32. Coyote and Porcupine Contend For a Buffalo

Porcupine was sitting where the buffalo trail crossed a stream. "Take me across," he said to Buffalo. "All right, sit between my horns," said Buffalo. "When you shake your head I shall fall into the water," said Porcupine. "Well, sit in the middle of in my back," said Buffalo. "When you shake yourself I shall fall into the water," said Porcupine. "Sit by the root of my tail, then," Buffalo said. "When you shake your tall, I shall fall," he said. "Well then, crawl inside of me," said Buffalo. Porcupine crawled inside and crossed the river. He gnawed off a large blood vessel and Buffalo fell with him at the edge of the water. Porcupine crawled out.

"I will look for a flint to butcher it with," Porcupine was saying to himself when Coyote came by and heard him. "What did you say?" asked Coyote. "I will look for a small flint with which I can make an arrow I was saying." "You said something good," Coyote replied, "'I will look for a flint to butcher it with' you were saying. Let us go where it is." They went there. "Let the one who jumps over it butcher all of it," Coyote suggested. When Porcupine tried to jump over it he fell against its belly. Coyote jumped over its tail and commenced to butcher it, while Porcupine watched him. When Coyote had finished he gave the intestines to Porcupine saying, "Wash them for me." Porcupine ate some of them after he had washed them. When he returned with them, Coyote

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being suspicious, looked into his mouth and saw remnants of the food. He killed Porcupine with a club. He lay there dead.

Coyote, having defecated by the Buffalo, started home for his children. When he had gone a little way Porcupine jumped up. Coyote's faeces called out, "He has jumped up." Coyote came back and killed Porcupine with his club. When Coyote had gone some distance again, Porcupine jumping up, threw dirt into the mouth of the faeces as they were about to shout the warning. They did not shout again.

Porcupine carried the meat to the top of a pine tree, and sat down there to eat it. When Coyote came back with his children there was no meat there. They just licked up the blood. Porcupine, sitting up in the tree, spoke to them, "Lie down under the tree, cover yourselves with a blanket and I will throw down some meat." They all lay down but the youngest one watched Porcupine through a hole in the blanket. "He is throwing the backbone at us," he cried and jumped up. The backbone fell on them and killed them, all except the smallest one.

"Climb up Porcupine. called to the remaining one. He climbed the tree and Porcupine gave him the neck glands of the buffalo. When he had eaten them he asked Porcupine where one might ease himself. "Where the slender limb projects one sits," he replied. When the little Coyote had gone there Porcupine kicked the branch so that he fell into the canyon and burst.

Footnotes

228:2 Russell, (a), p. 263; Lowie, (a), p. 267; Mason, P. 316; Kroeber, (c), p. 270; Spinden, p. 21.