VEEHO HAS HIS BACK SCRAPED
{Northern Cheyenne}
Veeho was walking through the camp. He saw a man whose wife was scraping his back with an elk-bone flesher. She scraped off shavings as from a buffalo hide. “Elder brother, doesn’t it hurt?”
“No,” said the man, “it doesn’t hurt at all.”
“Why is your wife doing this?” Veeho asked.
“Watch me,” said the man. He threw the scrapings from his back into a kettle of boiling water and, instantly, the scrapings turned into fat buffalo-hump meat. The man and his wife had a feast.
They shared their meal with Veeho. He told the man: “Elder brother, I wish I could do this. Then I could feed my family.”
“You can have your wife scrape your back, and the pieces of skin will turn into buffalo-hump meat. But you must do it no more than four times.”
The man was known to be very wise. Therefore Veeho trusted him. He went back to his tipi and told his wife to take a flesher and scrape his back.
“Won’t it hurt terribly?” his wife asked.
“Woman, do as I say,” answered Veeho. The wife scraped his back. It did not hurt. The pieces of skin from Veeho’s back looked like scraps from a buffalo hide. “Boil water in your pot,” Veeho told his wife. She did as told. Veeho threw the skin shavings into the boiling water. At once they turned into chunks of succulent hump meat. Veeho, his wife, and his children had a feast.
The next day Veeho again asked his wife to take her flesher and scrape his back. And, as on the preceding day, the scrapings turned into good, fat meat and again they filled their bellies. “Ah, this is the first time I am doing this,” Veeho told himself. “Now I can do it three more times.” He had forgotten that he had already had his back scraped once before. Veeho has a bad memory. He had his wife scrape his back two more times on the following days. He had now done this four times, but he thought it had been only three. Veeho told his wife: “Woman, this is the last time we can do this. Take your flesher and scrape my back real hard, as hard as you can. I am hungry. I want a great heap of fat buffalo-hump meat.” He thought it was the fourth time, but it was really the fifth. The wife scraped hard. Veeho howled with pain. He was bleeding. Strips of flesh were dangling from his back.
Veeho went to the wise man. He said: “Elder brother, look what you have done to me. You told me this would not happen.”
“Younger brother,” the man answered, “I told you not to have your back scraped more than four times, but you did this more often than that.”
“Really?” said Veeho. “I must have miscounted. I do not have a head for numbers.”
“That’s for sure,” said the man.
Veeho sat down by the man’s side before the tipi. The man said to his wife: “Take off your dress.” The wife did so. The man took a sharp knife and cut his wife’s dress into little pieces. He threw them into a pot of boiling water. Instantly the pieces were changed into delicious buffalo tongues, livers, and kidneys. The man and his wife ate these and invited Veeho to share their feast. When they had eaten all this good food, the man pulled his wife’s dress out of the pot. It was no longer cut up into pieces. It was whole. It was as good as new.
“Elder brother,” said Veeho, “I wish I could do that.”
“And so you can,” said the wise man, “but you must not do it more than four times.”
“I won‘t,” Veeho said, and went home.
As soon as Veeho arrived back at his lodge, he called his wife. “Quick, woman, hand me your dress!” His wife took off her fine white buckskin dress decorated with quillwork and the eyeteeth of many elk. With a knife Veeho chopped the dress into pieces.
“Fool, what are you doing?” cried the wife.
“Be quiet and watch,” said Veeho. He threw the chopped-up pieces of the dress into a kettle of boiling water and, in a flash, the pieces were transformed into good-tasting buffalo tongues, livers, and kidneys. Veeho, his wife, and his children feasted. They stuffed themselves until they were unable to swallow even the tiniest morsel. The snippets of buckskin formed themselves up into a dress again. It was like new when Veeho pulled it out of the kettle.
For four days in a row Veeho got rich food by cutting up and boiling his wife’s dress. Again he miscounted. He thought he had done it only three times. “Well, wife, this is the last time we can do this,” he said. “Take off your dress!” This time he did not chop up the dress but threw it whole, in one piece, into the pot. This time the dress did not turn itself into food but instantly shrank to the size of a tiny doll’s dress.
Veeho took it and brought it to the wise man. “Elder brother,” he said, “look what happened to my wife’s fine dress. It would not even fit a mouse. You taught me the wrong way.” He was not aware that he had done the dress magic five times.
“Little brother,” said the man, “you have miscounted again. You are hopeless. You will never get it right. I will not teach you any more. My wisdom is wasted upon you.”
“I guess you are right,” said Veeho. Sadly he went home to his own lodge.
HE SURE WAS A GOOD SHOT
{Cheyenne}
Veeho was walking idly, as he always does. Then he saw a man, a very powerful man. This fellow was rooting up big trees, he was that strong.
Veeho went up to this man, saying: “My friend, why are you uprooting these big trees?”
“I need them for arrow shafts, cousin,” this man answered.
“Friend, this is foolish,” said Veeho, who always likes giving unasked-for advice. “It will take a long time and much labor to carve arrow shafts out of such big trees. You should take sticks of the right length for this.”
