Blackfoot Lodge Tales | Page 6

was
the sign for "Snake."
"Hai yah!" thought Owl Bear, "a Snake, my enemy." For a long time he
sat still, thinking. By and by he drew his knife from his belt and placed

it in the Snake's hand, and signed, "Kill me!" He waited. He thought
soon his heart would be cut. He wanted to die. Why live? His people
had left him.
Then the Snake took Owl Bear's hand and put a knife in it and
motioned that Owl Bear should cut his heart, but the Piegan would not
do it. He lay down, and the Snake lay down beside him. Maybe they
slept. Likely not.
So the night went and morning came. It was light, and they crawled out
of the cave, and talked a long time together by signs. Owl Bear told the
Snake where he had come from, how his party had dreamed bad and
left him, and that he was going alone to give his body to the Snakes.
Then the Snake said: "I was going to war, too. I was going against the
Piegans. Now I am done. Are you a chief?"
"I am the head chief," replied Owl Bear. "I lead. All the others follow."
"I am the same as you," said the Snake. "I am the chief. I like you. You
are brave. You gave me your knife to kill you with. How is your heart?
Shall the Snakes and the Piegans make peace?"
"Your words are good," replied Owl Bear. "I am glad."
"How many nights will it take you to go home and come back here with
your people?" asked the Snake.
Owl Bear thought and counted. "In twenty-five nights," he replied, "the
Piegans will camp down by that creek."
"My trail," said the Snake, "goes across the mountains. I will try to be
here in twenty-five nights, but I will camp with my people just behind
that first mountain. When you get here with the Piegans, come with one
of your wives and stay all night with me. In the morning the Snakes
will move and put up their lodges beside the Piegans."
"As you say," replied the chief, "so it shall be done." Then they built a
fire and cooked some meat and ate together.
"I am ashamed to go home," said Owl Bear. "I have taken no horses, no
scalps. Let me cut off your side locks?"
"Take them," said the Snake.
Owl Bear cut off the chiefs braids close to his head, and then the Snake
cut off the Piegan's braids. Then they exchanged clothes and weapons
and started out, the Piegan north, the Snake south.
III
"Owl Bear has come! Owl Bear has come!" the people were shouting.

The warriors rushed to his lodge. Whish! how quickly it was filled!
Hundreds stood outside, waiting to hear the news.
For a long time the chief did not speak. He was still angry with his
people. An old man was talking, telling the news of the camp. Owl
Bear did not look at him. He ate some food and rested. Many were in
the lodge who had started to war with him. They were now ashamed.
They did not speak, either, but kept looking at the fire. After a long
time the chief said: "I travelled on alone. I met a Snake. I took his scalp
and clothes, and his weapons. See, here is his scalp!" And he held up
the two braids of hair.
No one spoke, but the chief saw them nudge each other and smile a
little; and soon they went out and said to one another: "What a lie! That
is not an enemy's scalp; there is no flesh on it He has robbed some dead
person."
Some one told the chief what they said, but he only laughed and
replied:--
"I do not care. They were too much afraid even to go on and rob a dead
person. They should wear women's dresses."
Near sunset, Owl Bear called for a horse, and rode all through camp so
every one could hear, shouting out: "Listen! listen! To-morrow we
move camp. We travel south. The Piegans and Snakes are going to
make peace. If any one refuses to go, I will kill him. All must go."
Then an old medicine man came up to him and said: "Kyi, Owl Bear!
listen to me. Why talk like this? You know we are not afraid of the
Snakes. Have we not fought them and driven them out of this country?
Do you think we are afraid to go and meet them? No. We will go and
make peace with them as you say, and if they want to fight, we will
fight. Now you are angry with those who started to war with you. Don't
be angry.