[191] Many were the people dwelling at Unte'unaha.[192] Wildcat's wife was pregnant and he had a child born to him. The woman gave birth to a child; Wildcat did not go to hunt deer, for his wife had a child.[193] Wildcat said, "Let us go to get pine nuts. We can do no other work now than to go to get pine nuts. And dress up your child!"

Now they went to the east together with their child. There were many pine nuts there, the trees were loaded down with them. "I shall climb up for them here. Let us get pine nuts." "Yes," said the woman. Wildcat climbed up the tree. He threw the pine nuts down one after another, broke off the pine-cones and threw them down. The woman had put her baby in its cradle down on the ground, and pounded the nuts out of the cones as Wildcat broke them off and threw them down below. He shouted down to his wife, "Are they big nuts?" The woman said, "Yes. Throw them all down," said the woman; "they are big nuts." He threw the pine nuts down, and said, "Hū!" He threw some more down, saying "Hū!" "Yes," said the woman. Wildcat spoke to her within his heart, spoke down to her, "Hehe'?! I wonder what's going to happen, for my sleep is bad." The woman did not answer. "Hū" He threw pine nuts down to the south, he threw them to the north, he threw them to the east, he threw them to the west. "Last night I dreamt in my sleep. I dreamt that I was throwing myself down. I threw down my shoulder, I threw down my other shoulder, I threw down my thigh, I threw down my other thigh." The woman did not turn back to look, as she pounded the nuts out of the cones; the baby was lying in its cradle on the ground. "I dreamt that I hurled down my backbone. I dreamt that I was rolling all over with nothing but my skull. I dreamt." The woman looked east to the digger pine. Blood was dripping down from the pine tree. The woman put her hand over her mouth, as she looked at the blood. The woman was afraid, and ran off home. He bounded about up in the tree, being nothing but a skull. The woman left her child behind her, forgot her child. She arrived, running, at the house. "I don't know what he is going to do. He has thrown his own members down, and bounds about up in the tree with nothing but his skull. Blood is dripping down from the digger pine. I am afraid," said the woman.

"Indeed!" said the people. "Let us run off to save ourselves. He might cause us all to die." The people did so, and started off to run for safety, running off to the south. They all went into the sweathouse at Wamā'rawi,[194] and put a sandstone rock on the roof to keep others out. The people filled the house, children, women, and men. Wildcat was saying, "Hū!" but the woman did not answer him. Wildcat's skull came bounding down, bounded down to the ground. He lay quietly there for a short while, not seeing his wife. Then he bounded around, nothing but a skull. He saw his child and swallowed it. "Am!" said Wildcat to his wife. He bounded back home to the west, he bounded back and arrived at his house. There were no people there. He bounded about to every house. There were no people. "Am! Where is it that you have all gone to, running away to save yourselves? I'll find you!" He followed all their tracks, as he bounded about. He found their tracks which they had made in moving to the south. "Am! I shall find you," said he, as he bounded off to the south. He cut bottom-oaks down one after another, he cut the brush down. He bounded on to the rocks, and burst them to pieces. He bounded south to P‘u'ls*u?aina,[195] rolling along to the west, a human skull. He was like a strong wind, thus he was as he went along.[196]

He bounded up hill to the south to ‘Ô'djinimauna,[197] following the people's tracks. He bounded on until he arrived at Wamā'rawi. "Let me in, you people, I want to enter," said the human skull. "Don't say anything," (they whispered to one another). "Don't let him in," said the people. He was not allowed to enter. "Let me enter, you people!" "Don't you let him get in! Be quiet!" "Yes!" he now said outside within his heart. "You people won't let me in, won't you?" He bounded back a little way to the north, and came back swiftly, a human skull, on the ground from the north. He was very strong, and cut up all the bushes everywhere, cut up all the trees. He was going to burst into the house, but he could not, or it was too strong. He bounded off to the east. He came bounding back from the east, intended to burst west into the house. The sweat-house shook, but it was too strong for him to break in. He bounded off to the south. He came bounding back from the south, intended to burst into the house from the south side, but it was too strong for him. The people were heard talking inside the sweat-house. He bounded off to the west. He bounded back from the west, acted like a flint arrow-head, so strong was he, but he could not break into the house. He lay quiet a while, in order to rest. There he lay. "Hehe'?!" said the human skull. "You people were very sensible." He bounded up into the air, intended to burst into the house from above, through the door. He came bounding down, but could not burst through the roof, for the house was too strong for him. He bounded up again (saying to himself), "I shall try it once more. Perhaps I shall succeed in bursting through the house." He did so, bounded away up into the air. He came bounding down, but bounced back. That human skull had nearly burst into the sweat-house, for the sandstone rock was already pounded thin. The people inside were afraid. "He‘! It looks as if we shall all die. It seems that he is about to burst into the house," said the people. Wildcat bounded back down hill to the north, and lay there now on the ground. "Why should I try to burst into the house? The sweat-house is too strong for me."

