See the Essays section for a profile of Samuel Baskin (born 1870).
Ite Waste was the name of a young Indian woman. Among the different tribes of Indians, she was considered as the prettiest woman that ever walked the earth. Many Indians had lost their lives and many had failed trying to get her. But one succeeded in getting her. His name was Swift Star. He had seen the woman and had promised to marry her if it took his life.
Star was a great leader of his people and was also the great medicine man. The time had come for him to marry Ite Waste. He took with him a pair of boots, or long legged moccasins, a table or mat such as Indians use to eat on, and a flute. After some weeks travelling, he came to a river and saw no way of crossing it. So he slipped on the moccasins and stepped across the wide river. The following day he came to a strange looking tipi not far from the road. A man came out and invited him to dinner. Star accepted the invitation. After dinner he was asked if he would like to see the place, and as he was being shown around, he was suddenly cast into a very deep and dark hole. After he came to his senses, he found himself among many Indians of his age who were half starved for want of food. Star then shook and put down his table and there was a long table set in the center of the hole with all the good things to eat that one could think of, steaming thereon.
He then asked all his starving comrades to dinner and they ate. After dinner he played on his flute and the music was so sweet and the Indians were so happy that they couldn’t keep themselves from dancing. The owner of the tipi heard the music and dancing and wished to be invited to join in with the party. He was taken down very carefully while Star continued his music and at the same [time] he and his comrades rose until they came to the surface, but sad to relate, the man was left alone down in the hole.
Star then bid all his friends goodbye and went on travelling. Now after passing through many hardships and sorry days, he at last reached Ite Waste’s home.
He had now gotten into a place where it was impossible to save his life, because there were three things to be performed by all seekers for the hand of Ite Waste and so far all others had failed.
The first thing was to level a hill with a small wooden spoon, the second was to chop a tree with a wooden axe, and the third was to bale a lake with a wooden spoon. One had to do all these before he could marry Ite Waste. Ite Waste loved this young man very much and had promised to do all in her power to help him.
After passing this examination, Ite Waste said to Swift Star, “Now, I do not know what father will have you do next in his attempt to take your life and I have only one way of saving your life and that is for you and me to steal away tonight.” The following night they were ready to go, and before starting Ite Waste put a big handful of pop-corn around the fire. Then they both left the tipi very quietly and aimed for the land where the sun sets. All this happened in the early part of the evening and later in the evening the mother awoke and said to her husband, “Listen, it seems to me those young folks are not in.” The husband listened just then several pop-corns popped that sounded very much like two persons talking and laughing. The husband said to his wife, “They are in, can’t you hear them laughing?” Then once more they tried to go to sleep. Again [at] about midnight the mother got up and this time she went to the door and peeped in and was very much surprised to find the room empty.
She at once awoke and told her husband to get up and go and hunt the elopers. The husband got up and started hunting for them. Ite Waste and her lover were many miles away. When they were travelling she used to say to her lover, “If you see a small red cloud come sailing toward us that is a sign that father is after us and we are safe; but if you see a black cloud, mother is coming and we shall probably have to give up ourselves.” Soon after they saw a redish cloud coming. Ite Waste said, “That is my father and we are safe!” Then they both disguised themselves into crows and seated themselves on a limb of a tree. Father came up and stood gazing at these two crows and within himself said, “Oh, these are regular crows, I’ll go home.” So he about-faced and went home. When he got home, his wife was so anxious to hear the report that she asked if had seen anything of them. The husband said, “No, I didn’t see a thing except two old crows sitting on a limb near the road.” The woman said, “They are the ones! Why didn’t you get them? I’ll go this time.” She then went and got some wild rice to take with her.
By this time Ite Waste and her lover were coming to a river and just as they got to the bank of the river, they saw a black cloud, which told them that the mother was coming. They again disguised themselves by turning themselves into ducks and swimming out. The mother came and stood on the bank and began to throw out rice into the water. When the drake saw the rice, he began to swim towards the shore, but the female kept him out of the mother’s reach by keeping herself between the two until her mother wasted all the rice. Then the mother said, “Go, you are safe.” Then she returned home.
The two young people are now on the other side of the river, free as birds. They went to a village and got married and are now living together as happy as could be after their great trouble.9