The Youth Who Joined the Deer

There was a man who was a great deer-hunter. He was constantly hunting, and
was very successful. He thought continually of the deer, and dreamed of
them. They were as friends to him. Probably they were his manitou. He had
two wives, one of whom had borne him no children, while the other one had
borne a male child.

One day while hunting, he came on the fresh tracks of a doe and fawn, which
he followed. They led to a knoll on which he saw a young woman and child
sitting. The tracks led directly to them. He was surprised, and asked the
woman if she had seen any deer pass. She answered, "No." He walked on, but
could not find the tracks. On his return, he said to the woman, "You must
have seen the deer; the tracks seem to disappear where you are, and they are
very fresh." The woman laughed, and said, "You need not trouble yourself
about the tracks. For a long time I have loved you and longed for you. Now
you shall go with me to my house." They walked on together; and the hunter
could not resist the attraction of the woman, nor help following her. As he
went along, he thought, "It is not well that I am acting thus. My wives and
my child are at home awaiting me." The woman knew his thoughts at once, and
said, "You must not worry or think that you are doing wrong. You shall be my
husband, and you will never regret it."

After the two had traveled a long way, they reached a hilly country. Then
the man saw an entrance which seemed to lead underground. When they had gone
some distance underground, they found themselves in a large house full of
people who were just like Indians. They were of both sexes and all ages.
They were well dressed in clothes of dressed skin, and wore deer-skin robes.
They seemed to be very amiable and happy. As the travelers entered, some of
the people said, "Our daughter has brought her husband." That night the
woman said to the hunter, "You are my husband, and will sleep with me. You
may embrace me, but you must not try to have intercourse with me. You must
not do so before the rutting-season. Then you may also go with my sisters.
Our season comes but once a year, and lasts about a month. During the rest
of the year we have no sexual connections." The hunter slept with his new
wife.

On the following day the people said, "Let our son-in-law hunt. He is a
great hunter. Let him get meat for us. We have no more meat." The hunter
took his bow and arrows and went hunting. Two young deer, his
brothers-in-law, ran ahead and stood on a knoll. Presently the hunter saw
them, and killed both of them. He cut them up and carried them home, leaving
nothing but their manure. The chief had told him in the morning to be
careful and not to throw away any part of the game.

Now the people ate and were glad. They saved all the bones and put them away
in one place. They said to the hunter, "We always save every bone." When the
deer were eaten, the bones were wrapped in bundles, and the chief sent a man
to throw them into the water. He carried the bones of the two deer that the
hunter had killed, and of another one that the people were eating when the
hunter first arrived. The hunter had missed his two brothers-in-law, and
thought they were away hunting. When the man who had carried the bones away
returned, the two brothers-in-law and another man were with him. They had
all come to life when their bones were thrown into the water. Thus these
Deer people lived by hunting and killing each other and then reviving. The
hunter lived with his wife and her people, and hunted whenever meat was
required. He never failed to kill deer, for some of the young deer were
always anxious to be killed for the benefit of the people.

At last the rutting-season came on, and the chief put the body of a large
old buck on the hunter, and so transformed him into a buck. He went out with
his wife and felt happy. Some other younger bucks came and beat him off and
took his wife. He did not like others to have his wife; therefore he went
home and felt downcast. That night the people said, "What is the matter with
our son-in-law, that he does not speak?" Some one said, "He is downcast
because a young man took his wife." The chief said, "Do not feel sad. We
shall give you ornaments to-morrow which will make you strong, and then
nobody can take your wife away from you." On the following morning he put
large antlers on him, and gave him the body of a buck in its prime. That day
the hunter beat off all the rival bucks, and kept his wife and also all her
sisters and cousins for himself. He hurt many of his brothers-in-law in
fighting. The Deer people had shamans who healed the wounds of those hurt in
battle, and they were busy throughout the rutting-season.

