He went to bed and listened to him. When he got through he went and untied the door, and removed the logs also. Away from there (he then went). It was very handsome and white -- its a kind with a red nose and eyelids. Then he went in and took the stone. As the old man lay there, he struck him on the side of the head with it. He turned over and he struck him again on the side. "Grandson, how did you come home?" he asked. "Grandfather, as I went after it, I brought it back." The old man said, "Grandson, let me see it, as he shoved his forehead wrinkles and opened the door for him. When he saw the white marten he said, "My grandson, I am an old man, and it would make such a good fur. Make a mat for me." The youth replied, "Grandfather, I am not trying to kill you. Its hair must be singed, and it must be boiled, you have dreamed." Right away he built a fire, and singed it. He did with it as before not wasting a bit, even a drop of blood or the burned parts. Again he gave him the food, but he would not accept it. He was crying already. Again he asked him to sing, but he would not do it, saying that he had a tooth ache. Again the feasters that came were the same ones. They came, and as it was before, so it was the same.

Again the third time the grandfather had bad dreams. This time he wanted a white fisher to boil, he said. Again he went after it. Again it was the same as he had done before, but this was even a greater one. Three times he was swallowed before he got home. Again it was the same, and as he did before again it was the same. The fourth time he had bad dreams, and he would have to boil White Feather, he dreamed of. Again he killed it. Very much greater it was. Very often he was swallowed, but with great effort he got away. Again they had a feast. His grandfather had his usual cry and the old woman also cried, but he called on her for the head, and thus it was.

Every evening regularly he would take a smoke to his brother, who would give him pointers. Again he went. "My little brother, again he will try you. He will not feel satisfied until he kills you. His he is. You have killed his brothers so he is going to ask you again. This time it will be a greater one to overcome. There are all kinds of spirits being ended. He will tell you to marry a woman there. The old woman that you made eat the heads is killing many of her daughter's people. There he will ask you to go. He will ask you to take a warbundle with you, but the one that belongs to me is there. On the shield there is painted a little child's body and there is a small-headed warclub. Take these with you. He will object, but take them anyway. "It was only with great effort that he killed me, so he is afraid of you already, and wished to kill you right away." After this conversation he came home.

When he got back that night he said, "My grandson, all day I have thought, and I have thought of something." He replied, "All right." The old man continued, "My grandson, in the beginning I used to sew moccasins for you, but now I am not able to do anything. I used to cook something for you, but now, when you get home, you have to cook for yourself and also have to do for yourself. My grandson, I do not like it. I think you should marry a woman," he concluded. The youth said, "Grandfather, where are there any people among whom I could find a woman to marry?" The old man replied, "No, my grandson, there are many people around about. But you should choose the woman from your own choice. They only are good looking. If you can get her towards the rising sun, an old woman lives there who has two daughters who are very good looking women. They are good workers also. My grandson, they are just your mates. They are wanted all over the earth, but they fail to get them." "All right, I will try for them," he said. Then he got ready and became very happy. He tied up the back of his head to tighten his wrinkled face. All night he worked on something. In the morning he had made ready for him a black fur blanket. He had put porcupine quills on it, and in the center he put an ornament, and on all four corners, he tied the center feathers of an eagle's tail. Then he said, "Now, my grandson, I will get you ready. Then he put a lot of wampum beads around his neck, and then he painted his face. Then he would size him up, but he would not look to suit him (he would say), so he tried different ways. Finally, he put four strings of black wampum on him together with just a little paint. Just here and there he also touched him up with mud which he used on him. Then he looked at him. That was it. "Now my grandson that is it. You look desirable for any woman," he said. Then when he was ready to go, he said, "Now my grandson, you must take a warbundle along with you. Look at them, and which ever one you think the best, that one take with you." The one that his brother had mentioned was there, and that one he took. "My grandson, what kind did you take?" he said, so he told him. "Here, here, my grandson, that one is sacred. That is not to be used in courting women. There are other very good ones there. Take one of them instead." But the young man would not do it. He said, "Grandfather I have taken it already, so I will take it along with me. When one takes up a warbundle and puts it back again, it means he does not want to go," he said.

Then they went on again until it was said, "Now here go and look for food." Some were called on for this and they went. They were told where they should meet again. When they got together at the appointed place they had many different things with them, even some big snakes and some big frogs and some little frogs. With such things they came with. So there they broiled much meat. For broiling they could not stick their sticks in the ground, so they went after big stones with which to place their sticks. Then they said, "Say, our friend the human, what does he eat? You better ask him." So they asked him, and he answered, "I eat deer." They then asked him, "How are they to look upon?" He replied, "Their hair is gray, and their bottom is white, and their hooves are forked," he said. "White furs (hîska) he means. Go and get one for him," they said. So one went into the brush, and came out with one, holding it by the ears. "Now kill it for yourself," they told him, and helped it sideways for him. He sent an arrow into its side through it. It jumped around for a bit and then rolled over. "Well he is such a good shot," they said. He then skinned it and broiled the ribs. He stuck the broiling stick into the ground, and they marveled at him. They could not stick anything in the ground, but he did. Then they slept.

In the morning they started again. Every time he smoked he would give them some. In four days they got there. As they had done on the first day, they did every night, even during their meals. Now here we are," they said, when they had come to a great valley in the center of which was visible a village. "That is it," they said. "Here we are being killed off, but we still come. Here in the center of this valley we go, and are chased and if we get back to the edge before we are caught, we obtain women. Always when we are chased, there we are caught," they said. Then one went, but he had no more than entered the valley than he turned back. Another went, but he did the same. Only the leader went the farthest. Finally, the human went. "Damn, he is a goner," they were saying, he ought to have left some tobacco anyway, it will not do him any good now," they said. Thus it was.

When he got there, there were two women combing their hair. He struck on the frame of the tent, saying, "I came to court you, but you do not say anything," and he knocked down an old woman. "Oh," they said, as they pulled her out. Thus he did and came on out. "Say he has come out again," the others were saying. The old woman also said, "Well when we get through combing, we can kill him. He can't get away anyhow." The Thunders were much worried, for he was very slow in coming back. "Damn, he ought to run," they were saying. After he had come back a ways they appeared from the tent, and began to run [after him]. When he saw this, he began a slow trot. Then they caught up with him. Just as they raised their clubs, a baby in a cradle [appeared and] began to kick and cry, so they did not strike it. There unexpectedly he went out a ways and again they went for him. The other one caught up first, this time. Again he did it to her. And again she would not strike him. The old man was already shouting at them, "You are in love with him. Why don't you strike him and kill him? You are always wanting humans, but now you weaken," he said. Finally he started to run, and ran away from them. His fleetness was like that of human thought. All over the earth he ran from them. Finally they wore out their moccasins and left them and even their skirts were worn out and left until they went naked as they chased him. Then he came back to his home. At the door they sat down and did not go in. He took his stone already and struck the grandfather very hard on both sides. "My grandson, how did you succeed on your trip?" He replied, "I came back with them, and they are at the door." The old man replied, "Oh, that is good. My daughters-in-law, come in. We are nothing to be respected." As he said this, they said to him, "You homely wrinkled face, you. Now a very nice fix you have put us into. You are the cause of our being in this condition. We are not fit to come in, as we are sitting here naked." The old man felt around at the back of the tent and brought forth some clothes, which he handed to the young man for them. They put on these clothes that the old man gave them. Then they came in.

Then right away he went to his brother's and filled his pipe and when he got there he climbed up and let him smoke. Then when he was through, he came down to the ground and then talked to him, telling him how he had brought them back, and thanking him. Then his brother said, "My little brother, this is good. You have accomplished it, but again he will say it. Probably he will try you himself. You ought to try him too. Finally, he might unexpectedly succeed. He will not quit until he kills you; that is what he means to do. If he would give up, we would expect him to quit sometime, but he will not give up at all. You also ought to try him." The young man replied, "My brother, that is so, but I guess he won't hurt me, I think. My grandfather has raised me, and I am used to him," he said. He returned home.

