FOOTNOTES:
[77] Told by Yellow-Bear.
76. THE WOMAN WHO BEFRIENDED THE WARRIORS.[78]
When the Arikara had their village on the Missouri River there were two boys who started out on the war-path. They went away up on the Missouri River. They went down to the fields and found a little earth-lodge. They went in and found an old woman, who was glad to see them. She gave them something to eat. She told them where to go. There they went, and found the enemy. They killed one or two, then went home. Again they went on the war-path. They visited the old woman’s place again, and she fed them. After they had eaten she told them where to go to find the enemy. They went and found the enemy. They killed the enemy and took scalps home. At another time several other young men joined their war-party. They went up to the old woman’s place and there they were again fed, and they were told by the old woman where to find the enemy. They found the enemy, killed several, took their scalps, and went home. After this, whenever the two young men wanted to go on the war-path, many young men joined them. They found that these two young men had a grandmother, who was helping them. In one of these war-parties against the enemy there were so many young men in the party that when the old woman saw them she felt ashamed; but she told the people to go on; that they would find the enemy and would kill and scalp them. The people did kill the enemy, took their scalps, and went home.
Again, another war-party went out to find the old woman, but the old woman had disappeared. The men came and told the two boys. The two boys hunted for her, and at last found her in the side of a cliff in the Bad Lands. Here the two boys visited her, and she helped them. Other men found out where she was and a great company of them went there, but she had again disappeared. Another party of warriors went out. They came to a big lake. The warriors made their camp there. In the night they heard a woman singing scalp-dance songs, and she danced and laughed. The warriors were scared. They wanted to return home, but the leader said, “No, she is rejoicing, for we are to kill the enemy.” The warriors went on, found the enemy’s camp, and they killed several and took their scalps. They took the scalps home, and they had a scalp-dance. Again, another war-party went out. They went and stopped opposite the lake. The dancing and singing was again heard. The leaders were glad to hear this. They went and killed the enemy and scalped them.
Another war-party went out. They stopped opposite the lake. The woman, instead of singing and dancing, began to mourn. But the warriors went on, notwithstanding, and when they attacked the enemy the enemy got the best of them, killed several of them, and only a few of them reached home to tell the story. After that, when a war-party went to the lake, whenever the old woman sang scalp-dance songs and danced, they knew that they were going to be successful. If the woman began to cry and yell, they knew that if they went on, the enemy would get the best of them. It was found out afterwards that this was the same old woman who had lived upon the Missouri River, and she had gone away from the people and had gone to the Bad Lands; and when she was found out there she went off to dwell in the lakes. The people used to give the old woman blankets, tobacco, and other things.