In this way they acted until the end of the rut, and the hunter was the
champion during the whole season. In due time his wife gave birth to a son.
When the latter was growing up, she said, "It is not fair to your people
that you live entirely with my people. We should live with them for a
while." She reduced a large quantity of deer-fat to the size of a handful.
She did the same with a large quantity of dried venison, deer-skins, and
dressed buckskins.

Now she started with her child and her husband, who hunted on the way, and
killed one of his brothers-in-law whenever they required food. He put the
bones into the water, and they revived. They traveled along as people do;
but the woman thought this too slow; therefore they transformed themselves
into deer. Now they went fast, and soon reached the country where her
husband's people lived. She said to her husband, "Do not approach the people
at once, or you will die. For eight days you must prepare yourself by
washing in decoctions of herbs."

Presently they saw a young woman some distance away from the lodges. The
hunter recognized her as his sister, showed himself, and called, "O sister!
I have come back, but no one must come near me for eight days. After that I
shall visit you; but you must clean your houses, so that there may be in
them nothing old and no bad smell." The people thought him dead, and his
childless wife had married again. After the hunter had become like other
people, he entered his lodge with his new wife and his son. His wife pulled
out the deer-fat from under her arm, and threw it down on long feast-mats
that had been spread out by the people. It assumed its proper dimensions and
covered all the mats. She did the same with the dried meat and the
deer-skins, which almost filled a lodge. Now the people had a feast, and
felt happy and pleased. The hunter staid with his people for a considerable
time. Whenever they wanted fresh meat, he gave his bow and arrows to his son
and told him to hunt. The youth always took with him his half-brother, the
son of his father by his Indian wife. They killed deer, for the deer were
the boy's relatives and were willing to be killed. They threw the bones into
the water, and the deer came back to life. The Deer-Boy taught his
half-brother how to hunt and shoot deer, how to hold his bow and arrows so
that he would not miss, how to cut up and preserve the meat; and he
admonished him always to throw the bones into the water, so that the deer
might revive.

Finally the Deer-Woman said to her husband, "We have been here now for a
long time. Let us return to my people." She invited the people to accompany
them, but they said they had not a sufficient number of moccasins to
undertake the long journey. The woman then pulled out a parcel of dressed
skins, threw it on the ground, and it became a heap of fine skins for shoes.

All the women worked night and day making moccasins, and soon they were
ready to start. The first day of the journey the hunter said to his wife,
"Let us send our son out, and I will shoot him." He hunted, and brought home
a young deer, which the people ate. They missed the Deer-Boy, and wondered
where he had gone. At night the hunter threw the bones into the water, and
the boy came to life. On the next day the hunter's wife went out, and he
killed her and fed the people. They missed her, and wondered where she had
gone. At night he threw the bones into the water, and she came to life. She
told her husband it would be better not to continue to do this, because the
people were becoming suspicious and would soon discover what they were
doing. She said, "After this kill your brothers-in-law." The people traveled
slowly, for there were many, and the hunter killed deer for them every day.

After many days they reached the Deer people's house. They were well
received. After a time they made up their minds to return; and the Deer-Boy
said he would return with his half-brother's people, and hunt for them on
the way, so that they might not starve. He accompanied them to their
country, and never returned. He became an Indian and a great hunter. From
him the people learned how to treat deer. He said to them, "When you kill
deer, always see to it that the bones are not lost. Throw them into the
water. Then the deer will come to life. A hunter who does this pleases the
deer. They have affection for him, are not afraid of him, and do not keep
out of his way, for they know that they will return to life whenever they
give themselves into his power. The deer will always remain plentiful,
because they are not really killed. If it is impossible to throw the bones
into water, then burn them. Then the deer will really die, but they will not
find fault with you. If a man throws deer-bones about, and takes no care of
them, if he lets the dogs eat them, and people step on them, then the deer
will be offended and will help him no more. They will withhold themselves,
and the hunter will have no luck in hunting. He will become poor and
starve." The hunter never returned to the people. He became a deer.

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