The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion

"Once in a village, there lived a very poor boy. His family wished to bring him up so that he would be blessed by the spirits. They made him fast and coaxed him to fast for long periods of time that he might be blessed by the great spirits and do something for his people. At first the boy thought that there was nothing in fasting, but one night, he heard a voice which said, "My grandson, try hard to dream of my brothers and myself, for if you do not pay much attention to your fasting we cannot bless you. Your people depend upon you, and that is why they have asked you to fast as long as you can. The longer you fast, the more you will be able to accomplish for yourself and for your people." Thus spoke the voice.

The next morning, he told his father that some voice had spoken to him. "It is good," said the father, "but you must get a blessing from someone who is in charge of great blessings, be he above in the sky, under the earth, or in the waters. Thus, when you get to be a man, the people will all say that you are the young man who fasted for a long time. 'He must know very much,' they will say. So blacken your face still more, my son." Then the boy took some charcoal from the fireplace and rubbed it upon his face, and then went away, taking with him his bow and arrows.

When he got to a place at some distance from the village, he said to himself, "There must be something in this preaching. I will try to dream of something. I will stay out in the wilderness and try to obtain some blessing." Thinking of these things, he wandered farther and farther away. Finally, he made a shelter for himself in a hollow log. When night came he crawled into the log backwards and stuffed the hole with dried leaves so that he would not be too cold. There he slept and the next day he got up and went hunting as usual. He shot many squirrels and birds, and when he was tired he put up a target to shoot at, just as many other boys do. When night came again, he crept into the log again and slept. This he kept up for ten days. He was tired and hungry by this time, but he said to himself, "If my ancestors would see me as I am now, tired out and hungry, they would surely bless me." Thus he thought. He tried to stand it as long as possible, and so he kept it up for another ten days. By this time he was so emaciated that he was practically only skin and bones. He could hardly walk. Then he thought to himself, "Tonight, I shall sleep out on the hill, and if I starve to death, my people, when they find my body will know that I met a good death." So there he lay and went to sleep.

In the middle of the night he awoke and felt that something was near him. He peered into the night, and there was a mountain lion sitting quite close. He got frightened at first, but he did not move, thinking to himself, "Well, if I am going to die, I might as well die now." Just then the lion spoke to him and said, "I am the cause or your being in your present condition. I made you come to this place. My brothers sent me to see you and to bless you. We knew long ago that you were making yourself pitiable, but only when you became thin and indeed most pitiable, only when you remembered my brothers, did I come to you. Now I am going to tell you about some warparty that you are to lead. You will kill as many people as you want to, as long as you remember to pour tobacco for my brothers and myself. We are in possession of great war-giving powers. I am in charge of the others besides and should any difficulty befall you, therefore, call my name and I will come to your aid immediately. When you kill any one, you may retain the head, but the body you must leave for us and we shall eat it. I shall stay with you all night, and tomorrow I shall go and get you something to eat." Thus the lion spoke.

Early the next morning the lion went out and killed a deer and cooked a piece of meat for the boy. "Eat and drink some soup so that you may be strong enough to go home to your parents. They are hunting for you, and are about to give up all hope of ever finding you alive. I am there every day as it is not far from here. It is just over the hill." The boy ate and then thanked the lion, saying, "Grandfather, you have conferred a great blessing upon me and what you have asked of me, I will do for you as long as I live." The lion replied, "Well, you may go home now, grandson. There is a man who is just about to start out on the warpath. Go along with him and do your best. Always think of me, and then I will keep my mind upon you in order to aid you."

So the boy went home, and the lion went to his home. All day and part of the night, the boy traveled, reaching his home late at night. He immediately went to his father's lodge, and there he found the old man with his head in his hands. "Father," said the boy, "It is I. I have come home. I got along very well while I was away. What you asked me to try and obtain, I did obtain and I think I have been blessed with great powers." Then the father awoke his wife and told her to prepare some food for their son as he must be hungry. He said to him, "My son, we were just about to give up searching for you, for we all thought that you were dead by this time. Really, it is good that you have succeeded so well in your fasting. In the future you will never have to worry about anything. What brave men do, that you will also be able to do, so that in years to come your people will be able to mention you whenever they recount the deeds of their famous warleaders." The old man continued, "A certain man is just about to start on the warpath, and thus, you have come just in time to go along. His folks are going to give a Winter Feast tomorrow, and the day after he will start out. He will first go through the village and all the young men who have accomplished anything, and those who have fasted, will join him. Now I shall tell your mother and sisters to get moccasins and some medicine ready for you so that you may be able to join this man."

