{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_32301/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_32301","id":"gutenberg_32301","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32301","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Short Stories","Human-animal relationships -- Juvenile fiction","Indian children -- North America -- Juvenile fiction"],"text":"Produced by Greg Weeks, Josephine Paolucci and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nINDIAN CHILD LIFE\n\n[Illustration]\n\nBy E. W. DEMING\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nINDIAN CHILD LIFE\n\nWITH NUMEROUS FULL-PAGE COLOUR-PLATES AFTER PAINTINGS IN WATER-COLOUR\nTOGETHER WITH ILLUSTRATIONS IN BLACK-AND-WHITE\n\nBY EDWIN WILLARD DEMING\n\nAND WITH NEW STORIES\n\nBY THERESE O. DEMING\n\n[Illustration]\n\nNEW YORK\n\nCOPYRIGHT, 1899, BY\n\nFREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY\n\nPUBLISHERS\n_PRINTED IN AMERICA_\n\n[Transcriber's note: Extensive research did not uncover any evidence\nthat the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]\n\n\n\n\nA RUNAWAY.\n\n\nOnce, after an ARICKARA Indian mother had finished all her packing, as\nthey were going to move camp, she fixed a travois on her big dog and\nplaced her baby in the basket. Then all was ready and they were about to\nstart, when a great, ugly black dog came along, and the two dogs began\nto fight.\n\nThe squaw whipped them apart, and after she had quieted her poor little\nbaby boy, who had been very much frightened, she put him back into his\nlittle carriage, and soon the Indians started.\n\n[Illustration: THE TWO DOGS BEGAN TO FIGHT.]\n\nThe squaw walked beside the dog to guide him and, also, to amuse her\nbaby. Indian babies play with little dolls made of buckskin, with long\nbuckskin fringe for hair. If a feather is placed in the dolly's hair the\nbabies think it is beautifully dressed.\n\nThe baby of our story was having a lovely time with his dolly and so his\nmother thought she would just drop back and have a little chat with\nanother Indian mother while the baby was good.\n\nShe had hardly turned around, when that naughty dog saw a great big jack\nrabbit, just ahead, and thought it would make a delicious dinner. Off he\nstarted. He jumped right through the rough sage brush, and the poor baby\nrolled out. His mother was afraid he would be badly hurt, but he was\nonly frightened. When the squaw caught the naughty dog again, she tied a\nrope around his neck and kept tight hold of it, so he couldn't play\nanother trick on her.\n\nWhen the Indians stopped and camped, the little boy picked up a stick\nand whipped that dog as hard as he could for treating him so badly\nduring the day's traveling.\n\n[Illustration: THE LITTLE BOY PICKED UP A STICK.]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nA GREEDY BEAR.\n\n\nOnce there was a little PUEBLO Indian boy and his father was one of the\nbest hunters in the village. One morning he went out into the mountains\nto shoot deer, the meat of which was to be dried for the winter supply.\n\nHe was walking very carefully, as he would have frightened the game away\nif he had made a noise.\n\nSuddenly he heard a sound as if a mama bear were scolding a cub for\nbeing selfish. He looked, and there, indeed, was an old she-bear turning\nover stones and trying to find some grubs for her babies.\n\n[Illustration: TRYING TO FIND SOME GRUBS FOR HER BABIES.]\n\nThe Indian shot the mama bear and one of the cubs scampered off as fast\nas he could go, but the hunter caught the other little bear and tied a\nhorse-hair rope tight around the little fellow's neck, so he could drag\nhim home to his little TAN-TSI-DAY.\n\nThe two became very good friends, and when TAN-TSI-DAY'S mother brought\na bowl of porridge to her baby, she always put in enough for the baby\nbear too.\n\nOne day the baby bear was naughty, and when TAN-TSI-DAY'S mother had\ngone into the house, he took the bowl and ate all the porridge himself,\nand didn't give his little playfellow any.\n\nThe baby was very much surprised, and called his Indian mother.\n\nDo you know how she punished the selfish little bear? When the next\nmeal-time came, she just brought enough of the good porridge for her\nTAN-TSI-DAY, and made that naughty bear eat with the puppies. I think\nbaby bear won't be such a greedy little fellow when allowed to eat with\nhis little companion again.\n\n[Illustration: DRAG HIM HOME TO HIS TAN-TSI-DAY.]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nIN MISCHIEF.\n\n\nThe naughty bear had been kept away from his playfellow for some time,\nand as the two loved one another so much, it made them both feel very\nsad.