{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_61477/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_61477","id":"gutenberg_61477","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61477","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Indians of North America -- New York (State) -- Folklore","Seneca Indians -- Folklore"],"text":"BUFFALO\n                           HISTORICAL SOCIETY\n                              PUBLICATIONS\n\n\n                          VOLUME TWENTY-SEVEN\n\n                      EDITED BY FRANK H. SEVERANCE\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THE ATMOSPHERE IN WHICH LEGENDS WERE TOLD.\n\n  FROM A PAINTING SHOWING THE INTERIOR OF A BARK LONG HOUSE, BY RICHARD\n    J. TUCKER.\n]\n\n\n\n\n                      SENECA MYTHS AND FOLK TALES\n\n\n                                   BY\n\n                         ARTHUR C. PARKER, M.S.\n\n                 _Arch\u00e6ologist, New York State Museum_\n             _Life Member, The Buffalo Historical Society_\n\n\n                           BUFFALO, NEW YORK:\n                            Published by the\n                       BUFFALO HISTORICAL SOCIETY\n                                  1923\n\n\n\n\n                     THE TRIBUNE PUBLISHING COMPANY\n                          PRINTERS AND BINDERS\n                             MEADVILLE, PA.\n\n\n\n\n                                   TO\n                   FRANK H. SEVERANCE, L.H.D., LL.D.\n              _Secretary, The Buffalo Historical Society_\n         _President, The New York State Historical Association_\n\n\nWHOSE NUMEROUS ESSAYS AND HISTORICAL WRITINGS HAVE BEEN A SOURCE OF\nINSPIRATION AND ENLIGHTENMENT, AND WHOSE INTEREST IN THE SENECA INDIANS\nAND THEIR HISTORY HAS NEVER WANED, THIS VOLUME OF\n\n                          _SENECA FOLK TALES_\n\nIS DEDICATED IN TESTIMONY OF THE AUTHOR\u2019S SINCERE ADMIRATION AND ESTEEM.\n\n\n\n\n                      SENECA MYTHS AND FOLK TALES\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                                FOREWORD\n\n\nThe author of this collection of Seneca folk-tales cannot remember when\nhe first began to hear the wonder stories of the ancient days. His\nearliest recollections are of hearing the wise old men relate these\ntales of the mysterious past. They were called K\u0103\u00b4k\u0101\u0101, or G\u0103\u00b4k\u0101\u0101, and\nwhen this word was uttered, as a signal that the marvels of old were\nabout to be unfolded, all the children grew silent,\u2014and listened. In\nthose days, back on the Cattaraugus reservation, it was a part of a\nchild\u2019s initial training to learn why the bear lost its tail, why the\nchipmunk has a striped back and why meteors flash in the sky.\n\nMany years later,\u2014it was in 1903,\u2014the writer of this manuscript returned\nto the Cattaraugus reservation bringing with him his friend Mr. Raymond\nHarrington, for the purpose of making an arch\u00e6ological survey of the\nCattaraugus valley for the Peabody Museum of Arch\u00e6ology, of Harvard\nUniversity. Our base camp was on the old Silverheels farm, which\noccupies the site of one of the early Seneca villages of the period\nafter the Erie war of 1654. Here also is the site of the original Lower\nCattaraugus of pre-Revolutionary days.\n\nTo our camp came many Indian friends who sought to instruct Mr.\nHarrington and myself in the lore of the ancients. We were regaled with\nstories of the false faces, of the whirl-winds, of the creation of man,\nof the death panther, and of the legends of the great bear, but in\nparticular we were blessed with an ample store of tales of vampire\nskeletons, of witches and of folk-beasts, all of whom had a special\nappetite for young men who dug in the ground for the buried relics of\nthe \u201cold-time folks.\u201d\n\nTo us came Tahadondeh (whom the Christian people called George\nJimerson), Bill Snyder, Gahweh Seneca, a lame man from Tonawanda, Frank\nPierce and several others versed in folk-lore. I filled my note-books\nwith sketches and outlines of folk-fiction, and after our return to New\nYork, I began to transcribe some of the stories.\n\nThe following winter was spent on the reservation among the\nnon-Christian element in a serious attempt to record folk tales,\nceremonial prayers, rituals, songs and customs. A large amount of\ninformation and many stories were collected. Some of this material was\npublished by the State Museum, the rest perished in the Capitol fire at\nAlbany, in 1911.\n\nLater I was able to go over my original notes with Edward Cornplanter,\nthe local authority on Seneca religion, rites and folk-ways, and to\nwrite out the material here presented. Cornplanter\u2019s son Jesse assisted\nby way of making drawings under his father\u2019s direction. I also had the\nhelp of Skidmore Lay, Ward B. Snow, Delos B. Kittle, Mrs. John Kittle,\nJames Crow and others. My informants from the lower reservation, the\nChristian district, were Aurelia Jones Miller, Fred Kennedy, George D.\nJimerson, Julia Crouse, Moses Shongo, Mrs. Moses Shongo, David George,\nWilliam Parker, Job King, and Chester C. Lay; and Laura Doctor and Otto\nParker of the Tonawanda Reservation.\n\nIn the preparation of these versions of old Seneca tales the writer used\nno other texts for comparative purposes. It was thought best to rest\ncontent with the version given by the Indian informant, and to wait\nuntil a time of greater leisure came before attempting to annotate the\ncollection. Leisure has never seemed to be the privilege of the writer,\nand one busy year has crowded upon another, until eighteen have passed\nsince the tales were written down. It may be best, after all, to present\nthe text just as it was prepared, and merely correct the spelling of a\nname or two. It was not until after this text was in the hands of the\nBuffalo Historical Society that the Curtin-Hewitt collection of Seneca\nfolk tales appeared, and though differences will be found between our\ntexts and those of Curtin, it must be remembered that variations are\nbound to occur. All versions of folk tales recorded by different\nindividuals at different or even identical times will vary in certain\nparticulars, as is explained hereinafter.\n\nIn the preparation of this volume the writer wishes to record his\nindebtedness to Mr. George Kelley Staples, Senator Henry W. Hill, Mr.\nGeorge L. Tucker and Dr. Frank H. Severance, all members of the Buffalo\nHistorical Society, for the advice and encouragement given.\n\n                                                       ARTHUR C. PARKER.\n\n Buffalo Consistory,\n   A. A. S. R.\n\n Nov. 26, 1922.\n\n\n\n\n                                CONTENTS\n\n\n                                                                    PAGE\n\n FOREWORD                                                             ix\n\n INTRODUCTION                                                       xvii\n\n\n    I. FUNDAMENTAL FACTORS IN SENECA FOLK LORE                         1\n\n       BASIC PREMISES                                                  3\n\n       GODS, MAJOR SPIRITS AND FOLK-BEASTS                             5\n\n       NATURE BEINGS                                                  10\n\n       MAGIC BEASTS AND BIRDS                                         16\n\n       MAGICAL MAN-LIKE BEINGS                                        18\n\n\n   II. THEMES AND MATERIALS                                           23\n\n       STEREOTYPED OBJECTS AND INCIDENTS                              27\n\n       COMPONENTS OF THE COSMOLOGICAL MYTH                            33\n\n\n  III. THE ATMOSPHERE IN WHICH THE LEGENDS WERE TOLD                  37\n\n\n   IV. WHEN THE WORLD WAS NEW                                         57\n\n        1. HOW THE WORLD BEGAN                                        59\n\n        2. THE BROTHERS WHO CLIMBED INTO THE SKY                      74\n\n        3. THE DEATH PANTHER                                          78\n\n        4. THE GREAT BEAR CONSTELLATION                               81\n\n        5. THE SEVEN BROTHERS OF THE STAR CLUSTER                     83\n\n        6. THE SEVEN STAR DANCERS                                     86\n\n        7. THE COMING OF SPRING                                       88\n\n        8. THE COMING OF DEATH                                        92\n\n\n    V. BOYS WHO DEFIED MAGIC AND OVERCAME IT                          95\n\n        9. ORIGIN OF FOLK STORIES                                     97\n\n       10. THE FORBIDDEN ARROW AND THE QUILT OF MEN\u2019S EYES           101\n\n       11. CORN GRINDER, THE GRANDSON                                108\n\n       12. HE-GOES-TO-LISTEN                                         116\n\n       13. HATONDAS, THE LISTENER, FINDS A WIFE                      122\n\n       14. THE ORIGIN OF THE CHESTNUT TREE                           128\n\n       15. DIVIDED BODY RESCUES A GIRL                               133\n\n       16. THE ORIGIN OF THE BUFFALO SOCIETY                         137\n\n       17. THE BOY WHO COULD NOT UNDERSTAND                          142\n\n       18. THE BOY WHO LIVED WITH THE BEARS                          147\n\n       19. THE SEVENTH SON                                           154\n\n       20. THE BOY WHO OVERCAME ALL MAGIC BY LAUGHTER                159\n\n\n   VI. TALES OF LOVE AND MARRIAGE                                    171\n\n       21. TWO FEATHERS AND TURKEY BROTHER                           173\n\n       22. TWO FEATHERS AND WOODCHUCK LEGGINGS                       184\n\n       23. TURKEY BOY SQUEEZED THE HEARTS OF SORCERERS               200\n\n       24. CORN RAINS INTO EMPTY BARRELS                             205\n\n       25. TWENTGOWA AND THE MISCHIEF MAKER                          208\n\n       26. THE HORNED SERPENT RUNS AWAY WITH A GIRL                  218\n\n       27. THE GREAT SERPENT AND THE YOUNG WIFE                      223\n\n       28. BUSHY HEAD THE BEWITCHED WARRIOR                          228\n\n       29. THE FLINT CHIP THROWER                                    235\n\n\n  VII. HORROR TALES OF CANNIBALS AND SORCERERS:                      239\n\n       30. THE DUEL OF THE DREAM TEST                                241\n\n       31. THE VAMPIRE SIRENS                                        253\n\n       32. YOUNGER BROTHER ELUDES HIS SISTER-IN-LAW                  262\n\n       33. THE ISLAND OF THE CANNIBAL                                269\n\n       34. THE TWELVE BROTHERS AND THE WRAITH                        278\n\n       35. THE CANNIBAL AND HIS NEPHEW                               284\n\n       36. A YOUTH\u2019S DOUBLE ABUSES HIS SISTER                        290\n\n       37. MURDERED DOUBLE SPEAKS THROUGH FIRE                       293\n\n       38. THE VAMPIRE CORPSE                                        298\n\n\n VIII. TALES OF TALKING ANIMALS:                                     301\n\n       39. THE MAN WHO EXHALED FIRE                                  303\n\n       40. THE TURTLE\u2019S WAR PARTY                                    305\n\n       41. THE RACE OF THE TURTLE AND THE BEAVER                     309\n\n       42. THE WOLF AND THE RACCOON                                  312\n\n       43. THE CHIPMUNK\u2019S STRIPES                                    314\n\n       44. THE RABBIT SONG                                           315\n\n       45. THE RABBIT GAMBLER                                        317\n\n       46. THE RACCOON AND THE CRABS                                 319\n\n       47. THE CRAB\u2019S EYES                                           321\n\n       48. HOW THE SQUIRREL GAVE A BLANKET, ETC.                     322\n\n       49. THE CHICKADEE\u2019S SONG                                      325\n\n       50. THE BIRD WOMAN                                            326\n\n       51. THE PARTRIDGE\u2019S SONG                                      328\n\n\n   IX. TALES OF GIANTS, PYGMIES AND MONSTER BEARS:                   329\n\n       52. A TALE OF THE DJOGEON OR PYGMIES                          331\n\n       53. BEYOND-THE-RAPIDS AND THE STONE GIANT                     334\n\n       54. THE ANIMATED FINGER                                       337\n\n       55. THE STONE GIANT\u2019S BATTLE                                  340\n\n       56. THE BOY AND THE FALSE FACE                                342\n\n       57. HOW A BOY OUTWITTED A NIA\u2019\u00b4GWAHE                          344\n\n       58. NIA\u2019\u00b4GWAHE, THE MAMMOTH BEAR                              349\n\n       59. THE BOY AND THE NIA\u2019\u00b4GWAHE                                358\n\n\n    X. TRADITIONS:                                                   363\n\n           SENECA BELIEF IN WITCHCRAFT                               365\n\n       60. CONTENTS OF A CHARM HOLDER\u2019S BUNDLE                       368\n\n       61. CONTENTS OF A WITCH BUNDLE                                369\n\n       62. OVERCOMING A WITCH                                        370\n\n       63. THE SCORNED WITCH WOMAN                                   372\n\n       64. CATCHING A WITCH BUNDLE                                   376\n\n       65. WITCH WITH A DOG TRANSFORMATION                           378\n\n       66. WITCH STEALS CHILDREN\u2019S HEARTS                            380\n\n       67. HOTCIWAHO (HAMMER IN HIS BELT)                            382\n\n       68. HOW AMERICA WAS DISCOVERED                                383\n\n       69. ORIGIN OF THE CHARM HOLDER\u2019S MEDICINE SOCIETY             386\n\n       70. ORIGIN OF THE FALSE FACE COMPANY                          394\n\n       71. ORIGIN OF THE LONG HOUSE                                  403\n\n       72. DEAD TIMBER, A TRADITION OF ALBANY                        407\n\n\n   XI. APPENDIX:                                                     409\n\n        A. ORIGIN OF THE WORLD                                       411\n\n        B. THE WYANDOT CREATION MYTH                                 417\n\n        C. AN INTERVIEW WITH \u201cESQ.\u201d JOHNSON BY MRS. ASHER WRIGHT     421\n\n        D. EMBLEMATIC TREES IN IROQUOIAN MYTHOLOGY                   431\n\n        E. THE SOCIETY THAT GUARDS THE MYSTIC POTENCE                445\n\n\n\n\n                             ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n PLATES:\n\n     THE ATMOSPHERE IN WHICH LEGENDS WERE TOLD.\u2014FROM PAINTING\n       BY R. J. TUCKER                                          _Front._\n\n     EDWARD CORNPLANTER\u2014SOSONDOWA                             Op. p.   4\n\n     DELOS BIG KITTLE\u2014SAINOWA                                  \u3003  \u3003   58\n\n     THE SEVEN DANCING BROTHERS\u2014FROM PAINTING BY R. J. TUCKER  \u3003  \u3003   82\n\n     MRS. JOHN BIG KITTLE.\u2014PHOTO BY E. C. WINNEGAR             \u3003  \u3003  172\n\n     HADUI MASK OF THE FALSE FACE COMPANY                      \u3003  \u3003  240\n\n     EMILY TALLCHIEF.\u2014PHOTO BY E. C. WINNEGAR                  \u3003  \u3003  364\n\n\n DRAWINGS BY JESSE CORNPLANTER:\n\n     THE THUNDER SERPENT                                               7\n\n     THE SPIRIT OF DIONHEKON                                          11\n\n     THE FLYING HEAD OF THE WIND                                      13\n\n     THE SPIRIT OF THE FROST                                          14\n\n     THE SNOW SNAKE GAME                                              39\n\n     A BARK COMMUNAL HOUSE                                            47\n\n     THE BEAR DANCE                                                  151\n\n     THE HORNED SERPENT                                       Op. p. 218\n\n     MAGIC WHISTLE                                                   255\n\n     FIGURE OF DANCING WARRIOR                                       273\n\n     RESTORATION OF RED HAND                                         386\n\n\n ILLUSTRATING EMBLEMATIC TREES:\n\n     PICTOGRAPH OF THE SKY-DOME                                      432\n\n     A FALSE FACE LEADER                                             435\n\n     SYMBOLISM OF LEGGING STRIPS                                     437\n\n     SKY-DOME SYMBOLS                                                438\n\n     EMBROIDERED BORDERS                                             441\n\n     EMBROIDERED POUCH: SENECA WORK BEFORE 1850               Op. p. 442\n\n     FORMS OF THE CELESTIAL TREE                                     443\n\n     \u201cBIG TREE IN MIDDLE OF THE EARTH\u201d                               444\n\n ARRANGEMENT OF THE LITTLE WATER LODGE                               451\n\n BIBLIOGRAPHY                                                        459\n\n INDEX                                                               461\n\n\n\n\n                              INTRODUCTION\n\n\nIn presenting this collection of Seneca myths and legends, the collator\nfeels that he should explain to the general reader that he does not\noffer a series of tales that can be judged by present day literary\nstandards. These Indian stories are not published for the mere\nentertainment of general readers, though there is much that is\nentertaining in them, neither are they designed as children\u2019s fables, or\nfor supplementary reading in schools, though it is true that some of the\nmaterial may be suited for the child mind. It must be understood that if\nreadings from this book are to be made for children, a wise selection\nmust be made.\n\nThis collection is presented as an exposition of the unwritten\nliterature of the Seneca Indians who still live in their ancestral\ndomain in western New York. It is primarily a collection of folk-lore\nand is to be looked at in no other light. The professional\nanthropologist and historian will not need to be reminded of this. He\nwill study these tales for their ethnological significance, and use them\nin making comparisons with similar collections from other tribes and\nstocks. In this manner he will determine the similarities or differences\nin theme, in episode and character. He will trace myth diffusion thereby\nand be able to chart the elements of the Seneca story.\n\nThere is an amazing lack of authentic material on Iroquois folk-lore,\nthough much that arrogates this name to itself has been written. The\nwriters, however, have in general so glossed the native themes with\npoetic and literary interpretations that the material has shrunken in\nvalue and can scarcely be considered without many reservations.\n\nWe do not pretend to have made a complete collection of all available\nmaterial, but we have given a fairly representative series of myths,\nlegends, fiction and traditions. One may examine this collection and\nfind representative types of nearly every class of Seneca folk-lore.\nMultiplication is scarcely necessary.\n\nThe value of this collection is not a literary one but a scientific one.\nIt reveals the type of tale that held the interest and attention of the\nSeneca; it reveals certain mental traits and tendencies; it reveals many\ncustoms and incidents in native life, and finally, it serves as an index\nof native psychology.\n\nThe enlightened mind will not be arrogant in its judgment of this\nmaterial, but will see in it the attempts of a race still in mental\nchildhood to give play to imagination and to explain by symbols what it\notherwise could not express.\n\nWhile there is much value in this collection explaining indirectly the\nfolk-ways and the folk-thought of the Seneca and their allied kinsmen,\nthe whole life of the people may not be judged from these legends. Much\nmore must be presented before such a judgment is formed. Just as we gain\nsome knowledge of present day religions, governmental methods, social\norganization and political economy from the general literature of the\nday, but only a portion, and this unsystematized, so do we catch only a\nglimpse of the life story of the Seneca from their folk-tales.\n\nTo complete our knowledge we must have before us works on Seneca\nhistory, ethnology, arch\u00e6ology, religion, government and language.\nFinally, we must personally know the descendents of the mighty Seneca\nnation of old. We must enter into the life of the people in a\nsympathetic way, for only then can we get at the soul of the race.\n\nWhile all this is true, these folk-tales are not to be despised, for\nthey conserve many references to themes and things that otherwise would\nbe forgotten. Folk-lore is one of the most important mines of\ninformation that the ethnologist and historian may tap. We can never\nunderstand a race until we understand what it is thinking about, and we\ncan never know this until we know its literature, written or unwritten.\nThe folk-tale therefore has a special value and significance, if\nhonestly recorded.\n\n\n               METHODS EMPLOYED IN RECORDING FOLK TALES.\n\nThere are several methods which may be employed in recording folk-lore,\nand the method used depends largely upon the purpose in mind. A poet may\nuse one method, and grasping the plot of a tale, recast it in a verbiage\nentirely unsuitable and foreign to it; a fiction writer may use another\nplan, a school boy another, a student of philology another, a missionary\nanother, and finally a student of folk lore still another.\n\nThe poet will see only the inherent beauty of the story, and perhaps\nfailing to find any beauty, will invent it and produce a tale that no\nIndian would ever recognize. Plot and detail will be changed, fine\nflowery language will be used, and perhaps the whole given the swing and\nmeter of blank verse. This is all very well for the poet, but he has\nburied the personality of the folk-tale, albeit in petals of\nroses,\u2014instead of allowing it nakedly to appear the living thing it is.\n\nThe fiction writer will take the original Indian tale and tear it apart\nwith keen eyed professional discrimination. He will recast the plot,\nexpand here and there, explain here and prune down there. He will invent\nnames and new situations to make the story \u201cgo,\u201d then, as a rule, he\nsells it to a magazine or makes a collection of tales for \u201ca\nsupplementary reader for children.\u201d But are these Indian tales?\n\nThe amateur, finding good material in the Indian story will do as the\nfiction writer does, but he will work in foreign allusions and\ninconsistent elements and in other ways betray his unfamiliarity with\nhis material. Like the fiction writer he is primarily after a story that\nhe can dress as he pleases.\n\nThe sectarian enthusiast, recording folk-lore, will frequently seek to\nshow the absurdity of the Indian tale, and point out the foolishness of\npeoples who are unacquainted with biblical teachings, but it is\nfortunate that all missionaries have not done this. Many have recorded\nfolk-tales with great conscientiousness, and some of our best sources\nare from the notes of well informed missionaries.\n\nThe philologist will seek to make literal transcripts of every Indian\nword in painstaking phonetic spelling, and then secure an analytical\ninterlinear translation. This is an accurate but awkward way of securing\nthe tale, for readers who are accustomed to reading only straight\nEnglish. It makes it a most tedious and laborious thing to read, and\ntotally deprives the text of all literary life.\n\nThe student of folk lore starts in with a purpose. This is to secure the\ntale in such a manner, that without unnecessarily colored verbiage, it\nmay be consistently dressed, and set forth in fluent English (or other\nmodern language) in such a manner that it may be understood by an\nordinary reader. The folk-lore student has still another motive and\npurpose, which is to so present his legend that it will awaken in the\nmind of his reader sensations similar to those aroused in the mind of\nthe Indian auditor hearing it from the native raconteur. The recorder of\nthe tale seeks to assimilate its characteristics, to become imbued with\nits spirit, to understand its details, to follow its language,\u2014its\nsentences,\u2014one by one, as they follow in sequence, and then he seeks to\npresent it consistently. He adds nothing not in the original,\u2014despite\nthe temptation to improve the plot,\u2014he presents the same arrangement as\nin the original, he uses similar idioms and exclamations, similar\nintroductory words and phrases, and presents an honestly constructed\nfree translation. This is far from an easy thing to do, for it\nfrequently lays the recorder open to the charge of being a clumsy story\nteller. The temptation is ever present to tell a good story, and let the\nlegend become the skeleton over which the words are woven. Needless to\nsay, this is not an honest thing to do, and the folk-lore student\nresists this temptation, and gives his product a genuine presentation,\nregardless of what literary critics may think. He strives only to be the\nmedium by which a native tale is transformed from its original language\nto that of another tongue. The thought, the form and the sequence of the\nstory he insists must remain exactly as it was, though the verbal dress\nis European and not Indian.[1]\n\nPerhaps actual illustrations of these methods will serve to convey the\nthought we are attempting to explain. Examples follow:\n\n\n              TEXT IN SENECA WITH INTERLINEAR TRANSLATION.\n\n   Ne\u2019\u00b4 gw\u0101\u00b4, gi\u2019\u00b4o^n\u2018,                 hadi\u00b4no\u00f1ge\u2019            ne\u2018\u00b4     sg\u00e4o\u00f1\u2018i\u0101d\u012d\u2018\u00b4    ne\u2018\u00b4\n   There it seems                       they dwell             the       other side     the\n                        it is said                                       of the sky\n\n h\u0115\u00f1\u00b4no\u00f1gwe\u2018.           Da\u00b4,        s\u2018h\u0103\u2019degano\u00b4nd\u0101\u0115^n\u2018      ne\u2019\u00b4ho\u2018        ni\u2018hono^n\u2018s\u014d\u00b4t\n they (M) man            So         just in the center        there            just his\n       beings                         of the village                         lodge stands\n\n ne\u2018\u00b4        h\u0103\u2018s\u0115\u00f1now\u0101\u00b4n\u0115^n\u2018,   ne\u2019\u00b4ho\u2018  h\u0101djwad\u00e4\u00b4i\u0115^n\u2019,      ne\u2019\u00b4        ne\u00b4io\u2019\n the             he Chief         there     his family         the          his\n               (great name)                    lies                         wife\n\n ne\u2019\u00b4       kho\u2018\u00b4       ne\u2018\u00b4      sg\u0101\u00b4t  hodiks\u0103\u2019d\u0101\u00b4i\u0115^n\u2019,   ie\u00b4o^n\u2018        ne\u2018\u00b4     ieks\u0103\u2019\u00b4\u0103\u2018.\n that        and        the        one    they child have      she\n                                 (it is)                    female is       the        child.\n\n Wa\u0101di\u0115\u00f1gw\u0103\u2018\u00b4s\u2018ho\u00f1\u2018   o\u00b4n\u0115^n\u2018      ho\u2019      w\u0103\u2018\u00b4s\u0103w\u0115^n\u2019        ne\u2018\u00b4          h\u0103gwe\u00f1d\u00e4\u2019\u00b4s.\n  He was surprised      now        it          that             he         became lonesome.\n\n O\u00b4n\u0115^n\u2018     d\u012d\u00b4q      we\u00b4so\u2019         ho\u2019n\u0115\u00f1\u00b4iath\u0115\u00f1\u2018           ne\u2018\u00b4     Hag\u0115^n\u00b4tc\u012d;     ne\u2019\u00b4\n    Now    moreover     much         his bones are dry         the       He Ancient     that\n                                     (he is very lean)                      One\n\n gai\u00b4io\u00f1n\u012d     t\u2018h\u0115^n\u2019\u00b4\u0115^n\u2018           deo\u2019nigo\u00f1\u2018\u00b4\u012bi\u014d\u2018          he\u2018\u00b4      odiks\u0103\u2019d\u0101\u00b4i\u0115^n\u2019\u0101i\u0115\u00f1\u2019\u00b4\n it causes      not (it is)           his mind happy         because    they child   one would\n                                 is                                       have         think\n\n n\u0115\u2019\u00b4       no\u00f1\u2018\u00b4   heniio\u2019\u00b4d\u0115n\u2018  ne\u2018\u00b4         ne\u2018\u00b4        hosheie\u00b4o^n.\n that      perhaps  so it is in   that          the           he is\n                                                             jealous.\n                           state\n\n\n                          LITERAL TRANSLATION.\n\nThere were, it seems, so it is said, man-beings dwelling on the other\nside of the sky. So just in the center of their village the lodge of the\nchief stood, wherein lived his family, consisting of his wife and one\nchild, that they two had. He was surprised that then he began to become\nlonesome. Now furthermore, he the Ancient was very lean, his bones\nhaving become dried, and the cause of this condition was that they two\nhad the child, and one would think, judging from the circumstances that\nhe was jealous.\n\nSuch is the beginning of the Seneca version of Iroquoian cosmology as\ngiven by J. N. B. Hewitt in the 21st Report of the Bureau of Ethnology.\nThis faithful record of a native text and its translation is literally a\nmost painstaking work involving the closest attention to the minor\nsounds in the language, in order that each word may be phonetically\nrecorded. To wade through this literal translation from the beginning to\nthe end of the myth would be too tedious for anyone but an enthusiastic\nstudent of native tongues. To the majority of readers it would be a\nforbidding task. Even to follow the involved language and grammatical\nforms of the close literal translation would tire the mind of anyone\nwhose mother tongue was not that of the text.\n\nA free translation, therefore becomes a prime necessity, but this must\nnot disturb the original thought. Just how to make such a translation\nhonestly becomes a problem beset with difficulty. Our plan is to smooth\nout the language, divest it of its awkward arrangement, and allow the\nthought to flow on. Let us attempt this in the following:\n\n\n                           FREE TRANSLATION.\n\nIn ancient times a race of transcendent men dwelt on the other side of\nthe sky. In the center of a village in that land stood the lodge of\nAncient One, the chief, and there he lived with his wife and one child.\nTo his astonishment, though he had these companions, he began to feel\nlonely and neglected. His form grew emaciated and his \u201cbones became\ndry,\u201d for he longed for the attentions his wife now gave to his child.\n\nJust how the poet would handle this version we hesitate to conjecture\nbut we may easily imagine that he would make the most of the land above\nthe sky, the celestial lodge, the age of the Ancient One, his initial\njoy at the birth of his child, and his gradual discovery that his wife\u2019s\naffection had been transferred from him to their offspring, of the agony\nof soul that wilted his heroic form and caused his very bones to wither\nand lose their marrow, and of the final madness of the Ancient One, who\n(to follow the myth in its fullness), had a tormenting dream which\ncaused him to tear up the celestial tree and cast his wife into the\ncavernous hole that dropped down into chaos.\n\nThe plot of this myth-tale has elements that make it excellent material\nfor the fiction writer who would recast it entirely and weave it into\nthe thrilling story of celestial tragedy. We have seen such attempts and\nhave been astonished at the audacity of the writer who thus presents his\nproduct as a \u201cgenuine Indian myth.\u201d Yet, most popular versions of Indian\nlegends are recast to such an extent that the Indian who supplied the\nbones would never recognize the creature the white man \u201cteller-of-tales\u201d\nhas clothed with civilized flesh. As an example of such fabrication,\nwitness the speech of Hiawatha to the assembled tribes as presented by\nJ. V. H. Clark in his \u201cOnondaga.\u201d (Vol. I, p. 28 ff.) This famous speech\nhas been passed down as Hiawatha\u2019s own words and has been the\ninspiration of more than one poet, though Clark admitted in later years\nthat he invented the entire address, basing it upon some obscure\nreferences in the original tradition. In many a work on \u201cIndian fables\nfor children\u201d the so-called fable is merely an invention, and the only\nIndian thing about it is the dash of Indian flavor used to give the\nstory plausibility. Indians who have never seen or read the text of such\nstories of course might easily be induced in various ways to sign\nstatements vouching for them, thus contributing to the intensification\nof error.\n\nIt is well to analyze the folk-tale or myth for its theme and to check\nit against others, thereby determining whether or not it is actually\nauthentic. If it appears unusual and unlike anything other informants\nhave given, it may be placed in the class of doubtful fiction, and\nespecially so if the \u201cfable\u201d has a \u201cmoral\u201d attached to it.\n\n\n                      OBTAINING CORRECT VERSIONS.\n\nIt might be supposed that myths and folk-tales which are orally\ntransmitted would suffer great changes as they pass from one story\nteller to another, and that in time a given tale would become utterly\ncorrupted, and indeed so changed that it would bear faint resemblance to\nthe \u201coriginal.\u201d Yet, an examination of the myths and legends recorded by\nearly observers, as the early missionaries, show that the modern\nversions have suffered no essential change. An excellent example is the\nIroquoian creation myth, as recorded by the Jesuit fathers in the\n_Relations_.\n\nReligious traditions, ceremonies and myths, being of a \u201csacred\u201d\ncharacter, must be related with a certain fidelity which forbids any\nreal change in the content. To a lesser degree, perhaps, but not much\nless, the \u201cg\u0103\u00b4g\u0101\u0101\u201d legends of the Iroquois are protected from violent\nalteration. The legend is a thing, to the Indian mind, and it has a\ncertain personality. In certain instances the legend is a personal or\ngroup possession and its form and content are religiously guarded from\nchange. With tales told for mere amusement, tales belonging to the class\nof mere fiction, greater liberties may be taken.\n\nNotwithstanding all this, it is certain that there are several versions\nof each legend. Certain groups tell the myth or legend in different\nways. There are short versions and long versions and there are Seneca\nversions and Mohawk versions. In order to ascertain the \u201ccorrect\nversion\u201d we must examine several versions as related by different\nnarrators, and then after making an outline of the episodes, the\ncharacters and the motives, determine what the central theme of all is.\nWe can in this manner judge what is essential and what is non-essential.\n\nThere is a wide variation in the language used in the narration of some\nlegends, just as there is in the relation of modern stories told over\nthe banquet table. A better example of variation, is to consider the\ninnumerable versions of common nursery stories, as Puss in Boots,\nCinderella, or Aladdin\u2019s Lamp. Yet the theme of the story and the\nepisodes, to say nothing of the characters, remain unchanged. Just so\nwith most Iroquois folk-lore, much depends upon the author-raconteur.\nSome will add explanatory matter, some will add picturesque\ndescriptions, some will add an abundance of conversation, and some will\nexpand on the emotions of the characters. There is a wide individual\nvariation in these matters, and much depends upon the training and\neducation of the narrator, as well as upon his temperament. Language may\ndiffer somewhat, but the theme must remain,\u2014the real story must never\nsuffer essential change.\n\n\n                  STORY-TELLING CUSTOMS OF THE SENECA.\n\nAmong the Seneca, in common with other Iroquois tribes, each settlement\nhad its official story tellers whose predecessors had carefully taught\nthem the legends and traditions of the mysterious past.\n\nAccording to ancient traditions, no fable, myth-tale, or story of\nancient adventure might be told during the months of summer. Such\npractice was forbidden by \u201cthe little people\u201d (djog\u0115\u00b4o^n), the wood\nfairies. Should their law be violated some djog\u0115\u00b4o^n flying about in the\nform of a beetle or bird might discover the offender and report him to\ntheir chief. Upon this an omen would warn the forgetful Indian. Failing\nto observe the sign some evil would befall the culprit. Bees might sting\nhis lips or his tongue would swell and fill his mouth, snakes might\ncrawl in his bed and choke him while he slept, and so on, until he was\npunished and forced to desist from forbidden talk.\n\nCertain spirits were reputed to enforce this law for two purposes;\nfirst, that no animal should become offended by man\u2019s boasting of his\ntriumph over beasts, or at the same time learn too much of human\ncunning, and fly forever the haunts of mankind; and second, that no\nanimal, who listening to tales of wonder, adventure or humor, should\nbecome so interested as to forget its place in nature, and pondering\nover the mysteries of man\u2019s words, wander dazed and aimless through the\nforest. To listen to stories in the summer time made trees and plants as\nwell as animals and men lazy, and therefore scanty crops, lean game and\nshiftless people resulted. To listen to stories made the birds forget to\nfly to the south when winter came, it made the animals neglect to store\nup winter coats of fur. All the world stops work when a good story is\ntold and afterwards forgets its wonted duty in marveling. Thus the\nmodern Iroquois, following the old-time custom, reserves his tales of\nadventures, myth and fable for winter when the year\u2019s work is over and\nall nature slumbers.\n\nThe story teller (Hage\u00b4ot\u0103\u2019) when he finds an audience about him or\nwishes to call one, announces his intention to recite a folk-tale,\n(g\u0103\u00b4g\u0101\u0101, or in the plural, g\u00e4g\u00e4\u2018\u00b4sho^n\u2019\u00b4o\u2018) by exclaiming\n\u201cI\u2019\u00b4newa\u2019e\u00f1geg\u0115\u00b4od\u0115^n, Hau\u2019\u00b4nio\u2018\u00b4 djadao^n \u201cdi\u012d^nus!\u201d The auditors\neagerly reply \u201cHe^n\u2018\u00b4\u201d which is the assenting to the proposed relation\nof the folk-tale.\n\nAt intervals during the relation of a story the auditors must exclaim\n\u201ch\u0115^n\u2018\u00b4.\u201d This is the sign that they were listening. If there was no\nfrequent response of \u201che,\u201d the story teller would stop and inquire what\nfault was found with him or his story.\n\nIt was not only considered a breach of courtesy for a listener to fall\nasleep, but also a positive omen of evil to the guilty party. If any one\nfor any reason wished to sleep or to leave the room, he must request the\nnarrator to \u201ctie the story,\u201d \u201ce^ns\u0115g\u00e4gha\u2018\u00b4a.\u201d Failing to say this and\nafterwards desiring to hear the remainder of the tale, the narrator\nwould refuse, for if he related it at all it must be from the beginning\nthrough, unless \u201ctied.\u201d Thus \u201c\u0115^ns\u0115g\u00e4ha\u2018\u00b4a\u201d was the magic word by which\na legend might be told as a serial (from \u0115^nsege\u00b4od\u0115).\n\nA story teller was known as \u201cHage\u00b4ot\u0103\u2019\u201d and his stock of tales called\n\u201cganondas\u2018h\u00e4go^n\u201d. Each listener gave the story teller a small gift, as\na bead, small round brooch, beads, tobacco, or other trinket. To tell\nstories was called \u201c\u0115^nsege\u00b4od\u0115^n\u201d, and the gift was termed\n\u201cdagwa\u00b4niatcis,\u201d now an obsolete word.\n\n\n                             PHONETIC KEY.\n\na as in father\n\n\u0101 preceding sound, prolonged\n\n\u0103 as in what\n\n\u00e4 as in hat\n\n\u00e2 as in all\n\nai as in aisle\n\nau as _ou_ in out\n\nc as _sh_ in shall\n\n\u00e7 as _th_ in wealth\n\nd pronounced with the tip of the tongue touching the upper teeth, as in\nenunciating English _th_ in with; the only sound of _d_ employed in\nwriting native words\n\ne as in they\n\n\u0115 as in met\n\nf as in waif\n\ng as in gig\n\nh as in hot\n\ni as in pique\n\n\u012d as in pit\n\nk as in kick\n\nn as in run\n\n\u00f1 as _ng_ in ring\n\no as in note\n\nq as _ch_ in German ich\n\nr slightly trilled; this is its only sound\n\ns as in sop\n\nt pronounced with the tip of the tongue touching the upper teeth, as in\nenunciating the English _th_ in with; this is its only sound\n\nu as in rule\n\n\u016d as in rut\n\nw as in wit\n\ny as in ye\n\ndj as _j_ in judge\n\nhw as _wh_ in what\n\ntc as _ch_ in church\n\n^n marks nasalized vowels, thus e^n, o^n, ai^n, \u0115^n, \u00e4^n, \u00e2^n\n\n\u2018 indicates an aspiration or soft emission of breath\n\n\u2019 marks the glottal stop, \u00e4\u2019, \u0115^n\u2019\n\nt\u2018h In this combination _t_ and _h_ are separately uttered, as _th_ in\nthe English words hothouse, foothold\n\n\n\n\n                                   I\n                FUNDAMENTAL FACTORS IN SENECA FOLK-LORE\n\n\n\n\n                      SENECA MYTHS AND FOLK-TALES\n\n\n                 _BASIC PREMISES OF SENECA FOLK-LORE._\n\nThe myths and legends of the Seneca are built upon certain well\nrecognized and deeply rooted postulates. Each bit of folk-lore must have\nits consistency adjudged by these elements in order to be credible. Any\nmyth or legend that offended the standards so set would immediately be\nrejected by the Seneca as spurious. To a large extent the premises of\nfolk-lore are founded on folk-thought, and woe to the innovator who\nsought to direct his theme from the accepted thought patterns.\n\nAmong the basic beliefs upon which the folk-tale is built are the\nfollowing:\n\n_Unseen spirits._ Spirits pervade all nature and affect man for good or\nevil. Their desires and plans must be satisfied by man. There are both\ngood and evil spirits. Spirits may inhabit anything in nature.\n\n_Conflict of good and evil spirits._ Good spirits are constantly making\nwar upon evil spirits.\n\n_Magical power._ There is such a thing as orenda or magical power. Such\npower makes its possessor the master over the natural order of things.\nThis orenda may be acquired in various ways. It may be residual, and\ntherefore an attribute of the individual, or it may be inherent in some\ncharm or fetish. Virtuous persons may be given a good orenda, which is\nalways more powerful in the end than the evil orenda which is possessed\nby witches and sorcerers.\n\n_Transformation._ Any being possessing orenda may transform himself into\nany form,\u2014animate or inanimate, as his orenda gives power. Anything seen\nin nature may be a temporary or a permanent transformation of a being\nhaving orenda. Transformation may be by command or by entering the skin\nof the creature whose form one desires to assume. Animals having orenda\nmay assume human form and mingle with human beings. A group of people,\ntherefore, may in reality be a transformed group of animals, and\nlikewise with individuals.\n\n_All nature is conscious._ Everything in the Seneca philosophy lives and\nis conscious. It is a being and in communication with other parts of\nnature. Anything in nature may be spoken to and it will hear what one\nhas said. It may be induced to act in one\u2019s behalf.\n\n_All living creatures have souls._ The Seneca believes that animals have\nsouls that are alike in their nature to the souls of human beings. The\nhunter, therefore, propitiates the soul of the animal he kills, and\nexplains why he killed it. The souls of friendly animals help man, if\nman has been courteous, and has properly propitiated them. Souls of evil\nanimals injure men and must be \u201cbought off.\u201d The souls of all creatures\nreturn to the Maker of Souls just as man\u2019s does.\n\n_Master of souls._ There is in the heaven world a Master of life and\nsoul. He allows his subordinate spirits to rule the earth-world and\nconcerns himself generally with his own realm. Souls that return to him\nare taken apart and readjusted that they may function properly in the\nimmortal realm. Evil is therefore conceived in a measure as a\nmaladjustment of the soul\u2019s parts.\n\n_Ghosts._ The manes of departed men and animals wander over their\nfamiliar haunts and startle men by their \u201cmaterializations.\u201d Wandering\nghosts generally want something and must have their desires satisfied.\nThe evil of the living person is intensified in the ghost. A ghost is\nthe body spirit and not the real psychic personality.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  EDWARD CORNPLANTER\u2014SOSONDOWA\n\n  Leading chief of the Cattaraugus Wolf Clan and High Priest of the\n    Ganiodaiu religion. Mr. Cornplanter was probably the last of the New\n    York Iroquois who knew by heart every one of the ancient ceremonial\n    rituals. He died in June, 1918, aged 67, and was buried near the\n    Newtown Long House.\n]\n\n_Dreams._ Dreams are experiences of the soul as it leaves the body\nduring sleep. The dream god guides the soul to its dream experience.\nDreams that prompt the individual to certain desires must be interpreted\nby a chosen person or by volunteer guessers, and the desire must be\nsatisfied, or calamity will befall the dreamer as well as the\nunsuccessful guesser. Prophetic dreams must guide action and dream\ndemands must not be lightly set aside.\n\n_Monsters._ There are monsters that men seldom see. These affect the\nwelfare and the destiny of man. They are generally evil and seek to\ndestroy and sometimes to eat human beings.\n\n_Wizards._ There are such beings as wizards, witches and sorcerers.\nThese beings possess an evil orenda and seek to destroy innocent people.\n\n\n          _GODS, MAJOR SPIRITS AND FOLK-BEASTS OF THE SENECA._\n\n\n                     1. BEINGS OF THE PRIMAL ORDER.\n\nThe first of the God Being was Te\u2018hao^n\u2018hw\u0115\u00f1djaiw\u0103\u2019\u00b4kho^n\u2019 or Earth\nHolder. It was he who ruled the sky world and lived in the great\ncelestial lodge beneath the celestial tree. As the result of a dream\nthis chief, who also bears the title, Ancient One, was moved to take to\nhimself as a wife a certain maiden, known as Aw\u0115^nh\u0101\u00b4i\u2018, Mature Flower\n(Fertile Earth). Mature Flower consented to the betrothal, but due to\nthe embrace of her lover inhaled his breath, and was given a child. The\nattention she gave this child caused the Ancient One to be moved to\njealousy, this emotion being aroused in him through the machinations of\nthe Fire Beast, whose invisibility rendered his work the more subtle.\nLittle is known through mythology of Ancient One, since his field is a\ncelestial one, and he seldom interferes with the doings of men of our\npresent order. Of his unhappy wife, who was cast through the hole made\nby the uprooting of the celestial tree we learn more.[2]\n\nThe wife of the Ancient One was Iage^n\u2019\u00b4tci\u2018, also meaning Ancient One\n(Body). We recognize her in the Huron myths as recorded or mentioned in\nthe Jesuit _Relations_ as Ataentsic (Ataaentsik). In Onondaga this would\nbe Ei\u0103\u2019t\u0103g\u0115^n\u2018\u00b4tci\u2018. Her story is given in all versions of the creation\nmyth.\n\nHer personal name seldom appears, but Hewitt gives it as Aw\u0115^n\u2018h\u0101\u00b4i\u2018,\nthis referring to her maturity, or ability to bring forth seed. In some\nversions the Chief casts his wife into the abyss made by uprooting the\ncelestial tree, Gai^ni\u0103\u2019\u00b4tg\u00e4\u2019\u00b4hei\u2018; in others her own curiosity is\nresponsible. The tree in such versions is uprooted as a dream demand and\nher enraged husband pushes her into the hole made thereby through the\ncrust of the heaven world. After the completion of the earth-world the\nsky mother returned by way of an etherial path that plainly was visible\nto her, this having been made by her daughter, the first born and the\nfirst to die of earth creatures.\n\nFire Beast (Ga\u0103s\u2018io\u00f1die\u00b4t\u2018h\u0103\u2019), appears to have been one of the\nimportant primal beings, and to have exercised a malign influence even\nupon the inhabitants of the celestial world. He is described as of \u201csky\ncolor\u201d or invisible, and he is only detected at all when he emits\nstreams and flashes of light from his head. When a meteor flashes the\nIroquois recognizes the Fire Beast. His appearance is counted as a sign\nof direful calamity and death.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THE THUNDER SPIRIT\n\n  This is the powerful Hihnon, one of the principal spirits in the\n    Seneca pantheon. Drawing by Jesse Cornplanter.\n]\n\nWhirlwind (S\u2018hagodiiwe^n\u2018\u00b4g\u014dw\u0101 or Hadu\u2019\u00b4i\u2019), was also a primal power of\ngreat importance. He is the controller of the violent winds, and he\ntakes his name, He-who-defends-us, from his promise to help mankind when\nthreatened by calamity. His symbol is the crooked-mouthed false face.\nThere is also the concept of the four defenders, one for each of the\ncardinal directions. It was Whirlwind who boasted his power to the Good\nMind (Iouskeha) and who had the contest with him of mountain moving. The\nface became mutilated by the mountain coming too quickly against it, at\nthe command of the Good Mind. Agreeing that he was now a subordinate he\nagreed furthermore, to drive away disease and pestilence and to defend\nmen-beings, who should be thereafter created, from malign influences.\nHis face carved in wood, after certain propitiatory and invocatory\nceremonies, was and still is used by the conservative Iroquois in their\nceremonial events, particularly at the mid-winter thanksgiving, when\nparties of masked figures go from house to house, singing the magical\nsongs deemed potent for this purpose. The common name is Hadu\u2019\u00b4i\u2019, but\nin all ceremonies the full Seneca appellation is given,\n(Shagodiiw\u0115^n\u00b4\u2018g\u014dw\u0101).\n\nThe Thunderer, H\u012d\u2019\u00b4no^n\u2019, was another of the great beings, but he\nappears in the second order of mythology, as a servant to Iouskeha. He\noccupies a high place in the category of Iroquois gods, so high a place\nthat it is an open question whether or not the Great Being whom the\nIroquois now address as Haw\u0115\u00f1i\u00b4o\u2019 is not identical with the Thunderer,\nthough there is also a recognition of the Thunderer as a separate being.\nThe name Haw\u0115\u00f1i\u00b4o\u2019, apparently is derived from ow\u0115\u00f1\u00b4n\u0103\u2019, (voice) and\ni\u00b4o\u2019 (good, great, majestic or beautiful). The initial _Ha_ is the\nmasculine sign. The name thus means, He-great-voice. This alludes to the\nthunder. The Thunderer is a mighty being, the maker of rains. He\nwrinkles his brow and the thunder rolls, he winks his eyes and\nlightnings flash like arrows of fire. The Thunderer hates all evil\nspirits, and he is charged with terrorizing the _otgont_ or malicious\ndwellers of the under-world to return to their cave. He seeks to slay\nthe under water serpent and all folk-beasts that would use evil magic.\n\nThe benificient earth-god was T\u2018haho^n\u2019hiaw\u0103\u2019\u00b4ko^n, the light or elder\ntwin of the Sky Woman\u2019s daughter. He is variously called Iouskeha\n(Huron), H\u0103\u2019ni\u2018go\u2018\u00b4io\u2019, Good Mind, Elder Brother, and Sky Holder. It was\nhe who watched at the grave of his mother, and discovered the food\nplants. It was he who set forth on the journey \u201cto the East\u201d and\nobtained from his father the power to rule. He made the earth habitable\nfor man, obtained the mastery over the Thunderer and the Whirlwind, and\neven made his grandmother, Ei\u0103\u2019t\u0103g\u0115^n\u2018\u00b4tci\u2018 (Aw\u0115^n\u2018h\u0101\u00b4i\u2018) play the game\nof plum stones, the result of which should determine who should rule the\nearth. He animated his plum stone dice and gave them understanding,\nordered them to arrange themselves as he directed, and thereby won the\nhighest count in a single throw. This gave him mastery over his evil\nbrother Tawis\u00b4karo^n (the icy or flinty one), for the grandmother\nsympathised with this ugly twin brother of his. In the heaven world,\nT\u2018haho^n\u2019hiaw\u0103\u2019\u00b4ko^n, now lives with his grandmother, in the reunited\nfamily of celestial beings, and though he grows very old he has the\npower of renewing himself at will, and exercises this power over good\nsouls that come into the heaven world. He created man after observing\nhis own reflection in a pool of water, after which he made miniature\nfigures in clay and commanded them to live.\n\nTawis\u00b4karo^n, was the second born of the daughter of the Sky Woman. He\nwas of destructive nature, and found his way to life through the axilla\nof his mother, killing her at birth. His heart was made of ice or of\nflint (the words are similar). His delight is in destroying living\nthings, especially by freezing. He created all the evil beasts,\nserpents, insects and birds. He invented thorns, briars, and by kicking\nat the earth made cliffs and precipices. During his career he stole all\nthe good animals and hid them in a cave; he drove all the birds away.\nHis great feat was in stealing the sun and hiding it in the far\nsouthwest. Aided by the fires which his brother, T\u2018haho^n\u2019hiw\u0103\u2019\u00b4ko^n,\nand his cohorts secured, the birds and animals were found and the sun\nwas released. This of course typifies the annual triumph of summer over\nwinter, the return of the migrating birds, and the return of the heat of\nthe sun. Tawis\u00b4karo^n is then confined to his cavern, hence his name\nHanis\u2018he\u00b4ono^n, meaning He who dwells in the earth. With the coming of\nthe Christian missionaries, Tawiskaro was identified with the Christian\ndevil, (H\u0103\u2019nigoi\u0115t\u00b4g\u00e4\u2018, bad mind).[3] Strangely, about this time it was\nthe Thunder god, instead of the good-minded Sky Holder, who was\nmetamorphosed into the Great Spirit, Haw\u0115\u00f1i\u00b4o\u2019, this name being the\nSeneca equivalent for Jehovah (God).[4]\n\nLesser known gods were Ai\u2018ko^n\u2019 the Dream god, Haskot\u0103\u00b4hi\u0101h\u0101ks, the Head\nOpener, and Deiod\u0103\u2018sond\u0103i\u2019ko^n\u2018, Thick Night. Aikon, caused the dreams\nwhich demanded interpretation, and Haskotahiahaks, opened the heads of\nsoul-bodies as they passed over the sky-trail (Milky Way), and examined\nthem for good and evil thoughts, after which he ate the brains.\n\nCosmic trees. There is a marvelous tree in the center of the heaven\nworld. It bears all manner of fruits and flowers. (See cosmological\nmyth, p. 59.)\n\nThere is a great tree in the center of the earth. Its top touches the\nsky. It grew in the world of the first order and it bore flowers of\nlight. To touch this tree is to acquire great magical power. The\nWhirlwinds rub their rattles against it and become full of orenda.\n\n\n                           2. NATURE BEINGS.\n\nThe Sun, among the nature gods, is recognized by the Seneca as a\npowerful being. Yet, unlike the gods in other theogenies, the Sun is a\ncreation made after the formation of the world,\u2014at least so it would\nappear from the common cosmogeny. Sun was created from the face of the\nearth-mother, yet it may be that her face was the sacrifice that brought\nthe Sun into evidence. There is evidence of attempts to conceal the\norigin of the sun in several of the myths. He appears as the messenger\nof the Sky Chief and as the special god of war, Ho\u2018sg\u0115^n\u2019age\u2018\u00b4d\u0103g\u014dw\u0101. He\nalso appears as existing before the birth of the primal twins, and it\nappears that he is the being who sat on the mountain \u201cto the east across\nthe sea,\u201d and who gave power to the Good Mind, or T\u2019haho^nhiaw\u0103\u2019\u00b4ko^n.\nIt thus appears there is an imperfect assimilation of conflicting myths,\nprobably from different sources.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THE SPIRIT OF DIONHEKON\n\n  In this drawing the spirit of the food plants is shown touching the\n    shoulder of Handsome Lake, the Seneca Prophet. Drawing by Jesse\n    Cornplanter.\n]\n\nEach day the Sun starts from his resting place in the branches of the\ncelestial tree, takes his path under the lifted east sky, rolls up the\ndome and commences his unerring watch of the movements of men. Wherever\nthere is light, there is the messenger of the Sky Chief watching human\nbehaviour. Returning at night, he recites all that he has observed on\nearth.\n\nHe bears the name End\u0115\u00b4ka G\u00e4\u00e4\u2018\u00b4kw\u0103, Diurnal Orb of Light.\n\nThe Moon is Soi\u2018\u00b4ka G\u00e4\u00e4\u2018\u00b4kw\u0103, Nocturnal Orb of Light, and she is hailed\nas \u201cOur Grandmother.\u201d In each of her several phases she has a different\nname and function. She is watched by the females as a sign of health,\nand by the men as a sign of hunting luck. By the Moon time is regulated,\nand each monthly moon has a special name. Of all heavenly bodies she is\nthe most mysterious, though not the most powerful.\n\nMorning Star, G\u0115nde\u00f1\u00b4wit\u2018h\u0103, is one of the great beings of the sky and\nher appearance is watched as an omen. It appears that once Morning Star\nwas an important celestial personage, but the Iroquois have drifted away\nfrom giving her special honors. She appears in several rolls, sometimes\nas a siren who lures hunters into a luckless marriage, mysteriously\nleaving them to wander the world over in search of her. She appears to\nhave charmed an elk into loving her, and also as a rescuer of starving\nvillages in time of famine. She is called Gadj\u012d\u2018so^n\u00b4d\u0103\u2019 g\u0115nde\u00f1\u00b4wit\u2018h\u0103\u2019.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THE FLYING HEAD OF THE WIND\n\n  This is the whirlwind or Dagwanoeient. Drawing by Jesse Cornplanter.\n]\n\nStorm Wind, Dagwanoeient, (Dagwano\u2018\u0115\u00f1\u00b4i\u0115n) is a being of great activity,\nand he has a whole tribe of subordinates bearing his name. He appears to\nmen as a Flying Head, with long streaming hair, and his exploits are\ngenerally discreditable. He is a great wizard and takes delight in\ndestroying things. His friends are generally sorcerers and otgont\n(evilly potent) beasts. Many legends are related about Dagwanoeient in\nhis various forms, for he has several transformations.\n\nG\u00e4\u00b4ha\u2018, the zephyr, is a softer wind than the stormy Dagwanoeient, and\nappears to be of a kindlier disposition. While G\u00e4\u00b4ha\u2018 may have done\nmagical things, it was not malign, and there are legends that tell how\nGaha wooed some fair forest maid and married her. Gaha helps plant grow\nand is associated with the warm season when fruits ripen and mature.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THE SPIRIT OF THE FROST\n\n  This is Haht\u00b4ho, the spirit of the frost who signals by knocking on\n    the trees in winter. Drawing by Jesse Cornplanter.\n]\n\nThe Frost god is known as H\u0103\u2019\u00b4tho\u2018, and he is described as a fierce and\nrelentless old man who lives where frosts and ice abound the year\naround. His home in the north is called Othowege. It is he who brings\nthe frost and who causes the snows to sweep over the earth. His clothing\nis ice and he carries a maul with which he pounds the ice on rivers and\nlakes, making them crack with a resounding boom. He also causes that\npeculiar knocking sound on trees when the weather is very cold. He has\none great enemy, it is the spirit of Spring, who assisted by Thaw drives\nhim from the region that he has invaded and sends him grumbling back to\nthe northland. The Frost god has as his friends Dagwanoeient, the Storm\nWind, and Falling Hail.\n\nThe Hail spirit is called Owisondyon. He loves to startle people by\ncoming unexpectedly in the warm months of early summer and to pelt the\ngrowing crops with his icy missiles. Sometimes he is given the name,\nDehodyadgaowen, meaning Divided Body.\n\nThe Spring god is Dedio\u2018s\u2018hwineq\u00b4do^n, and he is young and very\nmuscular. He loves to wrestle with the winter winds and even enters\nHa\u2019\u00b4tho\u2019s lodge and teases him to desperation while his faithful ally,\nThaw, plays havoc with the ice and the drifts outside. Spring tortures\nthe Winter god with a medicine made of blackberry juice, for Winter god\nknows that when blackberries grow winter is beyond the power of injuring\nthe world. At last Spring and Winter have a wrestling match in which\nWinter is overcome and his bodily form melts upon the ground, while his\nspirit whines away, driven north by the south winds. Spring lives in\nOn\u0113\u00b4na^n\u2019ge\u2018, Sunshine land.\n\nThe Thaw god is D\u0103g\u0101\u2019\u0115^n\u2018\u00b4d\u0103, the faithful ally of Spring. When he\ncomes, in mid-winter he appears suddenly and begins to wreck the icy\nblankets that winter has placed over the earth. Winter then knows that\nSpring is coming and exerts all his magic to freeze the world again and\nto make his reign even more terrible. Time passes and Thaw comes again\nbringing his master, Spring, and then there is a fight to the finish,\nand Spring is supreme, while Thaw pursues ever to torment H\u0103\u2019\u00b4tho\u2018, on\nhis frontiers.\n\nThe spirits of sustenance are known as Dio^n\u2019he\u00b4ko^n, and they are\nrepresented as the inseparable spirits of the corn, the bean and the\nsquash. They are sometimes referred to as \u201cthe three sisters.\u201d The\nceremonial dance in their honor is called Go\u00f1d\u0103\u2018go\u00f1wi\u00b4sas. There are\nmany legends of these spirits of sustenance and the wise men and women\nof ancient times tell of hearing them talk together in the fields where\nthey grow together.\n\nTide spirit is known as S\u2018hagowe\u00b4not\u2018ha, and it is he who controls the\nrising and falling of the great waters, twice in each day. It is said\nthat he controls the lifting of the sky\u2019s rim in the land of\nGaenhyakdondye (the horizon), which allows the sun to emerge in the\nmorning and depart at night. Sometimes he tempts canoemen far out to sea\nand then crushes them under the edge of the sky\u2019s rim. He sometimes\nlures disobedient boys to lonely islands where witches and wizards live\non human flesh. Altogether, aside from certain functions, he is an evil\nmonster.\n\nWill-o\u2019-the-wisp, or Gahai\u2019\u00b4, is known as the witch\u2019s torch. It is not a\nspirit of the first order, but merely a flying light which directs\nsorcerers and witches to their victims. Sometimes it guides them to the\nspots where they may find their charms. Sorcerers have been detected by\nthe frequent appearance of their Gahai\u2019\u00b4, which leaves their smoke hole\nand guides them as they ride in mid air on their evil journeys.\n\n\n                       3. MAGIC BEASTS AND BIRDS.\n\nChief among all the creatures that inhabit the air is the wonderful\nO\u2018s\u2018h\u0103\u00b4d\u0103\u2019ge\u0103\u2019, the Cloudland Eagle. He seems ever to watch over\nmankind, especially the Iroquois, and to come to earth when great\ncalamities threaten. Living above the clouds he collects the dews in his\nfeathers, and some say that he has a pool of dew on his back between his\nshoulders. The Iroquois regard him with great reverence, for he is\nconnected with many a worthy exploit.\n\nHorned Snake, Gas\u2018hais\u00b4dow\u0103ne^n, has several names among which are\nDoon\u0103\u2019\u00b4gaes and Djo^ndi\u2019\u00b4gwado^n. He is a monster serpent of the\nunderwaters and his head is adorned with antlers of great spread, though\nhe is also said to have monster horns shaped like a buffalo\u2019s. He is\ncapable of transforming himself to the appearance of a man, and as such\ndelights in luring maidens to his abode. In a few instances he appears\nas the gallant rescuer of women marooned on bewitched islands. Like\nother monsters he has a brood of his kind, he having females as well.\nThese sometimes lure men under water and seek to transform them by\ninducing them to put on the garments they wear. Horned Snake is hated by\nthe Thunderer, who spares no energy to kill him before he can dive.\n\nMonster Bear, Ni\u0103\u2019\u00b4gwai\u2019he\u00b4g\u014dw\u0101, is the most feared of magic beasts and\none of the most frequent among them to enter in to the fortunes of men.\nHe loves to race and in various forms which he assumes, seeks to get\nmen, and particularly boys, to bet their lives on the race, which\ngenerally lasts from sunrise to sunset. He has a vulnerable spot on the\nbottom of one of his feet and unless some hero hits this the monster\ndoes not die. His bones form important parts of \u201cmagic medicine\u201d and the\ndust from one of his leg bones if taken as a medicine is reputed to make\na runner invincible.\n\nWhite Beaver, Na^nga^nni\u0103\u2019\u00b4go^n, is an otgont beast who lives in magic\nwaters. He seldom appears, but when he does he means disaster. Usually\nhe is represented as the transformed son of a great witch. He is\nsometimes called Diat\u00b4dagw\u016dt.\n\nBlue Otter, is another magic beast whose home is in the water. His\nfunction is to poison springs. He has another function, that of\ninflicting disease by his magic, and in this way he secures offerings of\ntobacco.\n\nBlue Lizard, Djai\u00b4nosg\u014dwa, seems to be a beast looking something like an\nalligator. He lives in pools and is the servant of wizards and witches.\n\n\n                      4. MAGICAL MAN-LIKE BEINGS.\n\nThe Stone Giants, or Stone Coats, G\u0115^nno^n\u00b4\u2019sgw\u0101\u2019, are commonly\ndescribed in Seneca folk-tales. They are beings like unto men, but of\ngigantic size and covered with coats of flint. They are not gods and are\nvulnerable to the assaults of celestial powers, though the arrows of men\nharm them not at all. The early Iroquois are reputed to have had many\nwars with them, and the last one is said to have been killed in a cave.\n\nPygmies, Djog\u0115\u00b4o^n, are little people who live in caves. They are a\ntribe by themselves and live in houses as men do. They frequent deep\ngulches and the borders of streams. In some ways they are tricky, but in\ngeneral do not injure men. They are not successful hunters and are\ngrateful for the fingernail parings of human beings. These are saved by\nthe thoughtful and tied in little bundles which are thrown over cliffs\nfor the Djogeon to gather as \u201chunting medicine.\u201d They also require\ntobacco and when they require it they will tap their water drums in\ntheir meeting places. The observant then make up little packages of\ntobacco which they throw to them. Out of gratitude for favors they\nfrequently warn men of danger or assist them to fortune.\n\nMischief Maker, S\u2019hodi\u00b4o^nsko, is a trickster, and sometimes is called\nthe \u201cbrother of death.\u201d He delights in playing practical jokes,\nregardless of how they result. He possesses a store of magic and is able\nto transform himself into many forms. It is related in one legend that\nin the end he repented and returned to the sky world in a column of\nsmoke. This appears however, to be an allusion to the Algonkin\ntrickster.\n\nGhostly Legs, Ganos\u00b4has\u2018ho\u00b4o^n\u2019, are beings composed only of a pair of\nlegs, having a face directly in front, though the face is seldom seen.\nThey appear only in the dark and no one has ever made a complete\nexamination of one. They have no arms or bodies, but are like the lower\nbodies of men, cut off at the waist, and on either loin gleams a faintly\nglowing eye. Some have only one eye which protrudes and draws in as it\nobserves an intended victim. The Ghostly Legs are always, or nearly\nalways running rapidly when seen. They usually betoken death and\ndisaster. No one knows from whence they come or whither they go. Indians\nof today on some of the reservations claim to have seen these creatures.\nWhile they have never been known to injure anyone they are at the same\ntime as greatly feared as ghosts.\n\nSago^n\u2019\u00b4dada\u2018\u00b4kw\u016ds, (Sagodadahkwus) is a grotesque being with a lean,\nhungry looking body, and an insatiable appetite. He seeks out gluttons,\nand catching them in the dark, takes a long spoon which he inserts into\ntheir vitals and spoons out his food. For fear anything may be lost he\ncarries a kettle into which he places everything he cannot immediately\neat. He is the spirit of gluttony, and is the terror of all who gorge\nthemselves unduly. It is well for a man who overeats to stay indoors at\nnight, lest He-who-eats-inwards devour everything within him. So, with\nhis kettle and spoon, Sagodadahkwus wanders over the earth looking for\nthe gluttons.\n\nGono\u00f1k\u00b4go\u0115s, the Big Breast, is a gigantic woman whose breasts hang down\nlike pillows. She roams the earth looking for lovers who sit close\ntogether in the dark. If they make one remark that seems to be improper\nin their love making, or if they stay at their love making too long, she\nleans over them, catching their faces beneath her breasts and smothering\nthem. Then she stands upright, still holding the smothered lovers to her\nbosom, and walking to a cliff, leans over and drops them into the dark\ndepths below.\n\nO\u2019\u00b4nia\u2018t\u00e4^n, the Dry Hand, is a mysterious mummified arm that flies\nabout to bewitch those who pry into the affairs of others by asking too\nmany questions. It will thrust its fingers in the eyes of the peeper who\ntries to watch others out of idle curiosity. Generally the touch of this\nhand means death.\n\n\n\n\n                                  II.\n                          THEMES AND MATERIALS\n\n\nThere are certain characteristic types of action to be found in Seneca\nfolk-tales, and these are closely followed in all tales. However\nrambling a tale may be it never departs from certain stereotyped themes,\nexpressing as they do the accepted idea patterns over which the story is\nwoven. Among these themes we mention the following:\n\n1. _Transformation._ Characters in the story are able to transform\nthemselves into any person, animal or object, as their orenda or magical\npower gives them power. The Seneca believed in transformation to such an\nextent that he was never sure that a rolling stone, a vagrant leaf\nfluttering along, a scolding bird or a curious animal, might not be some\n\u201cpowered\u201d person in a transformation stage.\n\n2. _Magically acquired power._ The hero of a tale finds himself in a\npredicament and through his effort to extricate himself is endowed with\nmagical power by which he overcomes enemies and difficulties.\n\n3. _Overcoming monsters._ The journey of the hero is beset with magical\nmonsters that seek to destroy him. The hero uses his wits and his orenda\nand subdues them.\n\n4. _Precocious twins._ Twins are born of a romantic marriage,\nparticularly where the hero or heroine has lost a relative. The twins\nrapidly grow to maturity and set forth to conquer.\n\n5. _Contest with sorcerers._ The hero is placed in opposition to a\nsorcerer and matches his power against him, finally killing the\nsorcerer.\n\n6. _Son-in-law put to tests._ The hero is allowed to retain his place,\npossessions or mate providing he procures certain magical objects for\nthe sorcerer. In some stories an evil mother-in-law demands such objects\nas the magical beaver, white otter, or blue lizard. The hero obtains\nthem very quickly and sometimes calls a feast to eat them. The\nmother-in-law is angry because these beasts are her brothers.\n\nThis is a widely diffused theme and is found from one coast to another.\n\n7. _Dream animal rescues hero._ The hero finds himself in a predicament\nand remembering that a helper appeared to him in a dream, calls upon it\nfor rescue. A rescue is made.\n\n8. _Race with monster._ A monster, generally a monster bear, becomes\nenraged at or jealous of the hero. The monster challenges the hero to a\nrace, the winner to kill the loser. The hero wins, generally by aid of\nsome fetish given by his uncle or grandfather.\n\n9. _Boaster makes good._ The hero boasts his power to do certain things,\nas to run faster than any living creature. He is warned to stop before\nthe spirits of swift-running beings hear him. He continues to boast and\na monster comes to the door to make the challenge. See 8, _supra_, for a\ncontinuation of this theme.\n\n10. _Imposter fails._ A jealous rival overcomes the hero and strips him\nof his clothing. Hero becomes weak and old while Imposter becomes\nyouthful. Imposter now assumes the character and rights of the hero.\nFinally he endeavors to perform the magical tricks of the hero and fails\nmiserably.[5]\n\n11. _Thrown away boy._ A child is thrown away because it seems too small\nto live, or it is lost in a blood clot and cast into a hollow stump.\nThrown-away lives and becomes a powerful being that achieves wonders.\n\n12. _Hidden lodge child._ A child born with a caul is concealed in a\nlodge, generally under an enclosed bed. It is cared for by some elderly\nperson, generally an uncle or aunt. A normal brother endeavors to rescue\nit, being told of its existence by some magical being; or, the child is\nhidden to protect it from an evil sorcerer who wants to steal it. Hero\novercomes sorcerer.\n\n13. _Double deceives sister._ A youth lives in a secluded cabin with his\nsister. The youth\u2019s double comes to the lodge when the hero is absent,\nendeavoring to seduce the sister. Double is repulsed. Sister will not\nbelieve brother has not insulted her. Brother finally makes a sudden\nreturn from a hunting trip and apprehends the double, killing him.[6]\n\n14. _Uncle and Nephew._ An uncle and nephew live together in a secluded\nlodge. Uncle generally becomes jealous of youth\u2019s ability and desires\nthe woman predestined for the nephew. In other cases uncle assists\nnephew to find lost parents. Generally the uncle guards the nephew and\nforbids him to go in a certain direction. Nephew disobeys orders.\n\n15. _Evil stepfather._ Step-father endeavors to rid himself of an\nunpromising stepson. Hides the boy in a cave or hole which he stones up.\nBoy is rescued and taught by animals, and finally returns a powerful\nbeing and confronts stepfather.\n\n16. _Witch mother-in-law._ A youth marries the daughter of a witch who\nendeavors to cause his death through conflict with monsters.[7]\n\n17. _Animal foster-parents._ Animals find an abandoned boy. They discuss\nwhich one will care for him. A mother bear generally succeeds in\nsecuring him and takes him to a hollow tree where he is protected and\neducated in animal lore.\n\n18. _Bewitched parents._ A boy finds that he has no parents. Asks his\nuncle or grandfather where they are. Is told that they are under some\nevil enchantment and secured in a place beset with magical monsters. Boy\novercomes obstacles and rescues parents.\n\n19. _Obstacles produced magically._ The hero is beset by a witch or\nmonster and flees. Upon being pressed the hero creates obstacles by\ndropping a stone and causing it to become an unsurmountable cliff. He\ncasts pigeon feathers and conjures them into a great flock that makes a\nslime that is impassable, or he finds \u201cuncles\u201d who interpose barriers\nfor him, as webs, nets, holes, pits, etc. Hero finally escapes to lodge\nof a waiting mother-in-law.\n\n20. _Lover wins mate._ Young man marries girl of his choice in spite of\ntricks of older rival and enmity of sorcerers. This must have been a\npopular theme in a society where the old were married to the young.\n\n21. _Jealous sister-in-law._ Sister-in-law offended at hero\u2019s choice\nseeks to harm bride or to kill hero.\n\n22. _Magical monster marries girl._ The monster may be the horned snake\nor the Thunderer.\n\n23. _Thunderer wars upon horned snake._ The Thunder god hates the horned\nserpent and fights it.\n\n24. _Turtle\u2019s war party._ Turtle gathers a company of offensive and\nloyal warriors. All are killed in action save turtle who begs not to be\nplaced in water when captured. He is thrust in river and escapes.\n\n25. _Bungling Guest._ An evilly inclined trickster plays practical\njokes. Performs magical acts and induces a guest to imitate. Success\nattends in presence of Trickster and perhaps once in a private\nrehearsal, but miserable failure attends demonstration before others.\n\n26. _Sorcerer\u2019s Island._ Sorcerer lures hero to enchanted island.\nSorcerer has control of the tides and currents of water.\n\n27. _Restoring Skeletons._ Hero finds bones of persons slain by sorcery.\nCommands them to arise quickly, \u201cbefore I kick over a hickory tree,\u201d and\nskeletons rise so quickly that bones are mismated. Popular ending of\nstories.\n\n28. _Vampire Corpse._ Body of dead sorcerer revives and procures hearts\nof living victims which it eats at leisure in its grave.\n\n29. _Dream Demand._ Hero guesses the meaning of a fabricated dream and\nsatisfies it, thereby thwarting intentions of the witch who pretended to\ndream.\n\n30. _Sky Journey._ Brothers journey to rim of horizon and seek to go\nunder it and enter the sky world. All succeed but one who is so cautious\nthat he makes a late start. Sky comes down and crushes him. His spirit\nspeeds ahead and greets living brothers when they arrive. Regeneration\nby Master of Life.\n\n\n                   STEREOTYPED OBJECTS AND INCIDENTS.\n\n\n                               INCIDENTS.\n\n1. Lonely bark lodge. Hero and associates live in secluded hut.\n\n2. Twins play in ground. Twins find an underground world in which they\nlive and play.\n\n3. Hero spies upon associate through hole in his blanket. Discovers the\nsecret of associate\u2019s power. Tries this in associate\u2019s absence.\n\n4. Monster is shot in vulnerable spot in bottom of foot and is killed.\n\n5. Hero in contest kills magical animal. He alone is able to pull out\nthe arrow, thereby establishing his claim to power or reward.\n\n6. Hero\u2019s double buried in fireplace speaks through fire and reveals his\nmurder to his mother.\n\n7. Burning witch\u2019s head explodes sending forth cloud of owls.\n\n8. Sorcerer controls flow of waters. Almost captures hero fleeing in a\ncanoe by drawing the current of the water toward himself. Hero reverses\ncurrent and escapes.\n\n9. Magical objects are concealed under a bed. Hero dreams he wants them\nin retaliation for his \u201cuncle\u2019s\u201d evil desires.\n\n10. Pursuing or sentinel monsters are pacified by gifts of meat.\n\n11. Youth not yet able to hunt practices shooting at an animal\u2019s paw,\nhung on lodge rafter.\n\n12. Sorcerers\u2019 hearts or livers are concealed in a safe place in their\nlodges, guarded by conjured dogs or ducks. Hero finds hearts and\ndestroys sorcerers.\n\n13. Hero obtains hearts of enemies and squeezes them, causing enemies to\nfaint. He dashes them on rocks and kills enemies.\n\n14. Hero conjures lodge of witches into flint. Orders it to become red\nhot and so destroys enemies.\n\n15. Hero learns how to jump through the air.\n\n16. Hero reduces sister to miniature and places her in a conical arrow\ntip, shooting her away to safety. Hero follows by magic flight creating\nobstacles as he goes.\n\n17. Corn rains down into empty bins of starving people. Corn maiden\ncomes to marry hero whose younger brother is ungrateful for food,\ncasting it in fire thereby burning Corn Maiden\u2019s body. She departs.\n\n18. Powered man throws flint chips calling upon them to kill animals.\n\n19. Hero violates taboo. Calamity impends but hero overcomes.\n\n20. Heroine kills pursuing monster by throwing boiling oil into its\nface.\n\n21. Hero kicks over tree and causes skeletons to rise in flesh. Bones\nare mismated through haste. Origin of cripples.\n\n22. Hero or twin heroes walk into the ground and disappear.\n\n23. Lonely bird sings for a mate. Various creatures seek to comfort\nlonely bird but all are rejected until a natural mate calls and is found\ninjured or trapped. Released by lonely bird who flies away with him.\n\n24. Animals talk to men. Some animal warns hero of impending danger and\nplans escape.\n\n\n                                OBJECTS.\n\n1. _Dream helpers._ These are animals or persons that have come to the\nhero in a dream and promised to assist him in times of peril.\n\n2. _Astral body._ The hero has an astral self that appears in times of\ngreat danger and points out a way of escape.\n\n3. _Hollow log regeneration._ Hero who has been abused or conjured is\nregenerated by passing through a hollow log.\n\n4. _Talking flute._ The flute kept in a \u201cbundle\u201d talks to hero\u2019s friend\nand informs him of condition, or it tells hero where he may find game.\n\n5. _Running moccasins._ Hero pursued takes off moccasins and orders them\nto run ahead and make tracks that baffle pursuer.\n\n6. _Magic Arrow._ An invincible arrow that kills whatever it is aimed\nat. It may be shot promiscuously into the air and game will return with\nit, falling dead at hero\u2019s feet. No one but hero can withdraw arrow.\n\n7. _Forbidden chamber._ A certain walled-off part of the lodge is\nforbidden to the hero, who in older relative\u2019s absence explores it,\ncausing anger of magical beings.\n\n8. _Door-flap action._ Sorcerer commands hero to perform dream demand by\ngoing out of door and consummating demand before the door curtain flaps\nback.\n\n9. _Magic fish line._ Sorcerer hooks hero\u2019s fleeing canoe with a magical\nfish line. Hero burns off line by emptying pipe upon it.\n\n10. _Hero ties his hair to earth._ When hero suspects he is in the hands\nof a sorceress he ties a hair to a root before he sleeps. Sorceress\nmakes off with him but cannot go beyond the stretching length of the\nhair and is compelled to return.\n\n11. _Lice hunting._ Sorceress hunts lice in hero\u2019s head, lulling him to\nsleep.\n\n12. _Saliva gives power._ If a powered being touches any object or\nweapon with his saliva it takes some of his power.\n\n13. _Wampum tears._ Captured hero or heroine when tortured sheds wampum\ntears which enemies greedily take.