Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/537

 Cheyenne Tales. 189

XXXI.

Three animals went on the warpath : the turtle, the grasshopper, and the skunk. On the way the grasshopper, in trying to jump a river, stuck in the mud with his legs, and could not go on. The skunk and the turtle continued on their way, and finally came to a large camp. At night they entered the chief's tent, and cut his throat. Next morning the deed was discovered, and the people started in pursuit. The skunk had escaped ; but the turtle had crawled under a bucket ; and in this hiding-place he was found. He was taken to a council, and it was decided to burn him. A fire was lit, and he was seized. The turtle knew what awaited him if he were put in the fire. So he ran toward the fire himself, as fast as he could go. The people at once thought that he was anxious to enter the fire in order to explode, or do them some other harm ; so they quickly stopped him. Then they poured a little water on him, and he pretended to faint and be near death. When they brought a bucket of water, he seemed to try to run away from it. The people accordingly thought that he was afraid of water because he could easily be killed with it, 1 and they all went to see him drowned in a lake, rejoicing over the fate in store for him. A warrior took him into the lake. As the turtle pretended to be trying to keep away from the water by catching the bushes and clinging to them, the people all shouted, but he knew that he was about to be saved. The warrior dragged him into deep water, and then suddenly the turtle bit him hard, dived with him, and held him under the water until he was drowned. The people stood about, weeping and howl- ing and looking at the lake. At last they got wooden buckets and pails made of buffalo-intestine ; everybody, even children, was to carry water, until the lake was dry. At last they came to the body of the warrior ; he was scalped. But the turtle had escaped with the scalp, and reaching home, found the skunk, who had brought the chief's scalp with him. So the animals celebrated a scalp-dance. 2

XXXII.

The coyote was very hungry and looking .for food. He could catch no rabbit, nor any bird, and could find nothing to eat. At last he met a hard-shelled prairie turtle. The coyote knew that he was unable to kill the turtle outright, but he tried to find some way to get him for his food. So the coyote said to him : " I am a great friend of the turtle people ; and the turtles used to call me by the name of Turtle Chief, because I am a friend to the life of all turtles." In this way the coyote tried as hard as he could to succeed in killing 1 Cf. Leland, /. c. p. 56. 2 Cf. Dorsey, op. cit. p. 271.

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