d I coax a
continuation of the song.

Seated beside War Eagle was a very old Indian whose name was Red Robe,
and as soon as I was seated, the host explained that he was an honored
guest; that he was a Sioux and a friend of long standing. Then War
Eagle lighted the pipe, passing it to the distinguished friend, who in
turn passed it to me, after first offering it to the Sun, the father,
and the Earth, the mother of all that is.

In a lodge of the Blackfeet the pipe must never be passed across the
doorway. To do so would insult the host and bring bad luck to all who
assembled. Therefore if there be a large number of guests ranged about
the lodge, the pipe is passed first to the left from guest to guest
until it reaches the door, when it goes back, unsmoked, to the host, to
be refilled ere it is passed to those on his right hand.

Briefly War Eagle explained my presence to Red Robe and said:

"Once the Moon made the Sun a pair of leggings. Such beautiful work
had never been seen before. They were worked with the colored quills
of the Porcupine and were covered with strange signs, which none but
the Sun and the Moon could read. No man ever saw such leggings as they
were, and it took the Moon many snows to make them. Yes, they were
wonderful leggings and the Sun always wore them on fine days, for they
were bright to look upon.

"Every night when the Sun went to sleep in his lodge away in the west,
he used the leggings for a pillow, because there was a thief in the
world, even then. That thief and rascal was OLD-man, and of course the
Sun knew all about him. That is why he always put his fine leggings
under his head when he slept. When he worked he almost always wore
them, as I have told you, so that there was no danger of losing them in
the daytime; but the Sun was careful of his leggings when night came
and he slept.

"You wouldn't think that a person would be so foolish as to steal from
the Sun, but one night OLD-man--who is the only person who ever knew
just where the Sun's lodge was--crept near enough to look in, and saw
the leggings under the Sun's head.

"We have all travelled a great deal but no man ever found the Sun's
lodge. No man knows in what country it is. Of course we know it is
located somewhere west of here, for we see him going that way every
afternoon, but OLD-man knew everything--except that he could not fool
the Sun.

"Yes--OLD-man looked into the lodge of the Sun and saw the leggings