also became the mother of a fine boy. The two boys had grown up
large enough to play around. One day the Elk woman was tanning
hides outside and the two boys were playing around near their
mothers, when all at once the buffalo boy ran across the robe,
leaving his tracks on the white robe which his step-mother had
nearly completed. This provoked the elk woman and she gave vent to
her feelings by scolding the boy: "You clumsy flat mouth, why
couldn't you run around my work, instead of across it?" The
buffalo cow standing in the door, heard every word that the elk
woman had said, and when she heard her son called flat mouth it
made her very angry, although she did not say a word to any one.
She hurriedly gathered some of her belongings and, calling her son,
she started off in a westerly direction.

The husband being absent on a hunting expedition did not return
until late in the afternoon. Upon his return his oldest boy always
ran out to meet him, but this time as the boy did not put in an
appearance, the father feared that something had happened to the
boy. So hurriedly going to his tent he looked around, but failing
to see the boy or his mother, he asked his elk wife, where the boy
and his mother were. The elk wife answered: "She took her boy on
her back and started off in that direction," (pointing towards the
west). "How long has she been gone?" "Since early morning." The
husband hurriedly caught a fresh horse and, without eating
anything, rode off in the direction taken by his buffalo wife and
boy. Near dark he ascended a high hill and noticed a small tent
down in the valley. It was a long distance down to the tent, so it
was very late when he arrived there. He tethered his horse and
went into the tent and found the boy and his mother fast asleep.
Upon lying down beside them the boy awoke, and upon seeing his