II4 TRADITIONS OF THE ARIKARA. 
ents for his wife’s people. ‘They then returned to their country. The 
Arikara visited them, and they made peace. They never made war 
on one another any more. 
34. THE MAN) AND THE WATER-DOGS.* 
Long ages ago there was a village with so many inhabitants that 
it had four medicine-lodges. ‘There was one man who was so brave that 
his fame extended beyond the village. He committed some evil deeds 
among his own people, but his people were afraid to correct him. Thus 
he went on, committing more misdemeanors. He became so bad that 
the people undertook to take his life. They formed a plot to seize 
him. One family invited the man to a feast. When he entered the 
lodge many men gathered about the lodge and waited till he came out. 
The man came out and walked very slowly toward the river. He never 
paid no attention to the men nor even tried to fight back, but went on 
his way. Finally he stepped into the river, and some one cried out to 
the men to catch him, but it was too late. He sank down in the water 
and the people shouted for joy, because they thought he was drowned. 
The man walked on down on the bottom of the river and he saw 
there a tipi. From its door came a Dog, and the Dog called to the 
man to come in. He went in, and he saw many Dogs. The leader of 
the Dogs raised his head and said that he was not hurt and that they 
never would injure him. The leader showed much mercy toward the 
man and told him not to be afraid of any man; and that if he should 
ever get hurt he was to come right to the water and the Dogs would 
be glad to receive him. So the man went out of the tipi and came up 
out of the water. When it was night he went to the village. 
He entered his house and saw his wife. He sat down and told her 
that he regarded as nothing ail the wounds he had received from the 
men who tried to kill him. ‘The woman was surprised, and was much 
afraid of him. The man ordered his wife to go after some tobacco 
from one of the councils that was being held in the village. She went 
at once and entered one of the councils. She asked the head men for 
some tobacco for her husband. The men were much agitated and 
afraid, so they gave her some tobacco. The woman returned and the 
man was much pleased. The men in the council decided to send a mes- 
senger to see if the man had returned. One young man went and 
peeped in and saw the man, all naked, sitting in his tipi. He returned 
*Told by Strike-Enemy, 
