odges and on the
racks outside; and now the women, having cut up all the meat, were working
on the hides, preparing some for robes, and scraping the hair from others,
to make leather.

About this time, Old Man came along. He had come from far and was very
tired, so he entered the first lodge he came to and sat down. Now this
lodge belonged to three old women. Their husbands had died or been killed
in war, and they had no relations to help them, so they were very
poor. After Old Man had rested a little, they set a dish of food before
him. It was dried bull meat, very tough, and some pieces of belly fat.

"_Hai'-yah ho_!" cried Old Man, after he had tasted a piece. "You treat me
badly. A whole pis'kun of fat buffalo just killed; the camp red with meat,
and here these old women give me tough bull meat and belly fat to eat.
Hurry now! roast me some ribs and a piece of back fat."

"Alas!" exclaimed one old woman. "We have no good food. All our helpers are
dead, and we take what others leave. Bulls and poor cows are all the people
leave us."

"Ah!" said Old Man, "how poor! you are very poor. Take courage now. I will
help you. To-morrow they will run another band into the pis'kun. I will be
there. I will kill the fattest cow, and you can have it all."

Then the old women were glad. They talked to one another, saying, "Very good
heart, Old Man. He helps the poor. Now we will live. We will have marrow
guts and liver. We will have paunch and fat kidneys."

Old Man said nothing more. He ate the tough meat and belly fat, and rolled
up in his robe and went to sleep.

Morning came. The people climbed the bluffs and went out on to the prairie,
where they hid behind the piles of rock and bushes, which reached far out
from the cliff in lines which were always further and further apart. After
a while, he who leads the buffalo was seen coming, bringing a large band
after him. Soon they were inside the lines. The people began to rise up
behind them, shouting and waving their robes. Now they reached the edge of
the bluff. The leaders tried to stop and turn, but those behind kept
pushing on, and nearly the whole band dashed down over the rocks, only a
few of the last ones turning aside and escaping.

The lodges were now deserted. All the people were gone to the pis'kun to
kill the buffalo and butcher them. Where was Old Man? Did he take his bow
and arrows and go to the pis'kun to kill a fat cow for the poor old women?
No. He was snea