THE MOON AND THE GREAT SNAKE 
The rain had passed; the moon looked down from a clear sky, and the bushes and dead grass smelled wet, after the heavy storm.  A cottontail ran into a clump of wild-rose bushes near War Eagle's lodge, and some dogs were close behind the frightened animal, as he gained cover.
Little Buffalo Calf threw a stone into the bushes, scaring the rabbit from his hiding-place, and away went bunny, followed by the yelping pack.  We stood and listened until the noise of the chase died away, and then went into the lodge, where we were greeted, as usual, by War Eagle.  To-night he smoked; but with greater ceremony, and I suspected that it had something to do with the forthcoming story.  Finally he said:
"You have seen many Snakes, I suppose?"
"Yes," replied the children, "we have seen a great many.  In the summer we see them every day."
"Well," continued the story-teller, "once there was only one Snake on the whole world, and he was a big one, I tell you.  He was pretty to look at, and was painted with all the colors we know.  This snake was proud of his clothes and had a wicked heart.  Most Snakes are wicked, because they are his relations.
"Now, I have not told you all about it yet, nor will I tell you to-night, but the Moon is the Sun's wife, and some day I shall tell you that story, but to-night I am telling you about the Snakes.
"You know that the Sun goes early to bed, and that the Moon most always leaves before he gets to the lodge.  Sometimes this is not so, but that is part of another story.
"This big Snake used to crawl up a high hill and watch the Moon in the sky.  He was in love with her, and she knew it; but she paid no attention to him.  She liked his looks, for his clothes were fine, and he was always slick and smooth.  This went on for a long time, but she never talked to him at all.  The Snake thought maybe the hill wasn't high enough, so he found a higher one, and watched the Moon pass, from the top.  Every night he climbed this high hill and motioned to her.
She began to pay more attention to the big Snake, and one morning early, she loafed at her work a little, and spoke to him.  He was flattered, and so was she, because he said many nice things to her, but she went on to the Sun's lodge, and left the Snake.
"The next morning very early she saw the Snake again, and this time she stopped a long time so long that the Sun had started out from the lodge before she reached home.  He wondered what kept her so long, and became suspicious of the Snake.  He made up his mind to watch, and try to catch them together.  So every morning the Sun left the lodge a little earlier than before; and one morning, just as he climbed a mountain, he saw the big Snake talking to the Moon.  That made him angry, and you can't blame him, because his wife was spending her time loafing with a Snake.
"She ran away; ran to the Sun's lodge and left the Snake on the hill.
In no time the Sun had grabbed him.  My, the Sun was angry!  The big Snake begged, and promised never to speak to the Moon again, but the Sun had him; and he smashed him into thousands of little pieces, all of different colors from the different parts of his painted body.  The little pieces each turned into a little snake, just as you see them now, but they were all too small for the Moon to notice after that.
That is how so many Snakes came into the world; and that is why they are all small, nowadays.
"Our people do not like the Snake-people very well, but we know that they were made to do something on this world, and that they do it, or they wouldn't live here.
"That was a short story, but to-morrow night I will tell you why the Deer-people have no gall on their livers; and why the Antelope-people do not wear dew-claws, for you should know that there are no other animals with cloven hoofs that are like them in this.
"I am tired to-night, and I will ask that you go to your lodges, that I may sleep, for I am getting old.  Ho!"
WHY THE DEER HAS NO GALL 
Bright and early the next morning the children were playing on the bank of "The River That Scolds the Other," when Fine Bow said:
"Let us find a Deer's foot, and the foot of an Antelope and look at them, for to-night grandfather will tell us why the Deer has the dew-claws, and why the Antelope has none."
"Yes, and let us ask mother if the Deer has no gall on its liver.
Maybe she can show both the liver of a Deer and that of an Antelope; then we can see for ourselves," said Bluebird.
So they began to look about where the hides had been grained for tanning; and sure enough, there were the feet of both the antelope and the deer.  On the deer's feet, or legs, they found the dew-claws, but on the antelope there were none.  This made them all anxious to know why these animals, so nearly alike, should differ in this way.
Bluebird's mother passed the children on her way to the river for water, and the little girl asked: "Say, mother, does the Deer have gall on his liver?"
"No, my child, but the Antelope does; and your grandfather will tell you why if you ask him."
That night in the lodge War Eagle placed before his grandchildren the leg of a deer and the leg of an antelope, as well as the liver of a deer and the liver of an antelope.
"See for yourselves that this thing is true, before I tell you why it is so, and how it happened."
"We see," they replied, "and to-day we found that these strange things are true, but we don't know why, grandfather."