\n\n14. _Magical animal skins._ Hero or sorcerer has enchanted skins which\nhe can conjure to living animals. He may enter a skin and assume the\ncharacteristics of its original owner.\n\n15. _Magic pouch._ The pouch of animal skin holds the hero\u2019s utensils,\ntobacco and pipe. It may be conjured to a living thing.\n\n16. _Magic suit._ A self-cleaning suit that gives power to wearer.\n\n17. _Magic canoe._ A canoe that has unusual speed and may be paddled\ninto the air.\n\n18. _Inexhaustible kettle._ Hero\u2019s friend puts scrapings of corn or nut\ninto it and it expands enormously supplying enough food. Hero tries the\nexperiment and expands kettle too greatly bursting the lodge.\n\n19. _Magical springs._ Springs that have been enchanted by sorcerers are\nthe dwelling places of monsters that lure the unwary to drink. The\nmonster then drags in his victim and eats him.\n\n20. _Enchanted clearings._ Clearings guarded by monsters who prevent\nhero from visiting sorcerer living in a lodge within.\n\n21. _Bark dagger._ Hero incapacitated by thrust of bark dagger piercing\nhis back. Villain steals hero\u2019s clothing and impersonates him. See\nImposter.\n\n22. _Sweat lodge regeneration._ Hero recovers through a sweat of bear\u2019s\ngrease. Lodge covered with a fat bear pelt.\n\n23. _Powered finger._ Hero has power to kill animals by pointing his\nfinger at them.\n\n24. _Animated finger._ Hero obtains a magic finger that stands in his\npalm, pointing out the location of anything he desires.\n\n25. _Sharpened legs._ A character is able to whittle his legs to points\nand use them as spears.\n\n25. _Borrowed skin._ Hero borrows skin (coat) of deer, mole, or other\nanimal, and entering it moves about without exciting suspicion of enemy.\n\n26. _Borrowed eyes._ Hero borrows eyes of deer or owl for a blind uncle\nenabling him to recover his own eyes or to see for a few moments a long\nlost relative, generally a brother.\n\n27. _Stolen eyes._ Sorceresses rob young men of their eyes.\n\n28. _Quilt of eyes._ Quilt made of winking eyes stolen from young men\nwho have looked at the witches who continually sew upon such a quilt.\n\n29. _Girls in box._ Enchanted girls hidden in a bark box come forth upon\ndemand of conjurer. The enchantment is not of an evil nature.\n\n30. _Enchanted feathers._ These placed upon hero\u2019s hat give him great\npower, particularly for running.\n\n31. _Enchanted birds._ Hero has enchanted birds upon his hat that bring\ncoals to light his pipe.\n\n32. _Bark dolls._ Dolls are enchanted so that they speak for their\nmaker, deceiving evil pursuer of hero.\n\n33. _Talking moccasins._ Moccasins placed in lodge talk to evil pursuer,\nsetting him or her astray.\n\n34. _Reducible dog._ A tiny dog that is kept in a pouch. It may be\nenlarged to a size sufficient to carry the hero or his fleeing sister.\nUpon being patted with the hand or magic rod it becomes reduced to a\nsize almost invisible.\n\n35. _Talking skull._ Hero finds the skull of his uncle. It asks him for\ntobacco and then directs him how to overcome sorcery.\n\n36. _Flayed skin._ A human skin is the slave of sorcerers and guards\ntheir lodge, clearing or path, screaming out the presence of intruders.\nIt may be revived by hero who removes the enchantment.\n\n37. _Wampum eagle._ An eagle covered with wampum. Many people shoot at\nthis eagle trying to kill it. Only the hero can with his magic arrow.\n\n38. _White beaver._ A magical beaver, generally the \u201cbrother\u201d of a\nwitch, is killed by hero who invites in friends to help eat the beast.\n\n39. _Blue lizard._ Lives in a magic spring and lures the unwary to death\nby pulling them into the water.\n\n40. _Flying heads._ These are spirits of the storm winds. They are\ngenerally evil characters in stories.\n\n41. _Pygmies._ There are tribes of \u201clittle people\u201d living under ground\nor in rocky places. They have valuable charms and can be forced to give\nthem to men. They have a ceremony in which they delight. If men beings\nperform this ceremony favor is gained. They like tobacco and nail\nparings.\n\n42. _Buffalo one rib._ A magically endowed buffalo kills men. It cannot\nbe injured by arrows because it has only one rib, a bony plate\nprotecting its entire body. Vulnerable in the bottom of one foot.\n\n43. _Fast-growing snake._ A boy finds a pretty snake and feeds it. It\ngrows enormously and soon eats a deer. Game is exhausted and snake goes\nafter human beings.\n\n44. _White pebble._ A white stone is given magical power and when thrown\nat a magical monster hits and kills it.\n\n45. _Flesh-eating water._ The water of a magical lake eats the flesh\nfrom the bones of the unwary. Monsters living in it are immune.\n\n46. _Sudden friend._ Hero in predicament sees a strange person before\nhim who announces that he is a friend and will help the hero escape.\nTells hero what to do.\n\n\n                  COMPONENTS OF THE COSMOLOGICAL MYTH.\n\n1. _Sky world._ A world above the clouds inhabited by transcendent\nbeings.\n\n2. _Celestial tree._ A wonderful tree in the center of the sky world.\n\n3. _Sky woman._ Falls through hole made by uprooted sky tree and brings\na promised child with her.\n\n4. _Primal turtle._ Rises from sea to receive sky woman.\n\n5. _Earth diver._ Animals dive to secure earth for turtle\u2019s back.\n\n6. _World-tree._ Springs up from root of sky tree brought down by sky\nwoman. Grows in the \u201cmiddle of the world.\u201d Flowers of light.\n\n7. _Female first born._ A daughter soon born to the sky woman. Grows to\nquick maturity.\n\n8. _Immaculate conception._ Daughter conceives in mysterious manner.\n\n9. _Rival twins._ Twins born to daughter. Warty, flint hearted one,\nkills mother at birth. Fair one, the elder, watches her grave and finds\ncorn, beans, squashes, potatoes and tobacco springing from it. Elder\ntwin is constructive, younger is destructive.\n\n10. _Hoarded water._ Evil twin causes a great frog to drink all the\nwater of the earth. Good twin hits it with a stone causing it to\ndisgorge.\n\n11. _Father search._ Good Minded twin searches for father and finds him\non a great mountain to east.\n\n12. _Son testing._ Good Minded\u2019s father tests him with wind, water, fire\nand rock. Good Minded proves sonship and returns to earth island with\nbags of animals.\n\n13. _Man making._ Good Minded molds man from clay after reflections seen\nin water.\n\n14. _Primal beings return._ Good Minded and grandmother return to sky.\n\n15. _Evil banished._ Evil Minded placed in underground cavern.\n\n\n\n\n                                  III.\n             THE ATMOSPHERE IN WHICH THE LEGENDS WERE TOLD\n\n\nLet us journey backward into the forgotten yesterday; let us catch a\nfleeting glimpse of a little village along the creek of Doshowey.\n\nIt is during the closing year of the Eighteenth Century. The time is in\nthe moon N\u012dsha (January), and the whole earth is covered by a thick\nblanket of heavy snow.\n\nThere is a deeply worn trail along the bank of the creek, but nobody\nwalks in the trail, for it is as deeply rutted as it is deeply trodden.\nIt is not now a road but a trench floored with rough ice and carpeted\nwith broken patches of snow. Along the sides of the trail, over the\nwhite way, are supplementary and parallel trails that in places spread\nwide with the tell-tale mark of snowshoes. Here and there are deep dents\nwhere boys have wrestled and thrown each other into the drifts.\n\nAbout us are great trees. Back from the creek are areas covered with\ntall pines and hemlocks; toward the creek are great deciduous trees\nlooking gnarled and weather-worn. In the more open spaces are groves of\nnut trees, the hickory, the butternut and the walnut. Even in the depth\nof winter the region is inviting and suggests happiness and opportunity.\n\nWe continue our journey until we come within sight of a little village\nof log huts and bark lodges. The huts are rather small and primitive\nlooking and the lodges for the most part look battered and smoky. Here\nand there, however, is a log cabin more sumptuous than the rest, and\nthere are even bark houses that look comfortable. There seem to be no\nstreets in this village, for the houses are set in any spot, seemingly,\nwhere the builder chose to erect his dwelling. Stretching in every\ndirection are little cornfields, stripped of their ears and standing\nlike ragged wrecks in the wind.\n\nBefore we reach the village there is an open space occupying a level\narea. Here and there are a score of boys and as many men shouting and\nplaying games. In an icy trough, made by dragging a log through the snow\nfor a quarter of a mile or more, the older boys are playing a game of\nsnowsnake. We find that there are two rival teams, each with twenty-four\nlong flat pieces of polished wood called \u201cgawasa,\u201d or snowsnakes. The\nidea of the game seems to be to find out who can throw a gawasa the\ngreatest distance.\n\nThere is a great shout as one contestant rushes forward holding his\ngawasa by the tip and throws it with all his might into the trough. On\nit speeds like a living thing, gliding ahead with a slight side to side\nmovement like a serpent springing forward. At the entrance of the trough\na band of opponents is crying out discouraging remarks, while his own\ncheer squad is shouting its confidence and praises. A hundred feet down\nthe trough an opponent waves his feathered cap over the gawasa as it\nspeeds by, calling it \u201ca fat woodchuck that cannot run,\u201d while just a\nbit beyond, a friend also waves his cap and shouts a cabalistic word of\nmagic. Finally the gawasa slows down and stops. Two trail markers rush\nto the spot and plunge colored sticks into the snow to mark the distance\nit has traveled. There is a referee from each team to insure absolute\naccuracy. In another moment another gawasa comes darting ahead, its\nleaden nose striking the tail of the first, nosing under it and throwing\nit out of the track, then speeding onward a score of paces ahead. The\ntrail markers rush forward with other sticks and there is a great shout\nfrom the winning side.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THE SNOW SNAKE GAME.\u2014From a drawing by Jesse Cornplanter.\n]\n\nEach team keeps its gawasa in leathern cases. A special \u201csnowsnake\ndoctor\u201d draws out each as it is wanted and carefully wipes it with a\nsoft fawn-skin, then waxes or oils the snake with some secret compound\ndesigned to make it slip with less friction over the icy path. These\nformulae are great secrets and a successful \u201cdoctor\u201d is in great demand,\nand receives big fees.\n\nWe glance over into the square where boys are playing a game of javelins\nand hoops. The object, we soon discover, is to pierce the hoop with the\njavelins, thus stopping its progress as it rolls onward between the\nlines of contestants to its goal. This is also a popular game with the\ndogs, especially the puppies, who every now and again dash after the\nhoop, much to the disgust of the team throwing it. We hear the cry of\n\u201cSigwah, ahsteh, sigwah!\u201d meaning get out, go away, and then hear the\nyelp of the poor pup as it is struck with a javelin, and whimpers away\nfrom this maddened crowd of humans.\n\nIn another portion of the field we see a group of large girls playing\nfootball with a small ball stuffed with deer hair. There is a grand\nmelee as the two \u201ccenters\u201d come together and kick at the ball, missing\nand striking each other\u2019s shins. There is a peal of laughter as each\nfalls in the snow from the impact, and rolls over upon the ball which\nother eager players strive to extricate with their feet, for their hands\nmust not touch the ball. The game is a rough-and-tumble one, but no one\nis injured, for the kicking feet that fly about so nimbly are clad in\nsoft-nosed moccasins.\n\nWe pass on and leave this scene of winter fun for a more sober group\nsitting on logs beneath the pines at the creek bank. It is a group of\nolder men waiting for the return of a hunting party, and we learn that\nsoon there is to be a great feast,\u2014in fact a nine-day celebration in\nwhich all the people will participate. Out on the creek we also see\nlittle clusters of men fishing through the ice, and, judging by the\nshouts, fishing is good.\n\nIt may be well to pause here and carefully note the appearance of the\nmen. It is not difficult to see that they are Indians. Their coppery red\nskins and raven black hair indicate this. Moreover, their dress and\nlanguage permits no mistake in our conclusion. One man, more aged than\nthe rest, is garbed in buckskin from head to foot. His shirt is long and\nof a beautiful white tan. About the neck, the chest, the shoulders, the\nsides and upon the cuffs there is a rich adornment of porcupine quill\nembroidery in various tasteful colors,\u2014red, yellow and white being\npredominant. The leggings are of the same soft velvet tan, and\nembroidered at the bottoms in a deep cuff of quill work, which extends\nup the front in a thin line. Just below each knee is a garter\nembroidered with a finer appliqu\u00e9 than the rather coarse quill work.\nClose inspection shows it to be long hair from the \u201cbell\u201d of the moose.\nIt is so flexible that, unlike quill work, it allows the garter to be\ntied snugly without stiffness. Beneath the shirt, though it hangs down\nnearly to the knees, the edge of a loin-cloth is just seen. Looking down\nat his feet you will observe a pair of beautiful moccasins. They are of\nthe puckered toe type, with a single seam up the center of the foot, the\nleather being drawn up in neat puckers to conform to the shape of the\nfoot. The flaps of the moccasins are also embroidered with quill work,\nin a running pattern looking like half circles and above which rise\ntendril designs,\u2014looking like the zodiacal sign of Aries. It is the old\nman\u2019s cap, however, which interests us most. It is not at all like the\nconventional war-bonnet which we have seen in picture and pageant.\nInstead it is like a closely fitting cap of fine fur, apparently beaver.\nIt has a wide band about it, holding it tightly to the head. On the\nupper part of this band are close rows of dangling silver cones that\njingle against one another as the old man moves his head. From the\ncenter of the hat rises a spool-like socket into which is inserted a\nfine eagle plume, that turns on a spindle within the socket. Around the\nspool and fastened to it are clusters of smaller feathers that fluff\nover the top of the cap in gay abandon. Across the old man\u2019s breast is a\nworsted belt, red in color, and decorated with beads in a most\ninteresting fashion. About the old man\u2019s waist is a stouter belt of\nbuckskin, into which is thrust a tomahawk, and from which dangles a pipe\nbag. Stooping over, he picks up a pair of overshoes made of woven\ncornhusk stuffed with pads of oiled rags and buffalo hair. Looking at\nthe other men you observe that all have on similar crude looking\nover-moccasins, but that most of them are of thick oil-tanned buckskin\nleather, instead of cornhusk.\n\nThe old man walks away toward the village and we linger a moment to\nlearn that his name is Jack Berry,[8] and that he is considered an\nold-fashioned fellow, but that he commands great respect. We find, in\nfact, that the village just ahead is named after him, \u201cJack Berry\u2019s\nTown,\u201d and that it is one of the eight villages of Indians scattered\nover the Buffalo Creek tract.\n\nIt is now late in the afternoon and the sun is sinking over the forest\nto the west. Men and boys, and now and then a small group of women, walk\nswiftly toward the village. Some of the men are bending low under heavy\nloads of game, trussed up in burden-frames. Several men have strings of\nfish and a few men and women have long strings of white corn upon their\nshoulders.\n\nNaturally we are hungry after our long journey through the brisk winter\nafternoon. We are also ready to sit down by the fire and dry our damp\nfeet. Where shall we go, who will know us?\n\nEverybody seems to know us, for everybody speaks, saying, \u201cNyahweh\nskanoh, Gyahdasey,\u201d (\u201cI am thankful to see you strong of body, my\nfriend.\u201d) We stop and talk with one group after another and tell them\nthat we are strangers, rather tired and very hungry. Everybody smiles\nand says, \u201cYes, that\u2019s so,\u201d but not a soul invites us to supper and\nlodging. Our guide smiles at us and finally says, \u201cYou may go to any\ncabin here, walk in and sit down.\u201d You may take off your shoes and put\non any warm pair of moccasins you find hanging on the wall, you may\npretend that you are dumb, and say nothing. No one will ask you a\nquestion, but every want that you have will be anticipated and every\ncomfort of the lodge given to you, though it is the only bed as your\ncouch, the only buffalo robe your cover, and your food the last bowl of\nsoup. Among the Seneca you are welcome. No matter who you are, you are\nan honored guest and welcome to any home you chose to enter. It is for\nyou to invite yourself to a home and honor it with your presence.\n\nWe look about with some concern, for most of the houses are small and\nlook overcrowded. Finally, since we are in search of knowledge, as well\nas amusement and adventure, we choose a very commodious bark long house,\nfrom whose roof we see six fires sending up columns of black smoke. This\nplace looks as if it might afford us company enough to satisfy our\nsocial inclinations and room enough to stow us away for the night. If we\nhesitated a moment we were soon convinced of our good judgment by the\ntempting odors of steaming maize puddings and hull-corn hominy, together\nwith the appetizing smell of venison roasting over hot stones.\n\nWe pause at the entry of the lodge and note the wooden effigy of a\nbear\u2019s head hanging in the gable of the building. This is a symbol that\nclans-folk of the Bear dwell within and that all \u201cBears\u201d are welcome.\nHowever, as we know that neither Turtles nor Hawks, nor any other\nclansman or stranger will be denied admission, we push aside the buffalo\nrobe that curtains the doorway and enter.\n\nBefore us is a vast hall some twenty-four feet wide and eighty feet\nlong. On either side are low platforms, scarcely more than knee high\nfrom the earthen floor. Above are other platforms, but these are six or\nseven feet above and form a roof over the lower platforms. On the latter\nwe see people lounging, sitting or reclining, as suits their\ninclination.\n\nAn elderly woman comes forward and greets us, and as she does so,\nseveral men also come forward. Some, dressed in trader\u2019s cloth clothing\ngrasp our hands in welcome, while an old man, evidently a relic of an\nolder day, places his hands on our chests and says, \u201cStrength be within\nyou.\u201d This we learn is the old Indian way of greeting, in the days\nbefore hand-shaking came into vogue.\n\nSome one points out an unoccupied seat filled with robes and we are\ninvited to place our luggage on the platform above. From a long pole,\nhanging from the beams that form the roof supports, hang braids of corn,\nforming a curtain that nearly makes our loft inaccessible. As we push\nour pack basket well toward the center of the platform we hear a squeal,\nand a seven-year-old boy who has been sleeping there on a pile of pelts\ndarts over the corn pole and swings himself to the floor.\n\nThe whole building is replete with stores of food, and besides the corn,\nwe see large quantities of smoked meat, dried fish, dried pumpkins and\nsquashes and dried herbs of various kinds. The center of the lodge is a\nbroad aisle and at every eight paces there is a fireplace on the floor,\nthe smoke from which rises to the roof and escapes through large\nrectangular holes made by leaving off the bark roofing.\n\nWe join a group of men and learn from their conversation that they are\ndiscussing the great war of the white men, in which the Thirteen Fires\novercame the British King. Alas, these Indians had fought for the King\nand as a punishment a mighty general had come against them with a\ncannon, burning their villages on the Genesee and sending them\nterror-stricken to their red-coated allies at Fort Niagara. Here they\nhad endured a terrible winter of privation during which time hundreds\ndied of disease, starvation and freezing. The British King had not done\nwell by them and his agents had deceived them. It was Town Destroyer\n(Washington) who was their real friend, for it was he who said they\nmight remain in their ancient seats. So here they were on Buffalo Creek,\nin the land of the Wenroe and the Neutral, peoples whom they had\nconquered a century and a half ago. Here was their refuge, but the\ncontrast between this and their former secure position on the Genesee\nhad disheartened them. The war and the flight had disorganized them,\ntheir old ideals had been broken, and the only safety seemed to be to\navoid the white man. He brought all this trouble and his traders brought\nthe fire water that made the young men crazy. He had brought a new\nreligion too, and many of the villagers of the Buffalo tract had been\nconverted to it and were trying to live in accordance with its\nteachings. Some of the men thought that this spoke the doom of the\nIndian race, while others thought it would be better to offset this\nmovement by embracing the religion of Handsome Lake, a sachem from\nAllegany who was now preaching temperance and morality among the Indians\nat Allegany. Most of the men, however, thought that it was best to avoid\nall new schemes and philosophies. \u201cThe old way is the best,\u201d we hear\nthem say. \u201cIn the old way we know just where we stand. We are familiar\nwith the methods of the old way: the new way has not been tried.\u201d\n\nThen someone says, \u201cJack Berry is going to go over to Handsome Lake.\nMaybe this is the right way. He is an intelligent man and his father was\na white man, though he is more Indian than any of us in his manners and\nspeech.\u201d\n\nLong the discussion goes on, and embraces one topic after another. There\nis nothing to do but to talk and this soon grows tiresome, for the same\nold topics are worn threadbare. Brains that are hungry for new ideas and\nfor facts find no food. The mental life of the people, we quickly\ndiscover, is circumscribed. The people crave stimulation; of physical\nstimulation they have plenty, but of mental stimulation there is little\nindeed. This is one of the reasons why in the old days the men went on\nlong tedious hunts, sought adventure, went on war parties, and played\nthe game of death. \u201cBetter to die in the hurricane like a young oak that\nhas been broken in the gale,\u201d said they, \u201cthan to die because rot has\nset in and eaten up the heart.\u201d\n\nHere among the discouraged and broken people of the Buffalo tract,\nbitterness gnawed at every heart, and there was a sense of having been\noverwhelmed by some irresistible force. The people craved amusement,\nexcitement, and the stimulation of the imagination. It was because of\nthe lack of healthful means to procure these things that the men gambled\nso much, and drank the traders\u2019 rum.\n\nThe evening meal is now ready and we find that the matron of our fire is\ndipping our hull-corn hominy. Everybody grabs a bark dish and some take\nout neatly carved wooden bowls. These are filled with the hominy and the\ngroup begins to eat, dipping the steaming corn with wooden spoons of\nlarge size. Now comes the meat portion, and each person is given from\none to three pounds of roasted venison. This we eat with boiled corn\nbread, dipping the bread into a bowl of grease that is passed about\namong us. We have no forks, and the only thing that resembles one is a\nsharpened splinter of bone. We have our knives, however, and the meat is\ncut by holding it with the hands. If our greasy fingers bother us we\nhave a box of corn husks upon which to wipe them. We then cast our\n\u201cnapkins\u201d into the fire. At the close of the meal we receive bowls of\n\u201conegadaiyeh,\u201d or hot fluid, which we find to be a fragrant tea made\nfrom the tips of hemlock boughs mixed with a dash of sassafras. Those\nwho do not like this drink are given wintergreen \u201ctea\u201d sweetened with\nmaple sugar. As we drink our tea a bright-eyed maiden brings us a bark\ntray with generous slices of sugar-nut bread, made by molding white corn\nflour with pulverized maple sugar into which is mixed hickory and\nhazel-nut meats, the whole being molded into a cake held into shape by\nhusks, and then boiled until done. Everyone exclaims, \u201cOguhoh,\u201d meaning\n\u201cDelicious.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  A BARK COMMUNAL HOUSE\n\n  From a drawing by Jesse Cornplanter, son of Chief Edward Cornplanter.\n    There were houses similar to this along Buffalo Creek as late as\n    1838.\n]\n\nThe house is full of men, women and children. To each child there is a\ndog,\u2014and a mighty well-behaved dog. Though they sit on their haunches\nlooking hungry indeed, not one ventures near the mat or bench where the\nfood is placed. Patiently they await a scrap of meat or a bone as it is\nthrown to them.\n\nOne is impressed with the various costumes of the throng. Some are\ndressed in military coats, some wear red flannel shirts made in coat\nstyle, with the flaps worn outside, some wear leather leggings, and some\nhave cloth or buckskin trousers. Some of the women, as well as the men,\nwear tall beaver hats with silver bands around them. Everybody wears a\nblanket. Some are red, some are green or yellow, but nearly all wear\ngray or blue blankets. The women have especially fine blankets of blue\nbroadcloth, beautifully beaded in floral patterns at the corners, and\nhaving geometrical designs around the borders. Only a few of the men\nwear boots, the majority wearing the ancestral moccasin. The skirts of\nthe women are of broadcloth, beaded like the blankets, though several of\nthe matrons have skirts of buckskin. The women wear pantalets, with\nbeaded or quilled bottoms. They also wear small head shawls, and their\nhair is neatly braided. The maidens wear two braids, but the married\nwomen wear one, looped up behind and tied with a ribbon or a quilled\nstrip of soft doeskin.\n\nThe house looks gloomy inside, for it is rather smoky, but the\nliveliness of the children and the puppies makes up for the darkened\ninterior. If one does not wish to be walked over he had better crawl up\non his bed and make himself comfortable in a buffalo robe. At best the\nlodge only shuts out the wind, and the fires add but little warmth. With\nthe abundance of fresh air one does not feel oppressed by the numerous\npeople on every hand. No one in this dwelling has that unhappy disease\nthat infects the dwellers in the tight and warm log houses,\u2014the disease\nthat eats the lungs and makes people fade away like ghosts of their real\nselves. The abundance of fresh air and the creosote from the smoke,\ntogether with exercise out of doors in the sunshine, makes these\ndwellers in the long bark house lively and healthy.\n\nAgain the men fall into groups about the fire, and again they talk of\nthe events about them. One tells of a British agent who wants the\nIndians to come over to Canada and dwell with their brethren who\nfollowed Chief Brant to the Grand River after the war. A Mohawk Sachem\nhad been with the British agent and had confirmed his description of the\nbeautiful land on the other side of the Niagara, where the Iroquois\nConfederacy might once more rise from its ashes and become a great\npower. They had found but few followers, however, for the Buffalo Seneca\nwere loyal to the memory of Washington, the great White Father, who just\na month ago had died. \u201cWe are now the children of Town Destroyer,\u201d the\nBritish agent had been told. \u201cWe shall abide here where our fathers\nfought. This is their land and though we have been hurt in this conflict\nwe will not run away, like dogs whipped, and who scamper whimpering to a\nhollow log. We shall stay here and be men.\u201d It was in vain that the\nagent had appealed to their natural desire for revenge.\n\nAs the night grows darker, a shout is heard outside and all the children\nrun to the door. \u201cDajoh, dajoh!\u201d they exclaim, and rushing out surround\na tall man of middle age, one taking his hand and leading him in. We can\nhear the shout of \u201cHoskwis\u00e4onh, the story teller,\u2014the story teller has\ncome!\u201d\n\nHe is a jovial-looking fellow, this story teller, and his entrance to\nthe lodge puts the young people in a state of suppressed excitement.\nEven the older people are pleasantly disposed toward him, and one matron\ndraws forth a bench which she sets before the central fire. Several\ncornhusk mats are then placed around on the floor and the company draws\ninto a circle, at least such a circle as the building will permit.\n\nThe story teller wears a long white flannel toga, or overshirt bound\nwith blue ribbon. It is embroidered richly with colored moose hair. His\ngustoweh or cap is of soft doeskin quilled in herringbone patterns, and\nthe feathers that droop from the crest spindle are the white down\nfeathers of the heron. The spinning feather at the tip is from the tail\nof a young eagle and from its tip rises a little tassel of red moose\nhair held on by a bit of fish glue. He has two bags, one containing his\npipe and tobacco, and the other filled with mysterious lumps. Just what\nthese are everyone waits patiently to see, for they are the trophies\nthat \u201cremind\u201d him of his stories,\u2014bear teeth, shells, bark dolls,\nstrings of wampum, bunches of feathers, bits of bark with hieroglyphs\nupon them, and the claws of animals.\n\nHe takes his seat and after smoking a pipeful of sacred tobacco throws\nsome of this fragrant herb upon the fire, at the same time saying a\nritualistic prayer to the unseen powers, about whom he is soon to\ndiscourse. Finally he exclaims, \u201cHauh, oneh djadaondyus,\u201d and all the\npeople respond, \u201cHauh oneh!\u201d He plunges his hand into his mystery bag\nand draws forth a bear\u2019s tusk. \u201cHoh!\u201d he says. \u201cThe bear! This is a tale\nof nyagwai\u2018\u00b4. Do you all now listen!\u201d And then comes the story of the\norphaned boy who lived with his wicked uncle and how he was rescued from\nburial in a fox hole and cared for by a mother bear. Another trinket\ncomes forth, and again another, as a new tale unfolds. When the night\nhas grown old, and the youngsters show signs of weariness by falling\nasleep, the story teller closes his bag, carefully ties it and then\nstarts to smoke again.\n\nThe listeners have been thrilled by his dramatic recitation, they have\nbeen moved to uproarious laughter or made to shudder with awe. They have\nbeen profoundly stirred and their eyes glisten with pleasurable\nexcitement. Everyone files past the story teller with a small gift,\u2014a\nbrooch, a carved nut, a small bag of tobacco or a strand of sinew for\nthread. No gift is large and most gifts are pinches of native tobacco.\nThe story teller then finds a comfortable bed.\n\nThe children climb into their lofts by aid of notched ladders, the old\npeople repair to their compartments, pull down the robe curtains, and\nsoon all but a watcher or two are asleep, dreaming of the folk-beasts\nand the heroes of the story teller\u2019s tales. The more imaginative\ncontinue the adventures that have been told, and journey into dreamland\nto meet the myth-beings and learn of the mysteries that only slumberland\ncan reveal.\n\nSuch is the setting of the story teller and the atmosphere in which the\nlegends of the Seneca were told, in the days of early Buffalo. These\nold-time tales can scarcely be appreciated unless one knows and _feels_\nthe circumstances under which they were related. Then, too, we may dream\nas the Seneca dreamed and know why he loved the story teller.\n\nIn the morning we are awakened by the noise of the corn pounders.\n\u201cKa-doom, ka-doom, ka-doom!\u201d they sound as the pestle strikes the corn\nin the mortar and crushes it into hominy or meal, as the case may be.\nChildren then begin to tumble out of bed and run about the lodge, but\nmost of them are sent back to their warm robes until the morning meal\nhas been prepared.\n\nAs we open our eyes we see little light, for we are within one of the\nbed compartments, over the front of which hang long buffalo robe\ncurtains, shutting out the light and securing us from the sight of\nothers. The head and the foot of our sleeping quarters likewise are\npartitioned off by screens of bark, strengthened by upright poles. At\nour feet are little cupboards where we have stored our clothing and\nvaluables. Over our heads hang uncertain bundles, attached to the\nparallel poles that form the platform above us. These contain the\ntreasures and personal possessions of our host, whose bed we occupy. As\nwe dress and emerge from our compartment, we feel the cool air of the\ngreat hallway and smell the smoke of the lodge fires. We look at the\nunderside of the bed and find it walled up by bark over a layer of\nparallel poles. Beneath this bed are the greater treasures of our host,\ntreasures that no one may touch or see save himself. He reaches them by\nlifting up the floor of the bed, a floor made of slats laced together.\nNo person, not the owner of the compartment, would ever dare pry beneath\nthat bed. It is a crime as black as calumny and worse than murder, for\nit is a violation of fundamental laws. As the women come from their\ncompartments, and throw back their curtains upon the platform above, we\ncatch a glimpse of \u201cbed rooms\u201d neatly kept and hung with furs and pelts.\nSome are embroidered and some are painted with signs and symbols. We\nnote also their neat bundles and quilled bark boxes at the foot of the\nbed or over their heads. We long to pry into these secrets and to\ndiscover just what is in this mysterious boudoir, but modesty forbids\nanything more than a fleeting glance. Each compartment is its occupant\u2019s\n\u201ccastle\u201d and must not be violated by so much as a curious look.\n\nAs we make ready for a bit of corn bread and a large bowl of soup, the\nliquor in which the bread has been boiled, we note the ascending smoke\nfrom the fireplaces on the earthen floor. The drafts are regulated by\nopening one door-flap or the other. The great ridgepole and the rafters\nof the lodge are black with soot. The roof is pitched, and the gable is\nmade by a pole placed above and resting upon the plate-poles, across the\nfront and rear of the building. These support the inner ridge pole upon\nwhich rest the tops of the roof supports or rafters. These are stiffened\nby inner poles that run parallel with the ridge pole and rest upon the\nend gable rafters. All are tied in place with ropes of bark or fastened\nwith pegs, some of them spikes of deer antler. On either side of the\ndoor are the major roof supports which being securely driven in the\nground rise to the gable rafter, giving a stronger support than could\npossibly be given by a central post. The building is absolutely rigid.\nThe triple plaiting with bark, most of it elm, placed the long way of\nthe grain, instead of up and down, makes the building wind-proof and\ncomfortable enough to people inured to the weather.\n\nWe note with a great deal of interest the long rows of corn placed along\nthe roof poles that rest just above the edge of the upper platforms.\nThese braids of corn form curtains that screen off the upper platforms\nexcept in places where there are small openings into which the lodge\nmatrons may thrust their possessions. It is there that they keep their\nbowls of bark and wood, also stores of dried food. We are told that\nthere are barrels of bark up there filled with dried and smoked meats of\nvarious kinds, also stores of vegetable foods and herbs.\n\nThe shed of the house interests us greatly. It is an entry way attached\nto the lodge and has a slightly sloping roof. It is large and roomy and\nhere on one side is piled a great quantity of wood and on the other are\nboxes and barrels of shelled corn.\n\nWe are impressed by the neatness of everything and by the compact manner\nin which food and clothing is stowed away. Of course, in a modern sense,\nthe things we see are not clean, by any means, for dust and soot cover\neverything not within arm\u2019s reach. The place reeks of smoke, but we have\ngrown so accustomed to this that we scarcely notice it, save when the\nwind changes direction and the smoke fills our eyes.\n\nAround the fires are mats woven of corn husk, over a warp of twisted elm\nbark fiber. Upon these we sit as we are given wooden bowls which are\nfilled with soup. The big ladle which we see used to dispense our\nportion holds a bowlful. It is carved from curly maple and has a dove\ncarved on the upper part of the handle. Our smaller spoons are carved in\na similar manner but they hold only a white man\u2019s half cupful. There is\nnothing formal or full about this breakfast and we note the frugality of\nthe people. The second meal will be the hearty one.\n\nAs we sit on the mat before the fire we note how conservative some of\nthe older people are. One or two have bowls or pots of baked clay, rare\nrelics of the earlier day before the white man\u2019s brass kettles made the\nfragile clay pot an obsolete thing. We note that one pot has a serrated\nrim which flares out, while the other has a tall collar decorated with\nparallel lines arranged in triangular plats. Very gently do these old\nfolk handle their clay pots which they call \u201cgadj\u0115^n\u201d. Several of the\nold men take from their pouches ancient clay pipes, relics of the days\nwhen they lived beyond the Genesee. These are molded with bowls in the\nshape of raccoons and have copper eyes. The stems are rather short, not\nmore than eight inches, and the pipe is not held in the mouth\ncontinually but lifted to the lips to allow an inhalation, and then\ntaken down. These relics we learn are sacred things and are to be buried\nwith the old men when they die.\n\nBreakfast is over and there is little for the men to do. Their autumnal\nhunt has filled the larder with game. There is plenty of corn, and the\nyounger men supply the fresh meat and fish needed. Winter is a time when\neveryone clings to the hearth fire, save upon ceremonial occasion, or\nfor the usual winter sports. But even these become tiresome, and the\nminds of the people crave stimulation. Even the gambling games do not\nsupply the right sort of awakening. The minds of the people are hungry\nand demand a feeding even upon husks. They demand that their\nimaginations be kindled and that from sordid life they be lifted to the\nfairylands of pure imagination. The story teller who can lift the\nindividual out of self and transport him to the land of magic, where he\nmay picture himself a super-man performing mighty feats, is in great\ndemand. Absurdity counts for nothing; what though the myth or legend is\nimpossible,\u2014this does not matter. It gives the hungry mind and yearning\nsoul wings upon which it may fly away from a real earth to the land of\n\u201cI-wish-I-could.\u201d In a world where reliable facts are few and where\ncritical investigation is impossible, the imagination must be fed. The\nstory teller of the lodge supplies that food. He is the storehouse of\nall knowledge, the repository of ancestral lore. To the untutored mind\nof the aborigine he supplies what is almost as necessary as food itself,\nfor while man is a combination of body and mind, mind must have its\nsustenance no less than body; it must have its sweets and its stimulants\nno less than the physical nature. And so the story teller weaves the\nspell, with all his rhetoric and oratory,\u2014and hungry minds gather round\nto feast....\n\nTime goes by and the world has changed. There is a different order of\nthings. The power of the Seneca has gone, and the pale invader has taken\nover all the land, save tiny areas in out-of-the-way places. Still the\nSeneca has not relinquished his hold entirely; in various bands he still\nlives in tribal estate. But how different is the Seneca today! His life\nis that of the surrounding white man, in an economic sense. Little\nremains to distinguish him as of another cultural order, but there is\nstill enough to mark him as aboriginal. He still preserves his rites and\nceremonies, and on the reservations at Cattaraugus, Allegany and\nTonawanda he still tells the folk-tales that his ancestors loved, and\n_these remain unaltered to this very day_.\n\n\n\n\n                                  IV.\n                         WHEN THE WORLD WAS NEW\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  DELOS BIG KITTLE\u2014SAINOWA.\n\n  A leading chief of the Wolf Clan of the Cattaraugus Seneca. Chief\n    Kittle was a man of great influence and numbered many devoted\n    friends among the citizens of Buffalo and vicinity. He died in the\n    Buffalo City Hospital, Dec. 30, 1923.\n\n  _Photo by E. C. Winnegar._\n]\n\n\n                        1. HOW THE WORLD BEGAN.\n\nBeyond the dome we call the sky there is another world. There in the\nmost ancient of times was a fair country where lived the great chief of\nthe up-above-world and his people, the celestial beings. This chief had\na wife who was very aged in body, having survived many seasons.\n\nIn that upper world there were many things of which men of today know\nnothing. This world floated like a great cloud and journeyed where the\ngreat chief wished it to go. The crust of that world was not thick, but\nnone of these men beings knew what was under the crust.\n\nIn the center of that world there grew a great tree which bore flowers\nand fruits and all the people lived from the fruits of the tree and were\nsatisfied. Now, moreover, the tree bore a great blossom at its top, and\nit was luminous and lighted the world above, and wonderful perfume\nfilled the air which the people breathed. The rarest perfume of all was\nthat which resembled the smoke of sacred tobacco and this was the\nincense greatly loved by the great chief. It grew from the leaves that\nsprouted from the roots of the tree.\n\nThe roots of the tree were white and ran in four directions. Far through\nthe earth they ran, giving firm support to the tree. Around this tree\nthe people gathered daily, for here the Great Chief had his lodge where\nhe dwelt. Now, in a dream he was given a desire to take as his wife a\ncertain maiden who was very fair to look upon.[9] So, he took her as his\nwife for when he had embraced her he found her most pleasing. When he\nhad eaten the marriage bread he took her to his lodge, and to his\nsurprise found that she was with child. This caused him great anger and\nhe felt himself deceived, but the woman loved the child, which had been\nconceived by the potent breath of her lover when he had embraced her. He\nwas greatly distressed, for this fair Aw\u0115^n\u2018h\u0101\u00b4i\u2018 was of the noblest\nfamily. It is she who is customarily called Iag\u0115^n\u2019\u00b4tci\u2018.\n\nHe, the Ancient One, fell into a troubled sleep and a dream commanded\nhim to have the celestial tree uprooted as a punishment to his wife, and\nas a relief of his troubled spirit. So on the morrow he announced to his\nwife that he had a dream and could not be satisfied until it had been\ndivined. Thereupon she \u201cdiscovered his word,\u201d and it was that the tree\nshould be uprooted.\n\n\u201cTruly you have spoken,\u201d said Ancient One, \u201cand now my mind shall be\nsatisfied.\u201d And the woman, his wife, saw that there was trouble ahead\nfor the sky world, but she too found pleasure in the uprooting of the\ntree, wishing to know what was beneath it. Yet did she know that to\nuproot the tree meant disaster for her, through the anger of Ancient One\nagainst her.\n\nIt so happened that the chief called all his people together and they\nendeavored to uproot the tree, it being deep-rooted and firm. Then did\nthe chief grow even more angry for Iag\u0115^n\u2019\u00b4tci had cried out that\ncalamity threatened and nobody would avert it. Then did the chief,\nhimself embrace the tree and with a mighty effort uprooted it, throwing\nit far away. His effort was tremendous, and in uprooting the tree he\nshook down fruits and leaves. Thereafter he went into his lodge and\nentered into the apartment where his wife, Iag\u0115^n\u2019\u00b4tci, lay moaning that\nshe too must be satisfied by a look into the hole. So the chief led her\nto the hole made by uprooting the tree.\n\nHe caused her to seat herself on the edge of the hole and peer downward.\nAgain his anger returned against her, for she said nothing to indicate\nthat she had been satisfied. Long she sat looking into the hole until\nthe chief in rage drew her blanket over her head and pushed her with his\nfoot, seeking to thrust her into the hole, and be rid of her. As he did\nthis she grasped the earth at her side and gathered in her fingers all\nmanner of seeds that had fallen from the shaken tree. In her right hand\nshe held the leaves of the plant that smelled like burning tobacco, for\nit grew from a root that had been broken off. Again the chief pushed the\nwoman, whose curiosity had caused the destruction of the greatest\nblessing of the up-above-world. It was a mighty push, and despite her\nhold upon the plant and upon the ground, she fell into the hole.\n\nNow, this hole had penetrated the crust of the upper world and when\nIag\u0115^n\u2019\u00b4tci fell she went far down out of sight and the chief could not\nsee her in the depths of the darkness below. As she fell she beheld a\nbeast that emitted fire from its head whom she called Ga\u0103s\u2018io\u00f1die\u00b4t\u2018h\u0103\u2019,\n(Gahashondietoh). It is said that as she passed by him he took out a\nsmall pot, a corn mortar, a pestle, a marrow bone and an ear of corn and\npresented them to her, saying, \u201cBecause thou has thus done, thou shalt\neat by these things, for there is nothing below, and all who eat shall\nsee me once and it will be the last.\u201d\n\nNow it is difficult to know how this Fire Beast can be seen for he is of\nthe color of the wind and is of the color of anything that surrounds it,\nthough some say he is pure white.\n\nHovering over the troubled waters below were other creatures, some like\nand some unlike those that were created afterward. It is said by the old\npeople that in those times lived the spirit of G\u00e4\u00b4ha\u2018 and of\nS\u2018hagodiiowe^n\u2018\u00b4g\u014dw\u0101, of H\u012d\u2019\u00b4no^n\u2019 and of Deiodasondaiko, (The Wind, the\nDefending Face, the Thunder and the Heavy Night.) There were also what\nseemed to be ducks upon the water and these also saw the descending\nfigure.\n\nThe creature-beings knew that a new body was coming to them and that\nhere below there was no abiding place for her. They took council\ntogether and sought to devise a way to provide for her.\n\nIt was agreed that the duck-creatures should receive her on their\ninterknit wings and lower her gently to the surface below. The great\nturtle from the under-world was to arise and make his broad back a\nresting-place. It was as has been agreed and the woman came down upon\nthe floating island.\n\nThen did the creatures seek to make a world for the woman and one by one\nthey dove to the bottom of the water seeking to find earth to plant upon\nthe turtle\u2019s back. A duck dived but went so far that it breathed the\nwater and came up dead. A pickerel went down and came back dead. Many\ncreatures sought to find the bottom of the water but could not. At last\nthe creature called Muskrat made the attempt and only succeeded in\ntouching the bottom with his nose but this was sufficient for he was\nenabled to smear it upon the shell and the earth immediately grew, and\nas the earth-substance increased so did the size of the turtle.\n\nAfter a time the woman, who lay prone, aroused herself and released what\nwas in her hands, dropping many seeds into the folds of her garment.\nLikewise she spread out the earth from the heaven world which she had\ngrasped and thus caused the seeds to spring into germination as they\ndropped from her dress.\n\nThe root of the tree which she had grasped she sunk into the soil where\nshe had fallen and this too began to grow until it formed a tree with\nall manner of fruits and flowers and bore a luminous orb at its top by\nwhich the new world became illuminated.\n\nNow in due season the Sky Woman[10] lay beneath the tree and to her a\ndaughter was born. She was then happy for she had a companion. Rapidly\nthe girl child grew until very soon she could run about. It was then the\ncustom of Ancient One to say: \u201cMy daughter, run about the island and\nreturn telling me what you have seen.\u201d\n\nDay by day the girl ran around the island and each time it became\nlarger, making her trips longer and longer. She observed that the earth\nwas carpeted with grass and that shrubs and trees were springing up\neverywhere. This she reported to her mother, who sat beneath the\ncentrally situated great tree.\n\nIn one part of the island there was a tree on which grew a long vine and\nupon this vine the girl was accustomed to swing for amusement and her\nbody moved to and fro giving her great delight. Then did her mother say,\n\u201cMy daughter, you laugh as if being embraced by a lover. Have you seen a\nman?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have seen no one but you, my mother,\u201d answered the girl, \u201cbut when I\nswing I know someone is close to me and I feel my body embraced as if\nwith strong arms. I feel thrilled and I tingle, which causes me to\nlaugh.\u201d\n\nThen did the Sky Woman look sad, and she said, \u201cMy daughter, I know not\nnow what will befall us. You are married to G\u00e4\u00b4ha\u2018, and he will be the\nfather of your children. There will be two boys.\u201d\n\nIn due season the voices of two boys were heard speaking, ei\u0103\u2019da\u00b4go\u00f1\u2018,\nand the words of one were kind and he gave no trouble, but the words of\nthe other were harsh and he desired to kill his mother. His skin was\ncovered with warts and boils and he was inclined to cause great pain.\n\nWhen the two boys were born, Elder One made his mother happy but when\nWarty One was born he pierced her through the arm pit and stood upon her\ndead body. So did the mother perish, and because of this the Sky Woman\nwept.\n\nThe boys required little care but instantly became able to care for\nthemselves. After the mother\u2019s body had been arranged for burial, the\nSky Woman saw the Elder One whom she called Good Mind, approach, and he\nsaid, \u201cGrandmother. I wish to help you prepare the grave.\u201d So he helped\nhis grandmother who continually wept, and deposited the body of his\nmother in a grave. Thereupon did the grandmother speak to her daughter:\n\n\u201cOh, my daughter,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have departed and made the first path\nto the world from which I came bringing your life. When you reach that\nhomeland make ready to receive many beings from this place below, for I\nthink the path will be trodden by many.\u201d\n\nGood Mind watched at the grave of his mother and watered the earth above\nit until the grass grew. He continued to watch until he saw strange buds\ncoming out of the ground.\n\nWhere the feet were the earth sprouted with a plant that became the\nstringed-potato (on\u0115\u00f1no^n\u2019\u00b4d\u0103\u2019o^n\u00b4w\u0115\u2018), where her fingers lay sprang the\nbeans, where her abdomen lay sprang the squash, where her breasts lay\nsprang the corn plant, and from the spot above her forehead sprang the\ntobacco plant.\n\nNow the warty one was named Evil Mind, and he neglected his mother\u2019s\ngrave and spent his time tearing up the land and seeking to do evil.\n\nWhen the grandmother saw the plants springing from the grave of her\ndaughter and cared for by Good Mind she was thankful and said, \u201cBy these\nthings we shall hereafter live, and they shall be cooked in pots with\nfire, and the corn shall be your milk and sustain you. You shall make\nthe corn grow in hills like breasts, for from the corn shall flow our\nliving.\u201d\n\nThen the Grandmother, the Sky Woman, took Good Mind about the island and\ninstructed him how to produce plants and trees. So he spoke to the earth\nand said, \u201cLet a willow here come forth,\u201d and it came. In a like manner\nhe made the oak, the chestnut, the beech, the hemlock, the spruce, the\npine, the maple, the button-ball, the tulip, the elm and many other\ntrees that should become useful.\n\nWith a jealous stomach the Evil Mind followed behind and sought to\ndestroy the good things but could not, so he spoke to the earth and\nsaid: \u201cBriars come forth,\u201d and they came forth. Likewise he created\npoisonous plants and thorns upon bushes.\n\nUpon a certain occasion Good Mind made inquiries of his Grandmother,\nasking where his father dwelt. Then did the Sky Woman say: \u201cYou shall\nnow seek your father. He lives to the uttermost east and you shall go to\nthe far eastern end of the island and go over the water until you behold\na mountain rising from the sea. You shall walk up the mountain and there\nyou will find your father seated upon the top.\u201d\n\nGood Mind made the pilgrimage and came to the mountain. At the foot of\nthe mountain he looked upward and called, \u201cMy father, where art thou?\u201d\nAnd a great voice sounded the word: \u201cA son of mine shall cast the cliff\nfrom the mountain\u2019s edge to the summit of this peak.\u201d Good Mind grasped\nthe cliff and with a mighty effort flung it to the mountain top. Again\nhe cried, \u201cMy father, where art thou?\u201d The answer came, \u201cA son of mine\nshall swim the cataract from the pool below to the top.\u201d Good Mind\nleaped into the falls and swam upward to the top where the water poured\nover. He stood there and cried again, \u201cMy father, where art thou?\u201d The\nvoice answered, \u201cA son of mine shall wrestle with the wind.\u201d So, there\nat the edge of a terrifying precipice Good Mind grappled with Wind and\nthe two wrestled, each endeavoring to throw the other over. It was a\nterrible battle and Wind tore great rocks from the mountain side and\nlashed the water below, but Good Mind overcame Wind, and he departed\nmoaning in defeat. Once more Good Mind called, \u201cMy father, where art\nthou?\u201d In awesome tones the voice replied, \u201cA son of mine shall endure\nthe flame,\u201d and immediately a flame sprang out of the mountain side and\nenveloped Good Mind. It blinded him and tortured him with its cruel\nheat, but he threw aside its entwining arms and ran to the mountain top\nwhere he beheld a being sitting in the midst of a blaze of light.\n\n\u201cI am thy father,\u201d said the voice. \u201cThou art my son.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have come to receive power,\u201d said the son. \u201cI wish to rule all things\non the earth.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have power,\u201d answered the father. \u201cYou have conquered. I give to\nyou the bags of life, the containers of living creatures that will bless\nthe earth.\u201d\n\nThus did the father and son counsel together and the son learned many\nthings that he should do. He learned how to avoid the attractive path\nthat descended to the place of the cave where Hanishe\u00b4ono^{n\u2019} dwells.\n\nNow the father said, \u201cHow did you come to find me, seeing I am secluded\nby many elements?\u201d\n\nThe Good Mind answered, \u201cWhen I was about to start my journey Sky Woman,\nmy grandmother, gave me a flute and I blew upon it, making music. Now,\nwhen the music ceased the flute spoke to me, saying, \u2018This way shalt\nthou go,\u2019 and I continued to make music and the voice of the flute spoke\nto me.\u201d\n\nThen did the father say, \u201cMake music by the flute and listen, then shalt\nthou continue to know the right direction.\u201d\n\nIn course of time Good Mind went down the mountain and he waded the sea,\ntaking with him the bags with which he had been presented. As he drew\nnear the shore he became curious to know what was within, and he pinched\none bag hoping to feel its contents. He felt a movement inside which\nincreased until it became violent. The bag began to roll about on his\nback until he could scarcely hold it and a portion of the mouth of the\nbag slipped from his hand. Immediately the things inside began to jump\nout and fall into the water with a great splash, and they were water\nanimals of different kinds. The other bag began to roll around on his\nback but he held on tightly until he could do so no more, when a portion\nof the mouth slipped and out flew many kinds of birds, some flying\nseaward and others inland toward the trees. Then as before the third bag\nbegan to roll about but he held on very tight, but it slipped and fell\ninto the water and many kinds of swimming creatures rushed forth,\nfishes, crabs and eels. The fourth bag then began to roll about, but he\nheld on until he reached the land when he threw it down, and out rushed\nall the good land animals, of kinds he did not know. From the bird bag\nhad come good insects, and from the fish bag had also come little\nturtles and clams.\n\nWhen Good Mind came to his grandmother beneath the tree she asked what\nhe had brought, for she heard music in the trees and saw creatures\nscampering about. Thereupon Good Mind related what had happened, and Sky\nWoman said, \u201cWe must now call all the animals and discover their names,\nand moreover we must so treat them that they will have fat.\u201d\n\nSo then she spoke, \u201cCavity be in the ground and be filled with oil.\u201d The\npool of oil came, for Sky Woman had the power of creating what she\ndesired.\n\nGood Mind then caught the animals one by one and brought them to his\ngrandmother. She took a large furry animal and cast it into the pool and\nit swam very slowly across, licking up much oil. \u201cThis animal shall\nhereafter be known as niagwaih, (bear) and you shall be very fat.\u201d Next\ncame another animal with much fur and it swam across and licked up the\noil, and it was named degii\u0103\u2019\u00b4go^n, (buffalo). So in turn were named the\nelk, the moose, the badger, the woodchuck, and the raccoon, and all\nreceived much fat. Then came the beaver (na^nga^nni\u0103\u00b4go^n\u2019), the\nporcupine and the skunk. Now Good Mind wished the deer to enter but it\nwas shy and bounded away, whereupon he took a small arrow and pierced\nits front leg, his aim being good. Then the deer came and swam across\nthe pool and oil entered the wound and healed it. This oil of the deer\u2019s\nleg is a medicine for wounds to this day and if the eyes are anointed\nwith it one may shoot straight.\n\nAgain other animals came and one by one they were named weasel, mink,\notter, fisher, panther, lynx, wild cat, fox, wolf, big wolf, squirrel,\nchipmunk, mole, and many others.\n\nAnd many animals that were not desired plunged into the pool of oil, and\nthese Good Mind seized as they came out and he stripped them of their\nfat and pulled out their bodies long. So he did to the otter, fisher,\nweasel and mink. So he did to the panther, wolf, big wolf, and fox, the\nlynx and the wildcat. Of these the fat to this day is not good tasting.\nBut after a time Evil Mind secured a bag of creatures from the road to\nthe Cave and unloosed it, and evil things crawled into the pool and grew\nfat. So did the rattlesnake and great bugs and loathly worms.\n\nThus did Evil Mind secure many evil monsters and insects, and he enticed\ngood animals into his traps and perverted them and gave them appetites\nfor men-beings. He was delighted to see how fierce he could make the\nanimals, and set them to quarreling.\n\nHe roamed about visiting the streams of pure water made by Good Mind and\nfilling them with mud and slime, and he kicked rocks in the rivers and\ncreeks to make passage difficult, and he planted nettles and thorns in\nthe paths. Thus did he do to cause annoyance.\n\nNow Good Mind sat with his grandmother beneath the tree of light and he\nspoke to her of the world and how he might improve it. \u201cAlas,\u201d said she,\n\u201cI believe that only one more task awaits me and then I shall go upon my\npath and follow your mother back to the world beyond the sky. It remains\nfor me to call into being certain lights in the blackness above where\nHeavy Night presides.\u201d\n\nSo saying she threw the contents of a bag into the sky and it quickly\nbecame sprinkled with stars. And thus there came into being\nconstellations (haditgw\u0103\u2019\u00b4d\u0101\u2019), and of these we see the bear chase, the\ndancing brothers, the seated woman, the beaver skin, the belt, and many\nothers.\n\nNow it seems that Good Mind knew that there should be a luminous orb\nand, so it is said, he took his mother\u2019s face and flung it skyward and\nmade the sun, and took his mother\u2019s breast and flinging it into the sky\nmade the moon. So it is said, but there are other accounts of the\ncreation of these lights. It is said that the first beings made them by\ngoing into the sky.\n\nShortly after the creation of the stars (gadj\u012d\u2018\u00b4so^n\u2019\u00b4d\u0103\u2019), the\ngrandmother said unto Good Mind, \u201cI believe that the time has come when\nI should depart, for nearly all is finished here. There is a road from\nmy feet and I have a song which I shall sing by which I shall know the\npath. There is one more matter that troubles me for I see that your\nbrother is jealous and will seek to kill you. Use great care that you\novercome him and when you have done so confine him in the cave and send\nwith him the evil spirit beasts, lest they injure men.\u201d\n\nWhen morning came the Sky Woman had departed and her journey was toward\nthe sky world.\n\nGood Mind felt lonely and believed that his own mission was about at\nend. He had been in conflict with his brother, Evil Mind, and had\nsought, moreover, to overcome and to teach the Whirlwind and Wind, and\nthe Fire Beast.\n\nSoon Evil Mind came proposing a hunting trip and Good Mind went with him\non the journey. When they had gone a certain distance the Evil Mind\nsaid, \u201cMy elder brother, I perceive that you are about to call forth\nmen-beings who shall live on the island that we here have inhabited. I\npropose to afflict them with disease and to make life difficult, for\nthis is not their world but mine, and I shall do as I please to spoil\nit.\u201d\n\nThen did Good Mind answer and say, \u201cVerily, I am about to make\nman-beings who shall live here when I depart, for I am going to follow\nthe road skyward made first by my mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is good news,\u201d answered Evil Mind. \u201cI propose that you then reveal\nunto me the word that has power over your life, that I may possess it\nand have power when you are gone.\u201d\n\nGood Mind now saw that his brother wished to destroy him, and so he\nsaid, \u201cIt may happen that you will employ the cattail flag, whose sharp\nleaves will pierce me.\u201d\n\nGood Mind then lay down and slumbered, but soon was awakened by Evil\nMind who was lashing him with cattail flags, and yelling loudly, \u201cThou\nshalt die.\u201d Good Mind arose and asked his brother what he meant by\nlashing him and he answered, \u201cI was seeking to awaken you from a dream,\nfor you were speaking.\u201d\n\nSo, soon again the brother, Evil Mind, asked, \u201cMy brother, I wish to\nknow the word that has power over you.\u201d And Good Mind perceiving his\nintention answered, \u201cIt may be that deer-horns will have power over me;\nthey are sharp and hard.\u201d\n\nSoon Good Mind slept again and was awakened by Evil Mind beating him\nwith deer-horns, seeking to destroy him. They rushed inland to the foot\nof the tree and fought each other about it. Evil Mind was very fierce\nand rushed at his brother thrusting the horns at him and trying to\npierce his chest, his face or tear his abdomen. Finally, Good Mind\ndisarmed him, saying, \u201cLook what you have done to the tree where Ancient\nOne was wont to care for us, and whose branches have supplied us with\nfood. See how you have torn this tree and stripped it of its valuable\nproducts. This tree was designed to support the life of men-beings and\nnow you have injured it. I must banish you to the region of the great\ncave and you shall have the name of Destroyer.\u201d\n\nSo saying he used his good power to overcome Evil Mind\u2019s otgont (evil\npower) and thrust him into the mouth of the cave, and with him all\nmanner of enchanted beasts. There he placed the white buffalo, the\npoison beaver, the poison otter, snakes and many bewitched things that\nwere otgont. So there to this day abides Evil Mind seeking to emerge,\nand his voice is heard giving orders.\n\nThen Good Mind went back to the tree and soon saw a being walking about.\nHe walked over to the place where the being was pacing to and fro. He\nsaw that it was S\u2019hagodiiwe^n\u2018\u00b4g\u014dw\u0101, who was a giant with a grotesque\nface. \u201cI am master of the earth,\u201d roared this being (called also Great\nDefender), for he was the whirlwind. \u201cIf you are master,\u201d said Good\nMind, \u201cprove your power.\u201d\n\nDefender said, \u201cWhat shall be our test?\u201d\n\n\u201cLet this be the test,\u201d said Good Mind, \u201cthat the mountain yonder shall\napproach us at your bidding.\u201d\n\nSo Defender spoke saying, \u201cMountain, come hither.\u201d And they turned their\nbacks that they might not see it coming until it stood at their backs.\nSoon they turned about again and the mountain had not moved.\n\n\u201cSo now, I shall command,\u201d said Good Mind, and he spoke saying,\n\u201cMountain, come hither,\u201d and they turned their backs. There was a\nrushing of air and Defender turned to see what was behind him and fell\nagainst the onrushing mountain, and it bent his nose and twisted his\nmouth, and from this he never recovered.\n\nThen did Defender say, \u201cI do now acknowledge you to be master. Command\nme and I will obey.\u201d\n\n\u201cSince you love to wander,\u201d said Good Mind, \u201cit shall be your duty to\nmove about over the earth and stir up things. You shall abandon your\nevil intentions and seek to overcome your otgont nature, changing it to\nbe of benefit to man-beings, whom I am about to create.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said Defender, \u201cshall man-beings offer incense tobacco to me and\nmake a song that is pleasing to me, and they shall carve my likeness\nfrom the substance of trees, and my orenda will enter the likeness of my\nface and it shall be a help to men-beings and they shall use the face as\nI shall direct. Then shall all the diseases that I may cause depart and\nI shall be satisfied.\u201d\n\nAgain Good Mind wandered, being melancholy. Looking up he saw another\nbeing approaching.\n\n\u201cI am Thunder,\u201d said the being.\n\n\u201cWhat can you do to be a help to me?\u201d asked Good Mind.\n\n\u201cI can wash the earth and make drink for the trees and grass,\u201d said\nThunder.\n\n\u201cWhat can you do to be a benefit to the men-beings I am about to\ncreate?\u201d asked Good Mind.\n\n\u201cI shall slay evil monsters when they escape from the under-world,\u201d said\nThunder. \u201cI shall have scouts who will notify me and I shall shoot all\notgont beings.\u201d\n\nThen was Good Mind satisfied, and he pulled up a tree and saw the water\nfill the cavity where the roots had been. Long he gazed into the water\nuntil he saw a reflection of his own image. \u201cLike unto that will I make\nmen-beings,\u201d he thought. So then he took clay and molded it into small\nimages of men and women. These he placed on the ground and when they\nwere dry he spoke to them and they sprang up and lived.\n\nWhen he saw them he said unto them, \u201cAll this world I give unto you. It\nis from me that you shall say you are descended and you are the children\nof the first born of earth, and you shall say that you are the flesh of\nIag\u0115^n\u2019\u00b4tci, she the Ancient Bodied One.\u201d\n\nWhen he had acquainted them with the other first beings, and shown them\nhow to hunt and fish and to eat of the fruits of the land, he told them\nthat they should seek to live together as friends and brothers and that\nthey should treat each other well.\n\nHe told them how to give incense of tobacco, for Aw\u0115^n\u2018h\u0101\u00b4i\u2018, Ancient\nBodied One, had stripped the heaven world of tobacco when she fell, and\nthus its incense should be a pleasing one into which men-beings might\nspeak their words when addressing him hereafter. These and many other\nthings did he tell them.\n\nSoon he vanished from the sight of created men beings, and he took all\nthe first beings with him upon the sky road.\n\nSoon men-beings began to increase and they covered the earth, and from\nthem we are descended. Many things have happened since those days, so\nmuch that all can never be told.\n\n\n                2. THE BROTHERS WHO CLIMBED TO THE SKY.\n\nThere were once three brothers who had spent their lives as hunters. At\nlast one growing tired of the chase suggested that, as a break in the\nmonotony of existence, they would walk to the end of the earth where the\nsky touched the water of the great seas. This proposition met with favor\nwith all and together they set out on their long journey. Many years of\nadventure were spent, when at last they reached the spot where the sky\nbends down to earth (gaenhyakdondye).\n\nFor two changes of the moon they camped near this spot and watched the\nmysterious things that happened about the blue dome\u2019s rim. Each day it\nrose high from the earth and fell back upon the sea. When it rose the\nwater would recede and when it fell the water would rise high on the\nshore. Finally two brothers desired to run upon the sand beneath the rim\nof the bowl but the third brother hung back and was afraid, but seeing\nthe others afar off he ran beneath the rim and hastened to overtake them\nbut just as the two stepped out from the farther side of the blue wall\nit came down and the third was crushed; but his spirit sped forward like\nthe wind on its journey. The two mourned the loss of their brother in\nthis summary way but continued their adventure.\n\nNow on the other side of the sky all things seemed turned around. Before\nthem was a high rounded hill and when they ascended it they found a\nlarge village in the distance. A man came running toward them. It was\ntheir brother.\n\n\u201cHow came you here, brother?\u201d they asked. \u201cWe did not see you pass us,\u201d\nbut all the other brother would say was, \u201cNever hesitate, never delay!\u201d\nand passed on.\n\nThey saw an old man approaching. His youthful vigor and strong,\nwell-proportioned body surprised them. No earthly symptoms of old age\nhad he. His white hair alone betokened that.\n\nComing near he greeted them. \u201cI am the Father of All,\u201d he said, \u201cand my\nson is T\u2018haho^n\u2019hiaw\u0103\u2019\u00b4ko^n, the Great Spirit. He is the ruler of all\nbelow. Now let me advise you. When you see him call him quickly and say\n\u2018Nya\u2018w\u0115\u2018\u00b4sk\u00e4no\u2019\u2019! If you fail to speak first he will say, \u2018you are\nmine,\u2019 and you will no more be men but spirits as your brother is.\u201d\n\nThe brothers went their way and came to a high white lodge. As they\nwalked up the path a tall handsome man stepped out.\n\n\u201cNyaw\u0115\u2018\u00b4sk\u00e4no\u2019!\u201d shouted the brothers in chorus.\n\n\u201cDog\u0115^ns!\u201d responded the being. \u201cCome in. I have been watching you a\nlong time.\u201d\n\nThe brothers entered the lodge.\n\n\u201cHow are your bodies, men?\u201d asked the being.\n\n\u201cGood indeed!\u201d replied the brothers.\n\n\u201cUntrue,\u201d said the great being. \u201cI am the Master of Life and know! One\nof you must lie down and I will purify him first, and then the other.\u201d\n\nOne brother placed himself upon the ground. Master of Life took a small\nshell, placed it to his lips, tapped him upon the neck, and then\ncarefully sealed the shell with a lump of clay. He now began to skin the\nprostrate man. He stripped every muscle from its fastenings, took out\nthe organs, and separated the bones. He cleansed each fibre from\ncorruption and disease with a fluid from his mouth and then put the man\ntogether again. The same process was repeated with the second brother.\nThen, placing the shells upon their mouths, he loosened the clay and\ntapped the necks of the men. Sitting up they said, \u201cIt seems as if we\nhave slept.\u201d\n\n\u201cEvery power of your bodies is renewed,\u201d said the Master of Life. \u201cHow\nwould you like to test your skill now?\u201d And, leading the way, he entered\na beautiful forest surrounded by a hedge. The borders of the grove were\nlined with beds of vegetables and flowers.\n\n\u201cCome into the inner part of my garden,\u201d said the Master of Life, \u201cand\nsee my droves of deer.\u201d\n\nA stalwart buck with proud branching antlers came bounding toward them.\n\n\u201cHe is the swiftest of all my runners,\u201d said the Master of Life. \u201cTry to\ncatch him.\u201d\n\nThe men followed after and easily overtook the fleeing deer.\n\n\u201cHe has given us good speed,\u201d said the brothers, nor was this the only\npower. For long they tried their skill in every way and found it equal\nto any task that creatures could perform.\n\nReturning to the great white lodge the brothers saw a messenger of\nwondrous swiftness come speeding toward them. Upon his wide expanded\nchest was suspended a brilliant ball of light. In some unknown tongue he\nshouted as he dashed by on his journey.\n\n\u201cDo you understand his words, or do you even know him?\u201d asked the\nMaster. \u201cHe is Sun, my messenger, Ho\u2018s\u0115^n\u2019\u00e4ge\u2018\u00b4dag\u014dw\u0101. Each day he\nbrings me news. Nothing from east to west escapes his eyes. He has just\ntold me of a war raging even now between your people and another nation,\nso come, let us look down upon the earth.\u201d\n\nGoing to a high hill the men looked down through a hole in the sky and\nsaw the struggling bands of men, saw the flaming lodges, and even the\ncries of anguish and rage.\n\n\u201cSuch things men will ever do,\u201d said the Master of Life as he led them\naway.\n\nThe brothers lived long in the upper world and learned much that their\ntongues never could tell. They saw untenanted villages awaiting the\ncoming of tribes yet to be born and saw their own lodges where they\nshould be when they came again as spirits. Many good things the great\nMaster of Life told them, and our preachers proclaim them now.\n\nAt last the Master told them they must depart, and, guided by two\nmessengers, they descended to the earth by night and slept on the\nground.\n\nIn the morning they discovered that their native village was overgrown\nwith trees, and following a path through the woods came to another\nsettlement. In a council they told their story and no one knew them\nexcept a sister, aged and on the verge of the grave.\n\n\u201cThe war of which you speak,\u201d said they, \u201ctook place fifty years ago.\u201d\n\nThe men did not love earth now but longed for their lodges in the sky\nworld. They were men of wonderful physical power and neither pestilence\nnor enchantments could kill them but two fiery shafts of the sky did.\nThey then journeyed back to the great white lodge, but this time could\nnot return.[11]\n\n\n                       3. THE DEATH PANTHER.[12]\n\nNow the old folk say this is true.\n\nTwo boys were fast friends and always were seen together. Their favorite\nsport was to play in the waters of a deep lake that washed the feet of a\ntall white-headed mountain that lay a distance from the village.\n\nOne day as they splashed in the water, swimming, diving, and sporting as\nboys do, one suggested that they both dive at the same instant and see\nwhich could remain below the surface the longer. This suggestion was at\nonce acted upon and each time they dove they remained below a greater\ntime.\n\nIn the course of the game one of the boys, Oohoosha, by name, discovered\na flat projecting rock to which he could cling. As he lay holding fast\nto the rock after a dive he saw a hazy indistinct object approaching him\nand when it neared him he saw that it was a tall warrior whose smooth\nglistening body was the color of the sky or the color of clear water\nwhen the clouds pass over.\n\n\u201cCome with me,\u201d said the man, in a friendly manner and although he had\nnever heard this language before, Oohoosha strangely understood it now.\nSo, marveling, he followed.\n\nThe dark green water began to clear and in the distance, he thought he\nsaw a number of boys playing ball. The guide led Oohoosha into a large\nmoss-covered council hall where a stout preacher, with a yellow and pink\nface, swaying body and large round eyes was declaiming to the people.\n\n\u201cGod created all good things and made men as well as fish!\u201d he shouted,\nas the bubbles floated up from his mouth. \u201cThe earth people are his\nchildren as well as we, so why should not we who know and foreknow many\nthings, notify them that trouble is coming and warn them to avoid it?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go,\u201d said the boy\u2019s friend, as he pulled his cap. \u201cIt is my\noffice.\u201d\n\nThe preacher rolled his eyes and looked at the speaker, with a shudder\nand then called out, \u201cGa\u0103\u2018sio\u00f1die\u00b4t\u2019h\u0103\u2019 has promised to go. May he\nsucceed!\u201d\n\nThe preacher sat down and the dances began, and long and solemnly the\npeople danced. After these ceremonies the boy\u2019s friend told him that he\nmust go up to the earth-world and warn men of disaster. He took him to\nhis lodge and bade him care for it during his absence. He was to have\nfree access to everything save the back room of the lodge which he must\nshun. With a few general instructions he departed, leaving Oohoosha to\ncare for his interests.\n\nFor four moons the boy kept watch, over the lodge and dwelt there but no\none came near him, and when at last the friend returned Oohoosha asked\nhow he had fared.\n\n\u201cAh!\u201d sighed the man, \u201cdo not ask me. You must not stay here longer, for\nin my madness you may see me as I am. I am the messenger of death. He is\nSondowekowa, I am Gahachendietoh. I am in disguise but should you see me\nyou would soon die, so depart and preach what I whisper that henceforth\nmankind may profit.\u201d\n\nWith trembling limbs and blanched face the boy listened to the whispered\nwords of his friend and when he had learned all, he shot upward to the\nsurface of the lake. Striking out he swam to the shore and searching\nbeneath a rock shelter he found his clothing as fresh as when he had\ndoffed them. Dressing, he set out to find his comrade. He came to the\nvillage but found on its site only charred and blackened frames. A\ndeep-trodden trail bordered with the bones of dogs and fragments of\nkettles led away to the west, and following it Oohoosha saw a new\nvillage, but only a few houses were there. The people who moved like\nghosts silently about were gaunt and scarred.\n\nSuddenly a lodge door opened and out rushed his old comrade, who seeing\nOohoosha, drew back with a cry of fear and surprise; but Oohosha\ncalling, he came forward timidly and took his hand. Looking at him\ndoubtfully he spoke.\n\n\u201cOh, Oohoosha!\u201d he cried. \u201cHow came you back from death! I thought you\ndrowned four moons ago when we dived in the lake.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhile I clung to a rock,\u201d answered Oohoosha, \u201ca man came to me and said\n\u2018follow!\u2019 I did not drown but lived this while in the underwater world.\nNow, tell me, why is the village so altered and why do the people stalk\nsilently about, with dull eyes?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh me!\u201d said the comrade. \u201cA devastating war has been waged and we are\nreduced in number; a terrible famine has swept away the game and crops;\na pestilence carried away all but a handful of our people, then to add\nto our trouble a marauding band came and burned our village while we\nslept.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd did no warning sign appear?\u201d asked Oohoosha.\n\n\u201cYes, but we knew it not as such until it was long too late and then we\nnoticed a blue panther floating high in the trees. He had no visible\nface but from his tail shot flames of fire.\u201d[13]\n\n\u201cThat creature,\u201d exclaimed Oohoosha, \u201cis the herald of disaster. His\nname is Ga\u0103\u2018sio\u00f1die\u00b4t\u2019h\u0103\u2019 and when he is seen all men must burn tobacco.\nTobacco incense is the sign that disaster is not wanted and when he has\nbreathed it he will go away satisfied with the offering and turn aside\nthe impending evil. But come, I must call a council and tell the\npeople.\u201d\n\n\n                    4. THE GREAT BEAR CONSTELLATION.\n\nIn the days of the first people, before the creation of our kind of\nman-beings, there were seven brothers. All were hunters, but one was not\nas skillful as the others, and he was called the Lazy One.\n\nThe brothers on a certain occasion had failed to find any game though\nthey had hunted many moons. They became very hungry and their minds were\ncharged with magic because of their long fast. When their hunger seemed\nunendurable they resolved to go out and make one last effort to find\ngame. One brother was reluctant to go and clung to his bed, but the\nothers wrestled with him and forced him to go with them, but he assumed\nto be so weak that they had to make a burden litter upon which they\ncarried him. Four brothers carried this burden, one went before with a\ntorch and one behind with a kettle, hoping for food.