Then the women said to him, "We do not like your grandfather and do not wish to take his part. He expects us to, but we will not take his part. He is our uncle, and he was the cause of our other uncles being killed by you. Therefore, we do not like him. If you would kill him, we would like it better. You also ought to try him too. If he keeps on he will kill you, but he will never die unless you kill him. He used to say if he eats a young beaver with the hair singed he would die. You ought to say to him, and give a feast and have him eat it. If you do not do this, he will surely accomplish his wish." "Well, you are right, but I don't think he would hurt me, and also again, I have grown used to my grandfather as he has raised me." "He will try you himself," they told him, "he will tell you that again he has had bad dreams. He will tell you, and on each side we would hold you, he will say. There he will kill you, he thinks. He thinks that we will help him, but we will not do it."

Then right away that night he cried out, and immediately he tried to awaken his grandfather. As he was lying in bed they held him (the young man). "Don't awaken him. He will stop and besides he is going to say what we have told you already," they said, but he got loose, and with his stones he struck him on one side of the head and then the other. "Grandfather, what is it?" he said. "My grandson, bad dreams have I had." "What did you dream of? Tell me now." "My grandson, this is why I told you not to take the warbundle with you, although you took it anyhow. That warbundle was to be carried only in war, when there was shooting to be done. Therefore, you have taken it somewhere, and you did not do any shooting. Therefore, they are going to shoot you, they said in my dream. If I do not do that, my grandson, you will die," he said. "All right, grandfather, in the morning you can shoot me," he said. The old man said, "The new women will hold you on each side, while I shoot you, I was told." "All right, they can do it," he said. The youngest of the women was the only one that he had married, it was told.

All that night the old man filed something, it was told. He was sharpening two spears, grinding them with a stone. The spears were very big. They were the size of a cow-catcher on a railroad engine, they say. Then in the morning he said, "Well grandfather, however you meant, if you stand in the door the women will hold me on each side." Then he sat down in the back of the tent, and the women held him on each side. They whispered and said to him, "Throw yourself to the ground as we will throw you to the ground." So just as he was about to shoot the arrow, he threw himself to the ground. Great it was, and the arrow went on its way thundering. He said, "There I send him to you, Blackhawk Looks at as He Stands. I send you spirits a man, a human, that you always talk about." But the women said, "Where is this one going that you speak thus? Do you mean this one here?" they said to him. He saw him. Unexpectedly, he said, "Then I send it to you, the arrow my grandson. I shot to miss him."

And again a second time he was about to shoot him. So the women said again, "We will boost you up, so you must jump up." Now he was ready to shoot. The first time the young man had thrown himself to the ground the old man thought, so this time he would shoot near the ground. Again the arrow went thundering, going to the ends of the earth, thundering out of sight. Again the old man said, "There I send him to you, the holy man, Blackhawk Looks at as He Stands," the human you always talked about." Then the two women said to him, "Ah, you homely wrinkled old man that talks, what are you sending away that you talk thus? What is this standing here?" There, unexpectedly, he was still standing. "There I send you the arrow, my grandson, Blackhawk Looks at as He Stands. Just to fulfill the dream so to miss him, I shot at him." Then he went in and laid down.

Then the young man went to take his brother a smoke. When he had again finished smoking, they talked. "About now you should say it to him. If he keeps on he will accomplish his intentions. You can say to him that the warbundle you took with you gave you a bad dream. It is as the women told you, he will not die of anything else. Finally, when you are asleep he will harm you, before he says anything again, you had better speak first as he will say it again." Then he went home again. When he got there, the women said to him, "About now you ought to say something to him, or finally he will kill you." He replied, "Well now, the truth is that I dread to do it. Besides, I do not think that he can harm me, or I thought so. But now I will do it because you want me to, and for no other reason."

Then at night, a short time after they went to bed, Blackhawk Looks at as He Stands shouted in his sleep. Unexpectedly, the old man said, "Well my grandson has a bad dream. My daughters-in-law, wake him up," he said, but they would not do it. Finally, the old man jumped over to him and woke him up. "Grandson, what is the matter? What have you dreamt, you must tell me. Here is the stone." In haste he hit him with the stone and again on the other side. "Grandfather, I had bad dreams. It is as you told me because I took the warbundle when I went courting. You forbid it, but I took it anyhow. They say to me that I am to make a feast and that you are to eat it. They say that I am to boil [for] the warclub that I took with me. If you do not eat it, I am to hit you with it, they said in my dream." "Ho, my grandson, that is the reason that I forbid it, but I will do it as nothing is wrong with my eating. But my grandson, what warclub? Not anything from the earth do they boil for it. Nothing but those with wings, they always boil for it. Whatever is directed, I shall do," he said.

In the morning, right away, he went to hunt to where a creek ran. He went along it, looking for a beaver. He finally killed one. When he got home the women attended to it. They singed it all, and did not even scrape the hair off. Then in this condition they put all of it in the kettle. When it was cooked, then they put the warclub in the ground. Then they placed the food before him. "My grandson, you have already cooked it. You can pour it out. Then you will be through with it," he said. But he told him to eat it, or else he would hit him with the warclub. So he ate it. Then again he said, "The daughters-in-law I would like to have them eat with me." But the women said, "You homely wrinkled one that speaks, when you dream anything, does he try to change it for you? When you say anything, he does it." So the old man finally ate it all, and they made him drink the soup. He went to bed, and then began to groan, and finally he burst. His belly burst. Then they burned him together with the tent.

Then in another place they built a home. Then the woman said, "Your brother we can fix." "If they could do any good," he said. "My brother is across the seas. There it is eating humans. It is very fleet, and can go on the waters. If they think they can do it, but as it is, we can talk with one another which is good enough." Then he went home, and when he arrive they were glad. Then they did this: they made what they call "nets." They made four of them. Then they did thus: they took the older brother's pipe which he used to have, together with his tobacco pouch. These they took and they went and sat. Then she said, "Across blow," and as she said it, the wind blew across. Then the human butt [-end of the brother's body] as he was about, smelled the pipe. "Oh my," he said, "when I used to be human, I used to use that pipe. I used to smoke in my goings about. Well, what am I talking about? My brother, I will go and take a smoke." He started on the run. Then the women did thus: they stretched the nets one after the other. He ran into the first one, and rolled into it. Then into the other one they threw him, and rolled him into it. There he chewed them very much, cutting into them. But they had big stones heated. Before they started into this, they threw the hot stones into his mouth. He has teeth in his rectum, and [some of these he] managed to break out. Then he began to groan very much, "My younger brother, they are going to kill me," he said and shouted. Finally after a short time, he had broken out all of his teeth. Then he died.

Then they took him home, and heated some stones for the sweat bath. Then when that was done, they sent after the one in the tree. They told the other before they went, "Your brother we will bring to life if you are strong in mind -- but if your mind is weak, and you do what he says, then you will surely die. If we fail it will be your fault. Therefore, try your mightiest. Do whatever he may say, but don't listen to him. Whatever we say, that you must do. Thus your brother will become like yourself in the flesh, if you do what we have told you. Then again if you do not do as we say, he will die. That will be your fault. Mighty try you." This they said to him. Then they went to the one in the tree. When they got there, the man climbed up. His waist had grown into the tree, so he went to break him loose. The man began to groan, "My younger brother, you will kill me. We were able to talk to one another before, but now you will finish me. When they tried to kill you, I was here, and told you what they were trying to do to you. If you are alone they will kill you. Therefore, this is why these women have done this way. Now they have conquered both of us." The man stopped. "Hurry up, instead you will kill him, if you don't do as we say. So he started in again. Finally, he pried him loose, and gently let him down. The women had a blanket stretched, which they held. There they dropped him.

