THE STORY OF NOT-KNOW-W HO-YOU-ARE. 225 
first thing he did he got up a war-party to go on the war-path. After 
he had been gone for a while he came back the same as usual, with 
plenty of scalps, expecting to have a celebration over them. In this 
way he showed the people who he was. The people had their dance, 
and they knew nothing of what took place in the other village when 
they had their dances.. About midnight, as the people were dancing, 
they heard some one who was being carried off, screaming. Not- 
know-who-you-are thought he would go and look for the being. 
Once upon a time he went out and cut two long poles. He peeled 
the bark from them and marked them with a burnt stick, which he 
burned around them. Thus he marked the poles up toward the top. 
He stuck them up by his place. He, himself, was a fine-looking man, 
and being single the women in the village wished that they could have 
him for a husband. After doing this, he made up his mind to go and 
look for the strange being; that after killing it he would cut off its 
front feet and tie them on the ends of the poles which he was to set up 
in front of his place. Before doing this, however, he would have a 
guessing contest. Now, he told the people to tell the women that she 
who would guess correctly what the poles were for, and why he had 
come to the village, should become his wife. The women gathered 
around his place. Many young women were there awaiting their turn 
to guess, but most of ‘them failed. 
On the south side of the village lived a family called Horned-Owls 
(Nikitetswakasa). In this family were father and mother and four 
girls. In the morning the three oldest girls went out to make their 
guess, but persuaded their young sister to remain at home, for they 
told her they were sure she would be unable to guess correctly. The 
youngest girl remained at home. She was very ugly, and this was one 
reason the girls did not want her to guess, for, they said, such an ugly 
girl could not make a guess, and if she should guess aright the man 
would not have her. When the girls had started out, their father asked 
the youngest one if she wanted to go and make a guess. The girl 
said she would. The father then told her to say: “When Not-know- 
who-you-are lived at his former village his people went out on the war- 
path and returned home with scalps and captives, and would have their 
scalp dances and victory dances, but instead of having singing and 
dancing all night, they would be interrupted by some wild animal that 
would carry off the people; that Not-know-who-you-are had made up 
his mind to send out a war-party, so that perhaps he might find a 
way to protect the people from being carried off during dances; that 
