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Out in the country we now call North Dakota there once lived an Indian known as "Lazy-man." When he was young, he had been lazy about hunting. When the other Indians had skins to sell, the lazy Indian had nothing. He grew poor. His blanket was ragged. His leggings were worn out. His wigwam was so wretched that all the tribe laughed at its tumble-down look.

Every winter the tribe went off to the great plains to hunt buffalo. They took their little ponies along, to carry home what they got. They brought back the skins of the buffaloes and buffalo meat dried over a fire. They also brought back pemmican, which is made by chopping buffalo meat very fine, and mixing it with the tallow from the animal. Lazy-man was ashamed to go on the hunt. He had no ponies to carry the meat and the skins he might get.

One winter, when the tribe went off on its regular hunt, Lazy-man and his wife stayed behind as usual. They sat lonesome in their teepee, as a wigwam is called in their language. The weather grew colder. It was hard to find anything to eat. The lake near them was frozen, so that they could not fish. There were not many animals living in the country about. The lazy Indian and his wife were nearly starved.

The buffaloes had never come down to this lake shore. But one day the lazy Indian looked out and saw a herd of them coming. They were running out on the point of land where his teepee stood. He knew that when they got to the ice on the lake they would turn back.

"Quick, quick!" he called to his wife. The two ran right into the midst of the herd. It was a dangerous thing to do, but they were so hungry and miserable that they did not mind the danger. By running into the herd they separated the buffaloes out on the point from the rest.

When the buffaloes on the point came to the ice, they paused and turned back. They were soon running in the other direction, but the lazy Indian and his wife faced the animals as they came. They waved their ragged blankets at the buffaloes. They shouted in Indian fashion, "Yow-wow, yow-wow, yow-wow!" They ran to and fro, waving and shouting.

Once more the buffaloes stopped and looked. Lazy-man and his wife now ran at them, throwing their blankets in the air, and yelling more wildly than ever. The scared buffaloes turned about again. They were so badly frightened this time that they ran out on the ice on the lake.

The ice was as smooth as glass. The buffaloes could not stand up on it. One after another they slipped and fell. The lazy Indian was not lazy that day. He saw a chance to get out of his poverty. He ran about on the ice, killing the buffaloes.

For many days he and his wife worked. They skinned the buffaloes, and dried the skins. They prepared the stomachs of the buffaloes, and stuffed them with the chopped meat, making it look like great sausages as big as pillows. They put a few cranberries in with the meat to give the pemmican a good taste. Then they poured the smoking fat of the buffalo into this great sausage. The fat filled up the small spaces. When it got cold, the pemmican sack was almost as hard as a stone. It could be cut only by chopping it with a tomahawk.

At last spring came, and the tribe came home from the hunt. You may suppose that Lazy-man was proud that day. Instead of being the poor beggar whom everybody laughed at, he was now one of the rich men in the tribe. He had more buffalo robes and more pemmican than any other man in the village. He exchanged his buffalo robes for ponies. After that he always went on the hunt, and lived like the other Indians. He did not wish to sink into laziness and poverty again.

Directions

Study the lesson for one week.

Over the week:

  • Read the story multiple times.
  • Read the synopsis.
  • Review the vocabulary terms.
  • Complete the enrichment activities.
  • Study the review questions.

Synopsis

When he was younger, an American Indian in North Dakota had been lazy about hunting. Now he had old, ragged clothing and only a wretched teepee to live in. He could not afford ponies to go hunting buffalo on the Great Plains with the other Indians. When his tribe left on a hunt, a herd of buffalo came to the nearby shore of a frozen lake. The lazy, lucky Indian and his wife drove a group of buffalo onto the ice. The buffalo slipped on the ice and could not walk. The Indian and his wife killed the buffalo and became the richest people of the tribe. They bought ponies, so they could hunt in the future and avoid being poor again.

Vocabulary

Lazy: Unwilling to work or use energy.
Lucky: Success brought by chance rather than through one's own action.
Great Plains: A grassland prairie stretching from Canada down through west-central United States.
Tallow: A hard fatty substance made from rendered animal fat, used in making candles and soap.
Lonesome: Solitary or lonely.
Teepee: A portable conical tent made of skins, cloth, or canvas on a frame of poles, used by American Indians of the Plains and Great Lakes regions.
Poverty: The state of being extremely poor.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Narrate the Lesson

  • After you read the lesson, narrate it aloud using your own words.

Activity 2: Map the Lesson

  • The lesson features characters in the state of North Dakota.
  • Find North Dakota (ND) on the map of the United States.

Activity 3: Explore the Great Plains

  • The Great Plains are marked on the map. List the countries and states that make up the Great Plains.
  • Examine images of the Great Plains. Note the big skies, relatively flat lands, lack of trees, and abundant grasses.

Activity 4: Complete Coloring Pages, Copywork, and Writing   

  • Click the crayon above. Complete pages 76-77 of 'Second Grade American History Coloring Pages, Copywork, and Writing.'

Review

Question 1

Why did the lazy, lucky Indian only have old, ragged clothing and a wretched teepee to live in?
1 / 4

Answer 1

The lazy, lucky Indian did not have much because he was too lazy as a young man to hunt much.
1 / 4

Question 2

Why didn't the lazy, lucky Indian hunt with his tribe?
2 / 4

Answer 2

The lazy, lucky Indian did not hunt with his tribe because he couldn't afford ponies to carry the spoils of the hunt back.
2 / 4

Question 3

How was the lazy, lucky Indian lucky in this lesson?
3 / 4

Answer 3

The lazy, lucky Indian was lucky because he and his wife drove a group of buffalo onto an icy lake and killed them. He became the richest man of the tribe.
3 / 4

Question 4

What did the lazy, lucky Indian do that was smart and not very lazy to secure his future?
4 / 4

Answer 4

The lazy, lucky Indian learned from his past mistakes, buying ponies so he could go on hunts with his tribe in the future.
4 / 4

  1. Why did the lazy, lucky Indian only have old, ragged clothing and a wretched teepee to live in? The lazy, lucky Indian did not have much because he was too lazy as a young man to hunt much.
  2. Why didn't the lazy, lucky Indian hunt with his tribe? The lazy, lucky Indian did not hunt with his tribe because he couldn't afford ponies to carry the spoils of the hunt back.
  3. How was the lazy, lucky Indian lucky in this lesson? The lazy, lucky Indian was lucky because he and his wife drove a group of buffalo onto an icy lake and killed them. He became the richest man of the tribe.
  4. What did the lazy, lucky Indian do that was smart and not very lazy to secure his future? The lazy, lucky Indian learned from his past mistakes, buying ponies so he could go on hunts with his tribe in the future.

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