Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National ParkSchultz, James Willard
History
Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National Park
Schultz, James Willard
Glacier National Park (Mont.); Indians of North America -- Folklore; Siksika Indians -- Folklore
"In the long ago, before our forefathers had taken this country from
the Crows, they were one summer camping and hunting on the Big River
of the North.[7] Came the evening of a long, hot day, and a boy of
eight or nine winters--Lone Star was his name--failed to return to his
parents' lodge. The chiefs ordered the camp crier out, and he went all
among the lodges, shouting the news, and asking if any one had seen
the boy? None had; so then the chiefs ordered all the men and youths
to go out and try to find him. All that moonlit night, and all the
next day, they searched the surrounding country, but got no trace of
him. Every alighting buzzard was marked down, but in every instance it
was found to be feasting upon the remains of game that the hunters had
killed. So then, although his body could not be found, most of the
people believed that the boy was dead. His beautiful sister, Red
Cloud Woman, and his father, Black Bear, thought otherwise; they
believed that he had been stolen by the enemy, and publicly, all
through the camp, the two went, the girl vowing that she would marry
whoever would find her brother, the old man adding that she had his
permission to make the vow.
[7] Ap-ut´-o-sosts O´muk-at-ai (Big River of the North). The
Saskatchewan.
"There was in the camp a very poor young man, named New Robe. So poor
was he that he had never owned a new robe, nor a new shirt, nor
leggins, nor even new moccasins. His father and mother were dead, and
always, as far back as he could remember, he had worn nothing but the
used clothes the charitable had given him. He had never been to war,
had never done anything to make a name for himself, but now he was
eager to start in quest of the missing boy. He had long loved the
girl, but had never even spoken to her. He now went to her and said:
'Tell no one about it. Just silently pray for me. I am going to travel
far in search of your brother.'
"Said the girl: 'This is not a time for me to hide my heart from you.
I have watched you, loved you for a very long time. But what could I
say? Nothing. Well I knew that my people would not allow me to marry
one so poor as you. But now there is hope for us; somehow I believe
that this trouble is to be the means of bringing us together.' And
with that she kissed him, and he went quietly out from camp,
unobserved by any one, and started southward on his quest.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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