Sioux Sam was in no sort diffident, and readily told us the following:
CHAPTER X.—HOW STRONGARM WAS AN ELK.
Moh-Kwa was the wisest of all the beasts along the Upper Yellowstone; an’ yet Moh-Kwa could not catch a fish. This made Moh-Kwa have a bad heart, for next to honey he liked fish. What made it worse was that in Moh-Kwa’s cavern where he lived, there lay a deep pool which was the camp of many fish; an’ Moh-Kwa would sit an’ look at them an’ long for them, while the fish came close to the edge an’ laughed at Moh-Kwa, for they knew beneath their scales that he could not catch them; an’ the laughter of the fish made a noise like swift water running among rocks. Sometimes Moh-Kwa struck at a fish with his big paw, but the fish never failed to dive out of reach; an’ this made the other fish laugh at Moh-Kwa more than before. Once Moh-Kwa got so angry he plunged into the pool to hunt the fish; but it only made him seem foolish, for the fish swam about him in flashing circles, an’ dived under him an’ jumped over him, laughing all the time, making a play an’ a sport of Moh-Kwa. At last he gave up an’ swam ashore; an’ then he had to sit by his fire an’ comb his fur all day to dry himself so that he might feel like the same bear again.
One morning down by the Yellowstone, Moh-Kwa met Strongarm, the young Sioux, an’ Strongarm had a buffalo fish which he had speared in the river. An’ because Moh-Kwa looked at the fish hungrily an’ with water in his mouth, Strongarm gave him the buffalo fish. Also he asked Moh-Kwa why he did not catch fish since he liked them so well an’ the pool in his cavern was the camp of many fish. An’ Moh-Kwa said it was because the fish were cowards an’ would not stay an’ fight with him, but ran away.
“They are not so brave as the bees,” said Moh-Kwa, “for when I find a bee-tree, they make me fight for the honey. The bees have big hearts though little knives, but the fish have no hearts an’ run like water down hill if they but see Moh-Kwa’s shadow from his fire fall across the pool.”
Strongarm said he would catch the fish for Moh-Kwa; an’ with that he went to the Wise Bear’s house an’ with his spear took many fish, being plenty to feed Moh-Kwa two days. Moh-Kwa was very thankful, an’ because Strong-arm liked the Wise Bear, he came four times each moon an’ speared fish for Moh-Kwa who was never so well fed with fish before.
Strongarm was a mighty hunter among the Sioux an’ killed more elk than did the ten best hunters of his village. So many elk did Strong-arm slay that his squaw, the Blossom, made for their little son, Feather-foot, a buckskin coat on which was sewed the eye-teeth of elk, two for each elk, until there were so many eye-teeth on Feather-foot’s buckskin coat it was like counting the leaves on a cottonwood to find how many there were. An’ the Blossom was proud of Feather-foot’s coat, for none among the Sioux had so beautiful a garment an’ the eye-teeth of the elk told how big a hunter was Strongarm.
While the Sioux wondered an’ admired at the elk-tooth coat, it made the Big Medicine Elk, who was chief of the Elk people, hot an’ angry, an’ turned his heart black against Strongarm. The Big Medicine Elk said he would have revenge.