Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 10, 1899.djvu/244

 206 am crying because I am so miserable and wretched. Once again a child is about to be born to me at the cost of its mother's life. When my first wife—for I have had many—was about to be delivered, she was unable to bring the child to the birth; and I was forced to deliver her at the cost of her life with this knife I am sharpening. The child was a girl whom, when she had grown to womanhood, I took to wife; and when she bore her first child I had to do the same for her as I had done for her mother. And thus it has been ever since with all my wives; for as soon as my daughters were old enough they became my wives, and thus it is at this present time with my present wife, and I was just preparing myself to do for her as I have had to do for all the others; and my heart aches, and I am sorrowful at the thought of the task before me." "Your case is indeed a sad one," observed the lad; "and I am sorry for you. But don't grieve any more, I will help you, and your wife shall not die this time. Tell me, have you any strong cherry-bark-string in the house?" The old man replied that he had, and gave the lad a piece. The boy immediately entered the house and found the woman in the throes of child-birth. Taking the cherry-bark-string, he threw one end of it between the woman's legs. The string became attached to the child, and he pulled upon the other end. It held for a moment, then broke in his hand before the babe was born. This failure seemed to distress him; and the old man, who had followed him into the house, seeing his ill-success, burst out crying again. "Don't cry, old man," said the lad, "all will be well; only get me a stronger cord. Give me some neck-sinew, if you can find any." The old man brought the lad what he asked for; and he spent a little time in first moistening and stretching and working it, till he got it into the condition he wanted. When it was ready for use, he did with it as he had done with the cherry-bark-string, only this time it bore the strain and did not break; and by its help a moment later the child was born. This time it was a male child. The lad then told the old man that his wife would bear him many more children, and that never again would he need to use his knife. Leaving the old man and his wife rejoicing, the lads went on their way, and after travelling a long way came at length to a house where lived a man called Cayote, who said he was a great medicine-man and could do great things. "What can you do?"