THE YOUTH AND THE UNDERGROUND PEOPLE
Omaha
There were some villages which were very populous. The chief’s son and his daughter were unmarried. There were two sons. They surrounded the herds of buffaloes. They used to kill buffaloes.
One of the sons of this chief attacked a buffalo when far apart from the rest. He shot it; but the buffalo had gone out of sight into the ground. The man and his horse, too, went headlong; but the buffalo went down first.
Now the father sent out criers. “He says that his son reached the buffaloes, but he has not come home. He says that ye who have seen his son will please tell it,” shouted the criers.
One said he had seen him. “I saw him very distinctly. He went in pursuit. Perhaps he went headlong into a sunken place, for when on very level ground he vanished altogether. I did not see him again,” he said.
The father commanded the people to join him in seeking his son. When the man who had seen him said, “It was just here,” the people scattered far and wide, seeking the chief’s son. All the people sought him. Behold, he had gone down the pit some time before. The buffalo had gone down, having kicked off a piece of the soil. The horse, too, had gone down, having kicked off a piece of the soil.
There was no trail beyond the pit. All the people went directly to it, without hesitation.