\n\nOne day the Indian mother went out to visit, and baby bear saw her go.\n\"Now,\" thought he, \"I will see my little friend, and, if I am a very\ngood little bear, perhaps his mother will let us play together again.\"\n\nBaby bear crept along very carefully, and when he thought the mother was\nnot looking he hid behind a bake oven and almost had his first accident,\nfor TAN-TSI-DAY'S mother had left one of her best jars standing there\nwith herbs to dry.\n\n[Illustration: HE HID BEHIND A BAKE OVEN.]\n\nWhen the mother had got out of sight the baby bear marched into the\nadobe home of his friend, and then the two companions were glad.\n\nBut baby bear and TAN-TSI-DAY saw the jars with all the good things in\nthem, and then they forgot to try to be good.\n\nThey ate the dried berries and sweet roots; tipped the jars and baskets\nto see if any goodies were in them; and when they had eaten all they\nwanted, sat just as close to each other as possible and went fast\nasleep.\n\nAfter a while the mother came home, and when she saw those two fast\nasleep, the jars broken, and all her good things spilled over the floor,\nshe became very angry and started to whip them.\n\nBaby bear wakened up and ran as fast as his clumsy little legs would let\nhim; but he didn't reach the top of his pole before the Indian mother\nhad given him a good switching.\n\n[Illustration: REACH THE TOP OF HIS POLE.]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCANOE BOYS.\n\n\nLittle CHIPPEWAY Indian boys have lots of good times. In the spring they\nhelp their fathers and big brothers to make maple sugar. They watch the\nbirch-bark troughs and, when one is full of sap, carry and empty it into\na big kettle over a fire to boil down.\n\nOften the bears find the sap during the night, and, as they like sweets\nvery much, drink it all; and the little boys are disappointed in the\nmorning, when they go around with their birch-bark buckets, to find it\nall gone. Sometimes the bears try to steal the boiling syrup, and then\nthey get their paws badly burned for trying to be thieves.\n\n[Illustration: THE BEARS FIND THE SAP.]\n\nIn summer, the boys love to swim and play in the little lakes that are\nso numerous in the region of their home. One afternoon a number of boys\ngot into a canoe and paddled, and as many other boys waded out into one\nof the shallow lakes to have some fun. The boys in the water were to try\nand take the canoe away from the boys that were inside. Oh, how hard the\ntwo sides worked, one to keep the boat right side up, and the other\nside to capture it; for if they tipped the canoe and spilled all the\nboys out they gained the victory, and would get in and see if they could\nhold it. They splashed the water in all directions, and when one boy\nfell or was pulled out of the boat, didn't he get a good ducking! The\nlittle dog helped all he could by barking very loud and trying to\nfrighten the boys in the water.\n\nThey played until it was so dark they had to stop and go home.\n\nTheir houses, canoes, baskets, buckets and various other things, are\nmade out of the bark of the birch tree.\n\nWhenever any of the CHIPPEWAY Indians want to go visiting, they always\ngo in canoes when possible, for they are canoe Indians and almost live\nin their boats. They seldom go visiting on horseback as most other\ntribes do.\n\n[Illustration: THEY ALWAYS GO IN CANOES.]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nWINTER FUN.\n\n\nThe little ASSINIBOIN Indian boys had a great deal of snow in winter,\nand, as they have no sleds as white boys have, they took buffalo ribs\nand slid down hill on them.\n\nA little boy was walking over the snow one day, on his snow-shoes, when\nhe thought what fun it would be, if the boys would all go over on the\nhill and slide. He walked through the village, playing he was the town\ncrier, and called all the little boys out on the hill to slide.\n\nThey all took their buffalo ribs and went out, and the little\ngirls--some who had babies on their backs, and some who were only\nplaying--and even the mothers and grandmothers went along to see how\nmuch fun the boys were going to have.\n\n[Illustration: A LITTLE BOY WAS WALKING OVER THE SNOW ONE DAY, ON HIS\nSNOW-SHOES.]\n\nSome of the boys fastened the buffalo ribs on their feet, while others\nmade little sleds by fastening the ribs together and making cross pieces\nof wood. Then they started at the top of the hill and came down, one\nafter the other, shouting and laughing while other boys threw snow at\nthem.