ere placed two old women, facing each other. Each one held a
_puk'-sah-tchis,_[1]--a maul,--with which she was to beat time to the
singing. The other seats in the lodge were taken by people who were to
sing. Now Old Man hung a big roll of belly fat close over the fire, so that
the hot grease began to drip, and everything was ready, and the singing
began. This was Old Man's song:--

[Footnote 1: A round or oblong stone, to which a handle was bound by
rawhide thongs, used for breaking marrow bones, etc.]

[Illustration:]

Ahk-sa'-k[=e]-wah, Ahk-sa'-k[=e]-wah, Ahk-sa'-k[=e]-wah, etc. I don't
care, I don't care, I don't care.

And so they sung for a long time, the old men jabbing their spears at each
other, and the old women pretending to hit each other with their mauls.

After a while they rested, and Old Man said: "Now I want every one to shut
their eyes. No one can look. I am going to begin the real doctoring." So
the people shut their eyes, and the singing began again. Then Old Man took
the dripping hot fat from the fire, gave it a mighty swing around the
circle in front of the people's faces, jumped out the door-way, and ran
off. Every one was burned. The two old men wounded each other with their
spears. The old women knocked each other on the head with their mauls. The
people cried and groaned, wiped their burned faces, and rushed out the
door; but Old Man was gone. They saw him no more.

THE ROCK

Once Old Man was travelling, and becoming tired he sat down on a rock to
rest. After a while he started to go on, and because the sun was hot he
threw his robe over the rock, saying: "Here, I give you my robe, because
you are poor and have let me rest on you. Always keep it."

He had not gone very far, when it began to rain, and meeting a coyote he
said: "Little brother, run back to that rock, and ask him to lend me his
robe. We will cover ourselves with it and keep dry." So the coyote ran back
to the rock, but returned without the robe. "Where is the robe?" asked Old
Man. "_Sai-yah!"_ replied the coyote. "The rock said you gave him the
robe, and he was going to keep it."

Then Old Man was very angry, and went back to the rock and jerked the robe
off it, saying: "I only wanted to borrow this robe until the rain was over,
but now that you have acted so mean about it, I will keep it. You don't
need a robe anyhow. You have been out in the rain and snow all your life,
and it will not hurt you to live so always."