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39 chapters
FOREWORD
FOREWORD
In publishing these “Myths of the Sioux,” I deem it proper to state that I am of one-fourth Sioux blood. My maternal grandfather, Captain Duncan Graham, a Scotchman by birth, who had seen service in the British Army, was one of a party of Scotch Highlanders who in 1811 arrived in the British Northwest by way of York Factory, Hudson Bay, to found what was known as the Selkirk Colony, near Lake Winnipeg, now within the province of Manitoba, Canada. Soon after his arrival at Lake Winnipeg he procee
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THE FORGOTTEN EAR OF CORN
THE FORGOTTEN EAR OF CORN
An Arikara woman was once gathering corn from the field to store away for winter use. She passed from stalk to stalk, tearing off the ears and dropping them into her folded robe. When all was gathered she started to go, when she heard a faint voice, like a child’s, weeping and calling: “Oh, do not leave me! Do not go away without me.” The woman was astonished. “What child can that be?” she asked herself. “What babe can be lost in the cornfield?” She set down her robe in which she had tied up her
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THE LITTLE MICE
THE LITTLE MICE
Once upon a time a prairie mouse busied herself all fall storing away a cache of beans. Every morning she was out early with her empty cast-off snake skin, which she filled with ground beans and dragged home with her teeth. The little mouse had a cousin who was fond of dancing and talk, but who did not like to work. She was not careful to get her cache of beans and the season was already well gone before she thought to bestir herself. When she came to realize her need, she found she had no packi
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THE PET RABBIT
THE PET RABBIT
A little girl owned a pet rabbit which she loved dearly. She carried it on her back like a babe, made for it a little pair of moccasins, and at night shared with it her own robe. Now the little girl had a cousin who loved her very dearly and wished to do her honor; so her cousin said to herself: “I love my little cousin well and will ask her to let me carry her pet rabbit around;” (for thus do Indian women when they wish to honor a friend; they ask permission to carry about the friend’s babe). S
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THE PET DONKEY
THE PET DONKEY
There was a chief’s daughter once who had a great many relations so that everybody knew she belonged to a great family. When she grew up she married and there were born to her twin sons. This caused great rejoicing in her father’s camp, and all the village women came to see the babes. She was very happy. As the babes grew older, their grandmother made for them two saddle bags and brought out a donkey. “My two grandchildren,” said the old lady, “shall ride as is becoming to children having so man
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THE RABBIT AND THE ELK
THE RABBIT AND THE ELK
The little rabbit lived with his old grandmother, who needed a new dress. “I will go out and trap a deer or an elk for you,” he said. “Then you shall have a new dress.” When he went out hunting he laid down his bow in the path while he looked at his snares. An elk coming by saw the bow. “I will play a joke on the rabbit,” said the elk to himself. “I will make him think I have been caught in his bow string.” He then put one foot on the string and lay down as if dead. By and by the rabbit returned
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THE RABBIT AND THE GROUSE GIRLS
THE RABBIT AND THE GROUSE GIRLS
The rabbit once went out on the prairie in winter time. On the side of a hill away from the wind he found a great company of girls all with grey and speckled blankets over their backs. They were the grouse girls and they were coasting down hill on a board. When the rabbit saw them, he called out: “Oh, maidens, that is not a good way to coast down hill. Let me get you a fine skin with bangles on it that tinkle as you slide.” And away he ran to the tepee and brought a skin bag. It had red stripes
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THE FAITHFUL LOVERS
THE FAITHFUL LOVERS
There once lived a chief’s daughter who had many relations. All the young men in the village wanted to have her for wife, and were all eager to fill her skin bucket when she went to the brook for water. There was a young man in the village who was industrious and a good hunter; but he was poor and of a mean family. He loved the maiden and when she went for water, he threw his robe over her head while he whispered in her ear: “Be my wife. I have little but I am young and strong. I will treat you
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THE ARTICHOKE AND THE MUSKRAT
THE ARTICHOKE AND THE MUSKRAT
On the shore of a lake stood an artichoke with its green leaves waving in the sun. Very proud of itself it was, and well satisfied with the world. In the lake below lived a muskrat in his tepee, and in the evening as the sun set he would come out upon the shore and wander over the bank. One evening he came near the place where the artichoke stood. “Ho, friend,” he said, “you seem rather proud of yourself. Who are you?” “I am the artichoke,” answered the other, “and I have many handsome cousins.
