THE DEEDS OF AFTER-BIRTH-BOY. Q7 
in the water. All at once, After-birth-Boy gave his brother a slight 
nudge and they both got ready to upset the bucket and pour the boiling 
water on the Spider-Woman. This they did, and scalded the Spider- 
Woman to death. After they found they had killed the woman where 
their father had told them not to go, they said to one another, “Let 
us go home and tell our father what we have done.”’ They turned back 
to their home and on their arrival they found that their father had not 
come home. The next evening the boys’ father came home from his 
hunting trip. The two boys were then old enough to do the cooking, 
so they did the cooking for their father. While they were eating supper 
they told their father what they had done. They told him that they 
had been to Spider-Woman’s home, where he had forbidden them to go, 
and had killed her. 
The father told the boys not to go where the Thunderbird had its 
nest. Some time after, After-birth-Boy took a notion to go and see the 
nest of the Thunderbird. When their father had left on his hunting 
trip the two boys started on their way to the nest. They had their 
arrows and bows along, and while on their way to the place they shot 
at birds for fun. They finally reached the place where the nest was. 
After-birth-Boy told his brother to watch him climb the tree. The 
tree was a high cottonwood, having hardly any limbs, only at the 
top, where the nest was. After-birth-Boy began to climb the tree, and 
when about half-way up there the Thunderbird came after him. When 
After-birth-Boy heard the Thunderbird coming, the bird made a sound 
like heavy wind, and left a streak of lightning which took off one of 
After-birth-Boy’s limbs. But he kept going up the tree, and when he 
went up a little higher down came the Thunderbird, and this time it took 
off one of his arms. Whenever this bird took off a limb After-birth- 
Boy would ask his brother to bring his limb to the tree, so that he could 
get it again. He kept on going, for he wanted to see what was up 
in the nest. He continued to climb, and when he had got higher the 
Thunderbird came down again, and this time took off his left leg. He 
called his brother to get his leg and bring it where he was so that he 
could get it. After-birth-Boy first lost his right leg, then his left arm, 
then this left leg, until he had but one limb left. He was still going, 
and as he approached the nest down came the Thunderbird again and 
took off his right arm. This left him without any limbs, but he was 
right there at the nest. He looked in, and there he saw four young 
birds.. He then bit one of the young ones on the wing and asked it 
what sort of a young bird it was. The young bird answered him, 
saying he was the child of Early-Morning-Weather-when-there-is-no- 
