The Giants
Seven young men were living together in a lodge. One
day all of them went out in search of game. While they were resting
near a hill, one of them went over the hill and did not return.
Another went after him, and also disappeared. A third man went to
look for his lost companions, but did not come back. Then the fourth
youth said, "I am going to look; if anyone has killed them, I will
kill him." So he went to the summit, and there he beheld some
shining object on a high cut-bank. He could not resist, but was
drawn on by the reflection. Though he sat down and tried to hold
himself down by the grass, the reflection pulled him along, the
faster the nearer he got. At last he bumped against something. It
was a spear, which caught him by his clothes. There he hung until a
very large man came along the coulee, packing something on his back.
When close to his captive he said, "My spear does good work for me,
it has killed another man for me, I'll take him home." He tried to
release the impaled youth, but his prisoner clung tight, so the
giant took a club to maul his head. The young man said, "Nor you
will spoil him by shedding his blood." The giant said, "That is so,
I did not think of that." So he plucked out the spear with his
prisoner and wrapped him up in a blanket in order to suffocate him.
But the man said, "No, let him thrust his head outside, so the
people can look at him alive." So the giant carried him on his back.
In passing through a forest, the captive seized the limb of a tree,
hung to it, and then suddenly let it go. He did this several times,
and each time the giant thought he had got caught in a tree.
It was getting late. The captive said, "Let this animal rest here,
you are tired. Hang him upon a tree and get him tomorrow." "Yes, I
did not think of that." The giant followed his prisoner's directions
and set him on a tree. As soon as he was gone, the youth unwrapped
himself, covered a log with the blanket, and put dirt and rotten
wood inside the covering. He also took the spear and sat down near
the top of the tree. The next day the giant came after him,
accompanied by his wife and child. The woman picked up wood and
built a fire. When the fire was started, the giant reached for the
blanket, chopped up the log, and threw it into a pot of boiling
water. The foam rose and was taken for grease, which the cannibals
rubbed on their lips. They began to eat the rotten wood. Suddenly
the young man cried, "Are you not going to take the man down?" The
giant said, "That's the man I put up there.' The youth said, "You
must look at your man, or he will fly away." He threw a handful of
mud into the giant's eyes, so he could not see. Then he seized the
spear, and stabbed him. The giant fell to the ground. His wife
laughed. She asked her son, "What shall we do? Let us go home and
have the other people decide what to do." They went home. The giant
rose with the spear sticking in his head, and followed. When he
reached his lodge, they unpinned the front of the cover, so that he
was able to enter with his spear. The wise men of the tribe called
to cure him, but no one knew how to remove the barbed spear.
At last one man said, "Call Inkton'mi, he
seems to know everything." So they called him. The chief said, "You
are wise, examine this man, and save him." Inkton'mi went into the
lodge, and looked at him. His wife told him what had happened. He
said, "You should have called me immediately. You may still save
him, but there is only one way. Get a small hatchet, lay him flat on
his back, and drive pegs through his feet so he won't slide. If one
of you says, 'Hit him hard,' you will kill him. Knock the spear
through his anus." He went out. He knew the patient had a good
horse. While he was gone, one giant drove the spear in, killing the
patient. After a while Inkton'mi came back. He said, "Why did you
not drive it all in and pull it out of his anus? You have killed him
by not obeying me, and I shall kill you." The people began to coax
him, and gave him the giant's best horse. While leading it off,
Inkton'mi said, "I don't care how many giants are killed, provided I
get a horse."
Late that evening, the young man descended from the tree and walked
towards the giants' camp. When it was quite dark, he arrived there.
He walked on, listening carefully. In one lodge he heard many girls
playing. Approaching from the rear, he cut a hole in the tipi-cover,
and saw a woman. Erectam mentulam in tentorii orificium inseruit.
The inmates of the lodge all smelt something. "Something has peeped
in that smells like a ruminant (ta)." All went out. The young man
ran away, pursued by the women. He stopped at one lodge, peeped in,
and found a giantess with her child. He entered and sat beside her.
