fine bead and porcupine work waved from the pole and presented a
very striking appearance. The bird was faced towards the setting

sun. The great chief and medicine men pronounced the bird "Wakan"
(something holy).

When the people had finished eating they all fell in line and
marched in single file beneath the bird, in order to get a close

view of it. By the time this vast crowd had fully viewed the
wonderful bird, the sun was just setting clear in the west, when

directly over the rays of the sun appeared a cloud in the shape of
a bird of variegated colors. The councilmen were called out to

look at the cloud, and the head medicine man said that it was a
sign that the boy would grow up to be a great chief and hunter, and

would have a great many friends and followers.
This ended the feast, but before dispersing, the chief and

councilmen bestowed upon the boy the title of White Plume.
One day a stranger came to the village, who was very thin and

nearly starved. So weak was he that he could not speak, but made
signs for something to eat. Luckily the stranger came to Dead

Shot's tent, and as there was always a plentiful supply in his
lodge, the stranger soon had a good meal served him. After he had

eaten and rested he told his story.
"I came from a very great distance," said he. "The nations where

I came from are in a starving condition. No place can they find
any buffalo, deer nor antelope. A witch or evil spirit in the

shape of a white buffalo has driven all the large game out of the
country. Every day this white buffalo comes circling the village,

and any one caught outside of their tent is carried away on its
horns. In vain have the best marksmen of the tribe tried to shoot

it. Their arrows fly wide off the mark, and they have given up
trying to kill it as it bears a charmed life. Another evil spirit

in the form of a red eagle has driven all the birds of the air out
of our country. Every day this eagle circles above the village,

and so powerful is it that anyone being caught outside of his tent
is descended upon and his skull split open to the brain by the

sharp breastbone of the Eagle. Many a marksman has tried his skill
on this bird, all to no purpose.

"Another evil spirit in the form of a white rabbit has driven out
all the animals which inhabit the ground, and destroyed the fields

of corn and turnips, so the nation is starving, as the arrows of
the marksmen have also failed to touch the white rabbit. Any one

who can kill these three witches will receive as his reward, the
choice of two of the most beautiful maidens of our nation. The

younger one is the handsomer of the two and has also the sweetest
disposition. Many young, and even old men, hearing of this (our

chief's) offer, have traveled many miles to try their arrows on the
witches, but all to no purpose. Our chief, hearing of your great

marksmanship, sent me to try and secure your services to have you
come and rid us of these three witches."

Thus spoke the stranger to the hunter. The hunter gazed long and
thoughtfully into the dying embers of the camp fire. Then slowly

his eyes raised and looked lovingly on his wife who sat opposite to
him. Gazing on her beautiful features for a full minute he slowly

dropped his gaze back to the dying embers and thus answered his
visitor:

"My friend, I feel very much honored by your chief having sent such
a great distance for me, and also for the kind offer of his lovely

daughter in marriage, if I should succeed, but I must reject the
great offer, as I can spare none of my affections to any other

woman than to my queen whom you see sitting there."
White Plume had been listening to the conversation and when his

father had finished speaking, said: "Father, I am a child no more.
I have arrived at manhood. I am not so good a marksman as you, but

I will go to this suffering tribe and try to rid them of their
three enemies. If this man will rest for a few days and return to

his village and inform them of my coming, I will travel along
slowly on his trail and arrive at the village a day or two after he

reaches there."
"Very well, my son," said the father, "I am sure you will succeed,

as you fear nothing, and as to your marksmanship, it is far
superior to mine, as your sight is much clearer and aim quicker

than mine."
The man rested a few days and one morning started off, after having

instructed White Plume as to the trail. White Plume got together
what he would need on the trip and was ready for an early start the

next morning. That night Dead Shot and his wife sat up
away into the night instructing their son how to travel and warning

him as to the different kinds of people he must avoid in order to
keep out of trouble. "Above all," said the father, "keep a good

look out for Unktomi (spider); he is the most tricky of all, and
will get you into trouble if you associate with him."

White Plume left early, his father accompanying him for several
miles. On parting, the father's last words were: "Look out for

Unktomi, my son, he is deceitful and treacherous." "I'll look out
for him, father;" so saying he disappeared over a hill. On

the way he tried his skill on several hawks and eagles and he did
not need to use his painted arrows to kill them, but so skillful

was he with the bow and arrows that he could bring down anything
that flew with his common arrows. He was drawing near to the end

of his destination when he had a large tract of timber to pass
through. When he had nearly gotten through the timber he saw an

old man sitting on a log, looking wistfully up into a big tree,
where sat a number of prairie chickens.