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THE RABBIT AND THE BEAR WITH THE FLINT BODY
THE RABBIT AND THE BEAR WITH THE FLINT BODY
The Rabbit and his grandmother were in dire straits, because the rabbit was out of arrows. The fall hunt would soon be on and his quiver was all but empty. Arrow sticks he could cut in plenty, but he had nothing with which to make arrowheads. “You must make some flint arrowheads,” said his grandmother. “Then you will be able to kill game.” “Where shall I get the flint?” asked the rabbit. “From the old bear chief,” said his old grandmother. For at that time all the flint in the world was in the b
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STORY OF THE LOST WIFE
STORY OF THE LOST WIFE
A Dakota girl married a man who promised to treat her kindly, but he did not keep his word. He was unreasonable, fault-finding, and often beat her. Frantic with his cruelty, she ran away. The whole village turned out to search for her, but no trace of the missing wife was to be found. Meanwhile, the fleeing woman had wandered about all that day and the next night. The next day she met a man, who asked her who she was. She did not know it, but he was not really a man, but the chief of the wolves.
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THE RACCOON AND THE CRAWFISH
THE RACCOON AND THE CRAWFISH
Sharp and cunning is the raccoon, say the Indians, by whom he is named Spotted Face. A crawfish one evening wandered along a river bank, looking for something dead to feast upon. A raccoon was also out looking for something to eat. He spied the crawfish and formed a plan to catch him. He lay down on the bank and feigned to be dead. By and by the crawfish came near by. “Ho,” he thought, “here is a feast indeed; but is he really dead. I will go near and pinch him with my claws and find out.” So he
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LEGEND OF STANDING ROCK
LEGEND OF STANDING ROCK
A Dakota had married an Arikara woman, and by her had one child. By and by he took another wife. The first wife was jealous and pouted. When time came for the village to break camp she refused to move from her place on the tent floor. The tent was taken down but she sat on the ground with her babe on her back The rest of the camp with her husband went on. At noon her husband halted the line. “Go back to your sister-in-law,” he said to his two brothers. “Tell her to come on and we will await you
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STORY OF THE PEACE PIPE
STORY OF THE PEACE PIPE
Two young men were out strolling one night talking of love affairs. They passed around a hill and came to a little ravine or coulee. Suddenly they saw coming up from the ravine a beautiful woman. She was painted and her dress was of the very finest material. “What a beautiful girl!” said one of the young men. “Already I love her. I will steal her and make her my wife.” “No,” said the other. “Don’t harm her. She may be holy.” The young woman approached and held out a pipe which she first offered
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A BASHFUL COURTSHIP
A BASHFUL COURTSHIP
A young man lived with his grandmother. He was a good hunter and wished to marry. He knew a girl who was a good moccasin maker, but she belonged to a great family. He wondered how he could win her. One day she passed the tent on her way to get water at the river. His grandmother was at work in the tepee with a pair of old worn-out sloppy moccasins. The young man sprang to his feet. “Quick, grandmother—let me have those old sloppy moccasins you have on your feet!” he cried. “My old moccasins, wha
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THE SIMPLETON’S WISDOM
THE SIMPLETON’S WISDOM
There was a man and his wife who had one daughter. Mother and daughter were deeply attached to one another, and when the latter died the mother was disconsolate. She cut off her hair, cut gashes in her cheeks and sat before the corpse with her robe drawn over her head, mourning for her dead. Nor would she let them touch the body to take it to a burying scaffold. She had a knife in her hand, and if anyone offered to come near the body the mother would wail: “I am weary of life. I do not care to l
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A LITTLE BRAVE AND THE MEDICINE WOMAN
A LITTLE BRAVE AND THE MEDICINE WOMAN
A village of Indians moved out of winter camp and pitched their tents in a circle on high land overlooking a lake. A little way down the declivity was a grave. Choke cherries had grown up, hiding the grave from view. But as the ground had sunk somewhat, the grave was marked by a slight hollow. One of the villagers going out to hunt took a short cut through the choke cherry bushes. As he pushed them aside he saw the hollow grave, but thought it was a washout made by the rains. But as he essayed t
