Coyote was travelling, and came to Amtkane', about five miles below Missoula, where a large rock is standing on the edge of a high cliff. It moves when it is pushed. Here lived the Mountain-Ram who killed people. He invited passers-by to push the rock over the cliff. When they failed, he invited them to look over the cliff at the sheep on the rocks below. Then, while they were looking, he would push them over, and thus kill them. As Coyote was passing, Bighorn shouted to him. Coyote went up and asked him what he wanted. He saw that Coyote was armed: so he said, "You have bow and arrows. I should like you to shoot those sheep among the rocks below." Coyote went to look at them. Then Bighorn pushed him over, and he was killed on the rocks below. Later Fox came along, and jumped over him. Then Coyote moved, rubbed his eyes, and said, " I must have slept a long time." Fox answered, "You were dead. I told you not to come here." Coyote said, "I will be revenged." Coyote went the same way; and as he was passing, Bighorn shouted as before. Coyote asked him what he wanted. Ram said to him, "You have bow and arrows. I want you to shoot these sheep." Coyote went cautiously to the edge of the cliff, and pretended not to see the sheep. Bighorn pointed them out, but Coyote said he did not see them. Ram leaned out over the cliff to show them to Coyote, and the latter shoved him over and killed him. He said, "Had you kept on living and doing this way, you would have exterminated the people."
Coyote was travelling, and went up Bitter-Root River. There he saw a number of women dancing among tall grass on the bank. He approached, crossing a ridge. He heard them singing, "He goes up the ridge." He said, "They have noticed me. They mean me." When he went down over the ridge, they sang, "He goes down the ridge." Coyote thought, "They refer to me." He went down and joined the women. They took him by each hand, and danced with him towards the river. They said, "We are going into the water." Coyote said, "Let me go. My clothes will get wet. I will take them off." They answered, "You need not mind. It does not matter about clothes in the other world where you are going." They took him into the water, and dragged him up and down until he was drowned. They left his body on the bank; and Fox came along, and brought him to life by jumping over him. Coyote said, "I shall get even with these women." He went back, and found them dancing in the same place. He set fire to the grass all around them, and they ran together to get away from the fire. When they saw that it would reach them, they rushed through and ran for the river. As they passed through the fire, they were scorched. Coyote transformed them, saying, "You shall be Skukula'na,2 and people shall put you into the fire and eat you." For this reason these shell fish appear as if burned on one side.
Coyote went to StsE'ltsaltsElê' (Few-Trees-standing-on-Prairie), a place near Hamilton on the Bitter-Root River, where an Elk-Monster lived. It lay on a butte there, from which it could see a long distance over the adjoining prairie. Nothing could pass over the prairie without being seen by it. When it saw people, it drew in its breath, and they were sucked into its mouth and swallowed. It had thus killed many people.
Coyote took his wife, the Short-Tailed-Mouse, with him, and ordered her to dig an underground passage to the Elk. She began to work behind a hill, and tunnelled up to the Elk. Then her husband told her to move camp across the prairie. Coyote went through the passage, and came out right under the Elk Monster. The latter was surprised, and said, "How did you come here? I never saw you. I see everything." Coyote answered, "I came right across the prairie. You must be blind if you did not see me." Elk became afraid, for he thought Coyote must have greater powers than he had. Just then Coyote saw the people crossing the prairie. He asked Elk if he saw them, and he answered, "Yes." Coyote said, "Then go and attack them. In the world whence I come we do that. When we see strangers, we go out to attack them and try to take their scalps." Elk agreed, and Coyote accompanied him. Elk had a large stone dagger. Coyote said, "That knife will make you tired. It is too large and heavy for you to carry. Let me carry it for you." Elk gave him the knife, and thus disarmed himself. Then Coyote attacked him, stabbed him to death, and cut out his heart. He said, "Henceforth you shall be a common elk, and people shall eat you, instead of your eating people."
1 See p. 152.
2 Name of a fresh-water shell-fish.
3 Crow (Simms) FM 2 : 305. See p. 115 (note I); also pp. 17, 122, 148.