"Of course you don't know why.  Nobody knows that until he is told, and now I shall tell you, so you will always know, and tell your children, that they, too, may know.
"It was long, long ago, of course.  All these things happened long ago when the world was young, as you are now.  It was on a summer morning, and the Deer was travelling across the plains country to reach the mountains on the far-off side, where he had relatives.  He grew thirsty, for it was very warm, and stopped to drink from a water-hole on the plains.  When he had finished drinking he looked up, and there was his own cousin, the Antelope, drinking near him.
"'Good morning, cousin,' said the Deer.  'It is a warm morning and water tastes good, doesn't it?'
"'Yes,' replied the Antelope, 'it is warm to-day, but I can beat you running, just the same.'
"'Ha-ha!' laughed the Deer 'you beat me running?   Why, you can't run half as fast as I can, but if you want to run a race let us bet something.  What shall it be?'
"'I will bet you my gall-sack,' replied the Antelope.
"'Good,' said the Deer, 'but let us run toward that range of mountains, for I am going that way, anyhow, to see my relations.'
"'All right,' said the Antelope.  'All ready, and here we go.'
"Away they ran toward the far-off range.  All the way the Antelope was far ahead of the Deer; and just at the foot of the mountains he stopped to wait for him to catch up.
"Both were out of breath from running, but both declared they had done their best, and the Deer, being beaten, gave the Antelope his sack of gall.
"'This ground is too flat for me,' said the Deer.  'Come up the hillside where the gulches cut the country, and rocks are in our way, and I will show you how to run.  I can't run on flat ground.  It's too easy for me.' another race with you on your own ground, and I think I can beat you there, too.'
"Together they climbed the hill until they reached a rough country, when the Deer said:
"'This is my kind of country.  Let us run a race here.  Whoever gets ahead and stays there, must keep on running until the other calls on him to stop.'
"'That suits me,' replied the Antelope, 'but what shall we bet this time?   I don't want to waste my breath for nothing.  I'll tell you let us bet our dew-claws.'
"'Good.  I'll bet you my dew-claws against your own, that I can beat you again.  Are you all ready? Go!'
"Away they went over logs, over stones and across great gulches that cut the hills in two.  On and on they ran, with the Deer far ahead of the Antelope.  Both were getting tired, when the Antelope called:
"'Hi, there you!  Stop, you can beat me.  I give up.'
"So the Deer stopped and waited until the Antelope came up to him, and they both laughed over the fun, but the Antelope had to give the Deer his dew-claws, and now he goes without himself.  The Deer wears dew-claws and always will, because of that race, but on his liver there is no gall, while the Antelope carries a gall-sack like the other animals with cloven hoofs.
"That is all of that story, but it is too late to tell you another to-night.  If you will come to-morrow evening, I will tell you of some trouble that OLD-man got into once.  He deserved it, for he was wicked, as you shall see.  Ho!"
WHY THE INDIANS WHIP THE BUFFALO-BERRIES FROM THE BUSHES 
The Indian believes that all things live again; that all were created by one and the same power; that nothing was created in vain; and that in the life beyond the grave he will know all things that he knew here.
In that other world he expects to make his living easier, and not suffer from hunger or cold; therefore, all things that die must go to his heaven, in order that he may be supplied with the necessities of life.
The sun is not the Indian's God, but a personification of the Deity; His greatest manifestation; His light.
The Indian believes that to each of His creations God gave some peculiar power, and that the possessors of these special favors are His lieutenants and keepers of the several special attributes; such as wisdom, cunning, speed, and the knowledge of healing wounds.  These wonderful gifts, he knew, were bestowed as favors by a common God, and therefore he revered these powers, and, without jealousy, paid tribute thereto.
The bear was great in war, because before the horse came, he would sometimes charge the camps and kill or wound many people.  Although many arrows were sent into his huge carcass, he seldom died.  Hence the Indian was sure that the bear could heal his wounds.  That the bear possessed a great knowledge of roots and berries, the Indian knew, for he often saw him digging the one and stripping the others from the bushes.  The buffalo, the beaver, the wolf, and the eagle each possessed strange powers that commanded the Indian's admiration and respect, as did many other things in creation.
If about to go to war, the Indian did not ask his God for aid oh, no.
He realized that God made his enemy, too; and that if He desired that enemy's destruction, it would be accomplished without man's aid.  So the Indian sang his song to the bear, prayed to the bear, and thus invoked aid from a brute, and not his God, when he sought to destroy his fellows.
Whenever the Indian addressed the Great God, his prayer was for life, and life alone.  He is the most religious man I have ever known, as well as the most superstitious; and there are stories dealing with his religious faith that are startling, indeed.