The next morning the Winter Feast was given and the old man and his son were invited. So the two went over and the people kept on saying, "Look, there is the old man with his son whom we all thought to be dead. He must be a great person, because he has been away so long a time fasting." At the feast, the man who was going on the warpath made a speech and asked all the young men who had never had anything to do with women to join him the next morning at the break of day. They were to get together yonder at the hill and start from there. So the next morning, the young men went to the appointed hill, and when they had gathered together, they started out. They were led by a warrior. When night came they sat around the fires they had built, telling stories. On the second and third nights they did the same. On the fourth night, the leader addressed them as follows: "Young men, whatever you have dreamt of, whatever you have been blessed with, you must tell us for we are near the enemy now. I want to select those whom I wish to send out to scout the enemies' position." So all the young men told the leader of their dreams. When the boy's turn came he got up and said, "Well, when I fasted and wanted to die in the wilderness, a mountain lion came to me and said that he was the chief of the lions and that he had come to me purposely to bless me. Then he went out and killed a deer for me and cooked it and gave it to me to eat. Before leaving, he told me to go home and join this warparty. The leader said, "Well, that is good." He also added, "I am going to select one person, the one that I think will make the best scout." Then he selected the boy.

Before the boy started, he poured some tobacco on the ground and asked his grandfather to bless him. Then the lion came to him again, and said, "You are to stay here, while I go forward and scout their position." So the boy stayed there and the lion growled and started forward, tearing the brush as he went. In a little while he returned to the boy and said, "Everything is well. They have no suspicion at all of your coming, so that you will be able to surprise them." Then the lion departed. When the boy got back, the leader said to him, "What did you find out?" The boy replied, "My grandfather went to spy upon them for me and said that everything was all right, and that we would be able to surprise them." The leader said, "That is good, that is what we want. Be ready, boys, about day break, because just as our grandfather the sun makes his appearance in the sky, we shall rush upon the enemy. Each of you must try his best because we want to kill as many of the enemy as we can. I shall go ahead, and when I give a whoop then you boys can follow." But the boy snuck away and hid himself in front of the place where they were sleeping, and when the leader came past in the morning and gave the whoop, the boy ran past the leader. The leader said, "That is good, that is what I call a good warrior." The boy rushed into the midst of the enemy and killed their leader, cut off his head, and brought it to his own leader. The leader struck the head and said, "He is the one I have come after, but you killed him before I could reach him. Now I am glad that I can count the second coup." So he gave a whoop and struck the head. They fought until late in the afternoon, and then they started for home. Almost all of them carried a scalp with them. When they got home, they told how the boy had killed the leader, and had given the head to their own warleader. The boy's father was very glad.

Then the boy got married, and used to go hunting with his wife. They used to go away from home and camp out for some time. One day, when they had gone camping, he went out hunting and left his wife in the camp. In the evening when he returned, his lodge poles were standing very straight. Looking about, he found that his wife and been taken prisoner. So he said, "I shall go after my wife. I am a man, and it would be a shame for me to go back to my people without her." So he started out and soon came upon a trail. Looking carefully at it, he discovered his wife's foot prints. This made him angry and he went faster. He traveled until he came in sight of a village. There he hid himself near a spring. About dark he saw a woman coming to the spring and he recognized her as his wife. So he went up to her and said, "I love your very much, and for that reason I have come after you." The woman, however, was already married to a son of the chief of that village, and she liked her new husband, so she told him to wait there until she went back to get some moccasins. He waited there while she went back to the village. But she told her husband that her old husband had come and was at the spring. Thereupon they sent a few warriors to capture him. The warriors, coming upon him unexpectedly, captured him. They placed him in the Warrior's Lodge and guarded him there.

