“Come to the fire, wait a while before we start, talk and get ready to hunt,” said Howichinaipa.
Ten men went on farther south to find deer, while the others waited at the fire. Those ten men went south quickly; then five turned east, and five turned west to meet again at Wewauna. They came back about the same time, but not one of them saw deer or game of any kind. Every one wondered that there was no game in any place. Ahalamila and Howichinaipa began to dispute and then to quarrel because the ten men could find no deer.
Howichinaipa was angry; he was offended because Jupka had named him first, then changed his mind and called Ahalamila to sing for deer. He was angry, too, and jealous because he wanted one of Ahalamila’s wives who was his own wife’s sister. Howichinaipa’s wife was a Chuhna, and Ahalamila’s wife was her only sister. Howichinaipa wanted to have the two sisters as his wives; he wanted both of them. For these two reasons the Mapchemaina could find no deer that day. Howichinaipa had power over the deer, and had sent them all under ground. The ten men had looked in a great many places; they had run south, east, west, and could find no deer. Then the whole party turned to the southeast; they went to Chupirkoto. Some said, “What is the use in going farther? We can find no deer to-day. Ahalamila told us that we should find deer. Where are they? We cannot see them.”
“I do not know,” said Ahalamila, “why we find no deer. I sang and danced last night. I dreamed that I saw deer, that I saw them south of Jigulmatu.”
“You will not see deer or any other game to-day,” said Howichinaipa; “you cannot find deer, no matter how much you sing and dance. You are not able to find deer, but you have a nice wife. She is very pretty.”
“The deer were coming,” said Ahalamila, “but you stopped them, you drove them away;” and he sprang at Howichinaipa to strike him. Howichinaipa dodged and went down through the ground.
All the people took sides and began to fight; some were for Ahalamila, others were on Howichinaipa’s side. Howichinaipa sprang out from under the ground, stood before Ahalamila; shot at him. Ahalamila dodged and shot too; Howichinaipa dodged very quickly.
They fought on in this way, fought hard, moved toward Jigulmatu, fighting all the time. At last Ahalamila was struck and fell dead; Topuna was killed too, and Hitchinna. A great many tried to kill Howichinaipa; but he dodged all the time, dodged so well, so quickly that not one of all his enemies could hit him. Jihkulu helped Howichinaipa; never stopped fighting for a moment.
They fought all the way to Hwitalmauna just south of Jigulmatu; the battle there was very hard, and people fell on both sides. There are many rocks at Hwitalmauna now, and these rocks are the Mapchemaina killed in that first battle.
Ahalamila’s friends fought hard against Jihkulu and spent many arrows, but could not hit him, for he had a robe of rabbit skin around his body.