"It is the wrong time of year to talk about berries," said War Eagle, that night in the lodge, "but I shall tell you why your mothers whip the buffalo-berries from the bushes.  OLD-man was the one who started it, and our people have followed his example ever since.  Ho!  OLD-man made a fool of himself that day.
"It was the time when buffalo-berries are red and ripe.  All of the bushes along the rivers were loaded with them, and our people were about to gather what they needed, when OLD-man changed things, as far as the gathering was concerned.
"He was travelling along a river, and hungry, as he always was.
Standing on the bank of that river, he saw great clusters of red, ripe buffalo-berries in the water.  They were larger than any berries he had ever seen, and he said:
"'I guess I will get those berries.  They look fine, and I need them.
Besides, some of the people will see them and get them, if I don't.'
"He jumped into the water; looked for the berries; but they were not there.  For a time Old-man stood in the river and looked for the berries, but they were gone.
"After a while he climbed out on the bank again, and when the water got smooth once more there were the berries the same berries, in the same spot in the water.
"'Ho! that is a funny thing.  I wonder where they hid that time.  I must have those berries!' he said to himself.
"In he went again splashing the water like a Grizzly Bear.  He looked about him and the berries were gone again.  The water was rippling about him, but there were no berries at all.  He felt on the bottom of the river but they were not there.
"'Well,' he said, 'I will climb out and watch to see where they come from; then I shall grab them when I hit the water next time.'
"He did that; but he couldn't tell where the berries came from.  As soon as the water settled and became smooth there were the berries the same as before.  Ho! OLD-man was wild; he was angry, I tell you.  And in he went flat on his stomach!  He made an awful splash and mussed the water greatly; but there were no berries.
"'I know what I shall do.  I will stay right here and wait for those berries; that is what I shall do'; and he did.
"He thought maybe somebody was looking at him and would laugh, so he glanced along the bank.  And there, right over the water, he saw the same bunch of berries on some tall bushes.  Don't you see?   OLD-man saw the shadow of the berry-bunch; not the berries.  He saw the red shadow-berries on the water; that was all, and he was such a fool he didn't know they were not real.
"Well, now he was angry in truth.  Now he was ready for war.  He climbed out on the bank again and cut a club.  Then he went at the buffalo-berry bushes and pounded them till all of the red berries fell upon the ground till the branches were bare of berries.
"'There,' he said, 'that's what you get for making a fool of the man who made you.  You shall be beaten every year as long as you live, to pay for what you have done; you and your children, too.'
"That is how it all came about, and that is why your mothers whip the buffalo-berry bushes and then pick the berries from the ground.  Ho!"
OLD-MAN AND THE FOX 
I am sure that the plains Indian never made nor used the stone arrow-head.  I have heard white men say that they had seen Indians use them; but I have never found an Indian that ever used them himself, or knew of their having been used by his people.  Thirty years ago I knew Indians, intimately, who were nearly a hundred years old, who told me that the stone arrow-head had never been in use in their day, nor had their fathers used them in their own time.  Indians find these arrow-points just as they find the stone mauls and hammers, which I have seen them use thousands of times, but they do not make them any more than they make the stone mauls and hammers.  In the old days, both the head of the lance and the point of the arrow were of bone; even knives were of bone, but some other people surely made the arrow-points that are scattered throughout the United States and Europe, I am told.
One night I asked War Eagle if he had ever known the use, by Indians, of the stone arrow-head, and he said he had not.  He told me that just across the Canadian line there was a small lake, surrounded by trees, wherein there was an island covered with long reeds and grass.  All about the edge of this island were willows that grew nearly to the water, but intervening there was a narrow beach of stones.  Here, he said, the stone arrow-heads had been made by little ghost-people who lived there, and he assured me that he had often seen these strange little beings when he was a small boy.  Whenever his people were camped by this lake the old folks waked the children at daybreak to see the inhabitants of this strange island; and always when a noise was made, or the sun came up, the little people hid away.  Often he had seen their heads above the grass and tiny willows, and his grandfather had told him that all the stone arrow-heads had been made on that island, and in war had been shot all over the world, by magic bows.
"No," he said, "I shall not lie to you, my friend.  I never saw those little people shoot an arrow, but there are so many arrows there, and so many pieces of broken ones, that it proves that my grandfather was right in what he told me.  Besides, nobody could ever sleep on that island."
