Native American Legends
The Skin Shifting Old Woman
A Wichita Legend
In the story of Healthy-Flint-Stone-Man, it is told that he was
a powerful man and lived in a village and was a chief of the place.
He was not a man of heavy build, but was slim.
Often when a man is of this type of build he is called "Healthy-Flint-Stone-
Man," after the man in the story. Healthy-Flint-Stone-Man had
parents, but at this time he had no wife. Soon afterwards he married,
and his wife was the prettiest woman that ever lived in the village.
When she married Healthy-Flint-Stone-Man they lived at his home.
She was liked by his parents, for she was a good worker and kind-hearted.
As was their custom, the men of the village came at night to visit
Healthy-Flint-Stone-Man, and his wife did the cooking to feed them,
so that he liked her all the more, and was kind to her.
Early in the morning a strange woman by the name of Little-Old-Woman
came to their place and asked the wife to go with her to get wood.
Out of kindness to Little-Old-Woman she went with her, leaving her
husband at home. Little-Old-Woman knew where all the dry wood was
to be found. When they reached the place where she thought there
was plenty of wood they did not stop. They went on past, although
there was plenty of good dry wood. The wife began to cut wood for
the old woman and some for herself. When she had cut enough for
both she fixed it into two bundles, one for each. Little-Old-Woman
knelt by her pile and waited for the wife to help her up. Little-Old-Woman
then helped the wife in the same way, and they started toward their
home. They talked on the way about their manner of life at home.
Arrived at the village, the old woman went to her home. When the
wife got home she began to do her work.
Again, the second time, the old woman came around and asked the
wife to go with her to fetch wood. They started away together, and
this time went farther than on the first time to get their wood,
though they passed much good wood. The wife cut wood for both and
arranged it in two piles, but this time she herself first knelt
by her pile and asked the old woman to take hold of her hands and
pull her up; then the wife helped the old woman with her load. They
returned home, and on the way the old woman said to the wife, "If
you will go with me to fetch wood for the fourth time I shall need
no more help from you." They again went far beyond where any
other women had gone to get wood. When they got to the village they
parted. The wife wondered why the old woman came to her for help.
She found the men passing the time talking of the past as usual.
She kept on doing her duty day after day.
The third time the old woman came for the wife to ask her to help
her fetch wood, as she was all out of it again. Again they went
out, and this time they went still further for the wood, and now
they were getting a long way from the village. The wife cut wood
and arranged it in two bundles, one for each of them to carry. This
time it was the old woman's turn first to be helped up with the
wood. They helped each other, and on the way home the old woman
told the wife that they had only once more to go for wood, and the
work would all be done. She always seemed thankful for the help
she received. They reached the village and went to their homes.
The wife found her men as usual, and commenced to do her work. After
the men were through eating they went home, though some stayed late
in the night.
Finally the old woman came the fourth time to ask the wife to go
with her and help her fetch some wood. This time they went about
twice as far as they had gone the third time from the village. When
the old woman thought they were far enough they stopped, and the
wife began cutting wood for both of them. When she had cut enough
she arranged it in two bundles. Now it was the wife's turn to be
helped up with the wood, but the old woman refused to do it as usual
and told her to go ahead and kneel by the bundle of wood. The wife
refused. Now, each tried to persuade the other to kneel first against
the bundle of wood. The old woman finally prevailed, and the wife
knelt against the wood, and as she put her robe around her neck
the old woman seemed pleased to help her, but as the old woman was
fixing the carrying ropes she tightened them, after slipping them
around the wife's neck until the wife fell at full length, as though
dying.
The old woman sat down to rest, as she was tired from choking the
wife. Soon she got up and untied the wife. Now, they were in the
thick timber, and there was flowing water through it. After the
old woman had killed the wife she blew into the top of her head
and blew the skin from her, hair and all. This she did because she
envied the wife her good looks, since the wife was the best-looking
woman in the village, and her husband was good- looking and well
thought of by all the prominent men, and the old woman wanted to
be treated as well as the wife had been treated. Then the old woman
began to put on the wife's skin, but the wife was a little smaller
than the old woman, though the old woman managed to stretch the
skin and drew it over her, fitting herself to it. Then she smoothed
down the skin until it fitted her nicely. She took the wife's body
to the flowing water and threw it in, having found a place that
was never visited by anyone, and that had no trail leading to it.
