SPIDERS WHO RECOVERED THE CHIEF'S GRANDSON. 179 
born to them, which was a boy. The women folks used to take the 
child around to their lodges, according to custom, for he was the child 
of a father and mother, both of whom belonged to chief’s families. 
When the time came for the child to nurse, they would bring him home 
and let him nurse. The women continued to take the child around, and 
as soon as One woman would return the child another one would come 
and take him, after he had nursed. When the child was kept a little 
too long, the Coyote would go around talking through the village, and 
asking who had the child, and would bring it home right away. Finally 
it happened that while the people were still asleep, a woman came early 
in the morning, and asked for the child, saying she was never sure of 
getting it during the daytime. The mother, still in bed, took the child 
out of the cradle and handed it to the woman. This old woman walked 
with a stick, which showed that she was old. ‘The old woman took the 
child early that morning. The following morning the mother called 
for her child to be returned to nurse. The Coyote went around the 
village, talking and asking who had the child and giving word that it 
should be returned to nurse. Finally they called for the child again, 
but failed to have it returned. The chief ordered his men to go through 
both villages to see if they could find the child. Later in the morning 
all the men folks returned, having failed to find the child. The chief 
called on all of the prominent men and others who had great powers, 
to recover the child. The people began to come to the chief’s place and 
ask the chief what he wanted. He ordered these men to look for the 
child, and he promised that any one who should find the young one 
should become a great chief among this child’s grandfather’s people. 
This included the wild beasts and fowls of the air, as they were called 
at this time. So it was a good while before the many men returned. 
They failed to recover the child, and finally all of them returned, not 
a single person having found the trail of the woman who was supposed 
to have carried off the child. 
Finally there came a little old woman who asked that she might 
try her luck in recovering the stolen child, and she asked that she might 
begin to search at the same hour the little old woman had taken the 
child. Early the next morning she came around the chief’s lodge, re- 
peating the same words that the little old woman had said when she 
took the child, and acting the same as she acted when entering the 
lodge. She had a walking-stick like the old women use, and made as 
if she were going to get the child. She walked across the ground like 
the old woman had done, and when stepping out just at the door of the 
grass-lodge she found where the little old woman had sunk and gone 