\n\nWhen they had gone a long way in this manner the leading brother said:\n\u201cBy aid of my torch I see the tracks of a large bear. I believe that we\nshall soon overtake him.\u201d When he had said this the lazy brother in the\nlitter said, \u201cI am very weak and you must bathe me with your salivary\nfluid.\u201d[14] They paused to do this though the brothers did not like to\ndelay their hunt.\n\nAfter a time the bear tracks appeared to be fresh before them and all\nfive brothers made ready for the hunt. The rear brother commenced to\ngather firewood for the feast. Thus they traveled for three days more\nuntil the bear appeared just ahead. \u201cWe must now abandon you, brother,\u201d\nsaid the litter-bearers, \u201cfor we are weak and all of us shall have to\nassist in killing him before he overpowers us. Now, we shall leave you\nhere alone and we hope you may recover.\u201d\n\nWhen the lazy brother found himself abandoned he leaped up and ran\nahead. Being full of power from the bath he had received and from his\nrest, he quickly engaged the bear and killed it with an axe.\n\nWhen his brothers came up he had skinned the bear and had cut off some\nmeat. Soon the brother who bore the torch made a fire and the brother\nwith the kettle had placed the meat therein.\n\nWhen all were satisfied they looked about them and discovered that they\nwere far up in the air and that the earth was a good ways below them.\nThey looked down and saw that the blood and oil from the bear had\nstained the leaves of the trees and made them red, orange and yellow.\nThis is how the autumn leaves became colored.\n\nAfter a time they went on their journey and soon found that the bear had\nrevived, though they had killed and eaten him. So they again pursued\nhim, being hungry, and when they killed him it was autumn again.\n\nThis bear chase keeps up all the time,\u2014year after year, and has been so\nsince the first people came. If you will look into the sky where the\nbear-chase cluster is seen to the north, you will find the man with the\ntorch at the end of the group (big dipper or great bear constellation),\nand will see the man with the pot in the middle of the handle.\n\nIt seems also that there is a cave in which the bear hides and out of\nwhich he comes at the time the brothers are very hungry. Then he is\npursued until killed by the brother who has saved his strength. This\nkeeps on forever. So we call those stars Nia\u00b4gwai\u2019 had\u0113s\u00b4he\u2019 (Bear they\npursuing are).\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THE SEVEN DANCING BROTHERS.\n\n  From a painting by Richard J. Tucker.\n]\n\n\n             5. THE SEVEN BROTHERS OF THE STAR CLUSTER.[15]\n\nSeven brothers[16] had been trained as young warriors. Each day they\npractised in front of their mother\u2019s lodge, but this did not please the\nmother. With the boys was an uncle whose custom it was to sit outside\nthe lodge door and drum upon a water drum, that the boys might learn to\ndance correctly.\n\nIn time the boys became perfect in their dancing, and then announced\nthat they were about to depart on an expedition to test their skill. The\nseven assembled about the war post and began their dance. They then went\ninto their mother\u2019s lodge and asked her to supply them with dried meat\nand parched corn for their journey but she sent them away, scoffing at\ntheir presumptions.\n\nAgain they danced and again returned for food. \u201cI will not give you so\nmuch as a small cake of corn bread,\u201d said the mother hoping to restrain\nthem. But they went back to their dance. A third time they returned but\nagain were repulsed.\n\nThe fourth dance started and the oldest youth changed his tune to the\nsong of Djihaya. With great enthusiasm he sang compelling his brothers\nto dance a dance of magic.\n\nHearing the wierd music the mother rushed out of the lodge and saw her\nsons dancing in the air over the trees. This greatly startled her and\nshe cried, \u201cReturn, my sons! What manner of departure is this?\u201d But the\nsong continued and the boys danced higher and higher.\n\nAgain the mother cried, \u201cOh, my eldest son, will you not return?\u201d But\nthe eldest son would not listen, though his heart was touched. Then the\nmother screamed, \u201cOh my eldest son, will you not hear your mother\u2019s\nvoice? Only look down to me!\u201d Then was the oldest son\u2019s heart touched\nvery deeply, but he did not respond, for fear of making his brothers\nweak.\n\n\u201cOh my brothers,\u201d he called. \u201cHeed no sounds from the earth but continue\ndancing. If you look down you shall fall and never more be able to\ndance.\u201d\n\nThe mother now gave a heart-broken cry and called, \u201cOh my first born\nson, give your mother one look,\u2014one last look or I die!\u201d This weakened\nthe heart of the oldest son and he looked down toward the figure of his\nmother with outstretched arms, weeping for him.\n\nAs he looked he lost his power to master the air, and began to fall.\nWith great rapidity he fell until he struck the earth and penetrated it,\nleaving only a scar where the soil came together again.\n\nThe mother rushed to the spot and swept aside the rubbish, but no trace\nof her son could she find. Finally looking up she saw her other boys\ndancing far up in the sky. They had become the \u201cdancing stars.\u201d\n\nIn deep sorrow the mother with covered head sat beside the spot where\nher first born had fallen. For a whole year she wept as she watched.\n\nWinter came and her dancing boys appeared over the council house and\neach night were observed overhead, but no sign of her eldest could be\nseen.\n\nCame springtime and the time of budding plants. From the spot where the\neldest had disappeared a tiny green shoot appeared. This the mother\nwatched with great solicitude. It grew into a tall tree and became the\nfirst pine. This tree was guarded by the melancholy old woman and she\nwould allow no man to touch it; she knew that it was her son and would\nsometime speak to her.\n\nThe winds blew and the tree swayed, it began to speak, and the mother\nheard. Only she could interpret the sounds that came from the waving\nbranches, only she could see the face of the young warrior with his\nplumes.\n\nA careless hunter slashed at the tree and blood flowed, but the mother\nbound up the wound and drove other intruders away. In time the tree bore\nsmall short feathers (cones), and more trees grew. These the hunters\nslashed in order to get pitch for canoes and ropes.\n\nEvery winter the pine tree talked to its dancing brothers in the sky and\nthe mother knew that her eldest son should be her comfort while she\nrested on this earth.\n\n\n  GENERAL NOTES. This legend I had from Edward Cornplanter but being\n  so familiar with it I made only a few rough notes which I have\n  transcribed. This myth is similar to the Huron and Wyandot forms\n  recounting the origin of \u201cthe cluster.\u201d\n\n\n                     6. THE SEVEN STAR DANCERS.[17]\n\nNow this even happened a long time ago in the days when the whole world\nwas new. Our Creator it was (S\u2018ho\u00f1gwadi\u0115nnu\u2019k\u00b4d\u0103on), had finished his\nwork.\n\nOne of the first men beings lived with his nephew in a lodge near a\nriver. The river was broad and had a wide sandy shore. The nephew\nreceived the name Djina\u0115\u00f1\u2019\u00b4d\u0103\u2019 and his uncle sent him away to dream on\nthe shore of the river, there to stay and dream until his dream helpers\nappeared. For a long time he did not eat, but drank water and sweat\nhimself in a sweat lodge.\n\nOne night he thought that he saw a light upon the water and he looked\nand saw lights moving toward him. Hiding in the reeds on the shore he\nwatched. Soon he saw seven shining young women dancing[18] in the water\nagainst the shore and they made no splashing but went up and down. He\nheard them speak but could not understand what they said. He observed\nthem all intently, for all were without clothing and were very beautiful\nof body. The youngest appeared the most beautiful of all. The young man\nwatched her and thought that she would do for a wife.\n\nHoping to catch her he rushed out from his hiding place but the maidens\nwere alarmed and leaped into a great corn basket and were drawn rapidly\nup into the sky and he looked and said, \u201cThey are dancing,\u201d\n(De\u2018ho\u00f1nont\u00b4gw\u0115^n\u2018).\n\nDjina\u0115\u00f1\u2019\u00b4d\u0103\u2019 (Elk) continued his vigil and the next night he saw the\ndancers swing back over the water in their basket. Soon they came to the\nshore and alighted. Again he heard their voices and again they began\ntheir bewitching dance. Djinaenda\u2019s eyes were upon the youngest dancer\nand she appeared more beautiful than ever. He waited until she danced\nvery near to him and away from the basket, then he rushed out from his\nhiding place and pursued the maidens, at length grasping the youngest\nbefore she touched the basket, but she gave a leap, and the youth\nholding to her was drawn upward as she fell into the basket. She looked\nto see who held her so tightly and immediately both fell to the earth.\n\nThe maiden gazed upon Djinaenda and asked him what he wanted. \u201cI want to\nmarry you,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have caused me to love you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen we shall be married,\u201d said the maiden, \u201cbut we must return to the\nsky and prepare for living upon the earth.\u201d So the basket came down and\ndrew them into the sky.\n\nDjinaenda was taken to the lodge of the dancing sisters and then led to\nthe lodge of a great chief who caused him to recline upon the ground.\nThe chief then took him apart, joint by joint and removed all his\norgans. After cleansing them he replaced them and Djinaenda was\nregenerated. He now felt very strong and able to do mighty things.\n\nHis bride now came to him and said that she would now return to the\nearth with him and live as his wife. The sisters then placed the couple\nin the basket and lowered them to the earth. They came down on the beach\nof the river but it was changed and there was a great village of men\nbeings there.\n\nDjinaenda inquired where his uncle lived but no one knew. Finally an old\nman said, \u201cAn old man such as you describe lived in the woods with his\nnephew near this place more than a hundred years ago.\u201d\n\nThe couple now tried to live contentedly but could not understand the\nways of the people, and so, in time the two returned to the sky. The\nwife rejoined her sisters but she had lost her brightness, and Djinaenda\nroamed the sky world hunting game which he captured by running it down.\n\nMy grandmother told me that they are up there yet.\n\n\n                      7. THE COMING OF SPRING.[19]\n\nIn the ancient times when this world was new an old man wandered over\nthe land in search of a suitable camping spot. He was a fierce old man\nand had long white flowing hair. The ground grew hard like flint where\nhis footsteps fell, and when he breathed the leaves and grasses dropped\nand dried up red, and fell. When he splashed through the rivers the\nwater stopped running and stood solid.\n\nOn and on the old man journeyed until at last on the shores of a great\nlake by a high mountain he halted. He gathered the trees that had been\nuprooted by hurricanes and made a framework for a dwelling. He built the\nwalls of ice and plastered the crevices with branches and snow. Then, to\nguard his lodge against the intruder, he placed uprooted stumps about on\nevery side. Not even bad animals cared to enter this house. Everything\nliving passed by it at a distance. It was like a magician\u2019s house.\n\nThe old man had but one friend. It was North Wind, and it was he alone\nwho might enter the door of the stronghold and sit by the fire. Very\nwonderful was this fire and it gave flames and light but no heat! But\neven North Wind found little time to enter and smoke with the old man,\nfor he took greater pleasure in piling high the snow and driving hail,\nlike flints, against the shivering deer or hungry storm bound hunter. He\nliked to kill them. There came times, however, when North Wind needed\nnew tricks and so he sought the advice of the old man,\u2014how he might pile\nup the snow banks higher, how he might cause famine or make great\nsnow-slides to bury Indian villages.\n\nOne very dismal night both North Wind and the old man sat smoking, half\nawake and half dreaming. North Wind could think of nothing new and the\nold man could give no more advice. So, sitting before the fire, both\nfell asleep. Towards morning each sprang to his feet with a cry. Not\ntheir usual cries, either, were their startled yells, for instead of a\nshrill \u201cag\u0113\u0113! ag\u0113\u0113! ag\u0113\u0113!\u201d the North Wind only gasped hoarsely and the\nold man\u2019s jaw opened with a smack and his tongue, thick and swollen\nrolled out on his chin. Then spoke the North Wind:\n\n\u201cWhat warm thing has bewitched me? The drifts are sinking, the rivers\nbreaking, the ice is steaming, the snow is smoking!\u201d\n\nThe old man was silent, too sleepy to speak. He only thought, \u201cMy house\nis strong, very strong.\u201d Still the North Wind called loudly:\n\n\u201cSee, the rivers are swelling full, the drifts are getting smaller.\u201d\n\nThen he rushed from the lodge, and he flew to the mountain top where\nsnow made him brave again. So he was happy and sang a war song as he\ndanced on snow crust.\n\nAt the lodge of the old man a stranger struck the doorpost. The old man\ndid not move, but dozing, thought, \u201coh some prank of North Wind.\u201d The\nknocking continued and the old man grew more sleepy. The door rattled on\nits fastenings but the old man\u2019s head did not raise to listen but\ndropped on his chest and his pipe fell down to his feet.\n\nThe logs of the lodge frame shook,\u2014one fell from the roof. The old man\njumped to his feet with a war yell.\n\n\u201cWho is it that dares come to my house in this way? Only my friend North\nWind enters here. Go away, no loafers here!\u201d\n\nIn answer the door fell down and a stranger stood in the opening. He\nentered and hung the door upright again. His face was smiling and as he\nstirred the fire, it grew warmer inside. The old man looked at the\nstranger but did not answer his pleasant words, but his heart was very\nangry. Finally when he could no longer keep silent he burst forth:\n\n\u201cYou are a stranger to me and have entered my lodge, breaking down my\ndoor. Why have you broken down my door? Why have your eyes a fire? Why\ndoes light shine from your skin? Why do you go about without skins when\nthe wind is sharp? Why do you stir up my fire when you are young and\nneed no warmth? Why do you not fall on my wolf skins and sleep? Did not\nNorth Wind blow the sun far away? Go away now before he returns, and\nblows you against the mountains. I do not know you. You do not belong in\nmy lodge!\u201d\n\nThe young stranger laughed and said, \u201cOh why not let me stay a little\nlonger and smoke my pipe?\u201d\n\n\u201cThen listen to me,\u201d yelled the old man in anger. \u201cI am mighty! All\nsnows and ice and frosts are my making. I tell the North Wind to cut the\nskins of men to let the blood through to make war paint on the drifts. I\ntell him to freeze things that are food. Birds and animals run away from\nthe North Wind. I pile the drifts on the rocks on the mountains and when\nit gets very high the North Wind knocks it off to crush the villages\nbeneath.\u201d\n\nListlessly the stranger viewed the raving old man, and only smiled and\nsaid, \u201cI like to be sociable, let me stay a little longer and we will\nsmoke together.\u201d\n\nSo, shaking with fear, the old man took the pipe and drew a breath of\nsmoke and then the warrior sang.\n\n\u201cContinue to smoke for me, I am young and warm, I am not afraid of\nboasting, I am young and strong. Better wrap up, you are old. I am here.\nI am here, keep on smoking. I am Dedio\u2018s\u2018nwineq\u00b4do^n, the Spring. Look\nat your hair, it is falling out, look at the drifts, they are melting.\nMy hair is long and glossy, see\u2014the grasses are sprouting! I want to\nsmoke with you. I like smoking. See\u2014the ground is smoking! My friend\nD\u0103g\u0101\u00b4\u0115^n\u2018\u00b4d\u0103, the South Wind, is coming. I guess your friend is dead.\nYou had better wrap up and go away. There is a place. You cannot own all\nthings always. See\u2014the sun is shining. Look out now!\u201d\n\nAs the young warrior sang the old man shrank very small and shriveled up\nsmaller until his voice only whispered, \u201cI don\u2019t know you!\u201d\n\nAnd so the young warrior sang, \u201cI am the Spring, I am the chief now. The\nSouth Wind is coming. Don\u2019t be late. You can go yet while I sing.\u201d\n\nA rushing wind made the lodge tremble, the door fell in and an eagle\nswooped down and carried H\u0103\u2019\u00b4t\u2018how\u0101\u00b4ne\u2018 away toward the north.\n\nThe lodge fire was out and where it had burned a plant was growing and\nwhere the provisions were buried in a hole a tree was starting to have\nbuds.\n\nThe sun was shining and it was warm. The swollen rivers carried away the\nice. So the winter went away and in the morning it was spring time.\n\n\n                        8. THE COMING OF DEATH.\n\nWhen the world was first made men-beings did not know that they must die\nsometime.\n\nIn those days everyone was happy and neither men and women nor children\nwere afraid of anything. They did not think of anything but doing what\npleased them. At one time, in those days, a prominent man was found\nprone upon the grass. He was limp and had no breath. He did not breathe.\nThe men-beings that saw him did not know what had happened. The man was\nnot asleep because he did not awaken. When they placed him on his feet\nhe fell like a tanned skin. He was limp. They tried many days to make\nhim stand but he would not. After a number of days he became offensive.\n\nA female man-being said that the man must be wrapped up and put in the\nlimbs of a tree. So the men did so and after a while the flesh dropped\nfrom the bones and some dried on. No one knew what had happened to cause\nsuch a thing.\n\nSoon afterward a child was found in the same condition. It had no\nbreath. It could not stand. It was not asleep, so they said. The\nmen-beings thought it was strange that a girl man-being should act this\nway. So she was laid in a tree.\n\nNow many others did these things and no one knew why. No one thought\nthat he himself would do such a thing.\n\nThere was one wise man who thought much about these things and he had a\ndream. When he slept the Good Minded Spirit came to him and spoke. He\nslept a long time but the other men-beings noticed that he breathed\nslowly. He breathed (nevertheless). Now after a time this man rose up\nand his face was very solemn. He called the people together in a council\nand addressed the people. The head men all sat around with the people.\n\nThe wise man spoke and he said, \u201cThe Good Minded spirit made every good\nthing and prepared the earth for men-beings. Now it appears that strange\nevents have happened. A good word has come to me from the Good Minded\nspirit. He says that every person must do as you have seen the other\npersons do. They have died. They do not breathe. It will be the same\nwith all of you. Your minds are strong. The Good Minded spirit made them\nthat way so that you could endure everything that happened. So then do\nnot be downcast when I tell you all must die. Listen further to what I\nsay. The name of the one that steals away your breath is Shondowekowa.\nHe has no face and does not see anyone. You cannot see him until he\ngrasps you. He comes sometimes for a visit and sometimes he stays with\nus until many are dead. Sometimes he takes away the best men and women\nand passes by the lesser ones. I was not told why he does this thing. He\nwants to destroy every person. He will continue to work forever. Every\none who hears me and every one not yet born will die. There is more\nabout you than living. Any moment you may be snatched by Shondowekowa,\nhe who works in the thick darkness.\n\n\u201cYou must now divide yourselves into nine bands, five to sit on one side\nof the fire and four on the other and these bands shall care for its\nmembers. You must seek out all good things and instruct one another, and\nthose who do good things will see the place where the Maker of all\nthings lives when their breath goes out of their body\u201d.\n\n\n\n\n                                   V.\n                 BOYS WHO DEFIED MAGIC AND OVERCAME IT\n\n\n                       9. ORIGIN OF FOLK STORIES.\n\nThere was once a boy who had no home. His parents were dead and his\nuncles would not care for him. In order to live this boy, whose name was\nGaqka, or Crow, made a bower of branches for an abiding place and hunted\nbirds and squirrels for food.\n\nHe had almost no clothing but was very ragged and dirty. When the people\nfrom the village saw him they called him Filth-Covered-One, and laughed\nas they passed by, holding their noses. No one thought he would ever\namount to anything, which made him feel heavy-hearted. He resolved to go\naway from his tormentors and become a great hunter.\n\nOne night Gaqka found a canoe. He had never seen this canoe before, so\nhe took it. Stepping in he grasped the paddle, when the canoe\nimmediately shot into the air, and he paddled above the clouds and under\nthe moon. For a long time he went always southward. Finally the canoe\ndropped into a river and then Gaqka paddled for shore.\n\nOn the other side of the river was a great cliff that had a face that\nlooked like a man. It was at the forks of the river where this cliff\nstood. The boy resolved to make his home on the top of the cliff and so\nclimbed it and built a bark cabin.\n\nThe first night he sat on the edge of the cliff he heard a voice saying,\n\u201cGive me some tobacco.\u201d Looking around the boy, seeing no one, replied,\n\u201cWhy should I give tobacco?\u201d\n\nThere was no answer and the boy began to fix his arrows for the next\nday\u2019s hunt. After a while the voice spoke again, \u201cGive me some tobacco.\u201d\n\nGaqka now took out some tobacco and threw it over the cliff. The voice\nspoke again: \u201cNow I will tell you a story.\u201d\n\nFeeling greatly awed the boy listened to a story that seemed to come\ndirectly out of the rock upon which he was sitting. Finally the voice\npaused, for the story had ended. Then it spoke again saying, \u201cIt shall\nbe the custom hereafter to present me with a small gift for my stories.\u201d\nSo the boy gave the rock a few bone beads. Then the rock said,\n\u201cHereafter when I speak, announcing that I shall tell a story you must\nsay, \u2018Nio,\u2019 and as I speak you must say \u2018H\u0115^n\u2018\u00b4,\u2019 that I may know that\nyou are listening. You must never fall asleep but continue to listen\nuntil I say \u2018D\u0101\u00b4neho nigag\u0101\u00b4is.\u2019 (So thus finished is the length of my\nstory). Then you shall give me presents and I shall be satisfied.\u201d\n\nThe next day the boy hunted and killed a great many birds. These he made\ninto soup and roasts. He skinned the birds and saved the skins, keeping\nthem in a bag.\n\nThat evening the boy sat on the rock again and looked westward at the\nsinking sun. He wondered if his friend would speak again. While waiting\nhe chipped some new arrow-points, and made them very small so that he\ncould use them in a blow gun. Suddenly, as he worked, he heard the voice\nagain. \u201cGive me some tobacco to smoke,\u201d it said. Gaqka threw a pinch of\ntobacco over the cliff and the voice said, \u201cHau\u2019nio\u2019\u00b4,\u201d and commenced a\nstory. Long into the night one wonderful tale after another flowed from\nthe rock, until it called out, \u201cSo thus finished is the length of my\nstory.\u201d Gaqka was sorry to have the stories ended but he gave the rock\nan awl made from a bird\u2019s leg and a pinch of tobacco.\n\nThe next day the boy hunted far to the east and there found a village.\nNobody knew who he was but he soon found many friends. There were some\nhunters who offered to teach him how to kill big game, and these went\nwith him to his own camp on the high rock. At night he allowed them to\nlisten to the stories that came forth from the rock, but it would speak\nonly when Gaqka was present. He therefore had many friends with whom to\nhunt.\n\nNow after a time Gaqka made a new suit of clothing from deer skin and\ndesired to obtain a decorated pouch. He, therefore, went to the village\nand found one house where there were two daughters living with an old\nmother. He asked that a pouch be made and the youngest daughter spoke up\nand said, \u201cIt is now finished. I have been waiting for you to come for\nit.\u201d So she gave him a handsome pouch.\n\nThen the old mother spoke, saying, \u201cI now perceive that my future\nson-in-law has passed through the door and is here.\u201d Soon thereafter,\nthe younger woman brought Gaqka a basket of bread and said, \u201cMy mother\ngreatly desires that you should marry me.\u201d Gaqka looked at the girl and\nwas satisfied, and ate the bread. The older daughter was greatly\ndispleased and frowned in an evil manner.\n\nThat night the bride said to her husband, \u201cWe must now go away. My older\nsister will kill you for she is jealous.\u201d So Gaqka arose and took his\nbride to his own lodge. Soon the rock spoke and began to relate wonder\nstories of things that happened in the old days. The bride was not\nsurprised, but said, \u201cThis standing rock, indeed, is my grandfather. I\nwill now present you with a pouch into which you must put a trophy for\nevery tale related.\u201d\n\nAll winter long the young couple stayed in the lodge on the great rock\nand heard all the wonder tales of the old days. Gaqka\u2019s bag was full of\nstories and he knew all the lore of former times.\n\nAs springtime came the bride said, \u201cWe must now go north to your own\npeople and you shall become a great man.\u201d But Gaqka was sad and said,\n\u201cAlas, in my own country I am an outcast and called by an unpleasant\nname.\u201d\n\nThe bride only laughed, saying, \u201cNevertheless we shall go north.\u201d\n\nTaking their pelts and birdskins, the young couple descended the cliff\nand seated themselves in the canoe. \u201cThis is my canoe,\u201d said the bride.\n\u201cI sent it through the air to you.\u201d\n\nThe bride seated herself in the bow of the canoe and Gaqka in the stern.\nGrasping a paddle he swept it through the water, but soon the canoe\narose and went through the air. Meanwhile the bride was singing all\nkinds of songs, which Gaqka learned as he paddled.\n\nWhen they reached the north, the bride said, \u201cNow I shall remove your\nclothing and take all the scars from your face and body.\u201d She then\ncaused him to pass through a hollow log, and when Gaqka emerged from the\nother end he was dressed in the finest clothing and was a handsome man.\n\nTogether the two walked to the village where the people came out to see\nthem. After a while Gaqka said, \u201cI am the boy whom you once were\naccustomed to call \u2018Cia\u2019\u00b4d\u014dd\u0103\u2019.\u2019 I have now returned.\u201d That night the\npeople of the village gathered around and listened to the tales he told,\nand he instructed them to give him small presents and tobacco. He would\nplunge his hand in his pouch and take out a trophy, saying, \u201cHo ho\u2019! So\nhere is another one!\u201d and then looking at his trophy would relate an\nancient tale.\n\nEverybody now thought Gaqka a great man and listened to his stories. He\nwas the first man to find out all about the adventures of the old-time\npeople. That is why there are so many legends now.\n\n\n        10. THE FORBIDDEN ARROW AND THE QUILT OF MEN\u2019S EYES.[20]\n\nNow (it seems), there were twin brothers one named Younger and the other\nDriven. The brothers were accustomed to play about two hills. Driven\nwould go up one hill and jump to the summit of the other. Younger would\nstay in the valley between and amuse himself by shooting arrows at him\nas he jumped. Now as Driven jumped Younger sang a song:\n\n                \u201cHa-do-wi, Ha-do-wi, Ha-do-wi, Ha-do-wi,\n                O-ne-di-no-o-ha-ga-gon Ha-do-wi!\u201d\n\nNow their grandmother always forbade them to use a certain arrow. This\narrow belonged to their father who used it. They played day after day in\nthis manner. After some time they began to discuss among themselves why\nit was that their grandmother had forbidden them to use the arrow. Then\nthey decided notwithstanding to use the arrow. So Driven ascended the\nhill and made ready to jump. Then Younger fixed his arrow ready to\nshoot. Then Driven jumped and Younger shot the arrow. Now an arrow never\nbefore had struck Driven as he jumped but this forbidden arrow pierced\nhis body and carried him in a northward direction. Now as he flew with\nthe arrow the arrow sang,\n\n                \u201cGwent-gwe-o, gwent-gwe-o, gwent-gwe-o!\u201d\n\nbecause it was feathered with the feathers of a wild duck. When Younger\nsaw what calamity his arrow had wrought he gave a scream of alarm and\nstarted off in the direction of the arrow. He ran a long distance and\nafter some time found the body of his brother transfixed to the earth\nwith the arrow. He was not dead so he lifted him up and placed him on\nhis back. Then Driven directed him to follow a northward road.\n\n\u201cThere is a house a certain distance away,\u201d said Driven, \u201cwhere a number\nof women are gathered dancing. We must pass this house but we must not\nlook upon them. Oh brother, cast not your eyes upon one of them!\u201d\n\nNow as they passed along they heard the women singing. They heard the\necho of the songs and the sound of dancing. Soon they came near the\nhouse and the women saw them and called out inviting them to look up and\nsee them. \u201cOh what have you on your back? Look up and behold us!\u201d Now\nYounger did not look up nor did he make reply for he knew that the women\nwere witches and that one glance of their eyes would be fatal to him. So\nwhen he passed by he kept his eyes directed to the ground and stooped\nover. So then they were safe.\n\nNow again the brother spoke and said, \u201cThere is yet one more danger and\nit is the last. It may be fatal. A company of women is making a quilt of\nyoung men\u2019s eyes. They gouge out the eyes of young men and sew them into\na blanket (quilt). Now the eyes live and wink as in life for the skin of\nthe eyelids are with the eyes. Now we must pass through their lodge and\nif we can do so without looking at the awful quilt we will be safe\nthen.\u201d\n\nNow the lodge was a long one and when the two brothers entered the women\nsaw them and said, \u201cBend not so low. Look up and see the beautiful quilt\nwe are making. It is beautiful. What is it that you have upon your back?\nLook up!\u201d Younger gave no heed to the words of the women but continued\nthrough the room. They were about to emerge from the door at the back\nwhen one woman held the quilt before the eyes of Younger. She held it\nwhere he saw it. Then Younger saw no more. He was blind and he had no\neyes in his eye-sockets; they had jumped out and into the quilt. Driven\nleaped from his back and jumped out of the door. He did not know where\nDriven went.\n\nNow Younger could not see, so he crept on his hands and knees. He crept\na long ways and after a time he came to a place where corn was planted.\nThere he halted for he thought that some one would surely notice him\nwhen they came to examine the corn. So he lay down there, and there he\nlay day after day. After a long time he heard the sound of a woman\u2019s\nvoice singing. And soon the woman saw him and was surprised to find a\nman in the field. She ran home to her sister and told her that a man was\nin the field and that he had no eyes in his eye-sockets. He was a human\nbeing, blind and alive. His eye-sockets were hollow. Then the older\nsister said, \u201cWe must not leave a human being in distress. We must take\nhim into our house and nurse him to health. He will be a companion for\nus. We are alone.\u201d So they went and found him and brought him to their\nhouse. They cleansed him and fed him on bear\u2019s oil, for he had not eaten\nfor a long time. Afterwards he was given stronger food. They gave him\nnourishment until he was stronger. After a time he grew strong and then\nthey asked him how he came to be in so bad a condition. So he related\nhow it happened.\n\n\u201cI was passing through a house,\u201d he said, \u201cand there were women within\nmaking a quilt of young men\u2019s eyes. They put the quilt under my face and\nI saw and then I became blind. My brother was on my back for an arrow\nwas through him. He disappeared. I know not where my brother is. So did\nthe accident happen.\u201d\n\nNow Younger recovered his strength and then the older sister said, \u201cYou\nmust marry my younger sister and live here as our companion.\u201d So he\nconsented and married the younger sister.\n\nNow it appeared that after a certain time his wife gave birth to twins,\nboys. The older one they named Hanonni-da, meaning, he is a thistle, and\nthe younger one they called Ho-da-da-o meaning, he cries. At the time of\ntheir birth the older sister called out their names and tossed them into\nthe adjoining room. Then she told the husband that he was the father of\ntwins and he gave thanks. Now the children seemed to be wizards. They\ndid not suckle but played alone together in the room. No one talked to\nthem but they talked. After a time they asked for a net ball that they\nmight play lacrosse. So a net, a net-club and ball were brought to them.\nThen they played lacrosse in the room. Then they went out doors and\nplayed and again they went into the ground under the house and played.\nAfter a time they asked for bows and arrows. Then they went away for\nlong periods of time, no one knew where. After a time the older sister\nbrought them into the living room and said, \u201cIt is time for you to see\nyour father.\u201d So they said, \u201cWe will see our father.\u201d Then the father\nfelt over them for the first time and touched them. They climbed over\nhis lap and played with him. After a time they began to laugh at him and\nthe Last said, \u201cHow can he be my father since he has no eyes? I believe\nthat he is not my father.\u201d Then he asked his father, \u201cWhere are your\neyes?\u201d Then the father answered him, \u201cIn a certain place there are women\nmaking a quilt from young men\u2019s eyes. Once I had to pass through their\nhouse and I would not look upon the quilt but they forced it under my\nface and that was the last that I saw. My brother was on my back and he\njumped. Now I know not where my brother is. He has gone from me.\u201d The\nLast replied, \u201cFather, we will go there and get back your eyes.\u201d But the\nolder folk said, \u201cDo not try, the women are horrible witches and we\nwould lose you. We forbid you to go. So do not go.\u201d So the boys went out\nand played together.\n\nThe two sisters went out after a time to get provisions and the father\nwas left alone with the boys. He heard them talking together. It was\nstrange and he did not understand them. \u201cHang on, hang on,\u201d they were\nsaying. \u201cHang on and after a time we will reach where father is and he\nwill help us.\u201d So they talked and pulled and called out each other\u2019s\nnames. Now it happened that they took their father by the hand and\nplaced upon him the body of a human being. They had pulled it up through\nthe ground. Now the body of the man they had, had an arrow in his chest.\nAlso he had no eyes in his eye-sockets and he was nearly dead. The man\nwas the father\u2019s brother. Then the children said, \u201cWe will go and borrow\nsome eyes for you that you may look upon each other.\u201d So they went into\nthe forest and when they had found a fawn they asked if she would give\nher consent if they should ask for her eyes to put in their father\u2019s\neye-sockets. The fawn consented when she heard their story and gave them\nher eyes. So they gave her moss to eat while they were gone. They went\nhome with the fawn\u2019s eyes and placed them in the father\u2019s eye-sockets.\nThen he saw how his children looked and he was glad. So, moreover, they\nsaw how he appeared when he had eyes in his eye-sockets. And they said,\n\u201cFather, how long your eyelashes are!\u201d for the fawn\u2019s eyelashes were\nlong. Now also the father saw his brother and was glad that it was he.\nThen said the boys, \u201cWe are now going in search of both of your eyes and\nyou will have a joyous time.\u201d Then they took the eyes of the fawn and\ncarried them back to her and thanked her for their use.\n\nNow they went on their journey to the place where their father had told\nthem the house of the women quilting was. After a time they found it.\nNow on their way they had been discussing their plans. They decided to\nhide at the spring. Last was to transform himself into a duck and\nThistle-like was to wait in hiding. They reached the spring and the\nyounger brother changed himself into a duck and swam upon the surface of\nthe spring. The older brother hid himself. Now after a time the youngest\nsister from the house came down to the spring for water and saw a duck\nswimming in the spring. So she tried to catch him but the duck dodged\nwhenever she tried to grasp him. Then as she jumped over the spring the\nduck entered her body. Then she went home and the old woman of the house\nsaid, \u201cDaughter you look as if you would soon have a child. It must be\nby the Creator for no man has passed this way.\u201d So after a short time\nthe daughter gave birth to a boy and the mother said, \u201cIt must be the\ngift of the Creator for no man has passed by.\u201d Now the child would cry\nand would only be pacified when some valuable object was shown him. But\nsoon again he would cry and they would show him another treasure. Now he\nbegan to cry very hard and nothing would pacify him, not even all their\nvalued treasures. So the old woman said, perhaps the quilt of human eyes\nwould please him, so the quilt was brought and he ceased crying and\nplayed with the quilt. Then the women all went out to work in the field.\nNow when they were gone he took the quilt and folded it and ran out of\nthe house. The women discovered him and pursued him with hammers. They\nclosed about him endeavoring to strike him but he dodged and they struck\neach other and killed each other, all but one and he killed her. Then he\nwent and found his brother.\n\nNow they returned home and greeted their father. They asked him what\nkind of eyes he had had and the father answered, \u201cOh they were peculiar\neyes. They had a reddish cast.\u201d Now the Last found the eyes and took\nthem off the quilt and placed them back in his father\u2019s eye-sockets. And\nwhen the father had his own eyes he said, \u201cThere are the eyes of my\nbrother.\u201d So the boys took them from the quilt and placed them in their\nuncle\u2019s eye-sockets. And they saw each other and were very glad. Then\nthe younger twin said, \u201cWe must now go and find the bones of the dead\nand restore them their eyes.\u201d So they went and found the graves of the\ndead and gathered together all their skeletons,\u2014half as many as there\nwere eyes. And a voice from the pile spoke and said, \u201cWe are under the\ncover of a white bear.\u201d So the boys found a white bear and skinned it\nand built a lodge like a sweat lodge and covered it over with the skin\nof the white bear. In the lodge they placed the bones of the dead men.\nIn a short time the wigwam began to quiver and then the younger brother\nran to an elm tree and began to kick it and it fell over and as it was\nfalling he cried, \u201cThe tree is falling upon you. Flee for your lives.\u201d\n\nNow as they heard his warning the skeletons arose and ran out of the\nwigwam and into the woods. Now the eyes had been placed upon the skulls\nand the people had time to select their own, but Last was too hasty in\nkicking over the tree and they had little time to find their own bones.\nThus when they came together in the woods they found themselves in a\nmixed condition. Some had legs too short, some had long arms and short\nlegs,\u2014their limbs, ribs, feet and finer bones were mismated. Then Last\nwas sorry he had been so hasty. So he asked them all where they lived\nand some knew but some did not. He told all that knew to go to their\nhomes and he told all that did not to come home with him. Now they went\nhome with him but the house was too small to contain all. Then Last\npaced out the dimensions of a large house and his footprints outlining\nit were on the ground. Then he commanded a house to spring up and it did\nand was large enough to hold all the men and they lived there. Now these\nwere cripples and deformed people and from them sprang the deformed and\nugly people of today. Now the uncle recovered his health and the older\nsister married him so there were two couples in the house. So everything\ncame out well and everyone was happy. So the legend ends.\n\n\n  NOTE.\u2014The legend of the magic arrow and the quilt of eyes is a\n  typical Seneca transformation myth. Its characteristic elements are,\n  the orenda of twins, the magic arrow which they were forbidden to\n  use, the transfixing of one party with an arrow and the tests of\n  magic. The conception of the quilt of young men\u2019s eyes appears in\n  other stories, as also does that of borrowing eyes from animals to\n  assist persons who had lost their eyeballs. The theme of the magical\n  twins who grew to immediate maturity and played under the ground is\n  also one employed elsewhere. The idea of conception through entering\n  into a female to be born of her, also is a more or less frequent\n  episode. As in other legends, the hero who acquires great orenda\n  ends his career by restoring the bones of the magically slain and\n  hastening their resurrection to such an extent that they appear with\n  mismated limbs, thereby being the first monsters and cripples.\n\n  This legend was related in the Seneca tongue by Edward Cornplanter,\n  and translated by William Bluesky, whose language forms the bulk of\n  the version here presented. Certain corrections were made after\n  reading the recorded account to Cornplanter.\n\n\n                  11. CORN GRINDER, THE GRANDSON.[21]\n\nIn a clearing in a thick pine forest there lived an old man and woman.\nTheir lodge was far away from any Indian village, for they had no liking\nfor the company of other people. They were a strange couple and often\ntalked with trees, and the trees would answer them.\n\nWith the old folk lived a boy, their grandson, but he found no pleasure\nin the society of his grandparents, for they would never speak to him\nexcept to admonish him not to wander beyond certain limits.\n\n\u201cGo east, go west, go north,\u201d they said, \u201cbut not away from the sound of\nthe corn grinder. We have named you Corn Grinder so that you remember.\nListen, never go south. Remember!\u201d\n\nEach morning after breakfast Corn Grinder would run into the woods with\nhis bow and pass his time hunting birds. He became an expert marksman\nand could bring down a bird as far as his arrow could fly. By the time\nhe was twelve years old he was familiar with the woods, to the east, the\nwest and the north as far as the sound of his grandmother\u2019s corn grinder\nreached. As he grew older he began to wonder why it was that daily the\nold people repeated the same old charge. \u201cGo east, go west, go north,\nbut not away from the sound of the grinder. Never go south!\u201d\n\n\u201cHo!\u201d he exclaimed, \u201cI will go south as far as I please.\u201d\n\nTaking his bow and quiver he ran from the lodge, skirted the clearing\nand came around to the southern border. With arrow fixed for instant use\nhe skulked from tree to tree. He was going toward the forbidden south!\nSurely there must be some hideous monsters, poisonous reptiles or\nterrible witches here, that made his grandparents enjoin him to shun the\nsouth woods. They would not tell him what it was and because of this he\nwas determined to find out at any cost. He listened at every footstep\nand glanced anxiously in every direction. His fears began to subside,\nhowever, when he saw nothing unusual. The same kind of birds flew in the\ntrees and fell when his arrows pierced them. Plainly there were no\nwitches here. He strode on bolder than before nor halted until in the\ndistance he heard the sound of a corn mortar. He was on the alert in an\ninstant, dropped on his hands and knees and crawled forward, covering\nhis approach by the trunks of the pines. Presently he saw a few paces\nahead an opening and drawing nearer saw an immense bark lodge in the\nclearing. A gigantic woman was standing beneath a tall tree cooking corn\nsoup in a huge kettle. An extraordinarily large baby board leaned\nagainst the tree but no baby was in sight. Crawling, serpent-like, he\nwriggled his way through the high grass to the lodge. Entering it he saw\na large fat baby, tall as a warrior and as fat as an old woman. The day\nwas hot and the baby was without clothing as it lay on a couch of skins.\nPeering stealthily from the door he saw that the giantess was coming\ntoward the lodge. Trembling yet determined to learn all he could of the\nstrange folk, he concealed himself under the hemlock branches beneath\nthe bed.\n\nThe woman came in and stretched herself out on the floor for a nap. The\nbaby commenced to cry and then nearly crushed Corn Grinder by rolling\nover the very spot beneath which he lay. This made Corn Grinder angry\nindeed, and crawling out as best he could he ran from the lodge, skimmed\na ladle full of scalding grease from the soup and running in threw it\nupon the baby\u2019s abdomen and fled to the edge of the woods.\n\nThe infant awoke with a piercing shriek and began rubbing its stomach in\nfrenzy, howling like a stricken wolf with agony. This awoke the mother\nwho did her best to soothe her child and discover how it had been so\nmysteriously injured.\n\nMeanwhile little Corn Grinder had thrown a bunch of pungent weeds into\nthe soup and hastily concealed himself in a thicket.\n\nSoon the gigantic woman emerged from the lodge and began stirring the\nsoup. She drew a deep breath as its appetizing vapors reached her\nnostrils and said, \u201cAge-wiu, how good!\u201d Presently she began to sneeze.\nAgain she sneezed and again and again, until she could scarcely stand,\ntears streaming from her eyes, water from her nose and saliva from her\nmouth. \u201cAg\u0113! Ag\u0113!\u201d she gasped, \u201cSome witch must be near.\u201d\n\nLittle Corn Grinder chuckled with glee and rolled over and over, his\nsides quaking with merriment, to think how his weeds were destroying the\ngiantess.\n\nThe fire died down, the steam ceased rising and the strangely affected\nwoman stopped sneezing. The soup was done by this time and going back to\nthe house the woman strapped the baby to the board and grasping a basket\nof bread and meat in one hand and the kettle of soup in the other,\nstarted off in a southerly direction. Corn Grinder followed close behind\nand saw her stop at a huge dead tree.\n\n                     \u201cLuk-ste, luk-ste, da-ja-jent!\n                     Luk-ste, luk-ste, da-ja-jent!\u201d\n\nsang the woman in a low voice. The ground beneath them rumbled and in a\nmoment the tree opened and out stepped a tall giant saying \u201cOn\u0115k to-ha!\u201d\nHe greeted the woman with a friendly slap, patted the baby and then\npoured a laddle-full of soup down his throat. The pungent weeds burned\nthe giant\u2019s mouth. Wildly he danced around the tree tearing up the sod\nand holding his mouth open, drew his breath in and out to cool his\nblistered throat and tongue. When the smarting sensation ceased he ran\ntoward the offending dish, and gave the kettle a kick that sent it\nflying over the trees and spilling the soup over the frightened woman\nand baby. The angered giant then began to berate the giantess for the\nmean trick she had played on him and kept grumbling until he had\ndevoured the bread and meat and disappeared into the tree.\n\nCorn Grinder\u2019s eyes bulged from his head and he shuddered as, ear to the\nground, he heard strange subterranean roarings. \u201cWah!\u201d he exclaimed,\n\u201cwhy can not I say \u2018Luk-ste, luk-ste\u2019?\u201d\n\nGliding through the grass and bushes he followed the woman back to the\nlodge where she began to wash corn previous to preparing another meal\nfor the giant in the tree.\n\n\u201cWhen the sun stands high she\u2019ll be ready again,\u201d said Corn Grinder to\nhimself. \u201cThen I will say \u2018Luk-ste, luk-ste!\u2019\u2014that\u2019s fun.\u201d\n\nWith this determination he crawled back and hid behind a tree facing the\nmysterious dead trunk.\n\nWhen the sun had risen to the mid-heavens Corn Grinder arose from his\nhiding place and walking cautiously to the mysterious tree struck it\nsharply with his bow, singing in a low tone the woman\u2019s song, then\njumped quickly back and fixed his arrow for instant use.\n\nThe ground trembled, the tree shook, then opened and the giant came\nforth. He looked around in all directions and growled in rage when he\nfailed to discover any one: \u201cMore tricks,\u201d he yelled.\n\nCorn Grinder watched his chance and when the giant\u2019s back was turned, he\nlet fly an arrow piercing him through the stomach. Without a groan the\ngiant fell. Corn Grinder looked down the path, saw the woman coming and\nfled with all haste back through the forest to his grandparents\u2019 lodge.\nBursting in the door he exclaimed breathlessly, \u201cOh grandmother! I\nkilled him, I killed him!\u201d\n\n\u201cHold on,\u201d said his grandmother, \u201cwho did you kill? Tell me all about\nit.\u201d\n\nCorn Grinder obeyed, omitting no detail of the adventure.\n\n\u201cAg\u0113!\u201d wailed the old woman. \u201cYou have killed your father, my own son.\nYou must go on a long journey to a high mountain and obtain certain\nmagical roots to restore him! You must go immediately! O grandson, why\ndid you disobey us? How often did we tell you never to go south. All\nyour family are wizards and witches and we hoped to save you! Ag\u0113, Ag\u0113!\u201d\n\n\u201cI went, grandmother,\u201d replied the boy, \u201cbecause you told me not to go.\nIf you had told me everything I should never have gone. Now hurry and\nget food for our journey,\u2014two are going.\u201d\n\nAs he was speaking the giantess and the baby came running down the path\nand rushed into the lodge.\n\n\u201cCorn Grinder has killed his father!\u201d screamed the giantess.\n\n\u201cWhere is he, where is he? We are going to kill him!\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right,\u201d said Corn Grinder, popping out from under a bed, \u201ckill me\nif you can.\u201d\n\nThe furious giantess seized a corn mortar, the baby a pestle, and each\nstrove to hit the boy with these weapons.\n\nCorn Grinder dodged around in glee,\u2014the excitement was exhilarating. The\npossibility of receiving a blow from the pestle or being smashed with a\nmortar made his feet nimble as never before. Finally when he had been\nhit and his doom seemed sealed he said to himself, \u201cIf I belong to the\nfamily of witches, I must be a witch as well,\u201d and bounding into the air\nhe jumped down the giantess\u2019 mouth, slid down her throat, wrenched her\nheart from its fastenings and when she had fallen dead, he crawled out\nagain, grabbed the pestle from the baby\u2019s hands, cried \u201cDa, da, da, da,\nda, da!\u201d and killed the infant with a blow.\n\nWithout the least sign of excitement he said, \u201cNow grandmother, hurry\nwith my lunch. It will soon be dark and my friend and I wish to go\nearly.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat friend?\u201d asked the grandmother. \u201cWhy Da-ga-ga-we-so-da-de\n(Standing cob is coming),\u201d replied Corn Grinder, \u201cbut you can\u2019t see him.\nWe have been companions since we were babies. Hurry, grandmother.\u201d\n\nMutely the old woman obeyed and soon had a basket of food prepared for\nthe journey.\n\nCorn Grinder started on and entered the north woods where he must meet\nhis friend Cob.\n\nFor a day they tramped through unknown forests, crossed mirey swamps and\nstruggled through windfalls and at night lay down beneath a sheltering\nrock. The next day passed as the first, but the third presented\nincreased obstacles. Wild beasts growled all around them. Toward noon,\nas Corn Grinder was munching a slice of corn bread, a monstrous dog\nrushed toward them. Ever prepared to ward off danger, Corn Grinder threw\ndown his slice and spat out the morsel he was masticating. The dog bent\nhis head to eat and the two boys ran out of sight, but not into safety,\nas they had imagined, for before them was a gigantic wild cat with wide\nopen mouth. Without pausing in his flight Corn Grinder flung a chunk of\nmeat into its jaws and ran faster than before. Exhausted, he sat down a\nmoment to rest but as he did so a big bear rushed at him with a growl.\nCorn Grinder jumped form his seat, flung a dish of honey into its eyes\nand summing up all energy hurried on once more. Cob ran at his side and\nkept encouraging him to keep a stout heart.\n\nAt length they reached a clearing near the base of a mountain. Some one\nhigh in the air seemed singing a song over and over. They halted a\nmoment and then pushed aside the underbrush, pausing again to listen to\nthe song, which seemed growing louder. They were startled when they\ncaught the words.\n\n\u201cSome strange thing is heralding our approach,\u201d said Corn Grinder, and\npushing aside the bushes he came out into the open.\n\nA great multitude of people were assembled about a tall pine, shooting\nat something in the topmost branches of a tall pine. The two boys came\nnearer and noticed that whenever an arrow struck the tree near the\ncreature in the branches, drops of water would run from its eyes and\nstriking the ground become wampum. Corn Grinder was about to pull his\nbow when Cob struck his arm and said, \u201cStop! That is your father up\nthere. Hurry on and let us get the medicine. If you do not soon his\ntears will cease to flow and they will kill him.\u201d\n\nThe two boys ran panting through the crowd. Cob was invisible and Corn\nGrinder might as well have been for no one noticed him. They labored up\na mountain, crossed great rocks and chasms and at sunset, in a deep rift\nin the mountain side, at the foot of a cataract found a wonderful plant.\n\n\u201cGrab it!\u201d whispered Cob. \u201cIt is the medicine!\u201d\n\nCorn Grinder snatched at the plant, which flew from the ground and\neluding his grasp soared upward but wary Cob with a high leap caught it\nby the roots before it was entirely beyond his grasp.\n\nCob instructed Corn Grinder to chew the roots of the plant and then rub\nhis saliva over his body, his clothing, his bow and his arrows. This he\ndid and felt new vigor thrilling every fiber. The journey down the\nmountain seemed easy and his feet were lighter than ever before.\n\nToward nightfall they reached the great pine again and saw people busy\nas before, shooting at the creature in the tree, but the tears were\nfewer and the wampum less.\n\n\u201cHurry,\u201d cried Cob. \u201cUnless you shoot him before the next man\u2019s arrow\nstrikes he will truly be dead.\u201d\n\nGrinder spat on his arrows, rubbed the roots in his hair and then shot.\nThe arrow struck the creature and it instantly vanished. Simultaneously,\nboth Corn Grinder and Cob were pulled from their feet by some unseen\nforce and sped through the air like the wind. High into the sky they\nwent and when the moon began to shine they dropped down to earth again\nat the doorway of a new lodge, which they entered.\n\nA woman was chanting a song to a baby. Corn Grinder looked closely and\nsaw that it was the same woman and baby that he had killed but each had\nnow become smaller. He looked back and saw the giant he had shot. He,\ntoo, had become smaller.\n\n\u201cI am your brother,\u201d said the baby.\n\n\u201cI am your father,\u201d said the man.\n\n\u201cI am your mother,\u201d said the woman, \u201ccome, let us eat!\u201d\n\n\n  GENERAL NOTES.\u2014The story of Corn Grinder is another tale of an\n  enchanted family. Corn Grinder is cared for by his grandparents who\n  wish to shield him from his parents who are evilly magic people. He\n  is told that he may venture from his grandmother\u2019s lodge but to the\n  south at no greater distance than the sound of the corn pounder,\n  though in other directions he might go as far as he liked. The time\n  comes when Corn Grinder resolves to disobey and travel south, where\n  he discovers a lodge of giants and a gigantic infant. By craft he\n  disturbs the giants, annoying them without being discovered, finally\n  shooting the male giant. Rushing home he tells his grandmother who\n  reveals to him that the giant is his father, and orders him to make\n  haste to procure medicine roots to effect a restoration. When the\n  giantess and infant pursue him to the lodge he escapes them and\n  jumping down the giantess\u2019 throat tears out her heart, soon\n  afterward killing the infant.\n\n  He then reveals that he has an \u201cunseen friend\u201d who will aid him in\n  his search for the medicine roots. After overcoming great dangers\n  they obtain the roots and fly through the air to a new lodge where\n  Corn Grinder discovers his parents restored to normal form. The\n  injection of the beast in the tree wailing and transforming its\n  tears into wampum brings into the story a common theme, that of a\n  being excreting wampum. The songs and magical words used in this\n  tale are not Seneca.\n\n\n                       12. HE-GOES-TO-LISTEN.[22]\n\nIn the old days when the Senecas were strong on the Genesee there lived\nnear a large hill that rose from a river, a boy and his uncle.\n\nWhen the boy was born he was named Hatondas, meaning _He goes to\nlisten_. This name was bestowed because just before his birth his mother\nhad dreamed that when he should arrive at a marriageable age two singing\nwomen would come from afar to be his wives. The mother also dreamed that\nshe would die. In order to prepare him for his marriage she therefore\nsewed three bags that were _witched_. She filled one with great\nquantities of wampum, the second with beautiful clothing but the third\nwas left empty. Though the bags were scarcely the size of a man\u2019s hand\nthey could hold things hundreds of times their own size.\n\nWhen Hatondas was yet young his mother as her dream had foretold became\nmysteriously sick and shortly died, leaving her baby son to the care of\nhis grandfather. The uncle knew the prediction of the mother\u2019s vision\nconcerning the coming of the women for the child, and, being a widower\nof many years and unable to secure a wife by fair means, resolved to\ndisfigure the boy and claim the women destined for him. And so it was\nthat when the boy reached the age of fourteen the old man each morning\nand evening would send him up the hill to listen.\n\n\u201cListen nephew,\u201d he commanded, \u201cgo up the hill, stop in the pines near\nthe trail and listen. When you hear a strange sound hurry back and tell\nme. Be sure you sound it exactly.\u201d\n\nThe boy would thereupon run as fast as possible to the hill top and\nsecrete himself in the pine woods. The old man had used every artifice\nto make the boy cowardly and so when he heard an owl hooting in the\ndarkness of the wood he trembled and ran in wild terror down the hill\nand rushed into the lodge.\n\n\u201cO O O\u2014uncle, I\u2019ve, I\u2019ve\u2014I\u2019ve heard\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cNow wait a bit my son, wait \u2019till I smoke.\u201d And when the old man had\nfinished his pipe he asked, \u201cWell, what did you hear?\u201d\n\n\u201cNoise like this,\u2014O-O-O-Owah! o-o-o-owah!\u201d\n\n\u201cUgh, that\u2019s nothing,\u201d said the old man. \u201cYou are no good.\u201d So saying he\nthrust a ladle into the fire and drew it out full of embers and bidding\nthe boy stand fast threw them on his legs. Maddened by the pain the boy\nrushed from the lodge with cries of agony.\n\nThe next day Hatondas was again sent on the same errand and again\nterrified by a strange sound ran back to the old man and reported.\n\n\u201cStop, stop!\u201d the old fellow yelled. \u201cLet me smoke first!\u201d And when the\nlast curl of blue vapor had been drawn from the old stone pipe he spoke,\n\u201cNow tell me!\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was gak-gaw-gak-gaw-gak-gaw! O grandfather!\u201d\n\n\u201cChisnah! That was nothing,\u201d the old man replied, and again threw hot\nashes on the boy.\n\nDay after day the same procedure continued and after a year the boy,\nonce handsome and lithe, was scarred and crippled. The grandfather now\ndevised new schemes. When he had sent He-goes-to-listen up the hill he\nstretched a deer tendon across the door way, and returning, the boy\ntripped and fell, severely bruising his face. The old schemer laughed\nand said, \u201cGood joke, good joke, I\u2019ll never do it again.\u201d But each day\nas he sent the boy up the hill he would break his promise and the youth\nwould be frightfully cut by the fall over the thong. However, after a\nwhile in spite of the old man\u2019s promises the youth became wary in his\npell-mell rush into the lodge and would step over the cord.\n\nOne autumn in the seventeenth year of He-goes-to-listen he returned from\nthe hill in unusual haste and in great excitement. \u201cO grandfather!\u201d he\nexclaimed, and before the old man had time to smoke he cried out, \u201cI\nheard noise, singing, like this: (SONG).\n\n\u201cWell, that all?\u201d said the grandfather in a voice that revealed his\nsuppressed excitement, \u201cWell, I will thrash you hard for that.\u201d\nThereupon Hatondas received a most brutal beating and was thrown into\nthe roaring fire. The next day the boy was bidden listen to every word\nin the song he should hear and report immediately.\n\nThe old man rubbed his face with oil and painted it with streaks of\nvermillion. He tied sinews to his flabby cheeks and pulling the wrinkles\nback, tied the strings behind his neck and let down his long black hair\nto hide the ruse. His sole idea in abusing and disfiguring the boy was\nto make him such a horrible sight that the mysterious women would refuse\nto marry him. He wanted them himself, and thus on the night after the\nsinging, decked himself in his best, hoping to gain their favor.\nHatondas had set out early in the morning but entranced by the singing\ndid not return. On came the voices until he saw the singers themselves\nand saw them pass down the hill and enter the lodge.\n\nThe old man decked in his feathers and paint arose to meet them.\n\u201cWelcome, welcome, my women,\u201d he said. \u201cCome in, the house is yours.\u201d\n\nBut the women only said, \u201cWhere is Hatondas?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh I am he!\u201d ejaculated the old reprobate.\n\nBut the women again asked, \u201cWhere is Hatondas?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh he? He is lying around somewhere with the dogs in the garbage,\u2014but\nnever mind him,\u2014come sit by me.\u201d\n\nThe women did not obey but sat on the low bench that belonged to\nHatondas, and the would-be-youthful old man with all his smooth cheeks\nand decorations could not get them to converse with him.\n\n\u201cCome, come, better stay with me,\u2014marry me,\u201d he pleaded. \u201cI am\nhandsome,\u2014Hatondas is crippled and ugly. Say \u2018yes,\u2019 you will marry me.\nOf course, say so.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is Hatondas?\u201d was the resolute question.\n\nThe old man shuffled up and touched one of the women in a pleading way\nand she promptly knocked him down.\n\nHatondas returned. He had suddenly become bold. All his former fear of\nhis grandfather had flown, likewise his fear of sounds and moving\nthings. Courageously he entered the door and saluted the women. Seating\nhimself on his grandfather\u2019s bench he spent the entire afternoon\nchatting with them. As evening came on the women cooked his supper,\nleaving the old man to fare the best he could.\n\nNight came and the time for sleeping. Hatondas threw himself upon his\nhusk mats and rolled up in his skins. The two women lay on either side.\n\nThe old man frowned fiercely and the strings slipping from their\nfastenings let fall his skinny jowls, now more wrinkled than before.\n\n\u201cUgh!\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cI say, two women don\u2019t want one husband!\u201d But as\nthe women did not stir the frustrated old fellow lay down with a\ndisgusted groan.\n\nThat night as he slept his heart changed and the next morning he awoke\nwithout any ill feeling toward Hatondas.\n\n\u201cNow, my boy,\u201d he said after breakfast, \u201cyou must go away from here.\nLong time ago your mother left three bags for your journey. One bag is\nempty,\u2014I will fill it.\u201d\n\nBringing out a bag the size of a man\u2019s hand he filled it with a basket\nof parched corn mixed with maple sugar, put in a bow and a bundle of\narrows and last of all a buckskin suit and then charged Hatondas not to\nspeak to a living creature other than his wives while on his journey,\nand warned him that if he should it would cause the loss of a bag.\n\nHatondas with his wives set out on the trail that led to the far\ncountry. Reaching the top of the hill that he had so often climbed one\nof the women said, \u201cOh here is a hollow log. There is an animal in it!\nYou are ugly, Hatondas,\u2014crawl in and see if you can scare it out.\u201d The\nhusband obeyed and wriggled through the log. He felt strange and when\nhis head emerged from the other end of the log he felt like a different\nperson. Looking in the next spring he saw that his face was smooth and\nhandsome. He lifted his legging and saw a limb clean and unscarred. More\nthan this, he noticed that instead of his filthy clothes he was clad in\na new suit of white skin.\n\nHis delight was so great that he immediately forgot all warnings and\ntalked without fear to two strangers whom he met, while his wives strode\non ahead. Having satisfied their curiosity the strangers started on.\nHatondas ran with great strides and after some time overtook his wives\nwho immediately asked, \u201cWhere is your magic bag?\u201d Alas, it was gone with\nall the wampum that it contained. This meant that when Hatondas should\nenter the strange country, it should be without honor and that he should\nbe as a common man.\n\nFor several years Hatondas dwelt in the land of his wives and so well\ndid he fight in battle and so brave was he in all things that by deeds\nhe gained great fame. However, he tired of the strange land and longed\nto return and visit his own old home. After preparation he set out on\nthe return journey, each of his wives bearing a large bundle of presents\nfor the old uncle.\n\nAfter a weary journey and after many days he reached the old lodge by\nthe hill but found it tied fast.\n\n\u201cKway!\u201d he cried.\n\n\u201cKway!\u201d came the answer in a cracked voice. \u201cWho are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cHatondas and my two wives.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, how do I know that?\u201d asked the same cracked voice.\n\n\u201cLet me in and see.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you dare come in! If you try I\u2019ll shoot you through the\ndoor-hole.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I am going to go in so tell me how.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell put your hands through the peek-hole and I will tie them to the\npost. I will come out and see and if it is real Hatondas you may come\nin.\u201d\n\nHatondas did as bidden and some one inside tied his hands around the\npost. Then a decrepit old man came out with a hatchet.\n\n\u201cAha! You were deceiving me just as I thought. You are not my nephew!\nAha! I will kill you. So!\u201d\n\n\u201cI am your nephew but my face is changed. Look and see if you don\u2019t\nrecognize my women.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I don\u2019t know any of them. You must be killed now.\u201d (Uncle sings\ndeath chant.)\n\n\u201cHold on, old uncle, can\u2019t we come to a bargain?\u201d asked Hatondas.\n\n\u201cUgh!\u201d exclaimed the old fellow. \u201cBargain? Yes, guess so. Let me see.\nYes, give me one of the women.\u201d\n\n\u201cTruly, truly, if she will take you.\u201d\n\nIn haste the grandfather cut the thongs that bound Hatondas and bade the\nentire party enter the lodge. When all were seated he said, slyly,\n\u201cWell, I guess I like this one best.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean, uncle?\u201d\n\n\u201cI mean I like this one for cutting you loose.\u201d\n\n\u201cHa! ha! ha! ha!\u201d laughed Hatondas. \u201cShe won\u2019t have you!\u201d\n\nThen the uncle laughed too and said it was all just for fun and that he\nknew them all the time.\n\nAs Hatondas looked about him he saw that the elm bark house had grown\nold and moss covered and in one place a tree had commenced to grow, but\nbefore another moon had come all things were as new again, but the old\nman grew older.\n\n\n             13. HATONDAS, THE LISTENER, FINDS A WIFE.[23]\n\nHatondas was a poor orphan boy who lived with his uncle, an old man who\nwas very wrinkled. They lived in a lodge far removed from any\nsettlement, so that the boy grew up not knowing how other people acted.\n\nThe old uncle became more and more abusive and threw hot coals on\nHatondas seeking to mutilate him. The boy never lifted his hand to\nstrike his uncle but received his wounds without murmuring.\n\nAfter a time the uncle said, \u201cNow is the time when you must go up the\nhill and listen to all kinds of sounds. When you hear one that you never\nheard before, return to me.\u201d\n\nSoon Hatondas returned and imitated the notes of a chickadee. \u201cNo, no,\nthat is not anything different!\u201d exclaimed the old man, and straightway\nfell to abusing the boy.\n\nDay by day Hatondas listened, hearing an owl, a hawk, a woodpecker, a\ndeer and a bear. With each report his uncle threw coals of fire down his\nshirt or beat him on the face with a paddle.\n\nOne morning he heard a song, and listening, heard his own name called\nout.\n\nListening with strained ears he caught the words, \u201cHatondas, Hatondas, I\nam coming to marry you now. You hear this song so make ready.\u201d\n\nQuickly Hatondas ran to his uncle and reported what he had heard. The\nuncle now became greatly enraged and threw all manner of filth at\nHatondas, then fell to beating his face with brands from the fire. When\nhe had finished scolding the boy, the uncle washed his own face and put\non his best clothing. Then he greased his hair and tied his cheeks back\nwith a string, tying the string behind his head under his braid, to give\nthe appearance of smooth cheeks.\n\nHatondas could not sleep that night for his bed was infested with vermin\nhis uncle had put into it, and it was foul with refuse that his uncle\ncustomarily threw there to make Hatondas an unsavory person.\n\nMorning came, and all kinds of birds began to sing. Hatondas listened as\nbefore, and at sunrise he arose and went up the hill where he was\naccustomed to wait listening for the sounds which his uncle ordered him\nto report.\n\nAgain he heard the sound of distant singing, and it was a woman\u2019s voice.\nNow Hatondas began to feel very sad, for his appearance bothered him. He\nwas dirty beyond all measure and his hair was encrusted with dried\nrefuse. So he felt very lonely and without friends.\n\nSoon again he heard the song and saw a woman a long ways off. She seemed\ncalling his name, so he listened more intently. Then he saw a\nfine-looking young woman running toward him. As she neared him he saw\nthat she had a basket of marriage bread. She looked at him in great pity\nand asked him to lead her to his lodge.\n\nWhen they entered the lodge the young woman greeted the uncle, and said,\n\u201cI have been sent by my mother to find a man here.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh I am the man you are looking for,\u201d said the uncle, at the same time\nordering Hatondas to leave the lodge. \u201cI am so sorry my nephew is\nfilthy,\u201d said the uncle, in his most gracious language. \u201cHe is very\ndirty and utterly no good.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is the man I have come to marry,\u201d said the young woman.\n\nThen the young woman took out a pot of oil and heated it, and calling\nHatondas to her cleaned his head, lifting off a great mass of filthy\ncrusts. At this the uncle was furious, and demanded that the young woman\nleave the boy alone. She continued her work until she had cleansed him\nwhen she said, \u201cOh, he will make a good husband when I clean him!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou must marry me,\u201d cried out the uncle. \u201cI have been waiting for you\nmany years. See, my side of the lodge is very clean, and you could never\nsleep where Hatondas is accustomed to lie.\u201d But the young woman repulsed\nhim and went out into the woods with Hatondas, whereupon the old man\nburst into great rage, breaking his cheek-strings and making himself\nlook hideous. \u201cOh, I knew it would come,\u201d he screeched, \u201cbut I did not\nthink so soon.\u201d\n\nWhen the young woman had found a hollow log she required Hatondas to\ncrawl into it and then through to the other end. When he emerged he was\nclean and healed of his scars.\n\nThat night they were married, but at midnight a queer sound awoke\nHatondas. He rose up and listened. Then the young wife awoke.\n\n\u201cHe is upon us!\u201d she cried, and leaping up, she called upon Hatondas to\nflee with her. Jumping upon the fireplace she scattered the glowing\nembers about the room and in a moment the lodge was in flames.\n\nTogether the two ran to the top of the hill to the rear of the lodge.\nThe young wife drew from her garment a small bundle and dropped it upon\nthe ground. Taking the whip she struck the bundle a smart blow. A tiny\ngrowl issued from the skin wrappings and grew louder as she continued to\nply her switch. Presently a dog burst from the bundle and stood wagging\nhis tail at her feet. She continued to lash it and with each stroke the\ndog grew larger and finally so large that both she and Hatondas were\nable to mount its back and sent it dashing onward at great speed.\n\nAfter some time they arrived on the shores of a vast expanse of water.\nThe wife patted the dog back into its bundle and dropped it in her pouch\nand with her husband leaped into a large canoe that lay moored to the\nshore. Untying the line, each grasped a paddle and swept the canoe out\ninto the lake. They had gone but a short distance when a loud snort\ncaused them to look back and there on the shore was a gigantic bear in\nthe act of casting a long fish line, and even as they looked it fell,\nwrapping around the stern of the canoe. The craft stopped in its course\nwith a sudden jerk and then began to speed backward to the shore.\n\n\u201cQuick, Hatondas,\u201d exclaimed his wife, \u201cempty your pipe on the line,\u201d\nand Hatondas obeyed with surprising alacrity. The line snapped and with\na sweep of the paddle this wife sent the canoe back into its track.\n\nFoiled in his attempt to capture the pair the enraged monster pawed up\nthe sand and pebbles. Swelling to an enormous size he thrust his mouth\ninto the water and gulped it down in such immense quantities that the\nlake changed its current and flowed toward the mouth of the monster.\nDeath seemed certain to the young couple for the canoe was drawn with\ngreat rapidity toward the beast, but ever resourceful, the young woman\nsteadied herself, aimed and threw a round white stone directly at the\ncreature\u2019s belly. It struck him with great force causing him to jerk up\nhis head with a roar of pain and then belch the waters back into the\nlake. In the swiftly outflowing stream, spurred on by the paddles, the\ncanoe shot back to its former course.\n\nThe great bear was furious with disappointment and roared, \u201cYou cannot\nescape me, soon I will catch you. I am Nia-gwa-he!\u201d and then began to\nblow his icy breath upon the water. Ice commenced to form and when he\njudged it sufficiently thick he galloped out over the surface of the\nlake. \u201cYou cannot escape me!\u201d he bellowed, \u201cI am Nia-gwa-he!\u201d\n\nThe canoe stood fast in the ice and doom seemed certain to its inmates.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t be downcast, Hatondas,\u201d said the wife, \u201conly trust me.\u201d\n\nThe wife knelt in the bottom of the canoe where she had a little fire\nburning and a pot of water.[24] She was apparently resigned to the fate\nfrom which there seemed no escape. Then when the bear was almost upon\nthem she stood upright and flung a kettle of steaming water at his feet.\nThe beast stopped with a sudden jerk as the clay pot broke into\nfragments and the water splashed upon the ice. This momentary halt was\nfatal, for the water softened the ice and the monster sank beneath the\nwaters and disappeared. The ice vanished and the canoe sped on once\nagain.\n\nLate in the day the canoe grated against the base of a high cliff that\nrose perpendicularly from the water. The wife called up to the top. A\nwoman leaned over the edge far above and seeing the couple below dropped\ndown two pairs of claw mittens. These Hatondas and his wife fastened to\ntheir hands, and, with their aid, made their way slowly and cautiously\nto the summit.\n\nThe wife\u2019s sister greeted the bridal pair, and lead the way to a\nspacious lodge where a savory supper awaited them.\n\nThe wife told the story of her adventure expressing great joy at her\nescape from the monster bear.\n\nAfter the evening meal the time for sleeping came and together the happy\ncouple lay down upon a new bed of spruce boughs and wrapped themselves\nin soft newly-tanned skins.\n\nA year passed and to the wife came twin baby boys. And so precocious\nwere they that at their very birth they felled to the floor two curious\nmen who had intruded into their mother\u2019s lodge. They grew so rapidly\nthat in a few hours they had become mature men of prodigious strength\nand great agility. The old woman provided them with warrior costumes and\ngave them presents of bows and brought a bear and a deer for the larder.\nA half starved settlement now feasted. New houses were reared, and new\ncanoes built by these wonderful boys and great riches came to the\nfamily.\n\nThe mother was happy in her offspring and proud, but in the midst of her\njoy she began to contrast her present fortune with the unhappy days of\nher girlhood. She fell to brooding, and, as she lay upon the ground, the\nroar of a monster echoed through the forest. The twins rushed to her\nside exclaiming,\n\n\u201cOh mother, here comes Nia-gwa-he looking like a buffalo!\u201d\n\nThe boys stood guarding their mother as toward them rushed the huge\nbeast. It dashed full upon them. The boys sank to their knees, and\nstabbed it on the bottom of its foot. When they arose their arms were\nwrapped around the creature and in a moment it was thrown through the\nair into a grove of oaks and there they buried it.\n\n\n                  14. THE ORIGIN OF THE CHESTNUT TREE.\n\nIn a lodge that stood alone in a land of hills lived Dadjedondji with\nhis older brother Hawiyas. Dadjedondji busied himself each day in the\nforests hunting game, catching fish, gathering fruits, berries, roots\nand nuts and studying the wonders of the woods. He prepared his own\nmeals in the lodge and always ate them alone, for, strange to relate,\nhis brother steadfastly refused to eat with him or, indeed, to eat in\nthe presence of anyone. He never hunted or cooked, but sat all day\nsmoking moodily.\n\nThe boy often pondered over the strange difference between his brother\nand himself and at length resolved to pretend to start on his daily\nhunt, then turn back and secretly watch his bother. He did as he had\nplanned but failed to discover his brother, Hawiyas, eating or at any\nextraordinary practice. Night came and the two boys lay side by side\nwith their feet toward the fire. Dadjedondji remained awake in order to\ncontinue his watch and toward midnight heard his brother stir. In his\nanxiety to spy upon him Dadjedondji sat upright and his brother seeing\nhim dropped back upon his couch. Dadjedondji chided himself for his\nimpulsiveness and when, some time later, Hawiyas asked in an undertone,\n\u201cAre you awake now?\u201d he remained quiet and did not reply.\n\nLater Hawiyas arose cautiously believing himself unobserved and crept to\nthe side of the lodge. Dadjedondji was peeping through a hole in the\nskin that covered him. Hawiyas pushed aside a sheet of bark and drew\nforth a small kettle and a tiny bag. From the bag he took a small nut\nfrom which he scraped a few shavings with a flint. Casting them into the\nkettle he poured in a quantity of water and shaking the kettle placed it\nover the fire. The water soon began to heat, and as it did so, the\nkettle increased in size until a pudding was cooked, when he dipped it\nout, cleaned the kettle, shook it and stored it away with the bag. Then\nhe began to eat greedily, and, having satisfied his hunger, lay down and\nslumbered again.