She said, "Here is a ruminant," and looked for her ax, but he said,
"No, I am your brother." She believed him, opened a buffalo
parfleche, and, taking out wild turnips and sarvis berries, cooked a
soup and served it to her visitor, calling him her brother. In the
evening. her husband came home, unsaddled 'his horse, and made a
noise, "Oh!" showing how tired he was. "Here's a ruminant for me,"
he said, when he saw the youth. "No, that's my brother." The giant
recognized him as his brother-in-law, pulled out flannel, a white
blanket, a new muzzle-loader, a bow and arrows, and presented them
to his visitor. The young man made himself leggings of the flannel,
and a white coat of his blanket. Then he went to stand outside the
lodge. Inkton'mi, hearing about him, came and said, "Brother, come
to my lodge." Then every one said he was Inkton'mi's
brother. Inkton'mi gave him the dead giant's horse, some white
blankets, and a new muzzle-loader, and bade him stay with him for
some time. The youth remained there for a few days, then he returned
to his "sister." The "sister" told him he had better go away, as the
giants might kill him. If he went, she would get him food for the
journey. So she prepared some corn, both loose and on the cob, and
got him pemmican and other victuals. Inkton'mi
said, "Brother, when you leave the camp, don't look back until you
have passed to the other side of the hill." The young man went, but
he thought he would look back anyway. But as soon as he turned
around, something drew him back to the camp he had left. His
"sister" said, "You were told not to turn back. Eat some corn when
you start again, but don't look back." He obeyed this time, and did
not turn around until he had crossed the hill. He got to the place
he had started from. He found his three lost brothers there, and
told them his story.
The Old Husband And The Young
Lover
(a)
An old woman's grandson desired to steal the youngest of another
mans four wives. The old man was a great dreamer. The boy went to
his camp at night and eloped with the woman coveted. The husband
dreamt what was happening, woke up, and gave chase. When he got
close to the fugitives, they suddenly disappeared, having changed
into ants. After looking for them everywhere, the old man went home.
When asleep, he again saw them walking, woke up, and pursued them.
They disappeared, changing into tall grass. The next time they
turned into cottonwoods. When the old man could not find them, he
went home again. The lovers went to their old grandmother. the boy
was combing his mistress's hair. When the old man saw this in a
dream, he was furious and gave chase once more. They fled. Before
going, the youth gave his grandmother some tobacco, bidding her
offer it to the old man. When the cuckold arrived, she offered him
the tobacco, and while pursuing the lovers he smoked it. For a month
he pursued them without overtaking them. The young man, in the mean
time, found many horses and made many fine things. He killed a
porcupine and ordered his wife to make porcupine garments. Out of
the animal's skull-bones he made himself a pipe. One day they heard
the sound of shooting and moved towards the marksman, but could not
find him. The next morning the boy said, "It is your brother. I have
dreamt of him, and we shall see him." They moved camp and found the
woman's brother by a lake. The boy lent his brother-in-law a horse,
and the latter went to his camp and told the people whom he had met.
He returned, saying, "That old man is there, he may kill you."
Nevertheless, they accompanied him to the camp, and the woman went
to her father's lodge.
The old husband invited both the elopers to his tent, but only his
rival went there. He wore his porcupine clothing. The old man filled
his pipe, and they smoked. The old man thought he would kill his
rival while asleep, but the young man had mysterious power and knew
his thoughts. Finally, the old husband said, "I shall give you
plenty of food, but if you don't eat it all up, I will kill you." He
gathered plenty of food, cooked it, and set it before his guest. All
his friends were there, while his opponent only had his
brother-in-law with him. "To-day we will have a hot sun," said the
youth, snatching up his porcupine garments. Before beginning to eat,
he smoked his porcupine pipe. Then he went outside and called all
the animals to come in and eat. A big bear, a mountain-lion, a wolf,
a coyote and a lynx came into the lodge: The old man was terrified.
They ate up all the food and walked out again. Then the youth caught
the sunbeams and pulled them down' like a rope. It was getting
hotter all the time. The old man was perspiring. He jumped into, the
water, but it was boiling hot. The youth told his wife and her
brother to put on porcupine clothes. Thus they escaped injury, but
the old man and his friends were all burnt up.
(b)
An old man had two wives. One of them was young and the young men
were after her, so the old man watched her closely whenever she went
to ease herself. One day a young man asked her to elope with him
while her husband was sleeping. A big snowstorm arose, and they
eloped. After a while, the storm ceased When the old man woke up, he
found his wife gone. He' saw the tracks in the snow going down hill.
From the hill he saw the youth hugging his wife. He was furious and
pursued them, but suddenly their tracks disappeared. They had
changed into icicles hanging down from a tree. After a while, they
traveled on. He pursued them again, but again they turned into
icicles. He walked back and saw them once more. They were camping in
the brush and had made a fire. He caught up to them, took off their
clothes, extinguished their fire, and left them to perish in the
cold. Then he went home with their clothes. As soon as he was gone,
the young man went off for a while and soon returned with plenty of
clothing, which he had found on the other side of the hill. Thus
they did not freeze. The old husband dreamt about his victims and
saw that they were well provided with clothes. He went back and took
the clothes away once more, heaping them up in a pile before his own
lodge. When he woke up, the pile had turned into snow. He went back
and found the fugitives clad in their own clothes again. Four times
he took their garments away, and each time they recovered their
clothes in the same fashion.