I have heard a legend wherein OLD-man, in the beginning, killed an animal for the people to eat, and then instructed them to use the ribs of the dead brute to make knives and arrow-points.  I have seen lance-heads, made from shank bones, that were so highly polished that they resembled pearl, and I have in my possession bone arrow-points such as were used long ago.  Indians do not readily forget their tribal history, and I have photographed a war-bonnet, made of twisted buffalo hair, that was manufactured before the present owner's people had, or ever saw, the horse.  The owner of this bonnet has told me that the stone arrow-head was never used by Indians, and that he knew that ghost-people made and used them when the world was young.
The bow of the plains Indian was from thirty-six to forty-four inches long, and made from the wood of the choke-cherry tree.  Sometimes bows were made from the service (or sarvice) berry bush, and this bush furnished the best material for arrows.  I have seen hickory bows among the plains Indians, too, and these were longer and always straight, instead of being fashioned like Cupid's weapon.  These hickory bows came from the East, of course, and through trading, reached the plains country.  I have also seen bows covered with the skins of the bull-snake, or wound with sinew, and bows have been made from the horns of the elk, in the early days, after a long course of preparation.
Before Lewis and Clark crossed this vast country, the Blackfeet had traded with the Hudson Bay Company, and steel knives and lance-heads, bearing the names of English makers, still remain to testify to the relations existing, in those days, between those famous traders and men of the Piegan, Blood, and Blackfoot tribes, although it took many years for traders on our own side of the line to gain their friendship.
Indeed, trappers and traders blamed the Hudson Bay Company for the feeling of hatred held by the three tribes of Blackfeet for the "Americans"; and there is no doubt that they were right to some extent, although the killing of the Blackfoot warrior by Captain Lewis in 1805 may have been largely to blame for the trouble.  Certain it is that for many years after the killing, the Blackfeet kept traders and trappers on the dodge unless they were Hudson Bay men, and in 1810 drove the "American" trappers and traders from their fort at Three-Forks.
It was early when we gathered in War Eagle's lodge, the children and I, but the story-telling began at once.
"Now I shall tell you a story that will show you how little OLD-man cared for the welfare of others," said War Eagle.
"It happened in the fall, this thing I shall tell you, and the day was warm and bright.  OLD-man and his brother the Red Fox were travelling together for company.  They were on a hillside when OLD-Man said: 'I am hungry.  Can you not kill a Rabbit or something for us to eat?   The way is long, and I am getting old, you know.  You are swift of foot and cunning, and there are Rabbits among these rocks.'
"'Ever since morning came I have watched for food, but the moon must be wrong or something, for I see nothing that is good to eat,' replied the Fox.  'Besides that, my medicine is bad and my heart is weak.  You are great, and I have heard you can do most anything.  Many snows have known your footprints, and the snows make us all wise.  I think you are the one to help, not I.'
"'Listen, brother,' said OLD-man, 'I have neither bow nor lance nothing to use in hunting.  Your weapons are ever with you your great nose and your sharp teeth.  Just as we came up this hill I saw two great Buffalo-Bulls.  You were not looking, but I saw them, and if you will do as I want you to we shall have plenty of meat.  This is my scheme; I shall pull out all of your hair, leaving your body white and smooth, like that of the fish.  I shall leave only the white hair that grows on the tip of your tail, and that will make you funny to look at.
Then you are to go before the Bulls and commence to dance and act foolish.  Of course the Bulls will laugh at you, and as soon as they get to laughing you must act sillier than ever.  That will make them laugh so hard that they will fall down and laugh on the ground.  When they fall, I shall come upon them with my knife and kill them.  Will you do as I suggest, brother, or will you starve?'
"'What!  Pull out my hair?   I shall freeze with no hair on my body, OLD-man.  No I will not suffer you to pull my hair out when the winter is so near,' cried the Fox.
"'Ho!  It is vanity, my brother, not fear of freezing.  If you will do this we shall have meat for the winter, and a fire to keep us warm.
See, the wind is in the south and warm.  There is no danger of freezing.  Come, let me do it,' replied OLD-man.
"'Well if you are sure that I won't freeze, all right,' said the Fox, 'but I'll bet I'll be sorry.'
"So Old-man pulled out all of the Fox's hair, leaving only the white tip that grew near the end of his tail.  Poor little Red Fox shivered in the warm breeze that OLD-man told about, and kept telling OLD-man that the hair-pulling hurt badly.  Finally OLD-man finished the job and laughed at the Fox, saying: 'Why, you make me laugh, too.  Now go and dance before the Bulls, and I shall watch and be ready for my part of the scheme.'