The next morning the son of the chief sent for him and said, "You must have been very fond of your wife to have come so long a distance to see her." The boy answered, "I always said that if ever my wife was captured, I would go and get her." The son of the chief then said, "I have a little soup on the fire for you, for you must be hungry. You are going to eat as a real man should, and when you have finished eating, we will go out into an open field and have a little fun." "So he placed the boiling kettle before him, and told him to eat the soup with his hands. The boy did it, and burned his hands until they were raw and bloody. Nevertheless, he ate all that they put before him. The old chief protested and told his son that this was not the way to make a man suffer, but the son laughed and told him that it was just in this that the fun came in. Then he took the boy to an open field and after driving stakes in the ground, tied his limbs to them. Then the chief's son and his wife got on horses and ran towards him. The horses, however, jumped over him. They kept on running their horses at him until the horses stepped on him. By evening there was nothing left of him. Then they went back the village and the chief's son said, "Why, that man did not have any blessings at all. He couldn't help himself in the least."

Sometime during the night the mountain lion was walking about, and he smelled the flesh of a human being. He went to the spot where the man had been killed, and putting his head down, he sniffed again and said, "Why this is the man I have blessed. He evidently did not think of me and hence was killed. I will try and revive him." So he licked the earth and made peculiar noises. Then the man's bones came together. When he made the noise the fourth time, the man said, "They took me unexpectedly, grandfather, so I did not have time to think of you." They sat together awhile and then they went away into the wilderness.

Then the man and the lion fasted for four years. At the end of that time the man said, "Grandfather, I am going to stop fasting. I am really blessed now, and the spirits in charge of war have given me that whole village. Now I will go to that village and no one may go with me but you." So the lion went forth and killed a deer, and the man gave a feast. Then the man went and got the deer and the lion gave the feast, and the man feasted. Then they started out for the enemy. "Grandson," said the lion, "I will kill one half of the village and you will kill the other half. They proceeded onward carrying a few scalps with them.

When the man's folks saw him coming back with a big mountain lion, they were frightened. When they reached home they went to the lodge of the young man's parents, and the father asked him where his wife was. The boy rep;lied, "The enemy took her away from me and when I went after her, they killed me. But my grandfather, whom you see here, resuscitated me. Then the two of us went and killed every person in that village. Here are a few scalps, and if any people want a few more, they can go and get them." Then the father sent a crier through the village with the news, and the people were glad. The wife's brothers came running to him and said, "Young man, you have done very well."

Then the lion said, "If I remain here, it will not be all right. Earthmaker does not wish it to be that way, so I shall go where my brothers are." If he had remained, he and the man would have killed all the people, and as the lion knew this, he went away. This is the story of how the lion blessed the human being, and then later took his blessing away because Earthmaker did not like it."¹

Commentary. This waiką contains a singular example of a blessing that was withdrawn because of Earthmaker's disapproval. Earthmaker is stringently a god of peace and love and virtually never participates in killing of any kind, let alone warfare. This role is reproduced in society by the Thunder Chief, who pleads for the lives of murderers who seek sanctuary in his lodge, and will even have the life of a sacrificial dog spared if it runs into his home. The chief also has an important veto power over warparties. If he feels that the warleader does not have the necessary blessings to conduct a warpath with the guaranteed safety of his soldiers, then he will stand before the warleader's path and place his peace pipe on the ground as a symbolic blocking of the way. Anyone who violates this sacred prohibition will incure the severest liabilities. In the present story, Earthmaker blocks a war blessing by another spirit on account of the excessive carnage that it will cause, a prohibition similar to that of the Thunder Chief in stopping a warleader who will bring excessive death to his people if he is allowed to realize his pledge.

Links: Cougars, Earthmaker, Horses.