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THE BOUND CHILDREN
THE BOUND CHILDREN
There once lived a widow with two children—the elder a daughter and the younger a son. The widow went in mourning for her husband a long time. She cut off her hair, let her dress lie untidy on her body and kept her face unpainted and unwashed. There lived in the same village a great chief. He had one son just come old enough to marry. The chief had it known that he wished his son to take a wife, and all of the young women in the village were eager to marry the young man. However, he was pleased
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THE SIGNS OF CORN
THE SIGNS OF CORN
When corn is to be planted by the Indians, it is the work of the women folk to see to the sorting and cleaning of the best seed. It is also the women’s work to see to the planting. (This was in olden times.) After the best seed has been selected, the planter measures the corn, lays down a layer of hay, then a layer of corn. Over this corn they sprinkle warm water and cover it with another layer of hay, then bind hay about the bundle and hang it up in a spot where the warm rays of the sun can str
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STORY OF THE RABBITS
STORY OF THE RABBITS
The Rabbit nation were very much depressed in spirits on account of being run over by all other nations. They, being very obedient to their chief, obeyed all his orders to the letter. One of his orders was, that upon the approach of any other nation that they should follow the example of their chief and run up among the rocks and down into their burrows, and not show themselves until the strangers had passed. This they always did. Even the chirp of a little cricket would send them all scampering
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HOW THE RABBIT LOST HIS TAIL
HOW THE RABBIT LOST HIS TAIL
Once upon a time there were two brothers, one a great Genie and the other a rabbit. Like all genie, the older could change himself into any kind of an animal, bird, fish, cloud, thunder and lightning, or in fact anything that he desired. The younger brother (the rabbit) was very mischievous and was continually getting into all kinds of trouble. His older brother was kept busy getting Rabbit out of all kinds of scrapes. When Rabbit had attained his full growth he wanted to travel around and see s
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UNKTOMI AND THE ARROWHEADS
UNKTOMI AND THE ARROWHEADS
There were once upon a time two young men who were very great friends, and were constantly together. One was a very thoughtful young man, the other very impulsive, who never stopped to think before he committed an act. One day these two friends were walking along, telling each other of their experiences in love making. They ascended a high hill, and on reaching the top, heard a ticking noise as if small stones or pebbles were being struck together. Looking around they discovered a large spider s
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THE BEAR AND THE RABBIT HUNT BUFFALO
THE BEAR AND THE RABBIT HUNT BUFFALO
Once upon a time there lived as neighbors, a bear and a rabbit. The rabbit was a good shot, and the bear being very clumsy could not use the arrow to good advantage. The bear was very unkind to the rabbit. Every morning, the bear would call over to the rabbit and say: “Take your bow and arrows and come with me to the other side of the hill. A large herd of buffalo are grazing there, and I want you to shoot some of them for me, as my children are crying for meat.” The rabbit, fearing to arouse th
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THE BRAVE WHO WENT ON THE WARPATH ALONE AND WON THE NAME OF THE LONE WARRIOR
THE BRAVE WHO WENT ON THE WARPATH ALONE AND WON THE NAME OF THE LONE WARRIOR
There was once a young man whose parents were not overburdened with the riches of this world, and consequently could not dress their only son in as rich a costume as the other young men of the tribe, and on account of not being so richly clad as they, he was looked down upon and shunned by them. He was never invited to take part in any of their sports; nor was he ever asked to join any of the war parties. In the village lived an old man with an only daughter. Like the other family, they were poo
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THE SIOUX WHO MARRIED THE CROW CHIEF’S DAUGHTER