She then went to her pile of wood and took it to her home. She found
the men visiting the chief.
The chief did not discover that she was not his wife. The old woman
knew all about the former wife's ways, for she had talked much with
her when they were coming home with the wood, and she had asked
the wife all sorts of questions about her husband. She understood
how the men carried on at the chief's place. The wife had told the
chief that the old woman had said that they were to go for wood
four different times, and the last time being the fourth time, he
supposed it was all over and his wife had got through with the old
woman. So, as the old woman was doing his wife's duty, he thought
her to be his wife until the time came when the skin began to decay
and the hair to come off. Still there were big crowds of men around,
and the old woman began to be fearful lest they would find her out.
So she made as if she were sick. The chief tried to get a man to
doctor her, but she refused to be doctored. Finally he hired a servant
to doctor her. This was the man who always sat right by the entrance,
ready to do errands or carry announcements to the people. His name
was Buffalo-Crow-Man. He had a dark complexion. The old woman began
to rave at his medicine working. He began to tell who the old woman
was, saying that there was no need of doctoring her; that she was
a fraud and an evil spirit; and that she had become the wife of
the chief through her bad deeds. The old woman told the chief not
to believe the servant; and that he himself was a fraud and was
trying to get her to do something wrong. The servant then stood
at the feet of the old woman and began to sing.
Then over her body he went and jumped at her head. Then he commenced
to sing again, first on her left side, then on her right. He sang
the song four times, and while he was doing this the decayed hide
came off from her. The servant told the men to take her out and
take her life for what she had done to the chief's wife, telling
how she had fooled the chief. They did as they were told. The servant
told the men he had suspected the old woman when she had come around
to get the wife to go after wood with her; that when going after
wood they always went a long distance, so that no one could observe
them, but that he had always flown very high over them, so they
could not see him, and had watched them; that on the fourth time
they went for wood he had seen the old woman choke the wife with
the wife's rope; how the old woman had secured the whole skin of
the wife and had thrown her body into the flowing water. He told
the men where the place was, and directed them there the next day.
The men went to their homes, feeling very sad for the wicked thing
the old woman had done.
On the next day the chief went as directed, and he came to a place
where he found a pile of wood that belonged to his former wife.
He went to the place where he supposed his wife to be. He sat down
and commenced to weep. There he stayed all night and the next day.
He returned to his home, but he could not forget the occurrence.
So he went back again and stayed another night and again returned
home. The chief was full of sorrow. He went back to the place the
third time, and when he got there he sat down and commenced to weep.
Again he stayed all night, and early next morning it was foggy and
he could not see far. While he sat and wept he faced the east, and
he was on the west side of the flowing waters, so that he also faced
the flowing water wherein his wife's body was thrown.
He heard some one singing, but he was unable to catch the sound
so that he could locate the place where the sound came from. He
finally discovered that it came from the flowing water. He went
toward the place and listened, and indeed it was his wife's voice,
and this is what she sang:
Woman-having-Powers-in-the-Water,
Woman-having-Powers-in-the-Water,
I am the one (you seek),
I am here in the water.
As he went near the river he saw in the middle of the water his
wife standing on the water. She told him to go back home and tell
his parents to clean their grass-lodge and to purify the room by
burning sage. She told her husband that he might then return and
take her home; that he should tell his parents not to weep when
she should return, but that they should rejoice at her return to
life, and that after that he could take her home. So the man started
to his home. After he arrived he told his mother to clean and purify
the lodge; and that he had found his wife and that he was going
back again to get her. He told her that neither she nor any of their
friends should weep at sight of the woman. While his mother was
doing this cleaning he went back to the river and stayed one more
night, and early in the morning he heard the woman singing again.
He knew that he was to bring his wife back to his home. When he
heard her sing he went straight to her. She came out of the water
and he met her. She began to tell her husband about her troubles--how
she met troubles and how he was deceived. That day they went to
their home, and Flint-Stone-Man's parents were glad to see his wife
back once more. They lived together until long afterward.
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