\n\nSeveral times they went down the hill without any accident, and they\nwere beginning to think nothing could throw them. They all ran up the\nhill for another long slide, the first one up was to be the first to\nstart. One started right after the other, and as the first one was\nnearly at the bottom of the hill he lost his balance and over he went.\nThe other boys were close behind him, and as each one came he went over,\nand the boys and girls, who were watching thought that was more fun for\nthem than the sliding had been. Even the three companions who had been\nthrowing sticks over the snow to see which could make them slide\nfarthest, stopped their game to see how the boys were piled on top of\none another.\n\n[Illustration: THROWING STICKS OVER THE SNOW TO SEE WHICH COULD MAKE\nTHEM SLIDE FARTHEST.]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nMR. AND MRS. ANTELOPE AND THE BABIES.\n\n\nOne bright, sunny day, Mr. and Mrs. Antelope took little Baby Antelope\nout for a run. They knew where to find a lovely feeding-ground, so that\ntheir baby could have a good dinner of nice young grass.\n\nMr. and Mrs. Antelope were walking along very quietly; but the baby was\nso pleased to get out, that she gamboled far away, and frisked about.\n\nPretty soon she came running back very much frightened and said, \"Oh\nMamma and Papa Antelope, do come with me! I have seen some of the\nqueerest little animals over near that tree, and I don't know what they\nare.\"\n\n[Illustration: MR. AND MRS. ANTELOPE TOOK LITTLE BABY ANTELOPE OUT FOR A\nRUN.]\n\nMr. and Mrs. Antelope became very much worried, because they thought\nperhaps their little one had seen one of those animals that walk on two\nlegs and carry a long iron stick that can hit and kill them from afar.\nAs Mr. and Mrs. Antelope are very curious people, they wanted to see\nwhat their baby meant. Can you guess what they saw? Leaning against the\ntree were two queer little animals. Mr. and Mrs. Antelope thought hard\nand looked very keenly; but they had never seen such animals before.\n\nWeren't Mr. and Mrs. Antelope funny? They didn't know that if they\nstayed much longer, a SIOUX Indian mother would come out from the bushes\nwhere she was picking berries and frighten them away from her little\nbaby and then she would have to scold her daughter TOM-BE for falling\nasleep and not taking better care of her baby brother.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE CLIFF-DWELLERS AND THEIR PETS.\n\n\nA long time ago, before the white people came to live here, the COCHITI\nIndians used to live in houses made by hollowing deep holes into the\nnorth side of the deep canons. They built their houses to face the\nsouth, because it was warmer in winter when the fierce north wind came\nover the mountains to see what damage he could do. Instead of finding\nhouses to go into, he could only blow against the mountains.\n\nThe little boys used to climb down the sides of the cliffs from their\nhomes, and play in the warm sunshine with their tame foxes and make them\njump for dried meat.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nSometimes they took their bows and arrows and went out to hunt wild\nturkeys in the arroyos, or deep gullies around their homes.\n\nAt night the foxes found a warm place in some house that had been\ndeserted, perhaps because the opening had grown too large and the sand\nhad drifted in, or perhaps because it was not sheltered enough from the\nsnow in winter. The boys would climb to their own houses.\n\nIn those days, the men and boys had to watch from high places to warn\nthe people of the approach of any of their enemies, because the NAVAJO\nand APACHE Indians troubled the PUEBLO Indians a great deal in olden\ntimes.\n\nAs long as the watchers could see no enemy, the women used to carry\nwater from the river--which was quite far away--gather wood and till\nlittle patches of ground, but as soon as the enemy came down upon them,\nthey looked for water in wells dug into the rock to hold the rain when\nit fell. This water was always saved for cases of this kind.\n\n[Illustration: SOMETIMES THEY WENT OUT TO HUNT WILD TURKEYS.]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE BURRO RACE.\n\n\nTOM-O-PING was a little PUEBLO Indian boy and one day his father said\nto him, \"TOM-O-PING take my big black burro over to the canon to\nfeed.\" TOM-O-PING didn't say, \"wait a minute\" to his father, but\njumped right on his burro.