THE SIOUX WHO MARRIED THE CROW CHIEF’S DAUGHTER
A war party of seven young men, seeing a lone tepee standing on the edge of a heavy belt of timber, stopped and waited for darkness, in order to send one of their scouts ahead to ascertain whether the camp which they had seen was the camp of friend or enemy. When darkness had settled down on them, and they felt secure in not being detected, they chose one of their scouts to go on alone and find out what would be the best direction for them to advance upon the camp, should it prove to be an enemy
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THE BOY AND THE TURTLES
THE BOY AND THE TURTLES
A boy went on a turtle hunt, and after following the different streams for hours, finally came to the conclusion that the only place he would find any turtles would be at the little lake, where the tribe always hunted them. So, leaving the stream he had been following, he cut across country to the lake. On drawing near the lake he crawled on his hands and knees in order not to be seen by the turtles, who were very watchful, as they had been hunted so much. Peeping over the rock he saw a great ma
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THE HERMIT, OR THE GIFT OF CORN
THE HERMIT, OR THE GIFT OF CORN
In a deep forest, far from the villages of his people, lived a hermit. His tent was made of buffalo skins, and his dress was made of deer skin. Far from the haunts of any human being this old hermit was content to spend his days. All day long he would wander through the forest studying the different plants of nature and collecting precious roots, which he used as medicine. At long intervals some warrior would arrive at the tent of the old hermit and get medicine roots from him for the tribe, the
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THE MYSTERIOUS BUTTE
THE MYSTERIOUS BUTTE
A young man was once hunting and came to a steep hill. The east side of the hill suddenly dropped off to a very steep bank. He stood on this bank, and at the base he noticed a small opening. On going down to examine it more closely, he found it was large enough to admit a horse or buffalo. On either side of the door were figures of different animals engraved into the wall. He entered the opening and there, scattered about on the floor, lay many bracelets, pipes and many other things of ornament,
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THE WONDERFUL TURTLE
THE WONDERFUL TURTLE
Near to a Chippewa village lay a large lake, and in this lake there lived an enormous turtle. This was no ordinary turtle, as he would often come out of his home in the lake and visit with his Indian neighbors. He paid the most of his visits to the head chief, and on these occasions would stay for hours, smoking and talking with him. The chief, seeing that the turtle was very smart and showed great wisdom in his talk, took a great fancy to him, and whenever any puzzling subject came up before th
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THE MAN AND THE OAK
THE MAN AND THE OAK
There once lived a Sioux couple who had two children, a boy and a girl. Every fall this family would move away from the main camp and take up their winter quarters in a grove of timber some distance from the principal village. The reason they did this was that he was a great hunter and where a village was located for the winter the game was usually very scarce. Therefore, he always camped by himself in order to have an abundance of game adjacent to his camp. All summer he had roamed around follo
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STORY OF THE TWO YOUNG FRIENDS
STORY OF THE TWO YOUNG FRIENDS
There were once in a very large Indian camp two little boys who were fast friends. One of the boys, “Chaske” (meaning first born), was the son of a very rich family, and was always dressed in the finest of clothes of Indian costume. The other boy, “Hake” (meaning last born), was an orphan and lived with his old grandmother, who was very destitute, and consequently could not dress the boy in fine raiment. So poorly was the boy dressed that the boys who had good clothes always tormented him and wo
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THE STORY OF THE PET CROW
THE STORY OF THE PET CROW
Once upon a time there came to a large village a plague of crows. So thick were they that the poor women were sorely tried keeping them out of their tepees and driving them away from their lines of jerked buffalo meat. Indeed they got so numerous and were such a great nuisance that the Chief finally gave orders to his camp criers or heralds to go out among the different camps and announce the orders of their Chief, that war should be made upon the crows to extermination; that their nests were to
