| Show III il I 1 S I 1 i M indian r t Lodge Tales 1 Z 1 Z by r ford C frick n 40 if III 11 III P THE DECISION OF DEATH NOW when the Itan itou created the red man to rule over the world lie he created cren led him in ills own linage imago and made hint him walk upright with his eyes ees to the sky shy and he was ft as not forced to watch tits his feet its as were vere the beasts lint hut when nhen the abe reel red man was nas created and had lived for or years in the peace ful valley tho the Maril mariatou tou found that he wag ft as too tod strong and too brave brao and that he be had been created too much in the image of 0 the makor of us fill all so lie decided that it would not do for the tha red lied man inn to live 11 e too long else ho he would become as wise wine and as great as moulton himself so one day tile the appeared to his daughter the mother of the lied man and to tier her he told 1 I 1 1 tears fars L and oa as a remedy he be suggested that the he red ked man lie ho allowed to alve only for or an allotted span of fit years and that then he bo be supplanted by his 1113 children end and hla his childrens children until time ended but first he thought he would give the red man a chance to determine how he ha was to live and so in company with tits his daughter daug liter lie went to the tha valley where re lived the chosen people and lie he celled called forth the wisest and old est chief of them all to bo the judge in his big one hand lie he took a buffalo chip and in the other a stone meng and with the cutet chief ond and his bis daughter he ent ant to the lank bank of the stream to matte the test first he tossed awod the buffalo chip into the stream ond and the chip floated for awhile until it f truck struck the rapids and then it submerged for a i little way and again it floated find agala again it submerged until finally it di disappeared sa speared from sight around a bend in the tha tream stream 9 and so the manitou ruled that the tha red lied men man should live tor for four years and then dle die and remain dead for four years following which he would agala again come to ufa life for a similar period and the old chief was pleased and accepted the ruling but the daughter of the mo mother ther of all the lied men blet was not pleased ond and pleaded with her ter father that BOMB boma other arrangement might be made and thle the who loved his daughter dearly listened to her pleading and agreed that lint there should be one more test made annile find and that the tha result of that test should stand forever and the method ol 01 0 the test lie he left to his his daughter daug liter she seeing that tile the Alan itou had not yet thrown the stone and thinking that perhaps the stone had find some magic unknown except to the maker of us all suggested that he throw the stone in the water the Man manitou itou taking tier her at her word tossed the stone far out into the stream and it fell with a splash into the water and sank bank out or of sight and thus was waa tit alio fate of the red lied men bien decided the ruled that each red lied man alan should live in tho the valley fin an allotted span of years and that then he should die and his big body should perish from the earth and should never more come to life in the valley dut but in order that the red men should not be hopeless and forlorn I 1 ho to promised that those of them who kept the faith and praised the toU and his good work should lle live again in the happy hunting ground above the peak w where hero there would be no death and where there would be no war and no trouble and so the ruling stood the red men were made mortal to die when their time lime came but knowing of the promise of Matil matilton tou they felt no tear fear of death and so it to Is today we IVO all must die but living well wel we live gain again in that great hunta hunting ground where all Is happiness and pence peace note this legend bears a mar marked e similarity to a legend of death tot told by the and credited to the semi human god of earth who according to the Is ary god to monitor himself grinnell in lila his blackfoot Legen legends det has quoted this story although no mention Is made of the atler after lif alfe 0 and the te test a t I 1 la a M made ad 0 in a distinctly different manner |
