HOW THE PEOPLE ESCAPED THE BUFFALO. 37 
she sat down, put on another pair and walked again. When she had 
walked about twenty steps her moccasins gave out again and she tried 
the third pair, but they too wore out. She put on the fourth pair, and 
that pair brought her back to the altar. Her walk around the fire- 
place meant that she had walked a long way off in the west, and that 
the way was very hard. At last she told the people that she had seen 
some buffalo; that in four days they were to be seen. The men 
watched every day after that, and early in the morning of the fourth 
day the buffalo were seen. 
The men went out and killed many buffalo on that day and there 
was plenty of meat. Thus, much respect and honor was paid to Mother- 
Corn. After some days another party went on a buffalo hunt, but 
Mother-Corn stayed with those who stayed in the village. It was not 
many days until enemies attacked the village. But what few men 
were there fought very hard, and at last they were driven out of the 
village. They took Mother-Corn out of the medicine-lodge, but before 
she escaped she was killed, causing great grief among the people. The 
Arikara were defeated on that day. They took Mother-Corn and 
buried her. From the place where she was laid, grass, weeds, bushes, 
trees, and almost everything sprang up. When the people who had gone 
out on the buffalo hunt came back they were much grieved and troubled 
on account of the loss of Mother-Corn. . 
11, HOW THE PEOPLE ESCAPED THE BUFFALO.* 
A long time ago, when the people came out through the ground, 
a woman led them through the country. This woman was known as 
“Mother.” The people were human beings, and they had among them 
all kinds of animals, except the buffalo. The people traveled over the 
land, and as they went by a large lake a monster came out from the 
lake, which looked like a buffalo, for it had horns. 
Thhe people ran, crying that this animal was coming. They said 
this animal was what they called “Cut-Nose”. The animal kept coming, 
and at the same time there seemed to come out from under him buffalo. 
The buffalo caught up with them and they killed some of the people. 
The people made canyons behind, so that the buffalo could not cross, 
and thus they escaped the buffalo at this time. 
While they were going on, a Whirlwind came. The people prayed 
to Mother tto help them, and she turned around and told them to give 

*Told by Hawk. 
