162 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 
lived on the south side of the village. During all the boy’s life,’ the 
people, especially the old folks, would come to see him and would sing 
songs for him. During the singing great crowds would gather around 
the place where the singing was going on. The men were near to the 
singing, while the women stayed a long distance and were not allowed 
close to the singing. ‘This is the way the chief’s son enjoyed his boy- 
hood days. In order to have this continue he had to remain single all 
his life, so there was no chance for women to stay around where the 
young man was and try to become his wife. The older men were the 
ones who were received at his home, for they were the ones who talked 
to him and told him all about things that a young man had to do in days 
to come, and sometimes they told him about wars that some of these 
men had been in. This is the way the young man spent his time. His 
name was Young-Boy-Chief (Waiksedia). 
At the other chief’s place the chief’s daughter was kept at home 
and was watched closely, so that no man ever had a chance to come 
around. She remained single until she became a young woman. Her 
father had company every day. It was the girl’s place to do the cook- 
ing for these men who came to visit her father. There were times at 
night when men came and sat up with her father. During these times 
she had to sit up, too, for her father would call on her to do the cooking 
for the men who came and sat up with him. This is the sort of life 
she led with her parents. At her home she had a high-elevated bed, 
set up on high poles. The place was higher than a man could reach, 
and whenever she wanted to go to bed she had to take a ladder, that was 
made of a tree trunk with notches cut in one side for steps. Young- 
Boy-Chief had the same kind of bed, so that there was no chance for 
young women to get to him. In those times young men and young 
women went around by night after one another. 
Once upon a time Young-Boy-Chief got to thinking about going 
to see the chief’s daughter, but he knew from what several other young 
men had said that she always refused whoever went over to see her, 
and there were times that she would kick one off the bed, and when 
one was kicked off he ‘fell a long way to the ground. One night Young- 
Boy-Chief started to the place where the chief’s daughter lived, with 
the expectation of seeing her that night and, if she should accept him, 
of telling her to keep everything secret, so that their parents might not 
know of their doings. He started for her place after everybody had 
gone to sleep, and on his arrival he called the chief’s daughter, and kept 
calling her until she woke up. She looked down to see who it was. 
Young-Boy-Chief then told her that he was the chief’s son from the 
other village. He asked her if he could come up where she was. The 