Stories: mentioning mountain lions (Cougars, Pumas, Panthers): The Dog that became a Panther, The Four Steps of the Cougar, Bladder and His Brothers (v. 1); about fasting blessings: Earthmaker Blesses Wagíšega (Wešgíšega), The Difficult Blessing, The Boy Who Became a Robin, The Boy who would be Immortal, The Woman Who Fought the Bear, The Girl who Refused a Blessing from the Wood Spirits, The Seer, The Woman who Loved Her Half-Brother, The Nightspirits Bless Jobenągiwįxka, Disease Giver Blesses Jobenągiwįxka, The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, Black Otter's Warpath, Ghost Dance Origin Myth I, The Blessing of a Bear Clansman, Aracgéga's Blessings, The Meteor Spirit and the Origin of Wampum, Great Walker's Medicine, Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, Thunderbird and White Horse, The Man who was Blessed by the Sun, Holy Song, A Waterspirit Blesses Mąnį́xete’ų́ga, Paint Medicine Origin Myth, The Plant Blessing of Earth, The Blessing of Šokeboka, Heną́ga and Star Girl, The Tap the Head Medicine, The Sweetened Drink Song, Ancient Blessing, A Deer Story; about scalping: The Woman's Scalp Medicine Bundle, Hare Retrieves a Stolen Scalp, The Scalping Knife of Wakąšucka, The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, Moiety Origin Myth, Turtle's Warparty, White Fisher, Black Otter's Warpath, The Dog that became a Panther, Wazųka, Great Walker's Warpath, The Fox-Hocąk War; mentioning horses: The Big Eater, Thunderbird and White Horse, The Orphan who was Blessed with a Horse, Sun and the Big Eater, Rich Man, Boy, and Horse, Hare Recruits Game Animals for Humans, The Horse Spirit of Eagle Heights, Trickster Takes Little Fox for a Ride, James’ Horse, The Boy who Flew, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts, They Owe a Bullet, The Man Whose Wife was Captured (v. 2); mentioning Earthmaker: The Creation of the World, The Creation of Man, The Commandments of Earthmaker, The Twins Get into Hot Water, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, The Lost Blanket, Earthmaker Blesses Wagíšega (Wešgíšega), The Man Who Would Dream of Mą’ųna, The First Snakes, Tobacco Origin Myth, The Creation Council, The Gray Wolf Origin Myth, The Journey to Spiritland, The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, The Seven Maidens, The Descent of the Drum, Thunder Cloud Marries Again, The Spider's Eyes, Hawk Clan Origin Myth, Fourth Universe, Šųgepaga, The Fatal House, The Twin Sisters, Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth, Elk Clan Origin Myth, Deer Clan Origin Myth, Bear Clan Origin Myth, Wolf Clan Origin Myth, The Masaxe War, The Two Children, Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, The Petition to Earthmaker, The Gift of Shooting, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, Bluehorn's Nephews, The Stone Heart, The Wild Rose, Earthmaker Sends Rušewe to the Twins, The Lame Friend, How the Hills and Valleys were Formed, The Hocąk Migration Myth, The Necessity for Death, Hocąk Clans Origin Myth, The War among the Animals, Lake Winnebago Origin Myth, Blue Mounds, Lost Lake, The Hocągara Migrate South, The Spirit of Gambling, Turtle and the Giant, The Shawnee Prophet — What He Told the Hocągara, The Hocągara Contest the Giants, Ghost Dance Origin Myth II, Bird Origin Myth, Black and White Moons, Redhorn's Sons, Holy Song, The Reincarnated Grizzly Bear, The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, Death Enters the World, Man and His Three Dogs, Trickster Concludes His Mission, Story of the Thunder Names, The Origins of the Milky Way, Trickster and the Dancers, Ghost Dance Origin Myth I, East Enters the Medicine Lodge, The Creation of Evil, The Blessing of Kerexųsaka, Song to Earthmaker, The Blessing of the Bow, The Stench-Earth Medicine Origin Myth, The Origin of the Cliff Swallow; mentioning feasts: Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth (Chief Feast), The Creation Council (Eagle Feast), Hawk Clan Origin Myth (Eagle Feast), Waterspirit Clan Origin Myth (Waterspirit Feast), A Waterspirit Blesses Mąnį́xete’ų́ga (Mąką́wohą, Waną́cĕrehí), 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), Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle (Buffalo Feast), The Blessing of Šokeboka (Feast to the Buffalo Tail), Snake Clan Origins (Snake Feast), Blessing of the Yellow Snake Chief (Snake Feast), Rattlesnake Ledge (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 Wagíšega (Wešgíšega) (Winter Feast = Warbundle Feast), Big Thunder Teaches Cap’ósgaga the Warpath (Winter Feast = Warbundle Feast), White Thunder's Warpath (Winter Feast = Warbundle Feast), The Fox-Hocąk War (Winter Feast = Warbundle Feast), Šųgepaga (Winter Feast = Warbundle Feast), The Man Whose Wife was Captured (v. 2) (Warbundle Feast, Warpath Feast), Black Otter's Warpath (Warpath 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 Heroka (Sick Offering Feast), The Dipper (Sick Offering Feast, Warclub Feast), The Four Slumbers Origin Myth (Four Slumbers Feast), The Journey to Spiritland (Four Slumbers Feast), The First Snakes (Snake Feast), Spear Shaft and Lacrosse (unspecified), Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts (unnamed); mentioning springs: Trail Spring, Vita Spring, Merrill Springs, Big Spring and White Clay Spring, The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, Bear Clan Origin Myth, vv. 6, 8, Bird Clan Origin Myth, The Woman Who Fought the Bear, Bluehorn's Nephews, Blue Mounds, The Lost Child, Old Man and Wears White Feather, The Wild Rose, The Omahas who turned into Snakes, The Two Brothers, Snowshoe Strings, The Daughter-in-Law's Jealousy, Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Nannyberry Picker, The Orphan who was Blessed with a Horse, Rich Man, Boy, and Horse, The Two Boys, Waruǧábᵉra, Wazųka, The Man Who Fell from the Sky, Turtle and the Witches.

