Unktomi And The Arrowheads
There were once upon a time two young men who were very great friends,
and were constantly together. One was a very thoughtful young man, the
other very impulsive, who never stopped to think before he committed an
act.
One day these two friends were walking along, telling each other of
their experiences in love making. They ascended a high hill, and on
reaching the top, heard a ticking noise as if small s
were being struck together.
Looking around they discovered a large spider sitting in the midst of
a great many flint arrowheads. The spider was busily engaged making the
flint rocks into arrow heads. They looked at the spider, but he never
moved, but continued hammering away on a piece of flint which he had
nearly completed into another arrowhead.
"Let's hit him," said the thoughtless one. "No," said the other, "he is
not harming any one; in fact, he is doing a great good, as he is making
the flint arrowheads which we use to point our arrows."
"Oh, you are afraid," said the first young man. "He can't harm you, just
watch me hit him." So saying, he picked up an arrowhead and throwing it
at "Unktomi," hit him on the side. As Unktomi rolled over on his side,
got up and stood looking at them, the young man laughed and said: "Well,
let us be going, as your grandfather, "Unktomi," doesn't seem to like
our company." They started down the hill, when suddenly the one who had
hit Unktomi took a severe fit of coughing. He coughed and coughed, and
finally small particles of blood came from his mouth. The blood kept
coming thicker and in great gushes. Finally it came so thick and fast
that the man could not get his breath and fell upon the ground dead.
The thoughtful young man, seeing that his friend was no more, hurried
to the village and reported what had happened. The relatives and friends
hurried to the hill, and sure enough, there lay the thoughtless young
man still and cold in death. They held a council and sent for the chief
of the Unktomi tribe. When he heard what had happened, he told the
council that he could do nothing to his Unktomi, as it had only defended
itself.
Said he: "My friends, seeing that your tribe was running short of
arrowheads, I set a great many of my tribe to work making flint
arrowheads for you. When my men are thus engaged they do not wish to
be disturbed, and your young man not only disturbed my man, but grossly
insulted him by striking him with one of the arrowheads which he had
worked so hard to make. My man could not sit and take this insult, so
as the young man walked away the Unktomi shot him with a very tiny
arrowhead. This produced a hemorrhage, which caused his death. So now,
my friends, if you will fill and pass the peace pipe, we will part
good friends and my tribe shall always furnish you with plenty of flint
arrowheads." So saying, Unktomi Tanka finished his peace smoke and
returned to his tribe.
Ever after that, when the Indians heard a ticking in the grass, they
would go out of their way to get around the sound, saying, Unktomi is
making arrowheads; we must not disturb him.
Thus it was that Unktomi Tanka (Big Spider) had the respect of this
tribe, and was never after disturbed in his work of making arrowheads.
More
-
A Bashful Courtship
A young man lived with his grandmother. He was a good hunter and wished to marry. He knew a girl who was a good moccasin maker, but she belonged to a great family. He wondered how he could win her. One day she passed the tent on her way to get wat... A Little Brave And The Medicine Woman
A village of Indians moved out of winter camp and pitched their tents in a circle on high land overlooking a lake. A little way down the declivity was a grave. Choke cherries had grown up, hiding the grave from view. But as the ground had sunk somew... How The Rabbit Lost His Tail
Once upon a time there were two brothers, one a great Genie and the other a rabbit. Like all genie, the older could change himself into any kind of an animal, bird, fish, cloud, thunder and lightning, or in fact anything that he desired. The youn... Legend Of Standing Rock
A Dakota had married an Arikara woman, and by her had one child. By and by he took another wife. The first wife was jealous and pouted. When time came for the village to break camp she refused to move from her place on the tent floor. The tent was t... Story Of Pretty Feathered Forehead
There was once a baby boy who came into the world with a small cluster of different colored feathers grown fast to his forehead. From this he derived his name, "Pretty Feathered Forehead." He was a very pleasant boy as well as handsome, and he had t... Story Of The Lost Wife
A Dakota girl married a man who promised to treat her kindly, but he did not keep his word. He was unreasonable, fault-finding, and often beat her. Frantic with his cruelty, she ran away. The whole village turned out to search for her, but no trace ... Story Of The Peace Pipe
Two young men were out strolling one night talking of love affairs. They passed around a hill and came to a little ravine or coulee. Suddenly they saw coming up from the ravine a beautiful woman. She was painted and her dress was of the very finest ... Story Of The Rabbits
The Rabbit nation were very much depressed in spirits on account of being run over by all other nations. They, being very obedient to their chief, obeyed all his orders to the letter. One of his orders was, that upon the approach of any other nation... Story Of The Two Young Friends
There were once in a very large Indian camp two little boys who were fast friends. One of the boys, "Chaske" (meaning first born), was the son of a very rich family, and was always dressed in the finest of clothes of Indian costume. The other boy, "... The Artichoke And The Muskrat
On the shore of a lake stood an artichoke with its green leaves waving in the sun. Very proud of itself it was, and well satisfied with the world. In the lake below lived a muskrat in his tepee, and in the evening as the sun set he would come out up... The Bear And The Rabbit Hunt Buffalo
Once upon a time there lived as neighbors, a bear and a rabbit. The rabbit was a good shot, and the bear being very clumsy could not use the arrow to good advantage. The bear was very unkind to the rabbit. Every morning, the bear would call over to ... The Bound Children
There once lived a widow with two children--the elder a daughter and the younger a son. The widow went in mourning for her husband a long time. She cut off her hair, let her dress lie untidy on her body and kept her face unpainted and unwashed. T... The Faithful Lovers