"Hello, grandfather, why are you sitting there looking so
downhearted?" asked White Plume. "I am nearly starved, and was

just wishing some one would shoot one of those chickens for me, so
I could make a good meal on it," said the old man. "I will shoot

one for you," said the young man. He strung his bow, placed an
arrow on the string, simply seemed to raise the arrow in the

direction of the chicken (taking no aim). Twang went out the bow,
zip went the arrow and a chicken fell off the limb, only to get

caught on another in its descent. "There is your chicken,
grandfather." "Oh, my grandson, I am too weak to climb up and get

it. Can't you climb up and get it for me?" The young man, pitying
the old fellow, proceeded to climb the tree, when the old man

stopped him, saying: "Grandson, you have on such fine clothes, it
is a pity to spoil them; you had better take them off so as not to

spoil the fine porcupine work on them." The young man took off his
fine clothes and climbed up into the tree, and securing

the chicken, threw it down to the old man. As the young man was
scaling down the tree, the old man said: "Iyashkapa, iyashkapa,"

(stick fast, stick fast). Hearing him say something, he asked,
"What did you say, old man?" He answered, "I was only talking to

myself." The young man proceeded to descend, but he could not
move. His body was stuck fast to the bark of the tree. In vain

did he beg the old man to release him. The old Unktomi, for he it
was, only laughed and said: "I will go now and kill the evil

spirits, I have your wonderful bow and arrows and I cannot miss
them. I will marry the chief's daughter, and you can stay up in

that tree and die there."
So saying, he put on White Plume's fine clothes, took his bow and

arrows and went to the village. As White Plume was expected at any
minute, the whole village was watching for him, and when Unktomi

came into sight the young men ran to him with a painted robe, sat
him down on it and slowly raising him up they carried him to the

tent of the chief. So certain were they that he would kill the
evil spirits that the chief told him to choose one of the daughters

at once for his wife. (Before the arrival of White Plume, hearing
of him being so handsome, the two girls had quarreled over which

should marry him, but upon seeing him the younger was not anxious
to become his wife.) So Unktomi chose the older one of the

sisters, and was given a large tent in which to live. The younger
sister went to her mother's tent to live, and the older was very

proud, as she was married to the man who would save the nation from
starvation. The next morning there was a great commotion in camp,

and there came the cry that the white buffalo was coming. "Get
ready, son-in-law, and kill the buffalo," said the chief.

Unktomi took the bow and arrows and shot as the buffalo passed, but
the arrow went wide off its mark. Next came the eagle, and again

he shot and missed. Then came the rabbit, and again he missed.
"Wait until tomorrow, I will kill them all. My blanket caught in

my bow and spoiled my aim." The people were very much
disappointed, and the chief, suspecting that all was not right,

sent for the young man who had visited Dead Shot's tepee. When the
young man arrived, the chief asked: "Did you see White Plume when

you went to Dead Shot's camp?" "Yes, I did, and ate with him many
times. I stayed at his father's tepee all the time I was there,"

said the young man. "Would you recognize him if you saw him
again?" asked the chief. "Any one who had but one glimpse of White

Plume would surely recognize him when he saw him again, as he is
the most handsome man I ever saw," said the young man.

"Come with me to the tent of my son-in-law and take a good look at
him, but don't say what you think until we come away." The two

went to the tent of Unktomi, and when the young man saw him he knew
it was not White Plume, although it was White Plume's bow and

arrows that hung at the head of the bed, and he also recognized the
clothes as belonging to White Plume. When they had returned to the

chief's tent, the young man told what he knew and what he thought.
"I think this is some Unktomi who has played some trick on White

Plume and has taken his bow and arrows and also his clothes, and
hearing of your offer, is here impersonating White Plume. Had

White Plume drawn the bow on the buffalo, eagle and rabbit today,
we would have been rid of them, so I think we had better scare this

Unktomi into telling us where White Plume is," said the young man.
"Wait until he tries to kill the witches again tomorrow," said the

chief.
In the meantime the younger daughter had taken an axe and gone into

the woods in search of dry wood. She went quite a little distance
into the wood and was chopping a dry log. Stopping to rest a

little she heard some one saying: "Whoever you are, come over here
and chop this tree down so that I may get loose." Going to where

the big tree stood, she saw a man stuck onto the side of the tree.
"If I chop it down the fall will kill you," said the girl. "No,

chop it on the opposite side from me, and the tree will fall that
way. If the fall kills me, it will be better than hanging up here

and starving to death," said White Plume, for it was he.
The girl chopped the tree down and when she saw that it had not

