Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/523

 Cheyenne Tales. 175

and he slept. The orphan boy asked him if he had any news ; then he told him of his own rescue of the girl as he would tell the exploit of another person. Then the orphan told him that every morning a beautiful red eagle flew along, almost touching the tent-poles. Who- ever killed the eagle was to marry the prettiest girl in the village. Both determined to try, as they might have good luck. The girl offered was the younger daughter of the same man that had lost the other girl ; he wanted the eagle to hang at his tent-door, to show that he was a great chief. In the morning the eagle came ; all shot at him but missed. The boys told their grandmother to open the tepee top, as they were going to try to shoot. They shot, and the eagle fell right into the tent. All ran in to find out who had done it, and the old man came with his daughter ; but when he saw the two orphan boys, he took the eagle and kept the girl. But the boy kept a small bunch of the eagle's feathers. There were two fish in the river, one of silver, one of gold ; when they turned in the water, their reflection shone so brightly that they could not be seen. The old man offered his daughter to whoever should catch one of the fish. The young men all fished, but the fish only looked at the bait. The boys used a sinew without a hook, but with a large chunk of meat. The golden fish passed by all the baits and bit theirs. The boy told his companion to hide it if they caught it, as the man might take it away from them. They caught it, and there was a great light in the prairie, so that every one ran to see who had caught the fish. The orphan told that his friend had caught it. The old man came, but he said he did not want so ugly a son-in-law. He took the fish, but the boy kept a piece of skin from it. As all came and stood by, the girl he had rescued was there, and she noticed her hus- band. At night she ran off to his tent again. When she had thus disappeared again, the chief, her father, told the men to make search for her. White-man knew that this boy was the same one that he had pushed into the water, and suspected where she was. At night he peeped into the tent and saw her, and reported to his father. Then his father caused an old man to announce that all men were to come to urinate and defecate over the boy's tent. This was done. White-man climbed up on the tent-poles, and dropped excrement down on his brother-in-law.

The boy told his friend that next morning the women who went out to dig prairie-turnips would be murdered. So it happened. The camp prepared to go to war. The boy told his wife to get a horse from his father-in-law so that he could fight. When the chief saw his daughter, he made her stop, and stand off, and tell her purpose. Then he told her " Take that white one ; " but it was a pig. When they went to battle, they crossed a creek. Here the pig stuck in

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