Then all over his waist there were sores that hurt. Over the sore part, they joined together the other part as it should be. Then they closed the bath house. The liquid for the hot stones was four bear pouches. There were four of them full of bear oil, which she used to pour over the stones. The oldest woman poured it on the stones for him. When they began this, he started to groan. After awhile he said, "Ho, open the tent for me now. You nearly killed me. With great effort have I lived. I am alive, brother, open it for me." When his brother said this to him, he began to walk towards him, but he then turned back. So finally the women said to him, "You had better go where you can't hear him." So he went away. But in a short time he would come and peep in. Now the other was pleading very hard. So she was using the oil from the fourth pouch; then he pleaded very hard. It was heart rending. Finally, when she had finished it all, he stopped all at once. "Oh my, my older brother, they must have killed him," he thought. Then they called to him. When he got there, he unexpectedly saw that inside he was blowing on himself. After awhile he said, "Ho, I am through. Then they said to him, "Ho, even before you tried to open it for him. Now you can have your fill." The clothes he was to wear were ready for him. Then the women came out. Then he opened it to him. There he was as young as he ever was, and also he was just the same as he had been. He was very handsome. Then when he was dressed, he said to him, "My older brother, that is your place there," meaning beside the woman that he had not married.

Then they came in, and the man began to thank them very much. Then there, Blackhawk Looks at as He Stands said, "Now at this time, what I would have been doing, I will go about and do. I stayed here among humans, but it is very hard," he said. Then with his wife he went out, and they became hummingbirds. A pair of them began to hum about. For some time he lived with his brother there before he did it, they say. She, the woman, was a marten, a female they say. She also went up into the heavens, in the sky. When the stars are visible, there it is. The white people, the "dipper with the handle," they call it. That is she, they say. A star there is very close to it, that is he, the husband. It only is the brightest star near.

It is ended." [1]

Commentary. "Warbundle Bearers (Wakixánara)" -- for a warleader to lose a man was considered a serious failure, but to lose his attendants, the Warbundle Bearers, and to return alive himself would be a very great disgrace. Usually his Warbundle Bearers were his own nephews (sister's sons). The same strict standards applied to them as well. Perhaps the closest relationship, socially, was between maternal uncle and his nephews, so on a personal level, the loss would be traumatic. The Warbundle was a sacred object somewhat like the Hebrew Ark of the Covenant, which contained spiritual items designed to impart supernatural power to the bearer's efforts in battle.

"the world is narrow in places" -- the grandson is Polaris. Polaris is located between the two branches of the Milky Way. During the summer, the celestial sphere inclines towards the north, so that the sun is high in the sky and Polaris falls as low as it will get. At this same time, around the summer solstice, the Milky Way arches over Polaris. It is as if Polaris were caught in the narrows between the waters of the Milky Way, which form a containing arch from horizon to horizon, and the horizon itself beneath the star. This is the time at which the world of Polaris is in a "narrow place".

"he would eat only once a month" -- we are never told who the grandfather is, but it is clear that he is the day sky, called Hâp, "Day, Light". The Sun is called Hâpwira, "The Day Luminary". It is made clear that the hero, whose wife is explicitly the Big Dipper, is Polaris, the North Star. From about October through January, when the sun is in the south, the full moon is in the north where Polaris lives. The Moon (Hâhewira, "The Night Luminary") rises as a crescent in the southwest at sunset, then day by day progresses across the sky towards the north, until it stands full in opposition (i.e., the opposite side of the celestial dome) to the sun. This is as far north as it gets -- thereafter is recedes towards the south east to fall into conjunction with the sun as a crescent. Once the moon is full, the evil spirits are said to eat it away until there is nothing left of it, which makes it necessary for Earthmaker to create it anew every month. Therefore, like the Indian Soma, the Moon is also food for the spirits. So during the cold part of the year, his period of fasting, Polaris encounters the full moon, the moon-as-food, just once a month. Therefore, he eats only once a month.

"he hunted" -- Polaris is styled "The Star that does not Move", yet stars characterized as hunters are in pursuit of stellar game, and necessarily move across the sky. This might seem paradoxical, but it has an easy solution. At the summer solstice when the sun is in the north, Polaris is low on the horizon, but as time progresses, it gets higher and higher in the sky, until it reaches its apogee at the winter solstice, when it reverses the process. So Polaris moves across the sky, not (detectably) during a single night, but over the weeks.

"grew old" -- grandfather, as the day sky, grows old as the day progresses. Therefore, he is at his most advanced age at twilight, after the sun has set. When there is no hâp ("light") left from Hâpwira, the day sky is "dead", as the night sky now takes over. The dead are said to go west, and this is what happens to the light of Day. The soul as life is said to be hâp, in the Medicine Rite this is translated as Light-and-Life. So Day dies when he loses his Light-and-Life, as his soul goes west. As he progresses towards this end, Day exemplifies all the stages of life, with his greatest vigor being midway at noon. Night is conceptualized not as a mere absence of light, but as a positive substance spread across the sky just as the blue of day is spread as it is born. The first Nightspirits have white hair from the twilight, as they come onward from the east spreading darkness. The elders come first, and are the first to die, as they in their turn go west.

"his eyes even got dim" -- as the sun sets, the sky grows dim in the east first, then becomes dim everywhere in a gradual way. At the same time, of course, the objects of sight also become dim, since they are viewable only by means of reflected light (excepting fire, etc.). So, as the sun sets, the ability of Day to see also declines.

"he was unable to do even that" -- in his youth, Day has a fire in the form of the sun, readily available to him, but once the sun sets, Day is no longer able to "cook".

"his ears had also become small" -- this quaint expression is a Hotcâk idiom meaning that he had become deaf. As light and sound are isomorphic, the Hotcâgara often use sound to symbolize light. When the sky is dim, as in the morning and evening, the sun is itself small, only partially above the horizon and not at its full power. The two ears of Day are the rising and setting points of the sun. As he grows old, the setting sun causes the east to become dim first, then the west. Once it sets altogether, the sky is dark, and the Day is deaf, unable to "hear" (see) the "sounds" (light).

"a round black stone" -- as subsequent events show, there are two such stones, one of which is used as the striker. We know of round, black stones from at least two sources. In Mâzni'âpra, they give the title its name: "the live iron", the word for the magnetic loadstone. The two protagonists, who represent the counterparts to the Thunderbirds, actually swallow these stones as though they had gizzards.

He put the little stones he had carried into the fire and then they came out. Then he encouraged his friend, "Act with all your might or many of us will die," he said. Then when they came in, the stones were red hot. They swallowed one apiece. [1.3]

Earlier in the story these were described as, "two round, small, black stones." [1.4] These stones were heated so that the young men who swallowed them could sleep with the consorts of the Thunders, the Nightspirits. These women brought bitter cold with them, so much so that the two men were in danger of being frozen to death. These sorts of stones are also associated with the lightning which the Thunders shoot from their eyes. They could therefore be expected to be hot, and to contain the light that moves with them (rather like a speedier form of meteor). Striking such stones together is a well known way of producing sparks, often enough to ignite something flammable. This quality of the stone, in later times, was very well known through the flintlock musket; but in ancient times, those who worked obsidian and flint would have many occasions to see sparks fly. That they seem to emit a miniature form of lightning when thus struck, makes them good candidates as purveyors of lightning and the stone-like damage that it inflicts upon trees. In the story "Green Man", a woman akin to Morning Star and to the Thunders, keeps her soul in a small round black rock. She loses her life when her rock-soul is rolled into the depths of the Ocean Sea by a Waterspirit figure. [1.5] The second place that we encounter a round, black stone is in the mythology of lacrosse. In "Spear Shaft and Lacrosse", they play a game in which "the ball was a black stone greased and painted red". [1.6] This stone, the lacrosse ball, is likely a symbol of the sun. The that light of the sun is related to a black stone shows the degree to which lightning and solar light had become homologized. In this story, where the grandfather is Day, the stone at the base of his ear would be the sun. The thunder stones, which are the lightning, are shot from the eyes of the Thunderbird, just as the light of Day is "shot" form the great eye of the sky, the sun.