\n\nThe next night Dadjedondji concluded to try the experiment and while his\nbrother slept crept to the hiding place, found the kettle and bag, and\ndid exactly as his brother had done. He ate the pudding and found it\nmost delicious. Wishing more, he threw the entire contents of the bag\ninto the kettle and set it on to boil again. It was not long before the\nkettle began to expand so much so that it filled half the house.\nMoreover the pudding began to boil over in enormous quantities.\n\nWith a cry of dismay the brother awoke.\n\n\u201cOh what have you done?\u201d cried he, \u201cOh! I am dead, you have killed your\nown brother. Oh!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat troubles you, brother?\u201d asked Dadjedondji as he skipped out from\nthe lodge, \u201cYou do not look very much like a dead man.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d exclaimed the brother, \u201cyou have used all my food. It is all I eat\nand can eat. No one can obtain more of its kind for it is far away and\ncharmed, so you have killed me!\u201d\n\nScarcely had he spoken when the walls bulged and the building collapsed.\n\n\u201cOh, do not worry brother,\u201d said Dadjedondji, \u201cthere is more where this\ngrew.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh yes, but no man can get it, use what magic he may.\u201d\n\nThe brother raved throughout the remainder of the night but Dadjedondji\nslept unmoved.\n\nWhen the morning came Dadjedondji sprang from the ground and expressed\nhis surprise at his brother\u2019s sober countenance. \u201cTell me the full\nhistory of your magical food,\u201d he commanded.\n\nMoodily the brother answered, \u201cTo the east is a great gap in the earth.\nBeyond it is a monstrous serpent whose poisonous breath kills all that\ncomes where it blows. Should a man by chance, escape him, beyond are two\npanthers. Should some cunning magician creep by unobserved, beyond, high\nin the tree that bears the wonderful nuts, is a witch whose very look\nmakes men fall apart, and her six sisters devour their meat. So boast\nnot my brother, you cannot reach the tree. Know only this,\u2014you have\nkilled your brother.\u201d\n\nDadjedondji thought about it and said to himself, \u201cAll these things are\nstrange. They are not right, neither are they in according with the ways\nI know about, and, therefore, I can conquer all these obstacles.\u201d\n\nBoldly he set out with his face toward the rising sun. After a day\u2019s\njourney he came to a chasm that extended far beyond the eye\u2019s reach.\n\u201cThis is not right,\u201d thought the boy, so whittling a doll from a soft\nchunk of decayed log, he threw it across the chasm and followed it with\na running jump. He landed safely on the other side and immediately\nresumed his journey. For a time he hurried onward and then nearly rushed\ninto the yawning jaws of a big snake that leaped from a hidden cavern.\n\n\u201cOh, get out of my way,\u201d said Dadjedondji flinging a wooden doll into\nits mouth.\n\nPresently from a thicket appeared two panthers. Dadjedondji drew two\nmore dolls from his pouch and cast one into the mouth of each beast.\nThen, without looking behind hurried onward again. A song came floating\nthrough the air and following the direction Dadjedondji came to a large\nbranching tree. In its topmost branches hung the singer,\u2014a flayed human\nskin,\u2014but her charm song had no effect upon the boy for he said, \u201cIt is\nall wrong and I am right, therefore evil cannot befall me.\u201d\n\nThe skin-woman lifted her voice and sang with increased vigor, \u201cAn\nintruder comes to our clearing.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome down here,\u201d called Dadjedondji, \u201cI have a present for you,\ngaswe\u2019\u00b4da, wampum. Promise you will be kind.\u201d\n\nThe skin-woman seeing the handsome purple quills descended and accepted\nthe gift with many grimaces and then drew back into the tree.\n\nNow wampum is the emblem of truth and the skin-woman was entirely\ncontrolled by evil. Holding the beautiful necklace in her hand she sang,\n\u201cI have been bribed by a present of wampum not to tell of a stranger\u2019s\napproach.\u201d\n\nWhile she sang she threw the beads over her head and around her neck and\nthe beads grew tight and choked her into silence.\n\nOut rushed the six sisters that had been called ravenous cannibals, but\ntheir shouts were not those of anger or of gluttons, but glad cries of\njoy. Coming up to Dadjedondji they saluted him and with extravagant\nflattery thanked him for coming to rescue them from their evil sister.\n\nThey gave him a great bag of brown nuts and sent him back on his\njourney. The great witch had now no food and perished.\n\nOn his return the panthers angry at the deception he had practiced on\nthem, pounced from the bushes.\n\n\u201cGo away, you are not doing right. I never heard of panthers acting as\nyou are. Are you not ashamed? Go now and never dare trouble men again!\nYou are now free!\u201d\n\nThe panthers, surprised at their intended victim\u2019s words, rushed off in\nfright. Dadjedondji continued his journey and rebuked the serpent and\nsent it wriggling to the nearest lake. Then he addressed the chasm.\n\n\u201cOh, Earth, why are you rent? This is not the way of doing things. I\nhave never seen such fissures in my life before. Close up once again and\nlet men enjoy themselves!\u201d And the earth closed with a loud crash.\n\nWalking safely across the solid earth where once the breach had been, he\npersevered until he reached the ruins of his home. His brother was\nsitting mournfully on a log still lamenting, but Dadjedondji bade him\ncheer up, and showed him the large bag of nuts. He gave him enough for\nseveral meals and then sent him on to the lodge of the six sisters where\nhe could find a good wife to cook for him. Then he went upon the side\nhills and scattered the nuts over the ground and in time beautiful trees\ngrew and now all the world has chestnuts. When they were confined to one\ntree they were magical but now their powers have gone and they neither\nspread nor burst kettles.\n\n\n  GENERAL NOTES.\u2014There are a number of stories similar to this. In\n  some the hero is a nephew living with his uncle. The adventures of\n  the hero in overcoming the magic beasts that guard the paths to the\n  chestnut tree are various and recited in greater or less detail. In\n  some stories the youth pacifies the hunger of the monsters by\n  flinging chipmunks at them which increase in size and afford them a\n  full meal. In one version the last guard of the tree is the skin of\n  the boy\u2019s sister, dried and hanging over the path. The skin is alive\n  but held by sorcery as the slave of the wicked witch sisters. When\n  the hero presents the wampum to her she sings out: \u201cI cannot tell\n  you now that a stranger is about to assail us, for he has stopped my\n  mouth with wampum.\u201d The six sisters thereupon rush forth and finding\n  no enemy beat the skin and tell it to tell the truth hereafter and\n  not give false alarms. In similar stories the hero projects himself\n  into the body of one of the witches, as is done in the story of the\n  magic arrow and the quilt of men\u2019s eyes. He is then born and cries\n  incessantly for power over the tree and the witch, yielding, he\n  becomes master of the chestnuts. He is also the deliverer of the\n  dried skin which he conjures back to its normal self, when he finds\n  it to be his own sister. The mole is the hero\u2019s dream animal and it\n  aids him to perform his deeds of magic.\n\n\n        15. DIVIDED BODY RESCUES A GIRL FROM A WIZARD\u2019S ISLAND.\n\nA brother and younger sister dwelt in a lodge together. The sister\ncooked the meals and the brother did the hunting. The brother, whose\nname was Crow, never allowed his sister to leave the lodge. \u201cOh my\nsister,\u201d he would say, \u201cDo not even venture to the spring.\u201d When the\nyoung man went on a hunting trip he would set his dog as guard over his\nsister and caution him to prevent her from leaving the lodge.\n\nOn a certain morning the girl began to debate with herself the reasons\nwhy she should be kept within the lodge. Soon she decided that it was\nwrong to keep her from seeing the world outside. So she pushed aside the\ncurtain, exclaiming, \u201cNow I shall see!\u201d Being thirsty she had taken a\nbark water vessel and made ready to dip water from the spring. As she\nsank her bowl beneath the surface of the water something grabbed her by\nthe hair and whisked her through the air. She did not know where she was\ngoing but when she again felt the ground beneath her feet she looked\nabout and saw that she was on an island in a large lake. Soon an old man\ncame to her and said, \u201cThis is where you are going to stay,\u201d at the same\ntime pointing to a great lodge.\n\nAll about the lodge were human bones from which the flesh had been\ngnawed, and the place was most filthy. The girl then knew that she had\nbeen abducted by a cannibal wizard, O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s. She knew that there was\nno easy way of escape but she resolved not to give up hope. Each morning\nO\u00f1gwe I\u0101s would come to the lodge with human flesh which he would demand\nthat she prepare as food for him. Then he would demand that she bring\nhim water from the spring, carrying it in a bark container that hung on\nthe center pole of the lodge.\n\nOne morning while she was at the spring she saw a young man standing\nbefore her. He looked very pleasant and soon spoke to her. \u201cO\u00f1gwe I\u0101s\nhas not been successful today,\u201d he said. \u201cTomorrow morning when he asks\nyou to bring him water he will hit you with his club, seeking to kill\nyou. Be ready and when you reach for the bowl jump around behind the\npost and O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s will hit the pole and break his arm. Then run to the\nspring here and I will give you assistance. My name is Sgagedi, the\nOther Side.\u201d\n\nThe next morning O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s was very ferocious and roared at the girl,\nordering her to bring him water from the spring. Cautiously she reached\nup for the water bowl and then slipped around the pole. With a crash a\ngreat club swung against the spot where the girl had been but in a\nmoment she had fled from the lodge, while the monster was bellowing with\nthe pain of a broken arm.\n\nQuickly the girl reached the spring where she found the young man\nlooking very pleasant. \u201cBe ready now,\u201d he called. \u201cMy canoe is on the\nshore.\u201d\n\nShe stepped into the canoe and sat in the center while Sgagedi with a\njerk shoved it from the beach, throwing one half of his body to the bow\nof the canoe and leaving one half at the stern. He paddled from both\nends and went very rapidly.\n\nO\u00f1gwe I\u0101s soon restored his broken arm and began to sing a charm song,\ncalling upon the winds to blow the canoe back to him. A strong wind\nbegan to blow and presently the canoe was swept back to the island,\nwhere O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s was waiting on shore. It seemed as though they were\ndoomed but just as they were about to ground, Sgagedi threw tobacco on\nthe water and called upon the wind to blow the other way, which it did.\nSgagedi now did not cease to paddle but kept up his effort until the\ncanoe was safe on the opposite shore.\n\nWith a great bump the canoe struck the beach, sliding up onto the sand.\nAs it did so the body of Sgagedi came together with a snap and he became\nreunited.\n\nFrom the beach, inland there was a path, and by this the couple ran on\ninto the forest. Presently the path divided and as it did so Sgagedi\u2019s\nbody was cloven and each half ran on, the girl following the left side.\nThe path reunited and so did the body of the man. Still the two ran on\nuntil they saw an elderly woman on the path ahead. She approached and\ntook the girl into a lodge. \u201cI am glad you came,\u201d she said. \u201cI have been\nwaiting for you to become my daughter-in-law.\u201d\n\nAfter a while the young woman and Sgagedi were married, but the bride\ncould not be happy for she continually was saying, \u201cOh where is my\nbrother?\u201d\n\nNow when the brother returned to his lodge and found his sister gone he\nhad scolded the dog and forced it to tell what had happened. \u201cI tried to\ngrasp the sister as the monster seized her,\u201d he asserted, but the\nbrother called him an unfaithful friend, whereupon the dog turned into a\nsmooth stone. The brother grieved the loss of his sister and sat with\nhis head down before the ashes of his lodge fire.\n\nIn due season the sister bore two sons who were twins, and they quickly\ngrew to be large boys. Every day they would run down to the shore to see\ntheir father scouring the lake after witches and monsters, seeking to\nslay them. At last they, too, wished to explore the lake and so took a\ncanoe and paddled across it to the opposite shore. \u201cNow we will search\nfor our uncle, for whom our mother continually cries,\u201d said they to one\nanother.\n\nThey noticed an old streak in the sky and followed it far inland until\nthey came to a clearing overgrown with bushes. Looking carefully into\nthis opening, one twin said to the other, \u201cA bark lodge appears to have\nfallen down here.\u201d So they went forward and examined the ruined lodge\nand in pulling aside the bark and poles they felt a body and it was\nbreathing. They pulled it out of the rubbish and found it to be a man.\nThey brushed him off and restored him to his wonted self. Then one said,\n\u201cThis appears to be our uncle.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am your uncle,\u201d said the old man. \u201cMy dog is a stone. Oh, will you\nrestore my dog to life!\u201d So the twins restored the dog and then all went\nback to the lake and entered the canoe.\n\nBy rapid paddling they reached home that day and when the sister saw her\nbrother she knew him and was very glad.\n\n\n                 16. THE ORIGIN OF THE BUFFALO SOCIETY.\n\nA youth who had wandered out into the plains of the West in search of\ngame, lost the trail, and though he searched with all diligence he was\nunable to find it again. Throwing himself upon the ground he brooded\nover his ill fortune and longed with all the intenseness of his soul\nthat he might be again back in his native village.\n\nIt was sunset and in the gloaming the youth saw a company of people\ngathered about a fire, evidently in earnest council. Cautiously he\nadvanced, hoping to learn who the people were. For several minutes he\nlay concealed in the tall rank grass and creeping nearer was surprised\nto learn that it was he, himself, who formed the subject of the\ndiscussion. Much greater was his amazement when an old lady arose, and\nwalking directly to his hiding place lifted him to his feet and said,\n\u201cCome, I have adopted you.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh is that it!\u201d exclaimed the boy in disappointment, \u201cI was hoping you\nwould guide me home.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, not yet,\u201d said the old lady, \u201cyou must learn first.\u201d\n\nMarveling at her words, the youth followed the old woman to her lodge\nand dwelt there.\n\nIt seemed strange to him that the people of the village never hunted but\ntraveled together in bands over the prairies. He wondered at the shaggy\nheads of the men and their dark hairy leggings. He seemed as in a dream\nand yet all he saw and did seemed real. He learned much of the wondrous\ntribe with which his lot had been cast, and as the months went by he\nlearned more and more. Often he danced in the ceremonies of the tribe,\noften he sang and often he made medicine in the council lodges on the\nprairies until he knew almost everything that a tribesman knew. Although\nhis sojourn was one full of incidents and adventures he never ceased to\nmourn for his own home and people and often plead to be shown the trail,\nbut his foster mother would only say, \u201cNo, not yet, for you have not\nlearned all.\u201d What this meant he did not know and pined as before for\nhome.\n\nOne night he was awakened by the far-away sound of a drum. Its slow dull\nnote made the youth more melancholy than before. His heart seemed to\nstop in its natural course and beat slow to the tap of the drum. Greatly\ndepressed, he crept to the bedside of his foster mother and pleaded for\na guide to his home trail.\n\n\u201cNo not yet, my son,\u201d said the old woman, \u201cbut perhaps very soon. Listen\nto the sound of that far distant drum. Now let me tell you that which\nyou have not known. Far away to the west beneath a great hill lives the\ngreat chief of all buffaloes and an evil chief is he. When he drums it\nis a sign he wishes all to gather around his mound for he is anxious for\na race. He has an evil plan. Being a mighty runner he often calls us to\nhis lodge and he whom the chief selects must race until death strikes\naway his life from the unequal chase. The terrible race continues until\nthe evil chief has satisfied his insane fancy and dismissed the\nassembled throngs. Soon you will hear the chief sing and when he does\nall of us must answer his call by starting immediately on the journey.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow is it that a buffalo is your chief?\u201d asked the youth.\n\n\u201cBecause we are all buffaloes,\u201d was the answer.\n\nThe youth bit his lip and felt much chagrined to think he had not known\nthis before. Surely he had had sufficient evidence.\n\nSupplementing the note of the drum came a song. Simultaneously there was\na great stamping. Everyone was rushing at a furious pace in the\ndirection of the song. The youth ran with his mother. For ten days and\nten nights the wild rush continued, ever led on by the song.\n\nOn the evening of the tenth day the rushing multitude reached the hill\nfrom whence the song issued and rested.\n\nThat night the old lady came to the youth and said: \u201cThis has been a\nterrible rush and many have died from exhaustion, many from wounds and\nmany have been trampled to death. Many children have been left behind to\ndie. Oh that this may be the last mad stampede! Now listen, he will\nchallenge you to a race. Do not fear, but take this medicine and when he\ncalls you, race him to death. Shoot him in the red spot on his hand.\nWhen you awake tomorrow I will give you a bow and arrow.\u201d\n\nThe youth awoke late the next morning and to his amazement saw a great\nherd of buffaloes gathered around the hill. From the summit of the hill\ncame a great roar. It was the chief buffalo speaking.\n\n\u201cThere is a human boy among us,\u201d it said, \u201cI command him to race me.\u201d\n\nTrembling, the youth walked toward the hill and as he did so a shaggy\nbuffalo came sauntering slowly up to him. On her neck was a bow and\narrow.\n\n\u201cI am your mother,\u201d said the buffalo. \u201cRemember if you run swiftly you\nmay overcome the evil chief. Remember his body is, under the skin,\ncovered with a bony plate. His ribs have all grown together so that no\narrow can pierce to his heart. No matter what is said, shoot only at the\nspot on his hand, for as a human he runs.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome boy, it is time to run,\u201d roared the buffalo chief.\n\nAround the great hill-like mound stretched two circles of animals.\nBetween them was a path over which the contestants must run. The buffalo\nchief started the race by shouting, \u201cCatch me or at sunset I will\ntrample you to the dust.\u201d\n\nUndaunted, the boy leapt to the course and ran his best. Toward noon the\nchief, surprised at the endurance of his intended victim, yet believing\nhimself safe, sat down for rest, but the youth strode faster the longer\nhe ran and doubly fast when the buffalo lagged.\n\nSpringing toward the chief the youth shouted, \u201cI\u2019ll catch you, yow!\nyow!\u201d\n\nUp leaped the buffalo and panting, ran around the course at the top of\nhis speed. Close behind him was the youth, disconcerting him with his\ncries of derision, and his calls of \u201cYow! Yow!\u201d Calling up all his\nenergy the buffalo sprinted ahead and sat down for rest, but hardly had\nhe touched the grass when the youth with his aggravating \u201cYow Yow!\u201d sped\ntoward him shouting, \u201cI\u2019ll catch you soon. You have not seen me run\nyet.\u201d So, fearing defeat, the buffalo chief ran as fast as his magic\ncould send him but to his intense annoyance the boy stuck close to his\nheels.\n\nThe sun was sinking low and as it sank large and red to the level of the\nwestern prairie the buffalo chief fell with a groan and moaned. \u201cOh I am\nworsted, I am disgraced! Shoot me, boy, shoot me, your one arrow will\ntransfix my heart, oh I am beaten!\u201d The crafty beast was endeavoring to\ndeceive the boy but the human boy saw through the beast\u2019s subtilty.\n\n\u201cArise!\u201d commanded the boy, \u201cI am ready to shoot you!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh my heart,\u201d moaned the defeated chief as he arose.\n\n\u201cThrow up your hands!\u201d and quicker than thought the boy sent an arrow\nspeeding into the red spot on his hand.\n\nA great shout rent the air. The buffalo chief had fallen, had perished.\nThe glad cry of the assembled herds floated far over the plains and\nrumbled like the echoing voice of the thunder gods. Long did the\nstamping herds roar their shout of thanksgiving and afterward heaped\nupon him honor and praise and called him their deliverer. They promised\nhim all the power that the race of the buffaloes could bestow.\n\n\u201cWhen you wish health and fortune, when you wish a balm for fear and a\npanacea for trouble, and a cure for disease burn tobacco and call upon\nthe spirits of the buffalo,\u201d was the instruction of the new chief who\nwas chosen.\n\nThe throngs of animals dispersed in bands, each led to its range by its\nchief.\n\nThe youth accompanied the old woman back to her lodge ten days journey\naway and listened attentively when she imparted to him all the secrets\nthe buffaloes knew.\n\n\u201cYou know our dances, our songs and our mysteries. Preserve these things\nforever in a society of human creatures,\u201d said the buffalo woman. \u201cNow\nyou may go to your home among the man animals. Now I bid you adieu, my\nson, I am sorry you must go. A guide will lead you to the trail.\u201d\n\nThe youth bade the people farewell and last of all his good foster\nmother and followed the guide to the trail that lead to the land of the\nhuman.\n\nAfter many days the youth came to a village of his people and calling a\ncouncil told his adventures. To all but the old folk he was a stranger,\nbut when he made friends he selected a company and to them he imparted\nthe secret of the buffaloes.\n\nThus originated the Society of Buffaloes, which today exists as a power\namong the Seneca.\n\n\n                 17. THE BOY WHO COULD NOT UNDERSTAND.\n\n     A STUDY IN SENECA IDIOMS. RELATED BY EDWARD CORNPLANTER, 1906.\n\nThere was a boy who had been reared in the woods by an old woman who\nnever thought it worth while to teach him oratory[25] or rhetoric[26].\nHe had never attended a council or listened to a sachem\u2019s speech and so\nhe never learned the use of words. When the old woman died the boy\u2019s\ngrandfather came and took him home with him hoping to make him useful.\nThe boy was very obedient and obeyed every word commanded. His\ngrandfather began to have confidence in him and one day sent him out to\nlocate a bear tree. \u201cNow when you discover the tree wade\u2019\u00b4ode\u201d, (_leave\nyour nails on it_),\u201d said the grandfather.\n\nNow the boy thought this strange advice but hastened to obey his old\nprotector. After some wandering he found a bear tree and then\nremembering that he must leave his nails upon it tore off his finger\nnails and stuck them in the bark of the tree. This caused him most\nexcruciating pain and he was hardly able to get home. However, he\nthought that this was to make him brave and he was confident that his\ngrandfather knew best how to educate a warrior. He went to his\ngrandfather and proudly displayed his bleeding fingers. \u201cSee,\ngrandfather,\u201d he said, \u201cI have found a bear tree and have left my finger\nnails upon it.\u201d\n\nThe old man looked at the boy in wonder. \u201cWhat have you done?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cLeft my nails upon the tree,\u201d answered the boy.\n\n\u201cOh, you poor ignoramus,\u201d laughed the old warrior, \u201cI did not mean that\nyou should tear out your nails by the roots and stick them in the bark.\nI meant that you should put your eyes on the tree when you saw one. When\nI said \u2018put your nails on it\u2019 I meant that you should remember the tree\nso that you could take it at any time you wished. Go now and put your\neyes on the tree (\u0115^nse\u2018\u00b4ganeiond\u0115^n\u2019).\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, grandfather,\u201d moaned the boy, \u201cwhy did you not say what you meant!\u201d\nand ran out to put his eyes on the tree. He found the tree again, and\nbegan pulling at his eyelids and eyes. Having no nails he could not get\na good hold and the operation was most painful. Finally he gouged out\none eye with a stick and hung it on the bear tree. Going back to his\ngrandfather\u2019s lodge he greeted him.\n\n\u201cI have left one eye on the tree, grandfather,\u201d he said. \u201cI kept the\nother so that I could find my way home.\u201d\n\nThe old man looked at his grandson and was angry. \u201cYou are most\nfoolish!\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I say, \u2018leave your eyes on a thing\u2019 I mean that\nyou must be able to recognize it instantly when you see it again.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, grandfather,\u201d wailed the boy, \u201cwhy do you never say what you mean?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do,\u201d said the grandfather, \u201cbut you do not easily understand my\nmeaning.\u201d\n\nNow when the boy was recovered from his bruises the old man asked that\nthe boy take him to the bear tree that they might kill a bear. Each had\na bow and quiver of arrows. When they reached the tree the old hunter\nclimbed up the trunk and lighted a torch and threw smoke wood down the\nhollow to smoke out the bear. \u201cNow, grandson,\u201d he said, \u201cshoot him\n_here_ when he comes out,\u201d and the old man patted his heart.\n\nThe bear came out on a run and as he did the boy lifted up his bow and\naimed at the old man\u2019s heart. It was the place that he had been\ninstructed to shoot, so he thought.\n\nThe old man was exceedingly angry and yelled out, \u201cYou shoot the bear,\nnot me.\u201d The boy shot the bear and the old man slid down the tree. \u201cYou\nfool,\u201d he yelled, \u201cso you were going to shoot me!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou told me to shoot right _there_, grandfather,\u201d pleaded the boy, \u201cand\nI wanted to obey for I thought you knew best.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I meant the bear,\u201d retorted the old hunter. \u201cNow we will cut him\nup.\u201d So they dressed the bear.\n\nNow it is customary to call the pancreas, the oskwi\u00b4sont (tomahawk); the\ndiaphragm the o\u2019k\u0103\u0101 (skirt); the fat around the kidneys the face\n(ogo^n\u2019\u00b4sa\u2019), and the ventral portion (oho\u00b4a), door. So the old man\nsaid, \u201cI have placed the door, the tomahawk, the false face and the\nskirt aside. Go home and cook them for me and I will return. Split a\nstick and put the tomahawk in it and put it in the fire. When it snaps\nyell \u2018Hai-ie\u2019 and I will come.\u201d\n\nNow the grandfather busied himself cutting up the bear and cutting its\nmeat into strips and chunks. He also prepared its skin. Then he was\nready to go home. He glanced at the log where he had laid the organs and\nfound them still there. \u201cI wonder what blunder the boy has made now,\u201d he\nmused and took them with him to the lodge. When he arrived there he\nfound that the stupid orphan had torn the door from its fastenings and\nhad split it into pieces. Moreover the boy was running around the lodge\nyelling, \u201cHai-ie!\u201d Inside the old man saw his best stone tomahawk in the\nfire. It was red hot and when a draft of air struck it it would snap and\nevery time it did the boy would whoop, \u201cHai-ie!\u201d In a cauldron a false\nface, a breech skirt and the splinters of the door were boiling.\n\n\u201cIt is too hot within!\u201d explained the boy. \u201cHai-ie!\u201d he paused to say as\nthe tomahawk snapped. \u201cIt\u2019s too hot, so I am watching outside\nand\u2014hai-ie!\u201d\n\nThe patience of the long suffering grandfather was exhausted and he said\nsome things that the boy thought himself much aggrieved for he said,\n\u201cWhy did you not tell me what you meant?\u201d\n\nThe grandfather took matters in his own hand and cooked the meal. The\ntime was at hand also when he must notify his charge that by right of\nbirth he was a chief and that on the morrow he must commence his duties\nas a runner. The next day the old man with due solemnity told the boy\nthat he was a secondary chief. \u201cWe will have a great feast,\u201d he said. \u201cI\nwant you to run and notify all the tall trees (Gai\u00b4eso^ns), all the\nrough places (Ain\u00b4djatgi), all the swamps (Gai^n\u00b4dago^n), and all the\nhigh hills (Gai\u00b4nonde). When you return do not fail to \u2018jounce your\nuncle on your knee\u2019 (es\u0115^n\u00b4s\u0115nt\u2019o\u2019).\u201d\n\nNow the young chief thought this peculiar but he found tall trees in\nplenty and invited them all to the feast, likewise he invited the\nmountains and the swamps and returning gave his uncle a kick that\nknocked him down. The uncle immediately did the same thing to the\nimpudent boy who ran rather lamely back to his grandfather. The old man\nlistened to the tale with impatience and then explained that the \u2018tall\ntrees\u2019 were the sachems, the \u2018mountains\u2019 the war chiefs, and the\n\u2018swamps\u2019 the common warriors. By \u2018uncle\u2019 he meant the relatives of the\nfamily and by \u2018jouncing with his knee\u2019 simply to notify them. \u201cOh,\u201d\ngasped the boy, \u201cwhy do you never say what you mean!\u201d Of course he had\nthe work to do all over and the feast came in due season. When it was\nover the boy said, \u201cGrandfather, there is meat left and soup also.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the grandfather, \u201cgive each one half a spoon.\u201d[27]\n\nThe lad did not see what good that would do but he instantly obeyed,\ngoing to the shed and chopping twenty wooden spoons in halves and then\ngiving each guest a piece.\n\n\u201cHere you,\u201d some one objected, \u201cWhat are these things for?\u201d\n\nThe boy was about to say that he had but obeyed his grandfather when the\nold man himself looked up and saw that the stock of finely carved spoons\nhad been destroyed by his stupid ward. \u201cShaw\u0115n\u00b4noiw\u012ds!\u201d roared the old\nfellow. (Sha-wen-noi-wis means incurable fool.) \u201cWhy have you ruined my\ngood spoons?\u201d\n\n\u201cI did just as you said,\u201d was the meek answer. Then he answered, \u201cThere\nis yet meat left, Haksot!\u201d\n\n\u201cDe sa di wa o gwut, tie it on your head and let it hang,\u201d commanded the\ngrandfather, meaning that it should be distributed to the particular\nfriends of the family.\n\nThe boy took an elm bark rope and tied the juicy meat on his forehead.\n\n\u201cIt is disagreeable, grandfather,\u201d he complained, \u201cfor the juice and oil\ndrip into my eyes.\u201d\n\nThe old man explained, and the boy feeling much abused answered, \u201cOh why\ncan you never say what you mean?\u201d\n\nThe time came when the boy chief must marry. The grandfather told the\nboy where a family of lovely girls lived. \u201cGo shove your legs in the\ndoor,\u201d (Satci\u00b4nond\u0103t\u2014show your leg), said he, meaning that the boy\nshould go visiting.\n\nThe young chief stuck his legs under the door and sat there all night.\nThe next morning the old woman within gave him a blow with a corn\npounder and he ran limping to his advisor to discover the trouble. \u201cOh\nyou fool,\u201d said the old man, \u201cI meant that you should \u2018shake the old\nlady\u2019s skirt\u2019,\u201d meaning that he should seek a daughter. When he did this\nhowever he was kicked and pounded until he could hardly crawl. Now he\nhad a very difficult time courting for it is hard to describe in direct\nwords how to court and to marry, so when he followed his grandfather\u2019s\nwords he found much trouble. Now when he married his wife made him\nunderstand and he learned many new things. Now this is all that I can\ntell.\n\n\n  GENERAL NOTES.\u2014The Boy Who Could Not Understand is the only tale of\n  its kind secured by the writer among the Seneca. It is related as a\n  humorous commentary on the literal meanings of certain idioms of the\n  Seneca that are so well understood that they never cause confusion.\n  The author of this tale must have deliberately analyzed each term\n  and sought to give it a literal application. One might suppose that\n  a captive Algonkin invented it to explain his own plight in learning\n  the Seneca tongue.\n\n  This tale was related by Edward Cornplanter and it has been recorded\n  essentially in his own language, except where better grammar or a\n  better word straightens out the English. I am sure that Cornplanter\n  might have expanded his story considerably, but he hastened it to a\n  conclusion to give me the Seneca equivalents of some obscure bits of\n  slang frequently heard in English. His own literal translations of\n  American slang into Seneca made him wax merry, and he concluded by\n  saying, \u201cSo you see it don\u2019t make any sense at all.\u201d\n\n\n                 18. THE BOY WHO LIVED WITH THE BEARS.\n\nHono\u2018 was an unloved stepson. His foster father never had a kind word\nfor him and begrudged the very food that little Hono\u2018 ate.\n\n\u201cYou eat like a wolf,\u201d the harsh man would snap. \u201cIt is a nuisance to\nfeed you.\u201d\n\n\u201cAg\u0113\u00b4,\u201d sighed little Hono\u2018, \u201cwhen I am a man and can hunt and fight I\nwill repay you. Then will you like me?\u201d implored the boy, but his evil\nguardian only growled.\n\nAt length the stepfather began to cast about how he might rid himself of\nthe child and after some meditation decided to feign friendliness and\nlure Hono\u2018 away on a hunting excursion. So it happened that one day he\nsaid pleasantly, \u201cCome now Hono\u2018, it is time for you to learn to hunt.\nHow would you like to go on a journey with me?\u201d\n\nHono\u2018 was delighted and promptly replied he would go.\n\nThe two traveled for some time through the bush lands and Hono\u2018 thinking\nthis strange said, \u201cI always thought hunters went to the deep woods and\nnot in the bushes.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d the stepfather replied, \u201cI am an old hunter and know my\nbusiness. Come hurry along, I will show you a wonderful place.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell where is my bow and my quiver of arrows?\u201d asked Hono\u2018 anxiously.\n\u201cI ought to have one.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh after a while,\u201d was the retort. \u201cNow hurry along.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd when I am a great hunter will you be good to me always?\u201d asked\nHono\u2018, dreaming of the success he hoped to achieve, but the only answer\nwas a grunt.\n\nAfter a journey of several miles the stepfather stopped abruptly and\nsimulating surprise said excitedly, \u201cSee, look, look! There is a hole.\nHurry Hono\u2018, crawl in and catch the game. Oh you will be a big hunter\nnow!\u201d\n\nLittle Hono\u2018 was happy that he could be of service and in imagination\nsaw glorious days ahead. Dropping upon his hands and knees he crawled\ninto the hole in the ground and ran down the tunnel until he could no\nlonger see, because of the darkness. Then, as he was about to return he\nsaw the round opening ahead suddenly grow dark and with it the entire\ncavern. Guided by the walls he ran forward with speed born of terror and\ncrashed his head into the stone that obstructed the opening.\n\nOutside the evil man laughed in savage glee as he thought how easily he\nhad shaken off the untaught Hono\u2018.\n\n\u201cHe will never push that boulder away,\u201d said he, as he strolled back to\nhis lodge.\n\nThe blow had stunned the boy but after some time he was awakened by the\nsound of voices. Listening he discovered that on the earth outside a\ncouncil was in session and his name was being frequently used. He had\nnot long marvelled over the matter when he heard someone endeavoring to\nremove the stone. Finally it rolled down the hill and a voice called\ndown the hole.\n\n\u201cCome out upon the earth if yet you are living,\u201d it said.\n\nShyly the boy emerged from the hole and sat down upon the grass. About\nhim on every hand were animals.\n\n\u201cThe boy is rescued,\u201d said a porcupine, who seemed to be the spokesman.\n\u201cWho will care for him?\u201d\n\nInstantly there was a prolonged medley of cries. Each animal about him\nwas either barking, yelping, grunting or screeching. Everyone was\nshouting \u201cI\u2019ll care for him!\u201d\n\n\u201cHold!\u201d cried the porcupine. \u201cDo not volunteer without reason. You must\nbe fit for the task. Let each tell his temper and his habits and most of\nall what he eats, then the boy may choose his own guardian.\u201d\n\nActing upon the suggestion each one extolled its own merits to the boy,\nbut all in turn were rejected until a bear woman said, \u201cI am old and\nrather surly, but I have a warm heart. I live happily in summer and\nsleep much in winter. I eat honey, nuts and berries.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh you will do,\u201d interrupted Hono\u2018, shouting as loudly as he could. \u201cI\ncan stand that all right!\u201d\n\nTo Hono\u2018 the strange part of the proceedings was that all the animals\nseemed human creatures and yet like beasts. They all spoke in one\nlanguage and acted as friends although Hono\u2018 believed many mortal\nenemies.\n\nThe council adjourned and Hono\u2018 followed his bear mother down a trail\nthat led to a thick wood.\n\nOn the way the bear spoke. \u201cI wished you to become my grandson,\u201d she\nsaid, \u201cbecause I have lost one and wish you to take his place and drive\naway my sorrow.\u201d\n\nThe two soon arrived at a great hollow stub and the bear taking the boy\nby the neck like a cub drew him into the hollow. Hono\u2018 looked about and\nfound his quarters very comfortable. He was greatly pleased when the\ngrandmother introduced him to two young bears, her grandsons, and told\nhim they were his playmates.\n\nWhen Hono\u2018 was hungry the grandmother bear gave him a honey-comb and\nsome dried berries. When he was thirsty she gave him her paw to suck.\n\nHono\u2018 found his playmates boisterous fellows and many a time he received\nhard knocks but gave back as many as he received.\n\n\u201cHave care, Hono\u2018,\u201d his grandmother warned him. \u201cWherever you get\nscratched hair will grow. So take caution, for unless you do you will\nlook like a cub.\u201d\n\n\nSummer came and the berries ripened. The bear grandmother suggested that\nit might be sport for the boys to go with her and gather the winter\nstore of berries. The boys were delighted and consented instantly. Then\nthe old bear said: \u201cNow, Hono\u2018, we always have much trouble while\ngathering berries. Bad animals and bad men and bad birds swarm to the\nberry patches and seek to harm us. Now you are a warrior and I wish to\ndress you in skins, to paint your face and to give you a bow and a\nquiver of arrows. Run around the hill and shout and whoop as loud as you\ncan, and if enemies appear, shoot without mercy. This done we will have\na prosperous season.\u201d\n\nHono\u2018 did as was asked and returning reported that he had shot many\nbirds but nothing else. The bears, therefore, went upon the hillside\nfearlessly and gathered great baskets full of berries.\n\nThe summer season grew into autumn and nutting time came.\n\n\u201cThis is a dangerous time,\u201d said the old bear, \u201cand I feel that evil\nwill befall us. Hunters swarm the woods now after autumn fruits, roots\nand game.\u201d\n\nIt was cautiously, indeed, that the bears gathered up the winter\u2019s store\nof nuts but for some time no human hunter was seen. One day, however,\nthe old bear exclaimed, \u201cAh, here he comes. Now Hono\u2018, I will show you\nthe classes of hunters you humans have. I do not fear this one for he is\na Do-sko-a-o, or brush-in-the-mouth-hunter. See, he is chewing a pine\ntwig. This gives us the scent and we can flee long before he reaches us,\nfor this \u2018brush-mouth\u2019 is too careless.\u201d\n\nThe bears were hiding in a large hollow tree, and, true to the mother\nbear\u2019s prophecy, the hunter did not see them but plodded along trailing\nhis bow and chewing the pine. When he had passed by the bears scampered\nback to the chestnut tree and climbing it shook down the delicious brown\nnuts.\n\nOn the morrow, as Hono\u2018 and the bears were starting out, the old bear\nexclaimed in a whisper, \u201cA hunter is coming, but fear not, he is a blind\nman. See, he is eating and holds his bowl so far over his eyes that he\ncannot see anything before him. When he walks through the forest he\nlooks neither right nor left but walks unconcerned, yet strangely hopes\nfor game. Look again, for another hunter will shortly appear. He is\n\u2018heavy stepper\u2019 and warns before he comes. Still another hunter comes,\u201d\ncontinued the bear woman, \u201cHe is \u2018swinging mouth\u2019; keep away from his\nchin and you are safe. Notice, he appears to be singing loudly, but in\nreality he is only humming very low or even only thinking of his song.\nListen to me Hono\u2018, bears can hear singing if only thought and sung in\nthe mind.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THE BEAR DANCE\n\n  In this drawing, by Jesse Cornplanter, the ceremonial dance in honor\n    of the spirits of the bears is represented.\n]\n\nOn their homeward journey the old bear putting her nose to the ground\nsaid: \u201cAlas, alas! We must hurry now and hide for real evil is coming.\u201d\nThe bears hastened their steps and soon were safely concealed in their\ntree. Then the wise old bear looking through her window in a frightened\ntone said: \u201cAt last, a true hunter has come. He is of the class we call\nfour eyes. He has a dog with him and no sign escapes their eyes. See\neven now he is approaching this tree. Ah, he is a great hunter and is\nyour own evil foster father. When he cuts down the tree let me run\nfirst, and, last of all, Hono\u2018 you follow.\u201d\n\nScarcely had she spoken when the hunter approached the tree and surveyed\nit critically. Gathering some dry leaves and twigs he built a fire\naround the dry old stub and as the flames ate in he cut out the coals,\nleaving a fresh surface for the fire. In a few minutes it crashed and\nfell. The old woman bear rushed out and began to run towards the west\nbut had only taken a few leaps when an arrow pierced her heart, but her\nghost-body ran on. The two cubs emerging met death in a similar way,\nthen Hono\u2018 crawling out cried, \u201cFather, are you going to shoot me, too?\u201d\n\n\u201cAg\u0113\u00b4!\u201d exclaimed the hunter in surprise. \u201cHow came you here,\u201d and Hono\u2018\ntold his story.\n\nThe stepfather was greatly impressed, and taking the boy by the hand,\nsaid, \u201cI am sorry, my boy, I was ever unkind. I am sorry I killed your\nfriends. If you had only called me I should have hearkened and all would\nhave been well, but now Ag\u0113\u00b4! I shall always have bad luck!\u201d\n\nThe hunter looked upon his stepson with great awe and invited him back\nto his home, for he was afraid of the bear ghosts.\n\n\u201cAnd am I useful now?\u201d asked the boy, \u201cand will you like me?\u201d\n\nThe hunter said, \u201ctruly.\u201d\n\nHe never dared hunt again but Hono\u2018 did.\n\n\n  GENERAL NOTES.\u2014In this legend an unloved stepson is lured to a hole\n  in the ground by his foster father and caused to enter it on the\n  pretense of looking for game. The hole is then closed by a boulder\n  and Hono\u2018 left a prisoner. Soon he hears animals talking about his\n  fate and in a few moments the boulder is rolled away and he emerges\n  to hear a lively discussion by the animals as to who can best care\n  for him. A bear mother finally secures him and takes him with her,\n  instructing him in the ways to avoid the human beings who hunt\n  bears. In the end the bear mother gives up her life to save Hono\u2018\n  and he escapes only to find that this foster father was the hunter.\n  The two become reconciled.\n\n  The ideas of the bear mother and of the bear wife of a human man are\n  common Seneca concepts.\n\n  This legend was related during the winter of 1904\u20131905 by Edward\n  Cornplanter. Later I secured versions from Mrs. Aurelia J. Miller\n  and David George. From the notes of all these versions this present\n  version has been compiled. I am aware that it is in my own words\n  rather than in the language of any one of my informants. I have\n  added nothing, however, and have carefully kept the story to its\n  original form.\n\n\n                        19. THE SEVENTH SON.[28]\n\nMy grandfather used to tell it to go to sleep by.\n\nThere were seven brothers two years apart. Their grandparents took care\nof them. They were all extra hunters. It seems the way my grandfather\ntold it, each one shot an animal and used its skin for a short skirt;\none had bear skin and the others different skins.\n\nThe grandparents knew of a family of beautiful daughters a good ways\neast that would make good wives, but had bad habits. Oh my, they were\nqueer folks.\n\nIt seems each boy must go out when he was come to manhood and listen for\nsigns of women,\u2014the women to marry. So when the oldest was a man the\ngrandfather said, \u201cNow you must go away and listen, then come back.\u201d All\nright, so he went away and by and by he came back and said: \u201cOh\nGrandfather!\u201d \u201cNow wait,\u201d said the grandfather, \u201cI must smoke first.\u201d So\nhe filled up his pipe hard and took a coal and made big clouds,\u2014smoke,\nit was. Then by an\u2019 by he said, \u201cNow you tell me.\u201d So the boy,\u2014man\nnow,\u2014said, \u201cO-whoo-oo-o. Whoo-ho-wa-a!\u201d \u201cAll right,\u201d grandfather says,\n\u201cnext morning you go off again. Go east and don\u2019t stop. You keep right\non.\u201d So he went on and didn\u2019t come back.\n\nBy and by the second son said, \u201cI am a man now. Now\u2019s my time to go\noff.\u201d All right, so he went off and came back and heard a wren and he\nsaid he had heard something. When the grandfather finished smoking he\nsaid: \u201cNow you follow that on and keep right east and don\u2019t stop \u2018tall.\u201d\nSo he never came back.\n\nSo turns came to all and they went too, same way and heard crow, rabbit,\ndeer, cracking sticks, and they followed the sounds.\n\nThen the seventh son came of age and he was a kind of a witch [_sic_]\nand he dressed up in his best. Now I am going to describe his dress. He\nhad a short skirt to the middle, most to his knees, made of nice spotted\ndeer-skin,\u2014yearling,\u2014and he had nice moccasins and nothing else only a\nga-g\u0113-da, (a breast sash). And so he was like a big witch.[29] He went\noff and he didn\u2019t turn round when he heard a noise but kept right on\ngoing.\n\nBy and by he came to a path and saw one man\u2019s tracks, by and by two,\nthree, four, by and by, good many,\u2014regular path. Pretty soon so many\nthat the path, it was good deal dust in it, and he kept on. Then he\nnoticed other tracks and paths coming on,\u2014the big road it is, now, from\nevery direction. Now way off in the distance he saw smoke rising. He\nkept looking. He thought something was going to happen. He was all alone\non the big path in the dusty plain. Path gets wider the more he goes\nalong. By and by he thinks he\u2019d better look nice so he stripped off some\nbark and rolled it and spit on it to make a nice neck-string. My! it was\na nice one and shined where he spit on it. By and by he went along and\nhe saw a bush and a big thing on it\u2014what hornets live in,\u2014hanging down.\nIt was a very big thing, so he went up slow and took some moss and clay\nin his fingers and made a plug and pasted up the door where hornets came\nout. Then he picked it off and he was a big witch, and rolled the\nbig,\u2014why, I guess it\u2019s nest, you call it,\u2014roll in his hands and got it\nsmall like a little bottle and he spit on it. My, it shined! Then he\nfastened the bottle to his neck on the bark. Oh it looked nice! Then he\nshook up the bottle hard. Oh! Then he went along and he saw a milk-weed\nstalk with pods popped open. So he pulled out the white threads and cut\nthe stalk and got his hands sticky\u2014and rubbed it on his long hair. Then\nhe spit on it some more and stuck in the white stuff and worked a long\ntime and it looked nice. You couldn\u2019t see his black hair. It looked all\nwhite, like a dandelion. So he went along and he thought he would spit\non his hands and rub it on his body and he did and it got all colors and\nthey changed. Oh my! And he went on and he began to notice he was going\ndown hill and he went on and the hill got steeper. He saw smoke all the\ntime and now he saw it coming out of a big house and the road went right\ninto the door. And the hill got steeper and by and by very steep and\nslippery. And he got there and said, \u201cYo hoh\u00b4! I am in for it now!\u201d So\nhe looked sharp and saw a woman in the door and he was all right. Then\nall of a sudden he looked around and oh my! his foot slipped and he fell\nright down the hill and didn\u2019t stop until he landed right in the middle\nof the room. Now the old woman there said, \u201cYes, get the kettle ready.\nWe\u2019ve been waiting long enough for that animal.\u201d\n\nNow there were seven sisters there and the oldest was an old maid and\nall were except the youngest, and the oldest said, \u201cGo get the knife and\nwe will butcher him.\u201d So they tied his body to a post and they were\nready to kill him. Then the youngest said, \u201cOh look, he isn\u2019t like the\nothers. He has curious hair and his body shines! His skirt is nice, it\nis spotted and pretty and has deer\u2019s hoofs rattling for a fringe. Let us\nlook at him.\u201d So she touched his hair and pulled it and said, \u201cMy, it is\nfunny, it won\u2019t pull out. Let\u2019s not kill him yet.\u201d So she looked at him\nsome more. Pretty soon she says, \u201cOh what a funny bottle,\u201d and she\npulled out the cork and all of a sudden, out came something, bump, on\nthe floor. Now he was a great witch and when the hornets struck the\nfloor he used his great magic, and oh! it was strong magic! Now when the\nwomen looked, Ah-gey! the hornets were warriors! And they kept falling\nout until the house was full and the hornet captain took out his knife\nand cut the strings on the post and then he stopped up the bottle.\n\nThe old woman called her youngest daughter to her and said: \u201cI am a big\nwitch but he is a bigger one. If I get beaten you must burn down the\nhouse and all things in it. You must burn all the medicine because it\nwill kill you all if you don\u2019t. Then have all the ashes of me and\neverything buried.\u201d Then the mother rushed and yelled, \u201cKill him!\u201d and\nshe tried it but a hornet-man warrior raised his tomahawk and he didn\u2019t\nhit her but she fell down dead. So the oldest sister ran to stick a\nknife in him and a warrior raised his arm and she fell dead and he\ndidn\u2019t hit her. And they were all afraid and stood back and the youngest\ndaughter kind o\u2019 cried and said, \u201cI\u2019ll give up my way and eat what he\neats and I\u2019ll take him for my husband.\u201d So right away the chief hornet\nmarried them.\n\nSo there was no more fighting and it was dark and he and the seventh\ndaughter went to bed because they were married and the five sisters\nplanned to kill him as he slept but it was so he had a friend, a guard\nwho was a star. And the star came down and sat on his eye and the witch\nsisters thought him awake and by and by the star went away, but it was\nmorning then and they couldn\u2019t kill him.\n\nSo that day he ordered the big lodge to be burned and all the medicine\nin it and the body of the mother in it. It was a very big fire and hot\nand after awhile the mother\u2019s head burst open and up in the smoke flew\nall kinds of evil birds that no one eats,\u2014owls and screech-owls, and\nhawks and crows, and big crow buzzards, and black eagles and wild poison\nanimals with feathers. Now the wife said he must not kill those animals\nbut let them fly away. She told him before her mother died that must be\nthe way. So that\u2019s how it happened all kinds of mischief got scattered\naround.\n\nThen the sisters told him that once in a fight all of their men were\nkilled and everybody else only them and they didn\u2019t have any men and\nwanted some now because they had made up their minds that they wouldn\u2019t\neat any more people. So some of his warriors married the sisters and\nothers he sent out to find wives for some of the hornet men had no\nhornet wives. He wanted to make a big village there.\n\nSo then he went back and brought his grandparents to the new village and\nthey were surprised and knew he was a big witch then. Now when all the\nwarriors had returned with wives he said, \u201cYou are mine.\u201d Then he\nuncorked his bottle and let out more warriors for his grandparents. So\nthey went to another village and the warriors built houses and boats and\ncleared land and made a big town.\n\nNow the youngest daughter told her husband where his brother\u2019s bones\nwere hidden. And she showed him the spot and he dug up the bones and was\nin a hurry to match them and smoked on them and they came to life again\nbut he had been in too much of a hurry. He didn\u2019t put the bones together\nthe right way they ought to be and that was very bad because when the\nmeat grew on again some had long legs, some long some short, some had\nbroken arms, some too many fingers, some not enough, some had not enough\nribs and so were soft and bent over. Oh they were in an awful fix! Their\nbones were not a match and some were missing because they had been\nchewed up. Oh! But the brothers had lots of hornets to work for them and\nit was easy. So now that\u2019s why crooked and lame people come to be born.\nThey are the grandchildren,\u2014way down,\u2014of the brothers, and it is awful!\n\nNow that\u2019s only how far my Grandfather told us because he said we\nwouldn\u2019t go to sleep if we listened to more and he never finished it but\nnext time began it all over again.\n\n\n  GENERAL NOTES.\u2014This is a characteristic Seneca legend and its\n  elements are not at all unusual. As a variation I have given it\n  almost exactly in the same language as originally related to me by\n  Mrs. Aurelia Jones Miller. My informant was a woman of unusual\n  natural intelligence and spoke English fairly well, but she\n  frequently omitted the articles, \u201cthe,\u201d \u201can\u201d and \u201ca,\u201d and in other\n  ways her language was picturesquely provincial, but typical of the\n  reservation brogue.\n\n  The conclusion of the story copies a common theme, that of restoring\n  the bones of persons slain by witchcraft. The hero is in too much of\n  a hurry and forces the skeletons to assemble so quickly that the\n  bones are mismated, producing cripples and misshapen people when\n  they are conjured back to living flesh.\n\n\n          20. THE BOY WHO OVERCAME ALL MAGIC BY LAUGHTER.[30]\n\nThe world was once visited by a demon of enchantment who scattered all\nthe people and bewitched all the animals, all the trees, all the lakes,\nall the rivers, all the boys and girls and all the older people. Strange\nto say, nobody knew that they had been enchanted; they only knew that\nall their wishes were thwarted and that there was misery everywhere.\n\nNow, Gajihsondis did not know that he had been placed under an evil\nspell. He was a boy and was filled with all the ambitions of a boy, but\nall his desires were curbed by his queer-looking old grandfather. The\nboy did not even know that it was strange to live in a hole in the\nground under his grandfather\u2019s bed or to be whipped with burning\nswitches.[31] He only knew that he wanted to do things,\u2014to play down by\nthe spring and to go hunting. After a while he grew curious to know the\nreason of things and so asked many questions.\n\nOne day when he had grown to the age of twelve years he asked: \u201cMy\ngrandfather, where are my parents? Why have you never taken me to my\nfather and my mother?\u201d\n\nHis grandfather eyed him curiously and refused to give Gajihsondis any\nsatisfaction. But the boy kept questioning until the old man growled\nlike a bear and said: \u201cMy grandson, you should not ask questions. You\nhave forced me to speak and you must not blame me for the trouble that\nyou have now brought upon the world. You shall now die because I am\nabout to answer you. There is a spring near the path that leads from\nthis lodge into the deep forest. I have never let you go there because\nin that spring is a terrible monster that is filled with great magic.\nHis orenda (magical potence) is more powerful than anything else in the\nworld. If you go far from this lodge the beast will reach out with his\nlong claws and devour you. You have never been allowed to stray from the\ndoorway because of this. But now that you know this circumstance you\nmust learn to use a bow and arrow. You must become a hunter, for what I\nhave told you has made me very old and I shall soon be unable to hunt.\u201d\n\nThe old man, looking more ugly than ever, went to his hunting pouch and\ntook out a small bow and a quiver of arrows. \u201cNow, take these, my\ngrandson. Go and hunt. Find your first prey on a tree.\u201d\n\nGajihsondis went out of the lodge very happy. \u201cI am now a hunter,\u201d\nthought he. \u201cI shall soon bring in all the meat.\u201d He watched carefully\nfor signs of game. Then he spied what he thought a great bird upon the\ntrunk of a tree. He lifted up his bow and shot but missed his quarry.\nThereupon he ran back to the lodge and cried: \u201cOh grandfather, I have\nbeen unable to kill my prey.\u201d Then he wept with disappointment.\n\n\u201cI thought you would fail,\u201d said the grandfather. \u201cYou have never had\npractice. I will hang up the foot of a raccoon and you must shoot this\nwherever I hang it. When you hit it every time without missing once you\nmay go on a hunt again.\u201d He then hung the coon\u2019s foot by a cord to the\nroof-pole and allowed it to dangle over the fire. \u201cI am going on a hunt\nnow but it will be my last. If you are unable to hit the raccoon\u2019s foot\nby the time I return we are lost.\u201d\n\nThereupon the grandfather took his hunting equipment and departed. This\ngave Gajihsondis his chance. After many failures he hit the foot and\nwhen he became proficient he tried other things.\n\nAfter many days the grandfather returned. \u201cWe are lost now,\u201d said he.\n\u201cThe beast is coming to devour us. Only four days remain for us to\nlive.\u201d \u201cI\u2019ll shoot it,\u201d exclaimed Gajihsondis. \u201cI am a good marksman\nnow!\u201d\n\nThe old man laughed. \u201cOh no,\u201d said he. \u201cI gave you an arrow that can\nnever hit its mark. You cannot shoot.\u201d \u201cBut my grandfather,\u201d\ncontradicted the boy, \u201cI never miss the mark.\u201d The grandfather grunted,\n\u201cWha-a-a-ah.\u201d\n\nGajihsondis then shot the raccoon\u2019s foot. This made the old man look up.\n\u201cIt is only a chance,\u201d he said. \u201cYou had power with you but for a\nmoment. Never more can you do it. I will place the foot elsewhere.\nThereupon he threw it to the top of a tall tree. \u201cNow you cannot hit\nit,\u201d he said.\n\nGajihsondis took easy aim and hit the foot knocking it from its hanging\nto another tree much higher and with a second arrow he knocked it again,\nbringing it to the ground.\n\nInstead of being pleased the old man was very angry and said: \u201cWho has\nbeen here to guide you? There is some evil thing lurking about. Well,\nnever mind this, you can not kill real game. You have no arrows to hit\nanything.\u201d\n\nGajihsondis then went out and saw the bird he first had aimed at. Again\nhe shot, and killed it this time. Taking it up he ran in great glee to\nhis grandfather. \u201cOh contempt!\u201d exclaimed the old man. \u201cYou have killed\nnothing but a chickadee.\u201d But even so, the old man worried, for he knew\nthat his grandson had killed the first creature which by custom a child\nis permitted to kill when he learns to hunt.\n\nAgain the boy went out and soon returned with a raccoon. It was a fine\nfat animal and made a good meal for the two, but the grandfather\nridiculed the boy and said it was only temporary luck, for the boy\npossessed no orenda (magical power). Again the boy tried his skill and\nkilled a fine turkey which the old man dressed and cooked, at the same\ntime sneering as before. On his fourth excursion Gajihsondis killed a\ndeer and brought it in. This time the old man angrily exclaimed, \u201cIt is\nnot right that you should become proficient as a hunter but it seems\nthat you have. Oh now we shall all die for you will consider yourself\nable to leave this lodge and to follow the path.\u201d\n\nNow, this is just what Gajihsondis wanted to do. He had only one\ndesire,\u2014to overcome the monster that barred him from his father and\nmother. \u201cNow I am going,\u201d said he, without further ado. \u201cI shall slay\nthe monster.\u201d\n\nThe old man scolded and wept, but Gajihsondis was soon out of sight down\nthe well-beaten path that led from the lodge into the deep forest. After\na day\u2019s journey he found a gigantic frog crying out terrible threats.\n\u201cWhoso comes near this spring,\u201d he croaked, \u201cshall die. I eat whoever\ncomes near this spring.\u201d\n\nGajihsondis was not a bit frightened; he simply drew his bow and shot\nthe frog, and though it was larger than he, he tied its feet together\nand hung it to his carrying frame and returned to his grandfather\u2019s\nlodge. The old man was very angry but the boy only laughed. Now he had\nlearned a new trick, that of laughing. He had never done this before and\nto have him laugh made his grandfather even more angry.\n\nThe grandson went out a second time and found a gigantic duck guarding\nthe spring. It cried out threats and proclaimed its great power. This\ndid not daunt Gajihsondis who merely fixed his bow and shot it. Again he\nreturned to his grandfather who became even more angry. \u201cHow could you\ndo this?\u201d he asked. \u201cBy magic the path was changed, but you found the\nspring again. You shall not find it again.\u201d\n\nFor a third time the boy went out on his hunt for the spring and easily\nfound it, for as plain as day he could see a path leading directly to\nit. (Now this was strange for it was not a path that ordinary eyes could\nsee, which made the grandfather believe that it could not be\ndiscovered.) When he neared the spring he heard the cries of a great\nbeaver threatening to gnaw anyone in twain who approached the pool. It\nwas a very terrifying beaver but Gajihsondis found it an easy mark for\nhis arrows. He laughed as he trussed it in his carrying frame and\nlaughed as three days later he flung it down at his grandfather\u2019s\ndoorway. The old man roused himself in furious anger and flung his\n\u201cbundles\u201d[32] in the fire. He pawed the earth like a beast and shouted\nuntil his throat bled, but Gajihsondis only laughed again and went away,\nsaying, \u201cOh it is very easy!\u201d\n\nNow when he went down the path Gajihsondis knew that it had been\nchanged. First he had gone north, then west, then south, and now he was\ngoing east over the path, that while invisible to common eyes, was\nvisible to him, yet he did not know how he could see it. For if he tried\nto look he could see nothing, and when he did not try he could see\neverything. He also knew something that he would not tell.\n\nFor a fourth time he drew near to the mysterious pool. It was most\nbeautiful and the trees about it were very tall. There were rocks\nlooking like enchanted beasts asleep about it. The water, itself, was\nvery clear and sparkled as if the sun were upon it, even when it was\nnight. Gajihsondis went right up to the spring and flung in a\nfishing-line. In an instant he had a bite and some terrifying thing\nbegan to pull him into the water, but though he was sore pressed and saw\nhimself falling over the edge of the pool he laughed, and when he did he\ngave a great pull, staggered backward, and pulled out a lizard four\ntimes his own length. It was the blue Dagw\u0115^n\u00b4\u2019nigo^n\u00b4ge. Though he had\nhooked it the creature was not dead, but as Gajihsondis looked at it, it\nsprang toward him with a cry and bit off both his legs. This made\nGajihsondis laugh with all his might and he laughed so hard that the\nbeast grew weak. The creature then despairing of killing the boy stabbed\nhim in the breast with its tail, crying, \u201cPut me back in the spring.\u201d\n\nAgain the boy laughed. \u201cOh how can I put you back in the spring,\u201d said\nhe, \u201cseeing that I have no legs wherewith to walk? Replace my legs and I\nwill put you back.\u201d Then he laughed again.\n\nNow the lizard was a creature of great magic and it conjured a man and a\nwoman who came forth from the water and made Gajihsondis\u2019s legs whole\nagain and smoothed up the wound where the incision had been. The boy\nlaughed and instead of thanking them caught them with his fish line and\ncut off the heads of each. \u201cI know you,\u201d said he. \u201cYou are the evil\nservants of Lizard.\u201d So saying he cast them in a fire and burned them to\nashes. When the heads were consumed they burst with a loud explosion and\nout flew a great flock of screech-owls. He then threw the lizard back\ninto the pool, saying, \u201cI despise you for your lack of magic.\u201d\n\nLaughing as he went, Gajihsondis followed the path until he came to a\nclearing. Though he greatly wondered what was in the clearing, for he\nheard human voices, he could not proceed, for there, hovering over the\npath, were many white owls, screaming at him and swooping down to pluck\nout his eyes.\n\nGajihsondis now thought of a plan to overcome the owls. It seems best to\nbe truthful, he thought, and so he determined what to say. So he called\nout, \u201cI claim this land. It is mine and I shall possess it, but I am\nwilling to make one of you owls chief with me.\u201d The owls then began to\nquarrel among themselves as to who would be chief. They made a great\nnoise and soon had clawed each other to death. None remained to rule\nwith Gajihsondis, so he went forward. As he proceeded he found that the\npath had changed and that instead of entering the clearing from the\nnorth he was entering from the west. Soon he paused for the path was\nguarded by powerful panthers.\n\nAgain he resolved to declare his intentions. \u201cI claim this land,\u201d he\ncried. \u201cIt is mine, I shall possess it, but am willing to make one of\nyou panthers chief to govern with me.\u201d The two panthers then began to\nquarrel and soon were engaged in murderous combat. In a few moments both\nwere dead. Gajihsondis then went on, but noticed that the path had\nchanged and that he was entering the clearing from the south.\n\nHe paused as he was about to enter the clearing for there, guarding the\npath with lowered antlers, were two elk. He saluted them calling out,\n\u201cThis is my land. I shall possess it, but I shall make one of you chief\nto help me govern.\u201d As before, the creatures fought themselves to death,\neach one desiring to be chief. Gajihsondis then journeyed on, finding as\nbefore that the path had changed. This time he approached from the east.\n\nAs he was about to enter the clearing two enormous serpents rose up and\nhissed at him. As before he loudly proclaimed: \u201cI claim this land. It is\nmine and I shall possess it, but I am willing to make one of you\nrattlesnakes chief with me.\u201d Then did the great serpents begin to fight\nand after a fierce struggle both bit one another and both died.\n\nGajihsondis strode on into the clearing and found a great lodge within.\nIt was strongly built and large enough to hold a great company of\npeople. Entering the lodge, he found an old man cooking corn mush. The\nold man said nothing until the food was cooked when he said, \u201cCome eat;\nit is ready.\u201d The two finished the meal for Gajihsondis was very hungry\nand was especially fond of corn pudding. \u201cWe will now sleep here,\u201d said\nthe old man pointing to mats on the floor.\n\nBoth lay down on the mats instead of upon the long shelf-like beds that\nwere on either side of the lodge. As the old man lay down with all his\nclothing, his pouch leaped from him and went to a peg on the center\npole; his leggings drew from him and rolled up in a corner; his\nmoccasins leaped to a bench, and his breech-cloth came off and hung\nitself over a pole. Then all the supper dishes leaped about, the pot\nemptying itself and then jumping to the upper shelf of the lodge. After\na while the old man went to sleep, and as he did a white deer emerged\nfrom his breast, leaped into the air and sailed away through the smoke\nhole. Gajihsondis watched far into the night. He could not sleep for the\nutensils in the lodge moved about and talked to each other.\n\nGajihsondis conceived the idea of robbing the house of its magical\nobjects and finally decided it might be better to escape without a\nburden. Carefully he crawled out from his skin coverings and made haste\nto withdraw. He did this with entire success, and ran a long way into\nthe night. Soon, however, he saw a white deer dart down from the sky and\nenter the smoke hole of the lodge. He knew then that the old man would\nawake and pursue him. Nor was he mistaken, for soon he could hear the\nold man running after him. On and on he came until when just behind\nGajihsondis he waved his war club and struck the boy on the head.\n\n\u201cI have killed another,\u201d shrieked the old man, as he sawed a knick in\nhis war club with his flint knife. \u201cNo man escapes me.\u201d\n\nThe old man then went about the forest and restored all the animals\nslain or dead through the craft of Gajihsondis. At length he found the\nlizard in the pool and told it all concerning his work of restoration.\n\u201cIt must be Gajihsondis who has done all this,\u201d said the lizard after he\nhad been restored to his own magical power. \u201cOnly Gajihsondis could have\nslain all these helpers. I greatly fear that he has acquired sufficient\nmagic to slay us all.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I have slain him and he will trouble us no more,\u201d said the old man.\n\n\u201cOh, no,\u201d replied the lizard. \u201cGajihsondis will revive. Then let us\nbeware.\u201d\n\nThe old man returned to his lodge and passed the body of Gajihsondis and\nto his great satisfaction saw the great crows picking at it. \u201cHe is\ndead,\u201d he thought, and went straightway to sleep.\n\nThe boy soon recovered consciousness and, completely restored, he crept\ninto the old man\u2019s lodge. \u201cI will now be truthful,\u201d he thought. \u201cI will\naddress the war club.\u201d\n\n\u201cWar club,\u201d he commanded. \u201cStand up,\u201d and the club stood erect. \u201cNow war\nclub, in you is power. I want you to be my friend and assist me in\nslaying my enemy. I am a man and will not be denied.\u201d\n\nThe war club then pointed to a bed far away from the door and\nGajihsondis went to the bed and saw a pile of soft tanned pelts.\nRemoving these he saw a sleeping maiden. He took a brand from the fire\nand held it over the girl. \u201cI have now come for you,\u201d he said. \u201cI am\ngoing to rob this house and take you with me. This is my land and I\nshall rule it.\u201d The girl looked at Gajihsondis and was pleased. She\nliked the looks of Gajihsondis. \u201cI will go,\u201d she said, \u201cbut first you\nmust slay my uncle. It is because he fears you will find me that we are\nall bewitched.\u201d\n\nThe boy then went over to the old man and awakened him. His clothing\nflew upon him, a white deer entered his body and then he sat up. \u201cWhat\ndo you want?\u201d he inquired.\n\n\u201cI want to fight with you,\u201d said Gajihsondis.\n\n\u201cNow just wait,\u201d said the old man. \u201cI must get my war paint ready.\u201d So\nsaying he threw charcoal from the fire in the corn mortar and made a\nblack paste. Then he took red paint from a box. He applied black to one\nside of his face and red to the other.\n\n\u201cNow I am ready,\u201d he announced. \u201cWhy do you wish to fight me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI want all your things and I am going to take your niece,\u201d said the\nboy.\n\nAt this the old man became very angry and whooped. He then sang a magic\nsong and grasped his war club, and rushed upon Gajihsondis. The young\nman grasped his war club and then the two began to fight. In a short\ntime the old man was overcome and exhausted. Gajihsondis bound up the\nold man and put him in his carrying frame. Then he took the girl by the\nhand and led her away to his own lodge.\n\nReaching his grandfather\u2019s lodge he noticed for the first time that it\nwas identical with the one in which he had had his fight. His\ngrandfather and the old man looked the same. There was no difference.\n\nWhen the old man, his grandfather, saw that Gajihsondis had brought home\nthe old man bound and also the girl, he was very angry but said nothing.\nHe made up his mind to kill the boy and to marry the girl. Now when the\nboy slept and the girl had crawled into her robes afar from the door,\nthe old man grasped his war club and sang to it. Now the prisoner sat up\nand did likewise, and both did exactly as the other did. \u201cI will kill\nthe boy now,\u201d said the old man, and so saying, he shot three arrows into\nhis back.\n\nIn a short time the boy awakened, being in great pain. He arose and went\nout of the lodge. Near the creek he found a sweat lodge and as he stood\nnear it a voice spoke: \u201cGo in,\u201d it said. \u201cI will help you.\u201d He looked\nand there saw another person exactly like himself, only very white and\nclear. \u201cI have always known you were my friend,\u201d said Gajihsondis. \u201cBut\nthis time I see you.\u201d\n\nGajihsondis went into the lodge and took a sweat, and when the arrows\nhad come out he took an emetic. After a while he saw clearly in the\ndark. He saw his friend walk toward him and enter his body. The two\nbecame one. \u201cThis is the power that has guided me,\u201d he thought. \u201cBut I\nwill never tell anyone I have seen him, until the day I am about to\ndie.\u201d\n\nThereupon he returned to the lodge and awoke his grandfather. \u201cCome and\nfight me, grandfather,\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cI believe that you have done me a\ngreat wrong.\u201d\n\nThe old man sprang from his bed and as he did so the prisoner became as\na mist and floated into him. Then the grandfather grasped his war club\nbut it was no longer strong like good hickory, but soft like wet\nrawhide. He could not fight.\n\nHe began to whimper. \u201cOh, my grandson,\u201d he moaned. \u201cDo not kill your\ngrandfather. My strength is gone. I will confess. I have been a great\nwizard and have created many evil monsters and slain many people by\nmagic. Now I am undone. Oh restore my nature and make me human again. Do\nnot kill me.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen tell me everything,\u201d demanded Gajihsondis, and the old man told\nhim of his conjuring. The girl, he said, was fore-ordained as\nGajihsondis\u2019 wife, his parents were in the ground back of the lodge in\nthe clearing. He had exercised his magic in order to claim the girl. He\nand the old man in the house in the clearing were one and the same\nperson, though dual by magic. The path was well trodden because he had\ntraveled over it so many times.\n\n\u201cI must now go out and kill all the monsters,\u201d said Gajihsondis. He did\nso and killed all the magically evil creatures. He dug up the ground\nback of the lodge in the clearing and there found a bark house hidden by\nthe roots of the trees. There he found his mother, his father and his\nsister. All were very happy that Gajihsondis had released them and\ntogether they made their journey back to the grandfather\u2019s lodge. When\nhe saw them returning he died and turned into a shriveled human skin.\nThis Gajihsondis rolled into a bundle and hid it in the rafters. Then he\ncalled to the girl and she came out of the blankets from the bed at the\nfar side of the lodge. She was a beautiful young woman and dressed in\nfine garments.\n\n\u201cWho is this?\u201d asked Gajihsondis\u2019s father and mother.\n\n\u201cThis is my wife,\u201d he replied. \u201cWe shall all live in a new house.\u201d\n\nSo he took them all away and he showed them a new lodge of bark he had\nbuilt. So this is the story of Gajihsondis.\n\n\n  GENERAL NOTES\u2014The introductory paragraph of this legend is not a\n  part of the story but is the answer which Cornplanter gave me in\n  response to my inquiry how it happened that so many stories began\n  with a recital of unnatural conditions.\n\n  There are interesting allusions in this tale, and many of them are\n  characteristic. These include the theme of the orphaned boy living\n  with an uncle or grandfather, cruel beatings or punishment by fire,\n  living in the ground, the boy suddenly becoming self-confident\n  through the reception of orenda or magical power, overcoming all\n  obstacles and destroying the source of evil enchantment.\n\n  There are other elements, which while characteristic in a measure,\n  are so striking as to be worthy of comment. In this story the cycle\n  of four attempts emphasizes the importance of the number four in\n  Seneca folk-thought. Gajihsondis kills four animals in his attempts\n  to learn to become a hunter, he overcomes four beasts at the spring,\n  he finds four paths, each in one of the prime cardinal directions,\n  he overcomes four magical guards of the trail. When he finally\n  enters the clearing and discovers the bark lodge he discovers a new\n  obstacle.\n\n  The unusual elements now follow. These are the discovery that the\n  lodge in the clearing is after all only a replica of the one in\n  which his grandfather and he had lived together (although the story\n  does not at first make this clear); the strange conception of\n  clothing flying from the body of the wearer, completely undressing\n  him, and returning to him when he awakens; the idea of the man\u2019s\n  name-genius (the white deer), leaving his body when he sleeps, the\n  talking war club (which seems somewhat symbolic), and finally the\n  concept of a double personality, one portion or unit being unseen.\n  Gajihsondis had a soul-self which materialized and guarded his life,\n  gave him information and pointed out his means of restoration. The\n  grandfather also had a double in the person of the evil wizard in\n  the identical lodge.\n\n  This legend has another element which seems quite unique; it is the\n  power of laughter over wizardry. Gajihsondis had only to laugh at a\n  monster to overcome it, though he did not always do this.\n\n  I cannot help but feel that in the form here presented this tale of\n  the occult and mysterious is only a portion of a fuller story, the\n  details of which are only partially developed in this version. This\n  comment may apply to many of the legends, for inquiry about certain\n  points always brings forth additional information and frequently\n  other episodes.\n\n\n\n\n                                  VI.\n                       TALES OF LOVE AND MARRIAGE\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  MRS. JOHN BIG KITTLE.\n\n  Chief matron of the Cattaraugus Seneca Wolf Clan. Mrs. Kittle was born\n    on Buffalo Creek Reservation in 1822.\n\n  _Photo by E. C. Winnegar._\n]\n\n\n                  21. TWO FEATHERS AND TURKEY BROTHER.\n\nLong ago a whole tribe had been exterminated by powerful sorcerers. Of\nall the tribe only three persons remained. These were an old uncle and\nhis two nephews, one very young and the other on the borderline of\nmanhood.\n\nThe older boy was known as Two Feathers (Do\u00e4\u2019dan\u0113\u00b4g\u0115^n\u2019), and the\nyounger received the name Turkey (Osoon), because he wore a robe made of\na turkey skin. It was a magic skin and the little fellow was able to fly\nto the tops of trees, which gave him great pleasure.