He bounded back to the north, rushed back as far as Old Cow creek. He arrived rushing back at what had been his house. "Whither, now, shall I go?" He bounded north and met some people. He killed the people and went on rushing to the north. He rushed down hill to the north at Djit‘p‘ama'uwitc‘u.[198] He killed ten people, and went rushing up hill to the north. He was heard coming by all the people, rushing along, acting like a wind, as he came rushing on. He rushed on as far as K!ā's*ip!u.[199]

Coyote was coming from the north at I‘da'lmadu.[200] Coyote had on an elk-skin belt and carried a quiver of otter-skin. Coyote stood there, listening, listened down on the ground. "That must be the human skull," said Coyote. He was coming from the north. "I am going to meet him," said Coyote in his heart. "I do not think that I shall be killed. I hear that he is killing the people." The human skull came rushing down hill from the south; Coyote on his part was coming from the north. Coyote stood still right there at Djêwint‘a'urik!u.[201] "Heh! What shall I do?" He took off his belt, and hid his otter-skin quiver and net-cap in the brush. The human skull came rushing from the south, approaching nearer and nearer. Coyote said, "I wish there may be to me an old, ugly-looking pack-basket. I wish there may be to me an old, ugly-looking apron of shredded bark. I wish there may be to me an ugly-looking skirt." It was so. The skirt, the old pack-basket, and the apron of shredded bark came to him. "I wish there may be to me pitch, white clay." He besmeared his head with pitch, put it on thick on his face; he just managed to look through his eyes, because of the pitch. The human skull came bounding from the south. "I am going to cry," said Coyote. He carried the old pack-basket on his back, thus did Coyote as he came from the north, while the human skull approached nearer and nearer from the south. "Hê! hê! hê!" he sobbed, "hê! hê! hê!" Coyote was walking along with the help of a stick. The human skull lay quiet a while, listening to the person crying. Coyote came up to the human skull. Coyote looked at the human skull and cried, "I hear that you were bad in the south. What are you acting that way for?" The rolling skull spoke, "I was dreaming," he said to Coyote. "My wife was having a child, and I dreamt that I threw my own body down. I dreamt that I was bounding about, merely a skull." Coyote spoke to the human skull, "Hehe'?! I should like to bake you on hot rocks, because if you continue to act that way, bounding about, merely a skull, you will surely die. I have seen a person that way before, acting like you because of a bad dream, and I have caused him to be a person again," said he, speaking to the human skull, who lay there, big-eyed, consisting of nothing but his eyes. "I put wood and rocks into a hole. I made a round hole, and packed wood." Wildcat was listening to what Coyote was telling him. "And I built a fire down in the hole. I put lots of wood on the fire, so that it burned well, and I put rocks on the fire, big rocks, and when the rocks were hot, I went to look for pitch. I mixed soft pitch with old, red pitch. Hū! I besmeared that skull of yours all around with pitch, I smeared pitch all over it, nice and smooth. Hū! And I put the skull down in the hole," he said to Wildcat. "'S*' said the pitch, as it spluttered away."

"Do that to me, please," said the human skull. "I put hot rocks, big rocks, on top. Hū! And while the pitch said 'S*!' the skull stretched out until it became a person again, and hū! it arose out of the fire, having again become a person." (Wildcat agreed to let Coyote do thus to him. When he became heated up, he attempted to burst out, but could not.) It shook all around. Wildcat no longer moved about at all, for he was dead now. He had tried to burst up out, but in vain. "Aha'! Hehê!" said Coyote. "You can't beat me. I was never beaten in anything." He took his quiver and bow out of the brush again, threw away his pack-basket, threw away his apron of shredded bark, threw them all away. He put on his belt and tied his hair up into a top-knot. "There's no such a thing as my being beaten!" Coyote now went to the south. He went up hill to the south, came to the top of the hill, and proceeded south, went until he came to Djit‘p‘ama'uwitc‘u. He kept going south until he arrived at Wamā'rawi. Many were the people in the sweathouse. "Come out of the house, all of you," said Coyote, shouting inside to them. "I have killed the human skull. I killed him over there at Djêwint‘a'urik!u." The people did so, all came out of the house. They all now went off home, going back to the east, going back to the south, going back to the west, going back to the north.