an Old story ...

Mistakes Of Old-Man – Blackfoot

ALL night the storm raged, and in the morning the plains were white with snow. The sun came and the light was blinding, but the hunters were abroad early, as usual.

That day the children came to my camp, and I told them several stories that appeal to white children. They were deeply interested, and asked many questions. Not until the hunters returned did my visitors leave.

That night War Eagle told us of the mistakes of Old-man. He said:

"Old-man made a great many mistakes in making things in the world, but he worked until he had everything good. I told you at the beginning that Old-man made mistakes, but I didn't tell you what they were, so now I shall tell you.

"One of the things he did that was wrong, was to make the Big-Horn to live on the plains. Yes, he made him on the plains and turned him loose, to make his living there. Of course the Big-Horn couldn't run on the plains, and Old-man wondered what was wrong. Finally, he said: 'Come here, Big-Horn!' and the Big-Horn came to him. Old-man stuck his arm through the circle his horns made, and dragged the Big-Horn far up into the mountains. There he set him free again, and sat down to watch him. Ho! It made Old-man dizzy to watch the Big-Horn run about on the ragged cliffs. He saw at once that this was the country the Big-Horn liked, and he left him there. Yes, he left him there forever, and there he stays, seldom coming down to the lower country.

"While Old-man was waiting to see what the Big-Horn would do in the high mountains, he made an Antelope and set him free with the Big-Horn. Ho! But the Antelope stumbled and fell down among the rocks. He couldn't run at all; could hardly stand up. So Old-man called to the Antelope to come back to him, and the Antelope did come to him. Then he called to the Big-Horn, and said:

"'You are all right, I guess, but this one isn't, and I'll have to take him somewhere else.'

"He dragged the Antelope down to the prairie country, and set him free there. Then he watched him a minute; that was as long as the Antelope was in sight, for he was afraid Old-man might take him back to the mountains.

"He said: 'I guess that fellow was made for the plains, all right, so I'll leave him there'; and he did. That is why the Antelope always stays on the plains, even to-day. He likes it better.

"That wasn't a very long story; sometime when you get older I will tell you some different stories, but that will be all for this time, I guess. Ho!"   

Frank B.Linderman
Indian Why Stories , Sparks From War Eagle's Lodge-Fire , Frank B.Linderman, [CO SKEE SEE CO COT] , Published: 1915 , And Is Now In The Public Domain.

from Blue Panther's archives



 

BEAR WOMAN, a Blackfoot story

Once there was a young woman with many suitors; but she refused to marry.
She had seven brothers and one little sister. Their mother had been dead
many years and they had no relatives, but lived alone with their father.
Every day the six brothers went out hunting with their father. It seems that
the young woman had a bear for her lover and, as she did not want any one to
know this, she would meet him when she went out after wood. She always went
after wood as soon as her father and brothers went out to hunt, leaving her
little sister alone in the lodge. As soon as she was out of sight in the
brush, she would run to the place where the bear lived. As the little sister
grew older, she began to be curious as to why her older sister spent so much
time getting wood. So one day she followed her. She saw the young woman meet
the bear and saw that they were lovers. When she found this out, she ran
home as quickly as she could, and when her father returned she told him what
she had seen. When he heard the story he said, "So, my elder daughter has a
bear for a husband. Now I know why she does not want to marry." Then he went
about the camp, telling all his people that they had a bear for a
brother-in-law, and that he wished all the men to go out with him to kill
this bear. So they went, found the bear, and killed him.

When the young woman found out what had been done, and that her little
sister had told on her, she was very angry. She scolded her little sister
vigorously, then ordered her to go out to the dead bear, and bring some
flesh from his paws. The little sister began to cry, and said she was afraid
to go out of the lodge, because a dog with young pups had tried to bite her.
"Oh, do not be afraid!" said the young woman. "I will paint your face like
that of a bear, with black marks across the eyes and at the corners of the
mouth; then no one will touch you." So she went for the meat. Now the older
sister was a powerful medicine-woman. She could tan hides in a new way. She
could take up a hide, strike it four times with her skin-scraper and it
would be tanned.

The little sister had a younger brother that she carried on her back. As
their mother was dead, she took care of him. One day the little sister said
to the older sister, "Now you be a bear and we will go out into the brush to
play." The older sister agreed to this, but said, "Little sister, you must
not touch me over my kidneys." So the big sister acted as a bear, and they
played in the brush. While they were playing, the little sister forgot what
she had been told, and touched her older sister in the wrong place. At once
she turned into a real bear, ran into the camp, and killed many of the
people. After she had killed a large number, she turned back into her former
self. Now, when the little sister saw the older run away as a real bear, she
became frightened, took up her little brother, and ran into their lodge.
Here they waited, badly frightened, but were very glad to see their older
sister return after a time as her true self.

