Part 14 (1/2)
”Yes,” he replied, ”we think so; and no Indian has ever ventured in that lake to e That is why the lake is called Mysterious,” he repeated
”I shall now tell you of Chotanka He was the greatest of rizzly bear before he was born in human form” Weyuha seemed to become very earnest when he reached this point in his story ”Listen to Chotanka's life as a grizzly bear”
”'As a bear,' he used to say, 'ht of the Minnewakan Chantay I lived with my mother only one winter, and I only saw my father when I was a baby Then we lived a little way fro scattered oak upon a hillside overlooking the Minnewakan
”'When I first re outside of our home with a buffalo skull that I had found near by I saw sos, and it carried a crooked stick, and some red ith feathers tied to them It threw one of the s at me, and I showed my teeth and retreated within our den
”'Just then my father and mother came home with a buffalo calf They thren the dead calf, and ran after the queer thing He had long hair upon a round head His face was round, too He ran and climbed up into a small oak tree
”'My father and mother shook him down, but not before he had shot some of his red s into their sides Mother was very sick, but she dug soain' It was thus that Chotanka was first taught the use of certain roots for curing wounds and sickness,” Weyuha added
”'One day'”--he resu with one away and never came back--we found a buffalo coith her calf in a ravine She advisedon our knees All at once rass, and I did the sas,” riding upon big-tail deer (ponies)
They yelled as they rode toward us Mother growled terribly and rushed upon thes and drove us into a thicket They sent the red s singing after us, and two of theot away at last she tried to pull them out, but they hurt her terribly She pulled them both out at last, but soon after she lay down and died
”'I stayed in the woods alone for two days then I went around the Minnewakan Chantay on the south side and there made my lonely den There I found plenty of hazel nuts, acorns and wild plums Upon the plains the teepsinna were abundant, and I saw nothing of my enemies
”'One day I found a footprint not unlike ht be Upon the bluffs aathering acorns She was of a different band from mine, for she wore a jet black dress
”'At first she was disposed to resent reed to share it with me We came back to my home on the south side of the hill There we lived happy for a whole year When the autuain Woshepee, for this was her name, said that she ain'
”Now,” said Weyuha, ”I have come to a part ofwinter Chotanka slept in his den, and with the early spring there cahtful crash that see man stood at his door He looked, but was not afraid, for he saw that the stranger carried none of those red ith feathered tips He was unare to run a race Whoever ill be the hero of his kind, and the defeated must do as the winner says thereafter This is a rare honor that I have brought you The whole world will see the race The animal world will shout for you, and the spirits will cheer me on You are not a coward, and therefore you will not refuse e'
”'No,' replied Chotanka, after a short hesitation The young htly built
”'We shall start froo, for the universe is waiting!' ier
”He passed on in advance, and just then an old, old wrinkled man came to Chotanka's door He leaned forward upon his staff
”'My son,' he said to hi aambles for life; be careful! My brothers and I are the only ones who have ever beaten him But he is safe, for if he is killed he can resurrect hireat medicine
”'However, I think that I can save you--listen! He will run behind you all the way until you are within a short distance of the goal Then he will pass you by in a flash, for his na)
Here is uoal, rub yourself with the gum, and throw the rabbit skin between you He cannot pass you'
”'And who are you, grandfather?' Chotanka inquired
”'I aambler is a spirit from heaven, and those whom he outruns must shortly die You have heard, no doubt, that all animals know beforehand when they are to be killed; and any man who understands these mysteries may also knohen he is to die'
”The race was announced to the world The buffalo, elk, wolves and all the animals came to look on All the spirits of the air came also to cheer for their coreat nal for a start The course was around the Minnewakan (That means around the earth or the ocean) Everywhere theman kept behind Chotanka all the tiht of the Chantay Then he felt a slight shock and he threw his rabbit skin back The stranger tripped and fell Chotanka rubbed hioal There was a great shout that echoed over the earth, but in the heavens there wasThe referee declared that the winner would live to a good old age, and Zig-Zag Fire proreat medicine,” Weyuha concluded
”But you have not told ht a beautiful woman came to him in his sleep She enticed him into her white teepee to see what she had there Then she shut the door of the teepee and Chotanka could not get out But the woman was kind and petted him so that he loved to stay in the white teepee Then it was that he beca story, but I think, Ohiyesa, that you will remember it,” said Weyuha, and so I did