"Around the hill went the poor Red Fox and found the Bulls.  Then he began to dance before them as OLD-man had told him.  The Bulls took one look at the hairless Fox and began to laugh.  My!  How they did laugh, and then the Red Fox stood upon his hind legs and danced some more; acted sillier, as OLD-man had told him.  Louder and louder laughed the Bulls, until they fell to the ground with their breath short from the laughing.  The Red Fox kept at his antics lest the Bulls get up before OLD-man reached them; but soon he saw him coming, with a knife in his hand.
"Running up to the Bulls, OLD-man plunged his knife into their hearts, and they died.  Into the ground ran their blood, and then OLD-man laughed and said: 'Ho, I am the smart one.  I am the real hunter.  I depend on my head for meat ha! ha!-ha!'
"Then OLD-man began to dress and skin the Bulls, and he worked hard and long.  In fact it was nearly night when he got the work all done.
"Poor little Red Fox had stood there all the time, and OLD-man never noticed that the wind had changed and was coming from the north.  Yes, poor Red Fox stood there and spoke no word; said nothing at all, even when OLD-man had finished.
"'Hi, there, you! what's the matter with you?  Are you sorry that we have meat?  Say, answer me!'
"But the Red Fox was frozen stiff was dead.  Yes, the north wind had killed him while OLD-man worked at the skinning.  The Fox had been caught by the north wind naked, and was dead.  OLD-man built a fire and warmed his hands; that was all he cared for the Red Fox, and that is all he cared for anybody.  He might have known that no person could stand the north wind without a robe; but as long as he was warm himself that was all he wanted.
"That is all of that story.  To-morrow night I shall tell you why the birch-tree wears those slashes in its bark.  That was some of OLD-man's work, too.  Ho!"
WHY THE BIRCH-TREE WEARS THE SLASHES IN ITS BARK 
The white man has never understood the Indian, and the example set the Western tribes of the plains by our white brethren has not been such as to inspire the red man with either confidence or respect for our laws or our religion.  The fighting trapper, the border bandit, the horse-thief and rustler, in whose stomach legitimately acquired beef would cause colic were the Indians' first acquaintances who wore a white skin, and he did not know that they were not of the best type.
Being outlaws in every sense, these men sought shelter from the Indian in the wilderness; and he learned of their ways about his lodge-fire, or in battle, often provoked by the white ruffian in the hope of gain.
They lied to the Indian these first white acquaintances, and in after-years, the great Government of the United States lied and lied again, until he has come to believe that there is no truth in the white man's heart.  And I don't blame him.
The Indian is a charitable man.  I don't believe he ever refused food and shelter or abused a visitor.  He has never been a bigot, and concedes to every other man the right to his own beliefs.  Further than that, the Indian believes that every man's religion and belief is right and proper for that man's self.
It was blowing a gale and snow was being driven in fine flakes across the plains when we went to the lodge for a story.  Every minute the weather was growing colder, and an early fall storm of severity was upon us.  The wind seemed to add to the good nature of our host as he filled and passed me the pipe.
"This is the night I was to tell you about the Birch-Tree, and the wind will help to make you understand," said War Eagle after we had finished smoking.
"Of course," he continued, "this all happened in the summer-time when the weather was warm, very warm.  Sometimes, you know, there are great winds in the summer, too.
"It was a hot day, and OLD-man was trying to sleep, but the heat made him sick.  He wandered to a hilltop for air; but there was no air.
Then he went down to the river and found no relief.  He travelled to the timberlands, and there the heat was great, although he found plenty of shade.  The travelling made him warmer, of course, but he wouldn't stay still.
"By and by he called to the winds to blow, and they commenced.  First they didn't blow very hard, because they were afraid they might make OLD-man angry, but he kept crying:
"'Blow harder harder harder!  Blow worse than ever you blew before, and send this heat away from the world.'
"So, of course, the winds did blow harder harder than they ever had blown before.
"'Bend and break, Fir-Tree!' cried OLD-man, and the Fir-Tree did bend and break.  'Bend and break, Pine-Tree!' and the Pine-Tree did bend and break.  'Bend and break, Spruce-Tree!' and the Spruce-Tree did bend and break.  'Bend and break, O Birch-Tree!' and the Birch-Tree did bend, but it wouldn't break no, sir! it wouldn't break!
"'Ho!  Birch-Tree, won't you mind me?  Bend and break!  I tell you,'
but all the Birch-Tree would do was to bend.
"It bent to the ground; it bent double to please OLD-man, but it would not break.
"'Blow harder, wind!' cried OLD-man, 'blow harder and break the Birch-Tree.'  The wind tried to blow harder, but it couldn't, and that made the thing worse, because OLD-man was so angry he went crazy.
'Break!  I tell you break!' screamed OLD-man to the Birch-Tree.
