eeMBy gftemawa JUmerican
VOL. 12 MARCH 25, 1910. NO. 37
An Indian Story.
There is a certain tribe of Indians in
the far Northern part of Alaska, who do
not believe in allowing and who will
not allow their children to cry. The
children take advantage of this belief
and whenever they wish for anything
all they need to do is to begin to cry
and their wish is granted almost imme
diately. One time a little girl began to cry for
some trifling thing which was impossible
to obtain, so she cried and cried until
the mother thought she would stop the
little one's crying by frightening her.
So as it was almost dusk she put the
child outside and left her.
There had always been an old legend
among this particular tribe of Indians
that there was an old witch who lived
under the ground.
While the little girl was standing
outside,- as a punishment, she saw an
old woman coming. Her appearance
was horrible. On the palms of her
hands were balls of tire and her lower
lip projected almost a foot.
The old witch asked the little girl
why she was crying, and as is natural
for a child, she told the old woman her
troubles. The witch put the little girl
on her lip and carried her away under
the ground to her dwelling and she kept
her there for about ten years.
One day the old witch noticed that
the girl wore large ear rings in her ears
and she asked her how she got them
there. The girl told her if she wanted
ear rings she would have to penetrate
through her ears with sticks. The old
witch agreed to this; she was willing to
do anything to have such ear rings.
The girl took four sticks and sharpened
them and bade the old woman lay her
head on a block of wood which was
near the house. Then she fastened the
old witch's head to the block by pound
ing two sticks in each ear. When she
saw that she had her securely fastened
the girl ran home and told of the ten
years of hard labor that she had spent
with the old woman.
This legend of the old witch was never
fully believed until the experience of
the girl became known, but after that it
was a sure belief among this particular
tribe, and is the reason they will not
allow their children to cry. Dollie
Cape.
THE COYOTE.
The coyote is a very shy animal and is
well known all over the states of Oregon
and Washington. He is an animal that
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