"at the base of his ear" -- in Hotcâk symbolism, sound can stand for light. The knocking together of the two stones makes a loud noise and may even produce sparks. The ear that is thus suddenly empowered is that of Day, the sky that is illuminated by the sun. The round black rock, painted red for the lacrosse game, is an alloform of the sun, the round, red-hot black rock (the kind of rock heated for sweat baths and for boiling water) that brings the "noise" of light to the world. Inasmuch as the organ for the apprehension of sound is the ear, the ear becomes the counterpart of the eye. It is the noise of the round, black rock that makes the ear viable once again. Translated from symbolism, this would mean that it is the light (≈ noise) of sun (≈ the round, black stone) that makes it possible for anyone, including Day, to see (≈ hear). The sun is like the eye of the daytime sky, and therefore, in this symbol system, it is represented by grandfather's ear. The symbolic identity of the round stone and the ear-as-eye is represented by proximity. This association is expressed in other religions. In the Hindu Indian Mahâbhârata, Karna is the avatar of the sun god Surya. When he is born, Karna is encased in golden armor, but of more interest to our present example, he is also born with golden earrings. The rings, being round, golden, and brilliant, represent the sun. They are the counterparts of the round stone(s) placed to the base of grandfather's (Day's) ears.

"thus would he hear speech" -- when day is no longer in the sky he is said allegorically (and therefore metaphorically) to be "asleep", but also "deaf" since no "sound" (light) reaches him from the world. Once the "round stone" (sun) makes its "noise" (light) to first radiate, it can "hear" (see). Perception of light becomes possible only once the sun has risen and Day is once again stretched across the sky. Now that Day is in the sky, he can "hear" Polaris "speak", that is, radiate light. When Day is reclined on earth unconscious, he cannot hear anything. Speech comes from the mouth, so when Day comes to consciousness, he grunts "Hâhâ" or says, "What?", both symbolic of the first appearance of blue light on each side of the horizon (see below, 1, 2). When sound symbolizes light, speech must symbolize self-generated light. So the sun becomes the mouth of Day. The essence of the sun and of Day is hâp, "light", which the Medicine Rite in particular identifies with life. Life in its turn, is identified with breath, as the word meaning "breath", ni, also means "life". Thus, hâp = ni, Light-and-Life = Breath. Both hâp and ni are connected to the essential being or life-soul of a person. Speech becomes a window on the soul. When Hâp, "Day", speaks, his breath is light, which radiates from his mouth, the sun.

"his eyes also became small" -- following the same model set out in the comment concerning his ears (above), this idiom means that he became blind. Allegorically, if the sun is also taken as an eye, when it sets it becomes smaller as it drops below the horizon. As a result, things literally become dimmer.

"he would grunt" -- this correlates the stones not only with hearing, but with sound, as grandfather Day at this point first begins to appear as pale blue light above the eastern horizon, expressed allegorically in his utterance of sound.

"on the other side" -- this probably means that the light reaches the opposite side of the horizon. It may also mean that the sun shines from the opposite side of the sky after it has revolved through the day sky. That the other ear is the setting point of the sun is suggested by the interpretation given in the next entries.

"wha-a-at" -- the extended form of dja-a expresses a prolonged sound. Sound symbolizes light in astronomical codes, so it is an extended form of light. This suggests a depiction of the blue sky reaching across finally to the opposite side of the sky.

"food" -- the light of the day sky consumes ("eats") the stars over which Polaris presides. The blue sky swallows them up along with the crescent moon. Once the light of the day reaches the opposite horizon, the day will conclude his meal. The status of Polaris is expressed differently by his living in the lodge of Day, once Day has awakened and regained his hearing.

"the Divine Ones (Wakâdja)" -- the term Wakâdja is translated as "spirits", but in fact it has a more specific meaning, "Thunderbirds". It suggests that he is not just fasting to strengthen himself, but is going for something that only the Thunders are likely to bestow.

"crying" -- when someone petitions the spirits for a blessing, (s)he would go out from camp with face blackened as if in mourning, and weep before the spirits. This was to induce their pity for the mortal, human condition. Out of pity they would bestow blessings on the petitioner.

"someone was sitting up above" -- there are enough clues given that we might come to a tentative conclusion as to the identity of the being who resides above Polaris. We must, of course, expect that the brother of Polaris is a star like himself. What stars are above Polaris depends on the time of night and the time of year.

"the top of it was the man. The tree itself was his body" -- the tree, here as elsewhere, is the Milky Way. Since this star has the "tree" as its body, it must be embedded in the Milky Way. This allows us to exclude such nearby bright stars as Vega (magnitude 0.00). The more prominent stars inside the Milky Way are Capella (0.06), Deneb (1.25), and Antares (1.03). Altair (0.75) and Sirius (-1.47) are just on the fringe of the Galaxy. Sirius can be excluded since it never is situated above Polaris. The Milky Way is a more or less continuous arch in the sky; however, there is a point where there is something of a break, and that is where the star Deneb (alpha Cygni) is found. So Deneb can mark the place where the "tree" reaches its top. So Deneb, and Deneb only, satisfies the requirement that it be at the top of the Milky Way as a tree. Furthermore, Deneb at 0200 hours around the time of the summer solstice, is directly above Polaris, yet the Milky Way comes out of the horizon vertically, as if it were a tree.

"stood first of all" -- in the interlinear MS, tcekdjî djeje was, oddly enough, translated as "full of life". The word dje means, "it stood"; and tcekdjî means, "first, the first one, the first thing, the first time", and never means "life". The statement seems to mean that this was the first tree of creation, the original tree. Astronomically, the stellar tree is the Milky Way as it stands upright rooted in the horizon. Either half of the Milky Way can play this role depending on the time of year and time of night, as well as the orientation of the observer. Since creation was from the celestial world to the terrestrial, it would follow that this "tree" preceded all earthly flora.

"that was the town when it existed" -- the cleared area ought to be the space where there are no bright stars, most of the area between the horizon and the arching MW (see inset above). However, towards the horizon there are some stars that set its lower limits: Arcturus (-0.07), and the Big Dipper [Alkaid (1.84), Alioth (1.75), Dubhe (1.78)].

"we were the very ones who the chiefs" -- in order of magnitude and proximity, the first star in the area is Vega (0.00), the second is Deneb (1.25), and the third is Polaris (1.96). This suggests that Vega is the first chief in the story, Deneb is his eldest son, the brother of Polaris, and Polaris is his second son.

"he was going to kill everyone, so I killed some of them myself" -- in Hotcâk this is, hanâtc t'ewahirekdjanahege, hicge hisge t'ehanâ. The musical nature of this sentence can be seen in its chiastic alliteration:

hanâ[tc]

t'e[wahire]

-kdjana

-hege,

hicge

hisge

t'e

-hanâ.

"grappling upright (hakininâjîwinâ)" -- from hakini, "to combat, to take hold of one another, to grapple", and nâjî, "to stand". So the two of them stood upright grappling with one another. This is a reduplication of the man-tree theme, with the tree being the upright MW terminating at its top with the star Deneb. When the sun rises, Day brings utter destruction to the village of the stars, as they disappear into his light.

"broken in half" -- this seems to be a reference to the MW at the site of Deneb, where it looks as if it were broken in half.

"a prairie that wrapped around" -- in the vicinity of Polaris, at certain times of the year and of the night, the MW arches over the North Star from horizon to horizon, looking like a prairie.