killed the man, she said: "What shall I do now?" "Loosen the bark
from the tree and then get some stones and heat them. Get some

water and sage and put your blanket over me." She did as told and
when the steam arose from the water being poured upon the heated

rocks, the bark loosened from his body and he arose. When he stood
up, she saw how handsome he was. "You have saved my life," said

he. "Will you be my wife?" "I will," said she. He then told her
how the old man had fooled him into this trap and took his bow and

arrows, also his fine porcupine worked clothes, and had gone off,
leaving him to die. She, in turn, told him all that had happened

in camp since a man, calling himself White Plume, came there and
married her sister before he shot at the witches, and when he came

to shoot at them, missed every shot. "Let us
make haste, as the bad Unktomi may ruin my arrows." They

approached the camp and whilst White Plume waited outside, his
promised wife entered Unktomi's tent and said: "Unktomi, White

Plume is standing outside and he wants his clothes and bow and
arrows." "Oh, yes, I borrowed them and forgot to return them; make

haste and give them to him."
Upon receiving his clothes, he was very much provoked to find his

fine clothes wrinkled and his bow twisted, while the arrows were
twisted out of shape. He laid the clothes down, also the bows and

arrows, and passing his hand over them, they assumed their right
shapes again. The daughter took White Plume to her father's tent

and upon hearing the story he at once sent for his warriors and had

• striking [´straikiŋ] a.显著的，明显的 (初中英语单词)
• hunter [´hʌntə] n.猎人；猎狗；猎马 (初中英语单词)
• driven [´driv(ə)n] drive 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
• rabbit [´ræbit] n.兔子，野兔 (初中英语单词)
• reward [ri´wɔ:d] n.&v.报答；报酬；奖赏 (初中英语单词)
• suffering [´sʌfəriŋ] n.痛苦；灾害 (初中英语单词)
• associate [ə´səuʃieit] v.联合a.同伴的n.伙伴 (初中英语单词)
• timber [´timbə] n.木材；木料；横梁 (初中英语单词)
• prairie [´preəri] n.大草原 (初中英语单词)
• grandfather [´grænd,fɑ:ðə] n.(外)祖父；祖先 (初中英语单词)
• descend [di´send] v.下来，下降 (初中英语单词)
• release [ri´li:s] vt&n.释放；放松；赦免 (初中英语单词)
• arrival [ə´raivəl] n.到达；到达的人(物) (初中英语单词)
• glimpse [glimps] n.&v.瞥见 (初中英语单词)
• meantime [´mi:ntaim] n.&ad.其间；同时 (初中英语单词)
• standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)
• pronounced [prə´naunst] a.发出音的；显著的 (高中英语单词)
• plentiful [´plentifəl] a.丰富的；多的 (高中英语单词)
• buffalo [´bʌfələu] n.水牛；野牛 (高中英语单词)
• inhabit [in´hæbit] vt.居住；栖息；住宅 (高中英语单词)
• hearing [´hiəriŋ] n.听力；听证会；审讯 (高中英语单词)
• reject [ri´dʒekt] vt.拒绝；抵制；否决 (高中英语单词)
• manhood [´mænhud] n.人格；男子气概 (高中英语单词)
• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
• destination [,desti´neiʃən] n.目标地 (高中英语单词)
• descent [di´sent] n.出身，家世 (高中英语单词)
• seeing [si:iŋ] see的现在分词 n.视觉 (高中英语单词)
• hanging [´hæŋiŋ] n.绞刑 a.悬挂着的 (高中英语单词)
• whilst [wailst] conj.当...时候；虽然 (高中英语单词)
• porcupine [´pɔ:kjupain] n.豪猪，箭猪 (英语四级单词)
• setting [´setiŋ] n.安装；排字；布景 (英语四级单词)
• antelope [´æntiləup] n.羚羊 (英语四级单词)
• traveled [´trævəld] a.见面广的；旅客多的 (英语四级单词)
• parting [´pɑ:tiŋ] a.&n.分离(的) (英语四级单词)
• drawing [´drɔ:iŋ] n.画图；制图；图样 (英语四级单词)
• gotten [´gɔtn] get的过去分词 (英语四级单词)
• grandson [´grænsʌn] n.孙子；外孙子 (英语四级单词)
• commotion [kə´məuʃən] n.混乱；骚动 (英语四级单词)
• speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)
• deceitful [di´si:tful] a.欺骗的，骗人的 (英语六级单词)
• wistfully [´wistfuli] ad.渴望地；不满足地 (英语六级单词)
• calling [´kɔ:liŋ] n.点名；职业；欲望 (英语六级单词)