🧚 Nothing Child · page 2

But the young men were not satisfied with this decision.94 They said that it was not fair, that the boy had made a chance shot, and they asked the chief to try their skill in some other way.95 So the chief told the young men that they might again try their luck for the young girls, and that whoever killed a white wolf with a black tail should have his daughters.96 All the men went out from the camp and built their wooden traps, and Nothing Child also went out and made a wooden trap.97 The next morning they all went out to visit their traps, and in almost all the traps they found something—wolves, foxes, badgers, and other animals.98 Some of the wolves were white all over, and some were white with gray tails, but no one had a white wolf with a black tail.99 The Nothing Child, with his grandmother, went out from the camp to his trap in a different direction from the rest, and in their trap they found a white wolf with a black tail.100 They took it into camp and to the chief’s lodge, and when he saw it he said that this was the wolf he wanted.101

Now all the young men in the camp were jealous of the Nothing Child, for it was certain that he would get the chief’s daughters for his wives.102 So they went to the chief and asked him to try his people once more, that they thought that the Nothing Child had not killed the wolf fairly.103 So the chief now said: “Whoever will bring me a white fox with a black-tipped tail shall have my daughters.104 This will be the last trial, and after this no one need complain.”105

The young men set their traps all over the prairie, but Nothing Child asked his grandmother to go with him, and he went to a place far from all the others and there set his trap.106 The next morning the young men all went out to look at their traps.107 Some had foxes and some had other animals, but when Nothing Child went to his trap, he found in it a white fox with a black-tipped tail, and when it was taken to the chief’s lodge he said that this was the fox he meant, and he told his daughters to get ready and go and marry the Nothing Child.108 The youngest girl was willing to do what her father ordered, but the elder was not.109

They put on their finest clothing and left their father’s lodge and started for Nothing Child’s home.110 As they walked along, the elder girl said to her sister, “I am not going to marry this child, to be laughed at by everybody.”111 The younger sister said, “I am going to do what my father told me to.112 It is better to do so.113 Besides that, the Nothing Child must be a very powerful person.114 See how many wonderful things he has done.”115 The elder girl said, “Well, I am not going to his lodge.116 I am going to marry Masto pau (Raven Arrow).”117 This was a young man who had the power to turn himself into a raven whenever he wished.118 So the elder girl went her way to Raven Arrow, but the younger kept on towards Nothing Child’s lodge.119

When the girl came to the lodge and went in, the old woman told her to sit down.120 Nothing Child was playing at the back of the lodge.121 The girl said, “My father sent me to sit beside the person who killed the eagle, the white wolf with the black tail, and the white fox with the black-tipped tail.”122 Nothing Child said, “I am the person who did that, but I do not want any woman to sit beside me.”123 The girl answered: “My father sent me to sit beside you, and I shall stay here.124 I am not going home any more.”125 When the boy saw that the girl was resolved to stay, he said, “Very well, you shall be my wife.”126 So she stayed, and was pleasant and nice with the boy and played with him, and he liked her.127 She saw that he was very poor, but she seemed to take no notice of that.128

At this time the camp was very short of food.129 The young men scouted far and near over the prairie, but could find no buffalo.130 It was a hard time; everybody was hungry.131 One day Nothing Child said to his wife: “Now you stay here for a while.132 I am going away for a time.133 I am going to try to find a band of buffalo and bring them into camp.”134 He made ready for his journey and started.135 After he had travelled a long way he came to a wet, marshy place near the mountains, where in summer many buffalo had been.136 Here he gathered up buffalo chips, and made great piles of them in a row, and when he had finished, he went back some way, and then came running and shouting towards the piles of chips.137 When he got close to them he stopped, and then went back again, and again came running and shouting upon the chips, but nothing happened.138 He repeated this a third and a fourth time, and the fourth time, when he got near the piles, the chips turned into buffaloes and rushed off over the prairie, and Nothing Child ran them towards the camp and drove them over the cliff into the piś kun, so that once more the camp was supplied with meat.139