“Cousin,” said the strong man, “I do not mean to carve these trees up. I use the whole trunk for a shaft. All other, smaller kinds of shafts are too light for my taste.”
“This is foolish talk,” said Veeho, who was getting angry. “You are lying to me. I am too smart to believe such stories.”
“Do you want me to show you how I use these trees for arrows?” said this strong fellow.
“All right, show me.”
“Well, cousin, step back. I shall aim at you.”
Veeho went back a little distance. “No,” said the man, “farther.” Veeho went farther backward. “No,” said the man again, “you are much too close for me.” Veeho went back a third time. “Still too close,” said the man.
“This fellow is trying to fool me,” thought Veeho. “He is sending me a long way off, then he will run away.” All the same he walked backward for a fourth time. He walked to the top of a hill. He stood there.
“This is far enough,” shouted the strong fellow. He took up a huge tree trunk, roots pointing forward, and hurled it toward Veeho. He did not use a bow. The tree trunk flew straight as an arrow. Veeho saw it coming. As it came hurtling through the air toward him, it made a loud, whirring noise like a whirlwind. Veeho got scared. He looked around. He saw a fox hole. Veeho was diving into it, trying to hide himself, but he could not get all the way in. His buttocks were sticking out. The trunk hit Veeho with full force. It took his buttocks right off, knocking one to one side and the other to the other side. It knocked Veeho’s buttocks pretty far.
The strong fellow walked over to see how he had done. He said: “Well, my arrow shaft flew straight.”
Veeho was crying. “Friend,” he wailed, “look what you have done! You have knocked my buttocks clean off. I need them. I need them for sitting upon.”
“Don’t make such a noise, cousin,” said the man. “I will put you together again.” He went looking for Veeho’s buttocks. He found one. He went and slammed it against Veeho’s backside. The buttock grew into its old place instantly. Then the man retrieved the second buttock and put it back where it belonged.
“I think you put my right buttock on my left side, and my left buttock on the right side,” complained Veeho.
“Well, they are where I put them,” said the strong fellow. “You must do with them as
they are.”
“You sure are a good shot,” said Veeho.
Veeho went home, rubbing himself. It still hurt. In his lodge he sat down to eat. “Foolish one,” said his wife, “why are you sitting there with this pained expression on your face?”
THE ONLY MAN AROUND
{Northern Cheyenne}
Veeho was roaming, according to his nature. He came to a village full of women, but without any men. When the women saw Veeho, they were very excited to see a man. They had lived all their lives without male company. So they crowded around Veeho, fighting to get close to him, crying: “Take me, take me!”
Veeho looked them over, one after the other, saying over and over to each: “You are very pretty, but not quite pretty enough for me.” Finally he saw a dazzingly beautiful woman wearing a white, decorated buckskin robe. “You are the one!”
“Come to my lodge,” said the woman, taking Veeho by the hand.
Her lodge stood some distance apart from the village. It was a magnificent lodge made from sixteen large buffalo skins. The inner lining was covered with wonderfully quilled designs of many colors. Inside were two handsome backrests made of willow wands. Many painted parfleches were lying around, filled to bursting with pemmican and dried jerky meat. There was also a bed, large enough for two, covered with the softest, finest buffalo robes. The woman laid down on the bed. Veeho stretched out beside her. They made love. “Now you are my wife,” said Veeho. He was quite happy about the way things had turned out.
Some blissful months passed. One day Veeho went out hunting. At first he found nothing. After a long while he saw a deer. He followed it, but could not catch it. The deer lured him farther and farther away, a great distance away, in fact. Then it disappeared. Veeho saw that he had happened upon a camp of some other tribe. He went there. He found that this camp contained only men. “Cousins, where are your women?” Veeho asked.
“Women?” said the strangers. “We’ve never met a woman in all our lives, but we sure would like to meet some.”
“Then you are in luck,” said Veeho. “I come from a village full of pretty women.”
“Quick, quick, friend!” the strangers shouted. “Where’s your village?”
“I’ll lead you to it,” said Veeho. “Just give me a chance. Don’t stampede. Let me show you the way.”
The men paid no attention to Veeho. They were soon way ahead of him. They just followed his tracks back to the women’s village. In their eagerness to get to the women they were running as fast as antelopes. “Women,” they were shouting, “we’re coming, we’re coming!”
Veeho is a very slow runner. He arrived at the village hours after the strangers. He at once went to his tipi. He entered it. Inside his wife was copulating with one of the strangers. The two of them were panting and sighing. They were so busy making love they did not even notice Veeho’s presence. Veeho shook the man by the shoulder. “What do you think you’re doing? This is my wife. Get out!”
“She is my wife now,” said the man. “Get lost before I get angry.”
The man got up. He was exceedingly tall and muscular. His face was ferocious, his expression fierce. He had his weapons with him. “Better get yourself another wife,” said the man. “Get out of my lodge, or else!”
“I’m going,” said Veeho. He went into the village, looking for another wife, but they were already taken up by the strangers, every one of them. There was not a single woman left for Veeho.
“I was stupid,” said Veeho. “I should have kept my mouth shut.”