Now the older brothers were out hunting, as usual. As the little sister was
going down for water with her little brother on her back, she met her six
brothers returning. The brothers noted how quiet and deserted the camp
seemed to be. So they said to their little sister, "Where are all our
people?" Then the little sister explained how she and her sister were
playing, when the elder turned into a bear, ran through the camp, and killed
many people. She told her brothers that they were in great danger, as their
sister would surely kill them when they came home. So the six brothers
decided to go into the brush. One of them had killed a jackrabbit. He said
to the little sister, "You take this rabbit home with you. When it is dark,
we will scatter prickly-pears all around the lodge, except in one place.
When you come out, you must look for that place, and pass through."

When the little sister came back to the lodge, the elder sister said, "Where
have you been all this time?" "Oh, my little brother mussed himself and I
had to clean him," replied the little sister. "Where did you get that
rabbit?" she asked. "I killed it with a sharp stick," said the little
sister. "That is a lie. Let me see you do it," said the older sister. Then
the little sister took up a stick lying near her, threw it at the rabbit,
and it stuck in the wound in his body. "Well, all right," said the elder
sister. Then the little sister dressed the rabbit and cooked it. She offered
some of it to her older sister, but it was refused: so the little sister and
her brother ate all of it. When the elder sister saw that the rabbit had all
been eaten, she became very angry, and said, "Now I have a mind to kill
you." So the little sister arose quickly, took her little brother on her
back, and said, "I am going out to look for wood." As she went out, she
followed the narrow trail through the prickly pears and met her six brothers
in the brush. Then they decided to leave the country, and started off as
fast as they could go.

The older sister, being a powerful medicine-woman, knew at once what they
were doing. She became very angry and turned herself into a bear to pursue
them. Soon she was about to overtake them, when one of the boys tried his
power. He took a little water in the hollow of his hand and sprinkled it
around. At once it became a great lake between them and the bear. Then the
children hurried on while the bear went around.

After a while the bear caught up with them again, when another brother threw a porcupine-tail (a
hairbrush) on the ground. This became a great thicket; but the bear forced
its way through, and again overtook the children. This time they all climbed
a high tree. The bear came to the foot of the tree, and, looking up at them,
said, "Now I shall kill you all." So she took a stick from the ground threw
it into the tree and knocked down four of the brothers. While she was doing
this, a little bird flew around the tree, calling out to the children,
"Shoot her in the head! Shoot her in the head!" Then one of the boys shot an
arrow into the head of the bear, and at once she fell dead. Then they came
down from the tree.

Now the four brothers were dead. The little brother took an arrow, shot it
straight up into the air, and when it fell one of the dead brothers came to
life. This he repeated until all were alive again. Then they held a council,
and said to each other, "Where shall we go? Our people have all been killed,
and we are a long way from home. We have no relatives living in the world."
Finally they decided that they preferred to live in the sky. Then the little
brother said, "Shut your eyes." As they did so, they all went up.

Now you can see them every night. The little brother is the North Star. The six
brothers and the little sister are seen in the Great Dipper.

The little sister and eldest brother are in a line with the North Star, the little
sister being nearest it because she used to carry her little brother on her
back.

The other brothers are arranged in order of their age, beginning with
the eldest. This is how the seven stars [Ursa Major] came to be.

from archives of BLUE PANTHER

BLACKFOOT CREATION STORY

Making of the Earth - Blackfoot

During the flood, Old Man was sitting on the highest mountain with all the beasts. The flood was caused by the Above People because the baby (a fungus) of the woman who married a star was heedlessly torn in pieces by an Indian child.

Old Man sent the Otter down to get some Earth. For a long time he waited, then the Otter came up dead. Old Man examined its feet, but found nothing on them. Next he sent Beaver down, but after a long time he also came up drowned. Again nothing was found on his feet. He sent Muskrat to dive next. Muskrat also was drowned.

At length he sent the Duck. It was drowned, but in its paw held some earth. Old Man saw it, put it in his hand, feigned putting it on the water three times, and at last dropped it. Then the Above People sent rain, and everything grew on the earth.

Source: Clark Wissler and D. C. Duvall, Mythology of the Blackfoot Indians
(New York: Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History,
1908), v. 2, part 1, p. 19.

Adventures of Old Man ~ Blackfoot

As Old Man was traveling along, he saw a rock, and said, "Now I shall give you this robe." So he took off his robe and put it over the rock. Now Old Man was traveling with his little brother the Fox, and as they went on it began to look like rain, so Old Man sent his little brother back to get the robe. But when Fox came to the rock, and said that Old Man sent him for the robe because it was going to rain, the Rock said, "No, he gave it to me." Then Fox returned, and reported to Old Man. This made Old Man very mad. He hurried back to the rock, and jerked off the robe, saying, "You have been here many years without a robe, and now you will not give it back to me when I need it." Then Old Man went on. Presently he heard thunder. After a time Fox looked back and saw the rock rolling after them. Then they began to run. They ran as fast as they could. Presently Old Man saw some buffalo-bulls, and called on them for help. The bulls tried to stop the rock, but they were crushed. Then Old Man saw some bears, and called to them for help, but the bears could not stop the rock. Then Old Man saw some night-hawks, and called out to them for help. Then the night-hawks flew down, and each time they came near the rock they discharged their flatus, causing pieces to fly off. Finally the rock was broken to pieces, and from the inside came a bear and a bull [buffalo]. Now old Man came to a river where he saw some young night-hawks in a nest. "Oh, yes!" said he, "it was your father and mother who spoiled all my fun. They broke to pieces the rock that was chasing me. Now I shall tear your mouths." So he widened their mouths. When the old birds came back, the young ones told them what Old Man had said. So they pursued him. When they overtook him, they circled around and defecated over him.

