American Indian Trickster Tales (Myths and Legends) (19 page)

The boys get him the rawhides. But they can’t catch the sun rays. They say: “We tried to make the mud turtle fart into this bag, but whether the farts are really in there, we don’t know.”

“They are, they are, I can smell them. This will make good medicine. Where is the meat?”

Iktomi eats and says: “The turtle farts are already working. I feel a good story coming on. Sit close by me, boys.”

He tells the story of three young warriors who go out on the warpath and get themselves all killed. “They told me the story themselves.”

The boys are suspicious: “How come they could tell you the story when they are dead?”

“Through my magic,” Iktomi explains. “Through this red weed. (He pulls out some red grass and shows it.) This is a messenger. Now get me a fine buffalo robe. I need one. It’s already getting cold.” He is making an Ikto web, a spider web formed like a circle, because he is akin to a witch doctor. So he makes a
wihmunge,
a magic thing that bewitches. The boys take Iktomi to their camp. He tells the chief: “Iya is coming to eat you up.”

“How are we going to stop him?” asks the chief. We’ll put up a good
wakan wohanpi,
a sacred feast. I’ll perform it.“

“What will you use for that ceremony?”

“Get me a joint from a female deer leg. We must have plenty to eat for this
wakan wohanpi.”

They start out with a sweat lodge—Iktomi, the chief, and the two boys. Iktomi sings a song. He says: “
Hau,
the spirit is here.” He pretends to speak to the spirit, but he is faking. There is no spirit.

“Ask the spirit,” says the chief. Ikto mumbles like he is talking spirit language. He pretends to listen. He tells the chief and the boys: “They’ll do what I ask them. The spirits are stopping Iya. I can do everything. Now get me a lot of good meat. And two fine buffalo hides. And a piece of the Morning Star while you are about it.”

{
Lakota
}

Iktomi, the tricky Spider-Man, was walking along. He saw a vine dangling down from a huge rock. Iktomi cannot resist dangling vines. He has to climb them. So also that time, he crawled up this vine. At once he was sorry for having done so, because on top of the rock Man-Eating Monster was lying in wait. He was fearful to behold. Iktomi was very scared.

Iktomi said to the Monster: “Younger brother, I have been looking for you. I am glad I found you.”

The Monster looked at Iktomi, saying: “I have not had much to eat.”

“Is that so?” said Iktomi. “It is much too early for dinner.”

“I have not eaten breakfast,” said Monster. “I could do with a bit of food. You look good enough to eat.” Man-Eating Monster was smacking his lips.

“Younger brother,” said Iktomi, “I could not even fill a cavity in one of your teeth—I am not worthwhile eating.”

“Since when am I your younger brother?” said Monster. “To call me younger brother is an insult.”

“When were you born?” asked Iktomi.

“I was born when the earth was made,” replied Monster.

“Hah, it was I who made the earth,” said Iktomi, “and I also made the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars. Come to think of it, I made you. You were then only a little itsy-bitsy dirty thing, and I threw you away. ”

“Well, all right,” said Man-Eating Monster, “I will call you older brother. Then I will eat you, though you are very small.”

“Hold on, younger brother,” said Iktomi, “I have something better for you than just little me. I know where there is a large camp with many people. I’ll eat half of them, and I’ll let you eat the other half.”

“Well, yes, that is good,” said Man-Eating Monster. “Let’s go.” Monster came down so fast from the rock that he panted. When he caught his breath he almost sucked Iktomi down his throat.

“Please breathe in some other direction.”

“Let’s go to that camp, older brother,” said Monster, whose mouth was watering. “I am hungry.”

“Why, yes, let’s hurry, younger brother, but first tell me what you are afraid of,” Iktomi asked.

“Why do you want to know?” asked Man-Eating Monster.

“So that I can make sure there is no such thing where we are going.”

“Well, all right. There are only three things that I am afraid of—a rattle, a whistle, and a woman who is on her moon, a menstruating woman.”

They went on. When they got near to the camp Iktomi told Man-Eating Monster: “Younger brother, wait here. I want to make sure that we don’t come across the things you are afraid of.”

“Well, all right, but hurry!”