"'I won't break,' replied the Birch; 'I shall never break for any wind.
I will bend, but I shall never, never break.'
"'You won't, hey?'  cried OLD-man, and he rushed at the Birch-Tree with his hunting-knife.  He grabbed the top of the Birch because it was touching the ground, and began slashing the bark of the Birch-Tree with the knife.  All up and down the trunk of the tree OLD-man slashed, until the Birch was covered with the knife slashes.
"'There! that is for not minding me.  That will do you good!  As long as time lasts you shall always look like that, Birch-Tree; always be marked as one who will not mind its maker.  Yes, and all the Birch-Trees in the world shall have the same marks forever.'  They do, too.  You have seen them and have wondered why the Birch-Tree is so queerly marked.  Now you know.
"That is all Ho!"
MISTAKES OF OLD-MAN 
All night the storm raged, and in the morning the plains were white with snow.  The sun came and the light was blinding, but the hunters were abroad early, as usual.
That day the children came to my camp, and I told them several stories that appeal to white children.  They were deeply interested, and asked many questions.  Not until the hunters returned did my visitors leave.
That night War Eagle told us of the mistakes of OLD-man.  He said:
"OLD-man made a great many mistakes in making things in the world, but he worked until he had everything good.  I told you at the beginning that OLD-man made mistakes, but I didn't tell you what they were, so now I shall tell you.
"One of the things he did that was wrong, was to make the Big-Horn to live on the plains.  Yes, he made him on the plains and turned him loose, to make his living there.  Of course the Big-Horn couldn't run on the plains, and OLD-man wondered what was wrong.  Finally, he said:
'Come here, Big-Horn!' and the Big-Horn came to him.  OLD-man stuck his arm through the circle his horns made, and dragged the Big-Horn far up into the mountains.  There he set him free again, and sat down to watch him.  Ho!  It made OLD-man dizzy to watch the Big-Horn run about on the ragged cliffs.  He saw at once that this was the country the Big-Horn liked, and he left him there.  Yes, he left him there forever, and there he stays, seldom coming down to the lower country.
"While OLD-man was waiting to see what the Big-Horn would do in the high mountains, he made an Antelope and set him free with the Big-Horn.
Ho!  But the Antelope stumbled and fell down among the rocks.  He couldn't man called to the Antelope to come back to him, and the Antelope did come to him.  Then he called to the Big-Horn, and said:
"'You are all right, I guess, but this one isn't, and I'll have to take him somewhere else.'
"He dragged the Antelope down to the prairie country, and set him free there.  Then he watched him a minute; that was as long as the Antelope was in sight, for he was afraid OLD-man might take him back to the mountains.
"He said: 'I guess that fellow was made for the plains, all right, so I'll leave him there'; and he did.  That is why the Antelope always stays on the plains, even to-day.  He likes it better.
"That wasn't a very long story; sometime when you get older I will tell you some different stories, but that will be all for this time, I guess.  Ho!"
HOW THE MAN FOUND HIS MATE 
Each tribe has its own stories.  Most of them deal with the same subjects, differing only in immaterial particulars.
Instead of squirrels in the timber, the Blackfeet are sure they were prairie-dogs that OLD-man roasted that time when he made the mountain-lion long and lean.  The Chippewas and Crees insist that they were squirrels that were cooked and eaten, but one tribe is essentially a forest-people and the other lives on the plains hence the difference.
Some tribes will not wear the feathers of the owl, nor will they have anything to do with that bird, while others use his feathers freely.
The forest Indian wears the soft-soled moccasin, while his brother of the plains covers the bottoms of his footwear with rawhide, because of the cactus and prickly-pear, most likely.
The door of the lodge of the forest Indian reaches to the ground, but the plains Indian makes his lodge skin to reach all about the circle at the bottom, because of the wind.
One night in War Eagle's lodge, Other-person asked: "Why don't the Bear have a tail, grandfather?"
War Eagle laughed and said: "Our people do not know why, but we believe he was made that way at the beginning, although I have heard men of other tribes say that the Bear lost his tail while fishing.
"I don't know how true it is, but I have been told that a long time ago the Bear was fishing in the winter, and the Fox asked him if he had any luck.
"'No,' replied the Bear, 'I can't catch a fish.'
"'Well,' said the Fox, 'if you will stick your long tail down through this hole in the ice, and sit very still, I am sure you will catch a fish.'
