There was a man who was a great deer-hunter. He was constantly hunting, and was very successful. He thought continually of the deer, and dreamed of them. They were as friends to him. Probably they were his manitou. He had two wives, one of whom had borne him no children, while the other one had borne a male child. One day while hunting, he came on the fresh tracks of a doe and fawn, which he followed. They led to a knoll on which he saw a young woman and child sitting. The tracks led directly to them. He was surprised, and asked the woman if she had seen any deer pass. She answered, "No." He walked on, but could not find the tracks. On his return, he said to the woman, "You must have seen the deer; the tracks seem to disappear where you are, and they are very fresh." The woman laughed, and said, "You need not trouble yourself about the tracks. For a long time I have loved you and longed for you. Now you shall go with me to my house." They walked on together; and the hunter could not resist the attraction of the woman, nor help following her. As he went along, he thought, "It is not well that I am going thus. My wives and my child are at home awaiting me. The woman knew his thoughts at once, and said, "You must not worry or think that you are doing wrong. You shall be my husband, and you will never regret it." After the two had travelled a long way, they reached a hilly country. Then the man saw an entrance which seemed to lead underground.2 When they had gone some distance underground, they found themselves in a large house full of people who were just like Indians. They were of both sexes and all ages. They were well dressed in clothes of dressed skin, and wore deer-skin robes. They seemed to be very amiable and happy. As the travellers entered, some of the people said, "Our daughter has brought her husband." That night the woman said to the hunter, "You are my husband, and will sleep with me. You may embrace me, but you must not try to have intercourse with me. You must not do so before the rutting-season. Then you may also go with my sisters. Our season comes but once a year, and lasts about a month. During the rest of the year we have no sexual connections." The hunter slept with his new wife.3
On the following day the people said, "Let our son-in-law hunt. He is a great hunter. Let him get meat for us. We have no more meat." The hunter took his bow and arrows and went hunting. Two young deer, his brothers-in-law, ran ahead and stood on a knoll. Presently the hunter saw them, and killed both of them. He cut them up and carried them home, leaving nothing but their manure. The chief had told him in the morning to be careful and not to throw away any part of the game. Now the people ate and were glad. They saved all the bones and put them away in one place. They said to the hunter, "We always save every bone." When the deer were eaten, the bones were wrapped in bundles, and the chief sent a man to throw them into the water. He carried the bones of the two deer that the hunter had killed, and of another one that the people were eating when the hunter first arrived. The hunter had missed his two brothers-in-law, and thought they were away hunting. When the man who had carried the bones away returned, the two brothers-in-law and another man were with him. They had all come to life when their bones were thrown into the water.4 Thus these Deer people lived by hunting and killing each other and then reviving. The hunter lived with his wife and her people, and hunted whenever meat was required. He never failed to kill deer, for some of the young deer were always anxious to he killed for the benefit of the people.
At last the rutting-season came on, and the chief put the body of a large old buck on the hunter, and so transformed him into a buck. He went out with his wife and felt happy. Some other younger bucks came and beat him off and took his wife. He did not like others to have his wife, therefore he went home and felt downcast. That night the people said, "What is the matter with our son-in-law, that he does not speak?" Some one said, "He is downcast because a young man took his wife." The chief said, "Do not feel sad. We shall give you ornaments tomorrow which will make you strong, and then nobody can take your wife away from you." On the following morning he put large antlers on him, and gave him the body of a buck in its prime. That day the hunter beat off all the rival buck, and kept his wife and also all her sisters and cousins for himself. He hurt many of his brothers-in-law in fighting. The Deer people had shamans who healed the wounds of those hurt in battle, and they were busy throughout the rutting-season. In this way they acted until the end of the rut, and the hunter was the champion during the whole season. In due time his wife gave birth to a son. When the latter was growing up, she said, "It is not fair to your people that you live entirely with my people. We should live with them for a while." She reduced large quantity of deer-fat to the size of a handful. She did the same with a large quantity of dried venison, deer-skins, and dressed buckskins. Now she started with her child and her husband, who hunted on the way, and killed one of his brothers-in-law whenever they required food.
1 This story is also called "Story of the Deer-Woman" and "Story of the Hunter who became a Deer."
2 Some informants say the entrance to the abode of the Deer people was through a cave at the base of a hill.
3 RBAE 31 : 738.
4 RBAE 31 : 672, 698, 773.
