156 TRADITIONS OF THE ARIKARA. 
lodge, he will step forward as he steps; and if she is a female she will 
step over the ridge with her foot sidewise. The second thing is, when 
they have eaten and when I offer them the pipe to smoke, I shall know 
she is a female if the person refuses to smoke.” 
The two young men were sent for. They came, and the real young 
man entered tthe lodge, and stepped over the ridge straight forward, 
while the next young man, instead of walking straight forward like 
the first, moved her leg over sidewise. By this the husband knew that 
the person was not a man. He let them eat, and after they had eaten, 
the man filled the pipe and gave it to them. When the female took 
the pipe, instead of trying to smoke she put the pipe up to her mouth, 
and instead of drawing the smoke she blew into the pipe. The hus- 
band now took out his knife, and said: “I wanted to find you out. You 
are my wife.” ‘The woman screamed, and asked him to forgive her, 
saying she would live with him and try to be a good woman. The 
young man ran away. But the husband was angry, and said: “You are 
dead to me any way, but rather than that your breasts be tied down 
to make you look like a man I will cut them off, so that your breasts 
will be smooth.” The husband took his knife out and cut her breasts 
off. The woman ran and fell at the entrance and died. She was taken 
up by her people and buried. The man went to the place where he 
supposed he had laid his wife, and there were three dead dogs. He 
knew by this that the two had played a trick on him. ‘he girl’s 
parents never said anything, but they were glad that the woman was 
dead. Nothing more was said about it. 
68. THE WATER-DOGS.* 
Once there was a young man who slept outside of the lodge. He 
heard dogs bark at night, and as it was moonlight he saw a dog com- 
ing out of the river carrying her little ones in her mouth, one at a 
time, into the hills, to a spring. This young man saw the water-dog 
carrying its young ones. His name was Poor-Bear. He died shortly 
after he saw the dogs. At another time an old woman went to get 
some water out of the river, at or about the same place the water-dogs 
were seen. As she stooped to dip the water up she heard the dogs 
chattering in the water. She became frightened. She went home with 
the water and told the story. She became sick and died shortly after- 
ward. 
These water-dogs are supposed to be very powerful in killing 
people. They are hardly ever seen by people, and when they are seen 
the person who sees them generally dies. 
*Told by Two-Hawks. 
