Traditions of the Arikara

One time there was a prominent warrior who made up his mind that he would take a company of boys up into the hills to catch eagles. He led them out into the hills, and there he had many holes dug for the young men. They dug a big cave in the bank of the Missouri River, and this they made their permanent home.

One night, while they were sitting around in a circle telling Coyote stories, telling things a little bit in excess of what the Coyote had done, they were startled by the bark of a Coyote just outside of their den. Presently the Coyote walked into their den and said: “You people tell things about me that are not true, but then, it is all right.” He jumped out of the den and went off. All the young men, and even the leader, were scattered, on account of this Coyote’s coming into the den. They left their den and returned to their village. They thought that it was a bad sign for the Coyote to talk, but the other people thought that it was wrong for them to be scared. They thought that the Coyote had brought a good message to them, and they should have stayed and should have caught many eagles.