"So the Bear stuck his tail through the hole in the ice, and the Fox told him to sit still, till he called him; then the Fox went off, pretending to hunt along the bank.  It was mighty cold weather, and the water froze all about the Bear's tail, yet he sat still, waiting for the Fox to call him.  Yes, the Bear sat so still and so long that his tail was frozen in the ice, but he didn't know it.  When the Fox thought it was time, he called:
"'Hey, Bear, come here quick quick!  I have a Rabbit in this hole, and I want you to help me dig him out.'  Ho!  The Bear tried to get up, but he couldn't.
"'Hey, Bear, come here there are two Rabbits in this hole,' called the Fox.
"The Bear pulled so hard to get away from the ice, that he broke his tail off short to his body.  Then the Fox ran away laughing at the Bear.
"I hardly believe that story, but once I heard an old man who visited my father from the country far east of here, tell it.  I remembered it.
But I can't say that I know it is true, as I can the others.
"When I told you the story of how OLD-man made the world over, after the water had made its war upon it, I told you how the first man and woman were made.  There is another story of how the first man found his wife, and I will tell you that.
"After OLD-man had made a man to look like himself, he left him to live with the Wolves, and went away.  The man had a hard time of it, with no clothes to keep him warm, and no wife to help him, so he went out looking for OLD-man.
"It took the man a long time to find OLD-man's lodge, but as soon as he got there he went right in and said:
"'OLD-man, you have made me and left me to live with the Wolf-people.
I don't like them at all.  They give me scraps of meat to eat and won't build a fire.  They have wives, but I don't want a Wolf-woman.  I think you should take better care of me.'
"'Well,' replied OLD-man, 'I was just waiting for you to come to see me.  I have things fixed for you.  You go down this river until you come to a steep hillside.  There you will see a lodge.  Then I will leave you to do the rest.  Go!'
"The man started and travelled all that day.  When night came he camped and ate some berries that grew near the river.  The next morning he started down the river again, looking for the steep hillside and the lodge.  Just before sundown, the man saw a fine lodge near a steep hillside, and he knew that was the lodge he was looking for; so he crossed the river and went into the lodge.
"Sitting by the fire inside, was a woman.  She was dressed in buckskin clothes, and was cooking some meat that smelled good to the man, but when she saw him without any clothes, she pushed him out of the lodge, and dropped the door.
"Things didn't look very good to that man, I tell you, but to get even with the woman, he went up on the steep hillside and commenced to roll big rocks down upon her lodge.  He kept this up until one of the largest rocks knocked down the lodge, and the woman ran out, crying.
"When the man heard the woman crying, it made him sorry and he ran down the hill to her.  She sat down on the ground, and the man ran to where she was and said:
"'I am sorry I made you cry, woman.  I will help you fix your lodge.  I will stay with you, if you will only let me.'
"That pleased the woman, and she showed the man how to fix up the lodge and gather some wood for the fire.  Then she let him come inside and eat.  Finally, she made him some clothes, and they got along very well, after that.
"That is how the man found his wife Ho!"
DREAMS 
As soon as manhood is attained, the young Indian must secure his "charm," or "medicine."  After a sweat-bath, he retires to some lonely spot, and there, for four days and nights, if necessary, he remains in solitude.  During this time he eats nothing; drinks nothing; but spends his time invoking the Great Mystery for the boon of a long life.  In this state of mind, he at last sleeps, perhaps dreams.  If a dream does not come to him, he abandons the task for a time, and later on will take another sweat-bath and try again.  Sometimes dangerous cliffs, or other equally uncomfortable places, are selected for dreaming, because the surrounding terrors impress themselves upon the mind, and even in slumber add to the vividness of dreams.
At last the dream comes, and in it some bird or animal appears as a helper to the dreamer, in trouble.  Then he seeks that bird or animal; kills a specimen; and if a bird, he stuffs its skin with moss and forever keeps it near him.  If an animal, instead of a bird, appears in the dream, the Indian takes his hide, claws, or teeth; and throughout his life never leaves it behind him, unless in another dream a greater charm is offered.  If this happens, he discards the old "medicine" for the new; but such cases are rare.
Sometimes the Indian will deck his "medicine-bundle" with fanciful trinkets and quill-work At other times the "bundle" is kept forever out of the sight of all uninterested persons, and is altogether unadorned.
But "medicine" is necessary; without it, the Indian is afraid of his shadow.
An old chief, who had been in many battles, once told me his great dream, withholding the name of the animal or bird that appeared therein and became his "medicine."
He said that when he was a boy of twelve years, his father, who was chief of his tribe, told him that it was time that he tried to dream.
After his sweat-bath, the boy followed his father without speaking, because the postulant must not converse or associate with other humans between the taking of the bath and the finished attempt to dream.  On and on into the dark forest the father led, followed by the naked boy, till at last the father stopped on a high hill, at the foot of a giant pine-tree.