Iktomi went ahead to the camp. He called the people together. “Big Man-Eating Monster is coming! He wants to eat you up. If there is a woman among you who, just now, is on her moon, let her come forth. Let her shake a rattle and blow a whistle when Man-Eating Monster arrives. That will scare him ofl:”

Iktomi hurried back to where Man-Eating Monster was waiting. “Everything is in order,” he said. “There is no woman on her moon, no whistle, and no rattle.”

“Good,” said Man-Eating Monster. “But it is unfair that you want half of all the people to eat. You are small. I’ll let you have one or two. Don’t be greedy.”

“Well, all right,” said Iktomi. “Just let me have one.”

When they came to the camp, the woman on her moon greeted them, blowing a whistle and shaking a rattle. It so frightened Man-Eating Monster that he dropped down dead.

{
Lakota
}

Iktomi and Flint Boy were old friends. Once they were traveling together, and they were going merrily along when suddenly out of the woods dashed a ferocious grizzly. The bear attacked them. Iktomi ran away and hid himself. Flint Boy stood his ground. With his sharp flint knife he stabbed the grizzly. He stabbed him repeatedly. The bear died.

Iktomi came out of hiding. “
Kola,
friend,” he said to Flint Boy, “you did a great deed.”

“It was nothing,” said Flint Boy. He was skinning the bear with his flint knife. “This will make a fine, warm robe for my bed,” he commented. Then he cut off the claws. “This will make a fine bear-claw necklace,” he added.

“I am impressed,” said Iktomi. “I am so impressed I will call you from now on
mishunkala,
younger brother.”

“No, no,” said Flint Boy, “you must call me elder brother, because it was I who killed the bear. I will call you little brother.”

They argued, they quarreled about it. They came to a lake. “
Kola,
” said Iktomi, “let’s make up. Aren’t we old friends? What does it matter what we call each other?”

“You are right, friend, let’s never quarrel again,” said Flint Boy.

“Come over here,” said Iktomi, who was standing at the lakeshore, right at the edge. “Look down here, look at this big fish.” Flint Boy went to the lake and looked into the water. Iktomi came up behind Flint Boy and toppled him into the lake. The waters were deep. Flint Boy sank immediately way down to the bottom. He could not swim up because he was so heavy. He was made of flint rock. He never came up again. He drowned. You can still see the bubbles at the spot where Iktomi pushed him in.

{
Assiniboine
}

Iktomi was going along a buffalo trail. He followed a creek and found a young calf that had been trampled in the mire by the other buffalo. It could not get out of the wallow. Iktomi stripped, washed off the mud, and extricated the calf. Then he said, “Younger brother, let us travel. You are able to walk now.”

They traveled for two or three days. One day Iktomi asked, “Do you think you can locate people in the direction we are traveling?”

“Yes, we’ll soon meet people by a big lake. Before we get there, I’ll make myself grow. I did not think I would get out, but now I am glad. I have strayed from my mother, and she must be seeking me now.”

Iktomi took the lead, and the calf followed. The calf rolled over several times, and stood up a little larger than before. They continued on their way, the calf leading. After a while, it again asked Iktomi to go ahead, and repeated the same proceedings. When it rose again, it was as big as a two-year-old.

“You look like a buffalo now,” said Iktomi.

“Yes, by the time we arrive, I’ll be one of the biggest buffalo.”

They went on. After a while, the calf again asked Iktomi to walk ahead. It rolled over, and again stood up bigger than before. “How do I look now?”

“You look like a big buffalo now.”

The calf told him that they would soon reach a big camp, and the painted lodge would be the buffalo chief’s residence. “Brother,” it said, “you had better roll over in the same way as myself.”

Iktomi obeyed, rose, and was transformed into a two-year-old buffalo. He was surprised. “We must roll over once more,” said the calf. “Then we’ll go to the camp.” So they rolled again, and the calf stood up a real big buffalo, while Iktomi also got to be of a good size.

They went closer and hid in a coulee until dark. When it was dark, the calf said, “I’ll steal a woman from the camp; wait for me here.” The calf went, and soon returned with a white cow. “Now, brother, you go, but don’t go near the painted lodge. Its owner is powerful; he will know if you get close.”