FOOTNOTES:
[20] Told by Antelope.
20. THE TWO BOYS AND THE WATER-SERPENT.[21]
Two boys once wandered about the village and they were welcomed to any lodge they entered. One morning they came into one lodge and the people were glad to have them come in, but they claimed that the boys must be the ones who ate up their pot of corn. The boys did not know anything about the pot of corn. They left the lodge and went into another and there they were accused of the same thing. The boys went to another lodge, but were again accused. They were indignant at the accusations that were made against them. They wandered off from the village and returned when the sun set.
Now the two boys said one to the other, “Let us be on our guard to-night and perhaps we may discover who eats the corn.” In those times an inclosure surrounded the village, and the two boys sat by the inclosure. They sat there until all the people of the village went to sleep, for they agreed to stay till morning. After all the people had gone to sleep the boys heard much roaring by the river; so they listened. After the noise of the waters ceased, they saw a big black thing going over their heads. It climbed over the inclosure and went on top of a lodge. It was a long serpent. The serpent stuck its head into the smoke hole of the lodge. In a few moments he went to another lodge and did the same thing. Then he went to still another. Now the serpent went back to the river and the boys were glad to find out who ate up the people’s corn, beans, and squash that had been prepared in the evening for the next morning.
When morning came the boys went down to the timber and cut many sticks to make arrows with. They sat down and made arrows till evening; but they never mentioned what had happened. Again the boys stayed out, and after all the people had gone to sleep the same thing happened as on the preceding night. Again they saw the serpent climbing over the inclosure and onto the lodges. Then the boys shot at the serpent while it had its head inside a lodge, reaching for food. The boys threw their arrows at the water-monster as fast as they could. They threw so many arrows at the monster that he was almost dead. The serpent came out from the lodge and went down to the river. The waters roared and rose, because the water-monster was dying, but when it was dead the waters were silent. When the waters went down the big serpent was found dead on a small peninsula.