\n\nAs he was going through the pueblo, he met his three companions,\nA-GO-YA, TO-A and BO-PING. TOM-O-PING did not like to go alone, so\nhe asked two of his little friends to jump on behind him while the third\nran along as best he could, and they would all get their own burros and\nhave a race. The boys did not have to be asked twice, so they jumped on\nbehind TOM-O-PING and then, as they were anxious to get to racing,\nthey all tried to hurry the poor old burro along by kicking him in the\nribs while BO-PING'S dog barked at his heels. Mr. Burro was tired and\nwouldn't endure that long: so in a moment he was standing on his\nfore-legs and the three boys were turning somersaults over his head,\nwhile the dog was kicked high in the air. The boys jumped upon his back\nagain and this time were more patient, so they finally reached the canon\nwhere the donkeys were feeding in safety.\n\n[Illustration: WHILE BO-PING'S DOG BARKED AT HIS HEELS.]\n\nThe three waited for their friend to come and then each boy caught his\nown little animal, and as TO-A was the eldest boy he gave the signal\nto start. ONE! TWO!! THREE!!! and off they went over fields and prairie,\ndown the old trail and through the sage brush, shouting and laughing and\nurging their little steeds along. First BO-PING was a little ahead, and\nthen he was glad, for he had been telling how well his little donkey\ncould go. Then the others whipped their small animals a little harder\nfor none wanted to be beaten. How they did go! You never saw four little\ndonkeys go faster. At last the race came to an end, and the little\nchildren, who had gathered to see the finish, clapped their hands and\nlaughed as TO-A, who was a favorite with them all, came in just a\nlittle ahead of his companions.\n\n[Illustration: THE BOYS WERE TURNING SOMERSAULTS OVER HIS HEAD.]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nLEARNING TO SHOOT.\n\n\nIndian fathers are just as proud of their little sons as white fathers\nare of theirs.\n\nOne day, a CROW Indian chief came in from the mountains, where he had\nbeen hunting and said to his little son: \"Now, my little warrior, you\nare getting to be a big boy, you must grow up to be a big chief of your\ntribe. You must learn to shoot and be brave so that when you grow up,\nyou will earn a name, and your people will love you.\"\n\nThe father gave his little son a tiny bow and some arrows, and taking\nhim by the hand, called his little dog and went out to see what they\ncould find to shoot at. Just outside of the tepees, were some bushes\nwhere the magpies had gathered and were chattering together, enjoying\nthe beautiful sunshine.\n\nMagpies are very inquisitive birds, and when they saw the little hunter,\ncome along with his dog and his father, one of the little birds jumped\ndown from the bush and hopped over to see what they were going to do.\nThe father thought this was a good chance for his boy, so he got down on\nthe ground to instruct him. The little fellow shot, and do you know he\nkilled one of those birds!\n\n[Illustration: GAVE HIS LITTLE SON A TINY BOW.]\n\nThen the father was just as proud as his little boy. The little fellow\npicked up the bird, and then off he started for home. His mother was\nsitting in the tepee making her little son a new pair of moccasins, and\nwhen he came in and threw the bird over for her to see, she was as much\npleased as her boy, for soon he would be able to shoot rabbits and other\ngame for her to cook for his dinner.\n\n[Illustration: ABLE TO SHOOT RABBITS.]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nLITTLE BIRD, THE NAVAJO SHEPHERD BOY.\n\n\nLittle bird was a little NAVAJO boy, whose papa had given him a dear\nlittle pony, because he took such good care of the sheep.\n\nWhen LITTLE BIRD went out with his papa's flock of sheep, he always took\nsome goats along to help keep the flock together and drive off wolves or\nbears. LITTLE BIRD, on his pony's back, would watch, and the goats would\nclimb on the rocks where they could see a long distance. One day, while\nthey were watching, LITTLE BIRD fell asleep, on his pony's back. He\ndidn't think there were any wolves or bears about; but soon he was\ndreaming that he heard the sheep making a great noise, and when he\nawoke, he saw that they were very much frightened and that the goats\nwere marching toward the canon.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\nWhat do you think he saw? A great, black bear holding a dear little lamb\nin his arms.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nLITTLE BEAVER AND THE TAME CROWS.\n\n\nOne day as LITTLE BEAVER was playing on the prairie before his mother's\ntepee, he saw his father coming across an arroyo from a hunting trip he\nhad taken. LITTLE BEAVER looked very intently, for on top of one of the\npack horses, he saw two black things flapping their wings.\n\nAs soon as his father had got home and the things were unpacked, he\nsaid, \"Come, my little warrior, I want to tell you a story.