“In the long ago we named that Pi′tamakan Falls,” said Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill.
“Yes? And who was he?” I asked, although I had a fair recollection of the story of that personage. But I had forgotten the details of it, and wanted them all.
“Not he, but she!” he corrected me.
“But Pi′tamakan (Running Eagle) is a man’s name,” I objected.
“True. But this woman earned the right to bear a man’s name, and so it was given her. She was the only woman of our people to receive that honor, so far as I know. Listen! You shall hear all about it.”
THE WOMAN WHO EARNED A MAN’S NAME
“As a girl, her name was Weasel Woman. She was the eldest of two brothers and two sisters, and when she had seen fifteen winters both their father and mother died. But unlike children in such circumstances, they did not give up their lodge and scatter out to live with relatives and friends. Said Weasel Woman: ‘Somehow, some way, we can manage to live. You boys are old enough to hunt and bring in meat and skins. We three sisters will keep the lodge in good order, and tan the skins for our clothing and bedding, and other uses.’ And as she said, so it was done, and the orphan family prospered.
PI′-TA-MAK-AN (RUNNING EAGLE) FALLS
The greater part of the stream gushes from the orifice a third of the way up the cliff