\n\nThere came a time when the uncle after watching the older nephew for\nsome days, said, \u201cMy nephew it is my opinion that you should prepare\nyourself for your manhood. It is customary to depart from your abode and\nfast until your protecting friends appear unto you. Go forth to the\nriver and build a sweat lodge, and when you have purified yourself,\nawait the coming of your protectors.\u201d\n\nIn obedience to his uncle\u2019s directions Two Feathers departed and built\nhimself a sweat lodge where he purified himself and fasted. On the tenth\nday he saw a great spider dropping down from the tops of the trees, and\nit spoke to him saying, \u201cWhen you are in great distress I will be your\nprotector.\u201d Again he saw a great black snake rising from the ground and\nwhen it had reached the tops of the trees it spoke saying, \u201cWhen you are\nin great distress and need a strong friend, I will be your protector.\u201d\n\nWhen Two Feathers returned to his uncle\u2019s lodge he was a man and he knew\nthat unseen powers were his friends. His uncle looked at him carefully\nand said, \u201cMy nephew, it is my opinion that you have become a man. Now\nit is customary for a man to seek a wife. It would make our lodge\npleasant to have a young woman cook for us. Now, far away from here in a\ncountry to the east is a great man who has two daughters. It is my wish\nthat you prepare for the journey and bring back a wife. It will take you\nseveral years,\u2014how many I do not know.\u201d\n\nTwo Feathers prepared for his journey and as he made his weapons his\nuncle watched him. \u201cCome here,\u201d said the uncle. \u201cI would like to inspect\nyour clothing.\u201d So saying he looked at his nephew and then told him to\ndisrobe. \u201cYou are not in the condition to make a woman receive you,\u201d he\nsaid. \u201cI will find a better costume for you.\u201d\n\nOpening his treasure chest, which he kept under his bed, the old man\ntook out a fine fur robe made of raccoon skin. It was most beautiful and\nthe fur was long and glossy. \u201cPut this on, my nephew,\u201d he said. Two\nFeathers donned the new costume and advanced for inspection. The uncle\nlooked at him to discern any imperfection. \u201cThis robe is not good\nenough,\u201d he said. \u201cYou are still not in condition to seek your wife.\nDisrobe and I will seek further among my treasures.\u201d\n\nThe uncle now drew forth a robe of wildcat skin. It had short hair and\nwas made so that it hung down like a long shirt with many tails. There\nwere ears sewed around the neck and there were eyes on the sleeves.\nAfter looking at this shirt for a moment, the old man said, \u201cNow, my\nnephew, this is a very old shirt and the wearer becomes very powerful in\nmagic. It has eyes and ears and will guard the wearer when he sleeps.\nPut it on and let me see how you look.\u201d\n\nTwo Feathers put on the shirt which just fitted him. It was very fine\nand he greatly admired it and wished to keep it as his shirt. The Uncle,\nhowever, surveyed it with a critical eye. Finally he said, \u201cThis shirt\nis not good enough. You are still in no condition to seek a wife and to\novercome all the obstacles that lie in your trail from this lodge to\nwhere she resides. Disrobe, I must find something different.\u201d\n\nThis time Two Feathers disrobed with reluctance. He wanted to keep that\nbeautiful shirt. But as he watched his uncle he saw that another fine\noutfit was forthcoming. At the bottom of the treasure chest was a bundle\ndone up in a deer skin folded into a case. This was opened and the uncle\ntook out a panther-skin shirt, a pair of leggings, a pair of moccasins,\na bow and quiver, a fisher skin pocket (pouch), a warclub and a pipe.\n\u201cNow put these things on, my nephew,\u201d said the uncle.\n\nTwo Feathers dressed and found that the panther shirt had the head of\nthe panther as a cap and that the cap had two heron feathers above it.\nThe whole costume was wonderful to see and Two Feathers now felt that\nthere could be none better in all the world.\n\n\u201cNow, my nephew,\u201d said the uncle. \u201cI will show you what can be done with\nyour clothing and accoutrements. The heron feathers on your hood will\nwatch out for you and when you are in danger they will speak. Your\nfisher skin bag is alive and should anyone seek to harm you when asleep\nit will bite him. Your pipe and medicine root are in the bag. The\nmedicine will give you power to spit wampum. The black end of the root\nwill make dark wampum and the white end will make white wampum. Your\npipe has the head of a bear upon it and it will growl when an enemy\ntouches it, while the snakes on the bowl will hiss when you light your\ntobacco. Your bow looks old and useless, but it is filled with powerful\nmagic and will guide your arrows straight.\u201d\n\nThe uncle continued his instructions. \u201cNow as you journey from here you\nwill find three enchanted spots, and all must be avoided. You will pass\na certain tree where there will be a boy playing about. He will ask you\nto lift him from the ground and place him in the long branch where he\nwould like to swing up and down. Do not touch the boy for a sorcerer\nlives in the tree and when you lift up the boy the sorcerer will grasp\nyou by the hair and tie you to his arrow and shoot you far away, and you\nwill fall through the smoke hole of a witch\u2019s lodge and will be eaten by\nher. She is the sorcerer\u2019s wife. Further along the trail is a deep\nspring where there is sparkling water. Oh nephew, do not drink this\nwater for there are monsters living in it who will draw you in and drown\nyou. Further along and near the settlement where you are to go is a\ngrove of very tall trees. Here you will see an old man who will hop\naround strangely. He will ask you to shoot a raccoon. Oh my nephew, do\nnot pay any attention to him. He will be the cause of your ruin if you\nheed his pleas.\u201d\n\nTwo Feathers now understood how to proceed and was about to start when\nTurkey, his younger brother, began to cry that he also wanted to go.\nNeither the uncle nor Two Feathers could dissuade him, and so he, too,\nmade ready for departure.\n\nOff they went on the journey. Turkey flew ahead in short flights and\ncalled back from the tree tops the condition of the trail, for it was\nvery early in the morning and it was still quite dark. Very rapidly they\ntraveled, until by noon they had traveled a distance that takes ordinary\npeople three years to go. This was because Turkey flew and Two Feathers\nwore magic moccasins which made him take very long strides. They now saw\na trail lodge and sat down to rest. Soon they espied a small boy playing\nabout a large oak. As he played he came nearer in a friendly manner and\nasked to be placed in the long branch of the tree that he might swing up\nand down. Two Feathers placed the boy on a stump and put this under the\ntree. As he did this there was a great roar as if the wind were moving\nthrough the forest, and two gigantic arms came down and grabbed the\nstump, at the same time fixing it to the tip of a large arrow, and soon\nthe stump flew through the air and into the witch\u2019s lodge and knocked\nher into the fire.\n\nTwo Feathers and Turkey now went on their journey and in a short time\ncame to a clearing where there was a fine spring of bubbling water\ncontinually outflowing. \u201cOh brother, do not drink,\u201d said Turkey.\n\u201cRemember what our uncle told us.\u201d Two Feathers went on, but being very\nthirsty turned back and knelt by the spring to drink. As he leaned over\na horrible creature leaped from the water and endeavored to pull him in.\nTwo Feathers gave a pull and jumped back, throwing the monster into the\nclearing. \u201cOh put me back,\u201d it cried. Two Feathers asked Turkey to watch\nit, then he went back to the spring to drink, but as he did so another\nmonster covered with hair leaped at him and hung onto his head. Two\nFeathers pulled again and dragged the monster out, placing it in the\ncare of Turkey. A third time this was repeated, after which both boys\ndrank from the spring. The clearing was a spot where had once been a\nprosperous village, but sorcerers had poisoned the spring and killed all\nthe people by dragging them into the depths of the water.\n\nTwo Feathers and Turkey made a fire and burned the monsters, and their\nheads bursting with shrieks, there flew away a flock of screech-owls.\n\nThe journey continued until it was near sunset. The boys sat down again\nand soon observed that they were in a grove of very tall trees.\nPresently they noticed an old man dancing about and shouting, \u201cHai\u2018,\nhai\u2018, hai\u2018, hai\u2018.\u201d In a moment he approached and said, \u201cOh my nephews,\nthere is a raccoon on that branch and I have no bow or arrow. I wish you\nwould shoot it for me.\u201d\n\nTwo Feathers would not listen to Turkey, who flew about gobbling, in\norder to draw his attention to the warning their uncle had given.\n\n\u201cMost truly, my uncle,\u201d said Two Feathers. \u201cI will shoot that raccoon\nfor you. It is a very easy matter.\u201d So saying, he took out an arrow,\nstrung his bow and shot. \u201cHi\u00f1g,\u201d went the arrow and hit the raccoon,\npiercing its heart.\n\nNow in an altogether unexpected way the raccoon ran from the limb to the\ntrunk of the tree and down a large hole at the top where the tree was\nbroken off.\n\n\u201cOh my nephew,\u201d cried the old man in distress. \u201cI am too old and weak\nfrom lack of food to climb after the raccoon, which has gone into its\nhole to die. Oh my nephew, climb after it for me.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat will be easy uncle,\u201d said Two Feathers. \u201cI will climb now.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh no, no, no! Do not spoil your clothing which I see is very nice.\nTake it off beneath the tree and I will watch it for you.\u201d So Two\nFeathers took off all his clothing and climbed the tree.\n\nUp he went like a squirrel and soon was at the top, but as he stood\nlooking down into the hole he heard a noise behind him and caught a\nglimpse of the old man who shoved him into the hole. Down went Two\nFeathers into the hollow of the tree, and down into a pit beneath the\nroots where he smelt the flesh of victims and felt their bones beneath\nhis feet. He knew that he had been trapped. Outside he could hear Turkey\ncalling with a gobbling call, and he knew that something evil was in\nprogress.\n\nThe old man descended the tree by a route known to himself by long\nfamiliarity, and then he went to the clothing which Two Feathers had\nleft behind. \u201cI have been looking for nephew\u2019s clothing for I expected\nthat he would pass this way. Now I shall be able to cross the river and\ntake the great man\u2019s daughter as my wife. Now I shall possess great\nmagical power.\u201d\n\nOff went the old man, looking renewed in body and becoming more and more\nhandsome with every step. Soon he reached the river and standing upon\nthe bank he gave a loud clear call that could be heard for a long ways.\nOn the other side of the river was a long house and the voice penetrated\nit. The elder of two sisters, ran out and taking her canoe paddled it\nacross the stream.\n\nWhen the imposter was in the canoe he said, \u201cI have come a long ways to\nreach this place. I am a great hunter and am looking for a wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cI think I would like to have you for my husband,\u201d said the girl. \u201cI\nwill take you to our lodge and show you where we live.\u201d\n\nWhen the imposter came to the lodge he met the chief, and said he had\ncome as a son-in-law. \u201cYou will do,\u201d said the Chief. \u201cGo in and see\nwhere we live.\u201d\n\nGoing into the lodge the Chief\u2019s wife gave him food and then the young\nwoman showed him her bed. It was a fine bed with many soft robes of skin\nand a curtain made of fox skins sewed together. \u201cHere is where you will\nlodge, as my husband,\u201d said the girl. So that night Imposter ate wedding\nbread and was married.\n\nWhen Two Feathers awoke the next morning he was very sick and could\nscarcely stand. His bed had been a place of filth and terror. His head\nfelt light and he could see lights before his eyes. He began to think\nhow he might escape, and then remembered that he had dreamed of the\nspider. \u201cCome, my friend Spider,\u201d he called, \u201crelease me, for you\npromised to be my protector.\u201d\n\nIn a moment a great spider appeared above the opening and let down a\nbraided strand of web. Two Feathers grasped it and was drawn up nearly\nto the top, when the web broke and he fell into the tree. He was greatly\ndisappointed, but determined to call upon the black snake. \u201cCome, my\nfriend Black Snake,\u201d he called, \u201crelease me, for you promised to deliver\nme from trouble.\u201d In another moment a great serpent had climbed the tree\nand let down its tail, which coiled about Two Feathers and drew him\nforth. It then vanished.\n\nTurkey was happy to see his brother and helped him put on the dirty\nclothing left by the old man. Two Feathers dressed with great difficulty\nand when he had put on the stiff worn-out moccasins and scabby looking\ncap, he looked like a very old man who was very sick. Slowly Turkey and\nhe walked down the trail to the river. At length they reached the bank,\nand Two Feathers called, but his voice was so weak it could not be\nheard. It was like a whisper. Turkey then called and when he did so a\nyoung woman went down to the river and leaped in a canoe. Imposter saw\nher. \u201cO do not go across,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is only a dirty old man with a\nturkey.\u201d\n\nThe young woman did not like Imposter, and gave him no heed. Across the\nriver she went and took Two Feathers and Turkey in her canoe. When they\nwere part way over the river Two Feathers said, \u201cI have come a long ways\nto this place. My name is Two Feathers and I am a young man seeking a\nwife.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is apparent that you are an old man,\u201d said the girl. \u201cI am the only\ngirl whom you can marry, but how can you who look so old and filthy\nexpect to secure a wife?\u201d\n\n\u201cI met with trouble as I approached the river,\u201d answered Two Feathers.\n\u201cI helped an old man who wanted me to kill a raccoon but it was only a\nwizardly creation of his and he required that I should take off my\nclothing and climb after it. I removed my clothing, which had great\npower, and climbed the tree. When I was looking into the hole he pushed\nme in, and there were bones beneath.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d said the girl, \u201cI am of the opinion that my brothers are among\nthe victims.\u201d\n\nWhen they landed on the opposite side, the girl led the lame old man to\nthe lodge and told him to look in. \u201cI have brought my husband,\u201d said\nshe. Thereupon Imposter spoke to the Chief and asked if he would allow\nhis daughter to marry a diseased old man. The Chief looked at Two\nFeathers and answered, \u201cI am of the opinion that my daughter knows her\nown mind in this matter.\u201d\n\nSo the girl took Two Feathers into the lodge and showed him her bed. It\nwas a most beautiful bed and its robes were of the softest doe skin,\nwith a mattress of deer hair beneath. The walls and top were covered\nwith porcupine quill embroidery like a box, and the curtain was of\nmartin skins sewed together, and the apartment had sweet herbs hung\nwithin, to make it pleasant. The platform over the bed was arranged as a\nsleeping place for Turkey.\n\nAt supper Two Feathers ate marriage bread, but nobody spoke to him but\nhis wife, for he was not attractive in appearance and added nothing to\nthe strength of the lodge, only providing another mouth to feed, when\nfamine was almost upon them. When all had eaten Imposter took off his\npouch of fisher skin and said that he would now smoke. He placed his\nhand in the mouth to reach for the pipe, and gave a wild cry, for the\nfisher bit his wrist and caused him great pain. In dropping the bag the\nmagic medicine fell out, and being only like a withered root it was not\nnoticed, so Two Feathers grabbed it and hid it in his bosom.\n\nThe time for sleep came and all retired. Imposter would not lay off his\ngarments, much to the disgust of his wife. He was afraid that Two\nFeathers would steal them, and he knew that though he slept Turkey was\nwatching.\n\nMany days passed and Two Feathers looked more sick than ever, while\nImposter grew more bold. Yet he never went on a hunt for he had no bow\nand arrows; these he had failed to pick up from Two Feather\u2019s outfit,\nfor they had looked so old and ill made. One night Two Feathers told his\nwife that he must have a large bowl when he awoke, for he had eaten an\nherb. So the next morning he called for the bark bowl, and taking it\nopened his mouth and blew into it, filling it with dark wampum, to the\nbrim. \u201cPresent this to your father,\u201d said Two Feathers, and the young\nwoman did so to the great delight of the old man, who said, \u201cAh, I knew\nthat he was a great man.\u201d\n\nNow when Imposter saw what had been done he felt that he had lost favor,\nso he asked his wife for a bowl and taking an emetic filled the bowl\nwith all manner of foul lizards, toads and worms that he had eaten.\nOrdering his wife to take this to the Chief, he strutted about proudly.\nWhen the Chief saw the malodorous mess he roared in great anger and\ndrove his son-in-law from the lodge.\n\nThe next night Two Feathers ate of the root again and called for the\nbowl. This time he filled it with white wampum to the delight and\ngratification of the Chief, who again said, \u201cI am of the opinion that we\nentertain a great man.\u201d Imposter tried to imitate Two Feathers once more\nbut only produced little round worms that so fouled the bark bowl that\nthe Chief ordered the wife to scrub it all day to clean it.\n\nThat night there was a great feast and Imposter ate so much that he was\nforced to remove his clothing, and he was so sleepy that he threw it at\nthe foot of the bed and on the floor. Long he slept, and failed to\nawaken in the morning. Two Feathers was up very early and before anyone\nelse. He took his bow and magic arrows and killed a great quantity of\ndeer which he dragged to the lodge. Then he took his own fine clothing,\nwhich had become frayed and soiled and put it on. Immediately it became\nbright and new. Two Feathers also began to grow more and more youthful\nuntil he entirely recovered. His wife was very happy. The Chief,\nmoreover, was glad and called all the people to a council.\n\nTwo Feathers was the central figure in this council and exhibited the\npowers of his costume. He pointed his pouch toward a woman and she fell\ndown dead; he sprinkled her with medicine and she rose to her feet. He\nsmoked his pipe and the bear upon it blinked its eyes and opened its\nmouth, while the snakes on the stem wriggled as if alive. The eyes of\nthe panther hood glowed and the feathers spoke. Then again Two Feathers\nmade wampum. Everybody was satisfied, most of all the Chief and his\ndaughter.\n\nAfter a while Imposter awoke and found his wife looking at him in\ndisgust. \u201cYou are a filthy old man,\u201d she said. \u201cI will have no more to\ndo with you.\u201d She kicked him out of bed and made him put on his old\nclothes. \u201cYou lied to me,\u201d she said and led him to a hole where the\nwomen customarily threw their garbage and thrust him in. Then she went\naway from him and nobody ever saw him again.\n\nThe Chief then said that it was his wish that all the people follow Two\nFeathers back to his home, for he was a great man and had slain all the\nwizards and monsters that infested the path. So they went and it took\nthem a good many years to return. Turkey was now a man and took off his\nturkey clothes and dressed like a warrior. He, too, found a good-looking\ngirl and married her.\n\nAfter a long time the people all came to the uncle\u2019s lodge and he was a\nvery old man. Two Feathers told what he had done and the uncle was\nhappy. He now had women to cook for him, and he felt that the world was\nrid of sorcerers. Then the old lodge was repaired and all the people\ndwelt there, and if you can find it you will find the people dwelling\nthere to this day.\n\n\n              22. TWO FEATHERS AND WOODCHUCK LEGGINGS.[33]\n\nNow this is a Two Feathers story. All the old people of the old-time\nknew about this; and it happened a long time ago.\n\nDo\u00b4ciowe^n\u2018 was the place where they lived,\u2014an old uncle and his nephew.\nThe young man was called Two Feathers and the uncle was known by name as\nWoodchuck Leggings.\n\nTwo Feathers was a hunter and never feared to hunt any animal, but he\nwas kind to the animals and could talk to them, so they became his\nfriends. He had a pet bear in a small yard and he had a wolf that he had\ntamed. He said that it was the same as a man.\n\nNow you ought to know that he had fine clothes. They were made of white\nbuckskin and embroidered all over with porcupine quills. He had also a\ntobacco pouch made of a spotted fawn\u2019s skin with the feet and head on\nand in this he kept a pipe having a bear\u2019s head carved on it, and eyes\nthat rolled when the jaws of the bear chewed the tobacco inside. He had\na g\u016dsto\u00f1\u00b4we\u2018 (feathered hat), with two feathers in front, and on the hat\nthere were two chirping birds.\n\nTwo Feathers acquired magic and became very strong, but he did not let\nanyone know that he was Hotci\u00b4no^n\u2019ga\u2018, (a charm holder).\n\nOne day when Two Feathers was hunting in the woods he saw an old bark\nhouse. Cautiously approaching it he found an old man inside; though at\nfirst he thought it was a wolf. The old man was very hungry and so Two\nFeathers gave him meat to eat. \u201cI have been looking for you a long\ntime,\u201d said the old man. \u201cYou have been merciful to me and I am going to\ngive you my arrow. It does not look like a good arrow, but most truly it\nhas great power.\u201d So saying he drew forth from a bundle in which he kept\nmany kinds of war charms, an arrow and handed it to Two Feathers. Two\nFeathers was glad and leaving the old man some dried meat, departed.\n\nAfter a while he came to another village across a river where he slept\novernight. He noticed two girls, one older and one younger, named\nDrooping Flower. He looked at the younger girl and she looked at him,\nand something went out of his eyes into her eyes, and something went out\nof her eyes into his. He said to himself, \u201cThat\u2019s the one.\u201d One of the\nvillagers saw this and told Two Feathers that he was now under the spell\nof a very evil witch, the mother of the girl.\n\nAfter a time Two Feathers saw the girl again and said to her, \u201cI am\ncoming for you by and by.\u201d Then he went home to his uncle who all this\ntime had been living on woodchuck meat, because he was an unskillful\nhunter. The old man was angry at Two Feathers for his long absence, and\nupbraided him.\n\nAfter a time a runner came to the village near which Two Feathers and\nhis uncle dwelt. He called the people together and told them that all\nthe people in the valley across the river were starving. Hunters had\nbeen unable to secure game and the corn harvest had failed.\n\nNow Woodchuck Leggings thought this a good time to find a wife, who\nweakened with famine, he could overcome and drag back to his lodge. Two\nFeathers thought about the young girl whose eyes\u2019 light had gone into\nhis own. He thus prepared to take the trail along a creek having rapids\nand falls, and to go by a short but difficult route. Off he went in\ngreat haste, taking all his bundles and charms with him. Woodchuck\nLeggings noticed this and was angry for he had resolved to steal them\nwhen he had an opportunity. He now resolved to follow his nephew and\nslay him if he could.\n\nWhen Two Feathers reached the valley village he found the people\nstarving. Drooping Flower was too weak to stand up. Two Feathers now\nasked all the women who could to gather about their doorways and play\nthe plum-stone game and to sing:\n\n                  \u201cGanio daweeni, the game is coming.\u201d\n\nHe then went into the woods at the edge of the clearing and sang a magic\nsong, at the same time taking out four arrows which had lain close to\nthe arrow the old man had given him.\n\nOne by one he shot the arrows into the air, each in a different\ndirection, at the same time calling, \u201cBring me meat from different\nanimals.\u201d\n\nReturning to the lodge of Drooping Flower he sat in the doorway and\nwaited. Soon high overhead he heard a song. The people rushed out of\ndoors and listened, and sure enough, there was a song in the air. The\nwords were: \u201cThe wild animals are coming.\u201d In a moment the song had\nreached the ground and four animals came running to the doorway where\nTwo Feathers sat waiting. Each animal had an arrow sticking in its\nheart. On they came to the lodge and then dropped dead at Two Feathers\u2019\nfeet. There was a deer, a moose, an elk and a bear.\n\nThe starving village then had food and Drooping Flower recovered. Then a\ncouncil was called and all the people sat around to see Two Feathers,\nwho sat in the middle of the hall on a bench. He took from his pouch his\nbear-bowled pipe and put a pinch of tobacco into it.\n\n\u201cMy friends and cousins,\u201d he said. \u201cI must have an ember for my pipe.\nHow shall I get it? Ho yo ho! Fly birds, fly!\u201d As he spoke the\nchipping-birds on his hat began to flutter and then to fly. They flew to\nthe fire and took coals from it which they placed in his pipe, after\nwhich the birds sat on his hat. Oh the fragrance of the smoke was\npleasing, and the bear on the bowl rolled its eyes and chewed the\ntobacco. \u201cOh you like my tobacco?\u201d asked Two Feathers. \u201cSo does my\npouch. Dance pouch, dance!\u201d What was happening? The spotted pouch\ndetached itself from his belt and scampered over the floor a living\nfawn. Then he called it back to its strap.\n\n\u201cIt is now getting late,\u201d observed Two Feathers. \u201cNow bring me a good\ndeer-skin, well tanned. I will give all of you good presents.\u201d Drooping\nFlower brought a skin and placed it before him. He began, then, to make\na noise like \u201c_ts\u016dt, ts\u016dt, ts\u016dt_.\u201d Opening his mouth wide he blew out a\ngreat stream of wampum beads. Immediately there was a scramble for the\nbeads and nearly everybody grabbed a handful.\n\nAs Two Feathers left the house he saw the jealous, blazing eyes of his\nuncle, Woodchuck Leggings. The old man had never dreamed that his nephew\nhad powers like these. He then began to spread mischief by saying that\nTwo Feathers was an evil sorcerer and that he would soon become O\u00f1gwe\nI\u0101s and eat up everybody.\n\nNow Drooping Flower\u2019s mother was a witch and hated anybody with power.\nSo she called Woodchuck Leggings and talked to him. He told her how to\nproceed to overcome Two Feathers.\n\nThat night Two Feathers and Woodchuck Leggings slept on one side of the\nwitch\u2019s lodge. Midnight came and the old woman began to have a bad\ndream. She began to throw fire upon Two Feathers but the chipping-birds\nchirped so loudly they awakened him, and he saw the old woman on her\nknees at the fire grunting, as if in a dream, \u201c\u0115^n\u2018\u00b4, \u0115^n\u2018\u00b4, \u0115^n\u2018\u00b4!\u201d\nLeaping up he hit her with a corn pounder, exclaiming, \u201cWhat is it, my\naunt?\u201d Pretending to awaken she answered, \u201cIt is now finished. I have\nhad a dream and must be satisfied. Oh I must have the antlers of two\nlarge buck elk that live in a cold lake. I must have them by morning or\ndireful things will happen.\u201d\n\nTwo Feathers immediately set out to satisfy the old woman\u2019s dream\ndemand. Now no one had ever seen these elk, which were known by their\nsplashing only, and all persons who went into the lake were devoured by\nthe horned serpent. Two Feathers jumped into the water saying, \u201cI know\nthat I can do this thing.\u201d Long he swam into the darkness, for there was\nno starlight or moon. After a time he heard splashing and a noise like\nheavy breathing. Taking his arrow from an oiled skin bag he spoke to it\nand then shot. There was a great flash of light in the sky and the\nmysterious lake elk were revealed. The arrow had pierced both of them.\nMounting one of the elks he ordered them to swim ashore. \u201cWhat do you\nwant?\u201d they asked when they stood upon the homeward beach. \u201cI want your\nhorns,\u201d he answered. \u201cOh that is all right, nephew,\u201d they said and shed\ntheir antlers. \u201cI am sorry I had to kill you, but the woman desired it\nin satisfaction of a dream.\u201d The elks spoke again, \u201cThe woman has\ndeceived you.\u201d Then they disappeared.\n\nThe gift of the great antlers only increased the old woman\u2019s anger and\nthe next night she dreamed that she must have the pelts of the\nwampum-coated deer. They had no hair but curled shells on their skins.\nIf they saw anyone they would trample them to death. So then, Two\nFeathers set forth to catch the wampum deer. He made a sweat house by\nthe lick where the deer came in the night. He threw tobacco all around\nit and then waited. Soon two does came and Two Feathers shot his magic\narrow, killing both. Then he lighted his pipe and began to sing.\nInstantly a great drove of bucks came rushing to the sweat lodge but\nthey could not touch it, so powerful was the magic of Two Feathers.\nAfter a while he heard them stamping away and he arose and went out and\nskinned the deer.\n\nThe beautiful pelts covered with shells only made the old woman more\nangry, as Two Feathers presented them at daybreak. She screeched and\nscolded and called him an evil sorcerer. But the next night she again\nasked satisfaction of a dream.\n\nOn this occasion she demanded that Two Feathers go to a hot lake and\nbring back two white beavers, reputed to be of great magical potency.\n\u201cOh that is very easy, my aunt,\u201d answered Two Feathers, \u201cI will bring\nthem at daylight.\u201d Setting forth he reached the lake and taking out his\narrow spoke to it. \u201cSpeed on and find the game that I desire,\u201d he\ncommanded.\n\nThe arrow sped forth and soon it struck a beaver which came swimming\ntoward him, bringing another with it on a wave. This he struck with a\nsmall white stone and both were dead. Taking them to the old woman\u2019s\nlodge he threw them at her feet. \u201cYou may have the meat,\u201d he said, \u201cbut\nI will keep the skins.\u201d This made the old woman angry for the beavers\nwere her brothers. So then again she dreamed and commanded him to\nsatisfy her by dangerous tasks, but his magic power always won. At\nlength, dispairing of causing him harm in this manner, the mother\nannounced that her right mind had returned. She resolved upon a new\nplan, and became very kind to Two Feathers. When Two Feathers found that\nthe mother was no longer the oracle of the spirits he started home where\nhe might provide for his own father and mother.\n\nThe Do\u00b4ciowe^n\u2018 people listened with great sorrow to Two Feathers\u2019 story\nof the distressed tribesmen of Ganun das\u0113y and rejoiced when he told\nthem how his luck had delivered them. But he was restless and could not\nbear separation from Drooping Flower, thus he announced that he was\ngoing again to the Valley of the Pleasant River to get a wife.\n\nWoodchuck Leggings had seen Drooping Flower and he wanted her, and\nhearing that his nephew was to visit her, resolved to accompany him,\nkill him on the journey, put on his clothing, gain the magic articles,\nand then steal Drooping Flower. The mother of the girl had given\nWoodchuck Leggings a death charm and he made up his mind to use it upon\nhis nephew. Moreover the woman asked him to do so.\n\n\u201cMay I go with you?\u201d he asked Two Feathers, when he saw his nephew\nready.\n\n\u201cNo, Uncle,\u201d was the reply.\n\n\u201cBut I am going nevertheless!\u201d\n\n\u201cThen not with me,\u2014never!\u201d was Two Feathers\u2019 answer.\n\nTwo Feathers set out the next morning and when he had traveled three\ndays he met Woodchuck Leggings, who had a day\u2019s start on the journey. He\nsaw him sitting on a stump with his back toward the trail.\n\n\u201cNiaw\u0115\u2019\u00b4sk\u00e4no\u2019!\u201d shouted Two Feathers.\n\n\u201cDog\u0115\u2018s!\u201d was the startled reply.\n\n\u201cHow came you here, Uncle?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am on my journey.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen if it is your journey you must not expect to go with me, for I\nwill not allow it.\u201d Two Feathers ran on ahead leaving his uncle still\nsitting on the stump. When night came he set up camp and kindled a fire\nfor cooking a supper. As he lay down for sleeping he heard the night\nbirds scream and listening he heard the crackling of sticks. Lifting his\nbow, he prepared for the enemy, whatever it might be. In the dim light\nof the dying camp fire, he saw the shadow of a ragged old man, limping\nalong the trail. It was Woodchuck Leggings.\n\n\u201cNiaw\u0115\u2019\u00b4sk\u00e4no\u2019\u00b4, Uncle!\u201d said Two Feathers in greeting.\n\n\u201cDoge\u2018s! Ag\u012b! dod\u016ds\u2018ha \u00e4\u2018kwa!\u201d \u201c(Truly, O give me to eat)!\u201d gasped the\nhungry uncle.\n\nTwo Feathers spoke to his arrows, shot into the tree tops and a large\nturkey fell to the ground at the feet of the uncle, who was too\nfrightened to move.\n\n\u201cPull the arrow out and cook the bird,\u201d commanded the nephew. But his\nuncle was too frightened, for the arrow was magic. (Beyond this, it was\nnot right to touch the arrows of another hunter when they were sticking\nin dead game.) Woodchuck Leggings was too exhausted to prepare his own\nmeal and fell to the earth from weakness. So the faithful and\nunsuspicious nephew roasted the bird and shaking the dozing man\nexclaimed, \u201cS\u0115dekon\u012d (Come eat)!\u201d\n\nSo he devoured the bird and ate his fill of parched corn and maple\nsugar. He begged that his nephew should not turn him away in the\ndarkness, for he was afraid of the flying heads. He pleaded for a little\nspace on one side of the fire by his nephew\u2019s side. Two Feathers did not\nrelish the idea but pitied the old coward, and gave him a place in which\nto sleep.\n\nThe crafty old scoundrel watched his opportunity. When Two Feathers was\nfast asleep, he made his way, stealthily to the other side of the fire\nand drew from his shirt a long sharp point of hickory bark. It was the\ndeath charm. Two Feathers was lying on his side. Kneeling at his back he\nlifted the bark high above his head and brought it down with all his\nstrength, plunging it into the back of his victim just between the\nshoulders. Removing his own dirty garments, Woodchuck Leggings replaced\nthem with the beautiful white clothes of Two Feathers. He felt for the\nmagic pipe and pouch and found both safe, but he had forgotten the magic\narrow in his haste.\n\nIn the morning he continued his journey and at sunset came to the\nvillage. A scout noted his arrival and cried, \u201cHere comes Two Feathers!\u201d\nAs false Two Feathers passed by the fires between the lodges, the people\nnoticed with wonder that the beautiful white deer skin clothing had\nbecome soiled and torn. The tobacco pouch had caught in a bush and half\nthe quill work had been ripped off.\n\nHe entered Drooping Flower\u2019s lodge. \u201cCome, we can get married now,\u201d he\nsaid.\n\nDrooping Flower did not need to look at him a second time. \u201cYou are not\nreal Two Feathers,\u201d she exclaimed. \u201cWhere is Two Feathers?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am he!\u201d\n\n\u201cSonohweh! You are a liar!\u201d\n\n\u201cWe shall see,\u201d answered the pretender.\n\nThe next day he called a council and when all had taken their seats he\nstrode through the door with great pomp and took his position on the\nsinger\u2019s bench. Grasping a rattle he began to sing, but his voice was\ncracked. He stopped suddenly, as he caught the gaze of the men. \u201cI have\na cold, brothers,\u201d he apologized. \u201cBut now I will smoke, and the\nsweetness of my tobacco will please you; but where shall I get my\nfire,\u2014Ho, ho! Fly little birds!\u201d But his commands were in vain and he\nwas compelled to get his own light. \u201cMy birds are bashful,\u201d he\nexplained. He lighted his pipe and began to blow the smoke into the air.\nThe foul fumes filled the lodge and nearly stifled the people. Women\nheld their breaths or breathed through their shawls; the men coughed and\nthe babies cried. \u201cMy tobacco is damp tonight,\u201d he said, \u201cbut you shall\nsee my pouch dance for me,\u2014dance pouch, dance!\u201d The pouch clung to his\nside limper than ever. In spite of his commands and threats it would not\nmove a finger\u2019s breadth. \u201cMy pouch,\u201d he explained, \u201cis bashful and now\nas I am tired, if Drooping Flower will bring me a skin I will speak out\nwampum.\u201d Drooping Flower refused to obey and whispered, \u201cHe is a liar!\u201d\nDrooping Flower\u2019s older sister, W\u012b\u00e4so^n\u2019, took pity on the unsuccessful\nconjurer, and hoping to win a man, took down a skin from the wall behind\nher and placed it on the singer\u2019s bench.\n\n\u201cNow since all my things are bashful, I will pay you for the trouble in\ncoming here, see\u2014I blow out wampum when I breathe!\u201d Sure enough, from\nhis mouth flew a quantity of small white cylinders. The people bent over\nto pick up the valued wampum beads, but were again disappointed, for\ninstead of wampum were clusters of loathly worms. With a shamed face\nW\u012b\u00e4so^n\u2019 returned the skin to the peg and the council was dismissed by\nthe head sachem.\n\nFalse Two Feathers felt that he must do something to redeem himself, so\ngoing to the woods the next morning he shot all his arrows and called\nfor game, but failing to get any, in desperation clubbed two woodchucks\nto death and brought them back. No one would touch them.\n\nThe people looked at him as one who had lost power by displeasing his\nown charms and paid more attention to him. No one would now associate\nwith him save W\u012b\u00e4so^n\u2019 who asked him to marry her, and he did.\n\nTwo Feathers awoke after several days unconsciousness and found a great\nherd of forest animals about him.\n\n\u201cOur brother, you have been sick,\u201d said the wolf, the spokesman. \u201cYou\nwere stabbed by Woodchuck Leggings as you were sleeping. But as you were\nkind, so we are not ungrateful and our blood has kept you nourished\nwhile you slept. The animal spirits are crafty and know their friends\nand foes. You are about to undergo misfortune but do not faint,\u2014keep up\ncourage and listen to what we tell you.\u201d\n\nTwo Feathers was weak and dizzy, and it took him a long time to reach\nthe Valley village. Painfully he crept along the sunken trail until he\nreached a corn field where he heard women singing as they cut the\nblighted corn stalks. He called, and Drooping Flower hearing his voice,\nfound him wounded and exhausted. She stooped down and he whispered\nsomething in her ear. The crowd of women was now about him. \u201cWhere is\nWoodchuck Leggings?\u201d he inquired. \u201cYou are Woodchuck Leggings; don\u2019t you\nknow yourself?\u201d cried all women. Two Feathers said no more.\n\nFor nearly a year Two Feathers lived in an old bark house which hardly\nsheltered him from the snow or kept away the springtime rain. He looked\nlike, and was, a sickly old man. Every one knew him by his cough and\npitied him.\n\nIn those days there was a great white eagle, a magic bird. The people of\nthe village had erected two high poles with cross-pieces, upon which the\neagle was wont to alight as it passed over the settlement.\n\nThe mother of Drooping Flower worried because her daughter would not\ntake a husband and asked her why she would not marry. To such inquiries\nthe girl replied, \u201cI shall never marry until the white eagle shall be\nshot. The man who sends an arrow through him shall be my husband!\u201d These\nwords pleased the mother and she told everybody about it and gave it out\nin council.\n\nA day for the tournament was set and when it came a hundred young men\nfrom the entire nation gathered on the council grounds, eagerly awaiting\nthe signal. The great white eagle, with whistling wings, flew from pole\nto pole, pausing now and then to give a scream. The signal was given,\nand a hundred arrows struck its feathers, broke, and fell to the earth\nbelow. Through all the day the contesting warriors shot their arrows\nupon the magic eagle, but he shook them off like snow flakes and mocked\ntheir efforts by his screaming.\n\nTwo Feathers, dressed in the tattered skins of Woodchuck Leggings,\nwatched the flight of arrows from his doorway. The young men laughed at\nhim and asked him if he were going to try his skill, but to no one would\nhe reply. At length when no one was watching, the ugly, lame, coughing\nold man made his way to a corner of the council grounds. He had no bow,\nbut in his hand he carried an arrow. Drooping Flower\u2019s mother saw him,\nand recognized who he was, but kept her secret. She looked him in the\neyes and contemptuously exclaimed \u201cChisna!\u201d While she was still looking\nthis despised old man made a pantomime motion as if grasping a bow,\npulled his arrow and let fly. He hobbled back to his lodge, coughing\nviolently.\n\nThere was a great shout followed by an excited hum of voices. \u201cIt was my\narrow\u2014no mine\u2014liars, it was my arrow\u2014wrong, I know my arrow by the\npainted shaft\u2014mine\u2014mine\u2014no mine\u2014my arrow, I know it by the red quill!\u201d\nThe din grew louder and wilder. Blows were exchanged and some struck\nwith clubs. The older men rushed out and surrounded the excited throng\nand said they would shoot them with their arrows and commanded the riot\nto cease. When quiet had been restored the old sachem cried out, \u201cThat\nman killed the bird who can draw the arrow out!\u201d\n\nMan after man tried very hard but all failed. False Two Feathers made\nhis boast and kneeling, prepared to pull it. He faltered;\u2014his eyes\nfilled with water. It was the same arrow that had killed the turkey for\nhis supper on the night when he had plunged the death charm into Two\nFeathers! He arose and went to his house. \u201cThe eagle is shot,\u201d said he\nto his wife. \u201cNo one can draw the arrow out.\u201d\n\nThere was a great discussion and every one was asked for his opinion,\nbut no one had any idea who the marksman was, save the mother of\nDrooping Flower, and Woodchuck Leggings. Then a stranger who had not\nhitherto ventured to speak, stepped upon a stump and shouted, \u201cYou have\nnot asked the old man with a cough!\u201d The people laughed at the\nstranger\u2019s suggestion and watched him curiously as he ran to the abode\nof Two Feathers. The stranger grasped Two Feathers by the hand, by both\nhands, and whispered in his ear. The stranger was the wolf whom he had\nbefriended in the lonely cabin.\n\nTwo Feathers limped to the slain bird and all the people shouted\n\u201cH\u014da\u2018ho\u2019\u00b4! Old-Bones-with-a-cough is going to try, yo-a-hoh!\u201d\n\n\u201cOld Bones-with-a-cough\u201d touched the arrow, it clung to his finger and\nfollowed his hand into the air. All the people shouted \u201cWhoei\u2018!\u201d\n\nThe sachem took his stand and proclaimed Drooping Flower the wife of the\nold man with a cough, and the mother frowned as she was compelled to\nsay, \u201cNio\u2019!\u201d\n\n\u201cA medicine man quick!\u201d shouted Two Feathers. \u201cGive me him whom you call\nfallen Two Feathers!\u201d\n\nWoodchuck Leggings hurried forward, ever ready to be where there was a\nchance of being looked at.\n\n\u201cBuild a sweat lodge of fat bear skins, bring large lumps of fat and\nthem heat fire-stones and bring them in,\u201d directed Two Feathers.\n\nWoodchuck Leggings built a little dome-shaped lodge by sticking the ends\nof flexible poles into the ground and bending them over, and after a\nhunter had skinned a fat bear, he covered the lodge frame with the skin,\nhair-side out. When the hot stones were brought in they heated the\ninterior to such a degree that the fat on the skins melted and ran down\nin streams. After Two Feathers\u2019 body was drenched with the oil, he asked\nthat his \u201cdoctor\u201d rub him until it had been well absorbed by the skin.\nHe then requested the famous \u201cmedicine man\u201d to pack a lump of fat\nbetween his shoulders, cover it with a small skin and place a hot stone\nover it. A cold one was selected. \u201cHotter, Uncle!\u201d said Two Feathers,\nfor the first time calling him by this name. The second stone was only\nslightly warmer, \u201cHotter yet, Uncle!\u201d Another stone was placed on the\nskin but Two Feathers still shouted, \u201cHotter yet, Uncle.\u201d The next stone\nwas dull red and Woodchuck Leggings slapped it on with a thud. \u201cDoge^n\u2019s\nwi\u2019 o!\u201d shouted Two Feathers and putting his hands to the back of his\nneck he threw off the poultice. He grasped the bark which had worked\npartly out. He gave it a hard pull. Woodchuck Leggings grew suspicious\nand began to tremble with fear. With a loud cry Two Feathers pulled the\nbark point from his neck and before the cringing man before him had time\nto utter a sound, Two Feathers struck him a heavy blow over the neck.\nThe death charm sank into the flesh, passed between the bones in his\nback and Woodchuck Leggings lay dead.\n\n\u201cThe sick one has recovered!\u201d shouted Two Feathers. \u201cEvery one go away\nwhile I dress.\u201d The wondering throng which had sat chanting about the\nlodge during the ceremony, went to their lodges, curious to know what\nhad happened, for the voice which they had heard commanding them was one\nwhich in itself compelled obedience and awe, and seemed to come from\nneither of the men whom they had seen enter the lodge.\n\nTwo Feathers washed his body in ashes, put on his old suit which\nWoodchuck Leggings had ruined, but which was restored as it touched his\nbody, and ran out into the council grounds. The people looked at him in\nastonishment. Who could it be? The handsome man seemed like someone whom\nthey had known before, and yet no one ventured to say who it was.\n\n\u201cI shall call a council for tonight; I bring news!\u201d shouted Two\nFeathers.\n\nTwo Feathers took the speaker\u2019s seat and addressed the people.\n\u201cBrothers! I am Two Feathers, the same who once delivered you from the\nfamine, by the power of my charms, I delivered you from the two grim\nsisters that breathed into your faces and almost stopped your breath. So\nsoon have you forgotten me, but remember, I am not blaming you, for I\nknow the reason, and you are not to be blamed.\u201d\n\n\u201cBrothers! I was stricken in the forest by the treachery of Woodchuck\nLeggings, who thought that by taking my life he could take my power, but\nhe was mistaken, for he has taken neither. For a long time I have\nsuffered, alone, neglected and despised by all the people, but now that\nI have recovered, he who designed my misfortune himself has met it. I\nhave killed him with his own charm.\u201d\n\nThe gestures of Two Feathers, his face and his voice thrilled the people\nand with one accord they shouted, \u201cNio\u2019\u00b4!\u201d\n\n\u201cNow friends and brothers, let us rejoice in my restored life and power.\nSee, I smoke! Fly birds, fly and bring me a light.\u201d The birds flew from\nhis hat with chirps of joy. They fluttered up and down and flew through\nthe council house from end to end. They went into the fire, pulled out a\nbrand and placed it in his pipe. They brushed against his face again and\nagain singing. Two Feathers caught them in his hands and placed them\nback on his feather cap. He spoke to his pouch, \u201cDance, pouch, dance,\u2014be\nmy spotted fawn.\u201d The pouch leaped from his side and danced better than\nit had before. It danced in a circle around him as he stood on the\nfloor, it jumped over his head, rolled and tumbled, rubbed against his\nlegs, leaped and gave every sign of life. \u201cEnough!\u201d exclaimed Two\nFeathers, and reluctantly it ran back to his belt, nothing but a limp\nskin pouch. \u201cNow brothers, bring a skin.\u201d Someone brought him the pelt\nwhich Woodchuck Leggings had used. \u201cWhat, spoiled by worms? See, I\nsmoke.\u201d A puff of smoke purified the skin. \u201cSee, I breathe. Now look.\u201d\nWampum dropped from the frost of his breath and piled up in a heap on\nthe skin.\n\nThe sachems and head men now began to speak. Never did a man receive a\nbetter welcome. The people were glad, the women sang a welcome song and\nthen all rushed to put friendly hands on him,\u2014all but two. These slunk\nfrom the room, one with eyes brimming with angry tears and the other\nwith a face drawn into a horrible frown. This one ground her teeth in\nrage, she ran her claw fingers down her cheeks until the blood flowed in\nstreams. She tore her hair, and with shrieks ran into the darkness.\n\nThe council was over and there was a commotion in the lodge of Drooping\nFlower. The mother lay on her couch screeching as she tore her clothing\ninto shreds, chewed the flesh from her fingers and bit them off at the\njoints. Then she suddenly sprang up and shook her hands before her face.\nThe sinews dangled over the white bones and blood spurted from the meat.\nSuddenly the lodge became darkened,\u2014a rush of air was felt and a yelp\nwas heard, like that of a dog pierced with an arrow. When a torch was\nlighted the mother had gone. She could not be found though the people\nsearched in forest and in open. Only tracks of a big dog could be seen\nleading from the lodge. They were traced to a pond which had neither\ninlet nor outlet, and there they stopped. It was found out she had been\na witch.\n\n\n  GENERAL NOTES.\u2014The story of Two Feathers and his jealous uncle,\n  Woodchuck Leggings is one of the favorite tales of the Seneca. It is\n  related in several forms but always has the same general plot. The\n  version here given was secured during the summer of 1903 during my\n  stay on the Silverheels\u2019 farm, and was related by George D.\n  Jimerson, comments being made by Fred Kennedy, a half-blood, and\n  Peter Snyder. As auditors who nodded their approval we had Gahweh\n  Seneca and Fred Pierce.\n\n  As here recorded this bit of Seneca fiction is an example of a folk\n  tale taken down in note form and rewritten in the language of the\n  transcriber. It is not an exact translation by any means. It does\n  give, however, all the essential ideas conveyed by the narrators.\n  The plot is followed exactly in all the peculiar turns and in some\n  cases we have used the same expressions of the story tellers who\n  gave the tale.\n\n  The plot is a love theme in which a hero is thwarted by a jealous\n  uncle. Magic plays its usual part but magic is employed by the hero\n  to bring about his own recovery in due time. The heroine\u2019s mother\n  turns out to be in league with the villain, and after the villain\u2019s\n  exposure the hero is compelled to perform certain tasks thought to\n  be impossible. He succeeds and the evil woman stands revealed an\n  odious witch.\n\n  When I had written out this tale substantially as here presented I\n  read it to Edward Cornplanter. He criticized it by saying that I had\n  received it from Christian Indians who had given locations not in\n  the original tale and that my informants had tried to explain too\n  much. \u201cIt is all right, though,\u201d he said. \u201cI do not object at all\n  because white folks will understand it better the way you have it.\n  Only one big mistake you have made. Now, when Two Feathers went away\n  from that big bark house where the girl lived he made up his mind to\n  take the girl with him to his own village. So, he grabbed her and\n  jumped up through the smoke hole. He had his snowshoes hidden on the\n  roof. He put on his snowshoes, grabbed the girl around the waist and\n  then slid down the slippery roof. He was magic and sailed away right\n  in the air for a mile and then came down on the snow as nice as you\n  please. It was great to see it.\n\n  \u201cNow, soon, Woodchuck Leggings missed the girl. All the time he\n  still wants her, which makes his own woman mad. So Woodchuck\n  Leggings tried to jump up through the roof hole but fell back in the\n  fire and burned himself. So he climbed up on the roof with his\n  snowshoes to sail away after Two Feathers. He started down the\n  slippery, icy roof and went fine,\u2014until he came to the edge of the\n  roof. Then he fell head first in a big drift and the only thing\n  anyone could see was a pair of snowshoes on the level with the top\n  of the drift. This made the whole village laugh with a big roar. His\n  wife was madder than ever for she had to dig him out, and I hate to\n  tell you what she did to him when she got him alone. This is the\n  best of the story.\u201d\n\n\n   23. HOW TURKEY BOY SQUEEZED THE HEARTS OF A SORCERER AND HIS SEVEN\n                                SISTERS.\n\nThere was an old woman who lived with her grandson, Osoon (Turkey), in a\nlonely lodge a long ways from a settlement. The lodge was old and very\nlarge, but only the two lived in it, for all others had been killed by\nsorcerers.\n\nWinter was coming on and the old woman was busily engaged each day in\ngathering firewood for the winter\u2019s store. Every day she would cry as\nshe started on her journey and when she returned she would cry again,\nfor she was old and weak.\n\nAfter a time the boy, Turkey, asked his grandmother why she wept\ncontinually. \u201cOh my grandson,\u201d she answered, \u201call our people are dead\nand I am getting old. I have a hard time getting roots and bark for\nwinter food and gathering wood makes me very tired.\u201d\n\nThen she took Turkey to the end of the long house and pushed aside a\npiece of bark. Beyond was another room which Turkey had never seen\nbefore. As they entered it Turkey saw that it was filled with all kinds\nof clothing and weapons and many strange things. \u201cThis is where I have\nplaced all the things that belonged to our family when it lived here,\u201d\nsaid the grandmother. \u201cI will show you this place but you must never\nenter it or touch anything.\u201d\n\nThe next day when the grandmother left the lodge to gather wood Turkey\npushed aside the bark and entered the room. It was dark but after a time\nhe could see. He found a large drum which pleased him very much. He fell\nto beating it and it made a sound that he thought delightful. Then he\nwent out and closed the bark over the opening.\n\nWhen the grandmother returned with her load of wood she wept again. \u201cWhy\ndo you always weep?\u201d asked Turkey. And she replied, \u201cAll of our people\nare dead. They have been destroyed by a monster wizard who eats human\nflesh. His lodge is to the east and near it is a great bed of\nstrawberries. Oh, they are as large as hearts. Once there was a good\nvillage of our tribe there, but the people were killed and the houses\nhave now fallen down.\u201d Then she fell into a fit of weeping again.\n\nTurkey now said, \u201cMy grandmother, now is the time for me to go. I shall\nshortly go.\u201d\n\nThe next day when the grandmother was away, Turkey entered the forbidden\nroom and found a net bat and a ball. He removed them and went out and\nplayed ball (lacrosse). Then he returned and found the drum, which he\nbeat with great vigor. So loudly did he beat it that his grandmother\nheard it and returned in great fright. \u201cDo you want the monster to find\nout where we live and come here and eat us?\u201d she scolded, but Turkey\nonly replied. \u201cOh my grandmother, don\u2019t scold me. Tell me more about the\nmonster.\u201d\n\n\u201cHis name is Deadoe\u00f1djadase^n,\u201d replied the grandmother, \u201cand he has\nseven sisters who wait upon him. Oh never go east.\u201d\n\n\u201cMake me some moccasins,\u201d commanded the boy. \u201cI am going east.\u201d\n\nStill forbidding him to go, the grandmother, nevertheless, made the\nmoccasins. In a short time he was ready to start.\n\nNow Turkey was cautious and crept along through the underbrush until he\ncame to a clearing where he saw a dried human skin fastened by a cord to\na tall pole. It swung around in the wind and watched the clearing.\nTurkey noticed that there was a large strawberry patch there with\nberries as big as hearts. He was very crafty and knew that he could not\napproach the Hadjoqda (dried skin), without being seen and reported to\nits masters. Looking about he saw a mole and made a bargain with it to\nborrow its coat. Shrinking himself by magic he entered the mole skin and\nthen burrowed underground until he was directly under the skin, when he\nbroke a little root into beads and stained them with berry juice. He\ncalled to the skin and offered to give it wampum if it would talk for a\nwhile. This the skin agreed to do, and told him all the mysteries of the\nclearing. Turkey learned that the master sorcerer was Deadoe\u00f1djadse^n,\nand that the seven sisters cooked human flesh for him, grinding it in a\ncorn mortar with white corn meal. Only this would he eat. When the\nsisters were not cooking they guarded the strawberries from the deer\nthat came into the clearing to graze.\n\n\u201cWhat more should I learn to be safe?\u201d asked Turkey.\n\n\u201cWhat will you give to know?\u201d replied Skin Man.\n\n\u201cI will rub my hands on you and make you free,\u201d answered Turkey.\n\nThen he learned that the lives of the sorcerer and his sister were\nsecure, for they could not be killed, their hearts being concealed under\nthe wing of a loon that swam in a pool under a bed in the lodge. A dog\nguarded the hearts and they could only be surrendered upon order of\nDeadoe\u00f1djadse^n, himself.\n\nMeanwhile the sisters had been calling the skin, and louder and louder\ndid they call. Turkey said, \u201cTell them that you have been making wampum\nfor them, and that Deadoe\u00f1djadse^n is about to return spitting blood.\nThen I will stir up the deer and enter the lodge. Then you will report\nthe deer and the sisters will rush out to save their strawberries. I\nwill find their hearts and kill them. Then I will make you free.\u201d\n\nHadjoqda, the skin man, returned to the lodge, saying that he had been\nmaking wampum, and was delayed. He said moreover that he saw their\nbrother returning, being sick. The youngest sister was suspicious of the\nwampum, but it appeared to be good, and the sisters divided it. Skin Man\nthen returned to his station.\n\nIn a short time Turkey had gone back to the mole and returned its coat\nwith a gift in payment. Then he used magic to make himself appear\nexactly like Deadoe\u00f1djadse^n, and strode boldly into the clearing,\nchewing a strawberry and spitting the juice. This gave him great power.\nHe drew near the lodge and called for food, but one sister was\nsuspicious and offered him corn, then meat, then fish, but Turkey\nrefused them all and roared that he was O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s and wanted his\naccustomed dinner. This they put before him and he ate it all,\nsatisfying the women that he was indeed their brother.\n\nSuddenly Skin Man began to call and the women all ran out of the lodge,\nfor Skin Man was crying that the deer were in the strawberries.\n\nWhen the sisters were out of sight, Turkey noticed a small dog watching\none of the beds. He threw a piece of meat to the dog and then lifted up\nthe bed. Beneath was a pool of water and a loon swimming about. \u201cGive me\nthe hearts,\u201d commanded Turkey. The loon lifted up a wing but there were\nno hearts under it. \u201cYou give me those hearts!\u201d commanded Turkey, once\nmore. This time the loon lifted its right wing and beneath were the\neight hearts. Turkey grabbed them and ran out crying, \u201cI am Turkey, and\nI\u2019ve got your hearts.\u201d\n\nWhen the sisters saw Turkey with the hearts they began to chase him with\nthe clubs which they used on the deer, but as each assailant approached\nTurkey squeezed her heart, causing her to faint. One by one he squeezed\nuntil they all cried out and fainted but the rest arose as he released\nhis pressure and ran after him, when by giving a hard squeeze they all\nfell down. By this time the women were at the flat rock where their\nbrother killed his victims. Turkey now threw their hearts one by one on\nthe stone and each cracked open like a flint stone.\n\nDeadoe\u00f1djadse^n, suspecting mischief, now ran to the clearing where he\nmet the Skin Man. Of him he made inquiries as to what the noise was all\nabout. Skin Man was very insolent and called Deadoe\u00f1djadse^n bad names,\nenraging him greatly. \u201cTurkey has your heart, Turkey has your heart,\u201d\nsang the Skin Man in derision. The monster sorcerer then rushed into the\nclearing where he saw Turkey dancing about the flat stone. He rushed\nupon him, but Turkey threw the heart upon the rock and broke both heart\nand rock. Then he patted Skin Man all over the body and restored him to\nhis normal form. To his surprise he found him to be his own brother, who\nhad been held by sorcery to obey the commands of the wizard and his\nsisters.\n\nTogether they gathered many bones that were strewn about the flat rock.\nWhen all were piled up Turkey kicked over a pig-nut tree and called out,\n\u201cDisjointed bones, arise before this tree falls upon you!\u201d The tree fell\nand before it hit the ground a great host of people arose and all were\nquarreling, for all had portions of the others\u2019 bodies. Turkey pacified\nthem and told them to wait. From the throng he picked out his own\nrelatives and with them returned to his grandmother\u2019s lodge.\n\nThe grandmother was very happy when she saw her relatives,\u2014her children\nand grandchildren. By her suggestion they all returned to the clearing\nwhere the strawberries grew and there they built a new village, and\nthere they live to this day.\n\n\n                   24. CORN RAINS INTO EMPTY BARRELS.\n\nAt one time there was nothing to eat on all the earth. Nearly all the\npeople had starved to death, and a few that remained gathered together\non a high hill. They lived on boiled bark.\n\nThere was a certain young man who kept saying all the time, \u201cIt will be\nbetter after a while.\u201d Nobody believed him because things were getting\nworse each day. His brother used to torture him with sharp stones and\nsay harsh things to him. The young man, however, kept thinking that\nsomething would happen soon. After a while he heard footsteps, as if on\na clean path. He listened for the span of a moon and then heard them\nrunning. He told the people but nobody believed him.\n\nOne morning while he sat in the doorway of his lodge with his head down\non his knees, a young woman stood before him. He heard her breathe and\nlooked up. She smiled and handed him a basket of bread. \u201cMy mother sent\nme to this lodge to find a young man,\u201d she said. \u201cMy mother wants me to\nmarry him.\u201d\n\nThe people came out of the lodge and looked at the young woman and the\nyoung man\u2019s mother asked from whence she had come. \u201cI have come from the\nfar south,\u201d answered the girl. \u201cThere is plenty of food there.\u201d\n\nSo the young man ate the bread and was married to the young woman from\nthe south.\n\nThen the young wife said, \u201cMy mother sent me to bring food to you. Let\neverybody take off the tops of their corn barrels and then enter the\nlodge and cover their faces.\u201d\n\nThe sun had now come up and it was hot. The people did not like their\nfaces covered, but soon they heard a sound like corn falling into their\nbarrels. After a time the noise ceased and the young wife said, \u201cIt is\nfinished now.\u201d\n\nOut into the shed went the people of the lodge and found the barrels\nfull of shelled corn. Everybody ate and all were satisfied, except the\nyounger brother, who threw his food into the fire and said he wanted\ngame. Now the young wife had cooked the corn the young man threw away,\nand she was made sad by his action. So she said, \u201cMy husband, go to the\nriver and get fish enough for the people.\u201d But the younger brother said,\n\u201cIt is foolish to go to the river, for fish have deserted the river.\nThere are none.\u201d Nevertheless, the young husband went to the river and\ndrew out enough fish for all the people. The younger brother was very\nangry.\n\nThe next day the husband went hunting and while he was absent the\nyounger brother began to torment the young wife. \u201cYour food is not\ngood,\u201d he said. \u201cI cast your food away,\u201d and again he threw food into\nthe fire.\n\nWhen the husband returned he found his wife crying and when he asked her\nwhat was troubling her she said, \u201cYour younger brother has spoiled\neverything. He has rejected my food (speaking thereby the\ndissatisfaction of all the people). I shall now return to my home.\u201d\n\nThe husband was very sad and begged her not to go, but his wife told him\nthat her mother instructed her to return if she were abused. During the\nfollowing night there was a sound of scraping in the corn barrels and in\nthe morning when the women went for their corn it was all gone, and with\nit the bride had vanished.\n\nAfter consultation the husband determined to search for his wife, and\nthus he set out on a long journey. At length he came to a region of\ngreat corn fields and after a while saw a high mound covered with corn\nplants. On this mound he found his wife and her mother. His wife showed\nhim her body and it was burned and scarred. \u201cThis is what your brother\ndid to me,\u201d she said, \u201cwhen he threw the corn into the fire. He would\nhave killed me had I remained.\u201d\n\nAfter living in the south for several months the couple returned and\nfound the people again starving. The young wife ordered them to open\ntheir corn barrels and hide their faces once again. They did so and\nshelled corn fell like rain into the barrels filling them to the top.\n\nThen the young wife told the people that corn must never be wasted or\nthrown away for it is food and if destroyed will cause the crops to be\npoor and the corn to cease to yield.\n\n\n               25. TWENTGOWA AND THE MISCHIEF MAKER.[34]\n\nThere was once a very lazy man named Twentgowa. He had a wife and\nseveral children. Twentgowa was always giving excuses to his wife as to\nwhy he did not hunt game more often like other men.\n\nTwentgowa often went into the deep woods and had a mossy rock near a\nriver where he would lie and dream of the things he would like to do and\nhow he would kill big game animals if he only had a chance. More and\nmore often he repaired to his favorite spot as his wife scolded him for\nnot bringing home game.\n\nOne evening a man came to the lodge where Twentgowa lived. He stood in\nthe doorway and said: \u201cI am your friend. I have visited you before but\nthis is the first time you have seen me. I have known your name for a\nlong time. Now you must come often and see me. I have good things in my\nplace of abode and there is plenty to eat and much game hanging on my\nrafters.\u201d Then he walked away.\n\nTwentgowa did not know where his friend lived but thought he might find\nhim some day. Now on the next day there was nothing to eat in the house,\nsave a few pieces of corn bread, and the wife scolded Twentgowa saying:\n\u201cOh you who are always squatting like a duck on a nest, you shall not\neat but this food shall be for our children. Begone, and if you have a\nfriend perhaps he will receive you.\u201d So that is what she said.\n\nThe lazy man arose from his bed and went out of the house. \u201cI will now\ngo and seek my friend,\u201d he thought to himself. He went directly to the\nmossy spot on the rock where he customarily sought refuge and when he\narrived there he found his bed very thick with moss, making it a fine\nspot upon which to recline. When he had lain there a short time he\nlooked up and saw a large bark house, with very fine poles as supports\nand over the door a head of some animal he could not identify.\n\nHe arose and with caution walked toward the door of the house and when\nhe stood before it he saw his friend.\n\n\u201cMy friend,\u201d said he, \u201cI did not know this house was here. I never saw\nit before.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome in,\u201d said his friend, \u201cThis is where I live. Oh this house has\nhere stood for many years and I am greatly surprised that you have not\nseen it. Now it is time to eat. Be seated here on a mat and let us eat\ntogether. The first thing we must eat is os\u2018how\u00e4, a pudding.\u201d\n\nThereupon the friend went to an upper shelf and took down a bowl into\nwhich he placed a loathly mess of substance that had the odor of a fish\na long time dead. \u201cDjiskwengo,\u201d exclaimed the friend, and the bowl\nfilled up with steaming pudding of most enticing odor.\n\nSo the two friends ate the food and relished it greatly. Oh, it was far\nbetter than any food that Twentgowa had ever eaten. \u201cIt is so\ndelicious,\u201d said he, \u201cthat I would like to take some home to my family.\nI would like to borrow a cooking pot to contain it.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy friend, there is no need of that,\u201d said the householder. \u201cI will\ngive you power to do as I have done. You have only to follow my\ndirections and you will have great power to produce delicious food for\nyour family.\u201d\n\nSo Twentgowa stood at the back of the lodge and his friend threw the pot\nof food into him right through the wall of his abdomen. It vanished\nthrough magic and power was within Twentgowa.\n\nTwentgowa now said he was about to return to his home and he started out\non his journey which seemed very much longer than ever before, as if the\npath had stretched. He kept thinking of his newly acquired power and\nthought it might be well to test it. So he sat down on a log and used\nhis magical word, \u201cOdjiskwagoh.\u201d As he did this a great pile of steaming\npumpkin pudding formed on the ground. \u201cOh my!\u201d exclaimed Twentgowa.\n\u201cPower within me is; now I shall eat forever.\u201d He was now satisfied that\nhe had a great friend.\n\nRunning home he entered his lodge and told his story. He told of his\nfeasting on pumpkin pudding and of the power he had to make it by magic.\nSo he took a jar from the top platform of his lodge and in the manner\ndirected filled it. He placed in it the loathly substance like unto a\ndead fish and then conjured it until it overflowed into the large bark\ndish in which the jar was placed. \u201cAh now,\u201d said Twentgowa, \u201cwe shall\nhave a feast. Oh, it is so appetizing!\u201d\n\nHis wife was very angry and would not touch the food but scolded him,\nfor instead of real food all that was produced was a terrible mess that\ndrove her and the children out of the house. She threw stones into the\nlodge and called him out, for he was dancing inside.\n\nSo the people saw that Twentgowa had lied and could not make food by\nunnatural means, but made that which was evil. And his wife scolded him\nand said: \u201cDo not go to the lodge of that man any longer. He is none\nother than S\u2018hodie\u00b4o^nsko^n\u2019, whom we know as a mischief maker. He will\nmake your mind abnormal and what is bad he will make you think is good.\nIf you persist in visiting him you will suffer and great calamity will\nbefall us all.\u201d\n\nTwentgowa was greatly downcast and wondered why he had failed before the\npeople. He determined to go and see his friend again and seek an\nexplanation. So he went as before. \u201cMy friend, I was just thinking of\nyou,\u201d said his friend when he entered the lodge. \u201cCome we will now eat\ntogether. This time we will have the whole pumpkin. Oh it is most\ndelicious.\u201d\n\nSo when he had said this he sat down on a long bench and laid his war\nclub against his thighs and it became as if alive. It lay upon the bench\nand it had a round head which was very large. Then the friend said:\n\u201cPumpkin come forth. Thou art concealed within the head of my warclub.\nBurst forth!\u201d\n\nSo saying he struck the head of his war club with a long handled maul.\nImmediately a pumpkin rolled forth from the head of his war club. So\nthey cooked it and ate it. Twentgowa found it most delicious and was\ncontinually saying, \u201cOga\u2019\u00b4o^n\u2019! Oga\u2019\u00b4o^n! This is so delicious,\u201d said\nhe, \u201cthat I would be most happy to have the power to do the same as you\nhave done, for in this manner I could feed my family.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you power to so produce twice,\u201d said the friend, \u201cbut\nfurther you must not try for it is not good to always eat pumpkins\nalone. Now I am ready. Stand, swing your war club until it comes \u2018whack\u2019\nagainst the head of my club. If you can hit mine there will be power\nwithin you.\u201d\n\nSo Twentgowa swung his war club about, spinning on his heel until he\ncame, \u201csq\u016d\u016dh\u201d against his friend\u2019s club and it made a great whack that\nnearly broke Twentgowa in twain.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said Twentgowa, \u201cI will try my power,\u201d so he hit his club with a\nmaul and a pumpkin rolled forth. \u201cNow I must go home and make pumpkins,\u201d\nhe said. \u201cNow I go.\u201d\n\nOn his way through the forest he began to wonder if indeed he had power.\nHe thought that by some chance power was within him only so long as he\nwas in the presence of his friend and that his friend had fooled him by\nmagic to make mischief after the fashion of S\u2018hodie^nsko^n\u2019. Thereupon\nhe sat astride a log and laid his war club before him, its round head\nbeing at the further end of the log. Then he grasped a stick and reached\nover and struck the head of the war club. It was as his friend had said,\nfor a pumpkin rolled forth. He did not want to carry the pumpkin home so\nhe made a fire and cooked it. Oh it was a delicious pumpkin and he kept\ncontinually saying \u201cOga\u2019\u00b4o^n\u2019.\u201d Then he went home.\n\nHe went in his lodge and greeted his wife. \u201cI have new power,\u201d he said.\n\u201cMy friend this time has given me good power. I will make pumpkins for\nyou. Get my stake maul with which I am accustomed to drive in the long\nstakes of the house. Now I seat myself upon this bench and lay my war\nclub before me. This is the right way to proceed. Now I whack my war\nclub with the maul.\u201d So saying he hit at the head of his club, but in so\ndoing he lifted up his foot upon the bench and whacked his big toe. It\nwas a terrible and resounding whack, but no pumpkin rolled forth.\nInstead, Twentgowa fell off the bench like a dead man. He gave one\ndismal long-drawn-out howl and fainted.\n\nIt was a long time before he recovered and when he did he was very sore\nand limped when he walked. He could not hunt and when his wife scolded\nhim for a lazy man, he sneaked away again and went to the lodge of his\nfriend.\n\nArriving at the lodge he limped in. \u201cOh my friend,\u201d said the house\nholder, \u201cI have been awaiting you; come, let us go after fish.\u201d So\nsaying he went out and strode down to the creek where he removed his\nleggings. He took out his knife and passed it through his lips,\nmoistening it. Then he began to whittle the meat off his shins so that\nthe bone stood out sharp like a long knife. \u201cNow, my friend,\u201d said he,\n\u201cI will wade swiftly through the water and strike the fishes before they\ncan move to one side. They will die and float to the top of the water\nand I will pick them up. After a while we will have enough for a good\nrepast.\u201d He then waded in the water very swiftly and soon many fishes\nwere upon the water which he picked up and flung over his shoulder into\na basket. Coming ashore he put down his basket and then began to moisten\nhis shins with salivary fluid. They quickly were restored and did not\nbleed at any time. Thus they made a fire and feasted on fish. Oh it was\nvery delicious and Twentgowa kept saying, \u201cOga\u2019\u00b4o^n\u2019.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, furthermore,\u201d he said, \u201cI would like to have this power of\ncatching fish for if I possessed it I might obtain food for my family.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shall possess this power,\u201d said his friend, \u201cand when I touch your\nshins with my tongue you shall have power to twice perform this act of\nobtaining fish.\u201d And it was done.\n\nSo Twentgowa tried his new power and caught many fish which he left with\nhis friend. Then he said, \u201cI must go now, I am going home.\u201d Then he\nstarted home and on the way through the woods came to a stream that\nlooked as if it had no fish in it so that he said, \u201cI will now test my\npower in order that I may not be laughed at derisively.\u201d So he whittled\nhis shins and waded in the water, and it was as predicted,\u2014fish floated\nupon the surface and when he had eaten them he went on his way.\n\nHe went in his lodge and greeted his wife. \u201cI have new power,\u201d he said.\n\u201cMy friend has given me new power. I will now go and catch fish for you\nbut you must not mind if they have cuts in them. It is my manner of\ncatching fish.\u201d So saying he went to a creek and taking off his leggings\nwhittled his shins. As he cut the flesh blood flowed out and he was in\ngreat pain. He tried again and fell down bleeding. He bled very much and\nbegan to howl. For a long time he bled until he fainted again.\n\nAs night began to draw nigh his wife missed him and went out looking for\nhim along the stream. Soon she saw a red trickle in the creek and going\ntoward it saw her husband bleeding from cuts in his shins. She dragged\nhim to the lodge and then called upon her dog to go and fetch\nS\u2018hondie\u00b4o^nsko^n\u2019, the magical friend, to come and heal the husband.\nThe dog went and soon the friend returned. When Twentgowa returned to\nhis mind he scolded his friend, but his friend applied salivary fluid to\nthe wounds and they healed. Then said the friend, \u201cI gave you power\ntwice, but further than that I did not give you. You have cheated and\nwasted your power. I shall go now. Come to see me again.\u201d\n\nThen did his wife scold Twentgowa and said, \u201cYou must cease your visits\nto the evil mischief maker. He is only a maker of trouble and you have\nnever profited by his tricks. If you would get busy like a man and hunt\nlike a man you would have food. You are no good, but a bad, lazy man. I\nforbid you to associate with anyone, not even the dog.\u201d\n\nNow when Twentgowa thought about the matter he decided to go once more\nto his friend and procure power for obtaining food. So he went away by\nstealth and sought his friend. When he had come to the bark house he\nfound his friend in the doorway.\n\n\u201cI have been waiting for you,\u201d said his friend. \u201cI am all ready to go\nhunting. Come now, I am ready.\u201d He then took a skein of twisted elm bark\ncords each about as long as a man\u2019s arm. With these he went to a lake to\nwhich Twentgowa followed him. \u201cWhere are your arrows?\u201d asked Twentgowa.\nAnd his friend replied, \u201cOh you will never understand my ways. I hunt\nunderwater with strings. I am now going down into the water and hunt\nducks.\u201d\n\nAway out on the lake were ducks swimming and soon one duck after another\ndisappeared. When all had vanished, after the manner of ducks diving and\nnot returning to the surface, the friend returned to the shore with a\nlarge bundle of ducks tied by the feet with the elm bark cord. \u201cNow we\nmay eat,\u201d said he. So they ate duck and Twentgowa kept saying, \u201cOgao.\u201d\nMoreover he said, \u201cOh I would like this power of catching ducks for if I\npossess it I might feed my family.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shall have this power,\u201d said his friend, \u201cbut only twice may you\ntry it. I have only to hit your nose with a fish bladder I have held in\nmy mouth and to lick your bark cords with my tongue.\u201d So he did the\nnecessary thing, touching Twentgowa\u2019s nose with a fish\u2019s air-bladder and\nbiting a bundle of cords. Twentgowa was delighted and danced down to the\nwater, into it and under it. Soon he returned with two ducks.\n\nThen he said, \u201cNow I must go home. Now I go.\u201d So saying he started\nhomeward, and on his way came to a big pond in which he saw ducks\nswimming. \u201cI will now use my power,\u201d he said and immediately went into\nthe water, returning with the ducks. Thereupon he threw the ducks away\nand went home.\n\nAgain he went into the lodge and greeted his wife. \u201cI have new power,\u201d\nhe said. \u201cMy friend has given me power this time and I shall bring you\nmany ducks.\u201d So then he went into the woods where there was a lake.\n\nInto the lake he went for he saw upon its surface a great flock of ducks\nswimming closely together. He had trouble this time but as all the ducks\nwere together he tied several together and then poked one of them to\nscare it.\n\nUpward flew the ducks with such impetus that Twentgowa was drawn up into\nthe air and over the forest. When the ducks had flown a short way the\nstring which he was holding broke and down he fell and into the top of\nan enormous hollow stub. He stood there stunned until he heard a noise\noutside. He peeped through a knot-hole and saw a damsel gathering wood.