\" As soon as\nhis little boy was on his knees he said: \"While I was riding through the\nwoods, I heard something say, 'Caw, Caw.' At first, I didn't see where\nit was and then I wished I had my little bright-eyed boy, for he could\nsee. By and by it said 'Caw, Caw,' again and then, looking up, I saw an\nold mother crow standing on a limb, with a little crow on each side of\nher. I shot the mother and then climbed the tree and captured these two\nlittle crows and brought them home to my boy.\"\n\nLITTLE BEAVER was very much pleased, and he used to play a great deal\nwith these two new pets.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nNot long after, when the crows had grown quite big and mischievous,\nLITTLE BEAVER sat outside of the tepee on the ground, to eat some\ndinner. The crows saw him and came running over to him. While LITTLE\nBEAVER tried to frighten one away the other would try to steal his meat\nand they kept it up quite a while until the little boy whipped them\naway. Then the crows felt very mournful to think they had been beaten,\nand walked away with their heads drooping, as if they knew enough to be\nashamed of what they had tried to do.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nBRIGHT-EYES AND HIS PUMA KITTENS.\n\n\nIndian boys have very queer pets; they capture bear cubs, puma or\nmountain lion kittens, and various other young animals of the forest and\ntame them. The boys like to play with these strange pets, as much as\nlittle white boys love to play with puppies or kittens.\n\nSome Indian boys, just like the white boys, enjoy teasing their pets,\nwhich is very wrong as it makes the animals very angry, and often the\nboys are punished beyond their expectation for their naughtiness.\n\nBRIGHT-EYES was a little PAWNEE boy, who had two pretty little puma\nkittens, of which he was very proud, and when he did not tease or make\nthem angry they would let him fondle and caress them just as you would a\nkitten.\n\n[Illustration: SOME INDIAN BOYS ENJOY TEASING THEIR PETS.]\n\nOne day BRIGHT-EYES was sitting on a blanket under a tree playing with\nhis kittens, when two of his friends came along. He asked them to stop\nand they did, because BRIGHT-EYES seemed to be having such a good time\nwith his pets.\n\nThe other boys did not play as gently as BRIGHT-EYES had done, and began\nteasing the kittens. They became very angry and wild. They scratched at\nthe boys and tried to bite them, and if BRIGHT-EYES had been alone he\nwould have fared very badly because he could not have beaten his wild\npets off, but the other boys were older and they succeeded in quieting\nthem enough to lead them away and tie them up.\n\nThe kittens never trusted BRIGHT-EYES again as they did before, and the\nlittle fellow felt very sad. His father did not trust him with his pets\neither, and after that always kept the kittens tied even though\nBRIGHT-EYES promised not to make them angry any more.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nHODGSKA MAKES A VISIT.\n\n\nI will tell you of a little red boy going visiting, and perhaps you can\nfancy why he liked it so much.\n\nOne day a CROW Indian mother called her little boy, HODGSKA, and told\nhim to get dressed and she would take him to see his grandfather.\nHODGSKA was delighted. He came running in, and his mother put a pretty\nred breech-clout on him, braided his hair neatly, and then painted the\npart in his hair red, and HODGSKA was ready to start.\n\n[Illustration: HAD TO PULL UP HIS FEET TO KEEP HIS MOCCASINS DRY.]\n\nThe horses were all ready, too. The mother's saddle was all decorated\nwith bright colored flannel and pretty bead work, and HODGSKA had a\nbright blanket thrown over his horse's back. The mother rode in front\nbecause she had to lead the way. They followed an old trail for awhile,\nand HODGSKA was disappointed because he didn't think that was fun. Then\noff in the distance he saw a river, and oh how he wished they would have\nto cross it!\n\nHODGSKA was delighted when they really started to cross. In splashed the\nhorses, and the water kept getting deeper and deeper until it came so\nhigh that the little boy had to pull up his feet to keep his moccasins\ndry.\n\nAfter the river had been forded they had to climb over a mountain, and\nHODGSKA was glad he had brought his bow and arrows because he might be\nable to shoot something to take to his grandfather. They rode very\nquietly, and little HODGSKA tried to ride especially quiet because he\nknew if he made much noise he would frighten the game. Soon he heard a\nlittle noise in the brush and looking over he saw two pretty deer, but\nthey saw him, too, and ran off just as fast as they could.\n\nHODGSKA heard the little birds chattering and calling to one another and\nhe saw a bear, but he found nothing he could shoot; so he had to meet\nhis grandfather without being able to show what a hunter he had become.