By signs the father told the boy to climb the tree and to get into an eagle's nest that was on the topmost boughs.  Then the old man went away, in order that the boy might reach the nest without coming too close to his human conductor.
Obediently the boy climbed the tree and sat upon the eagle's nest on the top.  "I could see very far from that nest," he told me.  "The day was warm and I hoped to dream that night, but the wind rocked the tree top, and the darkness made me so much afraid that I did not sleep.
"On the fourth night there came a terrible thunder-storm, with lightning and much wind.  The great pine groaned and shook until I was sure it must fall.  All about it, equally strong trees went down with loud crashings, and in the dark there were many awful sounds sounds that I sometimes hear yet.  Rain came, and I grew cold and more afraid.
I had eaten nothing, of course, and I was weak so weak and tired, that at last I slept, in the nest.  I dreamed; yes, it was a wonderful dream that came to me, and it has most all come to pass.  Part is yet to come.  But come it surely will.
"First I saw my own people in three wars.  Then I saw the Buffalo disappear in a hole in the ground, followed by many of my people.  Then I saw the whole world at war, and many flags of white men were in this land of ours.  It was a terrible war, and the fighting and the blood made me sick in my dream.  Then, last of all, I saw a 'person'
coming coming across what seemed the plains.  There were deep shadows all about him as he approached.  This 'person' kept beckoning me to come to him, and at last I did go to him.
"'Do you know who I am,' he asked me.
"'No, "person," I do not know you.  Who are you, and where is your country?'
"'If you will listen to me, boy, you shall be a great chief and your people shall love you.  If you do not listen, then I shall turn against you.  My name is "Reason."'
"As the 'person' spoke this last, he struck the ground with a stick he carried, and the blow set the grass afire.  I have always tried to know that 'person.'  I think I know him wherever he may be, and in any camp.
He has helped me all my life, and I shall never turn against him never."
That was the old chief's dream and now a word about the sweat-bath.  A small lodge is made of willows, by bending them and sticking the ends in the ground.  A completed sweat-lodge is shaped like an inverted bowl, and in the centre is a small hole in the ground.  The lodge is covered with robes, bark, and dirt, or anything that will make it reasonably tight.  Then a fire is built outside and near the sweat-lodge in which stones are heated.  When the stones are ready, the bather crawls inside the sweat-lodge, and an assistant rolls the hot stones from the fire, and into the lodge.  They are then rolled into the hole in the lodge and sprinkled with water.  One cannot imagine a hotter vapor bath than this system produces, and when the bather has satisfied himself inside, he darts from the sweat-lodge into the river, winter or summer.  This treatment killed thousands of Indians when the smallpox was brought to them from Saint Louis, in the early days.
That night in the lodge War Eagle told a queer yarn.  I shall modify it somewhat, but in our own sacred history there is a similar tale, well known to all.  He said:
"Once, a long time ago, two 'thunders' were travelling in the air.
They came over a village of our people, and there stopped to look about.
"In this village there was one fine, painted lodge, and in it there was an old man, an aged woman, and a beautiful young woman with wonderful hair.  Of course the 'thunders' could look through the lodge skin and see all that was inside.  One of them said to the other: 'Let us marry that young woman, and never tell her about it.'
"'All right,' replied the other 'thunder.'  'I am willing, for she is the finest young woman in all the village.  She is good in her heart, and she is honest.'
"So they married her, without telling her about it, and she became the mother of twin boys.  When these boys were born, they sat up and told their mother and the other people that they were not people, but were 'thunders,' and that they would grow up quickly.
"'When we shall have been on earth a while, we shall marry, and stay until we each have four sons of our own, then we shall go away and again become "thunders,"' they said.
"It all came to pass, just as they said it would.  When they had married good women and each had four sons, they told the people one day that it was time for them to go away forever.
"There was much sorrow among the people, for the twins were good men and taught many good things which we have never forgotten, but everybody knew it had to be as they said.  While they lived with us, these twins could heal the sick and tell just what was going to happen on earth.
"One day at noon the twins dressed themselves in their finest clothes and went out to a park in the forest.  All the people followed them and saw them lie down on the ground in the park.  The people stayed in the timber that grew about the edge of the park, and watched them until clouds and mists gathered about and hid them from view.
"It thundered loudly and the winds blew; trees fell down; and when the mists and clouds cleared away, they were gone gone forever.  But the people have never forgotten them, and my grandfather, who is in the ground near Rocker, was a descendant from one of the sons of the 'thunders.'  Ho!"