"otters" -- it is a little odd that the myth does not make this a river. Otters are strongly associated with the MW, since part of the MW was created when an otter plunged into the ocean sea and came up with such force that the spray skattered across the sky. This formed the larger half of the MW. (See The Origins of the Milky Way).

"never for the duration of the earth that we have lain here, have we smoked anything" -- smoke is just what the Milky Way looks like, and smoke is another image that it takes. As long as the otters are with the earth, the Milky Way is not visible, so there is no "smoke." However, as they now appear in the sky there is considerable "smoke."

"with a reddish nose, and reddish irises" -- this is not an allegorical refernce to red stars in an asterism, but is a way of indicating that the white otter is an albino. The word translated as "irises" is hicdja'ihara, which means, "mouth of the eyes". The translation in Notebook 49 gives "eyelids", but the mouth of this eye is clearly the iris, since that is the part of the eye that is pink in albinos. The term cudjnisge, "kind or red" is here used to denote pink.

"he turned himself over" -- as stars revolve around Polaris as a hub, they will turn a full 180°.

"hâ" -- it may be recalled that this is what his brother said when his own village was under dangerous attack.

"He Stands to Look at Blackhawk" -- one would think, since Polaris is always in the north, that the star would look across the way to the south; but in this episode, Polaris actually emerges from the mouth of a Blackhawk, and it is this bird to which the name was intended to refers, as the grandfather testifies. Therefore, this star group must be in the region of Polaris, and should actually be next to it. The succeeding transformation into a hummingbird is the natural form of Polaris as the Star that does not Move, standing stationary in mid-air like a hummingbird. The inset shows an asterism of the Lakota called the "Thunderbird". [1.7] Its "mouth" (beak = tau Draconis) is right across from Polaris. However, our story speaks of a Blackhawk. This does not prove to be an impediment, since the chief of the Thunderbirds in Hotcâk lore is Great Blackhawk. It seems quite credible that the Hotcâgara could have essentially the same asterism under the name "Blackhawk". On the one hand, the Sioux and the Hotcâgara are related and this constellation could be a common inheritance; and on the other hand, the Hotcâgara fought the Sioux (Dakota) and, as a neighboring tribe, the Hotcâgara would no doubt have assimilated a number of captives (including bride capture) who could have introduced this asterism to their new tribe. So a Sioux Thunderbird asterism could easily be cognate to a Hotcâk Blackhawk constellation, both of which would neighbor the North Star. And as we see from the inset, Polaris does indeed stand looking at this raptorial constellation.

"a great man" -- this is the literal meaning of wâkxede. However, in this context, the Hotcâk idiom means "an old man". This is similar to the English (Germanic) expression "great grandfather", where age is identified with stature and prestige.

"as is customary, they always call on someone for the head" -- the head, being the highest part of the animal, and a delicacy, was offered to the most honored warrior. This is similar to the Celtic practice of offering the foremost man the Champion's Portion, the choicest portion of the meat. The honoraria at this feast should count as insults to the grandfather. The young man says that he must give this honor to the old woman because she is the only woman present, the very opposite of the standard procedure in a feast. On the other hand, a man carrying the head of the enemy taken on the warpath, customarily gives it to his sister. Therefore, he could be treating the white otter as an enemy warrior. Yet he does say that he hunted him, and he brought the whole of him home. Furthermore, he says that the custom is that someone is called (waradjire) for the head, which is not really the war practice at all.

"grandfather received a war prize from her" -- this is another odd inversion. The word kikiri, here translated as "war prize", is said by Marino-Radin to mean, "to bring scalps". Radin often uses "scalp" in place of "head", as the practice of headhunting had recently been superseeded by this more abbreviated amputation. The customary practice had been to take a slain enemy's head which was believed to have his soul bound to it in some way. This soul, thus possessed, could be used as an other worldly aid to deceased members of the victor's own tribe. When the victor's warparty returned, the head was given to the man's sister, who paraded it about as part of the triumph ceremonies. The only real war prize was the head of the slain enemy, which later was his scalp (hence, "war prize" = "to bring scalps"). Therefore, it is extremely odd that the grandson would say that he thinks that this was a woman who once gave his grandfather a human head taken in battle. He is, in effect, calling his grandfather a "sissy", since his sister is portrayed as the warrior and he as the sister.

"she was making a religious feast out of her own brother" -- the interlinear translation has, "she was feasting on her brother". The word higigó, which is used here, means specifically, "to give a religious feast", however. The narrative implies that the old man is the old woman's brother, and that furthermore, the white otter that had been killed for the feast was also her brother. Therefore, the white otter was the grandfather's brother as well. Is she Grandmother Earth?

"above his head there stood a blackhawk crying out with a good voice" -- this reinforces the hypothesis advanced above that the blackhawk is an asterism essentially identical to the Thunderbird of the Sioux (see above). This asterism, like all stars, rotate around Polaris like a wheel around a hub. At sunset (2045 hours) on December 10, 2007, Altais (the star at the back of the bird's head) was directly to the left of Polaris. At 0245 hours on the same night, Altais is directly below Polaris, looking up; and just after sunrise, Altais is to the right of Polaris, the bird being upside down. Only around the beginning of May will Altais be directly over Polaris, but the light of its stars will be washed out by the sunrise at 0600 hours. The time at which Altais is directly above Polaris is set out on the table below:

In the last entry, Altais is directly above Polaris exactly at sunset. So, from about the beginning of seasonal spring (May Day) to about the beginning of seasonal winter with the first snowfall (Halloween), the supposed Blackhawk asterism would be directly above Polaris at the times indicated, with the bird's beak (tau Draconis) pointing down at the North Star. Since sound stands for light, its crying out with a good voice (idjanik ... wahopîxdjî) corresponds to the maximal brightness of its stars, which only occurs once it is liberated from the light of sunrise and sunset, during the warmer half of the year. This is the time of the year, of course, when the Thunderbirds are active (as it almost never thunders during the times of the year when it snows).

"so in the morning he went out wearing a hummingbird on each ear" -- this apparently means that he wore (or had) living hummingbirds as earrings (or earbobs). This is very similar to Redhorn, who has living heads for his earbobs (or earlobes). This reinforces the association between hummingbirds and black hawks. On the face of it they seem to have nothing in common; but they are distinguished most particularly by the same thing: they are the most accomplished fliers among the race of birds. What is particularly interesting in the flying of hummingbirds is their ability to hover in place. That Polaris should be identified with hummingbirds is certainly appropriate given that, as the Hotcâgara and other call him, "The Star that Does Not Move", his hovers in the northern sky while all the other stars swirl around him. The two stars nearest him are the Cepheid star still best known by its Flamsteed designation, 2 Ursæ Minoris [1.1]; and Yildun (delta Ursæ Minoris). [1.2] The former has a visual magnitude of 4.24, and the latter 4.35. The other stars nearby are of magnitude 5.00 or higher, where 6.00 comes close to the boundary of visibility. These two stars rotate around the "head" of Polaris like hummingbirds around a flower. Being close to the pole star, they rotate around it very slowly, with Yildun being something of a competitor with Polaris as the true indicator of the celestial pole. These stars make a pattern similar to those of Orion that form the earbobs (presumably) of Redhorn, as we see in the pictures below.

"martens" -- we do know that circling very close to Polaris is the Hotcâk constellation of the Marten, which is the Big Dipper (Ursa Major), as we are told later on in this story. It plays the role of Polaris' wife later on, but here it is one of the constellations between the Milky Way, the horizon, and Polaris. Both the marten and the fisher, a close cousin, are known for their acrobatic skills in the trees, and for being able, like their main prey animal the squirrel, to run up the trunks of trees in a circular pattern. In like manner, they inscribe a tight circle around Polaris.

