124 TRADITIONS OF THE ARIKARA. 
waist-deep into the water to get clean water. Some of the boys made 
fun of the poor boy and said that he had imagined all this. But the 
poor boy said, “If you do not believe me I am going to get one of them 
and bring him in here, and you will see that all I have said is true.” 
They said, “All right.’ They did not believe the poor boy would 
go. But he did go out, and dragged the Scalped-Man to the entrance 
of the tipi. Old and young’ men crawled out and ran away. The 
poor boy laughed at them for being afraid of a dead man. The 
leader was the only one who stayed. The Scalped-Man told the 
leader not to be afraid; that they would give them success, so that they 
might take revenge on the people who had killed them. So the men 
came into the tipi, but not till the poor boy had taken the dead man 
out. ‘Then they all wanted to go home at once. They left the tipi 
and went on. The next day they found a hunter, an enemy. They 
lay low, and when he was within reach of them they shot him and 
killed him. Now the other young men wanted to go home, but the 
poor boy said, “Let us go on.” ‘They kept on. Each day they killed 
one or two of the enemy. When they had killed a number equal 
to the number in the lake the boy was satisfied. Then they returned 
home. The chiefs heard of the poor boy’s bravery. They sent for him 
through their council, and they made of him a brave. So the poor 
boy became a brave man, and executed the orders of the chiefs. 
42. THE GIRL WHO WAS BLEST BY THE BUFFALO AND CORN.* 
In one of the lodges in a village there stood a mother, and in her 
arms was a baby girl. It was about to rain and the mother wanted to 
bring in her corn and other things to keep them dry, but she did not 
know where to put the baby. In her excitement she forgot that there 
was a bed, and she laid the baby up on the buffalo skull at the altar, 
then went about her duties. The buffalo skull was thankful, because 
he thought the baby was given to him. He cried out, saying, “Hi ni, 
hi ni—you have pleased me, you have pleased me, giving me the 
baby.” But Mother-Corn, who stood over the buffalo skull, told him 
that the baby girl had not been given to him, but had been placed there 
for the buffalo skull and herself to watch while the mother was busy. 
The buffalo skull and Mother-Corn blessed and poured their mercy 
on the baby girl. After a while the mother came in and took the 
baby. The chill grew, and showed some signs of having power 
*Told by Hawk. 