\n\n[Illustration: HE SAW TWO PRETTY DEER.]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nPLAYING AT MOVING HOUSE.\n\n\nOnce there were two little PIEGAN Indian girls and they had been playing\nin a little play tepee for a long time. They had their baby brothers\nwith them, and the babies had been playing out in the warm sunshine with\ntheir dogs, while the little girls played with their Indian dollies.\n\nThe little brothers were good for a long time, and then they became\ntired of playing in one place, just as little white children get tired,\nso the sisters thought they would play at moving house.\n\nThey fastened two long poles to the sides of the dog and made a travois,\nthen they put a basket between the poles and laid their dollies in this\nplay carriage. Then the little girls started to take down their tepee.\n\n[Illustration: RAN OFF AS HARD AS HE COULD RUN.]\n\nAll of a sudden the most awful accident happened! The puppy caught one\nof the dollies in his mouth and ran off as hard as he could run. The\npoor little mamma was almost frantic. She ran after the naughty puppy\nand caught him just as he was about to chew that poor dolly up!\n\nAfter the poor dolly had been petted and loved, it was put back into the\ntravois, and after all the packing had been finished the little girls\ntook their baby brothers on their backs and started to move.\n\nJust as they were passing their homes their mothers came to the door and\ncalled them in to their dinner. They didn't say \"In a minute,\" as little\nwhite children very often do, but went right away.\n\n[Illustration: TOOK THEIR BABY BROTHERS ON THEIR BACKS.]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE WAR DANCE.\n\n\nI fancy that little white children don't know that their red brothers\nlike to dress up in grown-up people's things just as much as they do.\n\nOne day several little SIOUX Indian boys decided to have a war dance.\nThey braided each other's hair, and one little boy was so vain that,\nwhile his companion was braiding his hair, he kept admiring himself in a\nlittle piece of looking-glass that he held in his hand. After all had\ntheir hair finished, they put on the dance costumes just as they had\nseen their fathers do. Each wore the roach on his head, beads around his\nneck, and the belt; then each took his little bow and they started to\nhave the dance.\n\nWhen the girls heard their little brothers playing outside, they went to\nthe doors of their lodges to watch them. Then the boys had to do their\nbest, of course, to show the girls what brave warriors they were going\nto be.\n\n[Illustration: KEPT ADMIRING HIMSELF IN A LITTLE PIECE OF\nLOOKING-GLASS.]\n\nAn old grandfather was sitting out-of-doors sunning himself; so the boys\nbrought a tom-tom, and asked him to make music for them. Then they\ndanced the war dance in earnest--a true imitation of their fathers. They\ndanced for several hours, until they were so tired they could dance no\nlonger; then they retired to a tepee, which they made believe was their\ncouncil house, and in council they decided that the little girls would\nsurely have much more respect for them in the future.\n\n[Illustration: THE LITTLE GIRLS WOULD HAVE MORE RESPECT FOR THEM.]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTAKING CARE OF THE PONIES.\n\n\nOut in the real wild West, where the PONCA Indians live when they are at\nhome, there are bears, mountain lions, wolves, foxes, and many other\nwild animals, always roaming about in quest of food.\n\nEvery evening, when it begins to get dark, the little boys have to go\nout and gather together all the horses, drive them to the village, and\npicket them for the night where the men can watch and keep them safe,\nnot only from wild animals, but from Indians belonging to hostile\ntribes, out on horse-stealing expeditions.\n\n[Illustration: THE WOLF.]\n\nAfter the horses are safely picketed around camp, the small boys can\nplay and have a good time; but they have to go to bed early because they\nhave to be up very early in the morning. When the boys are all through\nwith their breakfasts they drive the horses first to water for a drink,\nand then over to the canons where some of them are hobbled and allowed\nto feed all day. When the boys hobble their horses they tie their front\nlegs together down near the hoofs, so that the horses can only take\nshort steps, and cannot run or wander off very far.\n\nWhile the little boys are out herding they keep their bright little eyes\nwide open to see everything. Sometimes they shoot at the little prairie\ndogs with their bows and arrows; but the prairie dogs have very bright\neyes, too, and down they go into their little holes before the arrows\ncan hurt them.