Themes: a person who fasts receives blessings from the spirits: The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, The Nightspirits Bless Jobenągiwįxka, Ghost Dance Origin Myth I, Redhorn's Sons, The Boy Who Became a Robin, The Woman Who Fought the Bear, The Seer, Maize Comes to the Hocągara, The Warbundle of the Eight Generations, The Woman who Loved Her Half-Brother, The Boy who would be Immortal, The Thunderbird, Lake Wąkšikhomįgra (Mendota): the Origin of Its Name, The Waterspirit Guardian of the Intaglio Mound, Great Walker's Medicine, Šųgepaga, Earthmaker Blesses Wagíšega (Wešgíšega), The Man Who Would Dream of Mą’ųna, Heną́ga and Star Girl, A Man's Revenge, Aracgéga's Blessings, The Blessing of a Bear Clansman, The Man who was Blessed by the Sun, The Girl who Refused a Blessing from the Wood Spirits, The Man Who Lost His Children to a Wood Spirit, Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, The Man who Defied Disease Giver, White Thunder's Warpath, Black Otter's Warpath, A Man and His Three Dogs, The Oak Tree and the Man Who was Blessed by the Heroka, A Waterspirit Blesses Mąnį́xete’ų́ga, The Meteor Spirit and the Origin of Wampum, The Diving Contest, The Plant Blessing of Earth, Holy Song, The Tap the Head Medicine, The Blessing of Šokeboka, The Completion Song Origin, Paint Medicine Origin Myth, The Nightspirits Bless Ciwoit’éhiga, Sunset Point, Song to Earthmaker, First Contact (v. 1), The Horse Spirit of Eagle Heights; a spirit is quoted as he gives someone a blessing: Earthmaker Blesses Wagíšega (Wešgíšega), Traveler and the Thunderbird War, The Nightspirits Bless Jobenągiwįxka, Disease Giver Blesses Jobenągiwįxka, Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, The Man Whose Wife was Captured, The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, The Stench-Earth Medicine Origin Myth, Ghost Dance Origin Myth I, The Woman Who Fought the Bear, The Blessing of a Bear Clansman, Aracgéga's Blessings, The Girl who Refused a Blessing from the Wood Spirits, The Friendship Drum Origin Myth, The Meteor Spirit and the Origin of Wampum, Great Walker's Medicine, Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, Thunderbird and White Horse, The Plant Blessing of Earth, The Completion Song Origin, The Man who was Blessed by the Sun, Thunder Cloud is Blessed, The Difficult Blessing, The Blessing of Šokeboka, A Waterspirit Blesses Mąnį́xete’ų́ga, Bow Meets Disease Giver, Heną́ga and Star Girl, Sunset Point, The Rounded Wood Origin Myth, A Peyote Vision, The Healing Blessing; head hunting: White Fisher, Big Thunder Teaches Cap’ósgaga the Warpath, A Man's Revenge, How Little Priest went out as a Soldier, Little Priest's Game, Bluehorn's Nephews, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, Young Man Gambles Often, Morning Star and His Friend (v. 2), The Dipper, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, Porcupine and His Brothers, Turtle's Warparty, Ocean Duck, The Markings on the Moon, Wears White Feather on His Head, The Red Man, The Chief of the Heroka, 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, Heną́ga and Star Girl, Mijistéga’s Powwow Magic and How He Won the Trader's Store, The Were-Grizzly, Winneconnee Origin Myth; some part of what a man kills must be left for an Animal Spirit according to an agreement made between them: White Wolf (deer livers), The Man Whose Wife was Captured (a whole deer); someone is able to exert supernatural power upon an object by concentrating his mind upon it: Hare Establishes Bear Hunting, Hare Recruits Game Animals for Humans, The Petition to Earthmaker, The Messengers of Hare, South Enters the Medicine Lodge, Otter