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THE “WASNA” (PEMMICAN) MAN AND THE UNKTOMI (SPIDER)
THE “WASNA” (PEMMICAN) MAN AND THE UNKTOMI (SPIDER)
Once upon a time there appeared from out of a large belt of timber a man attired in the fat of the buffalo. On his head he wore the honeycomb part of the stomach. To this was attached small pieces of fat. The fat which covered the stomach he wore as a cloak. The large intestines he wore as leggings, and the kidney fat as his moccasins. As he appeared he had the misfortune to meet “Unktomi” (spider) with his hundreds of starving children. Upon seeing the fat, Unktomi and his large family at once
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THE RESUSCITATION OF THE ONLY DAUGHTER
THE RESUSCITATION OF THE ONLY DAUGHTER
There once lived an old couple who had an only daughter. She was a beautiful girl, and was very much courted by the young men of the tribe, but she said that she preferred single life, and to all their heart-touching tales of deep affection for her she always had one answer. That was “No.” One day this maiden fell ill and day after day grew worse. All the best medicine men were called in, but their medicines were of no avail, and in two weeks from the day that she was taken ill she lay a corpse.
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THE STORY OF THE PET CRANE
THE STORY OF THE PET CRANE
There was once upon a time a man who did not care to live with his tribe in a crowded village, but preferred a secluded spot in the deep forest, there to live with his wife and family of five children. The oldest of the children (a boy) was twelve years of age, and being the son of a distinguished hunter, soon took to roaming through the forest in search of small game. One day during his ramblings, he discovered a crane’s nest, with only one young crane occupying it. No doubt some fox or traveli
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WHITE PLUME
WHITE PLUME
There once lived a young couple who were very happy. The young man was noted throughout the whole nation for his accuracy with the bow and arrow, and was given the title of “Dead Shot,” or “He who never misses his mark,” and the young woman, noted for her beauty, was named Beautiful Dove. One day a stork paid this happy couple a visit and left them a fine big boy. The boy cried “Ina, ina” (mother, mother). “Listen to our son,” said the mother, “he can speak, and hasn’t he a sweet voice?” “Yes,”
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STORY OF PRETTY FEATHERED FOREHEAD
STORY OF PRETTY FEATHERED FOREHEAD
There was once a baby boy who came into the world with a small cluster of different colored feathers grown fast to his forehead. From this he derived his name, “Pretty Feathered Forehead.” He was a very pleasant boy as well as handsome, and he had the respect of the whole tribe. When he had grown up to be a young man, he never, like other young men, made love to any of the tribe’s beauties. Although they were madly in love with him, he never noticed any of them. There were many handsome girls in
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THE FOUR BROTHERS OR INYANHOKSILA (STONE BOY)
THE FOUR BROTHERS OR INYANHOKSILA (STONE BOY)
Alone and apart from their tribe dwelt four orphan brothers. They had erected a very comfortable hut, although the materials used were only willows, hay, birch bark, and adobe mud. After the completion of their hut, the oldest brother laid out the different kinds of work to be done by the four of them. He and the second and third brothers were to do all the hunting, and the youngest brother was to do the house work, cook the meals, and keep plenty of wood on hand at all times. As his older broth
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THE UNKTOMI (SPIDER), TWO WIDOWS, AND THE RED PLUMS
THE UNKTOMI (SPIDER), TWO WIDOWS, AND THE RED PLUMS
There once lived, in a remote part of a great forest, two widowed sisters, with their little babies. One day there came to their tent a visitor who was called Unktomi (spider). He had found some nice red plums during his wanderings in the forest, and he said to himself, “I will keep these plums and fool the two widows with them.” After the widows had bidden him be seated, he presented them with the plums. On seeing them they exclaimed “hi nu, hi nu (an exclamation of surprise), where did you get
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