Blackfoot lodge tales : the story of a prairie people / by George Bird Grinnell.

  • George Bird Grinnell
Date:
1893
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Blackfoot lodge tales : the story of a prairie people / by George Bird Grinnell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    dogs and carry this meat home, then you can have some- thing to eat.” And the old man did as he had been ordered, thinking to himself: “ Now, at last, my son-in-law has taken pity on me. He will give me part of this meat.” When he returned with the dogs, they skinned the cow, cut up the meat and packed it on the dog travois, and went home. Then the young man had his wives unload it, and told his father- in-law to go home. He did not give him even a piece of liver. Neither would the older daughter give her parents anything to eat, but the younger took pity on the old people and stole a piece of meat, and when she got a chance threw it into the lodge to the old people. The son-in-law told his wives not to give the old people anything to eat. The only way they got food was when the younger woman would throw them a piece of meat unseen by her husband and sister. Another morning, the son-in-law got up early, and went and kicked on the old man’s lodge to wake him, and called him to get up and help him, to go and pound on the log jam to drive out the buffalo, so that he could kill some. When the old man pounded on the jam, a buffalo ran out, and the son-in-law shot it, but only wounded it. It ran away, but at last fell down and died. The old man followed it, and came to where it had lost a big clot of blood from its wound. When he came to where this clot of blood was lying on the ground, he stumbled and fell, and spilled his arrows out of his Quiver; and while he was picking them up, he picked up also the clot of blood, and hid it in his quiver. “What are you picking up?” called out the son-in-law. “ Nothing,” said the old man; “ I just fell down and spilled my arrows, and am putting them back.” “ Curse you, old man,” said the son-in-law, “ you are lazy and useless. Go back and tell your children to come with the dogs and get this dead buffalo.” He also took away his bow and arrows from the old man. The old man went home and told his daughters, and then
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