THE GENEROUS SCALPED-MAN AND HIS BETRAYER. 149 
61. THE GENEROUS SCALPED-MAN AND HIS BETRAYER.* 
There was a man from an Arikara village who went hunting, 
going west from the village. He saw some antelope in a valley. He 
crawled up to them, and just as he was about to shoot he saw one 
antelope hold its head up, so that the man knew that it must have seen 
something. A mysterious being jumped up by the antelope, and before 
the antelope had time to jump the being had struck it and killed it. 
This being, who was a Scalped-Man, walked around the antelope, then 
took it by the legs, swung it upon his back and carried it off towards 
the Bad Lands. The hunter followed. The Scalped-Man came to a 
steep bank. He entered the bank and disappeared. The:man kept his 
eye on the place where the Scalped-Man had disappeared. He came 
to the bank, looked in, and saw that there was a door, made of willows 
sewed together with sinew. Mud had been put over it and there was a 
root sticking out for a handle. By catching hold of the root the door 
was opened. The man went in and closed the door. Then he went in 
further, where the cave was, and there he saw the Scalped-Man sitting 
down by the fireplace. The antelope was lying by the entrance and the 
Scalped-Man was sitting down waiting, for he knew that the man was 
coming. The man spoke to the Scalped-Man, and said: ‘Why do you 
hold your head down? Speak! I am here. I am not afraid of you.” 
The man kept talking to the Scalped-Man until the Scalped-Man be- 
came friendly, then the man sat down. The Scalped-Man began to cut 
the meat. The man stayed with the Scalped-Man four days and nights. 
The Scalped-Man told the man that he knew the country all around, 
and that he took long journeys into the enemy’s country and had killed 
many enemies; that if he would keep his secret of his living in the 
Bad Lands he would help him to become a great man like himself. The 
man promised, so the Scalped-Man told the man to remain in his cave 
while he should go off to the enemy’s country. The Scalped-Man went 
off, and was gone for several days. When he came back he took the 
man out of his den and told him that he had brought several ponies 
for him. ‘The ponies were in a valley. The man thanked the Scalped- 
Man. He took the ponies home. The people were surprised to see the 
man coming with the ponies, for he had not been on the war-path, but 
had been out hunting, as they thought. The man stayed in the village 
several days, then he went out again. 
The man went to the Scalped-Man’s cave. The Scalped-Man 
asked him what he wanted. The man told him that he wanted many 
*Told by Elk. 
