II. COYOTE AND FOX
(Continued)-- "Well, if he was afraid of you, he would be scared to death of me," said Coyote. "I should frighten him by my looks." So the next morning Coyote went, and the same thing happened, except that Coyote broke the arrow and threw it away. The man became angry, and gave the deer a kick. The deer jumped up and ran away. As it did so, it kicked Coyote over. When he came home covered with blood, Fox asked him, "What is the matter?" Coyote told him. "You old fool!" Fox said, and he told him what he ought to have done.
The next morning they both went different ways. Fox went down the river and found a sweat-house in which a man was taking a steam-bath.1 There was some grease in the sweat-house. The man told Fox to go to the camp and cook what he needed, and after eating to take home all he could carry. Fox did so and returned home. When Coyote arrived, he offered Fox two or three mice. Fox paid no attention to his gift, so Coyote ate them for spite. Later Coyote caught Fox eating meat. After some persuasion, Fox told Coyote what had happened. Then Coyote said, "Well, I am a great shaman, and the man will know it and give me all the meat I can carry."
Early the next morning Coyote started. He came to the man in the sweat-house, who told him the same as he had told Fox on the previous day. Coyote went to the tent, and said to himself, "Here is meat enough for you!" He cooked nothing, but waited for the man to come and cook for him; "for he knows I am a shaman, and I shall not cook for myself." The man came back, and, after getting breakfast for himself, went to sleep. Then Coyote grew angry, and said to himself, " I will kill him!" So he killed the man; and at the same moment everything ran out of the tent, even the clothes and moccasins that he was wearing. Not a bit of meat nor anything else was left. Coyote wondered what it all meant. He went home naked and barefoot. Fox said to him, when he came, "You old fool! I did not act that way. I did as the man told me, -- I cooked, and then I went home." -- "Well, that's what I was thinking," said Coyote.
After several days, Coyote said, "Here we are getting hungry. Now, I have a plan." -- "What is it?" asked Fox. "Well," said Coyote, "there is a village with many people. We can scare them away and live on the plunder for a year. There is an old woman on this side that we can kill. Then we can stuff her, and I can wear her on my head and so frighten the people. You can go ahead on a message."
They killed the woman and thought that she looked dreadful enough to frighten the people. When they were near the village, Coyote said to Fox, "Now, go ahead with your message! Cry out, 'There is a terrible monster coming! Should any one hear its voice, that person will surely sicken and die. The only way to save yourselves is to run away. I am the only one that is safe, because I can outrun him. There he is now! Look at him!" Fox carried out his instructions to the letter. The people were frightened and ran away. Fox ran on ahead and hid himself. Later he came back, and found that Coyote had already taken all the best plunder. The latter said to him, "I told you we should scare all the people. In a few days we will go to another village."
The grand-daughter of the old woman whom they had killed lived in the second village they were going to visit. They started for it, as before. Fox again gave the warning; but the young woman did not run, for she knew what Coyote and Fox had done. She waited until they came. Then she got up and took her grandmother away from Coyote.
That is the end.
Once when Coyote lived with Fox, he said to him, "Let us go to the village and run a race with the people! You are a good runner, and we shall win. I shall do the talking, and we will race for life. If we win, we will cut their throats; and if they beat us, they may cut ours. You are safe in any case, for no animal can outrun you." -- "All right!" said Fox. They arrived at the village, and announced that they had come to race the Deer boys, and that the winners should cut off the heads of the losers. The five Deer boys raced Coyote and Fox, and the latter won. They killed the five deer. Coyote took the three older ones, and Fox the two younger ones.
The next day they went to the Mountain-Sheep, and the same happened. They cut off the heads of the Mountain-Sheep, and Coyote again took the lion's share. The third day they raced the Elk boys, and beat them in the same manner. The fourth day they tried the white-tailed Deer and beat them. The fifth day Coyote said, "Let us run against the Magpie boys!" -- "No," said Fox, "they will beat us." -- "Of course, you can beat them," Coyote assured him. "No I cannot," Fox insisted. "Besides, they are of no use to us, even if we do win." -- "Why, we want their feathers," said Coyote. " I know I cannot beat them," persisted Fox.
Nevertheless they did race with the Magpies, and were beaten. Coyote hid himself near the creek. Some little boys who were playing there cried, "Oh, see Coyote hiding in the bushes!" The Magpies had already killed Fox. They found Coyote, whose nose was sticking out of the water. They dragged him out and cut his throat.2
1 See pp. 103, 184.
2 See p. 185.