"White Feather" -- the last animal that he is sent out to retrieve for his grandfather is called "White Feather." This would be Cusgaga in Hotcâk. Is this Wears White Feathers on His Head (whose counterpart in other cultures is called "White Plume")? It does not seem likely, since little is made of killing him, and he is one of the more remarkable spirits. It might refer to a crane or egret.

"they were all baldheaded" -- when the young man comes upon a column of Thunderbirds carrying warclubs, the narrator says, "They were all baldheaded." We don't know whether he means the clubs or the men; however, he must mean either or both, since the baldheaded warclub is the weapon of the Thunders, who in humanoid form are baldheaded men. It may be that the one's baldness derives from the other's.

"a baby" -- when the young man is being chased by the women he turns himself into a baby. "Those who Turn Themselves into Babies" is a name for a class of spirits otherwise called the "Little Children Spirits." Is he one of them? As spirits can turn themselves into any form they choose, we cannot be certain.

"dipper with the handle" -- formerly I had identified this as the Little Dipper (Ursa Minor) on account of its greater proximity to Polaris. However, clarification from two sources make it clear that the raconteur is actually referring to the Big Dipper (Ursa Major). Radin, ca. 1908, made a few notes on stars in connection with the story The Origins of the Milky Way. He says, "wazuñgra -- dipper (marten). It resembles something of a marten. Real reason is because dipper goes around North Star. Wiragócge hañké diránina - star that moves not = North Star. Small dipper - héx síra = swan's feet." [2] In this case, because Radin refers in contradistinction to the "Small Dipper", he clearly means his first reference to refer to the other Dipper, the Big Dipper. Amelia Susman says, "wazâ´gara -- otter, mink, marten (Dipper). Tell time at night by it." [3] She is in good agreement with Radin, with both concurring that this is to be identified with the animal called wazûgera, which in fact is the marten. Since in this myth the marten is identified with the dipper constellation in question, we are obliged to conclude that this constellation is the Big Dipper.

On using the Big Dipper to tell time, we discover that this is a very common and widespread practice.

The pointing of the 'Last Brother' [the star Alkaid] furnished the Blackfeet with their night-sky clock. This method of telling time in the night is well known to shepherds and cattle herders [elsewhere in the world], whose night occupation keeps them continually in the open. Observation soon teaches them that the 'Last Brother' or end star of the handle of the Great Dipper, describes a great circle around the North Star once in twenty-four hours and therefore, that its pointing or relative position with the horizon would mark the time, as on a great dial face. [4]

The Micmac not only used the Big Dipper as a clock, but found it useful in marking the seasons as well. [5]

Comparative Material. To the man whose lower body is a tree stump, compare the figure in the story of Caxpi told by the Dakota (in Old Man and White Feathers).

A number of Aztec myths bear some resemblance to the courting episode and the shooting at the hero. Two double-headed deer fall from heaven. They were pursued by two mixcoa ("cloud serpents"), Xiuhnel and Mimich. At night the two deer changed into women and tried to seduce the hunters. Only Xiuhnel succumbed, and the deer woman ate his heart out. Mimich, however, resists all the advances of the other woman, who is revealed to be the goddess Itzapapalotl ("Obsidian Butterfly"). Mimich captured Itzapapalotl and with the help of the fire gods, the Xiuhteteuctin, he burned her up. [6] Of greater similarity is another version. Iztac Mixcoatl ("White Cloud-serpent") began a series of conquests. When he arrived at the city of Uitznauac, he met Chimalman. She dropped her weapons and stripped naked to meet him. Iztac Mixcoatl had four spears. The first she dodged by ducking, the second by jumping to the right, the third she caught with her hand; but the fourth struck her in the cleft. Then Iztac Mixcoatl seized her and impregnated her on the spot. They became the parents of One Reed (Quezalcoatl), but she died giving birth. [7]

Links: Polaris, Celestial Spirits, Blackhawks, Hummingbirds, Little Children Spirits, Thunderbirds, Otters, Sun, Fishers.

