Traditions of the Arikara

by George A. Dorsey

61. THE GENEROUS SCALPED-MAN AND HIS BETRAYER.[62]

There was a man from an Arikara village who went hunting, going west from the village. He saw some antelope in a valley. He crawled up to them, and just as he was about to shoot he saw one antelope hold its head up, so that the man knew that it must have seen something. A mysterious being jumped up by the antelope, and before the antelope had time to jump the being had struck it and killed it. This being, who was a Scalped-Man, walked around the antelope, then took it by the legs, swung it upon his back and carried it off towards the Bad Lands. The hunter followed. The Scalped-Man came to a steep bank. He entered the bank and disappeared. The man kept his eye on the place where the Scalped-Man had disappeared. He came to the bank, looked in, and saw that there was a door, made of willows sewed together with sinew. Mud had been put over it and there was a root sticking out for a handle. By catching hold of the root the door was opened. The man went in and closed the door. Then he went in further, where the cave was, and there he saw the Scalped-Man sitting down by the fireplace. The antelope was lying by the entrance and the Scalped-Man was sitting down waiting, for he knew that the man was coming. The man spoke to the Scalped-Man, and said: “Why do you hold your head down? Speak! I am here. I am not afraid of you.” The man kept talking to the Scalped-Man until the Scalped-Man became friendly, then the man sat down. The Scalped-Man began to cut the meat. The man stayed with the Scalped-Man four days and nights.

The Scalped-Man told the man that he knew the country all around, and that he took long journeys into the enemy’s country and had killed many enemies; that if he would keep his secret of his living in the Bad Lands he would help him to become a great man like himself. The man promised, so the Scalped-Man told the man to remain in his cave while he should go off to the enemy’s country. The Scalped-Man went off, and was gone for several days. When he came back he took the man out of his den and told him that he had brought several ponies for him. The ponies were in a valley. The man thanked the Scalped-Man. He took the ponies home. The people were surprised to see the man coming with the ponies, for he had not been on the war-path, but had been out hunting, as they thought. The man stayed in the village several days, then he went out again.

The man went to the Scalped-Man’s cave. The Scalped-Man asked him what he wanted. The man told him that he wanted many ponies. The Scalped-Man told him to remain in his cave; that he himself was going out into the enemy’s country. The Scalped-Man disappeared and in a few days returned. He gave the man all the ponies he had brought from the enemy’s country. The man now thanked the Scalped-Man and drove the ponies to the village. The people knew that the man had gone off alone on the war-path, and now they were glad to see him bring many ponies. The people did not know that the Scalped-Man had helped this man.

When the man had been home with the ponies for several days he again started on the war-path. He went to the home of the Scalped-Man and told him that he wanted scalps. The man stayed right in the Scalped-Man’s cave when he received the scalps. He fixed them on sticks. The man now returned to his village, singing war songs. The people heard the songs and knew that he must have killed the enemy. When they went out to meet him, sure enough, he had several scalps hung upon poles. There were dances all through the village on account of the scalps.

In a few days the man went out again. He told the Scalped-Man that he wanted some more scalps. The man remained in the cave while the Scalped-Man went off into the enemy’s country. In a few days the Scalped-Man came back with the scalps. The man received the scalps. He stayed in the cave while he fixed them on poles. At this time the man told the Scalped-Man that several men wanted to join him on the war-path. The Scalped-Man said: “Very well, come with them and stop near this place. Leave them in a hollow and come into my cave, and we will go together. I shall be glad to scout for your people.” When the man went home there was again rejoicing in the village and scalp dances were had in the village.

In a few days the man made it known to the people that he was about to go on the war-path. The old men flocked to him, for they knew that he was very lucky capturing ponies and bringing scalps. When the war-party started out the man who was in the lead led them to the cave of the Scalped-Man. He told the warriors to remain in a valley, while he went a short distance to look for some deer. The man went to the Bad Lands to the cave of the Scalped-Man. He entered the cave. He found the Scalped-Man sitting there. They started on their journey, but the Scalped-Man would not join their party, but he went on ahead. The Scalped-Man led them to the village, helped to kill the enemy and capture ponies. The war-party returned with scalps and many ponies.

The friend of the Scalped-Man was afraid that the people would find out about the Scalped-Man, so he thought it was about time that the Scalped-Man should be caught; for the Scalped-Man had not been really scalped, but had been wounded a little on the top of his head, and so he had stayed away from the people and had become accustomed to stay by himself. The friend of the Scalped-Man was afraid that if the people found out that the Scalped-Man had done all the killing and capturing of the ponies he would be looked upon as a coward, for he was now a chief for having done all his great acts. So this man invited a lot of men in the night and told them that it was his intention that morning to go out and capture a Scalped-Man who dwelt in the Bad Lands; that this Scalped-Man was the one who was assisting him to get the ponies and kill people. The men in the village thought this very wrong and did not want to do it. But the man was determined.

The next morning the people went out. They surrounded the bank where the Scalped-Man lived and the man went into his cave; but the Scalped-Man was gone, for as they were holding their meeting in the night the Scalped-Man had come to the man’s lodge to listen to the council that they were having, for each night when the man was home, the Scalped-Man watched around his lodge to see if he would betray him. At this particular council the Scalped-Man had listened to all their plans about catching him. So when the Scalped-Man returned into his cave that night he picked up his things, moved them away from that country to some other place, so that after that, when the men went out to capture this Scalped-Man he was gone. The Scalped-Man was never seen any more.