As Old Man ran to escape them, he met a man with leggings made of calf-skin. Old Man called out to him for help. Now those leggings were medicine, and the owner caused them to make a fire, which frightened the night-hawks away. Then the two men sat down. Old Man said," Stranger, give me your leggings." "Well," said the man, "I will give them to you in winter. You will not need them in summer." Old Man insisted, and finally the man said he would give them to him after a while. "Well," said Old Man, "I am going over to the lodges you see yonder."

Now when Old Man came to the lodges, he said to the people, "Let us have a game." (This is a game in which the players move in a row. The leader carries a stick one end of which is on fire, and he strikes the stick, causing the sparks to fly around.) Now in this game Old Man led, and carried the stick. The people who were playing were deer and elk people. Then Old Man suggested that they play another game, "Wherever the leader goes." [In this game the players all follow the leader.] They played this until night. Finally they came to a very high bank. Now Old Man played a trick. He said, "Wait!" and crept down at another place; then, running up to the foot of the cliff, called out, "You have not heard me for a while because I have been laughing. I found a nice soft place when I jumped down." So all the animals jumped down and were killed. There were some females among them about to become mothers, who begged Old Man to be allowed to go. At last he granted their request.

Then Old Man dried the meat and kept it. After it was all eaten up, he traveled on again. Finally he came to a place where some squirrels were playing at a game. The squirrels would be covered up by one of them with hot ashes. Old Man asked them to let him play, but they declined. At length they agreed. Finally Old Man requested that he be allowed to cover them all up at once. Now there was one female squirrel who was about to become a mother, and she begged so pitifully of Old Man to let her go, that he consented. As he did so he said, "I will do this that there may be more squirrels in the world." Then he covered all the squirrels with the ashes, and when they became too hot, they called out to be uncovered; but Old Man paid no attention to this. So they died. Then Old Man brought some red willows and made a scaffold upon which to put his meat. Hence, the red willow is greasy to this day. When he had put all the squirrels out on the scaffold, he began to eat. Finally he could eat no more, but there were still many squirrels left. Now he went to sleep, and said to his anus, "If any one comes along, you make a noise and wake me up." So, whenever a bird or an insect came along, the anus made a noise, waking Old Man. This made him tired. Finally he was so sound asleep that he did not waken when the noise was made. Then a lynx came. He soon found the squirrels, and began to eat them.

Now when Old Man awoke, he was hungry, but found his meat gone. Then he was very angry. So he followed the tracks of the lynx, and soon found him sleeping on a flat stone. He caught the lynx, and tried to tear him in two by pulling on his front and hind legs, but did not succeed. Then he banged his nose on the rock, so that the lynx has a flat nose even to this day. Then he pulled out a bunch of hair from the pubes, and put it on the nose of the lynx for whiskers. Now Old Man was mad at his anus for all this. So he took a stick from the fire and rubbed it. This wood smells bad to this day.

Then Old Man started out but the bum was painful and he went up on a hill that the wind might fan it. There was no wind, so he rolled buffalo- chips down the hill in order to produce wind. At last the wind began to blow very hard, and he was carried along, bouncing up and down. He caught hold of bushes and trees, but none of them were strong enough to hold him. At last he caught hold of the birch. This did not break, but held him bouncing up and down. When the wind went down. Old Man was very angry. He scolded the birch for being so strong. Then he took out his knife and slashed the bark. [The cause of the markings on the bark.]

Now the man who promised the leggings to Old Man came with them. He said, "You must not use them every day. Do not put them on unless you want to set things on fire. Wear them on the ice, and when you are hungry, dance and sing, and up will come food. But you must not do these things often." Old Man paid no attention to what was said, took the leggings, put them on, and began to dance, and when he did so they took fire; so he took them off as quickly as he could, and gave them back to their owner.

At this time the women and the men were not married, and Old Man came to a place where the women were going to pick out husbands. Old Man stood among the men, but no one picked him out. This took place in a buffalo-drive. When Old Man found that he had not been chosen, he was very angry. He began to tear down the cliff; then he turned into a pine-tree, and has been there ever since.

Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History, Vol. II, 1908
Submitted by Wolf Walker. From Blue Panther Keeper of Stories.