Stories: about stars and other celestial bodies: Îtcorúcika and His Brothers, The Seven Maidens, Morning Star and His Friend, The Human Head, Turtle and the Witches, Sky Man, Wodjidjé, The Raccoon Coat, Sun and the Big Eater, The Big Eater, Grandfather's Two Families, Bluehorn's Nephews, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, The Children of the Sun, The Origins of the Milky Way, The Fall of the Stars; about Polaris (Pole Star, North Star): The Seven Maidens; about the Little Dipper: The Seven Maidens; about two sisters: The Twin Sisters, Bluehorn Rescues His Sister, Old Man and White Feathers, The Old Man and the Giants, Bluehorn's Nephews, The Markings on the Moon, The Man Who Fell from the Sky; featuring otters as characters: Otter Comes to the Medicine Rite, The Fleetfooted Man, The Two Children, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, Turtle's Warparty, The Origins of the Milky Way, Redhorn's Sons, Redhorn Contests the Giants, Kunu's Warpath, Îtcorúcika and His Brothers, The Woman who Loved Her Half Brother, The Chief of the Herok'a, The Animal Spirit Aids of the Medicine Rite, The Arrows of the Medicine Rite Men, V. 2, Wodjidjé, Morning Star and His Friend; mentioning beavers: Hare Retrieves a Stolen Scalp, White Wolf, Old Man and White Feathers, The Animal Spirit Aids of the Medicine Rite, The Chief of the Herok'a, The Arrows of the Medicine Rite Men, Turtle and the Merchant; mentioning fishers: Redhorn's Father, Bladder and His Brothers; mentioning martens: Great Walker's Medicine, V. 2, Grandfather's Two Families; mentioning black hawks: The Thunderbird, Partridge's Older Brother, The Woman who Loved her Half-Brother, Warughápara, The Boy who was Captured by the Bad Thunderbirds, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, Morning Star and His Friend, The Coughing Up of the Blackhawks, The Animal Spirit Aids of the Medicine Rite, Keramanic'aka's Blessing, The Race for the Chief's Daughter; mentioning hummingbirds: The Thunderbird, Tobacco Origin Myth (v. 5), The Race for the Chief's Daughter; mentioning Thunderbirds: The Thunderbird, Warughápara, How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Boy who was Captured by the Bad Thunderbirds, Traveler and the Thunderbird War, The Boulders of Devil's Lake, Thunderbird and White Horse, Bluehorn's Nephews, How the Hills and Valleys were Formed (vv. 1, 2), The Man who was a Reincarnated Thunderbird, The Thunder Charm, The Lost Blanket, The Twins Disobey Their Father, The Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth, Story of the Thunder Names, The Wonághire Wâkcik Clan Origin Myth, Eagle Clan Origin Myth, Pigeon Clan Origins, Bird Clan Origin Myth, Adventures of Redhorn's Sons, Brave Man, Ocean Duck, Turtle's Warparty, The Daughter-in-Law's Jealousy, The Quail Hunter, The Twins Join Redhorn's Warparty, Redhorn's Sons, The Stone that Became a Frog, The Race for the Chief's Daughter, Redhorn Contests the Giants, The Sons of Redhorn Find Their Father, The Warbundle of the Eight Generations, Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, Origin of the Hotcâk Chief, The Spirit of Gambling, Wolf Clan Origin Myth, Aratcgéga's Blessings, Kunu's Warpath, The Orphan who was Blessed with a Horse, The Nightspirits Bless Tciwoit'éhiga, The Green Waterspirit of the Wisconsin Dells, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, The Big Stone, The Origins of the Milky Way; about Bird Spirits: Crane and His Brothers, The King Bird, Bird Origin Myth, Wears White Feathers on His Head, Old Man and White Feathers, The Boy who was Captured by the Bad Thunderbirds, The Thunderbird, The Boy Who Became a Robin, Partridge's Older Brother, The Woman who Loved Her Half-Brother, The Foolish Hunter, Ocean Duck, Earthmaker Sends Rucewe to the Twins, The Quail Hunter, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, The Hotcâk Arrival Myth, Trickster Gets Pregnant, Trickster and the Geese, Holy One and His Brother (blackbirds, woodpeckers, hawks), Porcupine and His Brothers (Ocean Sucker), Turtle's Warparty (Thunderbirds, eagles, kaghi, pelicans, sparrows), Kaghíga and Lone Man (kaghi), The Old Man and the Giants (kaghi, bluebirds), The Bungling Host (snipe, woodpecker), The Red Feather, Trickster, the Wolf, the Turtle, and the Meadow Lark, Warughápara, The Race for the Chief's Daughter, Black and White Moons, The Markings on the Moon, The Creation Council, He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, Earthmaker Blesses Wagícega (Wecgícega), Hare Acquires His Arrows, Hotcâk Clans Origin Myth, Wonághire Wâkcik Clan Origin Myth, The Hotcâk Migration Myth, Blue Jay, The Baldness of the Buzzard, The Abduction and Rescue of Trickster (turkey buzzard), The Shaggy Man (blackbirds), The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth (blackbirds), Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, Îtcorúcika and His Brothers (Loon), Great Walker's Medicine (loon), Roaster (woodsplitter), The Spirit of Gambling, The Big Stone (a partridge), Trickster's Anus Guards the Ducks, The Journey to Spiritland (v. 4); mentioning teeth: The Animal who would Eat Men, Hare Recruits Game Animals for Humans, Hare and the Dangerous Frog, The Girl who Refused a Blessing from the Wood Spirits, The Two Boys, The Birth of the Twins, The Twins Disobey Their Father, Wears White Feathers on His Head, Wolves and Humans, The Commandments of Earthmaker, The Children of the Sun, The Green Man, Holy One and His Brother, Partridge's Older Brother, The Brown Squirrel, Hare Secures the Creation Lodge of the Medicine Rite, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, East Shakes the Messenger, Lifting Up the Bear Heads, White Wolf, Buffalo Clan Origin Myth; mentioning oak: Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth, Wolf Clan Origin Myth, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, The Children of the Sun, Turtle's Warparty, The Shell Anklets Origin Myth, Old Man and White Feathers, Warughápara, The Creation Council, Young Man Gambles Often, Sun and the Big Eater, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, The Roaster, The Human Head, The Shaggy Man, Wears White Feathers on His Head, Peace of Mind Regained; mentioning tobacco: Tobacco Origin Myth, Hare and the Grasshoppers, Hotcâk Clans Origin Myth (v 2), How the Thunders Met the Nights, Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth, Grandmother's Gifts, The Thunderbird, Peace of Mind Regained, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, The Masaxe War; mentioning red cedar (juniper, waxcútc): The Journey to Spiritland, vv. 4, 5 (used to ascend to Spiritland), The Seer (sacrificial knife), Redhorn's Sons (coronet of Thunders, lodge), Aratcgéga's Blessings (coronet of Thunders), The Twins Disobey Their Father (trees found on cliffs of Thunders), Partridge's Older Brother (smoke fatal to evil spirit), Wonághire Wâkcik Clan Origin Myth, v. 2 (purifying smoke), The Creation Council (purifying smoke), Sun and the Big Eater (arrow), The Brown Squirrel (arrow), Hare Kills a Man with a Cane (log used as weapon); mentioning sweat lodges or sweat baths: The Twins Get into Hot Water, The Lost Blanket, The Green Man, Bladder and His Brothers, v. 1, Hare Establishes Bear Hunting, Hare Recruits Game Animals for Humans, The Thunderbird, Snowshoe Strings, Warughápara, The Red Man, The Chief of the Herok'a, The Birth of the Twins, v.2, Lifting Up the Bear Heads, The King Bird, The Human Head, He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, White Wolf, The Shaggy Man, Soft Shelled Turtle Gets Married, The Two Boys, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, v. 2, The Cave of Herok'a; mentioning feasts: Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth (Chief Feast), The Creation Council (Eagle Feast), Wonághire Wâkcik Clan Origin Myth (Eagle Feast), Waterspirit Clan Origin Myth (Waterspirit Feast), Bear Clan Origin Myth (Bear Feast), The Woman Who Fought the Bear (Bear Feast), Grandfather's Two Families (Bear Feast), Wolf Clan Origin Myth (Wolf Feast), Buffalo Clan Origin Myth (Buffalo Feast), The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits (Buffalo Feast), Buffalo Dance Origin Myth (Buffalo Feast), He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle (Buffalo Feast), The Blessing of Cokeboka (Feast to the Buffalo Tail), Snake Clan Origins (Snake Feast), Blessing of the Yellow Snake Chief (Snake Feast), The Thunderbird (for the granting of a war weapon), Turtle's Warparty (War Weapons Feast, Warpath Feast), Porcupine and His Brothers (War Weapons Feast), Earthmaker Blesses Wagícega (Wecgícega) (Winter Feast = Warbundle Feast), Big Thunder Teaches Tcap'ósgaga the Warpath (Winter Feast = Warbundle Feast), The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion (Winter Feast = Warbundle Feast), White Thunder's Warpath (Winter Feast = Warbundle Feast), The Fox-Hotcâk War (Winter Feast = Warbundle Feast), Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth (Warpath Feast), Kunu's Warpath (Warpath Feast), Trickster's Warpath (Warpath Feast), The Masaxe War (Warpath Feast), Redhorn's Sons (Warpath Feast, Fast-Breaking Feast), The Girl who Refused a Blessing from the Wood Spirits (Fast-Breaking Feast), The Chief of the Herok'a (Sick Offering Feast), The Four Slumbers Origin Myth (Four Slumbers Feast), The Journey to Spiritland (Four Slumbers Feast), Spear Shaft and Lacrosse (unspecified).