\nHe made a squeaking noise to frighten her and she ran up to the tree and\nlooked into the knot-hole. She saw his head against the hole and\nimmediately thought that there was a bear inside. So Twentgowa rapped on\nthe inside of the tree and it resounded like a drum. Twentgowa then sang\n\u201cDjii-ha-ha, djii-ha-ha!\u201d many times, and the damsel danced.\n\nAfter a while she went home and told her sisters that there was a bear\ntree near by and that a bear within it sang and drummed. So they all\nwent to the bear tree and said, \u201cOh Bear, make a song for us. We wish to\ndance.\u201d Again Twentgowa sang and they all danced. He found that he could\nnot stop singing, though he was tired, and the damsels found that they\ncould not stop dancing. After a while a man came and stood near them.\n\u201cThere is a bear inside this tree and we are dancing, come dance,\u201d they\ncalled out to him. He was smiling and after a while began to laugh.\n\u201cI\u2019ll show you what kind of a bear is inside,\u201d he said. Then the singing\nand dancing ceased. He took an axe and chopped down the tree. Where he\nmade the first hole black shaggy hair showed through. It looked like a\nbear. He kept on chopping and after a time the stub fell over and there\ninside was a man with his clothes torn off. He had on only his\nloin-cloth. The damsels ran in fright.\n\nIn their place stood the wife and she was very angry. She scolded him\nfor making the damsels dance and for singing so long for them. She\nscolded him for going to the mischief maker\u2019s house and threatened him\nif he ever went again. Oh, she gave him a terrible scolding and it made\nhim frightened.\n\nThen the friend came out of the bushes where he was hiding and he said,\n\u201cNow you two who are married, I will speak to you. Twentgowa must not go\nto the woods any more to the spot where he has been accustomed to\nrecline. He may not come to my house any more. Henceforth he must hunt\nlike other men.\u201d\n\nThen his wife said to Twentgowa, \u201cCome along home and be a man like\nother men. You never will be a magician for you haven\u2019t the sense to be\none. You must be through with all wizardry.\u201d\n\nTwentgowa went home and was a changed man. He never went to the house of\nthe mischief maker again. He became like other men and hunted for his\nfamily.\n\n\n  GENERAL NOTES.\u2014This tale of Twentgowa (Big Duck) and the Mischief\n  Maker is related as a humorous story. It is a consistent Seneca\n  folk-tale and contains the customary magical elements.\n\n  It relates the adventures of a lazy man who would not hunt, and\n  before whom appeared his \u201cunseen friend,\u201d the \u201cMischief Maker.\u201d\n  Twentgowa goes to the lodge of Mischief Maker and learns how to\n  produce food by magic. The fact that he is told that he can do it\n  but twice does not impress him. He receives the orenda, or magical\n  ability and immediately demonstrates his power to \u201cthe friend.\u201d\n  Departing for his own home he grows skeptical and tries again in the\n  woods. Succeeding, he returns home rejoicing and bragging of his\n  power. When he attempts to demonstrate it, however, he makes a\n  miserable failure and is driven out of the lodge. Again he returns\n  to his friend and obtains magic for another episode, but repeats the\n  experiments and in a final attempt fails. We are reminded, through\n  Twentgowa\u2019s experiences, of the man who said he frequently thought\n  he had very funny jokes to relate until he told them to his wife,\n  when he saw how flat they were. Just so, Twentgowa could never\n  satisfy his wife that he possessed any magic.\n\n  The various episodes here given are without doubt only a few of the\n  many that the story teller might have given. The final escapade,\n  however, is the one that cured our hero, and the Mischief Maker\n  relents.\n\n\n   26. THE HORNED SERPENT RUNS AWAY WITH A GIRL WHO IS RESCUED BY THE\n                               THUNDERER.\n\nThere was a Thunderer named Hi\u2019\u00b4no^n who often hovered about a village\nwhere he sought to attract the attention of a certain young woman. He\nwas a very friendly man and would have nothing to do with witches. He\nhated all kinds of sorcery and his great chief up in the sky whom we\ncall Grandfather Thunder hated all wizardry and sorcery too. All the\nThunderers killed witches when they could find them at their evil work.\n\nNow, this Hi\u2019\u00b4no^n was very sure that he would win the girl he wanted\nand he visited her lodge at night and took a fire brand from the fire\nand sat down and talked with her, but she kept saying, \u201cNot yet, perhaps\nby and by.\u201d\n\nHi\u2019\u00b4no^n was puzzled and resolved to watch for the coming of a rival. He\ntold the girl\u2019s father that he suspected some witch had cast a spell on\nher or that some wizard was secretly visiting her. So they both watched.\n\nThat same night a strange man came. He had a very fine suit of clothing,\nand the skin had a peculiar tan. It was very clean, as if washed so that\nit shone with a glitter. Over his back and down the center there was a\nbroad stripe of black porcupine quills with a small diamond-shaped\npattern. He had a long neck and small beady eyes, but he was graceful\nand moved without noise. He went directly to the lodge and taking a\nlight sat at the girl\u2019s bedside.\n\n\u201cAre you willing?\u201d he asked her. \u201cCome now, let us depart. I want you\nfor my wife. I will take you to my house.\u201d\n\nThe girl replied, \u201cNot yet, I think someone is watching, but in three\ndays I will be ready.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THE HORNED SERPENT.\n\n  This is a magical underwater creature with the power to transform\n    itself into the form of a human warrior. The Thunder Spirit wages\n    war against the whole tribe of Horned Serpents and tries to kill\n    them by lightning. This is one of Jesse Cornplanter\u2019s finest\n    drawings.\n]\n\nThe next day the girl worked very hard making a new dress and spent much\ntime putting black porcupine quills upon it as an ornamentation. It was\nher plan to have a dress that would match her lover\u2019s suit. Upon the\nthird day she finished her work and went to bed early. Her apartment was\nat the right side of the door and it was covered by a curtain of buffalo\nskin that hung all the way down.\n\nHi\u2019\u00b4no^n again called upon her, taking a light and seating himself back\nof the curtain. \u201cI am willing to marry you,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen will you\nbecome my wife?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot yet,\u201d she replied. \u201cI am not ready now to marry.\u201d\n\n\u201cI think you are deceiving me,\u201d answered Hi\u2019\u00b4no^n, \u201cfor you have on your\nnew dress and have not removed your moccasins.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou may go,\u201d the girl told him, and he went away.\n\nSoon there came the stranger and he too took a little torch and went\nbehind the curtain. Soon the two came out together and ran down the path\nto the river.\n\n\u201cI shall take you now to my own tribe,\u201d said the lover. \u201cWe live only a\nshort way from here. We must go over the hill.\u201d\n\nSo onward they went to their home, at length arriving at the high rocky\nshores of a lake. They stood on the edge of the cliff and looked down at\nthe water.\n\n\u201cI see no village and no house,\u201d complained the girl. \u201cWhere shall we go\nnow? I am sure that we are pursued by the Thunderer.\u201d\n\nAs she said this the Thunderer and the girl\u2019s father appeared running\ntoward them.\n\n\u201cIt is dark down there,\u201d said the lover. \u201cWe will now descend and find\nour house.\u201d\n\nSo saying he took the girl by the waist and crawled down the cliff,\nsuddenly diving with a splash into the lake. Down they went until they\nreached the foot of the cliff, when an opening appeared into which he\nswam with her. Quickly he swam upward and soon they were in a dimly\nlighted lodge. It was a strange place and filled with numerous fine\nthings. All along the wall there were different suits of clothing.\n\n\u201cLook at all the suits,\u201d said the lover, \u201cwhen you have found one put it\non.\u201d\n\nThat night the couple were married and the next day the husband went\naway. \u201cI shall return in three days,\u201d he announced. \u201cExamine the fine\nthings here, and when you find a dress that you like put it on.\u201d\n\nFor a long time the girl looked at the things in the lodge, but she was\nafraid to put on anything for everything had such a fishy smell. There\nwas one dress, however, that attracted the girl and she was tempted to\nput it on. It was very long and had a train. It was covered all over\nwith decorations that looked like small porcupine quills flattened out.\nThere was a hood fastened to it and to the hood was fastened long\nbranching antlers. She looked at this dress longingly but hung it up\nagain with a sigh, for it smelled like fish and she was afraid.\n\nIn due time her husband returned and asked her if she had selected a\nsuit. \u201cI have found one that I admire greatly,\u201d said she. \u201cBut I am\nafraid that I will not like it after I put it on. It has a peculiar\nfishy smell and I am afraid that it may bring evil upon me if I wear\nit.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh no!\u201d exclaimed her husband, \u201cIf you wear that suit I will be greatly\npleased. It is the very suit that I hoped you would select. Put it on,\nmy wife, put it on, for then I shall be greatly pleased. When I return\nfrom my next trip I hope you will wear it for me.\u201d\n\nThe next day the husband went away, again promising soon to return.\nAgain the girl busied herself with looking at the trophies hanging in\nthe lodge. She noticed that there were many suits like the one she had\nadmired. Carefully she examined each and then it dawned upon her that\nthese garments were the clothing of great serpents. She was horrified at\nthe discovery and resolved to escape. As she went to the door she was\nswept back by a wave. She tried the back door but was forced into the\nlodge again by the water. Finally mustering all her courage she ran out\nof the door and jumped upward. She knew that she had been in a house\nunder water. Soon she came to the surface but it was dark and there were\nthunder clouds in the sky. A great storm was coming up. Then she heard a\ngreat splashing and through the water she saw a monster serpent plowing\nhis way toward her. Its eyes were fiercely blazing and there were horns\nupon its head. As it came toward her she scrambled in dismay up the dark\nslippery rocks to escape it. As the lightning flashed she looked sharply\nat the creature and saw that its eyes were those of her husband. She\nnoticed in particular a certain mark on his eyes that had before\nstrangely fascinated her. Then she realized that this was her husband\nand that he was a great horned serpent.\n\nShe screamed and sought to scale the cliff with redoubled vigor, but the\nmonster was upon her with a great hiss. His huge bulk coiled to embrace\nher, when there was a terrific peal of thunder, a blinding flash, and\nthe serpent fell dead, stricken by one of Hi\u2019\u00b4no^n\u2019s arrows.\n\nThe girl was about to fall when a strong arm grasped her and bore her\naway in the darkness. Soon she was back at her father\u2019s lodge. The\nThunderer had rescued her.\n\n\u201cI wanted to save you,\u201d he said, \u201cbut the great horned serpent kept me\naway by his magic. He stole you and took you to his home. It is\nimportant that you answer me one question: did you ever put on any dress\nthat he gave you? If you did you are no longer a woman but a serpent.\u201d\n\n\u201cI resisted the desire to put on the garment,\u201d she told him.\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said he, \u201cyou must go to a sweat lodge and be purified.\u201d\n\nThe girl went to the women\u2019s sweat lodge and they prepared her for the\npurification. When she had sweat and been purged with herbs, she gave a\nscream and all the women screamed for she had expelled two young\nserpents, and they ran down and slipped off her feet. The Thunderer\noutside killed them with a loud noise.\n\nAfter a while the young woman recovered and told all about her\nadventure, and after a time the Thunderer came to her lodge and said, \u201cI\nwould like to take you now.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you some bread,\u201d she answered, meaning that she wished to\nmarry him. So she gave him some bread which he ate and then they were\nmarried.\n\nThe people of the village were now all afraid that the lake would be\nvisited by horned serpents seeking revenge but the Thunderer showed them\na medicine bag filled with black scales, and he gave every warrior who\nwould learn his song one scale, and it was a scale from the back of the\nhorned serpent. He told them that if they wore this scale, the serpent\ncould not harm them. So, there are those scales in medicine bundles to\nthis day.\n\n\n               27. THE GREAT SERPENT AND THE YOUNG WIFE.\n\nThere was a certain young man who married a young woman. Now the young\nman had three sisters who were very jealous of the young wife, because\nof her beauty and skill, and because of their brother\u2019s affection for\nher. And so it was that the trio resolved to devise a plot and destroy\nthe young wife.\n\nIt was the season when huckleberries are ripe and the sisters had\ninvited the wife to take a canoe trip with them to a small island that\narose from the middle of a large lake. Huckleberries were reported to\ngrow there in abundance. Suspecting nothing, the wife mended her baskets\nand started to prepare food for the excursion.\n\n\u201cOh no food is needed!\u201d exclaimed the older sister. \u201cWe do not need a\nlunch where so many berries grow. Our baskets will soon be filled and we\nwill return long before our hunger comes, meanwhile we can feast on\nberries.\u201d\n\nThe four women entered their canoe and paddled to the island far out in\nthe lake. When at last they had beached their canoe and turned to look\nabout, they found the island covered with bushes laden with berries. The\nsisters seemed anxious to go farther inland but the wife said that she\ndeemed it wiser to stop where they were and pick, thus making it\nunnecessary to carry heavy baskets a greater distance to the canoe. So,\nstooping over she commenced to strip the berries from the bushes. This\nis exactly what the sisters wished as it gave them an opportunity to\nleave her behind, and, grumbling at her laziness, they disappeared in\nthe bushes.\n\nThe wife worked diligently and soon had her large pack basket full to\nthe brim. Lifting it to her back and throwing the burden strap\n(g\u016dsha\u00b4\u0101\u2018) over her forehead, she walked slowly back to the shore\nexpecting to find her sisters-in-law waiting for her. To her horror,\nhowever, though she searched in every direction, there was no sign of\ncanoe or women. The situation then dawned upon her, and discouraged\nbeyond all measure, she sat down on the sand and gave vent to her\nemotions by a burst of tears.\n\nShe was alone, a solitary human creature upon a far-away isle. She knew\nnot what evil ghost might be lurking there to transform her to a crow or\na wolf. Perhaps he might destroy her in the darkness and feast upon the\nbody. These and other fearful thoughts tortured her mind until at last,\nas the sun sank low, she lay down exhausted by grieving, and slept. Far\ninto the night she slumbered. Time sped by and she was awakened by a\nwhoop upon the waters. Sitting up she looked out over the lake where she\nheard a clamor of voices and a multitude of dancing lights. Soon the\nlights appeared upon the shore and shortly were arranged in a circle on\nthe island.\n\nCreeping up to a log that lay close to the circle of lights, she saw a\ncompany of creatures gathered in council. The beings seemed like men and\nyet more like animals. Sometimes when she looked they were beasts and\nthen again men. One began to speak.\n\nHe said, \u201cNow this woman has been deceived by her sisters-in-law and we\nare met to plan how to save her. She must be taken from this island for\nthe berries are poisoned and if she dies not from them the s\u0115gow\u0115nota\n(singing wizard) will enchant her.\u201d\n\nFor some time the speaker talked and finally asked, \u201cWho now will carry\nher basket to the land?\u201d\n\nA large tall being with a deep bass voice answered quickly, \u201cI will!\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, you may not, your pride is before your courage,\u201d said the chief\nspeaker.\n\nA huge bulky creature arose and called out, \u201cI will save her!\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, you are too terrible in form and would frighten her,\u201d was the\nreply.\n\nSeveral more volunteered but all were rejected until a very tall slender\nbeing arose and in a clear ringing voice said he would use his utmost\npower to save the unfortunate young wife if only permitted.\n\n\u201cYou are the chosen one!\u201d exclaimed the chief. \u201cYou are one close to the\n(knowledge of) people.\u201d\n\nThe council adjourned, the voices gradually died away and the lake was\ndotted again with flickering lights. The young wife crept back to her\nbed, half afraid and yet hopeful of the morrow.\n\nBefore sunrise a voice called from the water, and, starting up the young\nwoman ran to the beach and saw what at first appeared to be a monstrous\ncanoe, but looking again she saw a great serpent from whose head arose\nproud curving horns like a buffalo\u2019s.\n\nThe creature lifted his head from the waters and called.\n\n\u201cI have come to rescue you. Trust me and make your seat upon my head\nbetween my \u2018feathers.\u2019 But first break twelve osiers and use them upon\nme should I lag in my swimming.\u201d\n\nThe girl took her seat upon the creature\u2019s head and laid her whips in\nher lap. With an undulating motion his long glistening body moved\nthrough the ripples but the wife sat high and not a drop of water\nspattered upon her.\n\nAs her mysterious rescuer journeyed his way he told her that he must\nhasten with all speed as he belonged to the race of underwater people\nwhom the mighty He\u2019\u00b4no^n hates.[35] Even now the scouts (small black\nclouds) might have spied him and be scudding through the sky bringing\nafter them a host of thunder clouds. Nor was his an idle surmise, for\nscarcely had he spoken when a small black cloud appeared and sped with\ngreat rapidity toward them. Instantly the wind commenced to blow and the\ngreat serpent called back to his charge, \u201cWhip me, Oh whip me! He\u2019\u00b4no^n\nhas discovered us and is driving onward his warriors!\u201d\n\nThe frightened girl lashed the monster with all her strength until\nnearly all her withes were broken. In the distance the thunder began to\nroll and soon again in loud claps. The dark clouds piled thicker and\ncame faster. The great serpent in his wild speed was lashing the black\nwaters into a foam that flew through the wind and covered the lake.\nThere was an ear-splitting crash. The Thunder Spirit was coming nearer.\nThe gleaming arrow he had thrown had riven a floating oak tree. The\nyoung woman trembled beneath the dark cloud-banked sky and feared. The\nrumble of thunder was deafening. He\u2019\u00b4no^n was casting his javelins\nfaster. A great sheet of fire flashed from the heavens and lit up the\nlake and the shore. The thunder crashed and cracked and rumbled. In the\nawful fury of the tempest the great serpent cried in terror: \u201cOh use\nyour lashes! Oh spur me onward! My strength is failing! Scourge me! I\nmust save you and if I do, oh will you not burn tobacco upon the shore\ntwice each year for me? Oh lash me more!\u201d\n\nA blinding flash of fire shot from the rumbling clouds and buried itself\nin the water at the side of the serpent.\n\n\u201cJump now!\u201d cried the creature, \u201cHe\u2019\u00b4no^n has his range and I must\ndive.\u201d\n\nHope faded from the young wife\u2019s heart. How much better would death have\nbeen in the midst of the waters or by the lightning\u2019s stroke than within\nsight of the shore. With a cry of agonized despair she slid from the\nhead of her rescuer and sank into the turbulent waters. The horned\nmonster with a booming sound plunged beneath the lake and disappeared.\n\nThe light broke through the clouds and the storm began to retreat. The\nyoung woman struggled with the swirling waters. Her esteem for her\nwould-be-deliverer sank to a bitter hatred for he had abandoned her to\nperish. Her tired limbs could no longer battle with the lake. Her feet\nsank but to her unspeakable surprise they fell firm on the sand. Wading\nforward in the semi-darkness she came safely out on the shore. Walking\ninland she sat down beneath a tree to recover from exhaustion and\nfright.\n\nThe storm sped away growling that it had failed to slay Djodi\u00b4kwado\u2018 the\nmonster serpent.\n\nThe young wife arose, wet and bedraggled, but happy that she was safe\nagain. Now her heart was full of gratitude to her hard-pressed\ndeliverer.\n\nAhead of her, wandering aimlessly, with hanging head and melancholy\nmien, was a man. His body was drenched with rain and his spirit with\nheavy sorrow.\n\nThe woman neared him and called, \u201cHusband, Oh husband, is it truly you?\u201d\n\nThe man turned with a shout of joy and answered, \u201cWife, oh wife,\nreturned living, is it you?\u201d\n\nThe drenched and storm-bruised couple joyfully turned homeward. The\nthree sisters were there. \u201cBegone now and forever,\u201d said the husband.\n\nThen were the couple happy, and envy and jealousy found no place with\nthem. So here the story ends and so it is spoken.\n\n\n28. BUSHY HEAD THE BEWITCHED WARRIOR RESCUES TWO LOST DAUGHTERS AND WINS\n                           THEM AS WIVES.[36]\n\nThe daughters of a woman who was a clan matron and name-holder\ndisappeared. She grieved greatly, but her husband who was chief of\nanother clan said nothing. He was a bad man and was chief because he had\nlied about his brother Donya\u00b4dassi.\n\nNow Donya\u00b4dassi had once been a skillful hunter but his hunting charms\nhad been stolen, and so with his wife, Gaw\u012bsas, he lived away from the\nvillage in a poor bark hut.\n\nThe mother of the lost daughters, whose children should some day be in\nthe sachemship line, offered large rewards for their recovery and\ncontinually urged the young men to hunt for the girls, promising them as\nwives to the successful finder. They were most beautiful young women and\nthere were many searchers, but when winter came, all returned without\nnews.\n\nNow, it happened that Gaw\u012bsas, the poor woman, was boiling corn over the\nfire in her lodge and thinking very intently about the lost daughters of\nher sister-in-law. She thought that their father, jealous of them, might\nhave cast a spell over them and hidden them away. While thus thinking\nshe heard a strange sound outside, a sound so unusual that it alarmed\nher. Her husband was absent on one of his not always profitable hunts.\nSoon someone knocked at the door, but Gaw\u012bsas failing to respond, a\nstrange creature entered, looked into her face, and then advanced to the\nfire. This being was Bushy Head, a dwarf with an enormous bushy head.\nUpon its chin was a long white beard that dragged upon the floor. He\nseemed to be all head. The snow and ice had so caught and frozen in its\nbeard that as he walked it dragged behind him like a log. Bushy Head\nstood before the fire, reeled up his beard and thawed out the ice.\nGaw\u012bsas could not speak because she was so frightened, so she sat on her\nbed. The monster looked at her and then ran his cane into the fire,\nstirring up the ashes. The sparks flew upward and fell into the soup.\nAgain the being looked at Gaw\u012bsas but she only stared blankly back.\nGrasping a ladle he filled it with ashes and threw them in the soup, and\nturning, eyed the frightened woman again but she did not move or speak.\nHe kept looking at the woman until he had filled the kettle with ashes\nand then departed. After his departure Gaw\u012bsas recovered in a measure\nfrom her fright and dragging the kettle out of doors emptied and scoured\nit. To her dismay the creature, whom she had named Sogogo, returned on\nthe next day and for six consecutive days, each time behaving as before\nand Gaw\u012bsas remaining silent to all proceedings. At last on the seventh\nday her husband, Donya\u00b4dassi, returned and she told him of all the\nstrange happenings.\n\n\u201cWell, what did you say to him?\u201d he asked, and when she replied,\n\u201cNothing,\u201d he bade her speak the next time the Sogogo came. \u201cHe wants to\ntell you something,\u201d he said. \u201cSo ask him what he wishes.\u201d Having given\nthis advice Donya\u00b4dassi departed on another hunting excursion, for he\nhad come home empty-handed. He was a chief also, but could not rule,\nbecause his wife\u2019s uncle was his enemy.\n\nSogogo returned soon afterward and peered into the face of Gaw\u012bsas who\ncould only summon up enough courage to say, \u201c\u00c4-\u00e4-\u00e4-\u00e4-\u00e4.\u201d\n\n\u201c\u00c4-\u00e4-\u00e4-\u00e4-\u00e4,\u201d replied Sogogo, and filled up the kettle with ashes again.\n\nThe next day passed with the same results, but on the third day Gaw\u012bsas\ntremblingly asked, \u201cWhat do you wish, Sogogo?\u201d\n\n\u201cAt last,\u201d he answered, you have spoken. \u201cI can only speak as I am\nspoken to, and hoped, since you would not greet me, you would chide me\nwhen I spoiled your soup. Now let me tell you that I know where the\nchief\u2019s daughters are and have chosen you and your husband as the ones\nto claim the reward. You are poor and plenty of wampum will make you\npowerful. Now tell your husband, and if he is willing to aid me bid him\nhang half the liver and half the lights of every animal he kills upon a\nlow branch of the nearest tree. For a sign that I am telling the truth,\nlet him chop down the big tree before your lodge and within it will be a\nbear.\u201d\n\nSogogo departed and when Donya\u00b4dassi came back from his hunt, successful\nthis time, he was told the news. He felled the tree as directed by his\nwife, killed the bear and hung half the liver and half the lights on the\nbranches on the nearest tree.\n\nThe wife was cutting some choice pieces of bear meat to cook for the\nafternoon meal when in walked Sogogo, and greeting Gaw\u012bsas and her\nhusband, sat down and began talking to the man. He explained his plan\nfor rescuing the lost daughters of the chief. Donya\u00b4dassi was to go to\nthe top of a certain mound and seat himself in a large basket which he\nfound there. This basket would rest on Sogogo\u2019s head and would bear him\nto the inside of the mound, where the chief\u2019s daughters had been hidden.\n\nAccordingly the next day Donya\u00b4dassi seated himself in the large basket\nwhich he found on the mound and sank down under the earth.\n\nArrived there, Sogogo lifted the basket from his head and proceeded to\ninstruct Donya\u00b4dassi how he must rescue the daughters.\n\n\u201cGo to the first lodge on the right hand side of the trail,\u201d he said.\n\u201cThere you will see one of the girls. Tell her you are her rescuer. Bid\nher sweep the floor as soon as she hears her captor approaching and\ncontinue to sweep until you depart with her. Her captor, who wishes to\nbecome her husband, has seven heads. You must kill the creature in order\nto gain the girl. He will ask you to drink berry juice with him. Poison\nwill be in your cup but when he winks change the cups. Then he will want\nto fight. When you fight him use this short crooked knife, and rushing\ntoward him thrust it between his seven heads and cut off the middle one.\nPreviously instruct the girl to sweep it in the fire so that the flames\nwill burn his eyebrows and lashes. That will destroy his power and all\nseven heads will die. When you have done all this return to me with the\ngirl so you may know what to do next.\u201d\n\nTaking the sharp bent knife that Sogogo held toward him, Donya\u00b4dassi\nthrust it in his pouch and ran down the trail until he saw a large bark\nhouse at the right. Entering it he saluted the young woman whom he\nrecognized as the eldest of the chief\u2019s stolen daughters. He instructed\nher, as bidden, and had scarcely finished when the seven-headed man\nentered and spying the stranger he cried, \u201cKw\u0113! Come, let us drink a\nlittle strawberry juice.\u201d He placed two gourd cups on a bench and said,\n\u201cNow drink.\u201d Just as he winked Donya\u00b4dassi transposed the cups and when\nthe monster lifted the berry juice to his lips and tasted it he\nexclaimed, \u201cHo ho!\u201d meaning, his power was lessened.\n\n\u201cCome, let us fight now,\u201d he cried. \u201cHere are the clubs; take your\nchoice. How does that fine new one suit you?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I\u2019ll take that old one,\u201d said Donya\u00b4dassi pointing to a half\ndecayed stick. \u201cI\u2019ll fight you left-handed,\u201d he continued, \u201cSo ready!\u201d\n\nThe daughter began to sweep and the men to fight. Rushing upon the\nmonster so close that no club could hit him he thrust his knife between\nthe heads and with a quick jerk of his arm cut off the middle one. The\ngirl swept it into the fire and when the eyelashes and brows had been\nsinged the swaying body and six howling heads crashed to the floor. The\ngirl dropped her broom and followed Donya\u00b4dassi as he ran out and down\nthe trail.\n\nSogogo was waiting for them and after listening to the story of the\nsuccessful fight said, \u201cOn the left hand side, the fourth lodge down, is\nanother lodge. Go there and rescue the other daughter. A seven-headed\nmonster is keeping her prisoner. Instruct the girl as the first. The\nmonster will enter and ask you to eat. When he winks change the spoons,\nfor there is poison in the wood. Then he will challenge you as the\nfirst. Chop off his ear with your knife and when the daughter sweeps it\ninto the fire the creature will begin to die.\u201d\n\nDonya\u00b4dassi obeyed and events occurred exactly as Sogogo had predicted.\nWhen in the fight Sogogo had cut off the left ear from the seven-headed\nman and the ear had been swept into the fire, all seven heads began to\nwhine and the middle one said, \u201cYou have plotted to kill me! You have\nbeen unfair! The woman has planned it. Oh you wicked woman, you have\nbeen a traitor to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is untrue,\u201d shouted Donya\u00b4dassi. \u201cYour own rule has been to fight\nall who enter your door and now you are defeated. Before our fight you\nboasted you would grind me in your mortar and commanded me to do the\nsame with you and feed your body to the birds.\u201d\n\n\u201cAg\u0113, ag\u0113, ag\u0113!\u201d moaned the monster and died.\n\n\u201cShall I smash his body?\u201d said Donya\u00b4dassi, but the maiden did not know.\n\u201cGo, then,\u201d said he, \u201cand ask Sogogo.\u201d\n\nWhen she returned she told him to grind the body to a pulp in the corn\nmortar and hasten back to Sogogo who awaited him. Donya\u00b4dassi pounded\nthe monster heads and flung the mass to the big crows that already had\nclustered about the lodge.\n\nRunning up the trail, with the girl following him, Donya\u00b4dassi found\nSogogo waiting. The two girls and Donya\u00b4dassi seated themselves in the\nbasket, Sogogo lifted it upon his head and in a short time they emerged\nfrom the top of the mound and breathed the outside air once again.\n\nSogogo led the three to his lodge far back in the forest where he told\nall his history and then bade Donya\u00b4dassi run to the lodge of the great\nchief and tell him to call a great council at which important news would\nbe revealed and presents given.\n\nWhen the chief had listened to Donya\u00b4dassi he asked, \u201cWhat news can you\nbring and what presents can you give?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have luck now,\u201d was the answer.\n\nThe feast day came and people flocked from distant villages to hear the\nnews and receive the presents.\n\nDonya\u00b4dassi arose and said, \u201cI have come to tell our great chief that\nhis daughters have been found and are now safe and near here and shall\nbe restored on one condition, that he remove his spell from a certain\nyoung man whom he has conjured.\u201d\n\nThe chief was greatly angered that any condition should be given and\nrefused to grant it.\n\nMeanwhile Donya\u00b4dassi was arranging long strings of wampum and piles of\nskins in piles on the council house floor, one for each person present.\n\n\u201cThese cannot be distributed until our chief grants my condition,\u201d he\nsaid.\n\nThe chief remained obdurate. The people were anxious for their feast and\ngifts. The chief\u2019s wife begged him to consent and regain his lost\nchildren. So, fearing the anger of his people and fury of his wife, he\nat last asked that the young man who rested under the spell be brought\nto him. Sogogo entered. The chief looked ashamed and then frowned in\nanger. \u201cCome,\u201d he said and led the way to a small dome-shaped lodge,\npushed Sogogo in and then entered himself. Heating some round stones he\nthrew a handful of magical herbs upon them. Then taking his rattle\nchanted a song. The smoke from the herbs enveloped Sogogo and when the\nsong ended he had become a handsome young warrior. The chief and the\ntransformed Sogogo re\u00ebntered the council.\n\n\u201cWhere are the daughters!\u201d shouted the people.\n\nDrawing out a red bark box from his pouch he opened it and out fell the\ntwo girls. There was a great shout and the chief\u2019s wife rushed forward\nand embraced her children.\n\nDonya\u00b4dassi distributed his presents.\n\nDonya\u00b4dassi then advanced to the chief who gave him the reward, but so\nsmall was it in comparison with Donya\u00b4dassi\u2019s liberal gifts that it\nseemed a mere trifle.\n\nThe chief soon lost his influence but Donya\u00b4dassi, who had grown rich\nand successful, succeeded him in the hearts of the people but Sogogo,\nthe transformed, was happy with his two wives, the chief\u2019s daughters. He\ntook both, that was all right in those days.\n\n\n                      29. THE FLINT CHIP THROWER.\n\nLong ago T\u0115g\u00b4wand\u0103\u2019[37] married a beautiful maiden and went far away\nwith her to his hunting grounds.\n\nT\u0115g\u00b4wand\u0103\u2019 was famous as a successful hunter but his wife\u2019s family had\n\u201cdry bones\u201d,[38] so her elder sister and mother took council together\nand said, \u201cCome, let us go and live with T\u0115g\u00b4wand\u0103\u2019 and we shall ever be\nfilled.\u201d The prospect of a never failing supply of venison and bear was\ntempting to those who had long subsisted on tubers and maize.\n\nThe wife of T\u0115g\u00b4wand\u0103\u2019 was kind and never questioned his actions. He\nnever went long from the house, yet he ever had game in abundance and\nskins piled high in his stores. This made her marvel, but she never made\ninquiries. The lodge was divided in two compartments but the couple\nlived only in one. The other was almost empty, but T\u0115g\u00b4wand\u0103\u2019 often went\nthere. She would hear him singing alone in the room, then there would\ncome a crash like a splintering tree and soon afterward T\u0115g\u00b4wand\u0103\u2019 would\nbring in a new pelt and the carcass of some beast. This made her marvel\nbut she never questioned.\n\nThe young couple lived contentedly and never quarreled. No trouble or\nsorrow came to mar their happiness until one day, unheralded, came two\nwomen to the door of the lodge. These were the wife\u2019s mother and sister.\nWhen the unbidden guests had eaten their fill of good and mealy nut\npudding they began to seek the excuse for complaint. Then, oh the\nrailing, the endless rebukes, the sneers and sarcasm! At last the\nmatters turned from the lodge to the couple themselves.\n\n\u201cHow does T\u0115g\u00b4wand\u0103\u2019 obtain his meat? Surely he must be a wizard and\nlikely to eat all of us women when his charms fail. He is evil, he is\nlazy! Let us drive him away.\u201d These and other things the mother said to\nher daughter. So it came to pass that the sister insisted she must go\nwith the husband wherever he went and learn something of his habits.\n\n\u201cIf you must go,\u201d said the wife, \u201cobey him implicitly, else evil will\noccur.\u201d\n\nThe husband was downcast but would not yield to his fear of the woman.\nTaking a basket of salt he sprinkled the white crystals upon a flat rock\nand entered the closed room with the woman.\n\n\u201cDo not move or touch a thing,\u201d he commanded. \u201cLet no fear, let no\nsurprise cause you to stir!\u201d\n\nThen he commenced to sing. The woman looked about critically. In one\ncorner was a pile of quarry flakes, beside them a bench and in a heap\nbefore it was a pile of keen edged flint chips. A sudden sound drew her\nattention from the lodge. T\u0115g\u00b4wand\u0103\u2019 ceased singing. Outside some\ncreature was snorting, \u201cswe-i-i-i-sh, swe-i-i-i-sh!\u201d\n\nPicking up a handful of flint chips the man flung them with all his\nstrength against the wall nearest the flat rock. The woman was now\ncurious to find what was outside and pushed aside the curtain to get a\nglimpse of the mysterious things. Instantly the entire door curtain was\ntorn from its fastenings and a monstrous elk rushed in and trampled upon\nT\u0115g\u00b4wand\u0103\u2019. Then tossing him upon its antlers, bounded out and fled\nthrough the forest. The frightened woman ran after the elk, but fell\nback dispairing. Moaning she crept back to the lodge and confessed to\nthe wife.\n\nThe wife burst into tears and then bitterly chided her sister for her\nmeddlesome ways. Throwing on her robes she hastened to rescue her\nhusband. Carefully she tracked the elk and after many days journey she\nheard a low trembling song. She knew her husband was near, so cautiously\nadvancing she came to a spot where she could see a herd of elks feeding\nin an open. A deer was grazing near by. Gently she whispered. \u201cCome,\ngood brother, lend me your coat. You can do me good service thereby.\u201d\n\u201cCertainly,\u201d responded the deer with alacrity, and, walking\ninconspicuously into the bushes, she removed her coat and threw it upon\nthe woman. In her new habiliments the wife bounded off into the midst of\nthe elks. In the middle and surrounded by the rest was a large reclining\nelk whose antlers held the emaciated form of T\u0115g\u00b4wand\u0103\u2019. In a feeble\nwhisper the husband sang.\n\nWalking toward the elk she made a sudden dash and inserting her horns\nbeneath her husband\u2019s body lifted him off and dashed away before the\nastonished animals could remonstrate, and indeed, they were too\nfrightened to do so. Galloping breathlessly into the thicket she set\ndown her husband, removed the deer\u2019s skin and gave it back with\nexpressions of gratitude. Then lifting her husband upon her shoulders,\nshe carried him homeward.\n\nOn her journey she pondered how she could restore him. He was exhausted\nand covered with bruises and wounds, his body had wasted away to a\nskeleton covered with skin and his mind was turned with his sufferings.\nSitting down upon a hollow log she pondered. A sudden inspiration came.\nQuickly she pushed her husband into a hollow log and gave him a shove\nwith her foot that sent him sliding through. When he emerged from the\nother end he was completely restored.\n\nTogether they tramped back home happy to be together once more. Entering\nthe lodge the husband cast out the inquisitive sister and quarrelsome\nmother and sent them running down the trail.\n\n\u201cOne woman is sufficient female company for any man,\u201d he said. \u201cMore in\none house make great trouble.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n                                  VII.\n                HORROR TALES OF CANNIBALS AND SORCERERS\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  HADUI MASK OF THE FALSE FACE COMPANY.\n]\n\n\n        30. THE DUEL OF THE DREAM TEST BETWEEN UNCLE AND NEPHEW.\n\nThere was a great long house built of poles and bark. This long house\nwas in a secluded place where men were not accustomed to come, but there\nwere sorcerers who knew its location, but shunned it, for there lived\nShogo^n\u2018\u00b4gw\u0101\u2018s and his nephew Djo\u00f1iaik. The nephew was young when the\nuncle assumed charge of him, and he had no real regard for the boy, for\nhe had slain by sorcery all his near relatives, and knew that he must\nsome day overcome the orenda (magic) that had accrued to the boy, or he\nhimself would be undone.\n\nDjo\u00f1iaik was carefully reared, for the uncle wished to make him suffer\nat the end and cry out his weakness, thereby more greatly enjoying the\ntriumph over him.\n\nWhen the boy had grown to the age just before he became eligible for his\ndream fast, the uncle said, \u201cNow my nephew, the time has come when you\nshould hunt for yourself without me. Go into the forest and bring me\nmeat.\u201d\n\nThereupon Djo\u00f1iaik took his small bow and after a time found a partridge\nwhich he shot. Bringing it to the lodge of his uncle he presented it to\nthe elder man. \u201cOh now, my nephew,\u201d said Shogo^ngwas, \u201cwhat is the name\nof this thing?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh my uncle,\u201d replied the boy, \u201cI have never known the name of this\nkind of a thing.\u201d\n\n\u201cHo!\u201d exclaimed the uncle, \u201cHow then do you expect to be able to eat\nit?\u201d\n\nThe boy then was given the task of cleaning the bird for soup, and when\nit was ready the older man put it in a clay kettle and boiled it with a\ngruel of corn meal. Then he lifted out the meat and placed it with the\nfat gravy in a bark bowl which he laid aside for himself. Taking another\nbowl he filled it with the thin soup from the middle of the kettle and\nhanded it over the fire to the boy. The boy reached from his seat,\nstretching his arms and finally grasped the bowl, but as he did so the\nuncle pulled on the bowl and the boy fell face forward into the fire,\nscorching his chest and burning his hands. At this the uncle roared and\ncalled him clumsy, asking moreover, \u201cWhere is your soup? You have tried\nto put out the fire with it!\u201d\n\nWith great gusto the uncle devoured the partridge, picking the bones\nclean and casting them into the fire. Djo\u00f1iaik had nothing for his meal\nand was very hungry. Wearily he wandered out into the thicket, coming at\nlength to an unfamiliar spot where there was a low mound, as if a mud\nhut had fallen down and become overgrown. As he looked at the spot he\nheard a sound, \u201cKetcuta, ketcuta!\u201d Peering more closely in the\nsnow-covered moss he saw the face of a tcis\u00b4g\u00e4 (skull) looking at his\nwith open mouth.\n\n\u201cI am your uncle,\u201d said the skull. \u201cGive me tobacco.\u201d\n\nDjo\u00f1iaik obeyed, and when the skull had smoked a pipeful, it coughed and\nsaid, \u201cI am your uncle, bewitched by my brother who has stolen you in\norder to work vengeance on you for the power you inherit from your\nrelatives who have been killed by sorcery. You must remember the names\nof the animals you kill and the next one you shall find will be a\nraccoon. Remember its name and when your guardian asks you its name tell\nhim \u2018raccoon\u2019.\u201d\n\nIn time the boy went hunting again and finding a raccoon shot it.\nGreatly excited he began to repeat the name raccoon over and over.\n\u201cRaccoon, raccoon, raccoon, raccoon,\u201d he shouted as he bore it to his\nuncle\u2019s lodge. But so rapidly was he running that he fell over the\ndoor-sill and sprawled into the lodge.\n\n\u201cOh now nephew, what have you this time?\u201d inquired the uncle, but so\nexcited and chagrined was the boy that he totally forgot the name. \u201cWa!\u201d\nexclaimed the old man, \u201cIf you cannot speak the name of this thing you\nshall not eat of it. Dress it for me and I will cook it as a soup.\u201d\n\nWhen the raccoon was cooked the old man skimmed off the fat and poured\nout some thin soup for Djo\u00f1iaik, who by this time was very hungry. Uncle\nand nephew sat on seats opposite each other with the lodge fire between.\nPassing over the bowl of soup the uncle gave a quick jerk as the boy\ngrasped the rim and again pulled him into the fire.\n\n\u201cOh nephew, I am sorry,\u201d said he, laughing, \u201cI am always in a hurry.\u201d\nBut Djo\u00f1iaik was sadly burned about the face and made no reply. With\nhungry eyes he watched his uncle stow away the uneaten portion of the\nraccoon. He had not a mouthful.\n\nThat afternoon he again visited his skeletal uncle and related all that\nhad happened. He was thoroughly afraid now for his uncle was most ugly.\nBut the skull, when it had smoked, only advised him to remember the\nnames of the animals killed. \u201cToday, I believe, you will shoot a turkey.\nRemember the name and begin to use your power to retaliate,\u201d said the\nskull.\n\nAfter watching quietly Djo\u00f1iaik saw a turkey,\u2014a very large and fat\nturkey, which he shot. Tying its feet together he held it to his back by\na burden strap and lugged it home, rushing into the lodge saying,\n\u201cTurkey, turkey, turkey, turkey.\u201d\n\nThis time the uncle asked no questions, but with a frown watched his\nnephew pluck the turkey and prepare it.\n\n\u201cThis time I shall prepare a roast of meat,\u201d said the boy. \u201cI shall not\nmake soup as my uncle does.\u201d So he cooked the turkey in a pot and when\ndone he divided the meat in two portions, putting each in a bark bowl.\n\u201cNow come eat, Uncle,\u201d said the boy handing the bowl over the fire to\nhis uncle.\n\nAs the old man\u2019s hand grasped the bowl, Djo\u00f1iaik gave it a quick pull,\noverbalancing his uncle and pulling him into the fire.\n\n\u201cOh nephew!\u201d exclaimed the uncle. \u201cYou have purposely abused me and\nburned my face and stomach. My hair is on fire. You have distressed me.\u201d\nBut the boy said only, \u201cOh I was in such a hurry.\u201d And then he fell to\neating the turkey, putting the uneaten portion on the shelf over his\nbed. This time the old man ate nothing.\n\nThe next morning very early the boy said, \u201cI shall now arise and hunt\ngame which comes to feed early in the morning.\u201d So saying he arose,\ndressed and took his bow and went out. The old man was awake and looked\nvery angry.\n\nSo Djo\u00f1iaik went directly to the skull and gave it tobacco. When it had\nsmoked it said, \u201cYou shall hunt today and shoot a deer, but when you go\nback to the lodge your uncle will say, \u2018It will be a cold night and I\nwill gather large logs for a night fire.\u2019 He will awaken at midnight\nwith a dream and you must hit him on the head to awaken him, when he\nwill relate his desire, it being to barter meat for fat bear casings.\nYou must prepare yourself by taking a grape vine and transforming it as\ndesired.\u201d So instructed the boy went upon his hunt and killed a deer,\nbringing it home saying, \u201cI have furnished a deer for the larder.\u201d That\nnight after they had eaten of the deer, the old man looked very angry.\n\n\u201cThis will be a very cold night, I think,\u201d said the old man. \u201cI shall\ngather logs to burn during the night.\u201d And so saying he made a roaring\nfire and went to bed.\n\nCautiously the nephew arranged his buffalo skin coverlet so that he had\na peep-hole through a worn spot. At midnight the uncle arose and walking\non his knees to the fire began to utter a worried sound, \u201cE\u00f1h, enh, enh,\nenh!\u201d Then he threw one of the burning logs upon Djo\u00f1iaik, his nephew.\nImmediately the boy leaped up, being awake, and threw the log back into\nthe fireplace, at the same time crying, \u201cWhat is your dream, my uncle?\u201d\nand then tapping the old man on the head with a club.\n\n\u201cIt has now ceased,\u201d answered the uncle, rubbing his head and becoming\nawake.\n\n\u201cThe roof must be removed,\u201d said the uncle, meaning that he had dreamed\nthat the two must engage in a duel of wits. \u201cTomorrow we must barter,\nand I shall give, and you, Oh nephew, shall repay me with that which I\nmust not tell you, but which you must guess, and failing great calamity\nwill befall us.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is very easy,\u201d answered the boy. \u201cGo to sleep; in the morning I\nwill be ready.\u201d\n\nMorning came and the old man began to sing. \u201cYoh heh, yoh heh, yoh heh,\nI shall trade with my nephew Djo\u00f1iaik, and he shall give me my desire.\u201d\nSo did he sing continually.\n\nIt was a song that only a sorcerer would sing and its sound traveled\nfar, so much so that all the wizards heard it and said, \u201cShogo^n\u2018\u00b4gw\u0101\u2019s\nis singing again and this time has chosen his own nephew as a victim.\u201d\nSo they all came and perched about in the house, being invisible, to\nwatch the duel of orendas (magic powers).\n\nDjo\u00f1iaik was bidden sit at the end of the long house, and it was very\nlong indeed, there being many abandoned fireplaces in it. Far at the end\nhe sat on the far side of an old fire bed. His uncle began to sing\nagain, and walked forward with a bark tray in which were pieces of meat.\n\u201cI offer these to you,\u201d he said. \u201cYou shall give me what I am thinking\nabout.\u201d\n\n\u201cOnly give me a clue, uncle,\u201d begged the boy. \u201cHow can I divine what is\nin your mind?\u201d\n\n\u201cTorture by fire awaits you if you guess not by mid-sun,\u201d sang the old\nman still holding out the meat, while the boy pretended to be thinking\ndeeply.\n\n\u201cOh, uncle,\u201d said the boy, \u201cyou desire raccoon meat.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, not raccoon meat. Oh nephew, you must divine my word.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh uncle, you want turkey.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo not turkey. Oh nephew, you must divine my word.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh uncle, you want partridge.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo not partridge. Oh nephew you must divine my word.\u201d\n\nAgain the boy sought to evade his uncle by exclaiming, \u201cHow can you\nexpect me to guess your dream unless you give me some clue to your\ndesire?\u201d\n\nAgain the uncle fell to singing the charm song that conjures up flames,\nand suddenly they burst forth from the ground with a loud sound\nenveloping the poor nephew who wrestling with them, cried, \u201cOh uncle\nyour desire is for the bear casings enclosed in deep fat.\u201d\n\n\u201cNiio\u2018!\u201d exclaimed the uncle, and the flames died down, whereupon\nDjo\u00f1iaik brought forth his grape stalk which he had conjured to look\nlike the casings of a bear. Then was the uncle satisfied.\n\nThat afternoon the boy retired to the forest and sought his skeletal\nadvisor, telling him all that had happened.\n\n\u201cOnce more,\u201d said the skull, \u201cyour uncle will make a demand and all the\ncircumstances will be similar. This time he will desire a bear\u2019s liver.\nGo to a log in the swamp, pluck a red tree fungus and rub it with your\nhands until it becomes a liver.\u201d\n\nSo instructed the boy was ready for his wizard uncle. As before the logs\nwere gathered and a great fire made, and in the middle of the night the\nold man flung fire upon the boy again.\n\nWhen the dialogue was over the boy found that once more a test was to\ncome. \u201cIt is nothing,\u201d said he. \u201cGo to sleep.\u201d\n\nMorning came and the old wizard sang his charm song. The boy took his\nseat as before and when pressed by the flame he cried out, \u201cYou wish a\nliver of a bear, Oh uncle.\u201d\n\nThe uncle was not at all pleased with his nephew\u2019s power for he wished\nto consume him with fire, after the manner prescribed for torture, but\nhe could not.\n\nReporting the event to the skull, the boy asked for further help.\n\u201cTonight you must dream, and when your guardian has struck you with a\nclub to awaken you, you must crave the guessing of your word, which\nshall be one of the squashes that grow in a sand box under your uncle\u2019s\nbed. It is a great prize. Have no mercy but get what you demand.\u201d\n\nThat night the boy gathered firewood, remarking that he expected the\nnight to be very cold and wanted to warm the lodge. The uncle only\nscowled.\n\nMidnight came, and the invisible wizards and sorcerers were watching.\nStealthily the boy arose, and creeping on his knees, he approached the\nfire, grasping a blazing log and throwing it upon his uncle, as sleeping\npersons do. Then he began to grunt, \u201cE\u00f1h, enh, enh, enh,\u201d as if in\ndistress.\n\nThe uncle awoke, being severely scorched and his bed set afire. \u201cOh\nnephew,\u201d he called as he gave the boy a knock on the head to awaken him.\n\u201cWhat do you wish?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt has now ceased,\u201d said the boy. \u201cOh uncle, I have dreamed that you\nand I must exchange gifts, and that you must give me what I desire.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall so be,\u201d answered the uncle. \u201cThis is nothing.\u201d\n\nThe two then retired and early in the morning the boy awoke and took his\nseat. In a tray he had some turkey meat.\n\nCommencing his song he called out, \u201cI am trading a gift with\nShogo^n\u2018\u00b4gwa\u2018s, my uncle. He shall give me in exchange what I most\ndesire.\u201d So saying he sang the charm song that conjures flames from the\nearth.\n\nThe old man took his seat and when approached said,\n\n\u201cI shall divine your word if you will give me a clue.\u201d\n\n\u201cAny clue would spoil the intention of the dream, uncle.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen tell me at once what you wish,\u2014be quick about it!\u201d\n\n\u201cTo utter one word would be fatal to my desire.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen the word is deer meat.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo not deer meat, uncle. Hurry for I shall sing.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you wish moose meat.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo not moose meat, uncle. Hurry or I shall sing.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you wish my coonskin robe.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo not your coonskin robe. I now commence to sing.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you wish my otterskin robe,\u201d hastened the uncle, naming one of his\nprized possessions.\n\n\u201cNo uncle, not your otterskin robe. I now sing.\u201d\n\nWith a burst of the conjurer\u2019s song, the boy began to sing, \u201cYoh heh,\nyoh heh, yoh heh. My uncle and I are exchanging. He shall give me what I\nmost desire.\u201d As he sang his flames leaped from the ground, for Djo\u00f1iaik\nwas now an adept in magic. Surrounding the uncle the flames began to\nsinge him. With a shriek he leaped to the platform above his bed, but\nthe flames followed, until he called out, \u201cOh nephew I yield!\u201d\n\nDescending he said, \u201cYou desire the squash beneath my bed,\u201d and the boy\nexclaimed, \u201cIt is so.\u201d\n\nWith great reluctance the old wizard opened the bed, lifting up the\nbottom boards like the top of a chest. Beneath in boxes of sand were\nvines with squashes growing upon them, though it was winter outside.\nTaking a look at the largest, the old man shut down the cover and\nexclaimed:\n\n\u201cOh nephew, it is the custom to simulate what is desired in a dream. I\nshall now carve you from wood a squash that you may preserve as a\ncharm.\u201d\n\n\u201cOnly the real object desired shall satisfy me,\u201d answered the boy. \u201cMust\nI sing again?\u201d And he started his song which brought forth flames that\nenshrouded the old man, causing him to cry out, \u201cOh nephew, I yield!\u201d\n\nThis time the boy obtained the squash and with it the injunction to take\ncare of it, for it was a great prize.\n\nReporting the episode to the skull, the boy received further\ninstruction. He was to dream again and was to demand as the satisfying\nword, his hidden sister who was concealed in a bark case beneath the\nwizard\u2019s bed. This was a great surprise to the boy, for he had not\ndreamed that he had a sister concealed, this being the treatment given\nchildren born with a caul. They were hidden by day and only allowed to\ngo out by night.\n\n\u201cThe wizard hopes to keep the child,\u201d said the skull. \u201cIt is his\ngreatest prize and unless you are very firm he will cause you to err,\nthereby escaping your demand. Have no pity but push him to the uttermost\nwith your demand.\u201d\n\nAgain the boy built the lodge fire and as midnight came, he crept from\nhis coverings and crawled along the floor of the great cavernous lodge.\nSlowly creeping to the fire he seized a blazing log and with a cry flung\nit upon his sleeping uncle, at the same time grunting, \u201cEnh, enh, enh,\nenh,\u201d as if in distress.\n\nWith a whack of his club the old man awakened the boy, who called out,\n\u201cIt has ceased,\u201d meaning the vision.\n\n\u201cOh uncle,\u201d he said. \u201cI have dreamed that you must give me something in\nexchange for the gift I shall offer you tomorrow.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall be done,\u201d answered the uncle with a dark frown.\n\nMorning came and with it the test. Long the old man sought to cause the\nboy to make one small slip in the custom but he failed. Mid-day came and\nas the sun beat down through the smoke hole the boy began his charm\nsong, causing flames to arise as torture for the old wizard.\n\nAfter much haggling the old man opened his bed once more and revealed a\nbark case beautifully decorated. He removed this and placed it on a mat,\nafter which he opened the case and unwrapped a small woman, beautifully\nwhite, and perfect in form, though only as long as a man\u2019s arm.\n\n\u201cOh nephew,\u201d said the uncle, \u201cNow that you have seen your sister, I will\nreplace her and give you what is customary in such instances, a carved\nimitation. You will be greatly pleased with the doll I give you.\u201d\n\nIn reply the boy gave his charm song and again the magic flames circled\nabout the uncle like a clinging garment. \u201cOh nephew, I yield,\u201d he cried\nand handed over the case.\n\nAfter much haggling the old man opened his bed once assured that success\nwould come if he withstood one more test,\u2014that of bodily torture by\ncold. \u201cYour uncle will dream tonight and his word will be satisfied only\nby causing you to be divested of all clothing and tied to a bark\ntoboggan and dragged ten times around the long house where you dwell. I\nknow not that you will endure, for your magic is equal.\u201d\n\nAs predicted the old man dreamed that his nephew strip the next morning,\nthough the weather was extremely cold. \u201cI must drag you around the lodge\nten times,\u201d said the uncle, but first I must bind you securely with\nthongs.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt will be very easy,\u201d said the boy. \u201cReally, it is nothing at all.\u201d\n\nEmerging from the door the boy stood in the intense cold and stripped\nhimself, throwing his garments back into the lodge. \u201cNow I am ready,\u201d\nsaid he, and his uncle then bound him tightly with thongs, placing him\non the bark toboggan.\n\nAfter the first trip around the uncle called out, \u201cOh nephew, are you\nstill alive?\u201d And the boy answered, \u201cYes, uncle,\u201d in his loudest tones.\n\nFor a second time the uncle made a circuit of the long house, which was\nthe longest in the world, and again called out, \u201cOh nephew, are you\nalive?\u201d receiving an answer just a bit fainter, \u201cYes, uncle.\u201d\n\nEach time around the uncle asked the same question and each time the\nanswer was fainter until the ninth time his nephew\u2019s voice was scarcely\naudible. So he made another circuit, thinking as he made it, \u201cThis time\nhe is frozen as stiff as an icicle.\u201d\n\nSo when he had completed his tenth round he spoke again, \u201cOh nephew, are\nyou alive?\u201d And to his great surprise the boy called in the most\nsprightly tones, \u201cYes uncle,\u201d whereupon he was released of the cords and\nentered the lodge.\n\nAll this the boy reported to the skull who said, \u201cOn this night you\nshall dream, and you shall demand that your wizard uncle submit to the\nsame ordeal. Allow him no mercy, for if he gains in one point all is\nlost.\u201d\n\nMidnight came and with it the episode of the dream demand. The old man\nweakly yielded and then both slept until morning. The test then began,\nbut the old man begged, saying, \u201cI am old and if you will allow me to\nretain my clothing you will be satisfied.\u201d But the nephew answered, \u201cOh\nno, uncle, I must be satisfied according to my desires. What you say has\nnothing to do with the event.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen do not bind me, for the cords will cut my flesh and this is not a\npart of the demand.\u201d\n\nNevertheless the boy bound his uncle and threw him on his toboggan. With\nthe completion of each circuit he would ask his uncle if he were alive,\nand each time would be assured that he was. Upon finishing the ninth\ntrip he again asked, \u201cUncle, are you alive?\u201d but there was no reply and\ndrawing the toboggan to the door he felt of his uncle and found him\nfrozen as stiff as an icicle.\n\nHe thereupon, lifted the toboggan high, and his uncle was upon it. With\na mighty fling he threw it afar and when it came down with a crash his\nuncle broke into bits like an image of ice.\n\nReporting the event to the skull he was praised for his endurance. \u201cNow\nwe shall all live again and those who have been overcome by magic will\nbe set free,\u201d said the skull. \u201cCover me with a bear skin and when I call\nlift me from the ground.\u201d Soon he called and Djo\u00f1iaik grasped the skull\nand lifted it from the earth and with it the cramped body of the tcisga.\nRubbing it with his hands and anointing it he restored it to the form of\na normal man.\n\n\u201cI am your uncle, restored,\u201d said the former skeleton. \u201cLet us now\nsearch for your father and mother.\u201d Together they set off and found\nanother mound from which they conjured the skeletons of a man and a\nwoman, and restored them by rubbing and by oil.\n\nAll with great joy returned to the long house where they attended to the\nlittle sister, Djo\u00f1iaik rubbing her as was his custom and restoring her\nto a full grown maiden.\n\nEveryone was now happy, and the roosting wizards silently departed,\nleaving the great long house habitable for the restored family, and soon\nmore men and women and children came to live in the long house and it\nbecame a dwelling where all were happy.\n\n\n    31. THE VAMPIRE SIRENS WHO WERE OVERCOME BY THE BOY WHOSE UNCLE\n                        POSSESSED A MAGIC FLUTE.\n\nThere was a long bark lodge, alone by itself in a small clearing. Here\ndwelt an elderly man and his nephew. Hadno\u2019\u00b4s\u0115^n, the uncle, possessed a\nmarvelous flute, which he kept in his war bundle, wherein also were all\nhis charms for luck in warfare and in hunting. The flute possessed great\npower, and it was the oracle most consulted by the old man. Misfortune\nhad befallen the people through the machinations of certain sorcerers,\nand the flute remained the only potent charm left by which the old man\nmight foretell events.\n\nAs the uncle grew older he began to worry about the future, for he was\nreaching the age when men cease to go on hunting excursions. Now his\nnephew, Hau\u00f1wa^n\u00b4d\u0115^n\u2019, was at the age when it was considered that a boy\nis not yet ready for the rigors of the chase. Therefore, the old uncle\nwas perplexed.\n\nOn a certain night the old man came home to the great empty bark lodge\nand threw down a deer. \u201cThis is my last hunt,\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cMy nephew,\nyou must soon learn to shoot.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh I can shoot as well as any one,\u201d said the boy with great assurance,\nand so the old man gave him his bow and an arrow. \u201cShoot the spot where\nI have hit that stump with an arrow,\u201d said the old man, and the boy\ntaking the big bow and long arrow, pulled the cord back and shot. His\narrow struck the very spot where his uncle had pointed out an arrow\nmark. \u201cTc\u0103\u2018, tc\u0103\u2018!\u201d exclaimed the old man. \u201cYou are now able to shoot.\nTomorrow you may go hunting, but first wait, I will tell you what animal\nyou will be able to kill.\u201d\n\nSo saying the uncle took his flute from its bundle and examined it. Then\nhe blew a few notes of a charm song upon it. In another moment the flute\nitself uttered notes though nobody blew upon it. \u201cThis indicates that\nyou will kill a deer,\u201d announced the uncle.\n\nThe next day Hau\u00f1wandeh went into the forest alone and shot a deer,\nwhich he brought home to his uncle. \u201cThis is good,\u201d said the uncle. \u201cNow\nlet me consult my flute again.\u201d\n\nOnce again he blew the notes of the charm song upon his flute, waited a\nmoment and then heard it call out, \u201cTwo deer shall be killed tomorrow.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, my nephew,\u201d said the uncle looking very grave, \u201cI must tell you\nthat while you must in the future hunt for both of us, you must never go\nsouth. Listen to what I say, never go south.\u201d\n\nOn the morrow the boy returned dragging two deer and threw them on the\nground outside his uncle\u2019s doorway. Again the uncle expressed his\nsatisfaction, and again he consulted his flute. \u201cMy nephew,\u201d he\nannounced after listening to the oracle, \u201ctomorrow you shall kill a deer\nand a fat bear. Again I warn you never to go south.\u201d\n\nThe boy that night had troubled dreams and through his mind the question\nwas repeated over and over, \u201cWhy may I not go south, Oh why may I not go\nsouth?\u201d\n\nThe hunting continued each day as before, but the boy was greatly\ntroubled about his uncle\u2019s command. Nevertheless he obeyed until he saw\nthat the lodge was well supplied with meat which hung in the smoke from\nevery rafter, curing for winter\u2019s use. Then he thought that come what\nmight to him he would go south, and if he died his uncle would have\nplenty to eat for a long time.\n\nSo resolved he went on his hunt, and by taking a circuitous route, he\nwent from east to south. Soon he found the trail of an elk which he\nfollowed southward for a very long ways. Greatly fatigued by the chase\nhe still kept up the pursuit, until he came to a little open place in\nthe forest, where to his great surprise he saw a young woman sitting on\na log at the side of the trail. She looked up at him with a bewitching\nsmile and said, \u201cCome sit on the log with me, you look tired.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  MAGIC WHISTLE.\n\n  This whistle, used in shamanistic ceremonies, is made from an eagle\u2019s\n    wing bone.\n]\n\nHau\u00f1wandeh looked at her, found her pleasing, and so went to the log and\nsat down, saying nothing. Soon the girl spoke again. \u201cIt is not\ncustomary,\u201d said she, \u201cfor young people to sit so far apart when they\nmeet as we have done. Draw close to me and rest your head on my lap, for\nyou are very tired.\u201d\n\nThe boy therefore sat closely to her and then placed his head in her\nlap. Thereupon the girl fell to stroking his hair and scratching his\nhead, looking the while for wood lice. As she did this the boy began to\nfeel sleepy and fearing something of evil might befall him tied one of\nhis hairs to a root beneath the log, which act the girl did not notice.\nThen he fell into a deep sleep.\n\nWhen the young woman saw that he was fully asleep she began to pat his\nbody with her hand, and the boy shrunk in size with every pat until he\nwas so small that the young woman placed him with ease in the basket she\ncarried. Then she leaped into the air and flew away, as witches do. In a\nshort time, however, she came to a halt and was slowly drawn back to the\nlog from which she had started. The hair had stretched its limit and\ndrew her back. She took the boy out of the basket and struck him with a\nsmall paddle and he became restored. \u201cI will fix him next time,\u201d thought\nshe.\n\nHau\u00f1wandeh was now in the power of the witch-girl and stayed all day\nwith her, until he became sleepy again, when she stroked his head once\nmore, putting him to sleep. Making him small by patting, she again\nplaced him in her basket and flew through the air to a river bank.\nTaking him out she asked, \u201cDo you know where you are?\u201d Hoping to destroy\nher magic he answered, \u201cOh yes, I know where I am. This is the place\nwhere my uncle and I catch our fish.\u201d So she put him in her basket and\nflew to an island in a large lake. Taking him out she questioned him\nfurther, \u201cDo you know this place?\u201d Still hoping to deceive her he\nanswered, \u201cOh this is the place where my uncle and I come with our\ncanoe.\u201d\n\nAngry that she could not take him to an unfamiliar spot the witch-girl\nreplaced him in her basket and leaped high in the air, this time taking\nhim to a far distant place. Descending she alighted on the edge of a\ngreat precipice, so deep that the tops of the trees below were only\nfaintly visible. She gave a shriek and threw the basket over the cliff.\n\nNow Hau\u00f1wandeh, being attacked by the powers of witchcraft, began to\ndevelop his own magic power, and when he went over the cliff and felt\nhimself falling, he desired to fall as an autumn leaf, and so he\nfluttered down to the bottom without injury. He tumbled out of the\nbasket and saw that he was in a deep hole in the earth and that there\nwas no means of escape. Looking about him he saw the skeletons of\nnumerous men, and not far away he saw two men who were alive but\npartially eaten.\n\nThey spoke to him. \u201cOh miserable youth,\u201d said they. \u201cWe are of the\nopinion that you have not long to live.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow did you get here?\u201d asked the boy.\n\n\u201cWe met a young woman,\u201d said they, \u201cwho lured us to be friendly with\nher, and she stroked our hair, then took us in a basket and threw us\ndown the cliff. A great bird comes and bites our bodies and we are being\neaten and yet cannot die.\u201d\n\nAs they spoke, a gigantic bird flew by, and darting at the youth, took a\nlarge bit out of his arm. He looked at the wound and licked it, and it\nimmediately healed.\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\nWhen the uncle missed his nephew he became greatly distressed. Taking\nout his flute he looked at it and found that the mouth of it was stained\nwith a smear of blood. \u201cAgi\u2018,\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cMy nephew has disobeyed\nand now is wounded.\u201d\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe next day the big bird returned and took a mouthful from the boy\u2019s\narm, but as before he placed the wound to his mouth and healed it by his\nown power.\n\nThat night the waiting uncle looked at his flute again and found it very\nbloody. \u201cAgi\u2018,\u201d he exclaimed, \u201csome direful thing has happened and I\nshall never see my nephew again.\u201d\n\nOn the following day the bird swooped at him and tore his body cruelly,\neating large chunks of it, but as before he healed himself.\n\nAs he lay pondering over his misery he heard a voice and looking up saw\na little old woman. Very small was she and stooped over. \u201cI have taken\npity on you,\u201d she said. \u201cI have a medicine for you. Take it and if in\nthe morning you find a green sprig coming from your mouth, snatch it\nquickly, for it is a quickly growing tree. Pull up the plant that you\nfind beneath your feet and put the green sprig into the hole. It will\ngrow to the top of the cliff and you may escape. If you have strong\npower within you there can be no failure.\u201d So saying she handed the boy\na small white root which he swallowed. Seeing this the little old woman\nvanished.\n\nThe next morning Hau\u00f1wandeh felt a pain in his stomach and soon he felt\na scratching in his throat. Out came a green sprig which he snatched\nquickly and, pulling up a small withered plant he thrust the sprig into\nthe hole and waited.\n\nFor a very long time the uncle awaited the return of his nephew, and\nmourned greatly. Not once did he leave the lodge but sat within with his\nface covered with the white ashes from the lodge fire. Each day a sound\nwould be heard and a voice would call, \u201cHail Uncle, I have returned!\u201d\nLeaping up with gladness the uncle would look out, but see only a\nscampering fox or mocking screech owl, or perhaps a wild goose. So he\nfell to answering all calls by saying, \u201cDepart quickly, I know that you\nare deceiving me.\u201d So, in mourning he sat, covered with ashes and\ngrowing thinner and weaker every day.\n\nHau\u00f1wandeh watched the green sprig, and noticed that it had begun to\ngrow. This pleased him greatly and he called all the bones in the valley\nsaying: \u201cI will gather you together in one pile. I will cause your\nresurrection and you shall escape with me for I have a growing tree\nwhich we may climb.\u201d So saying he gathered the bones in a pile and\ncalled quickly, \u201cHurry now, for you shall arise. Quickly, for the tree\nis growing. Hasten, for I am now thrusting a tree upon you, and you must\narise before the tree falls upon you.\u201d Then he kicked over the tree and\nit fell, but before it touched the ground all the skeletons arose\nlooking like men. The two partly eaten men recovered and said, \u201cWe are\nyour relatives.\u201d Now two men who had been restored fell to quarreling,\nbecause each had taken the other\u2019s legs in the haste of arising, but the\nboy commanded them to be still and follow him up the tree. So all\nfollowed, and he further ordered all to look upward and not downward,\nfor one look downward meant destruction. The tree was very tall and it\ntook a long time to climb it, and when the company had climbed a long\nways the two quarreling men looked down to see how far they had gone,\nand as they looked they turned to skeletons again and their bones\nrattled through the limbs of the tree and past the others who were\nclimbing.\n\nAt length all reached the top and gathered about the edge of the cliff.\nThen the boy saw that the company looked very friendly, and he\ndiscovered two brothers among them. \u201cI must go to the house of the young\nwoman,\u201d he said to his brothers. \u201cI leave this company in your care. I\nmust overcome the evil magic of the great witches. When I have done this\nI shall return. Wait for me.\u201d\n\nHau\u00f1wandeh determined to have his revenge. He sought the house of the\nwitches and went straight toward it. Reaching the door, he entered\nsaying, \u201cI have come.\u201d\n\nSitting in the lodge was the young woman who had bewitched him, and at\nthe lodge fire was the mother, the great witch, and in the rear of the\nlodge were six daughters.\n\nThe mother looked up, saying, \u201cOh son-in-law, I dreamed you would come.\nMy daughter is waiting for you.\u201d\n\nThat night the old witch became disturbed in her sleep and arose and\nflung herself in the fire, crying out a strange noise. Hau\u00f1wandeh\ngrabbed the corn pounder and hit her on the head, saying, \u201cAwake and\ntell me.\u201d So she awoke and said, \u201cOh son-in-law, I have dreamed that\ncalamity will befall us unless you repair to the long lake and kill two\nwhite otters, and do it quickly, before the skin curtain of the lodge\ndoor stops swinging, from your out-going.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat will be very easy,\u201d answered the youth. \u201cBe at ease and I will\nsoon return.\u201d So speaking he tied his long hairs together and made a\nstring that reached from the door to the lake. This he tied to the skin\ncurtain and kept it swinging as he ran to the lake.\n\n\u201cOtters come forth,\u201d he commanded, and one great white otter leaped from\nthe lake, but the youth killed it with a round white stone that he\ncarried in his pouch. As he did this a wave arose and sped toward him\nbearing on its crest the other great white otter. As it leaped toward\nhim he killed it as he had the first. Running back to the lodge he flung\nthe bodies in, with a laugh, exclaiming, \u201cHere are your otters.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere?\u201d screamed the witch woman, leaping from her bed. \u201cHere,\u201d he\nreplied. \u201cI shall now build the fire and skin them.\u201d He did this, saving\nthe skins and throwing the carcasses into the fire. At this the witch\nwoman screamed, \u201cOh, you have killed my brothers!\u201d And the boy replied,\n\u201cDid you not require this of me?\u201d It was true, the otters were the witch\nwoman\u2019s wizard brothers, and they were mighty in magic. The water in\nwhich they lived was magic water and when it touched the skin of a man\nthe flesh was eaten off, as if scalded. But Hau\u00f1wandeh was harmed not at\nall. He was becoming a great wizard himself.\n\nThe following night the witch woman dreamed again and when awakened by\nher son-in-law, required that he immediately depart and kill a great\neagle that dwelt in the top of a certain tall tree, and do so before the\ndoor curtain stopped swinging from his departure. Hau\u00f1wandeh obeyed and\nfinding the tree, shot a strong arrow at the big bird, but though he\nused great force in drawing the bow, the arrow paused in mid air and\nreturned. The eagle\u2019s magic was too great. Again he shot an arrow,\ncommanding it to kill the eagle, and the arrow obeyed, piercing the\nheart of the bird. It fell to his feet, and grabbing it in haste he ran\nto the lodge. With a laugh he flung it in the door saying, \u201cHere is your\nthird brother!\u201d \u201cWhere?\u201d shrieked the old witch, leaping from her bed.\n\u201cRight here by the fire,\u201d answered Hau\u00f1wandeh. \u201cI shall now skin it and\nburn its body.\u201d When he had done this, the old witch was in a great\nrage. With all six daughters she was screaming and waving her blanket.\n\nHau\u00f1wandeh then beckoned to the young woman who had bewitched him. She\nlooked frightened. \u201cCome along,\u201d he commanded, \u201cthis is a bad place. We\nare going away.\u201d\n\nTaking the young woman outside, he ordered her to look at the lodge, at\nthe same time saying, \u201cHouse become flint. House become heated red hot.\u201d\nThe house obeyed and all the witches inside perished.\n\nThen he took the young woman to the precipice and greeting the men he\nhad rescued said, \u201cThis young woman is said to be my wife.\u201d So saying he\ntied her with bark cords and flung her over the cliff.\n\nThe entire company of restored men then followed Hau\u00f1wandeh, and he led\nthem back to his uncle\u2019s lodge, calling from without, said, \u201cHail uncle,\nI have returned.\u201d\n\nAgain and again he called, and after a time he heard a voice answering,\n\u201cBe away, be away from here! I shall not be deceived again by you\nanimals!\u201d\n\n\u201cI am your nephew,\u201d called the boy. \u201cI have returned.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, if you are my nephew thrust your hands through the hole in the\ncurtain and grasp the door-post,\u201d said the uncle.\n\nThe boy did as suggested and his uncle tied his arms very tightly, so\nthat he was made prisoner. Then the uncle looked out and saw his nephew.\n\n\u201cOh wait until I become cleaned,\u201d cried the uncle, brushing off the\nashes and washing his blackened face.\n\nSo he cleansed himself and untied his nephew\u2019s arms. Then he invited all\nthe restored relatives into the lodge for a great feast; so then\nHau\u00f1wandeh told the story of his adventures; that is how we know about\nit.\n\n\n 32. YOUNGER BROTHER ELUDES HIS SISTER-IN-LAW BY CREATING OBSTACLES AND\n                        LIBERATES OLDER BROTHER.\n\nFar from any settlement of O\u00f1gwe Ho\u00f1we\u2018, there was a lonely lodge\nwherein dwelt two brothers, one older than the other. Older Brother was\nthe hunter and provided meat for the lodge, and Younger Brother cooked\nthe food. All things went well until upon a certain day Older came home\nwith no game. Younger carefully observed his clothing and found fresh\nblood stains upon it, thereby knowing that he had killed game.\n\nDay by day the brother now returned without game of any kind, although\nhis body and clothing proved by blood stains that he had been\nsuccessful. Food in the lodge became scarce and Younger began to get\nvery hungry, but Older seemed to be well fed. Younger watched him and\nnoticed that he seemed to be thinking of something other than the\nmatters about which he spoke. Inquiry revealed nothing of value, for\nOlder would always say, \u201cOh my Younger Brother, you should not bother\nme.\u201d\n\nThe Older Brother went on another hunting trip, taking many\naccoutrements, as if for a long trip. Younger determined to follow him\nand spy upon his actions. Carefully tracking Older, Younger went down\nthe trail until he came to a spring, where he noticed a small path\nconcealed by leaves and branches. He determined to follow this. In a\nshort time he saw a new lodge. It appeared to be very new for the bark\nhad not yet fully dried, being still of the smell of the tree.