\n\nThe wise little owls live with the prairie dogs and they come out and\nsit near the holes watching for mice. The little boys shoot birds,\nrabbits, and various other small animals while they are out tending the\nhorses.\n\nSometimes when Indian mothers are very busy or want to visit, they\nhobble their little ones by tying their feet together, so that they can\ntake short steps only. Then the babies can play out-of-doors, and the\nmothers are sure they cannot get very far away from home.\n\n[Illustration: THE WISE LITTLE OWLS.]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE BABIES AND THE WOODPECKERS.\n\n\nOne day two WINNEBAGO Indian mothers took their little baby boys and put\nthem on a blanket to play together. They were two happy little children,\nand after they had finished the bowl of dinner their mothers had given\nthem, they didn't cry, but started playing with their little fingers and\ntoes, and trying to catch the little stray rays of sunshine.\n\nThey were sitting in the shade of a little sapling, and suddenly they\nheard a little \"tap! tap!\" against the tree. The babies looked all\naround, but they couldn't see anything. Then they heard another, \"tap!\ntap!\" just like the first one. This time they looked at the tree, and,\ncan you tell what they saw? Two great, big woodpeckers, with great red\nheads. The babies thought they were such pretty birds, but they did not\nknow what to say to them, and so were a little bashful; while the\nwoodpeckers were very curious to know what new kind of animal they had\nfound.\n\n[Illustration: THE BADGERS COME OUT OF THEIR HOLES.]\n\nYou see there were no nice fat little worms in the young tree, and so\nthe birds may have thought that the children had a bowl full of their\nfavorite food, and they had themselves come too late.\n\nLittle Indian children learn to know wild animals very early. Sometimes\nthe badgers come out of their holes to look at them, and then the\nchildren are very much frightened because badgers are wise animals and\nplay many tricks on people.\n\nAt night, when they lie awake in their little beds, the children hear\nthe wild geese talking to one another as they fly over the village. Then\nthe mother tells them what bird is making the noise, and she also tells\nthem, that when the geese fly south it will be too cold before very long\nfor their babies to sit out of doors and when they fly toward the north,\nSpring is on the way with its beautiful sunshine.\n\n[Illustration: THE WILD GEESE TALKING TO ONE ANOTHER AS THEY FLY.]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nHOW THE PUEBLO BOYS WERE FRIGHTENED.\n\n\nLittle Indian children, like their white brothers, have to be in bed\nearly or their mothers tell them that the Indian bugaboo, which is a\nwater spirit, will come after them.\n\nSometimes the PUEBLO children, just like their white brothers, too,\nthink their mothers are only trying to frighten them, when she reminds\nthem of the time and tells them stories of how children are taken away,\nif they stay up late.\n\nOne day some little boys were talking the bugaboo stories over, and they\ndecided to try and see if their mothers were telling them true stories;\nso, after they had been sent to bed, they were very quiet for awhile,\nbut when their mothers weren't watching, they slipped out.\n\n[Illustration: IT WAS A LOVELY NIGHT.]\n\nIt was a lovely night and they thought they would go behind the houses\nand play awhile. The boys were running along, thinking of how they never\nagain would be afraid of the water spirit, when, they all stopped short.\nFor a moment they were so frightened, they could scarcely move. What do\nyou think they saw? There, coming out of a doorway, straight ahead of\nthem, was one of those terrible water spirits their mothers had been\ntelling them about. It was coming right after them, shaking a rattle. I\ntell you those boys ran!\n\nSeveral very much frightened boys reached their homes, and, after that,\nthey were very glad to go to bed when it was time, for they never again\nwanted to be chased by another water spirit.\n\nBut I will tell you a secret. There are no water spirits; and these\nsmall Indian boys were surprised by a PUEBLO man who had seen them steal\naway from their homes and had decided to frighten them. So he dressed up\nto look like the Indians' pictures of a terrible water spirit from the\nRio Grande river, and ran after the boys.\n\n[Illustration: ONE OF THOSE TERRIBLE WATER SPIRITS]","title":"Indian Child Life","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":5709}