Themes: head hunting: Big Thunder Teaches Tcaposgaga the Warpath, A Man's Revenge, How Little Priest went out as a Soldier, Bluehorn's Nephews, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, Young Man Gambles Often, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, Porcupine and His Brothers, Turtle's Warparty, Ocean Duck, The Markings on the Moon, Wears White Feathers on His Head, The Red Man, The Chief of the Herok'a, Thunderbird and White Horse, The Man with Two Heads, Brave Man, The Sons of Redhorn Find Their Father, Redhorn's Sons, Fighting Retreat, The Children of the Sun, The Were-Grizzly, Winneconnee Origin Myth; a warleader will not return to his people (because he has lost so many of his men): Great Walker's Warpath; a boy lives alone with his grandfather: Old Man and White Feathers, How the Thunders Met the Nights; a (magical) round, black stone: How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Green Man, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, Partridge's Older Brother; an unseen creature hisses (blows puffs of air) at someone: Wears White Feathers on His Head, The Man who went to the Upper and Lower Worlds, The Daughter-in-Law's Jealousy, The Brown Squirrel, Hare Kills a Man with a Cane; a spirit-being comes from a stump or hollow log: The Spirit of Maple Bluff, Lake Wâkcikhomîgra (Mendota): the Origin of Its Name, The Were-fish, The Birth of the Twins, The Two Boys; an old person informs a young man living with him that in a nightmare he was told that a certain animal should be killed and made into a Sick Offering for him or he would die: The Chief of the Herok'a; a hero goes to the corner of the world and takes a black (or white) otter that lives there: The Chief of the Herok'a, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth; something is of a (symbolic) pure white color: White Bear, Deer Spirits, The Journey to Spiritland (v. 4), White Flower, Big Eagle Cave Mystery, The Fleetfooted Man, Thunderbird and White Horse, The Orphan who was Blessed with a Horse, Worúxega, The Two Boys, The Lost Blanket (white spirits), Skunk Origin Myth, He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, White Wolf, A Man and His Three Dogs, The Messengers of Hare, The Brown Squirrel, The Man Who Fell from the Sky, Bladder and His Brothers, White Thunder's Warpath, The Shell Anklets Origin Myth, Great Walker's Medicine (v. 2), Creation of the World (v. 12), Hare Secures the Creation Lodge, The Descent of the Drum, Tobacco Origin Myth (v. 5), The Diving Contest, Otter Comes to the Medicine Rite, The Arrows of the Medicine Rite Men, The Animal Spirit Aids of the Medicine Rite, Grandmother's Gifts, Four Steps of the Cougar, The Completion Song Origin, North Shakes His Gourd, Lifting Up the Bear Heads, Thunder Cloud is Blessed, Peace of Mind Regained; a young man has a living bird with a clear voice as his headdress: Old Man and White Feathers (loon); description of a courtship outfit: The Seduction of Redhorn's Son, Redhorn's Father, Trickster Gets Pregnant, Trickster Soils the Princess, The Mulberry Picker; coming across a warparty traveling in column and falling in at the rear: The Thunderbird, The Twins Join Redhorn's Warparty, How the Thunders Met the Nights; a human joins up with the Thunderbirds: The Thunderbird, How the Thunders Met the Nights, Warughapara, The Daughter-in-Law's Jealousy, The Boy who was Captured by the Bad Thunderbirds; Thunderbirds are reduced to using grass or weeds when they smoke their pipes: The Thunderbird, How the Thunders Met the Nights; powerful spirits eat snakes (even though they are sacred): The Twins Disobey Their Father, The Two Boys, How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Daughter-in-Law's Jealousy; dragging a deer to the kill by hand: How the Thunders Met the Nights; Thunderbird people roast meat over the fire on sharpened sticks: Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth (v. 3), How the Thunders Met the Nights; powerful spirit beings act somewhat dim witted: How the Thunders Met the Nights, Hare Kills Sharp Elbow, The Thunderbird, Partridge's Older Brother, He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle; in order to get wives (from the Nightspirits) the Thunders must pass over a region where they are attacked: How the Thunders Met the Nights; a spirit turns into a person of radically different age: Morning Star and His Friend, The Messengers of Hare, Old Man and White Feathers, The Chief of the Herok'a; as someone is about to be killed, he changes into the kind of person that his opponent cannot bring himself to kill, and is thereby spared: Old Man and White Feathers (a beautiful woman); in a chase, a group of people lose articles of clothing as they run until finally they become naked: The Chief of the Herok'a; a group of women are reduced to going to a lodge naked: The Abduction and Rescue of Trickster; a being is vulnerable in a highly unusual way: River Child and the Waterspirit of Devil's Lake, Snowshoe Strings, The Green Man, Partridge's Older Brother, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, The Shawnee Prophet and His Ascension; a hero kills iniquitous people by feeding them poison that bursts their stomachs: The Shaggy Man, Ocean Duck; having the power to control the winds and/or the weather: Deer Clan Origin Myth, Wolf Clan Origin Myth, Bear Clan Origin Myth (vv. 1, 5), Blue Bear, The Gray Wolf Origin Myth, The Chief of the Herok'a, East Enters the Medicine Lodge, V. 2, East Shakes the Messenger, South Seizes the Messenger; a group of women spirits can command the wind to blow: The Chief of the Herok'a; the reviving sweat bath: The Shaggy Man, The King Bird, The Red Man, The Chief of the Herok'a, Snowshoe Strings, The Old Man and the Giants; bear oil is used to create steam in a reviving sweat bath: The Red Man, The Old Man and the Giants, Snowshoe Strings; a human turns into a (spirit) animal: How the Thunders Met the Nights (Thunderbird), Warughápara (Thunderbird), Keramanic'aka's Blessing (black hawk, owl), Elk Clan Origin Myth (elk), Young Man Gambles Often (elk), Sun and the Big Eater, (horse), The Reincarnated Grizzly Bear, The Were-Grizzly, Partridge's Older Brother (bear), The Woman who Loved her Half-Brother (bear), Porcupine and His Brothers (bear), The Shaggy Man (bear), The Roaster (bear), Wazûka (bear), White Wolf (dog, wolf), Worúxega (wolf, bird, snake), He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle (buffalo), The Brown Squirrel (squirrel), The Skunk Origin Myth (skunk), The Fleetfooted Man (otter, bird), The Diving Contest (Waterspirit), The Woman who Married a Snake (snake, Waterspirit), The Omahas who turned into Snakes (four-legged snakes), The Twins Get into Hot Water, v. 3 (alligators), Snowshoe Strings (a frog), How the Hills and Valleys were Formed, v. 3 (earthworms), The Woman Who Became an Ant, Hare Kills a Man with a Cane (ant); people turn into birds: Warughápara (owl, Thunderbird), Worúxega (eagle), The Thunderbird (black hawk, hummingbird), Keramanic'aka's Blessing (black hawk, owl), The Hotcâk Arrival Myth (ravens), The Annihilation of the Hotcâgara I (turkey), The Quail Hunter (partridge), The Markings on the Moon (auk, curlew), The Fox-Hotcâk War (goose), The Fleetfooted Man (water fowl?), The Boy Who Became a Robin (robin); someone is, or becomes, a star: The Seven Maidens, Turtle and the Witches, Îtcorúcika and His Brothers, Grandfather's Two Families.

Notes:

[1] Paul Radin, "The Dipper," Notebooks, Freeman #3850, 3896, & #3897 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society Library) #49-50, pp. 1-267 (Hotcâk syllabary with an English interlinear translation); Paul Radin, "The Dipper," Notebooks, Freeman #3860 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society Library) Winnebago IV, #7, Story 7n, pp. 1-26 (typed English translation); Paul Radin, "The Dipper," Notebooks, Freeman #3861 & #3891 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society Library) Winnebago IV, #8, Story 8r, pp. 1-29 (typed English translation).

[1.1] 2 Ursæ Minoris = SAO 181 = HD 5848 = HIP 5372. When the constellation boundaries were redefined, this star ended up in the constellation Cepheus. Other stars less bright have names, but this one, oddly enough, does not.

[1.2] The name Yildun comes from the Turkish Yilduz, "Star".

[1.3] Paul Radin, "Mâzeniabera," Winnebago Notebooks (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society Library) #21, pp. 1-134 [63-65].

[1.4] Radin, "Mâzeniabera," 31.

[1.5] Paul Radin, "The Blue Man," Winnebago Notebooks (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society) Notebook 55; Paul Radin, (untitled), Winnebago Notebooks, Freeman #3858 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society) Winnebago IV, #5, pp. 4-16.

[1.6] Paul Radin, "Spear Shaft and Lacrosse," Winnebago Notebooks (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society Library) #36, pp. 1-81.

[1.7] Ronald Goodman, Lakota Star Knowledge: Studies in Lakota Stellar Theology (Rosebud Sioux Reservation: Siñte Gleska University, 1992) 57.

[2] Paul Radin, Winnebago Notebooks (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1908) Winnebago I, #3: 107b.

[3] Amelia Susman, Notebooks ...

[4] Walter McClintock, The Old North Trail (London: Macmillan, 1968 [1910]) 521; George E. Lankford, Reachable Stars: Patterns in the Ethnoastronomy of Eastern North America (Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 2007) 117.

[5] Stansbury Hagar, "The Celestial Bear," Journal of American Folk-lore, 13 (1900): 96; Lankford, Reachable Stars, 117.

[6] Eduard Seler, Collected Works in Mesoamerican Linguistics and Archaeology (English Translations of German Papers from Gesammelte Abhandlungen zur Amerikanischen Sprach- und Alterthumskunde), J. Eric S. Thompson and Francis B. Richardson, edd., 2d ed. (Lancaster, California: Labyrinthos, 1996) 53a.

[7] Seler, Collected Works in Mesoamerican Linguistics and Archaeology, 53b.