INTRODUCTION. 7 
Burnt-Belly, this poor boy, through the aid of certain animals, becomes 
powerful, kills the mean chief, and calls the buffalo, thus saving his 
tribe from despotism and famine, and at the same time furnishing by 
his life a perpetual example to the poor of the Arikara of the value of 
honest and long-continued effort. In itale No. 20 are related the deeds 
of two boys who slew the water-monster, one of whom, perhaps, was 
Burnt-Hands. The deeds also of two brothers, and perhaps the same as 
those just referred to, are related in the next two tales (Nos. 21 and 22), 
where we have the additional element of one of the boys turning into 
a water-monster and taking up his home in the Missouri River, an 
incident which is of widespread distribution among the Pawnee tribes. 
The first of these two stories might also be considered as a rite myth, 
for it has certain reference to the origin of the ceremony of the medi- 
cine-men. In the next tale (No. 23) the value of the deeds of the poor 
boy, who, as in a similar Skidi tale, recovers a mouse’s nest and so re- 
ceives power from the mice and rats, is not so apparent. To be sure, 
for a while, his power is used advantageously, and he is instrumental 
in fighting the enemies of his tribe, but he finally abuses his power, and 
in an encounter with the bear this power comes to an end. A similar 
fate befalls the hero of another tale (No. 34), who, in befriending some 
young hawks, obtained the power of the hawks, which power, for 
a while, was rightly used, but eventually, abusing it, he suffered death. 
This tale, also, might be considered a rite myth. In tales Nos. 25 and 
26 is related how the young man recovered the young women from 
the power of the bear, through the assistance of the magic flute of the 
elk. In the second of these two tales some of the women become elks. 
The story of the man who obtained the elk power is related in tale 27, 
which also relates how certain people, after entering the water, became 
animals. In a number of tales presented Coyote figures prominently, 
but only in No. 28 does he appear as a transformer, where, by his 
action with the magic windpipe, the seven brothers become bumblebees. 
Tales Nos. 29 to 42 may be considered rite myths, inasmuch as 
they refer either to the origin of a ceremony or of a particular rite or 
to incidents, which were perhaps connected with a ceremony. Myths 
of this nature apparently are not as common among the Arikara as 
among the Skidi,’ It is possible, however, that this apparent difference 
will not prove to be real, for as yet no extended and systematic study 
has been made of the Arikara ceremonies. 
In tale No. 29 is found an interesting account of the origin of the 
well-known ring and javelin game of the Plains, which among the 
Arikara, as among the Skidi and Wichita, is really part of the cere- 
monial calling of the buffalo. The tale also relates to the origin of the 