After four years had elapsed, the old man met the young one and
challenged him to a contest. The youth invited him to his lodge. Two
big wolves were guarding the door, and within there were two large
bears with which the host's child was playing. The old man drew back
when he saw the wolves, but at last he entered. "Sit down by my
wife," said the young man, and his guest took a seat beside his
former wife. He desired to go out for micturition, but was afraid of
the wolves. The two men agreed to exchange lodges. The young man's
child took away the wolves and bears, and then the old man occupied
his rival's lodge. Thinking that he had great powers, the old man
proposed a trial of strength. He put his spear in the fire. The
young man said, "Bring your gun here, I should like to see it." When
he had brought it, the young man broke it in two and flattened it
with his hands. The old man began chewing his spear, but the young
man swallowed half of it, pulled it out again, and made a pistol and
bullets of it. The old man could not take out the spear he was
chewing, because by his magic his opponent caused it to stick in his
body. The young man went home. The old husband cried for help. When
he was nearly dead, his opponent just looked at him, and he was well
again and the spear came out. The old man departed, and let the
young man alone for a time. After a while, he came again, seeking to
kill the youth, but his opponent took two locust-tree (?) spines
and, shooting them into his heart, killed him.
Lodge-Boy And Thrown-Away's
Father
A man was living with his wife, who was pregnant. He
had a large supply of dry meat. Once, before starting on a hunt, he
said to his wife, "If you should hear someone calling you, don't
listen to him. He will call you four times, but don't look at him."
When he was gone, the woman heard someone calling her. The person
calling finally asked, "Where is the door of your lodge?" She
answered, "You know where it is." Then the man entered. She offered
him food. The stranger said, "That is not the way I am used to eat.
Put the food on your belly." She obeyed, and he ate from her belly.a1
Then he cut open her belly, pulled out two children from it, then
ran around every lodge-post with the woman, went to the fireplace,
and thence descended underground with her.
When the hunter returned, he found his twin sons crying. He called
the wolves, set up a good lodge for them, and bade them guard his
children while he went in pursuit of his wife. Then he ran around
every lodge-post and descended through the fireplace. After a while
he went above ground, and saw lots of people camping by a lake. His
wife's lodge was also there. He went to an old woman's tent, and
asked, "Where is my wife's lodge?" "Your wife is here, but these
people are bad, they will not give her up to you. While you are
sleeping, they will try to kill you by the aid of their manitous."
They tried, but they could not kill him. The hunter said,
"Grandmother, tell those people to let me alone." The old woman went
to them and returned, saying, "These people want you to swim in the
lake." They stuck a big post in the middle of the lake and told him
to dive in, shake the post and return to shore. He went in, did what
he was told, and returned in safety. They bade him try again. He
dived, and did not come back to the surface all day. The people
thought he was drowned, but in the night he returned to the old
woman's lodge. She told him the people were going to cook him. He
said, "When I am cooked, take all my bones with some hair, pile them
up, cover them with a blanket, and cry, 'Wake up!' Then I'll wake up
again." His enemies cooked him. The old woman followed his
instructions. When the bones were piled up, she cried, "Grandson,
you are sleeping a long time, wake up!" He stood up sound, and said,
"I will tell you something. When the sun shines into the lodge, you
and my wife shall hold my clothes." Then he went to his enemies'
lodge. The sun shone in. The old woman and his wife held his
clothes. He pulled down the sun, it grew hotter, and all his enemies
were killed. He took his wife home. Their twins were beginning to
run about. The woman raised them.
1 Ft. Belknap
a1 Cf. Wissler and Duvall, p. 40 (Blackfoot);
Lowie, p. 280 (Shoshone); Kroeber, (e), p. 78 (Gros Ventre); Dorsey
and Kroeber, p. 342 (Arapaho); Simms, p. 303 (Crow); J. 0. Dorsey,
(d), p.-215 (Omaha); Lasley, p. 176 (Fox); G. A. Dorsey, (a), p. 91
(Pawnee); Id., (e) p. 91 (Wichita).
Assiniboin Mythology
This site includes
some historical materials that may imply negative stereotypes
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These items are presented as part of the historical record and
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Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural
History, 1909
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