The next day Nothing Child told his wife to go to her father’s lodge for the day, and not to return until night.140 After the girl had gone he spoke to his grandmother and said: “Grandmother, you have seen what strange things I have done, and you can see that I have some power.141 That power which I have was given to me by a bear that has helped me, and because I have done just what he told me to I have been able to accomplish the things that you have seen me do.142 I do not know the secret of my power, but I know that I have it.143 Now, Grandmother, I want you to do something for me.144 I want you to take a rope and tie me by the feet to the lodge poles, so that I may hang head downward from the poles.145 I am little, and you can easily hold me up.”146 The old woman did as he had told her, and he hung there head downward.147 Pretty soon he opened his mouth, and a little piece of cowskin stuck out.148 Nothing Child took hold of this and began to pull on it, and more and more came out, and at last he had pulled out the whole of his old lodge, and then he pulled out the lining, and afterwards many of his old belongings.149 When he had eaten all these things they had been old, but now they were new and white, and finely ornamented.150 The lodge was painted, the woman’s clothing was beautifully worked with porcupine quills; there was a new full set of war clothing for himself—all very fine.151

After he had done this Nothing Child asked the old woman to untie him, and when he was on his feet again it was seen that he was no longer a child, but a full-grown man, very handsome.152 He told the old woman to set up the new lodge, and she did so.153 When his wife returned she was surprised to see all the new things.154 They looked strange to her.155 Also her husband, who, when she last saw him, was a small boy and rather ugly, was now a big, fine-looking man.156 The girl was pleased with the change, and now they lived together for a long time very happily.157

After a time Raven Arrow became jealous of Nothing Child because of his power, but Nothing Child did not notice this, and, because Raven Arrow was poor, he asked him to come and live with him in his lodge.158 He did so, and they lived together for some time, and now the elder daughter of the chief was sorry that she had not done as her father had told her to.159

One day, in the early summer, Nothing Child’s wife said to him, “Oh, how much I would like some fresh berries to eat!”160 He said to her: “Do you want some fresh berries?161 Well, now, go out and gather a lot of sarvis berry branches and bring them to me here in the lodge.”162 The woman did as he had told her, and brought in the bushes and threw them down on the floor of the lodge.163 Then Nothing Child took a tanned elk-skin and covered the bushes with it.164 In a short time he told his wife to take the skin off the brush, and when she did so she was astonished, for she found the twigs loaded with fine ripe berries, as though they were growing.165

Now, when Raven Arrow’s wife saw this she felt that she too would like some berries, and she asked her husband if he could do this.166 But he said: “No. It is useless for me to try to do things that I know I cannot do.167 I can change myself into a raven and can do many other things, but I cannot make ripe berries grow in the spring, nor can I do many other things that Nothing Child does.”168

After some time it happened that food again became scarce in the camp, and the chief sent word to his son-in-law, asking him if he could not again bring the buffalo into the camp, as he had done before.169 The hunters had been out and had travelled far over the prairie, but they could see nothing.170 Nothing Child sent word back that this was a hard thing he was asked to do; he feared he could not do it, but he would try.171

He made ready for his journey and started, travelling a long way looking for the buffalo, but he found none.172 He then went to the marsh where he had made buffalo before, and again made many little piles of buffalo chips in rows, and again went back some distance and then came charging down on the piles running and shouting.173 And the fourth time he did this the piles of chips changed into real buffalo and started running.174 And Nothing Child ran the herd over the cliff, as he had done before, and again the camp was supplied with meat.175 In this herd was one white buffalo.176 His wife met him at the cliff, and he told her that this white buffalo was hers.177 That she must be careful of the skin when she had taken it off.178

His wife told her husband that Raven Arrow had changed himself into a raven, and had flown away to look for buffalo, saying that if he found any he was going to drive them out of the country.179 This made Nothing Child angry, but he said nothing and waited.180 One day, as he was sitting by the fire, Raven Arrow, in the shape of a white raven, flew into the lodge and lit on the ground by him.181 When Nothing Child saw him he seized him and tied him by the feet to a lodge pole high up in the smoke and kept him there until he was nearly dead from the smoke.182 At last Nothing Child asked him if he would promise never again to drive the buffalo away from the people.183 Raven Arrow promised that he would never again do so, and Nothing Child untied him and let him down, when he changed into a man again.184 Up to that time ravens had always been white, but ever since the smoking that this raven got they have been black.185

Nothing Child and his wife lived to full age and always had plenty of everything.186