Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/531

 Cheyenne Tales. 183

sister was. He had a bow and arrows, and was hunting birds. He aimed at a red-bird, and shot it through the breast. The bird flew away, carrying with it his arrow. The boy ran after, to get both the bird and his arrow. Thus he pursued, always thinking he was going to catch the bird, until he had gone far from the tent. Then a powerful buffalo came to the tent and took the girl to be his wife, and made her go along with him, for she was afraid of his power. He took her westward, where there were many buffalo. The bro- thers returned, bringing game, but they did not see the boy coming to meet them. So they knew at once that something had happened. At the same time the boy came back, and told his brothers what had happened : how he had run after a red-bird which he had shot, and which flew away with his best arrow. The brothers looked all about the tent until they found their sister's tracks, and saw that she had been taken away when she was alone. So they went in the direction in which she had gone. The boy shot off one of his arrows toward the west. When they got to where it fell, there was a large village. The boy went to it, and found an old woman living in a tent by herself. He asked her if she had heard any news. She told him that she had heard that a powerful buffalo had passed that day, taking a fine girl with him to the westward. The boy returned to his brothers and told them what the old woman had said to him. Thus they passed through four villages, always learning the same, until they found where their sister was. They saw a large tepee, in which she was with the powerful buffalo ; but all about the tent were buffalo. They stopped and considered what it was best to do. The boy was powerful too. He turned himself into a ground-rat, and dug a hole to where the tent stood. In a short time he dug to where his sister sat alone and sad. Then the boy received her in his hole and took her back to his brothers, who kissed her. Then they returned. As soon as they arrived at their home, they made an iron fence or wall. This inclosure surrounded them fourfold. Then the boy shot an arrow far up toward the sky, and there stood an iron tree in the middle of the inclosure. The sister climbed up first, and then, one after another, all the brothers. Then the whole herd of buffalo came, and surrounded the iron fence, intending to get back the powerful buffalo's wife. They tried to batter down the fence, but they broke their horns. At last they succeeded in breaking it down. Then the great bull tried to over- throw the tree. But now the boy at last succeeded in killing him. These seven men then were raised to the sky, and are said to be a group of seven stars (the Pleiades). 1

1 Arapaho. Cf. Schoolcraft, op. cit. p. 274 ; Dorsey, op. cit. pp. 82, 224 ; Riggs, op.cit. p. 115.

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