The next day, when they saw a drove of ponies coming towards them and Young-Eagle driving them afoot, they knew him. Young-Eagle’s brother-in-law went out to meet him. Young-Eagle gave him all the ponies and told him to divide them among the people. Young-Eagle went back into the enemy’s camp. He killed one man, took his scalp, and gave it to his brother-in-law, who in turn gave it to the leader of the war-party.
Young-Eagle went back to the village, and about this time the enemy were coming after him. Young-Eagle killed several more, taking their scalps. He gave the scalps to his brother-in-law, who in turn gave them to the leader. They knew that the young man was brave. After the battle he went home as Young-Eagle. The others drove ponies.
Young-Eagle went into his lodge where his wife was. He did not tell her what had happened. Two days afterward, the war-party came, singing scalp songs and telling all that Young-Eagle had done. Yellow-Calf’s father sat upon the lodge, listening, and thought that they were making fun of his son-in-law.
The warriors entered the lodge of the priests, and there they told the story, from the time they had left and from the time Young-Eagle overtook them, and the capturing of the ponies and the killing of the enemy. This was all true. Scalps were brought to Young-Eagle’s lodge, and the old man put them upon a long pole, and stuck the pole in the ground outside of the entrance of his lodge. The ponies that were left over after dividing them up between the warriors were given to Yellow-Calf’s father, who took only so many. Then Young-Eagle went out and gave the remainder of the ponies to the poor people.
Some people went to the other village, and reported all that Young-Eagle had done, and the father of Young-Eagle was ashamed, for he thought they were making fun of him, for when Young-Eagle had been at home he would never go out on the war-path. He did not believe the story; he believed the boy to be dead, for he had been away for some time. So all the sisters of Young-Eagle had cut their hair and mourned, as had also his father and mother.
Every time a war-party came to attack the village Young-Eagle was there to save the village. Once in a while, when a war-party went out, Young-Eagle followed. He did the same as he had done before. On one of these occasions he made up his mind that he would go and get his own likeness; for, although he had changed once, when first he had gone on the war-path, he still retained his big belly. One evening he went with his wife to the lake. He went into the lake. When he came out he had on his fine leggings, a fine robe and a mountain-lion quiver, and he was fine-looking, with long hair. The girl was proud of him now. They went home.
In a few days, Young-Eagle told Yellow-Calf to take all the scalps that he had taken, and saddle the ponies; for they were going to visit his father’s village. His father’s name was “Black-Sun.” They went south to Black-Sun’s village. One evening they came to the village. Young-Eagle left his wife outside of the village, and went to his father’s lodge. He told his father that he had come back. His father got up and made a fire. He told his woman to get up, for their son had come back. The four sisters got up from their beds and hugged their brother, for they had been mourning for him as dead. Young-Eagle told his sisters to go out and to bring their sister-in-law. They went out, and they found Yellow-Calf sitting outside of the lodge, holding three ponies. The girls embraced their sister-in-law and led her into the camp, took in the things that belonged to Young-Eagle and his wife, but led the ponies away. The stick with the scalps was fastened upon a long pole and stood up in front of the lodge.
Early on the next morning, Black-Sun got up and went through the village singing scalp songs, thus letting the people know that his son had returned with many scalps. The people heard it. They went out, and they saw the pole that had the scalps upon it. The people rushed into the lodge, and that very same day the braves and warriors decided that this Young-Eagle should lead the people to the girl’s village.
So the people of the other village went north, and the north and south tribes of the Arikara came together and became one tribe again.