The Warrior and the Skeleton

It was a crisp autumn morning when a small party of young Inunia set off to search for wild game in the mountains, heading West on the hunt. They carried with them heavy packs of food and spare moccasins, well prepared for the journey ahead of them. Partway through their travels, as they were crossing the rocky bed of a shallow stream, one of the young warriors felt a sharp pain in his ankle. Over the course of the day, his ankle grew to become swollen, the pain in his foot growing worse as they went on. They pitched camp that night, but by the morning, the ankle had swollen so badly that it was impossible for the young man to continue the journey with the others.

The group together decided that it would be for the better to leave him behind and complete their hunt themselves. Of course, not wanting to leave the man stranded without at least preparing him for his stay, they gathered cuts of young willows and tall grass to make a thatched shelter for him, bringing a pile of dry wood so he could keep the fire burning. They left for him a good chunk of their food, so he would not grow hungry.

"When your ankle gets well, don't follow us." They said. "Go back to the village, and wait for our return."

The party took off, leaving the lame warrior to himself for several lonely days. Each day he tested his ankle, but it was still far too painful to walk upon. One night, a heavy snowstorm fell, leaving him practically imprisoned in the little thatched shelter. Without being able to kill any game, and having been stuck here for days, his supply of food was running horribly thin. He had just enough for tonight, and perhaps one more day if he was careful. He set aside a few dried chokecherries for the night, and was warming a bit of pemmican carefully to rid it of the frost when he heard crunches across in the frozen snow.

Had his companions returned? He listened closely for the sound of their voices, but all he heard were lone footfalls- this was a lone traveler heading this way. The thin flap of the shelter was soon all that came between himself and the sound; the warrior’s hand soon found its way towards his bow and arrow at his side. He couldn’t run, but he could certainly defend himself.

The flap opened, revealing a tall, gaunt figure in a tanned robe staring down at him. The robe was pinned tightly at the neck- above it only a skull, and below the edges of the robe lay skeletal feet. The warrior turned away, terrified of this apparition.

"Do not be frightened of me." croaked the skeleton in a hoarse voice, "I have taken pity upon you, and now ask that you take pity on me. Have you food to spare, for I am very hungry."

The warrior was still quite alarmed at the presence of his unexpected visitor, and despite his own sorry condition, he offered his serving of pemmican over to the bony hand of the spirit. To his surprise, the skeleton gladly took the food, and chewed it with his gleaming white teeth, swallowing it as any normal man would. After he had his fill, he spoke again.

"It was I who caused your ankle to swell. If you had gone with the rest of your hunting party that day, you would have been killed. The day that they left you here, an enemy war party charged upon them and had slain them all."

The skeletal hand then reached out, and gently rubbed the warrior's ankle. The pain and swelling that had troubled his foot vanished all at once.

"Now, you may walk again." The ghost said, "though your enemies still travel these forests. If you follow me, I will lead you safely back to your village."

When dawn came, the pair left the shelter and started their trek across the snow. The skeleton led the way through the deep woods, along the iced over riverbed, and across the high hills. By the late afternoon, the skeleton had led the warrior up a steep ridge. When they had finally reached the summit, the warrior realized that his strange companion had vanished- but he could see the smoke rising from the tipis of his village. True to his word, the skeleton had saved the warrior’s life, and led him home to safety.

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This story is adapted from a legend of the Arapahos tribe.

Read the the tale here!

This story and others can also be found in the free e-book "Traditions of the Arapaho" which is linked to here.