Comes to the Medicine Rite, The Blessing of Kerexųsaka; scouts spy on the enemy (from a hill) without being seen: The Twins Join Redhorn's Warparty, Moiety Origin Myth, How Little Priest went out as a Soldier, White Thunder's Warpath, Worúxega; a young warrior gives the head/scalp of a man he has killed in battle to someone else: The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits (warleader), White Fisher, (chief), Fighting Retreat (wife), The Man Whose Wife was Captured (v. 2) (oldest brother-in-law); descriptions of human warfare: Black Otter's Warpath, Annihilation of the Hocągara II, The Warbundle Maker, The First Fox and Sauk War, Great Walker's Medicine, The Annihilation of the Hocągara I, How Little Priest went out as a Soldier, Little Priest's Game, Wazųka, The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, The Shawnee Prophet and His Ascension, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, Big Thunder Teaches Cap’ósgaga the Warpath, The Fox-Hocąk War, Great Walker's Warpath, White Fisher, The Lame Friend, White Thunder's Warpath, The Osage Massacre, A Man's Revenge, They Owe a Bullet, The Spanish Fight, Origin of the Name "Milwaukee," The Man Whose Wife was Captured (v. 2), Tobacco Man and Married Man, The Scalping Knife of Wakąšucka; someone is abducted and led off into captivity: The Captive Boys, A Man's Revenge, Bluehorn's Nephews, The Lost Child, Wears White Feather on His Head, Įcorúšika and His Brothers, Bird Clan Origin Myth, The Man Whose Wife was Captured, Bladder and His Brothers, The Boy who was Captured by the Bad Thunderbirds, Bluehorn Rescues His Sister, The Green Man, Brave Man, The Chief of the Heroka, Šųgepaga, Hare Gets Swallowed, Hare Acquires His Arrows, The Raccoon Coat, Wojijé, Wolves and Humans, The Woman Who Became an Ant, Thunderbird and White Horse, Heną́ga and Star Girl, Brass and Red Bear Boy, Traveler and the Thunderbird War (v. 5), The Boy who Flew, Testing the Slave, Soldiers Catch Two Boys, a Black One and a White One; someone kills a close female relative for her betrayal of him or his uncle: Bluehorn's Nephews (mother); Waruǧábᵉra (sister), The Red Man (wife), The Chief of the Heroka (wife), The Man Whose Wife was Captured (v. 2) (wife); violating the terms of a blessing does harm: The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, The Necessity for Death, Hare Retrieves a Stolen Scalp, White Wolf, The Dog that became a Panther, Disease Giver Blesses Jobenągiwįxka, The Greedy Woman, Trickster, the Wolf, the Turtle, and the Meadow Lark (meadow lark), Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle; someone aided by a spirit friend is left for dead by his colleagues, only to be saved by his friend and brought back alive to the grief of those who left him for dead: Waruǧábᵉra, The Dog that became a Panther; someone returns from the dead: Ghost Dance Origin Myth II, The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, Sunset Point, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts, White Fisher, The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, The Shaggy Man, The Two Brothers, The Two Boys, Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, White Wolf, A Miraculously Cured Man Finds the Prophet, The Red Man, The Chief of the Heroka, The Man Whose Wife was Captured, Waruǧábᵉra, The Lost Blanket, The Old Man and the Giants; a mountain lion fights alongside a man in battle: The Dog that became a Panther.

Notes

¹ Paul Radin, Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, Notebooks, Freeman #3861 [3891] (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society) Winnebago IV, #8, Story 8z: 1-9.