\nConcealing himself in a clump of bushes he watched. Soon he heard two\nvoices, one of them a woman\u2019s. The woman was ordering a man to do\ncertain things and he was pleading to be set free. Soon a man came out\nof the lodge and went west. Younger then saw that it was his brother.\n\nWhen Older had been gone for a time Younger stood up and walked toward\nthe lodge, making a noise with his feet to attract attention. The woman\nheard the sound and came out of the house. She was young and very\nhandsome and had a peculiar way of lifting her head and when she looked\nshe seemed to draw her eyes together making an upright wrinkle between.\nHer eyes seemed yellow with bright spots in them.\n\nSoon she observed Younger standing still on the path and smiled, calling\nhim to her. He advanced to the lodge and she stepped inside, saying\n\u201cDadjoh,\u201d inviting him in. Younger entered and the young woman embraced\nhim and placed her hand on his body, in greeting. Younger noticed that\nshe had a hook on her hand attached to a long fish line and that she was\nendeavoring to fasten the hook into him. He fled from the lodge and ran\ndown the trail, saying, \u201cI will make ready and return.\u201d Younger now\nreturned to his own lodge and awaited the coming of Older Brother.\n\nAfter a long time Older returned and sat down by the fire. Younger\nlooked at him a while, and noticed as usual, blood stains on his shirt.\nHe observed something else.\n\nAt last Younger spoke. \u201cMy Older Brother,\u201d he said, \u201cIt is my opinion\nthat you have a fishhook in your neck. You are held by a long line that\ngoes out of the lodge. I shall now proceed to remove the hook.\u201d\n\nTaking Older out of the lodge he removed the hook and fastened it to a\nthorn bush that stood on the edge of a cliff. \u201cOh now, my Older Brother,\nI must tell you that soon a woman, who is your wife, will pull on the\nline and when you do not return she will be after you. Such is my\nopinion. I also think that the woman is a sorceress and that she will\nendeavor to kill both of us. Now I have acquired strong magic and will\nsave you. You must stand here and allow me to pat you into a small\nobject which I will place in the hollow of an antler-tipped arrow-point.\nI will shoot this arrow into the sky. It will go a long ways and then\nfall to the ground. When you strike the ground become normal in size and\nrun as fast as you can until you find a new lodge far to the east. There\ndwell until I come for you.\u201d\n\nNow all happened as related by Younger and when the arrow was shot it\nmade a path in the sky, and striking the earth, Older came out of the\nconical tip and ran east.\n\nAfter the arrow\u2019s flight the sorceress pulled on the fish line, seeking\nto draw Older back to her, but the string held fast. So she followed the\nline until she came to the thorn bush. Then she saw what had happened\nand was very angry. Her first thought was to hunt for Younger, to whom\nshe attributed the blame.\n\nYounger ran as fast as he could, aided by his magic, but the sorceress\nwas swifter than he and soon saw him before her. With a shrill cry she\nbore down upon him making a barking sound and yelling, \u201cYou cannot\nescape me, you cannot escape me.\u201d\n\nYounger then disappeared around a big rock and took off his moccasins.\n\u201cRun to the end of the world,\u201d he commanded, and then transformed\nhimself into the likeness of an old stump.\n\nOn came the sorceress, following the moccasin tracks. She paused at the\nstump and then said, \u201cMost truly this stump looks like a man, but I see\nhis tracks going in a direction away from here.\u201d Thereupon she began her\nchase again yelling as was her custom, \u201cYou cannot escape me.\u201d After a\nlong time she came to the end of the world and found a pair of\nmoccasins. Her rage was terrible and she tore up the ground, saying, \u201cHe\nthinks, perhaps, that he has deceived me, but I will find him. He cannot\nescape me.\u201d She retraced her steps and came to the place where the stump\nhad been but it had vanished, for Younger had been running away all this\ntime. The sorceress followed his trail until she came into sight of him\nagain, when she yelled, \u201cYou cannot escape me.\u201d When she was almost upon\nhim he took a small round stone from his pocket and cast it upon the\nground, at the same time running with all the speed his magic would\ngive.\n\nThe stone became an immense escarpment, so high that the sorceress could\nnot climb over it. She uttered exclamations in token of her disgust and\nbegan to run at the foot of the cliff but it went on without ceasing\nuntil she came to the end of the world, when she ran back to the place\nwhere she had started and then on to the other end of the world.\nReturning she began to push the cliff and then to beat it with her\nhands. Finally she ran into it trying to batter it down with her head\nbut she crashed into the rock with such force that she fell down as if\nhit by a war club, and fainted. For a long time she lay still like a\ndead person, but finally revived. Looking about she spied a small white\nstone. \u201cTcisna!\u201d she exclaimed, \u201cHave I been overcome by so small a\nstone? I now perceive that the boy is a magician.\u201d\n\nAgain she began to run and soon again saw Younger running before her.\n\u201cYou cannot escape me,\u201d she called as she ran toward him, whereupon\nYounger took a handful of pigeon feathers from his pouch and cast them\ninto the air, saying, \u201cDo you become a great pigeon roost as if of long\nduration.\u201d\n\nWith this command the feathers became pigeons and they flew through the\ntrees until all were filled. Beneath them the ground became deep with\nslime and into this the sorceress ran. She drew back for it was like a\npitch bed to a beetle. In vain she tried to plow through, and then\nturned and ran along the edge until she reached the end of the world,\nand failing to break through she ran the other way, but found the slime\nmade a track to the other end of the world. Returning to the middle spot\nshe began to beat it with her head, but became smothered and fell down\nin a faint, as if dead.\n\nAfter a long time she revived and found a pigeon feather on her nose.\n\u201cTcisna!\u201d she exclaimed. \u201cThis boy is a magician. But he cannot escape\nme.\u201d So crying, she started the pursuit again and after a long time saw\nhim ahead of her running very fast. When she was nearly upon him Younger\nstamped his foot into the ground and cried, \u201cBecome a deep hole.\u201d Then\nhe ran on. The sorceress came to the hole but it was so wide and so deep\nthat she could not cross it. She endeavored to run around it but could\nnot find an end in either direction and finally returned to the starting\npoint and endeavored to jump across, but she fell in with a loud noise\nand went to the bottom, knocking her head on a stone. Long she lay\nstunned and when she revived she looked about and saw only a moccasin\ntrack in the mud, laid across the path. \u201cHe is a magician, he thinks,\nbut he cannot escape me,\u201d cried the sorceress, and began the chase once\nmore.\n\nNow after a time Younger came to a broad river where he saw a great\nnumber of people swimming about and racing in the water. He heard the\nsounds of the sorceress as she pursued him and exerting his magic said,\n\u201cMay the swimmer who is the greatest distance out in the river take on\nmy appearance, whilst I become a tree stub.\u201d The angry sorceress reached\nthe river and paused at the stub, and soon discovered the appearance of\nYounger far out in the river. In plunged the angry woman and soon came\nto the bather whom she saw was not her victim. With a cry she swam back\nto the shore to find the deceiving tree stub, but it had vanished\nleaving moccasin tracks in the direction it had taken.\n\nYounger ran very fast this time for he was almost at the end of his\ntricks. When he was about discouraged, a strange old man with a broad\nback and a wide mouth appeared before him. \u201cMy nephew,\u201d said the old\nman. \u201cMy name is Toad. I will aid you in your escape. I understand that\nthere is a woman who is pursuing you, and this is great trouble. Get on\nmy back and bounce up and down. I will give a spring and throw you far\nup on a smooth hill. Climb as far as you can to the top.\u201d\n\nYounger clambered on Toad\u2019s back which was very springy, and Toad arose\nwith a leap throwing Younger far through the air and landing him on the\nsurface of a slippery hill. He endeavored to climb the hill but reaching\na very shiny spot fell into a groove and began to slip. Down, down he\nslipped with great rapidity until he slid with a cloud of dust into a\nbig lodge where an old woman and her two daughters were boiling bear oil\nover the fireplace.\n\n\u201cAugh!\u201d cried the old woman, \u201cI guess somebody has fallen in our trap.\nLet us see what it is.\u201d\n\nWhen the women saw Younger, the old woman asked, \u201cWhat are you doing\nhere?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh my aunt,\u201d exclaimed the distressed Younger. \u201cI have been running\naway from a very evil witch. She is now pursuing me. I met an old man\nwho threw me upon a slippery hillside and I slipped down where I am now\nsitting.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, she is coming now,\u201d said the old woman. \u201cYou climb up on the\nplatform over my bed and hide. I think I can overcome this witch.\u201d\n\nYounger obeyed with alacrity, and soon heard the sorceress slide into\nthe lodge, crying, \u201cHe cannot escape me!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d asked the old woman.\n\n\u201cI am pursuing a very bad magician,\u201d answered the sorceress. \u201cHe has\ncaused me much trouble. Have you seen him in this lodge?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh yes, my niece,\u201d answered the old woman. \u201cI have him now. He is a\ngreat magician and went into this pot of bear oil.\u201d\n\nNow the old woman possessed magic, and conjured the face of Younger into\nthe bottom of the pot of oil.\n\nThe sorceress looked in, and, crying, \u201cYou cannot escape me now,\u201d leaped\ninto the pot, going to the bottom. Now the oil was boiling and it killed\nher so that she could never return to life again. It was the end of her.\n\nThen the old woman called Younger and said, \u201cI have been waiting for you\na long time. I notice that you are of our kind of people. You shall\nbecome my son-in-law, by taking my youngest daughter.\u201d\n\nYounger looked at the girl and saw that she was most desirable. He had\nnever seen a girl who was so much to his taste. So soon they were\nmarried.\n\nYounger lived in the lodge with the women and he hunted for them,\nbringing in a great number of deer every day, which the women dried and\nsmoked. After a year Younger\u2019s wife bore him two sons. They were\nprecocious boys who learned to talk very early, also to play about.\n\nIt was not long before they were full grown and asked where their\nrelatives lived. Younger, their father, answered that all had been\nkilled by sorcery but their uncle, his own brother, whom he has rescued\nby sending him away in an arrow.\n\n\u201cIt is well,\u201d said the boys. \u201cWe will go after him.\u201d So they set forth\nafter their uncle. Long they traveled until in a strange country they\nfound an old lodge and in it a lonely old man with a sore spot in his\nneck, which he was continually nursing.\n\n\u201cOur uncle,\u201d they called to him. \u201cWe two are your nephews and have come\nfor you. Come with us. We have an aunt older than our mother. You can\nmarry her.\u201d\n\nSo Older returned with his nephews and when he came to the lodge he\nfound his brother Younger. Then he saw the woman who would become his\nwife. He liked her and they were soon married. All lived together and\nthey had no more trouble with wizards or witches. Younger had too much\npower now, and everything otgont (evil) was afraid of him.\n\n\n                    33. THE ISLAND OF THE CANNIBAL.\n\nGanondai\u00b4yeo lived with his aged grandparents in the depths of a great\nwood. The old people were always sad but Ganondai\u00b4yeo was never able to\ndiscover the cause and inquiry would only bring the injunction, \u201cNever\ngo west!\u201d The boy obeyed and played happily in the forest to the north\nand the south and the east but shunned the dark woods to the west.\n\nAt length Ganondai\u00b4yeo began to reason upon the matter:\n\n\u201cNever go west,\u201d he said to himself. \u201cNow why may not I go west? Is not\nwest as good as east? Surely I am denied my rights and shall no longer\nsubmit. I am going to find out why the west is to be avoided.\u201d\n\nThus determined, he crept cautiously through the vine-bound underbrush\nand with caution advanced in a westerly direction. He kept on for some\ntime and then, to his surprise, found himself on the borders of a large\nbody of swift water. He looked across the broad expanse with admiration\nand wonder. Was this the sight his grandparents wished to deny him? \u201cOh\nthe shameful rule that forbade him this!\u201d he thought. While he was\ngazing at the scene and meditating upon it, he heard a sound behind him.\nA pleasant voice was saying:\n\n\u201cHai\u2018, Hai\u2018! Is it not a beautiful stream and wonderful too? Did you\nnever see it before? Come, jump into my canoe and let us visit some of\nthe inlets and islands that are found hereabouts. We will return in a\nshort time and you will have seen sights worth talking about.\u201d\n\nGanondai\u00b4yeo was charmed with the words of the stranger, and following\nhim, stepped into the canoe that lay on the sandy beach of a cove. The\nstranger gave the canoe a shove with his paddle and sent it shooting out\nfrom the shore. With swift even strokes he carried it far out from the\nland.\n\n\u201cWe shall visit a beautiful island,\u201d said the stranger.\n\nA short distance ahead Ganondai\u00b4yeo saw a small island in the center of\nwhich was a dense clump of trees. It lay near a very large island. Such\na charming spot was it that he wondered if its inhabitants were men or\nghosts.\n\nSoon the canoe grated upon the sandy beach and, both jumping out, the\nstranger drew up the canoe.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said he, \u201clook around and see what a fine place this is. Oh you\nwill like it,\u2014you will like it; I do!\u201d\n\nGanondai\u00b4yeo walked up the shore toward a tall plant that bore flowers,\n(a mullen stalk). He stood viewing it for a few moments and then turning\nto follow his guide found that he had disappeared. He ran to the water\nto find the canoe but to his dismay found that it, too, had gone.\nGlancing up and over the lake he saw far in the distance the canoe and\nthe stranger, and then he realized his situation.\n\nHeavy hearted he dragged himself halfway around the island and then\nwalking inland for a few rods sat down dejectedly on a fallen tree.\nTears filled his eyes and he moaned bitterly, \u201cI am a miserable\ncreature.\u201d\n\nWhile he thus sat lamenting his fate he heard a loud whisper, \u201cKechuta,\nkechuta!\u201d\n\nStarting up he looked around to discover the source of the sound but\nfailing, sank back to his seat with a groan of pure misery.\n\nPresently he heard the same sound, \u201cKechuta!\u201d\n\nIt seemed to issue from the ground at his very feet. This time he was\nthoroughly frightened, and again he looked about to discover, perchance,\nwho the speaker was, but as before he failed and flinging himself upon\nthe log began to weep violently.\n\n\u201cKechuta!\u201d came the sound again and looking down at the ground at the\nend of the log he noticed a white glistening spot. Poking away the sod\nhe saw first the hollow eye socket of a skull and then jaws full of\nwhite teeth.\n\n\u201cKechuta!\u201d said the skull and then Ganondai\u00b4yeo knew that the thing\nwished to smoke. \u201cDig into the sod by that knot on the log and you will\nfind my bag and pipe,\u201d so spoke the man-reduced-to-bones.\n\nMarveling, the boy obeyed and soon pulled out a decayed pipe bag and a\ntobacco pouch. He packed the pipe bowl full of tobacco. Then picking up\na hard round stick, the size of an arrow shaft he twisted it in his bow\nstring, placed a pitted stone on one end and put the other end on the\nlog. Pushing his bow backward and forward he twirled the stick with\ngreat rapidity. Soon a tiny spark ignited the wood dust and caught in a\nblaze on the shredded cedar bark. It was a laborious task but\nGanondai\u00b4yeo at length had the pipe in smoking order. Leaning over he\npried apart the jaws of Tcis\u00b4g\u00e4, as he had named the skeleton, and\npushed the pipe stem between its teeth. Tcis\u00b4g\u00e4 smoked with great\ndiligence and exclaimed, \u201cAgwas\u00b4wio\u2018, oh how good, how I enjoy it. I\u2019ve\nnot had a smoke in a great while. Oh I am glad you came to me! Now let\nme tell you a story, but first fill up this pipe again. There. Now, boy,\nthis is an enchanted island. You are trapped, the same as I was and the\nsame as many more have been. There is a man who lives here, there is a\nman who visits here and there is a man who hires men here. He who lives\nhere is S\u2018agowenot\u00b4\u2018a, a great sorcerer, he who visits here is O\u00f1gwe\nI\u0101s, an evil ogre. Both eat men. They ate me, they ate many others; they\nwill eat you unless you listen closely. Before sunrise tomorrow, run to\nthe beach where you landed and bury yourself in the sand only leaving\none eye and an ear uncovered. Look and listen. No one has ever escaped;\nbut you may if you obey me, and moreover you overcome the island\u2019s evil\nspell.\u201d\n\nThe boy solemnly promised obedience and after a restless night ran to\nthe beach and buried himself in the sand. Soon he heard the sound of\nsinging on the water. The song grew louder and Ganondai\u00b4yeo knew that\nthe singer was nearing the beach. He heard the sound of the canoe as it\nshot up against the sand and knew that the singer had landed. He\nlistened closely to the song and then hummed it softly to himself. The\nsound of footsteps neared and turning his eye he saw a man whose grim\nvisage pronounced him a man of terrible passion. Ganondai\u00b4yeo looked as\nwell as he could from his hole in the sand and knew that was O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s.\nAt the feet of the ogre was a pack of dogs who followed him up the\nincline.\n\nAs O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s stepped upon the island Sagowanota sang his magical song\nfrom his den in the grove.\n\nWhen O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s reached the top of the incline he roared, \u201cWell, where is\nmy meal?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe cannot be found,\u201d came the answer. \u201cPut your eyes in the\nbushes,\u2014send the dogs after him,\u201d roared O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s.\n\nThe search was fruitless and grumbling in rage the man returned to his\ncanoe, threw in his dogs and jumping in, swept his paddle through the\nwater and sped back to mainland.\n\nGanondai\u00b4yeo jumped from his place of concealment and rushed to the log\nwhere Tcis\u00b4g\u00e4 lay. Breathlessly he told what he had seen and heard and\ntold how thankful he was that he had escaped being eaten.\n\n\u201cSmoke, tobacco, I wish to smoke,\u201d whispered Tc\u012ds\u00b4g\u00e4, dustily. So taking\nan ember from the fire he had started Ganondai\u00b4yeo lit the pipe and\nshoved it between the teeth of the skull. When it had finished smoking\nit said, \u201cI am glad that you have succeeded so well. It is an omen of\ngood fortune. Now listen. Make seven dolls from dry rotten wood and make\na small bow and arrow for each, then, place each doll in the top of a\ntree. Conceal yourself in the sand again and see what will happen.\n\nGanondai\u00b4yeo did as directed and the next day when O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s landed he\ngrumbled loudly and vowed he would find the boy for he was very hungry.\nHe strode up the beach and his dogs with noses close to the ground\nfollowed the track of Ganondai\u00b4yeo as it circled the isle. Suddenly one\ndog with a yelp fell pierced with an arrow. O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s yelled in rage and\nhis rage increased as one after another fell dead. Snatching up the body\nof each he threw it upon his shoulder and going back flung it into his\ncanoe, and then paddled back across the lake.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  FIGURE OF DANCING WARRIOR\n\n  This figure carved from wood was used in shamanistic ceremonies.\n]\n\nLeaping from the sand Ganondai\u00b4yeo ran back to Tcis\u00b4g\u00e4 and related his\nobservations.\n\nAfter Tcis\u00b4g\u00e4 had been satisfied with tobacco he said to Ganondai\u00b4yeo:\n\n\u201cNow I will tell you more. O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s, always fearing death, leaves his\nheart in his lodge. It hangs suspended over a pot of water; likewise the\nhearts of the dogs. When he returns he will place the dogs\u2019 hearts back\nwithin their chests and as they beat the dogs will revive. He will then\nremove them and return to the island on the morrow to renew his search\nfor you. Now listen closely. Bury yourself in the sand as before and as\nO\u00f1gwe I\u0101s approaches the shore sing the Sagowenota song. O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s will\nthen rush up the shore, the dolls will shoot again and while O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s\nis obscured in the bushes jump into his canoe, go directly across the\nwater and when you touch the shore you will find a path that leads to a\nlodge. Enter the lodge and destroy the hearts you find there. Then you\nmay return to me.\u201d\n\nThe next morning Ganondai\u00b4yeo covered himself with sand and when he\nheard the song of O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s floating over the water he shouted back:\n\n                \u201cI have caught a rabbit, rabbit, rabbit,\n                Soon I\u2019ll skin it, skin it, skin it!\u201d\n\nO\u00f1gwe I\u0101s stopped short in his song and listened. Then he shouted back:\n\n\u201cHo-yo-ho! So you have him. So, I\u2019ll be there!\u201d\n\nFrom a mound in the center of the island came a voice. In pleading tones\nit cried:\n\n\u201cNo, no! I did not call you. Do not come. Oh do not!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh no,\u201d came the mocking reply. \u201cYou cannot cheat me. You have found\nhim and wish to eat him alone.\u201d\n\nLanding, O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s ran toward the mound. Ganondai\u00b4yeo jumped into the\nboat and with his swiftest, strongest stroke sent it gliding out over\nthe lake. At length he reached the land. Leaping to the shore he ran up\na path and burst through the curtain into a lodge. A young girl was\nrefining bear oil by boiling it in a kettle. Without stopping to greet\nher Ganondai\u00b4yeo cried:\n\n\u201cGive me his heart!\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no, do not touch it. It is his, it is his!\u201d remonstrated the girl\nin terror.\n\nThere was the sound of foot steps outside. O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s had followed in\nsome mysterious manner and was now at the door. Springing toward the\nback of the lodge, Ganondai\u00b4yeo grasped a large beating heart. O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s\nwas pushing aside the curtain and now snarled in terrible rage as he saw\nthe boy who should have been his victim holding his heart. With\nmarvelous swiftness Ganondai\u00b4yeo flung the heart into the pot of boiling\nfat. The ogre tottered. His dogs began to yelp up the trail and as\nGanondai\u00b4yeo glanced through the door between the curtain and the\nswaying body of O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s, and saw their dripping bodies, red eyes and\nfroth laden fangs as they leaped toward their master, O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s\ntrembled, and fell. Ganondai\u00b4yeo swept the seven dogs\u2019 hearts into the\nscalding liquid only a moment before the ogre crashed his head into the\nfire, breaking the pot of oil and spilling out the hearts. O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s was\ndead and seven dogs lay before the door.\n\nThe girl who during this terrible scene had cringed in one corner now\nrushed toward Ganondai\u00b4yeo with a glad cry.\n\n\u201cOh my brother!\u201d she cried. \u201cYou have rescued me. I am your sister who\nwas captured. O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s kept me as his slave. Oh my brother, you have\nsaved our family!\u201d\n\nGanondai\u00b4yeo hardly knew what to make of these words but looking down at\nthe girl saw in her his lost sister, lost years ago. He rejoiced with\nher and then running back to the shore paddled swiftly to the Isle of\nFears. Going up to the log he appeased his friend Tc\u012ds\u00b4g\u00e4 with tobacco\nand told his story.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said Tc\u012ds\u00b4g\u00e4, \u201cyou have done well. You can be of great service to\nme if you will obey a few more instructions; for instance, shoot that\nfat bear over there and place her pelt over this little mound where I\nam. Scold that stump and make it move away so that you may cover the\nmound entirely. Then smoke!\u201d\n\nGanondai\u00b4yeo was startled as he looked up and beheld an enormously fat\nbear asleep not ten steps from him. Fixing an arrow he shot and killed\nthe beast and removed its hide. Walking up to the stump he shouted:\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter with you? Get out of my way or I will smash you. Go\non now and with the help of a kick the stump jumped backward into a\nclump of bushes. Placing the skin over the mound Ganondai\u00b4yeo built a\nlittle fire and began to throw on tobacco to make the smoke fragrant.\n\nThe sun was hot and the oil fairly dripped from the skin into the\nground.\n\nGanondai\u00b4yeo became impatient. \u201cWhat is the trouble with you, Tc\u012ds\u00b4g\u00e4?\u201d\nhe called. \u201cMove lively. You are lazy. Hurry or I will leave. I cannot\nwait all day. Hurry or I will kick over this stump upon you.\u201d\n\nThere was a slight movement beneath the bear\u2019s skin.\n\n\u201cHurry now,\u201d continued the boy, \u201cor I will pull off the skin,\u201d and\nstooping down he gave it a fling. As he did so from the ground arose a\ncompany of men. All were quarreling. \u201cYou have my legs\u2014my fingers\u2014you\nhave my hands\u2014you have my feet\u2014my ribs\u2014my neck\u2014where is my\nbackbone\u2014three ribs missing\u2014oh someone has my whole body\u2014didn\u2019t have\ntime\u2014made us hurry\u2014too quick\u2014short notice!\u201d came the mingled cries from\nthe strange swarm.\n\nBefore Ganondai\u00b4yeo was as queer a company of men as the sun has ever\nseen. Some had one long leg and one short one, some were hump-backed,\nsome small-bodied and large-limbed, some had head on backward, some had\nno necks, some double the wonted length, and soon each man was a sight\nto behold. All were angry, and fighting, disappeared into the forest,\nall but one. It was Tc\u012ds\u00b4g\u00e4. He stepped forward and took Ganondai\u00b4yeo by\nthe hand and said,\n\n\u201cI am your brother, let us go home.\u201d\n\nHastening to the shore the two seated themselves in the canoe and\npaddled back to the lodge on the opposite shore. A meal awaited them and\nafter eating it the boys built a great fire and burned the evil lodge.\n\nThat night the three slept in the open. The next morning the brothers\nand their sister tramped through the forest and found the old people\nmourning over the loss of Ganondai\u00b4yeo.\n\nThe old folk were exuberant with joy when they found that not only was\nGanondai\u00b4yeo well and alive but also their other grandchildren.\n\nThe boys built a large lodge and made the days of the old people easy\nwith soft beds, much meat and pleasant company.\n\nThen the grandparents said, \u201cWe are old and wise but we know now that\nwhich we did not before: It is evil to forbid a boy of resource to do or\ngo without a reason.\u201d\n\nSo here it ends, this ga-gah, this ancient story.\n\n\n      34. THE TWELVE BROTHERS AND THE WRAITH OF THE EVIL WARRIOR.\n\n              A STORY OF SHODJE\u00b4ASKO^n\u2018, A MISCHIEF MAKER.\n\nTwelve brothers had planned a war expedition and singing their songs had\nstarted a war dance. Scarcely had they begun when a messenger came\nrunning towards them and related that Hadi\u00b4\u012d\u016dsg\u014dwa\u00b4, the greatest\nwarrior of the nation, was dying and wished the twelve brothers to\nofficiate at his funeral. In respect to the man who far and wide had the\nname of being the most terrible and successful warrior in all the world\nthe twelve brothers postponed their dance and hurried to minister to the\ndying warrior. He desired them to dress him, not in the customary\nfuneral robes but in the full regalia of battle with his knife at his\nside and his tomahawk in his hand. His face he wished painted black on\none side and red on the other, in token that he was the fiercest warrior\nin all the earth.\n\nSo when he died the twelve brothers prepared his body just as was\ndirected and doubled him up in his shallow grave. When the funeral rites\nwere over the brothers renewed their dance and on the next morning\nstarted off on their war expedition to the south.\n\nNow in those days the Iroquois had trails that led from their villages\nto all parts of the world. At the distance of a day\u2019s journey on every\ntrail was built a trail lodge, where travelers might find shelter, and\nso on for many days\u2019 journeys were built trail lodges. At the end of the\nfirst day\u2019s journey the twelve brothers came to the trail house and\nhalted to prepare their evening meal. One of the men shot a deer and was\ndressing it when the oldest brother, the chief of the party, ordered the\nyoungest to run to the spring after water. Grasping a bark bowl he\nobeyed and ran down the path to the spring and was bending over the\nwater to dip, when he saw reflected in the ruddy sun-painted water the\nform of a warrior whose face was painted on one side red and on the\nother black. He gazed at the vision terrified by its import and then\ndropping his bowl rushed up the path and stammered out his frightful\ndiscovery. He had seen Hadiiusgowa, the warrior whom they had buried but\nthe morning of that day. The chief looked at his young brother in\namazement and then, dropping the deer ham that he was preparing, burst\nout into a loud derisive laugh. \u201cIf you are afraid of visions of dead\nmen,\u201d he laughed, \u201chow can I depend on you when live ones appear?\u201d But\nthe boy would not be laughed out of believing the evidence of his own\neyes and so the second brother was sent to the spring. When he reached\nthe pool he looked across the river and to his indescribable horror saw\nthe dead warrior standing on the opposite bank, his face wrinkled into a\nfiendish grin. Back to the lodge he sped trembling from cheek to feet. A\nchorus of laughter greeted his story and the chief angrily declared that\nhis younger brothers were endeavoring to frighten the party by their\nimpossible tales. Then the third brother was sent and soon returned and\nwith stiffened lips said that he had seen the figure of Hadiiusgowa\nstanding in the middle of the stream. The fourth brother saw him\nstanding on the rocks close to the shore, and the fifth saw him on the\npebbly edge, and the sixth on the river\u2019s bank, the seventh half way to\nthe spring, the eighth at the spring, the ninth advancing toward the\ntrail, the tenth on the trail, the eleventh half way to the trail lodge,\nand then the chief, who had now ceased to scoff, when he looked up saw\nHadiiusgowa in the clearing before the lodge. Hastily he commanded that\nall should enter the lodge, the youngest first and the rest according to\ntheir ages. When all had done so he fastened the door and lay down\nacross the doorway. All except the two youngest suddenly became overcome\nwith a stupor and fell into a deep sleep. The two youngest lay awake and\nlistened to the efforts of the ghostly warrior to effect an entrance.\nSuddenly the door burst inward and with a yell the tchisga (ghost)\nswooped down upon the chief and scalping him brandished the scalp aloft\nand screeching, \u201cGowe! Gowe! Hadiiusgowa!\u201d Jumping into the air he\nyelled a death cry and sped from sight, his cry growing fainter and\nfainter as he went. Returning shortly afterwards he scalped the next\nbrother, returning at an interval to scalp one after another of the\nparty. When the third oldest brother had been scalped and the tchisga\nhad disappeared, his death cry echoing fainter and fainter as he sped\nfurther and further, the second youngest brother was overcome with a\nlethargy and fell into a deep sleep from which he never awoke, for the\ntchisga returned and killed him, as he had the ten others. The youngest\nthen began to despair saying to himself, \u201cI cannot escape even by\nrunning nor can I hide for Hadiiusgowa has power to discover me wherever\nI go, but even a tchisga may be deceived.\u201d So saying he placed some\nbloody deer meat on his head and pulled his bear skin cap tightly over\nhis brow. Wrapping his blanket around his ears so as to leave no part of\nhis body exposed he waited the coming of Hadiiusgowa. His skin at least\nwas protected from the death touch of the tchisga and perhaps he would\nescape. Soon the wraith came screaming into the lodge crying, \u201cI have\nslain eleven and now the twelfth shall go!\u201d Grabbing a bunch of black\nhair that protruded from a robe of deer skin he haggled off a circular\npiece and with a demonic shriek flew into the air crying \u201cGowe! Gowe!\nHadiiusgowa!\u201d\n\nThe boy finding himself unhurt jumped to his feet with the exclamation,\n\u201cI will follow the tchisga and outwit him yet!\u201d So he ran out into the\ndarkness.\n\nThe ghost soon discovered his error and the boy could hear his cries of\nrage in the distance. He approached rapidly screaming, \u201cYou cannot\nescape me, you cannot hide from me!\u201d Each yell stole the strength from\nthe muscles of the frightened boy who soon sank in dispair to the\nground. The tchisga was coming and there seemed no escape. Feebly\nlifting his head the boy saw a hollow elm log and in a dazed way\nremembered that he had heard of hollow logs. Mustering all his strength\nhe crawled in the log and none too soon for just as he had stowed\nhimself within the protecting log the ghost struck it with the cry, \u201cNow\nI have you!\u201d\n\nIt is strange, but a ghost never can enter the space within a hollow\nlog. Thus the tchisga cut a sharp stick which he thrust in the hole at\none end hoping to spear the boy. But his victim was not an easy one for\nhe caught the thrusts deftly and turned them aside. Finally realizing\nthat he could not harm the boy in this manner he yelled, \u201cI know where\nyou sit and will kill you yet!\u201d Then he commenced to chop a hole into\nthe log where he judged his victim to be but when it had been made the\nboy had moved further in and escaped the thrusts of the spear. Another\nhole was made but all the prodding that the tchisga made had no effect\nupon the elusive boy. A third trial had no better result and finally the\ntchisga screamed, \u201cThe next hole will bring me success,\u2014I cannot fail!\u201d\nThen he fell to whacking the log until the raining blows sounded like\nthe beating of a death drum. The hole was completed and the dispairing\nboy found that there were so many openings that he could not hope to\nescape. The tchisga prepared to grasp his victim and was on the point of\nuttering a yell of triumph when a little bird on a branch above began to\ntwitter and the yell of victory turned to a groan of dispair. \u201cFortunate\nfor you,\u201d he cried, \u201cbut woe to me!\u201d Then he faded into the glow of the\nmorning when ghosts cease their black works.\n\nThe boy was highly elated at his good fortune but lost no time in\ndancing over the matter. Instead he jumped to his feet and ran with all\nhis speed to the village crying as he went, \u201cGowe, gowe!\u201d His shrill cry\nawoke the villagers who hastened to the long house to listen to the\ndistress news that someone was bringing. Dashing into the council the\nboy related his story and when he had finished the village sachem arose\nand said, \u201cIf this boy\u2019s tale is true we are all threatened with the\nghostly warrior. Now we know why arrows never killed him,\u2014he was a\nwizard. We must kill him before he kills us. We must burn his body.\nFirst then let four swift runners go to the first day trail house and\nsee if conditions are as reported and in the meantime we will prepare to\nkill the ghost.\u201d The warriors hurried to obey instructions and after the\nrunners had departed a company built a little cabin from large logs over\nthe grave of the wizard and others gathered piles of logs for fuel. It\nwas toward sunset when the runners returned and reported that things\nwere just as the youngest brother had told. The grave was then dug into\nand a foot below the surface a sharpened pole was discovered and to it\nwere fastened eleven scalps still bleeding and a small circle of bear\nskin. Below this was found the body of the witch-warrior steaming with\nsweat, his face and hands slimy with blood and his weapon still dripping\nred. The boy\u2019s words were confirmed. A warrior lifted the terrible form\nfrom the bark upon which it rested and brought it into the cabin. The\nhead sachem then addressed it. \u201cYou were a great warrior in life,\u201d he\nsaid, \u201cand we know that we never appreciated you. We now wish to make a\ngreat ceremony and have made a lodge for you where all may see you. So\nstay here and let us honor you.\u201d So saying the chief backed out of the\ncabin and fastened the door. Heavy logs were piled over the structure\nand then a fire ignited that soon enveloped the whole mass. The flames\nsoon ate their way into the burial lodge and filled it with a mass of\nburning coals. Logs were piled on higher and higher in order that they\nmight press down the witch and give him no chance to escape. Suddenly a\nvoice from the blazing coals sounded forth. With one long drawn wild\nscream it said, \u201cI will kill you all, I am escaping despite you.\u201d But a\nlog falling pinned down the wizard who fell into his grave pit now white\nwith heat. His head burst and when the steam was cleared away a screech\nowl was seen flying up from it. The warriors made a frantic effort to\nkill it but the intense heat prevented them and so it soared away into\nthe night screaming defiance at its pursuers.\n\nIn this manner was the wizard-warrior killed but his spirit still hovers\nover the land and wherever the screech owl lingers there is the evil\nspirit brooding mischief.\n\n\n  GENERAL NOTES.\u2014In this legend we have several interesting\n  ethnological allusions. We are told of \u201ctrail houses,\u201d which were\n  erected at intervals along the trails throughout the Iroquois\n  country, and in which food and other necessities were left by\n  travelers who had used the shelter. Inquiry brought out the fact\n  that these public hospices were common in the old days and were\n  frequently built in response to dreams. We are also given a glimpse\n  of the burial rites of warriors, and told that the corpse was\n  properly painted and then doubled up in its grave. We are again\n  given an account of the magical qualities of a hollow log, which a\n  ghost cannot enter. Here, also, we are told that a wizard\u2019s head\n  when burned bursts and sends forth screech-owls,\u2014birds of ill omen\n  to the red man as to us of today.\n\n\n                    35. THE CANNIBAL AND HIS NEPHEW.\n\nDe\u2018o\u00b4niot was O\u00f1gwe I\u0101s, a man-eater. He had developed his man-flesh\nappetite early in his childhood because his mother had associated with\nwitches. He lived in a hidden place far away from other human\nhabitations. The only human creature who came near him and was not eaten\nwas his nephew who lived on the other side of the partition that divided\nhis long bark house. The cannibal was fond of his nephew and did not\nwish to come into close contact with him, lest his appetite for flesh\nbecome too strong a temptation and leave him without a companion. Thus\nit was he divided his house and satisfied himself with the sound of the\nyouth\u2019s voice, for each hunted their game separately and rarely saw each\nother.\n\nOne day as the nephew was sitting on his doorstep, he saw a beautiful\nwoman approaching. She advanced and sat down by his side.\n\n\u201cI would like to marry you,\u201d she said after a moment\u2019s pause.\n\n\u201cI would like to marry you also,\u201d was the answer, and then he added,\n\u201cbut you would not be my wife long because my uncle would eat you.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh then you had better watch that he does not eat you. If he does not I\nam satisfied he will not take me,\u201d replied the woman.\n\n\u201cWell, if you are determined after what I have told you, I cannot say\nfurther but take you.\u201d Leading her into the lodge he continued, \u201cMy\nuncle will call from his room for someone to bring him my bow or axe\nwith which to slay some animal. Do not answer him but keep very silent\nand do not venture from the lodge to satisfy his wants. Obey my\ninstructions for I am going on a hunting journey.\u201d\n\nEmpty handed and hungry De\u2018o\u00b4niot returned from his hunting excursion.\nGoing into his apartment he flung himself upon the floor to rest, then\nstarting up, he called, \u201cHurry, bring me my hatchet, Oh quick, I need it\nimmediately to kill this beast!\u201d\n\nForgetting all that her husband had told her the bride picked up a\nhatchet and a bow and ran around the lodge to the opposite door.\n\nWhen the nephew returned he found his wife missing. The only trace of\nher was her skirt that lay on the floor.\n\n\u201cHo!\u201d he exclaimed, \u201cDe\u2018o\u00b4niot has feasted on my woman and thrown her\nskirt to me as a reminder.\u201d Then calling to his uncle he asked, \u201cOh\nuncle, how did you discover my woman?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause I knew that it was not your breathing but a breath much faster\nthat I heard over the partition,\u201d was the reply.\n\nThe next day another woman came with a proposal of marriage. At first\nrefusing her, and then accepting her on the condition that she would\nquietly remain in his room and heed not the entreaties of De\u2018o\u00b4niot, he\nmarried her, but when he returned from his hunting, she, like the first,\nhad formed the repast of his uncle, who as before flung her dress over\nthe partition. In like manner another wife came and was eaten.\n\nFinally a married woman came weeping through the woods and begged\nDe\u2018o\u00b4niot to protect her.\n\n\u201cProtect you!\u201d the man-eater roared, \u201cO ho! I would be more apt to eat\nyou. That is my business,\u2014eating people!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh protect me!\u201d pleaded the woman, \u201cfor my husband is a ferocious giant\nand is now pursuing me!\u201d\n\n\u201cSo truly if that is the case you had better go into my nephew\u2019s room\nwhere I cannot reach you and stay there while I watch for that man of\nyours.\u201d\n\nPresently in the distance De\u2018o\u00b4niot saw a giant striding through the\nunderbrush.\n\n\u201cHo, ho!\u201d he exclaimed to himself, \u201cThat woman is the first one I ever\nsaw and liked, so I am truly glad to do her a service in destroying her\nman-giant.\u201d\n\nWith a whoop the giant pounced upon De\u2018o\u00b4niot. \u201cWhere is my wife?\u201d he\nbellowed.\n\nDe\u2018o\u00b4niot did not answer but grasped the giant\u2019s throat and after a\nfrightful struggle twisted his neck.\n\n\u201cI am greatly obliged to you,\u201d he called to the woman. \u201cSuch an amount\nof flesh will keep me from hunger for many days.\u201d\n\nWhen the nephew returned he found the new wife awaiting him and after\nsome questioning he accepted her.\n\n\u201cThat is right!\u201d called the uncle over the partition, \u201cdon\u2019t worry, she\nis a good woman. I will not eat her.\u201d\n\n\u201cWife,\u201d he said, \u201cI believe that we must depart from these regions for I\nfear that my uncle will become so hungry that he will forget his love\nfor us.\u201d\n\nSoon afterward the uncle from his chamber shouted:\n\n\u201cOh my children, do not leave. You fear my appetite but I promise you\nthat I will never harm you.\u201d\n\nThe nephew (however), would not believe these promises, but thought his\nuncle only shaming. In order to discuss the matter further he awoke his\nwife in the middle of the night and in whispers talked with her, how\nbest to escape.\n\n\u201cBoy, you are going away tomorrow!\u201d exclaimed a voice from over the\npartition.\n\n\u201cNo, no, uncle,\u201d answered the nephew. \u201cGo to sleep and do not dream such\nthings.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, you cannot deceive De\u2018o\u00b4niot,\u201d replied the uncle. \u201cI know you are\ngoing away tomorrow and when you go, go west, for you have relatives\nthere. If ever danger threatens call my name and I will be on hand to\nsave you. Distance does not stop my promise. Call me anywhere and I will\ncome.\u201d\n\nAt dawn the next day the couple drank from the spring that filled a\nbasin on one side of the room and ran out of the other. Then, packing up\na bundle of food, they turned their backs on the morning and journeyed\nto the west.\n\nAt nightfall they saw in the distance a stream of water that reflected\nthe light of the moon in a most peculiar way, and coming up to it they\nfound that its strange gleam resulted from its frozen surface. The creek\ndid not appear wide and the couple decided that it could be jumped\neasily. Running back a short distance each dashed forward and attempted\nto leap across, but great was their surprise and chagrin when they\nlanded on the ice in the middle of the stream, and greater was their\ndismay when they began to slide forward. The creek ran down a steep\nincline and with great rapidity the two slipped downward over its\nsurface into the uncertain light. In a moment, however, they saw that\nthey were headed directly for a great lodge into which the stream\nflowed. In desperation they clutched at the ice and endeavored to hold\nback but vain was their effort, and in a few moments they had plunged\ninto the lodge and into the midst of a dozen howling warriors armed with\nwar clubs.\n\nSurrounding them, the warriors began to brandish their clubs. Death\nseemed certain. The couple trembled and believed that death has surely\ncome. Suddenly the wife started boldly up and shouted:\n\n\u201cDe\u2018o\u00b4niot, hagesa!\u201d she cried.\n\nThe warriors fell back with cries of dismay at the sound of the magical\nname.\n\nIn the distance came a signal call, then came a song. It was the battle\nsong of De\u2018o\u00b4niot. The warriors huddled in the corners of the lodge\nquaking with fear. The words of the song became distinct as De\u2018o\u00b4niot\ndrew nearer.\n\nThe couple looked out and saw the man-eater sliding down the incline\nholding in his arms a kettle, a bowl and a spoon.\n\n\u201cI will stay here with my meat,\u201d he shouted as he burst into the lodge.\n\u201cYou had better go on to the village. Your parents and people are there.\nNow leave me here and go on.\u201d\n\nThe two gladly hurried from the house and toward morning came to a\nvillage when both found friends and relatives.\n\nAfter the nephew and his wife had lived in their new home for a year,\none by one the children of the settlement began mysteriously to\ndisappear.\n\n\u201cMy uncle surely must be in this vicinity,\u201d reflected the nephew, \u201cI\nwill go on a hunt for him.\u201d\n\nSo the nephew started out and after a time of journeying saw De\u2018o\u00b4niot\nleaning over the bank of a creek groaning in agony.\n\n\u201cOh uncle!\u201d exclaimed the nephew, \u201cwhat troubles you?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh nephew,\u201d came the groaning reply, \u201cI have eaten many children and am\nvery sick. My belly is hurt with pain as if by claws clutching inside.\u201d\n\n\u201cCheer up uncle, I can cure you. Only obey my instructions.\u201d\n\nThe nephew made a soup of fish bones and skins and fed it to his uncle.\nHe continued this treatment for three days, until De\u2018o\u00b4niot had\ndisgorged. By this time he was ravenous and begged for food and new\nclothing, for his old rags were very foul. The nephew bade him strip and\nplunge in the water and bathe himself. Then, after giving him some new\nclothing he fed him on a little corn pudding, gradually increasing the\nallowance at each meal and each time moving the camp nearer the village.\n\n\u201cYou must now learn to cook, uncle,\u201d said the nephew, \u201cthen you will\nforget your unnatural appetite. God made men above all creatures, uncle,\nand gave them great skill. Men are not made to devour one another, or\nfor beasts to devour, but beasts are food for men. So now, promise never\nto touch the meat of mankind again.\u201d\n\n\u201cAye, never more will I eat of human flesh or the raw flesh of any\ncreature but only fruits and roots and cooked meat!\u201d\n\nSo the nephew brought him into the village and introduced him as his\nuncle from afar. And the uncle grew so fond of this nephew\u2019s wife\u2019s\ncooking that he married a woman to have a cook for himself.\n\n\n                36. A YOUTH\u2019S DOUBLE ABUSES HIS SISTER.\n\nThere was a lodge in the forest where very few people ever came, and\nthere dwelt a young man and his sister. The youth was unlike other\npersons for one half of his head had hair of a reddish cast, while the\nother side was black.\n\nHe used to leave his sister in the lodge and go away on long hunting\ntrips. On one occasion the young woman, his sister, saw, so she thought,\nher brother coming down the path to the lodge. \u201cI thought you just went\naway to hunt,\u201d said the sister. \u201cOh, I thought I would come back,\u201d said\nhe.\n\nThen he sat down on the bed with the sister and embraced her and acted\nas a lover. The sister reproached him and said that she was very angry.\nBut again he endeavored to fondle her in a familiar way, but again was\nrepulsed. This time he went away.\n\nThe next day the brother returned and found his sister very angry. She\nwould scarcely speak to him, though hitherto she had talked a great\ndeal.\n\n\u201cMy sister,\u201d said he. \u201cI am at loss to know why you treat me thus. It is\nnot your custom.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh you ought to know that you have abused me,\u201d said the girl.\n\n\u201cI never abused you. What are you talking about?\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cOh you know that you embraced me in an improper way yesterday,\u201d said\nthe sister.\n\n\u201cI was not here yesterday,\u201d asserted the youth. \u201cI believe that my\nfriend who resembles me in every respect has been here.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have given a poor excuse,\u201d replied his sister. \u201cI hope your actions\nwill not continue.\u201d\n\nSoon the brother went away again, stating that he would be absent three\ndays. In a short time the sister saw, as she thought, a figure looking\nlike her brother skulking in the underbrush. His shirt and leggings were\nthe same as her brother\u2019s and his hair was the same. So then she knew\nthat her brother had returned for mischief. Soon he entered the lodge\nand embraced her, and this time in anger she tore his cheeks with her\nnails and sent him away.\n\nIn three days the brother returned with a deer, but his sister would not\nspeak to him. Said he, \u201cMy sister, I perceive that you are angry at me.\nHas my friend been here?\u201d\n\nIt was some time before the sister replied, and then she wept, saying,\n\u201cMy brother, you have abused me and I scratched your face. I perceive\nthat it is still torn by my finger nails.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my face,\u201d laughed the brother. \u201cMy face was torn by thorns as I\nhunted deer. If you scratched my friend that is the reason I am\nscratched. Whatever happens to either one of us happens to the other.\u201d\nBut the sister would not believe this.\n\nAgain the brother went on a hunting trip, and again the familiar figure\nreturned. This time the sister tore his hunting shirt from the throat\ndown to the waist line. Moreover she threw a ladle of hot bear grease on\nthe shirt. This caused his quick departure.\n\nReturning in due time the brother brought in his game and threw it down.\nAgain the sister was angry and finally accused him. Pointing to his\ngrease-smeared torn shirt she said that this was evidence enough.\n\n\u201cOh my sister,\u201d explained the brother. \u201cI tore my shirt on a broken limb\nas I climbed a tree after a raccoon. In making soup from bear meat I\nspilled it on my shirt.\u201d Still the sister refused to believe him.\n\n\u201cOh my sister,\u201d said the brother, in distressed tones. \u201cI am greatly\nsaddened to think you will not believe me. My friend looks exactly as I\ndo, and whatever happens to him happens to me. I shall now be compelled\nto find my friend and bring him to you and when I do I shall be\ncompelled to kill him before you for his evil designs upon you. If you\nwould believe me nothing evil would befall us, but I now think I myself\nshall die.\u201d\n\nThe sister said nothing for she would not believe her brother.\n\nThe brother now began to pile up dried meat and to repair the lodge. He\nthen went out into the forest without his bow and arrows, and in a short\ntime returned with another man exactly resembling him, and whose\nclothing was spotted and torn in a similar way. Leading him to the lodge\nfire he began to scold him in an angry manner. \u201cYou have betrayed me and\nabused my sister,\u201d he said. \u201cNow is the time for you to die.\u201d Taking out\nan arrow from a quiver he cast it into the heart of his double and\nkilled him. The sister saw her assailant fall to the floor, and then\nlooked up as she heard her brother give a war cry and fall as dead with\nblood streaming from a wound in his chest over his heart.\n\n\n                37. MURDERED DOUBLE SPEAKS THROUGH FIRE.\n\n                   (SECOND PART OF A YOUTH\u2019S DOUBLE.)\n\nAfter lying as dead for a time the youth\u2019s inherent magic began to bring\nabout a restoration of life. Soon he sat up and looked at his sister.\nThen he spoke.\n\n\u201cOh my sister,\u201d he said. \u201cThe mother of my friend will shortly come for\nhim, believing him married to you. We must dispose of my friend\u2019s body\nand when the woman comes we must act as if we were husband and wife.\u201d\n\nThe youth now removed the stones of the fireplace and dug a deep hole\nbeneath. In this he buried the body of his slain friend, smoothed the\nearth and restored the ring of stones. He now rekindled the fire, and\nall trace of the murder was wiped away.\n\nAfter a while footsteps were heard and the door was flung back. A witch\nwoman looked into the lodge, and seeing someone that resembled her son\nstanding closely to a young woman, the witch said, \u201cI now perceive that\nI have a daughter-in-law.\u201d\n\nThereupon the fire began to flicker and a voice came clearly from it,\nsaying, \u201cMy friend has killed me, my friend has killed me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWu\u2018!\u201d exclaimed the witch mother, \u201cWhat words is your fire speaking?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my mother, pay no attention to the fire,\u201d said the youth. \u201cThe fire\nthus speaks because I scrape the blood from my arrows into it.\u201d So\nsaying he scraped an arrow into the fire and it spoke as before, \u201cMy\nfriend has killed me.\u201d\n\nThe witch was disturbed and requested her pretended son to return to his\nmaternal lodge bringing his wife with him. The youth now told his sister\nthat the simulation of married life must be above suspicion, and then\ntogether all three went to the lodge of the witch.\n\nAs they sat down the pet owl of the lodge began to hoot. \u201cThe stranger\nhas taken to wife his younger sister.\u201d The old woman looked up and asked\nwhat the meaning of this omen might be, whereupon the youth answered,\n\u201cIt is because you have not fed the owl. I now give it meat.\u201d The owl\nwas then satisfied and continued to speak its accustomed notes.\n\nThat night the youth slept with his sister. As he entered the sleeping\napartment the owl screamed as before, \u201cIt is not this one; this one\ntakes to wife his younger sister.\u201d\n\nThe youth called out, \u201cGive no heed to this owl, he is hungry,\u201d and he\nflung it more meat. Nevertheless the witch woman was suspicious and\nresolved to watch the couple.\n\nDuring the night she spied through the curtain covering the bed, but the\nboy and his sister were simulating sleep, though arranged in an\naffectionate attitude. The old witch then placed her hand in the bed and\nunder the covers, touching the couple, and she was then satisfied that\nthe two were married.\n\nEarly in the morning the youth whispered to his sister that they must\nmake their escape or the witch would discover the truth and kill them.\nTogether the two went out of the lodge and the youth taking out his\nmedicine pouch thrust his hand into it and took out a small dog which he\ntapped with a red rod. The dog grew in size with every tap until it was\nlarge enough to carry a human being. Placing his sister on the dog, the\nyouth said, \u201cGo forward and let nothing turn you aside. The dog will\ncarry you to the lodge where is our refuge.\u201d\n\nThe dog ran forward but after a long tedious journey the sister\ndismounted to rest, and seeing a pretty bird fluttering just before her,\nbegan to chase it. It finally flew out of sight and when she returned to\nfind the dog it had disappeared. She then remembered her brother\u2019s\nwarning and stumbled forward hoping to find relief.\n\nMeanwhile the brother ran on to the refuge but when he reached the lodge\nhe found that his sister had not come. Some one was coming, however, for\nhe heard footsteps. He looked and saw the witch approaching. \u201cWhere is\nshe?\u201d cried the witch, \u201cWhere is my daughter-in-law?\u201d The youth was\nperplexed, but answered, \u201cShe is coming, you must have passed them.\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot rest,\u201d said the witch, \u201cfor your pet owls continually say, \u2018It\nis another and she is his sister.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe youth now perceived that he must escape the witch and so he asked\nher where she was going. \u201cTo your lodge,\u201d she called as she sped onward\nover the trail.\n\nThe youth hurried forward over a shorter trail and reached the lodge\nbefore the witch. \u201cWhere is my daughter-in-law?\u201d yelled the old woman as\nshe entered the lodge.\n\n\u201cShe has returned to the other lodge,\u201d answered the youth.\n\n\u201cIt is another one,\u201d sang the fireplace, and then added, \u201cMy friend has\nkilled me and taken his younger sister to wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cI must meet my wife,\u201d said the youth as he hurried away. He knew that\nhe must now make his escape.\n\nThe witch was now thoroughly suspicious and dug into the fireplace. Soon\nshe discovered her son and saw that indeed he had been killed. Burying\nhim in another place she ran to her own lodge and took her witch charms,\ninvoking them to give her power. To make herself mighty she drank the\noil of hickory nuts. To test her power she smote a hickory tree but her\nblows only loosened all the bark. Drinking more oil she struck the tree\nagain, reducing it to splinters. Now feeling confident she transformed\nherself into a Ni\u0103\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 and started in pursuit of the youth, crying,\n\u201cYou cannot escape me.\u201d\n\nWhen the youth found himself closely pressed he threw out a handful of\npigeon feathers ordering them to become a monster flock of pigeons and\nto make the ground beneath them impassable. Immediately pigeons flew\nthickly in the air and covered the ground with an impassable slime in\nwhich the witch wallowed until exhausted, when she swooned. When she\nrecovered the youth was far away and only a few pigeon feathers could be\nseen on the ground.\n\nAgain she caught sight of him and cried out as is the custom for the\nNi\u0103\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0115 beast, \u201cYou cannot escape me.\u201d This time the youth cast a\nwhite stone in the path and commanded that it become an impassable cliff\nthat stretched from ocean to ocean. Against this the witch batted her\nhead until she swooned. Awakening she saw only a small quartz pebble and\nin anger arose again in pursuit, crying as she caught up to him, \u201cYou\ncannot escape me.\u201d\n\nThe youth was now sorely pressed but in running along the trail he saw\nan old man. \u201cI am your uncle,\u201d said the old man. \u201cRun onward to your\nmother\u2019s lodge, and meanwhile I will protect you.\u201d The youth ran on and\nthe old uncle caused a vast field of sharpened posts to spring up,\nmaking a terrible barrier to the onrushing Ni\u0103\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0115.\n\nThe youth passed another old man who called out to him, \u201cI am your\nuncle. Run onward to your mother\u2019s lodge, and meanwhile I will protect\nyou.\u201d This was reassuring, for just then the witch came into view and\ncried, \u201cYou cannot escape me.\u201d Then the witch monster ran directly into\na net-like entanglement and with wild rage floundered about until it had\nfreed itself.\n\nMeanwhile the youth was speeding forward. Soon he saw a handsome lodge\nbefore him and into this he ran. There he found his sister and the dog,\nan older woman, a younger woman and another youth.\n\n\u201cProtect me,\u201d cried the pursued youth looking at the inmates of the\nlodge. \u201cNi\u0103\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 pursues me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am your mother, my son,\u201d said the oldest woman. \u201cI will save you from\ntrouble.\u201d\n\nTaking up a pot of boiling bear\u2019s oil she waited until the witch beast\nhad thrust its head into the lodge when she threw the oil full in the\ncreature\u2019s face. It gave a great snort and fell down dead.\n\nThe mother came up to the youth, saying, \u201cHere is your older brother and\nolder sister. Your younger sister and your dog came here and found me.\nWe are all now safe and are reunited, so now all is well and I am\nthankful.\u201d\n\n\n                      38. THE VAMPIRE CORPSE.[39]\n\nAn old man had a house far back in the woods, a long ways from any\nvillage. It stood in the midst of a good hunting ground. The old man\nalways welcomed any hunting party and provided them with all the\nutensils necessary for curing their meats and tanning their pelts. It\nseemed however, that the place was haunted by an evil spirit that\ndelighted to inflict those who tarried there with very bad dreams, and\nsometimes it killed them by sucking out their blood like a weasel.\n\nOne time, so it is said, a man and his wife and child went to this\nhunting ground and went to the lodge of Taiiani Gowa, the old man of the\nsolitudes, to ask for shelter. Now when he called there was no answer\nand so he entered and found Taiiani Gowa dead in a bark coffin. This\ncoffin had been prepared long before and Taiiani Gowa having a\npremonition of coming death had crawled in his box and died; so the man\nsaid.\n\nNow it was nightfall and the man lay down beside his wife and baby to\npass the night. Toward the hour of midnight the woman was awakened by a\nsound of gnawing,\u2014cautiously she looked about and sliding out her hand\non the floor felt a warm pool of blood. Quickly she realized what had\noccurred. The old man was dead but his evil spirit was making him\nconform to its vampire appetite. It was chewing off the face of her\nhusband. But she did not scream, instead she said carefully, \u201cHusband,\nour child wishes water, you are too sleepy to care for her while I go\nfor some, so I will take her with me, give her a drink and soon return.\u201d\nWith these words she arose and went out carrying a bowl with her. She\nran to the spring, dropped the bowl and then ran toward home as fast as\nher strength gave her ability for running. \u201cUnless I hasten,\u201d she\nthought, \u201cthe tc\u012ds\u00b4g\u00e4 will overtake and devour me. I heard him go back\nto his coffin, but his hunger will soon return and he will come for us,\nand finding us missing, will pursue us. Oh my baby, we must hurry!\u201d\n\nAn echo of a loud cry sounded through the silent forest and the woman\ncaught the words, \u201cShe has deceived me!\u201d Then she knew that the tc\u012ds\u00b4g\u00e4\nhad started on her track. She heard him at the spring, so she used all\nher speed to escape him, but presently she heard a growling close behind\nher and heard him exclaim, \u201cAh you cannot escape me!\u201d Unloosening her\nskirt she flung it on a swinging branch and hurrying on, hear the\ntc\u012ds\u00b4g\u00e4 crying, \u201cAh now I have you!\u201d Then he tore the garment into\nshreds and found out his mistake. So then he ran screaming on. When he\nhad neared her again she threw her blanket upon a log and ran on. The\ntc\u012ds\u00b4g\u00e4 stopped and whooped because he was very angry. Then he chewed up\nthe blanket but finding no blood rushed on after his victim, only to be\ndelayed again and again by the same trick. After a time she had stripped\nherself and her baby of all their clothing and she was nearly exhausted,\nwith the tc\u012ds\u00b4g\u00e4 close upon her; then she heard the sound of drumming\nacross a little valley and crying \u201cGowe^n\u2018\u201d she ran on. The sentinel\noutside the long house heard her cry and gathering a number of warriors\nabout him, ran at full speed toward the cry of distress. Each warrior\nbore a flaming torch the lights of which confused the pursuing tc\u012ds\u00b4g\u00e4\nand gave hope to the woman. Throwing their robes about her the warriors\ncarried her to the long house where after reviving her from her faint,\nthey heard her story. Then said the chief, \u201cIf her story is true we must\nkeep the lights burning and dance till morning for the tc\u012ds\u00b4g\u00e4 may\nreturn and kill us all; on the morrow we will send a party to examine\nthe lodge of Taiiani Gowa and find out what the trouble is.\u201d So the\ndance continued all night and in the morning a party headed by the chief\nwent to the lodge of Taiiani Gowa and found the dead man in his coffin\nand the husband with his face chewed clean to the skull. Then the chief\nstepped to the side of the coffin and said, \u201cWe have come to make a\ngreat ceremony. We will bind up your box and then have our ceremony.\u201d\nThe warriors bound up the coffin with their strongest ropes and piled it\nhigh with brush and logs. Then a torch was applied and the coffin was\nsurrounded by flames. The old man could not escape although he\nthreatened terrible results for he could not pass outside of the flames.\nSo his head burst and a white rabbit ran forth into the underbrush,\neluding all the arrows of the warriors and escaping. Then did the people\nprove that Tiaiiani Gowa was a wizard and discover the form of his evil\nspirit. Likewise they knew why his guests became sick. He was a bad\nspirit.\n\n\n\n\n                                 VIII.\n                        TALES OF TALKING ANIMALS\n\n\n       39. THE MAN WHO EXHALED FIRE\u2014HIS DOGS AND THE WOLVES.[40]\n\nNow this is great.\n\nA man had a dog and was always kind to it and the dog loved the man. Now\nthis man would smoke tobacco after he had eaten his evening meal. Smoke\nissued from his mouth and sparks of fire flew from his pipe. The dog\nnoticed this.\n\nThe man was a hunter and had large stores of meat hung up on poles and\nstored in his lodge. This was fortunate for the man because game was now\nvery scarce. The wolves about were ravenous. They came from great\ndistances toward the lodge of the hunter because they smelled his meat.\nThe hunter\u2019s dog saw them and asked them what they intended to do. They\nanswered that they were hungry and intended to kill the hunter and eat\nhis meat. They also advised the dog to keep away for they surely would\nkill his brother (the man) and also him if he interfered or warned his\nmaster. This worried the good dog and he thought some time how he could\nsave his brother. So he spoke and said, \u201cYou can never kill my brother.\nHe is too great a wizard. He has the greatest charms on earth. He eats\nfire and blows it from his mouth with clouds of smoke. Beware, I tell\nyou,\u2014do not attempt to injure him, for if you do he will torture you in\nthe flames. You will be unable to escape for the smell of his fire\ntravels a great distance and is great magic. If you do not believe me\ncome and look after the evening meal and see for yourselves.\u201d\n\nThen did the wolves laugh and say, \u201cYou are somewhat of a liar but we\nwill come and see.\u201d\n\nThe dog was very angry then.\n\nWhen evening came the wolves gathered around the hunter\u2019s lodge and\nwatched him eat his meal. When he had finished they saw him take a brand\nof flaming fire and put it to his face. Then he waved the flame in front\nof his face and it disappeared. Then smoke in volumes issued from his\nmouth because the fire must have entered his stomach and be burning.\nSparks flew in the wind and they smelled the smoke of the fire. They had\nnever seen such a performance before and were frightened. So they did\nnot dare attack the man at night. They ran back in the forest and hid.\nThe next day the dog went and found them. Then the wolves said, \u201cWe can\nnot kill your brother, he is too great a conjurer. His power is too much\nfor us to fight. We are glad you told us.\u201d\n\nNow this was all right. The dog did not tell his master but defended him\nwith his wits. If one is kind to a dog he will never know how many times\nthe dog will save him from danger and death. That is all.\n\n\n                    40. THE TURTLE\u2019S WAR PARTY.[41]\n\nTurtles have never done anything wonderful since the foundation of the\nworld. This is what a discontented turtle thought. \u201cNow it is for me to\nshow myself a leader of warriors and thus bring glory to the turtles.\u201d\n\nThus the turtle set about to devise a song by which he should call\nvolunteers together. After a prolonged study he composed a tune and\nchose the words of a stirring war song, crawled into his canoe and\npaddled down the river, singing as he went.\n\nA wolf running along the shore lifted his head and pricked his ears as\nhe heard this odd song floating down the river, and listening, caught\nits import. When the turtle came near he began to yelp.\n\n\u201cI am a famous warrior and will volunteer,\u201d he shouted.\n\nThe turtle grounded his canoe and crawled up the bank to inspect his\nwould-be recruit.\n\n\u201cWell, what can you do, wolf?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cOh ho! I can run,\u201d said the wolf and then started off at a furious pace\nand returning asked what impression he had made.\n\n\u201cNow it seems to me,\u201d answered the turtle as he started to turn around,\n\u201cyou would be very apt to desert me when I most needed your support, so\nI say good-bye.\u201d\n\nGoing back to his canoe he tumbled in and paddled down the stream, once\nmore singing.\n\nA fox barked and waving his brush signalled the singing turtle.\n\n\u201cI will be your follower for I am a cunning warrior,\u201d said the fox.\n\nPushing the canoe ashore the turtle flopped out and ambled up to the\nfox.\n\n\u201cNow warrior,\u201d said he, \u201cshow me your excellence.\u201d\n\nThe fox gave a sudden spring and was out of sight before the turtle\ncould turn to look, then bounding back asked if he were not skillful\nindeed.\n\n\u201cYour feet may be swift,\u201d replied the turtle, \u201cbut I see no signs of a\nwarrior in you,\u201d and pushing his way over the pebbles he reseated\nhimself in his canoe. Paddling out into midstream he resumed his singing\nand after some time was hailed again. Landing he found a new volunteer\nin the form of a skunk.\n\n\u201cWell now what can you do,\u201d said the turtle looking at the handsome\ncreature before him.\n\nWithout moving from his tracks the skunk gave a satisfactory\ndemonstration of his ability, to the turtle\u2019s great delight.\n\n\u201cJump in, S\u0113\u00b4no\u2018, two brave fellows as we can collect a most formidable\nparty,\u201d said the turtle, and he changed the words of his song as he\npaddled.\n\nA rattlesnake next offered his services and when he had shaken his\nrattles and shown his fangs, was accepted.\n\n\u201cTumble in,\u201d said the turtle, \u201cand we will sing until another warrior as\nbrave as we is added to our party.\u201d So all sang, as they coursed down\nthe stream.\n\nThe song attracted a hedgehog, and wishing to become a warrior too, he\nshouted from the shore.\n\n\u201cWell, what can you do?\u201d inquired the turtle as the canoe neared the\nbank.\n\n\u201cI can shoot my arrows,\u201d said the hedgehog, and mounting a stump shook\nhimself until his quills flew in all directions.\n\n\u201cYou are my warrior,\u201d said the turtle as he shoved his canoe to a\nconvenient embarking point.\n\nWhen the hedgehog had climbed over the side of the canoe and the war\nparty had paddled off from the shore, the turtle swelled proud in his\nskill and sang a mighty war song defying all foes.\n\nThe party counselled together and decided to make their first attack\nupon a human settlement. Reaching a short distance below they secreted\ntheir canoe and crawled stealthily through the bushes and grass to a\nlodge not far from the river. It was evening and the party resolved to\ntake their positions of attack and await the coming of dawn. The skunk\nlay at the back door, the hedgehog at the wood pile, the snake coiled in\nthe kindling barrel and the turtle hid beneath the rocks of the spring\nand morning found them ready to fight.\n\nA woman pushed aside the curtain of the lodge door and stepped out of\ndoors. The skunk was on the alert and shot her full at her face. The\nwoman with a groan fell upon him and beat his head flat with her fists.\nAnother woman, hearing the commotion rushed out and standing at the wood\npile to watch her distressed sister received a sudden shock. The\nhedgehog ran between her legs and filled them full of his sharp barbed\nquills. With a scream the woman dealt her assailant a death blow with a\nbillet of wood and ran screaming into the house. Soon, out came another\nwoman bearing a basket which she set down in the kindling barrel as she\npaused to look at the dead bodies of the hedgehog and the skunk. Through\nthe splints she saw the coils of a snake. She picked up a heavy stone\nand flung it into the barrel and killed the snake before he had had a\nchance to strike.\n\nA man now emerged from the lodge laughing, \u201cHa, ha! Women are always in\ntrouble, Hoh ho!\u201d Laughing at the discomfort of his wife and sisters he\nran down the spring path and sank his clay kettle beneath the surface of\nthe spring. This was now the turtle\u2019s opportunity and with a furious\nleap he fastened his jaws in the man\u2019s leg. The man endeavored to\nsuppress a howl as he felt the sudden pain and tried to beat off his\nenemy, but the turtle\u2019s jaw was set and his back was armored.\n\n\u201cOh get off,\u201d begged the man doing his best to conceal his suffering,\nbut the turtle only bit deeper.\n\nLoudly the man cried and then began to threaten to kill the turtle. \u201cI\nwill drag you into the fire,\u201d he said. This so frightened the turtle\nthat he began to waver with fear but gathering up courage determined to\nescape without crying for quarter, so he said, \u201cHurry then, put me in\nthe fire, it is my natural home and I am lonesome, hurry now!\u201d\n\nThe man groaned and cried in desperation, \u201cThe river for you, I will\ndrown you!\u201d\n\nThe turtle pleaded most earnestly to be spared that fate but the man was\nresolute and limping to the river he thrust in his leg. The turtle\ngripped until he bit through the leg bone, then relaxing his jaws, he\nswam rapidly under the water and crawled out in a sheltered spot.\n\n\u201cAg\u012b\u00b4!\u201d exclaimed the man as he crawled to his lodge, \u201cI am glad he is\ndrowned.\u201d\n\nThe turtle found his canoe but was unable to push it back up the stream\nagainst the swift current. Discouraged, he sank it and swam back to land\nwhere he lay lamenting his failures, then he turned on his back as if\ndead and gave himself up to grief. Grief gave place to meditation and at\nlast he righted himself and crawled away saying:\n\n\u201cNo, I am not a great chief, but I am a turtle and am satisfied, for the\nglory of turtles is that the earth and all creation rests upon the back\nof one. That is good enough.\u201d\n\n\n               41. THE RACE OF THE TURTLE AND THE BEAVER.\n\nThere was a turtle who lived in a deep hole in a stream. He lingered\nthere and it was a favorite spot for his fishing. On the shore there was\na swampy place where he hid himself when not in the stream.\n\nOne day it grew very cold and the turtle felt very sleepy. He looked\nabout for a soft spot in the mud and found one beneath some tall\nsheltering rushes. \u201cHere I will sleep,\u201d said he. So saying he slept.\n\nWhen he opened his eyes there was a vast expanse of water over his head.\nEverything had changed and all the rushes had vanished. He threw off the\nmud blanket that covered him and ambled out on the floor of his resting\nplace. \u201cIik,\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cSomething has happened. Some magician has\ntaken liberties with my home.\u201d So saying he swam to the surface of the\nwater.\n\nInstead of the little stream with its neighboring swamp he saw a big\nlake. As far as he could see there was a lake. He looked about and saw\nan island in the lake and to it he swam. It was covered with sticks, and\nwhen he crawled upon it there was a hollow sound within, which\nfrightened Turtle and caused him to slip quietly off and conceal\nhimself.\n\nSoon he saw a dark form emerge from the water beneath the island and\nrise to the surface.\n\nCraftily Turtle raised his head and called. \u201cWho are you?\u201d Then he\nsubmerged quickly.\n\nThere was a whistling answer, a slap of the water and a voice said, \u201cI\nam Beaver. Who are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cSo that is the case,\u201d thought Turtle. \u201cSo someone has stolen my fishing\nplace.\u201d He was very angry and swam to the shore where he saw all kinds\nof branches broken up by cutting.\n\nSoon he heard someone say, \u201cGet out of my way.\u201d\n\nTurtle looked up and saw Beaver dragging a branch.\n\n\u201cOne would think,\u201d answered Turtle that it should be I who said \u2018get out\nof my way\u2019.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, what right have you here?\u201d asked Beaver.\n\n\u201cThis is my home,\u201d said Turtle. \u201cI have lived here a long time.\u201d\n\n\u201cHo! ho! ho!\u201d laughed Beaver. \u201cIf this is your home, where is your\nhouse? Now I say this is my home, for there is my house.\u201d He pointed to\nthe thing that Turtle had thought an island.\n\n\u201cHow did you get here?\u201d asked Turtle.\n\n\u201cI came here and built a dam, made this lake, and now I have a house\nhere.\u201d\n\n\u201cI came here long ago,\u201d said Turtle, \u201cand built a fishing hole. My\nabiding place is in the swamp. You, Oh Beaver, have no right to spoil my\nhome. It is my intention to break down your dam and restore my home.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Beaver, \u201cthat would not do us any good for I would build\nanother and others of my tribe would catch you and gnaw your head off.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow shall we settle this thing?\u201d asked Turtle.\n\n\u201cWe will see who can stay under water longest,\u201d said Turtle.\n\n\u201cNo, that would be too easy for me,\u201d said Beaver. \u201cI could sleep a year\nunder water. I was going to ask that as a test myself. I propose that we\nrun a race.\u201d\n\nTurtle was vexed, for he did not wish Beaver to win, and so he did not\ninsist upon the under water test. He was also crafty. So he said:\n\n\u201cWhoever wins the race shall stay here; whoso loses shall depart. First\nwe shall have a trial of racing, and then the race will begin.\u201d\n\nSo they both came abreast in the water and started to swim. Soon Turtle\ncalled Beaver back. \u201cNow we will begin again,\u201d said he, with a wicked\ngleam in his black beady eye.\n\nAs they were about to start, Turtle said, \u201cI will purposely lag behind.\nWhen I pinch your tail then we will both start swimming.