There once lived a chief's daughter who had many relations. All the young men in the village wanted to have her for wife, and were all eager to fill her skin bucket when she went to the brook for water. There was a young man in the village who was... The Forgotten Ear Of Corn
An Arikara woman was once gathering corn from the field to store away for winter use. She passed from stalk to stalk, tearing off the ears and dropping them into her folded robe. When all was gathered she started to go, when she heard a faint voice,... The Four Brothers Or Inyanhoksila Stone Boy
Alone and apart from their tribe dwelt four orphan brothers. They had erected a very comfortable hut, although the materials used were only willows, hay, birch bark, and adobe mud. After the completion of their hut, the oldest brother laid out the d... The Hermit Or The Gift Of Corn
In a deep forest, far from the villages of his people, lived a hermit. His tent was made of buffalo skins, and his dress was made of deer skin. Far from the haunts of any human being this old hermit was content to spend his days. All day long he ... The Little Mice
Once upon a time a prairie mouse busied herself all fall storing away a cache of beans. Every morning she was out early with her empty cast-off snake skin, which she filled with ground beans and dragged home with her teeth. The little mouse had a... The Man And The Oak
There once lived a Sioux couple who had two children, a boy and a girl. Every fall this family would move away from the main camp and take up their winter quarters in a grove of timber some distance from the principal village. The reason they did th... The Mysterious Butte
A young man was once hunting and came to a steep hill. The east side of the hill suddenly dropped off to a very steep bank. He stood on this bank, and at the base he noticed a small opening. On going down to examine it more closely, he found it was ... The Pet Donkey
There was a chief's daughter once who had a great many relations so that everybody knew she belonged to a great family. When she grew up she married and there were born to her twin sons. This caused great rejoicing in her father's camp, and all th... The Pet Rabbit
A little girl owned a pet rabbit which she loved dearly. She carried it on her back like a babe, made for it a little pair of moccasins, and at night shared with it her own robe. Now the little girl had a cousin who loved her very dearly and wishe... The Rabbit And The Bear With The Flint Body
The Rabbit and his grandmother were in dire straits, because the rabbit was out of arrows. The fall hunt would soon be on and his quiver was all but empty. Arrow sticks he could cut in plenty, but he had nothing with which to make arrowheads. "Yo... The Rabbit And The Elk
The little rabbit lived with his old grandmother, who needed a new dress. "I will go out and trap a deer or an elk for you," he said. "Then you shall have a new dress." When he went out hunting he laid down his bow in the path while he looked at ... The Rabbit And The Grouse Girls
The rabbit once went out on the prairie in winter time. On the side of a hill away from the wind he found a great company of girls all with grey and speckled blankets over their backs. They were the grouse girls and they were coasting down hill on a... The Raccoon And The Crawfish
Sharp and cunning is the raccoon, say the Indians, by whom he is named Spotted Face. A crawfish one evening wandered along a river bank, looking for something dead to feast upon. A raccoon was also out looking for something to eat. He spied the c... The Resuscitation Of The Only Daughter
There once lived an old couple who had an only daughter. She was a beautiful girl, and was very much courted by the young men of the tribe, but she said that she preferred single life, and to all their heart-touching tales of deep affection for her ... The Signs Of Corn
When corn is to be planted by the Indians, it is the work of the women folk to see to the sorting and cleaning of the best seed. It is also the women's work to see to the planting. (This was in olden times.) After the best seed has been selected, ... The Simpleton's Wisdom
There was a man and his wife who had one daughter. Mother and daughter were deeply attached to one another, and when the latter died the mother was disconsolate. She cut off her hair, cut gashes in her cheeks and sat before the corpse with her robe ... The Story Of The Pet Crane
There was once upon a time a man who did not care to live with his tribe in a crowded village, but preferred a secluded spot in the deep forest, there to live with his wife and family of five children. The oldest of the children (a boy) was twelve y... The Story Of The Pet Crow
Once upon a time there came to a large village a plague of crows. So thick were they that the poor women were sorely tried keeping them out of their tepees and driving them away from their lines of jerked buffalo meat. Indeed they got so numerous an... The Unktomi Spider Two Widows And The Red Plums
There once lived, in a remote part of a great forest, two widowed sisters, with their little babies. One day there came to their tent a visitor who was called Unktomi (spider). He had found some nice red plums during his wanderings in the forest, an... The Wasna Pemmican Man And The Unktomi Spider
Once upon a time there appeared from out of a large belt of timber a man attired in the fat of the buffalo. On his head he wore the honeycomb part of the stomach. To this was attached small pieces of fat. The fat which covered the stomach he wore as... The Wonderful Turtle
Near to a Chippewa village lay a large lake, and in this lake there lived an enormous turtle. This was no ordinary turtle, as he would often come out of his home in the lake and visit with his Indian neighbors. He paid the most of his visits to the ... Unktomi And The Arrowheads
There were once upon a time two young men who were very great friends, and were constantly together. One was a very thoughtful young man, the other very impulsive, who never stopped to think before he committed an act. One day these two friends w... White Plume
There once lived a young couple who were very happy. The young man was noted throughout the whole nation for his accuracy with the bow and arrow, and was given the title of "Dead Shot," or "He who never misses his mark," and the young woman, noted f...