I was
very hungry, for I had not eaten since I left the earth. I asked my
uncle for some rice to eat, but he did not give it to me. Had I eaten of
the food for spirits, I never should have returned to earth.
"At last my uncle spoke to me. `My nephew,' said he, 'why are you
travelling without a bow and arrow? how can you provide yourself with
food when you have no means of killing game? When my home was on the
Mississippi, the warriors of the Dahcotahs were never without their bows
and arrows--either to secure their food or to strike to the hearts of
their enemies.'
"I then remembered that I had been travelling without my bow and arrows.
`But where,' said I to my uncle, `where are the spirits of my
forefathers? where is my brother who fell under the tomahawk of his
enemy? where is my sister who threw herself into the power of Unktahe,
rather than to live and see her rival the wife of the Sun? where are the
spirits of the Dahcotah braves whose deeds are still told from father to
son among us?'
"'The Dahcotah braves are still watching for their enemies--the hunters
are bringing in the deer and the buffalo--our women are planting corn
and tanning deer-skin.
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