“This is very lonesome,” said one woman to the other, one day.
“We have no one to talk with, nor to visit.”
“Let us kill our husband,” said the other. “Then we will go
back to our relations and have a good time.”
Early in the morning the man went out to hunt, and as soon as he was out of sight, his wives went up on top of the butte. There they dug a deep pit, and covered it over with light sticks, grass, and dirt, and placed the buffalo-skull on top.
In the afternoon they saw their husband coming home, loaded down with meat he had killed. So they hurried to cook for him. After eating, he went up on the butte and sat down on the skull. The slender sticks gave way, and he fell into the pit. His wives were watching him, and when they saw him disappear, they took down the lodge, packed everything on the dog travois, and moved off, going toward the main camp. When they got near it, so that the people could hear them, they began to cry and mourn.
“Why is this?” they were asked. “Why are you in mourning?
Where is your husband?”
“He is dead,” they replied. “Five days ago he went out on a hunt, and he never came back.” And they cried and mourned again.
When the man fell into the pit, he was hurt. After a while he tried to get out, but he was so badly bruised he could not climb up. A wolf travelling along came to the pit and saw him, and pitied him. “Ah-h-w-o-o-o-o! Ah-h-w-o-o-o-o!” he howled, and when the other wolves heard him they all came running to see what was the matter. There came also many coyotes, badgers, and kit-foxes.
“In this hole,” said the wolf, “is my find. Here is a fallen-in man. Let us dig him out, and we will have him for our brother.”
They all thought the wolf spoke well, and began to dig. In a little while they had a hole close to the man. Then the wolf who found him said, “Hold on; I want to speak a few words to you.” All the animals listening, he continued, “We will all have this man for our brother, but I found him, so I think he ought to live with us big wolves.” All the others said that this was well; so the wolf went into the hole, and, tearing down the rest of the dirt, dragged out the almost dead man. They gave him a kidney to eat, and when he was able to walk a little, the big wolves took him to their home. Here there was a very old blind wolf, who had powerful medicine. He cured the man, and made his head and hands look like those of a wolf. The rest of his body was not changed.
In those days the people used to make holes in the pis-kun walls and set snares, and when wolves and other animals came to steal meat, they were caught by the neck. One night the wolves all went down to the pis-kun to steal meat, and when they got close to it, the man-wolf said, “Stand here a little. I will go down and fix the places, so you will not be caught.” He went on and sprung all the snares; then he went back and called the wolves and others—the coyotes, badgers, and foxes— and they all went in the pis-kun and feasted, and took meat to carry home.