PART EIGHT
THE NIXANT AND SITCONSKI CYCLES
WHEN THE PEOPLE WERE WILD
{Gros Ventre}
The people before the present people were wild. They did not know how to do anything. Nixant did not like the way they lived and did things. He thought, “I will make a new world.”
He had the chief pipe. He went outdoors and hung the pipe on three sticks. He picked up four buffalo chips. One he put under each of the sticks on which the pipe hung, and one he took for his own seat. He said, “I will sing three times and shout three times. After I have done these things, I will kick the earth, and water will come out of the cracks. There will be a heavy rain. There will be water over all the earth.”
Then he began to sing. After he sang three times, he shouted three times. Then he kicked the ground and it cracked. The water came out, and it rained for days, and over all the earth was water. By means of the buffalo chips he and the pipe floated.
Then it stopped raining. There was water everywhere. He floated wherever the wind took him. For days he drifted thus.
Above him the Crow flew about. All the other birds and animals were drowned. The Crow became tired. It flew about, crying, “My father, I am becoming tired. I want to rest.” Three times it said this.
After it said so three times, Nixant said, “Alight on the pipe and rest.” Repeatedly the Crow cried to him, and each time was allowed to alight on the pipe.
Nixant became tired sitting in one position. He cried. He did not know what to do. After he had cried a long time, he began to unwrap the chief pipe. The pipe contained all animals. He selected those with a long breath to dive through the water. First he selected the Large Loon. The Loon was not alive, but Nixant had its body wrapped up in the pipe. Nixant sang, and then commanded it to dive and try to bring mud. The Loon dived. It was not halfway down when it lost its breath and immediately turned back. It came up almost drowned at the place where Nixant was.
Then Nixant took the Small Loon’s body and sang. Then the Small Loon dived. It nearly reached the mud at the bottom. Then it lost its breath and went up again and, nearly dead, reached the place where Nixant was.
Then he took the Turtle. He sang and it became alive, and he sent it and it dived. Meanwhile, the Crow did not alight, but flew about, crying for rest. Nixant did not listen to it. After a long time the Turtle came up. It was nearly dead. It had filled its feet and the cracks along its sides with mud. When it reached Nixant, all the mud had been washed away and it was nearly dead.
Nixant said, “Did you succeed in reaching the mud?”
The Turtle said, “Yes, I reached it. I had much of it in my feet and about my sides, but it all washed away from me before I came to you.”
Then Nixant said to it, “Come to me,” and the Turtle went to him. Nixant looked at the inside of her feet and in the cracks of its sides. On the inside of the feet he found a little earth. He scraped this into his hand. Meanwhile, the Crow had become very tired.
Then Nixant, when he had scraped the earth into his hand, began to sing. After he had sung three times, he shouted three times. Then he said, “I will throw this little dust that I have in my hand into the water. Little by little let there be enough to make a strip of land large enough for me.” Then he began to drop it, little by little, into the water, opening and closing his hand carefully, and when he had dropped it all, there was a little land, large enough for him to sit on.
Then he said to the Crow, “Come down and rest. I have made a little land for myself and for you.” Then the Crow came down and rested. After it had rested, it flew up again.
Then Nixant took out from his pipe two long wing feathers. He had one in each hand and began to sing. After he had sung three times, he shouted three times, “Youh, hou, hou, ” and spread his arms and closed his eyes. When he had done this, he said to himself, “Let there be land as far as my eyes can see around me.” When he opened his eyes, then indeed there was land.
After he had made the land, there was no water anywhere. He went about with his pipe and with the Crow. They were all that there was to be seen in the world. Now Nixant was thirsty. He did not know what to do to get water. Then he thought, “I will cry.” He cried. While he cried, he closed his eyes. He tried to think how he could get water. He shed tears. His tears dropped to the ground. They made a large spring in front of him. Then a stream ran from the spring. When he stopped crying, a large river was flowing. Thus he made rivers and st
reams.
He became tired of being alone with the Crow and the pipe. He decided to make persons and animals. He took earth and made it into the shape of a man. He made also the shape of a woman. Then he made more figures of earth, until he had many men and women. When he thought he had enough persons, he made animals of all kinds in pairs. When he had finished making these shapes, he named the tribes of people and the kinds of animals. Then he sang three times, and shouted three times. After he had shouted, he kicked the ground, and there were living pairs of beings standing before him, animals and men. The reason why men are dark in color is that earth is dark.
Nixant called the world Turtle because the Turtle was the animal that had helped him to make the world. Then he made bows and arrows for men, and told them how to use them. The pipe he gave to a tribe that he called haa‘ninin,Gros Ventre. Then he said to the people, “If you are good and act well, there will be no more water and no more fire.” Long before the water rose, the world had been burned. This now is the third life. Then he showed them the rainbow, and said to them, “This rainbow is the sign that the earth will not be covered with water again. Whenever you have rain, you will see the rainbow; and when you see it, it will mean that the rain has gone by. There will be another world after this one.” He told the people to separate in pairs and to select habitations in the world for themselves. That is why human beings are scattered.
American Indian Trickster Tales (Myths and Legends) Page 15