Traditions of the Arikara

by George A. Dorsey

The leader of the Buffalo now sat upon a high hill, with a Buffalo skull in front of him. The Buffalo man was sent for, and the Buffalo leader said: “I am satisfied. The people are happy. This day I give you sticks to play with. The two sticks are people. The ring is a kind of people—the Buffalo. When you play, the sticks which you ring are the enemy, whom you conquer. The ring is the Buffalo. The people will become very jealous of their hunting-ground. You will be at war with other people in the country.” These sticks were placed in the priests’ lodge, so that when a bundle ceremony was given the sticks were placed before the people. The sticks were people. Two sets of people who became jealous of the Buffalo then fought. The ones who caught the ring were conquerors. The man went home and lived a long life. The Buffalo calf started the Buffalo ceremony among the people.

FOOTNOTES:

[30] Told by Hawk.

30. THE ORIGIN OF THE WOLF DANCE.[31]

When the Arikara lived on the Missouri River, there was a handsome young man in the village, whose father was a chief. The young man had never been on the war-path. He never played with other young men, but stayed around close to his lodge. Many young girls in the village went to him to be married to him, but he would not have them. There was one place that he went and that was upon a high hill, west of the village. He had a certain way of going to that hill.

Now, there were seven beautiful girls in the tribe, each of whom had tried to marry the young man and had been refused. The seven girls got together and planned to put the young man into a hole, which was about ten feet in depth, and larger at the bottom. They spread some weeds over the hole, and when the time came for the young man to come that way they hid. The young man came, stepped over the hole and fell in.

For some time he stood yelling for help. At last the seven girls went to the hole and they told him that he must give his clothing to them. He took his things off, and the girls each took a little basket, dropped it down, and received in it a piece of clothing. Then each girl dropped her basket, and asked the young man to spit in it, promising that if he did what they asked they would take him out. As each basket received the spittle the girl would pull it out and lick the spittle. After each girl had got the boy’s spittle and licked it, they said, “You must give us your loin-cloth.” This he gave to them. They tore it in seven pieces, so that each had one piece. Iamque puer nudus erat. Deinde puellæ dixerunt si sibi glandem penis ostenderet eique limum aspergeret, se eum sublaturas. Hoc puer abnuit. Tum dixerunt puellæ, “Si vis nos omnes in matrimonium ducere polliceri, te tollere volumus.” Puer pollicitus est. But all the girls spoke out, and said: “You have always been mean; you have had a dislike for us; we will leave you in this hole and let you die; we are not going to take you out.” So the girls went away and the boy commenced to cry.

Soon after the girls had gone away a gray Wolf looked down upon the boy, and said, “I am sorry for you, and I will help you.” The Wolf went away, and while he was gone a Bear came to the hole. The Wolf came back and a dispute arose over the ownership of the boy. The Bear claimed that the boy belonged to him; but the Wolf said, “He is mine.” The Bear said: “He is mine, too. I shall eat him up.” So the Bear and the Wolf began to quarrel to see who should have the boy. The Wolf whispered to the boy, and said: “I shall dig with this Bear, and you must dig on this side; for if he digs through first he will eat you; but if I dig through first and reach you before he does I shall save you, and you shall be my son.” So it was agreed between the Bear and the Wolf that they each should dig through the earth, and whosoever should first dig through to where the boy was should claim him.

The Bear and the Wolf began to dig. Where the Wolf and the boy were digging there was nothing but sand, while on the side where the Bear was digging it was hard dirt, mixed with stones and gravel; so the Wolf was the first to dig through. When the Bear came through, he found out that the Wolf had already dug through. The Bear stood up, and said, “You have beaten me, but this young man shall be my son, and I shall help him whenever he calls upon me.”

The Wolf took the boy among the Wolves. The boy soon ceased to care to walk, and began to crawl upon his hands and knees, and to eat raw meat, just as the Wolves did. He came to act like a Wolf. The skin upon his haunches was now so thick that he could slide on them.