\u201d\n\nSoon Turtle bit Beaver\u2019s tail and both started swimming, but crafty\nTurtle hung onto Beaver and was dragged through the water until within\nsight of shore, when he bit harder than ever.\n\nBeaver gave a big grunt and whistled, \u201cSo you are there behind me? Well,\nI will win yet!\u201d\n\nTurtle bit again, this time harder than ever, making Beaver squeal with\npain. \u201cI\u2019ll fix you for this,\u201d he called, and flopped his tail over his\nhead. Turtle hung on, and when he felt himself over Beaver\u2019s head he let\ngo and continued to speed through the air like a flying squirrel. Far\nupon the shore he landed, way ahead of Beaver.\n\n\u201cI have won this race,\u201d he called back defiantly. \u201cYou must go away from\nhere; this is my fishing pond.\u201d\n\nThereupon, Beaver was greatly vexed, and swam away to nurse his sore\ntail. Turtle had outwitted him.\n\n\n      42. THE WOLF AND THE RACCOON AND HOW THE BIRDS WERE PAINTED.\n\nThere was a wolf, T\u2018h\u0103\u2018hyo\u00f1\u00b4n\u012b\u2018, a friend of the birds. He always helped\nthe birds and told them where to find food. Now Djoag\u0103\u2019, the raccoon\ndisliked Tah\u00b4yoni and when he met him one day he made insulting remarks.\nTah\u00b4yon\u012d\u2019 became angry and snapped at Djoaga. The raccoon rolled over on\nhis back and with teeth and claws was on the defensive. Tah\u00b4yon\u012d\u2019 then\ndid not want to fight. The raccoon did not wish to fight, moreover. So\nwhen the wolf turned his head Djoag\u0103 ran up a tree where he could insult\nTah\u00b4yon\u012d\u2019 without danger. A wolf cannot climb a tree. It was night now.\nSo the wolf sat beneath the tree and quarreled with the raccoon. He\nsang:\n\n               \u201cDjoaga, Djoaga! Diotion so go ge se da o!\n               Djoaga, Djoaga! Diotion so go ge se da o!\u201d\n\nThe raccoon replied:\n\n             \u201cTah\u00b4yon\u012d, Tah\u00b4yon\u012d! Diotion so go ge se da o!\n             Tah\u00b4yon\u012d, Tah\u00b4yon\u012d! Diotion so go ge se da o!\u201d\n\nSo back and forth they sang alternately all night. Towards morning the\nraccoon discovered that his enemy below was strangely silent. He did not\nrespond to his insults, neither did he sing his threats. So Djoaga sang\nagain and listening heard no response. \u201cHe is asleep,\u201d he thought. \u201cI\nwill climb down and see.\u201d Djoaga descended cautiously and looked at the\nwolf. True he was asleep. \u201cNow I have you to advantage,\u201d said Djoaga\nsoftly. Then he squatted his haunches and covered Tah\u00b4yon\u012d\u2019s eyes with\npitch and clay. When he had done this he ran off thinking that he had\ndone a great trick. Then he laughed. \u201cTah\u00b4yon\u012d\u2019 went to sleep,\u201d he\nchuckled. \u201cIt is better not to sleep if you wish to get the best of a\nfight.\u201d After that he ran off into the woods to relate his joke.\n\nNow then the wolf was very tired and did not awaken until noon. It was\ndark to him and he could not open his eyes. There seemed to be a dried\nplaster sealing them over. This frightened Tah\u00b4yon\u012d\u2019. Then he howled. He\ncalled the birds. So first came the tree tappers. Tah\u00b4yon\u012d\u2019 said,\n\u201cRemove the plaster from my eyes and I will reward you with whatever you\nmay ask.\u201d So now then the birds began to eat the plaster from his\neyelids and after a while he was able to see. Then he was very grateful\nto the birds, so he asked them what they desired most and they answered\nthat they would like to be painted. So he painted the birds. Some he\nstriped, some he spotted and some he mottled. He painted birds, blue,\nred, black, white, green, yellow, and all the colors. The birds were\nvery glad then that they had helped the wolf for now they were handsome\nto look upon. Thus came there to be different colored birds so it is\nsaid by the ga-g\u00e4 (legends). So it ends, the tale.\n\n\n                      43. THE CHIPMUNK\u2019S STRIPES.\n\nThere was a hungry bear. He could find nothing to eat. At length he\ncaught a chipmunk and held it a prisoner. After a while he intended to\neat it. Now the bear was about to eat the chipmunk when the little\nanimal begged that it might be allowed to sing his death chant and dance\nhis last dance. So the bear let him free for a time but watched him\nclosely. Now the chipmunk sang this song:\n\n               Si! Si! Oyade agadiangwa! Sa hi hi hi hi!\n               (Si! Si! Hole I wish for! Sa hi hi hi hi!)\n\nNow he sang this over and over as he danced over the leaf mold of the\nforest. After some time he felt a soft spot and thought a hole might be\nbeneath. He gave a jump and sank in but the bear was watching and as he\ndisappeared down the hole he grabbed the chipmunk by the neck and drew\nhis four claws over its length. This hurt the chipmunk and tore his\nskin. After that scabs formed and when they came off the chipmunk had\nstripes on his back. He was glad that he had escaped. Now it is said\nthat so came the stripes of the chipmunk. So it ends.\n\n\n                          44. THE RABBIT SONG.\n\nThere was a certain woman who was accustomed to ridiculing Gwaio, the\nrabbit. She called him Honishogwadusshe. Usually she called him Hegowa\n(gallops). One day Gwaio was running by this woman\u2019s house. She saw him\nand came out to deride him for she always thought rabbits queer animals.\nWhen she saw him she sang a song. This is what she sang:\n\n         He\u00b4gowa, He\u00b4gowa! Ne\u2019\u00b4ho ni\u00b4shogwadase oi\u2018 da\u0115\u2018!\n         (Gallops, Gallops! There growing all around, hair is!)\n\nNow this made Gwaio embarrassed and he hastened to escape from the sound\nof the song. He ran very far but soon saw the woman again singing as\nbefore.\n\n             \u201cGallops, Gallops, with hair circling round!\u201d\n\nThen he ran fast again and when he thought that he had escaped he heard\nthe woman singing again,\n\n             \u201cGallops, Gallops, with hair circling round!\u201d\n\nThis made him angry and he was mystified to know how the woman could be\never before him singing her song when he had passed her twice. So he ran\nagain and when he thought himself safe again he saw her before him\nsinging as before,\n\n             \u201cGallops, Gallops, with hair circling round!\u201d\n\nAgain he ran and hearing her sing once more fell exhausted at her feet\ntortured by the song and laughter of the merciless woman. He said, \u201cO\nwoman, you must be a great witch to be ever before me when I pass you.\u201d\n\nThen the woman laughed and said, \u201cO rabbit you must be a great fool not\nto know that I have not moved and that you have been running around in a\ncircle. When you ran up to me I sang the song,\n\n            \u201c\u2018Gallops, Gallops, with hair circling round\u2019!\u201d\n\nNow the old people say that when you see a rabbit and wish to kill it to\nremain still and make ready to shoot. He will come again round a circle\nand you can kill him. This thing was learned from this legend. Now when\nyou hunt rabbits sing this song when you see one and soon he will appear\nagain for he runs in circles and returns to the same spot in which you\nsaw him first. So now all.\n\n\n                        45. THE RABBIT GAMBLER.\n\nIn old times there was a rabbit,\u2014Os\u012bda Hodaweo, that was his name. Now\nOs\u012bda was a gambler and was continually winning games. He had a deadly\nenemy, S\u0113no,\u2014that was his name, a skunk. Now this S\u0113no loved two\nsisters. He never gambled but always had plenty to eat. Os\u012bda, also\nloved the same two sisters. He gambled and had stores of goods. So Os\u012bda\nwas the choice of the women but his grandmother said that they would be\nfickle and would desert him when his luck changed. Then Os\u012bda laughed at\nthe old woman.\n\nHis wives were always faithful and cooked good food. Each morning he\nreturned from his gambling. Then he sang a song:\n\n            \u201cOne Djagwehee! Deiogwaie do-no!\n            One Djagwehee! Deiogwaie do-no!\n            Now I am coming home; all night I have gambled!\n            Now I am coming home; all night I have gambled!\u201d\n\nThen his wives hearing his song in the distance would run out on the\ntrail to greet him. They would sing a song:\n\n                    \u201cOsida-a-a-a Hada-weo! Dondae!\n                    Osida-a-a-a Hada-weo! Dondae!\n                    Feet Earrings! He is returning!\n                    Feet Earrings! He is returning!\u201d\n\nSo it happened this way continuously. Then it changed. One morning he\nsang his song but his wives did not come to greet him. He did not hear\ntheir song. He thought that it was strange. But he kept singing. He had\nno goods with him. For a long time now he had brought nothing home. His\nluck had changed. Therefore he wished his wives to come and cheer him\nbut they did not come. He continued to sing until he stood outside the\nlodge door. He paused and listened but heard no sound within. He thought\nthat was strange. He entered the lodge and it was empty. No one was\nwithin. There was a hot meal ready for him and he sat down and ate. He\nwas absent minded and did not see what he was eating. After a time he\nheard singing in the air above the lodge. He heard the words:\n\n               \u201cIonegattha sago no sothetstsowa Haiasho!\n               Ionegattha sago no sothetatsowa Hayasho!\u201d\n\nThese were the words he heard and then he voided his meal.[42] He ran\nout of the lodge, and above the trees overhead he saw his wives paddling\na canoe through the air. They were not descending. Os\u012bda was sick at\nstomach but he ran to catch them. They paddled fast and he did not\nsucceed in getting near them for some time. At last he was at the side\nof the canoe which the women were paddling over the ground. He leaped\ninto the canoe but the women leaped out and hopped away into the bush\nlands. Os\u012bda chased them but lost sight of his runaway wives.\n\nNow S\u0113no heard a noise above his burrow and sticking his head from the\ndoor saw the women whom he loved running. \u201cKwe!\u201d he cried, \u201cwhat is your\nhaste?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are running away from Os\u012bda,\u201d they replied.\n\n\u201cMy lodge will be a safe refuge,\u201d he answered with a smile, and beckoned\nthem in. So they entered.\n\nOs\u012bda spied their tracks in the mud and stalked them to a burrow. He was\nabout to run into the hole without looking when a hairy tail of some\nanimal was pushed against his very face. He had no warning and was\ndrenched with S\u0113no\u2019s fetid water. He fell back and cried loudly for he\nwas greatly in distress. By and by his grandmother came to him. She said\nsomething to him, but Os\u012bda did not laugh. He went home with his\ngrandmother.\n\n\n                     46. THE RACCOON AND THE CRABS.\n\nThere was a raccoon who was fond of crabs. It was his custom to catch\nthe crabs when they swam out from under a rock in the water. After a\ntime the crabs learned how he caught them and when he came near the\nwater they would hide under a flat rock and not come out until a\nsentinel told them that the raccoon had gone. The raccoon thought it\nstrange that the crabs had grown so wary and resolved to play a trick.\nHe crept to the bank of the brook and lay upon his back pretending to be\ndead. After some time the crabs crawled out to the bank and looked\ncarefully at the \u201cdead\u201d raccoon. Then the chief of the crabs, Hasanowane\nOdji\u2019eg\u00b4d\u0103, was his name, notified all the crab people to come out and\nsee their dead enemy. Now when they had all assembled the chief said,\n\u201cHe is dead, let us all rejoice. He who destroyed us is himself at last\ndestroyed. So let us rejoice and show our gladness by a dance.\u201d So they\ndanced and this was the song:\n\n                  Do sa gwe Do sa gwe ga no ho tci do\n                  (Chorus) ie ie ie ie ie ie ie ie!\n\nSoon one of the crabs said, \u201cAre you sure that he is dead?\u201d And the\nchief answered, \u201cGo pinch him and see.\u201d So the crab went and pinched him\nand the raccoon did not move, so he answered, \u201cYes, he is dead.\u201d Then\nthey danced again and after a time a crab asked of the chief, \u201cAre you\nsure he is dead?\u201d And the chief answered, \u201cGo and see, then tell us.\u201d So\nthe crab went up and crawled down the raccoon\u2019s throat. When he came out\nhe answered, \u201cYes, he is dead there is evidence inside.\u201d Then the crabs\ndanced again but after a time a crab asked of the chief, \u201cAre you sure\nthat he is dead?\u201d And the chief answered, \u201cGo and see for yourself, then\nreport to me.\u201d So the crab crawled up and pinched the raccoon\u2019s heart.\nThis made the raccoon very angry and he said to himself, \u201cNow is my time\nto feast, I have waited too long.\u201d So he leaped up and began devouring\nthe crabs and he ate until his belly was gorged. Then he laughed and\nthought himself a great trickster. Now that is how the raccoon outwitted\nthe crabs. It is said that it is not safe to rejoice at the downfall of\nan enemy lest he rise again and devour those that thought they danced at\nhis funeral.\n\n\n                          47. THE CRAB\u2019S EYES.\n\nNow a crab slept so long that his eyes dried up. When he awoke he did\nnot know where he was. He could not open his eyes because they had dried\nup in his head. So he strained for a long time. He crawled along\nendeavoring to find his way to water. As he crawled he kept striving.\nAfter a time he came across an obstruction. So he sang this song:\n\n                      A-di-na-ote sa-hi ga-i\u2018\n                      De-sa-si-no gwa-do-nio!\n                      What kind of a standing tree\n                      With crooked legs here?\n\nAnd the tree answered, \u201cI am the oak!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! Oh!\u201d cried the crab, \u201cHow far I am from water!\u201d\n\nNow he crawled along straining his eyes and singing his song. He asked\nevery tree whose crooked legs he ran against but they answered, maple or\nbeech, and he was discouraged. After a time a tree said, \u201crock elm.\u201d\nThen he was encouraged and said, \u201cWater must be near at hand!\u201d So he\nkept along striving and singing and when he heard a tree call out\n\u201cwillow\u201d he was exultant. He strained still harder and when he struck\nwater the paste over his eyes melted and so intense was he that his eyes\nshot out of his head and waved about. Now this was convenient for he\ncould see better than he had ever before. So he decided to keep them out\nwhere he could adjust them as he wished. Now the old people have said\nthat this was the way the crab got his eyes and it may be true. So it\nends.\n\n\n48. HOW THE SQUIRREL GAVE A BLANKET TO HIS WARRIOR, ROBBED THE WOODCHUCK\n               OF HIS TAIL AND THE FROG OF HIS TEETH.[43]\n\nThere was a time when animals and birds were very large. So, also, trees\nwere more lofty and rivers broader. This was long ago.\n\nNow, in those days there was a great chief of the squirrels, and he was\nvery wise. It was his custom to go stealthily through the forest and\nwatch his people as they worked or sported.\n\nOne autumn morning as he lay concealed by the leaves on the limb of a\ngiant oak, he heard a chattering voice call from a hemlock. It was the\nvoice of a squirrel.\n\n\u201cAll the autumn days I have been gathering nuts,\u201d said the squirrel in\nan aggrieved tone, \u201cand yet day by day my store is growing smaller. Who\nis stealing my hoard? Truly some culprit lurks here and is robbing me of\nmy winter\u2019s food that I have patiently stored in that stump!\u201d\n\nUp from a hole in the hillside popped T\u0113do\u2018, the woodchuck. From the\ndark scummy swamp water a big frog lifted its green head.\n\n\u201cHow unfortunate!\u201d said the woodchuck, \u201cSome thief must be lurking\nhere.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I too think it strange,\u201d croaked the big frog, \u201cSurely some thief\nmust be hidden here.\u201d\n\nThen in a chorus both poured out their sympathy to the indignant\nsquirrel.\n\nThe squirrel chief seated on the oak limb listened attentively and then\nnodding his head spoke thus to himself. \u201cTrue, indeed, thieves are not\nfar away. I think this sympathy betokens knaves.\u201d\n\nAt night the chief hid in a branch that overhung the stump that the\nsquirrel had pointed out.\n\nWhen the sun had gone in his western door and darkness had obscured the\nearth, from a hole in the hillside a brown head cautiously emerged and\nafter peering slyly around the woodchuck crept from his burrow, swung\nhis tail jauntily and trotted down his path to the swamp. A green backed\nfrog pushed his way from a high tufted hummock of grass through the\nblack water of the swamp toward the hillside. But he made no froggish\nsplash, no gurgling trill, no croak but swam in silence. Reaching the\nbank he sneaked his way up the path to the stump beneath the squirrel\u2019s\nhemlock where a furry brown bulk was rummaging.\n\n\u201cKwe!\u201d exclaimed the frog in a startled note.\n\n\u201cKwe!\u201d came the hollow reply, and Tedo, the woodchuck, withdrew his head\nto see who had discovered him but finding it to be only Skoak, the frog,\nhe resumed his work of pilfering the squirrel\u2019s store.\n\n\u201cIis kho, and you too,\u201d he said in a muffled voice as with bulging\ncheeks he hurried back to his hole.\n\nNow the frog in those days had sharp gnawing teeth like a beaver\u2019s and\nwhen he entered the hollow stump he tested the nuts to find what variety\nhe would choose. He had taken hickory nuts before but now chose to take\nchestnuts.\n\nFrom the limb over the stump store house a shrill cry sounded.\n\n\u201cThief found!\u201d came the alarm, and the woodchuck and the frog buried\ntheir ears in their booty to shut out the sound.\n\nOn the following day the squirrel chief called a council of all the\nanimals, for in those days the squirrel was a famous animal and mightier\nthan a wolf.\n\n\u201cThieves have been found,\u201d said he. \u201cI call a council to pronounce\njudgement.\u201d\n\nEvery animal from the neighborhood was present except the frog and the\nwoodchuck.\n\nA delegation was sent to examine the houses of these absent two and\nafter some time returned with the most guilty pair ever brought to\ncouncil for judgement.\n\nSaid the squirrel chief. \u201cI saw you steal the squirrel\u2019s nuts, the\ndelegation found them in your houses, therefore, you shall be punished.\nYou, the woodchuck, shall have your tail removed to humble your pride,\nand you the frog shall have your teeth taken from your mouth that you\nmay not be further tempted to steal another\u2019s store. You the squirrel\nhave been too careless. Henceforth build your storehouse high and in\norder to protect yourself from offenders that might attack you, I give\nyou this blanket to stretch from leg to leg so that you may skim the air\nlike a leaf.\u201d\n\nA wolf snapped off the woodchuck\u2019s tail and a heron extracted the frog\u2019s\nteeth and so punished the guilty knaves in sight of all.\n\nSo now all these things came to pass; all frogs were afterwards hatched\nwithout teeth, all woodchucks had bobbed tails and all the descendents\nof the squirrel had blankets fastened to their legs and bellies and made\na tribe of their own. Moreover, since that time all frogs have been\nafraid of long-billed birds and all woodchucks are afraid of wolves but\nsome squirrels have blankets and can skim the air like leaves.\n\n\n                     49. THE CHICKADEE\u2019S SONG.[44]\n\nDjikdjunkwa was a lonely chickadee. She was very sad and sat on the limb\nof a tree singing a sorrowful tune. Then she flew to another tree and\nlistened for an answering call.\n\nA wolf passing by heard her crying song and tears came in his eyes. \u201cLet\nme be your helper?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cWhat kind of food do you eat, good friend?\u201d asked she.\n\n\u201cRaw meat, raw meat,\u201d exclaimed the wolf, seeking to lure the Chickadee\nto him.\n\nBut Chickadee screamed a fluttering note and flew away. Soon again she\nsang her song.\n\n\u201cI am so lonesome, I am looking for somebody to marry me.\u201d\n\nA crow flying over listened and was moved to help the distressed little\nbird.\n\n\u201cOh poor Chickadee,\u201d said Crow. \u201cI would like to marry you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat would you feed my young ones?\u201d asked the Chickadee.\n\n\u201cRipe dead meat,\u201d answered the crow, whereupon Chickadee flew away and\nhid herself in a low bush, until the crow had flown away. Then she\nreturned to a tree and sang again:\n\n\u201cDji-he, dji-he, dji-i-he, I am so lonely that I would like to marry.\nDji-he, dji-he, dji-i-he.\u201d\n\nSoon she heard an answering call and saw a bird like herself. He flew\ntoward her and said, \u201cI am the one and we will marry now.\u201d\n\n\n                        50. THE BIRD WOMAN.[45]\n\nSitting mournfully on the edge of her nest was a heart-broken\nGonadjodjo, (Chewink). Her husband had been blown away on the breath of\na storm and the bird mother was left alone to care for her hungry brood.\n\nAll day long she had waited for her mate to return but, alas, he seemed\nto have forgotten her. Disconsolate, she listened to her children\u2019s\ncries. When she would fly to find their food they would shiver with cold\nand when she nestled them under her wings they would scream for bugs and\nseeds and berries. Something must be done or her callow nestlings would\nperish. So with a sad heart she began to sing in melancholy note.\n\nFluttering upon the stump of a fallen tree she sang and an owl within a\nhollow stub nearby poked out his head and said, \u201cOh may I not be your\nhelper and care for your nest?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d sighed Gonadjodjo in great distress, \u201cit would never do for my\nyoung birds would die when they heard you.\u201d\n\nThe owl drew back into his hole and Gonadjodjo sang again.\n\nFrom another hollow tree came an answering call. \u201cMay I not be your\nhelper?\u201d screeched a night hawk.\n\n\u201cAh, what would you say to comfort them?\u201d said Ganojojo.\n\n\u201cI would say Hai\u2018\u00b4, hai\u2018\u00b4, hai\u2018\u00b4, hai\u2018\u00b4!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh no, no!\u201d cried Ganodjodjo, \u201cthey would scream the worse.\u201d\n\nFlying to an open spot she sang again and a crow poking among the weeds\npaused and lifted his head as he heard the song. Then, with all\ncompassion he said, \u201cOh, Ganodjodjo, I would like to help you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen what would you say to soothe my children?\u201d sighed the unhappy\nbird.\n\n\u201cGa! ga! ga! ga!\u201d replied the crow, but Ganodjodjo cried in terror that\nhis harsh hoarse voice was far too hoarse for her little ones, so, the\ncrow croaked and strode on.\n\nWinging her way to the top of a dead tree Ganodjodjo sang again her\nplaintive song. There was a whirr of wings and a bluejay alighted on the\nbranch beside her.\n\n\u201cI will help you gladly,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the hapless Ganodjodjo shyly, for she was impressed with\nthe gay bird at her side, \u201cwhat would you say to my children?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn my softest voice I would say, \u201cDi\u2019\u00b4, di\u2019\u00b4, di\u2019\u00b4, di\u2019\u00b4, di\u2019\u00b4, di\u2019\u00b4,\ndi\u2019\u00b4, skil\u00b4l\u016dm, skil\u00b4l\u016dm!\u201d\n\nThe sharp shrill cry of the bluejay made Ganodjodjo\u2019s ears ache and\nfluttering to the ground half fainting she fell in a mouldering pile of\nleaves. Plaintively she sang her song again. The leaves on the ground a\ndistance away began to tremble and rustle and then there was a faint\nsound of \u201ctci\u00b4-wii\u2018, tci\u00b4-wii\u2018!\u201d The disconsolate bird stopped short,\nand darting to the spot found her own lost mate.\n\n\u201cI have been stunned and bruised,\u201d he said, \u201cand only awoke when you\ncalled.\u201d\n\nShe plucked him a red berry for medicine and then together they flew to\ntheir nest, he with unsteady wings but she in strong and happy flight.\n\n\n                       51. THE PARTRIDGE\u2019S SONG.\n\nNow there was a partridge[46] woman who had a large family. She had a\nhouse under a big log and her house was hidden by plants. A good many\npeople (animals) tried to find the partridge\u2019s house because they wanted\nto eat her eggs or her children. Now one morning her children were all\nasleep and she was running about eating worms and seeds. At this time\nshe smelled an enemy so she was alarmed for her children\u2019s safety. Now\nthen she sang a song to awaken them:\n\n         Djut-gan-nio, djut-gan-nio! Ho-sho-ga-he shoda-die-s!\n         Ya-ha-ne sho-da-ges! Ia-ha-ne sho-da-ges!\n\nwhich meant that the skunk was prowling about and would soon find them\nif they did not scurry away. After a time they heard their mother\u2019s song\nand ran into the bushes and she hid them in a safe place.\n\nNow this is the partridge song and it is a good thing to sing it when\nyou see or smell an enemy about a partridge\u2019s house. It is good luck.\n\n\n\n\n                                  IX.\n               TALES OF GIANTS, PYGMIES AND MONSTER BEARS\n\n\n                 52. A TALE OF THE DJOGEON OR PYGMIES.\n\n\nThere was a young man named Snow who lived with his parents along the\nbank of a river. He played about the door yard every day and sometimes\nswam in the river. When he was very young he obeyed everything his\nfather told him and refrained from going toward the south, where he had\nbeen forbidden to venture.\n\nOne morning he took his bow and arrows and began to hunt cedar waxwings.\nIt was spring time and there were many of these birds on the tall trees.\nJust as he was about to shoot, the birds flew to the south and so kept\non flying up the bed of a smaller stream, emptying into the river. As\nSnow chased the birds he noticed that the walls of the stream grew\nhigher and higher until they were very high and close together at the\ntop. It became very dark and Snow became confused and could not tell\nwhere to walk, for the rocks began to get more and more jagged. So he\nsat down on a large stone, feeling very miserable.\n\nSuddenly he heard a stone strike the ground at his feet. He looked about\nin the gloom and then heard another strike. The next time the stone\nstruck him on the forehead between the eyes and Snow fell over like a\ndead person.\n\nAfter a long time he heard voices speaking. The discussion was about him\nand he heard a voice say, \u201cNow we have him.\u201d He resolved to keep his\neyes shut and wait for a good opportunity to escape. Soon he heard foot\nfalls about him; they were very light like a small child\u2019s. Then more\ncame about him and soon he heard the sound of drumming. Presently small\nvoices began to sing and the singing continued for a long time.\n\nSnow understood every word and remembered the songs. Finally he made up\nhis mind that there was nothing malign about the intentions of the\nbeings that moved about him and he opened his eyes.\n\nAll about him were pygmies,\u2014little people,\u2014dressed just like Indians.\nThere was a shout when he opened his eyes and he was told to rise and be\nseated. He could now see clearly by aid of a fire on the slaty bottom of\nthe creek.\n\nAt length one of the little people spoke, asking him if he had tobacco.\nSnow searched through his hunting pouch and found a small quantity which\nhe gave the chief. This caused an expression of great pleasure.\n\nThe chief of the little people now spoke. \u201cYou have come to our home,\u201d\nsaid he. \u201cWe sent for you in order that we might teach you our ways. You\nare to stay here until you have learned our customs.\u201d\n\nSnow lived with the little people and became versed in all their arts.\nHe was told that when the Djogeon were in need of tobacco they would be\nheard singing, and then the Indians must throw tobacco into the gulches\nwhere the sound emanated. Sometimes drumming would be heard instead of\nsinging, and this also indicated the need of tobacco. The little people\nwould also be pleased to have finger nail parings in order to give them\ncertain human powers. Snow was told about the different tribes of\nDjogeon and about the stone throwers. Some Djogeon had power over the\nfruits and plants and even the health of people. They had some valuable\nhunting charms which they would bestow if man would guard their potency\nby appropriate ceremonies. All this Snow learned.\n\nThe time came for him to depart, and the Djogeon gave him presents,\ntelling him their purposes and magical attributes. Snow now departed and\nreturned to his people, who had grown very old. They scarcely knew him\nbecause of his long absence, which seemed to him only a few days.\n\nSnow now called together his friends and taught them the ceremonies and\nthe songs of the little people, and these ceremonies have come down to\nthis day. They must be performed in the dark.\n\nAfter that time the people began to see Djogeon in various places, but\nthey felt safe, knowing how to appease them.\n\n\n               53. BEYOND-THE-RAPIDS AND THE STONE GIANT.\n\nSk\u016dn\u00b4niw\u016dndi[47] was a great fighter. His name as a warrior was famous\neverywhere and he was called the greatest war chief in the world.\nSk\u016dnniw\u016dn\u00b4di was a great name.\n\nSk\u016dnniw\u016dn\u00b4di was passing along the bank of a river one time when he\nheard his name called out, \u201cKwe Sk\u016dnniw\u016dn\u00b4di,\u201d some voice was saying.\n\u201cYou are the best fighter in the world,\u2014you are the best fighter in the\nworld.\u201d\n\nSk\u016dnniw\u016dn\u00b4di looked up and saw across the river a terrible Genonsgw\u00e4, a\nstonish giant, a female giant. So he answered, \u201cKwe! What do you want?\u201d\n\n\u201cI want to fight with you,\u201d she answered.\n\nSk\u016dnniw\u016dn\u00b4di never had fought with a stonish giant but he answered, \u201cAll\nright, come over!\u201d\n\nNow at this place on the river there was a deep hole above the ripples\nand there was a ford at the ripples. Now the Genonsgw\u00e4 walked into the\nhole and was a long time crossing over under the water. Sk\u016dnniw\u016dn\u00b4di\nthought he would cross over on the ripples and he was in a great hurry\nand forgot his tomahawk. Now he stood on the opposite side when the\nstonish woman appeared.\n\n\u201cKwe!\u201d she cried, \u201cwhere are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cRight where I was before,\u201d answered Sk\u016dnniw\u016dn\u00b4di.\n\n\u201cThat is strange,\u201d she replied, \u201cfor here is your little weapon.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh I was passing this place some time ago and dropped it,\u201d he\nexplained.\n\n\u201cOh what a tiny thing to fight with,\u201d she laughed. \u201cHow do you ever\nexpect to fight with it!\u201d She licked it with her tongue and then said,\n\u201cIt is no good, see me smash it on this rock!\u201d Then she hit the rock and\nto her surprise the rock split asunder.[48] She did not realize that it\nwas her saliva that made the tomahawk strong medicine.\n\n\u201cHo ho!\u201d she exclaimed, \u201care all your weapons so effective on stone?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat little weapon is nothing,\u201d said Sk\u016dnniw\u016dn\u00b4di, \u201cI have a knife here\nthat will cut stone by drawing it over it.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet me see it,\u201d begged the giantess.\n\nThe man threw it across the stream. The stonish woman picked it up and\ndrew it across her lips moistening it with her saliva. This is the\ncustom of the giants when they wish to use anything and they do not know\nthat it makes power. Taking the knife she drew it over a flint and the\nflint was cut. She rubbed its edge on her coat and it was slit. Then she\nthrew back the axe and the knife now possessed with a wonderful power\nand Sk\u016dnniw\u016dn\u00b4di exultant asked her to hurry and commence the fight.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the giantess, \u201cYour medicine is too strong. You are truly the\ngreatest warrior of the earth. I will go.\u201d\n\nWhen the stone giantess left Sk\u016dnniw\u016dn\u00b4di she ran out to a river and\nfollowed it as it flowed until she came to a house where a man, woman\nand child were sitting around a fire inside. She unfastened her stone\ncoat and entered. After greeting them she said, \u201cI am fleeing from my\nhusband who seeks to kill me. Only be my friends and I will give you\nsomething.\u201d The people were kind and told her that she could stay, but\neven so, they were afraid of her. So she sat and swung the hammock in\nwhich lay the baby daughter. She began to sing without realizing that\nher song would offend the parents:\n\n                     \u201cOh what a tender morsel,\n                     How I would love to eat you!\u201d\n\nThe father remonstrated and implored her not to destroy their child.\nThen the giantess was sorry and asked forgiveness.\n\nThe next morning she went out into the woods and killed two deer and a\nbear and brought them back for her hosts.\n\nAfter a number of days she said, \u201cI hear my husband coming. You can save\nme. Cut six basswood poles as tall as a man and when we fight and he\nthrows me down thrust them one by one into his back and you will kill\nhim. Then I will repay you.\u201d\n\nThe great stone giant came making a roar like a whirlwind,\n\u201cWho-whoa-hoh-hoh-hoh!\u201d and the giantess whispered, \u201cBe ready and do\nyour best. Do not be afraid.\u201d\n\nThe man hid behind the big rocks and saw the female giant and her\nhusband rush upon each other. They fought very hard and the stone broke\nwhen they hurled each other against them.\n\n\u201cThe world is small, you could not escape me,\u201d the giant thundered as he\nflung his wife upon her back and made ready to kill her. Then the man\nran out and thrust the sharpened poles into the giant and they came out\nof his mouth.\n\n\u201cOh, oh!\u201d he cried, \u201cI am killed, I am gone!\u201d and he fell over dead.\n\nThe giantess was glad and rewarded her friend with a small patch of\nskin. \u201cThis skin is covered with the hairs of all animals,\u201d she said,\n\u201cand when you wish to kill a beast remove a hair and blow it on the\nwind. The animal will appear and you will be able to kill it.\u201d\n\nSo the giantess went away and the man kept his great game charm and was\nthought a most successful hunter, and no one knew how he got animals\nwhen no one else could; but one day a boy saw him blow a hair and a\nbeaver came. Then he hit it with a club and chopped off its tail.\n\n\n                      54. THE ANIMATED FINGER.[49]\n\nThere was a boy named Skunniwundi who was a hunter. It was a time when\nthere was a great famine and game was very scarce. The people were\nstarving. Skunniwundi thought he would find out why there was no game.\nLong he had been warned not to go north, but north he went.\n\nWhen he had traveled a long ways he saw something moving in the rocks\nahead of him. Concealing himself in a hole he watched. Soon he saw two\nstone coated women approaching. They were looking for food. Then did\nSkunniwundi know that the stone giants were eating all the game, thus\nmaking the famine.\n\nAfter a while Skunniwundi noticed that one of the women took something\nout of a bag and placed it on the palm of her hand. As she did this she\nexclaimed, \u201cGhaah!\u201d and commenced to walk directly toward him. At this\nhe began to run toward a creek hoping to cross it but they were too\nswift for him. Hoping to escape he ran into a clump of tall trees and\nclimbed one. The women followed his tracks to the tree and then began to\nlook around for him. Not once did they think of looking up, for their\nnecks would not bend. If they tried they would crack off. Failing to\nfind him one of the giant women put her hand in her pocket and took out\nsomething again which she placed on the palm of her hand. Skunniwundi\nlooked down and saw that it was a human finger and that it was standing\nup pointing at him. \u201cWhere is he?\u201d asked the woman and the finger\nwriggled and pointed. This puzzled the women and Skunniwundi felt that\nhe was secure. Soon he began to think that this finger would be a\nhelpful possession and began to consider how he could obtain it.\n\nThe women continued at the foot of the tree and finally discovered\nSkunniwundi\u2019s hatchet and arrows which he had left on the ground at the\nfoot of the tree. One woman picked them up and began to lick them,\nsmelling for blood.\n\nSkunniwundi now saw that all was lost unless he hastened. So with a\nquick slide he came down the tree and seized the finger. With a bound he\njumped into the water, but as he heard the giant women follow him he\nturned back under water and stood on the spot where he had dived off.\nThe women came out of the water on the opposite shore and were greatly\nsurprised. So they plunged in the water after him and when their heads\nwere under Skunniwundi swam across and stood on the opposite shore. He\ncould swim very fast now that he had the finger. When the women came out\nof the water they saw him where they had stood but a moment before, and\nwere again surprised. They plunged in again and this time Skunniwundi\nran very rapidly to escape them. Soon he heard the women crying, \u201cOh\ngive us back the finger. We promise not to eat you.\u201d\n\nSkunniwundi now was filled with power and kept asking the finger where\nthe giant women were, and by going in another direction he escaped them\nuntil he came near to his own settlement, which lay across a stream of\nvery cold water. In he plunged and swam across.\n\nWhen he arrived on the other shore, toward the village he saw a herd of\ndeer. Fixing his bow he shot and the arrow went through seven deer\nkilling them all. He then ran on toward the village. He showed his uncle\nthe finger and told the people to go for the game, but they returned in\nfright saying that there were sounds of giants on the other side of the\nstream.\n\nSkunniwundi and his uncle then went to the river and saw the giant women\non the other side. \u201cOh Skunniwundi, give back the finger,\u201d cried the\nwomen. \u201cWe will not molest you any more.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive it to them,\u201d said the uncle. \u201cThey will be friends with us if we\nappease them.\u201d\n\nSkunniwundi then took the finger and held it way out over the water and\nthe giant women leaned over from the cliff on the other side and just as\nthey were about to grasp the finger Skunniwundi drew back his hand and\nthe women were overbalanced and fell in the river, falling head first.\nDown they went to the bottom, and the river froze as hard as stone,\nkilling the stone coated women.\n\nAfter that time, Skunniwundi had the finger for a hunting charm and he\nsupplied game for the village.\n\n\n                   55. THE STONE GIANT\u2019S BATTLE.[50]\n\nThe stone giants had conquered all the tribes of the north and had grown\ntired of such easy combats.\n\nSo they came toward the south and heard of the fame of the Six Nations\nand right away desired to fight with them. In order to present a\nformidable force they sent messengers back to their own north country\nwith orders to bring back a fresh party of warriors. These crossed the\nnorth ocean and coming to the Niagara river made a path of rocks across\nit and walked over without even wetting the soles of their moccasins.\n\nNow the Six Nations knew all these things because Gw\u00e4 gw\u00e4 having seen\nthem flew up to the clouds and told the sun and the sun told\nSo\u00f1gwayad\u012d\u2019\u00b4s\u00e4\u2019\u0115\u2019, the Great Ruler. Then So\u00f1gwayad\u012d\u2019\u00b4s\u00e4\u2019\u0115\u2019 instructed\nGw\u00e4 gw\u00e4 to nip off a grass-hopper\u2019s big leg and dangle it from the sky\nover a village while screaming his cry. So Gw\u00e4 gw\u00e4 obeyed.\n\nAn old man was crossing a clearing. In the air above him he heard what\nseemed a death cry and looking upward he saw a human leg writhing as it\nbled from the clouds. The old man dropped his head down and away from\nthe sight and walked on pondering over the wonder, and he never knew\nthat it was only Gw\u00e4 gw\u00e4 with a grass-hopper\u2019s big leg. The old man lay\ndown to sleep and as he slept he dreamed the interpretation of the sign\nand knew that the stone giants were coming.\n\nOn the following day the old man took two friends and hid on the summit\nof a high mountain. For two days the men camped there listening to the\nwar songs of the on-marching foe, and at evening on the second day they\nsaw the vast war party of giants march into sight far down the valley\nand pitch camp on the shores of a lake. Then a spirit came out of a tree\nand revealed to the men that the Creator had planned to save them. He\ninstructed them to choose a messenger from among themselves and dispatch\nhim for a few more people to witness the battle with the giants.\n\nAccordingly, a runner was sent to the village and a small party was\nguided back to the mountain top, where all found shelter beneath a great\nrock.\n\nA terrible storm burst from the sky\u2014He\u2019\u00b4no^n roared from the heavens and\nsent down his fire upon the camp of stone giants. Then the earth\ntrembled and the mountains on either side of the valley slid down upon\nthe giants below.\n\nIt seemed that all were killed.\n\n\n                  56. THE BOY AND THE FALSE FACE.[51]\n\nThere was a certain tribe that had been almost exterminated by a hostile\npeople in the west. The western warriors would swoop down on the\nsettlements on the Lake (Ontario) and carry off many captives and\nscalps.\n\nNow there was a boy who had no settled home. His parents were dead and\nhis grandmother also. He was a wanderer and showed no special ability in\nanything.\n\nNow this boy was named No\u00b4gw\u0103gw\u0103 and he began to have dreams. He dreamed\nthat a great false face came to him and said, \u201cYou must lead a war party\nbeyond the Mississippi.\u201d Then again he had a dream and the false face\nsaid, \u201cYou must lead a war party beyond the Mississippi. You must hold a\nwar dance and gather your warriors.\u201d\n\nNow again he dreamed that the false face came to him in his sleep and\nsaid, \u201cYou must lead a war party across the Mississippi. You must hold a\nwar dance and gather your warriors. Go in a fleet of canoes.\u201d Now\nmoreover he dreamed again that the false face said, \u201cYou must lead a war\nparty beyond the Mississippi. You must hold a dance and gather your\nwarriors. Go in a fleet of canoes. Sit in the first canoe but do not\nallow anyone to pass the middle for I will be in the front of the first\ncanoe and give your expedition success. You can not fail.\u201d\n\nNow when the poor boy had heard the false face speak four times he\nbelieved his dream and proclaimed himself a war chief. Then all the\npeople laughed. Now he notified all the boys of the village that he was\na chief and would lead a party against the hostile nation in the west.\nNow many of the boys came and danced. The Nogwagwa said, \u201cI have a power\nand can not fail. I have a magic friend.\u201d After a while the people\nceased to scoff and all the men joined his party. Now there were many\ncanoes and Nogwagwa sat in the middle of the first canoe and would not\nallow anyone to pass by him. Now after seven days they reached the\ncountry of the enemy. The warriors wondered when the \u201cfriend\u201d was to\nappear and could not believe that he sat in the prow of the first canoe.\nNow the enemy appeared and immediately there rose into view in the prow\nof the first canoe a gigantic false face. Now he was the mark of the\nenemy and they shot at him. He had a great shield and caught all the\narrows and no one was killed but when Nogwagwa\u2019s party shot their arrows\nthey killed many people. Then the party disembarked and pursued the\nenemy far inland. The giant false face and Nogwagwa led the party and\nthey killed the entire tribe of men and took their scalps. Then the\nfalse face disappeared and Nogwagwa led the party home. After that the\nboy, Nogwagwa, was his name, was a great chief and he was an influential\nman. So it is said this day that orphan boys without homes may become\ngreat chiefs.\n\n\n                 57. HOW A BOY OUTWITTED A NIA\u2019\u00b4GWAHE.\n\nGreat sickness had killed many men and Sondow\u0115k\u00b4owa, the beast of Death,\nhad touched the father and mother of two children, who lived far back in\na place in the forest away from the villages. The children, a boy and a\nlittle girl, were left alone to care for themselves.\n\nThe baby sister was swinging in a grapevine hammock one morning, when\nfrom over the hill came floating a song. The boy glanced out from the\nlodge and saw an old woman hobbling down hill and crooning as she went.\nHe did not like the sounds in her song and turned uneasily back to his\nwork.\n\nPresently the old woman came up to the little girl and croaking an\nunfamiliar song held out a little bark bowl of pudding, inviting her to\naccept it. The child looked up and held out her hands to take it when\nher brother rushed out and forbade her.\n\n\u201cThe woman is a witch,\u201d he whispered to his sister. \u201cIf you eat her food\nit will charm you away!\u201d\n\nThe old creature heard this exposure of her true self and fled vowing to\nreturn the next day. True to her promise, she came again and held out a\ndelicious looking pudding on the top of which was a singing\nmocking-bird. The boy ran out from the lodge and stoned the old woman\naway and in anger she pointed her fingers toward him and screamed, \u201cIt\ndoes not matter for I will come again!\u201d\n\nThe next day she returned and again was driven away by stones. She then\ndeparted with the same threatening words. But on one day she exclaimed,\n\u201cOh why do you not accept my beautiful gift! Do so now for I am hungry\nand wish to eat you. Oh, Oh\u2014!\u201d\n\nThe boy was frightened by her frank avowal but determined to be rid of\nthe old witch and so drove her away once more.\n\n\u201cTomorrow I will enter the lodge and eat her before your very eyes. Now\nremember my promise!\u201d She screamed as she trampled back through the\ntrees.\n\nThe boy was aroused and resolved to use every power to save his sister\nand himself, so that night he carved two dolls from chunks of rotten\nwood and placed them upright against the walls. Taking his sister he\nuttered certain magic words and made her very small. He placed her\nwithin a horn arrow-tip and then shot the arrow through the smoke hole.\nLeaping magically after the shaft, he followed and picking up the arrow\nfollowed the trail in the darkness.\n\nThe next morning the witch came again this time taking the form of a\nn\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113. She tore down the hill and pawed before the lodge door.\n\n\u201cI have come, Oh I have come!\u201d she said. \u201cYou cannot escape me now for I\nam n\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh please stay away, we are afraid,\u201d wailed two tremulous voices\ninside. \u201cSpare us for we are young. Oh choose some older ones!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh no!\u201d snorted the witch, \u201cI have been hungering too long for you\ntwo,\u201d and bursting into the lodge prepared to seize the baby girl. She\nthen was disappointed when she saw no trace of the children.\n\n\u201cI am n\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113!\u201d she screamed, \u201cno one can escape me!\u201d\n\n\u201cDog\u0115s! Is that very true?\u201d asked small voices on opposite sides of the\nlodge.\n\nThe witch-beast looked about, and then seeing the wooden dolls trampled\ndown the entire lodge. Then, running in an ever increasing circle she\nfound the boy\u2019s tracks and following them with furious speed she\nscreamed, \u201cI am n\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113, no one can escape me!\u201d\n\nA short distance behind him the boy heard her voice and unable to\nwithstand her speed he planned to outwit her by changing his form. He\ntook the guise of an old man. He kicked off his moccasins and bade them\nrun on and make tracks to the end of the earth or until a hole appeared\nin the soles. Standing with his arrow fixed he gazed upward at an old\nrobin\u2019s nest that stuck upon a dead branch.\n\nThe witch-beast came crashing through the bushes.\n\n\u201cKw\u0113!\u201d she screamed.\n\n\u201cCii!\u201d whispered the boy, \u201cdo you not see I am watching for game? Ag\u0113! I\nhave been waiting three years for the bird to perch back on its nest and\nnow you have warned it away with your yells. Oh now you must stay and\nhelp me kill it for I am very hungry.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh nonsense!\u201d exclaimed the beast. \u201cI am hungry too. Tell me now old\nman, did you see a boy running by here?\u201d\n\n\u201cCii!\u201d whispered the boy, \u201cyou will frighten my bird. Go away. See those\ntracks? Follow them and leave me to my bird!\u201d\n\nThe n\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 struck the trail and followed the tracks of the moccasins\nthrough the forests and swamps and when many days had been spent she\ncame to a log and on it were two moccasins with holes in the soles and\nno tracks beyond or around save those she had followed.\n\n\u201cAg\u012b!\u201d screamed the beast, overwhelmed with chagrin. \u201cHe has deceived\nme. Now I know he was the old man who gazed at the old nest and sent me\naway! Oh he shall not escape me for I am n\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113!\u201d\n\nIn the meantime the boy had been running as fast as his legs and his\nmagic would bear him but after a time he heard a far away call. \u201cI am\nn\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113, he cannot escape!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh uncle,\u201d said the boy as he caught sight of an old spider, \u201chelp me\nto escape, a n\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 is pursuing me to eat my sister and me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am your friend,\u201d said the old spider as he unrolled a net and spread\nit over the ground in all directions. Away sped the boy and soon the\nwitch-beast came bounding into sight. Seeing her victim\u2019s tracks, she\nrushed squarely into the net and became badly entangled. Very furiously\nshe wrestled with the snare endeavoring to become disentangled and when\nat last she did the boy was far away.\n\nIn an evil temper at the delay the witch-beast snorted wildly as she ran\nto the north, in which direction the boy had gone.\n\n\u201cI am n\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113, you cannot escape me,\u201d she screeched as she ran and\nthe fleeing boy hearing her boast ran faster than ever, until he saw a\nboy with a basket of pigeon feathers, he stopped.\n\n\u201cSave me!\u201d he cried, \u201cgive me your basket!\u201d and snatching it from the\nowner he scattered the feathers to the winds crying, \u201cBe pigeons and\nstop witches!\u201d\n\nInstantly the feathers were transformed into myriads of pigeons who\nflying in clouds, sent down a kind of rain that covered the ground for\nmiles around with a slime so deep and slippery that no creature could\nwade through it.\n\nN\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 rushed into the slime and sinking into the depths wallowed\nand struggled until almost exhausted. Finally she was able to get back\nto its border and ran madly onward. \u201cI am n\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113, no one can escape\nme!\u201d she called, for it was her magic to say these words.\n\nThe boy heard her voice and holding fast to the precious arrow, in which\nhis sister was hidden, he hurried toward a false face man whom he saw\ndancing about a tree.\n\n\u201cOh grandfather!\u201d he cried, \u201csave me. N\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 is after me!\u201d\n\nThe false face held out his hand for tobacco and the boy gave him some.\nThen he pointed his hand toward a large cliff from which smoke issued.\n\nThe boy darted forward, and after him, close pursuing, was the witch.\nThe false face halted the creature and demanded tobacco, but the witch\nbeing in the form of a n\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 could not give it unless she became\nher human self. This she knew meant delay, but the false face was\ninsistent and then she was forced to shake off the beast form and give\nthe tribute. It is woe to those who deny the false faces, and she knew\nit. Then she resumed her beast shape and galloped onward.\n\nThe boy ran toward a rock and when he saw a small hole he entered and\nthen crawled into a spacious cavern. A woman within was boiling bear\u2019s\noil.\n\n\u201cSave me!\u201d cried the boy as the n\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 snorted at the entrance and\nforced in its head.\n\nThe beast struggled. It was trapped. The woman lifted her pot of boiling\noil and threw it upon the face of the witch-beast. A man forced out its\ncarcass with a club and shot arrows into a black spot on its feet.\n\n\u201cI am your mother,\u201d said the woman.\n\n\u201cI am your father,\u201d said the man, \u201cwe were rescued from death by the\nfalse faces.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd I am your daughter,\u201d said a voice as the boy uncapped his arrow,\n\u201cand my brother has saved me!\u201d\n\n\n                  58. NIA\u2019\u00b4GWAHE THE MAMMOTH BEAR.[52]\n\nIn the olden times in the valley of the Dociow\u0115h lived a newly married\ncouple. Their lodge was far back by the big rocks and when danger\nthreatened they hid in the caves.\n\nAfter a time there came to the young wife two baby boys. When the twins\nwere five weeks old the mother died. The father was at first dumb with\ngrief for his heart was very heavy. Then looking up toward the heavens\nhe sang,\n\n\u201cI see a hemlock tree. It has but two branches. The tree is twisted in\nthe hurricane and is broken midway. The two remaining branches on the\nstub are thrashing in the gale. The tree is I. My wife is broken from me\nand my children are in the storm! Let me burn tobacco, the wind will\ncease; let me burn tobacco and my sorrow heals. It gives me thought!\u201d\n\nThe dead mother had not lain long on her bed of spruce boughs when the\nhungry babes began to cry. A sudden thought came to the father. He cut\ndown two strings of deer meat and flung them into the mortar. Grasping\nthe pestle he pounded the meat into a powder and soaking it in hot water\nfed the liquid to his children. For several months they were nourished\nwith this and they grew lusty and fat. When the corn was ripe, \u201cin the\nmilk,\u201d the father scraped the kernels from the cob and pounded them in\nhis mortar, mixed the paste with water, skimmed off the gruel and cooked\nwith venison broth, and thus made a new food upon which the children\nthrived. When they were a year old they ate the same food that their\nfather did and grew tall and strong.\n\nThe years went by and they grew vigorous and lithe and became expert\nrunners often keeping pace with the swiftest of the tribe. At the age of\nfifteen one of them ran a race with a deer and falling exhausted died.\nAnd the father sorrowed again and became melancholy. After the death of\nhis brother the other seemed to double in strength of body and mind. His\nname was Hahyennoweh meaning the Swift Runner. In this son the father\ntook great pride for it was his sole remaining \u201cbranch.\u201d Thus he\ninstructed him in every art known to the hunter and warrior.\n\nHahyennoweh was a skilled bowman but as he developed greater speed in\nrunning he came to believe the bow and arrow coward\u2019s weapons.\n\n\u201cA fight to death and face to face is the only fitting way,\u201d he said.\n\nWith this idea in his mind and a sharp flint in his belt, he broke his\nbows and snapped his arrows. Then when he wished to slay an animal he\nwould pursue it and when it fell exhausted he would wait until it\nrecovered its breath and strength, slit its throat and carry it home.\nBear, deer, elk, moose and buffalo all fell victims of his speed.\n\nLike every brave and skillful man he loved to boast of his power, and no\none ever made a statement of their skill lest he exclaimed, \u201cHo, that is\nnothing! I am braver than that for I am the most skillful of all the\ntribe!\u201d\n\nThe father began to worry about this fault of his son\u2019s, for it was a\nserious one. His entire conversation was self praise, which while\nexcusable when indulged in occasionally, was unpardonable when continued\nforever. Wishing to warn him the father spoke to the boastful young\nwarrior. \u201cSon, I am your father, hear me!\u201d he said. \u201cYou must not brag\nor boast yourself hereafter!\u201d\n\nBut the son merely laughed and replied, \u201cFather, I do not. I speak\ntruth!\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, my son,\u201d the father entreated, \u201cthe animals will hear you,\u2014will\nhear your boasting and out of revenge will slay you.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I think not, father,\u201d he replied, \u201cfor no animal can outrun me, not\na beast in all this forest.\u201d\n\n\u201cSon!\u201d the father spoke gravely, \u201cthink wisely and hold your tongue. The\nwinds will steal your words for mischief and the magically endowed\nanimals will know it. Then, my son,\u2014then I shall lose you!\u201d\n\n\u201cFather,\u201d replied the son, \u201cI shall ever boast if speaking truth is\nboasting!\u201d\n\nThe father continued his warnings but Hahyennoweh only laughed and\nbounded back into the forest.\n\nOne evening Hahyennoweh came home after an exciting race and began again\nto boast his prowess. Sadly the father looked at him, and said\nsorrowfully, \u201cSon, again I bid you to cease your boasting. Evil will\nbefall you for I feel it.\u201d But the son was asleep.\n\nA knock sounded at the door and the father pushed aside the bear skin\ncurtain saying, \u201cDahdjoh!\u201d \u201cGahdjih!\u201d said a voice and the father went\nout. A stranger stepped from a shadow.\n\n\u201cI have come,\u201d said he, \u201cto tell you that the animals have heard your\nson\u2019s voice. They have heard his audacious voice and his unseemly\nboasting. They have felt his knife and died. They have chosen me and I\nhave come to him. I have come to tell him he must race me. I am the\nchosen one to race him from the sunrise to the sunset. We race the way\nthe sun goes. If I win, then I shall kill him. If I lose then he shall\nslay me. Tell him he must meet me at the windfall.\u201d\n\nAwaking, the son heard the voices outside and when the father pushed\naside the curtain to re-enter he began to question him. The father\u2019s\nbrow was wrinkled, his cheek had a gray color. He had sorrow in his\nvoice.\n\nHe spoke \u201cMy son, you are all I have and you have loudly boasted about\nrunning swiftly. Did you not hear my advising words of caution? Did you\nnot hear my entreaties? Nia\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 has been here and spoken to me. You\nhave heard our talk together. You will be hurt by him. Hahyennoweh! My\nonly son I believe that you will perish!\u201d\n\nHahyennoweh smiled, and then laughed at his father saying, \u201cNia\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113\nis an old and foolish creature. So it is only he who makes this\nchallenge! Chisnah! He should know that I am the champion of runners.\nFather, tell me more particularly about him, I would like to know how to\nfeel afraid, but what you have said does not make me afraid.\u201d\n\nTurning, the father answered, \u201cNia\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 is a mighty conjurer. He can\nchange his form to suit him any time he wishes. He has never once been\nbeaten in a race. Now you had better go to sleep and let me think about\nit and when I am done I shall awaken you.\u201d So the son drew his blanket\nover his head and went back to his dreaming.\n\nSeizing the pestle, the father pounded parched corn and maple sugar\ntogether and moistening the meal molded it into a cake and put it into a\nrawhide bag. After awhile he awakened his son for he had been thinking\nas he had worked.\n\n\u201cSon, awake!\u201d he said. \u201cI have been thinking and now I will advise you.\nThe small humming bird is the swiftest of all the feathers and\nNia\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 has never had a race with him. In your cap I am going to put\ntwo feathers from the humming bird\u2019s breast; they are a race charm.\u201d\n\nThe father did not want to sleep that night but sat and threw pinches of\noyankkwaoweh, the sacred tobacco, on a small fire to calm his fears and\ngive him power with medicine spirits.\n\nBefore the sunrise the son awoke and going down the trail to the creek\ntook his morning plunge and returned to eat his venison. Finishing his\nmeal, he shook his father\u2019s hand and said, \u201cOneh, now I am going.\u201d His\nlimbs felt strong and elastic for he had rubbed them well with plenty of\noil. As he ran he thought he would like to test his jumping power,\u2014just\nfor luck,\u2014and nearing the windfall, judged its breadth seven times his\nlength. Increasing his speed he gave a great leap and cleared it. \u201cHo!\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cI am ready for any race in the world and ready for Nia\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113,\nthe beast-conjurer. My legs move of their own accord and my feathers\ngive me power. Now where is this old thing that gives me a challenge?\u201d\n\nJust as he spoke there was a loud snort, and looking up he saw the\nmonster.\n\nThe sun was about to go under the rim of the sky, over Onondasdaht, the\nbig hill. Hahyennoweh spoke, \u201cShall we race now? I am ready, it is\nsunrise!\u201d But Nia\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 did not answer. He simply blew wind through his\nnose and started running.\n\nThe monster\u2019s path was toward a swamp and Hahyennoweh followed after.\nThe great beast ran very fast through clumps of bushes, just as easily\nas the son ran over grass. Saplings, stumps and trees fell before the\nbig animal. For about five miles the son labored through the muck and\ntangles, and then seeing that these obstacles were too much for his\nstyle of running, concluded that it would not be wise to follow much\nlonger through the swamp-land. He, therefore, decided to return to the\nstarting point and take his route over the high ridge that curved for\nmiles around the big swamp. Toward noon, when he had circled it, and had\nrun miles beyond, he saw Nia\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 far in the distance. Increasing his\nspeed he soon reached the animal with the exclamation, \u201cHo-hoh, I am up\nto you!\u201d But the mammoth bear only replied, \u201cUngh wooh!\u201d The son saw\nthat the Nia\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 was very tired and as he ran beside him he said.\n\u201cKway Nia\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113! Adekoni, it is time for eating!\u201d But the beast with\nheavy breathing kept on running. Hahyennoweh, the Swift Runner, paused\nin the race, and sitting down on a stone, took a swallow of water and\nslowly chewed a handful of parched corn and sugar. He rested for a while\nafter his meal and then after a swim in the brook, near by, he started\non his race again.\n\nWhen the sun was midway from the high heavens to its setting, the son\ncaught up to the beast again. \u201cHo-hoh, I am up to you, old opossum!\u201d he\nsaid, but the huge animal was too tired even to grunt. A stream of water\npoured from his body leaving in his tracks a muddy streak and his big\nsides bulged within and without.\n\nAgain Hahyennoweh sat down and rested, for besides the giving of rest it\nmade greater excitement. Taking up the race again the son ran over the\npath made by the monster. On and on he sped but Nia\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 was nowhere\nwithin range. The path that he had made was a line that ran beyond the\neye\u2019s reach. He increased his speed but even then Nia\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 was not to\nbe discovered. Then he began to get frightened and wondered if the\nmonster called into play his magic powers. It seemed so for though Swift\nRunner ran his swiftest the beast seemed to run still swifter. But he\ndid not despair but kept on his journey, hopeful that his charms would\nbe strong. After awhile, far in the distance, was a small speck that\ngrew larger as Hahyennoweh ran toward it. That made him run faster and\nafter some time he overtook the magic monster. It was nearly dark when\nHahyennoweh caught up to the beast and it was none too soon for the race\nwas almost over. He was very tired but as courageous and boastful as\never, so Hahyennoweh said, \u201cHo hoh, I\u2019m up to you again! You are no\nrunner! Who said you could run, you have been flattered. You are an ugly\nold woman to be flattered. You run just like a lame old woman. You have\nforgotten how to run. No you never knew how to run at all. Just let me\nshow you how to run. I\u2019ll never let you catch me as I have you. Oh you\nare very slow like a three-legged turtle. Now see me run!\u201d\n\nThe young warrior ran ahead with very great speed over the plain until\nhe saw the sun hang low and red over the hills. Then looking back, he\nsaw a small speck. Two thoughts came into his mind. The first that he\nshould go back and kill the beast, as the sun sank below the hills, and\nthe second that perhaps the monster was shaming and would speed ahead\nshould he retrace his steps. But in a moment he laughed at this second\nthought and was not afraid. Running back he saw that the Nia\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 had\nfallen, unable longer to stand the strain of the contest. His panting\nwas so great that he blew up leaves and sticks high in the air and bent\nthe saplings about him.\n\nThe sun disappeared and the evening star shone bright in the sky. It was\ntwilight and Hahyennoweh stood looking at the fallen big meat before\nhim. He grasped the small blow gun from his back and fixed a small\nsharpened arrow. He aimed for a dark spot on the left front foot of the\nanimal. He shot and the heaving sides no longer took in wind. The beast\ndied where he fell.\n\nIt was getting dark and the Swift Runner was tired by his race, so he\nlay down beneath a high tree and went to sleep.\n\n\n                              THE RETURN.\n\nWhen he awoke the next morning he found himself wondering what could be\non the road through the swamp,\u2014the route chosen by the Nia\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113.\n\u201cSurely it must be some mischief,\u201d he thought, \u201cor he would not have\nbeen so maddened when I ran on the ridge. I think the monster grew so\nslow was because he was mad. I must explore the swamp and find the\nevil.\u201d\n\nThe huge beast in his mad race had beaten a good path through the swamp,\nwhich the son proceeded to follow. After a journey of ten miles he made\na discovery. The footprints of a hostile people, the marks of the\nenemy\u2019s moccasins, were fresh in the path. Hahyennoweh advanced with\ncaution and as it grew dark he saw ahead of him two fires. Hidden in the\nunderbrush were temporary shelters erected by a hostile war party. Home\nwas but five miles distant and the son crept noiselessly past the\nencampment and sped toward his father\u2019s lodge. In the moonlight he saw a\ndeer with very large legs. He looked still closer. The deer had men\u2019s\nlegs and wore leather leggings! The truth flashed upon his mind. Two of\nthe enemy were reconnoitering and were planning an attack before the\nsunrise!\n\nEntering the lodge he greeted his father and gave him the beast\u2019s tusk,\nthe big tooth that sticks out. The father received it without a comment\nand continued his smoking. Then very loudly the son exclaimed, \u201cI\u2019ve\nseen a deer. I am going to outrun him. I am going now to race him!\u201d Then\nin a lower tone he added, \u201cI will return soon, father, and tell you of\nmy adventure, but wait.\u201d\n\nGrasping a stone axe he ran out in search of the strange deer. At length\nhe espied it back of the lodge, peering in at his father. Creeping up\nwith stealth the son struck the strange animal a crushing blow between\nthe shoulders, the hatchet sank deep and the forequarters of the deer\ndropped to the earth without a sound. Quickly snatching the skin he\nwrapped it around the hind quarters and led them struggling into the\nlodge.\n\n\u201cWell father here is the deer of which I told you! Let us skin him and\nsee what is inside! Unwrapping the skin he revealed the captive, who,\nnearly smothered, was too feeble to further resist. Hahyennoweh flung\nhim into a corner and began to ply him with questions. \u201cHow many of you\nare there in the swamp? Why came you to kill my people? Where is your\nparty hidden? What chief sent you? Who is your leader? Are any other\ntribesmen with you?\u201d These and other questions he asked him. Bidding the\ncaptive lead the way Hahyennoweh advanced toward the enemy\u2019s camp and\nreached it about midnight. He lashed the captive to a tree and stopped\nhis mouth. The sleeping warriors were not aware of danger and never\nmoved as they slept. Lifting high his hatchet Hahyennoweh struck the\nsleepers. Forty-two times he struck and each time killed an enemy and\nthe captive bound against the tree saw it all. \u201cHa\u2019\u00b4d\u0115gaiiwio\u2018!\u201d he\nexclaimed as the last sleeper was struck and then turning to the\nterrified man bound to the tree he said \u201cI\u012bs newa, now you!\u201d He lifted\nhis tomahawk but paused as he was about to strike then lifting it again\nlet it fall with a blow the shook the tree. But it had not touched the\nman, the blow was not aimed at him, but instead it cut the thongs and\nset the captive free. \u201cNow go with all your speed and tell your tribe\nnot to send war parties against us again for we have strong medicine and\ncannot be harmed.\u201d The captive thought so.\n\nThat night as the son sat at the fire in the lodge with his father\nstretching the scalps on hoops he told the story of his great race but\nnot in a boastful way. His great deeds had made it necessary for him to\nboast no longer, for if he should men would laugh and say, \u201cHoh, you did\nbetter than that once!\u201d So never after did he boast but took a good\nwoman who had asked him to marry her.\n\nIn after years he told the story of the race again, that the tribe might\nnot forget it, but his grandchildren were unbelieving. \u201cShow us the spot\nand the bones and then we will glory in our grandfather,\u201d they said\nlaughing. So, undaunted, the old man whose name was changed to\nNia\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113gowa, (Mighty Magical Bear), in recognition of his great race,\ntook his grandchildren on the journey and showed them the place where\nthe beast had fallen. They dug into the soft soil and found the huge\nbones and the jaw where he had broken out the tusk.\n\nThe Indian story teller adds: \u201cWhite man find bones right where the\nNia\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 fell long after, to this day. Put them in big musees, so\nstory real true I guess!\u201d\n\n\n                    59. THE BOY AND THE NIA\u2019\u00b4GWAHE.\n\nThe Five Nations had waged a war with the Snake People who lived in\ncaves (the Cherokee). The Five Nations became exhausted. Both began to\nsee that the cause was not worth such a loss of life, and so a treaty of\npeace was made. Each party promised to send warriors, women and families\nto settle with the other, and thus, by mutual adoptions and\ninter-marriage weave a bond of friendship.\n\nThe day arrived for the mutual emigrations, and patiently the Five\nNations awaited the coming of their visitors, but none came, nor could\nnews be obtained of their own party. A messenger was dispatched but he\nnever returned. More were sent but, likewise, they never came back to\nreport. At last the chiefs called a council to devise means to get to\nthe land of their former enemies and learn how the party and the\nmessengers had fared. A new messenger was chosen from the bravest of the\nwarriors and a short distance behind a watcher followed. For two days\nall was well, but on the third the watcher looking ahead on the trail\nsaw the messenger crawling laboriously along. Running toward him he\nfound him wounded, stripped of all clothing and bleeding from tusk\nwounds and heavy bruises.\n\nNi\u0101\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113!\u201d whispered the man hoarsely, and fell dead.\n\nThe runner dashed down the trail crying, \u201cGow\u0115\u00b4! Gow\u0115\u00b4!\u201d\n\nA council was hastily called and the fate of the messenger discussed.\n\n\u201cAg\u0113! So it is Ni\u0101\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 who has been destroying our people and not our\nallies,\u201d said the chief. \u201cTruly now, some one must be found who is able\nand willing to destroy the evil. A brave one must he be for he will\nbattle with the most powerful of all beast magic. He who grasps this\nwhite wampum belt shall be the chosen man and he shall have the belt \u2018on\nhis body\u2019.\u201d\n\nThe chief circled the council, holding the belt before every man but no\none moved or lifted a hand.\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d said the chief, \u201care real men cowards! Has no one a heart and\nmind and arm strong enough to take this belt!\u201d\n\nStanding in the doorway of the council house was a boy, awkward in\nfigure and uneven of feature. His parents were dead and his home was\nwith his grandparents. He was accounted of a lowly family and as of\nfoolish mind. The chief wished to make a laugh to break the seriousness\nof the situation and so called out, \u201cWhy not try Tedo\u2018!\u201d The chief did\nnot smile although the entire assembly laughed, but holding the\nbeautiful belt out to the boy said, \u201cAre you O\u00f1gw\u0115howeh?\u201d\n\nThe boy grasped the belt and threw it over his shoulder.\n\n\u201cDo you know what you have done?\u201d asked the chief solemnly.\n\nThe boy nodded his head and clasping the wampum ran from the council to\nhis grandmother\u2019s lodge.\n\n\u201cOh grandmother!\u201d he cried, \u201cI have taken the belt to kill the\nn\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113, he who blocks trail to our new \u2018friend\u2019.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat, you!\u201d exclaimed the grandmother. \u201cWhy you are nothing but a\nragged simpleton!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell hurry then, and prepare my ow\u012ds\u00b4h\u00e4,\u201d said the boy, \u201cfor I am to\nkill n\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 and need food for my journey.\u201d\n\nThe old woman pounded the parched corn and mixed it with maple sugar.\n\n\u201cNow be off,\u201d she said, \u201cyou and your dog!\u201d\n\nThe boy started down the path talking to his dog. \u201cI will not yield, I\nwill demand yielding,\u201d he said. \u201cI will not be pursued, I will pursue, I\nwill not see failure, I will succeed.\u201d\n\nFor two days he journeyed down the trail that led to the allies\u2019\ncountry. At dawn on the third day there was a wild trampling in the\nforest and from the thicket rushed the n\u012b\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113. The dog rushed forward\nwith a yelp but the great beast merely opened his jaws and drew in a\nbreath and with it the dog flew down his throat.\n\nPicking up a stump, the boy dashed forward, yelling, \u201cI am after you,\nyou cannot escape me!\u201d\n\nNow it happens that these words are the very ones used by a n\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113\nwhen it pursues its prey, and such a charm have these words, that, as\nthe beast repeats them, animals and men become weak and fall down as\nvictims of the creature\u2019s cunning. When this n\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 heard its own\ncry flung back in its face, it was surprised. Its own words were turned\ninto its own ears. Then the great beast turned and fled.\n\n\u201cHa, ha!\u201d laughed the boy, \u201cyou cannot escape me!\u201d\n\nAll day the n\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 fled from the boy who pursued it crying shriller\nand sharper, \u201cI am after you, you cannot escape me!\u201d\n\nThe sun began to set and the boy sat down on a log to eat his ow\u012ds\u00b4h\u00e4\nwith a little water, but when he opened his pouch he found his food a\nmass of wriggling maggots.\n\n\u201cAg\u0113!\u201d he exclaimed, \u201cthis does not discourage me,\u201d and leaping from his\nseat, he took up the chase again, following closely upon the heels of\nthe n\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113. \u201cOho\u2019!\u201d he cried, \u201cYou are the one for whom I am\nlooking! Very soon I will kill you.\u201d\n\nThe sun went under the hills and the black night came.\n\n\u201cAg\u0113, I am tired now, n\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113, and must rest,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I will\nkill you as soon as I get time.\u201d\n\nThe beast trembled and ran on a short distance in the vain hope of\nescape but returning put his nose to the boy\u2019s ear.\n\n\u201cKw\u0113!\u201d he whispered, \u201cAre you asleep?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, not yet,\u201d replied the boy with a yawn.\n\n\u201cWell then,\u201d continued the beast, \u201cI wish to tell you that I know I am\ndefeated, but oh spare me, I beg of you, spare me! Have mercy and do not\nkill and I will flee from the land of men and hide in the icy north,\nnever more to disturb or devour men.\u201d\n\n\u201cHo ho! this is your trick,\u201d laughed the boy, with a sneer. \u201cNo mercy\nfor you, you deserve only death. Hold up your foot and show me the\nspot!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh no, no, no,\u201d begged the n\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 plaintively. \u201cLet me live and as\na pledge of my truthfulness I will give you my teeth.\u201d\n\nThe boy debated with himself and then asked, \u201cWhat profit are teeth?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy teeth are my magic,\u201d answered the creature, \u201cand my magic is his who\nholds my teeth.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell now,\u201d said the boy slowly, \u201cif your teeth will bring fortune to\nmen I will accept them, but if ever you visit again the haunts of men,\nremember that I am the mightiest of wizards!\u201d\n\nWith many groans the beast shed his teeth, crying, \u201cAll my magic\nstrength and power are his who holds these teeth.\u201d\n\nThe boy threw them in his pouch and bade the monster depart forever. The\nboy rested for some time and then ran with all speed to the land of the\nallies. He called a council and told his story.\n\n\u201cWe thought your nation had destroyed our people whom we sent to you,\u201d\nsaid the chief of the allies at the close of the boy\u2019s speech.\n\n\u201cWe also thought the same of you,\u201d answered the boy.\n\nThe boy departed for his own village and held a great council, telling\nall he had seen, heard and done. The people were astonished beyond\nmeasure and cried, \u201cOh, tell us how you became powerful! What are your\ncharm medicines?\u201d\n\n\u201cThis,\u201d said the boy, \u201cI grasped the white belt, I went and would not be\npursued, neither would I fear.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut all thought you a fool,\u201d said the people.\n\n\u201cPerhaps I am,\u201d answered the boy, \u201cif silence and observation mean I am\nonly dull. But I only thought I would hold my mouth until my ears filled\nup.\u201d\n\nThen all the people shouted and called him a great chief.\n\nThus were the nations saved, so was the trail established and so was the\nn\u012ba\u2019\u00b4gwah\u0113 slain.\n\nNow this is true and medicine men (Hotci\u00b4no\u2019g\u00e4) have the teeth to this\nday and use them for magic.\n\n\n\n\n                                   X.\n                               TRADITIONS\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  EMILY TALLCHIEF.\n\n  An informant on traditions and a leader among the Christian Seneca.\n    Mrs. Tallchief was the great grand-daughter of the famous Chief\n    Cornplanter. She was a member of the Wolf Clan.\n\n  _Photo by E. C. Winnegar._\n]\n\n\n                      SENECA BELIEF IN WITCHCRAFT.\n\nIt will be remembered that one of the first major tests of the authority\nof the State of New York over the Seneca Indians occurred in 1821 when\nThomas Jemmy, a Buffalo Creek Indian, was indicted in a state court for\nthe murder of a witch. Jemmy had been chosen executioner of the witch,\nafter the order of tribal law, but his action aroused the attention of\nthe neighboring whites who took court action against him.\n\nJemmy was defended by Red Jacket whose speech in defense of the accused\nman is a classic of Indian oratory. The trial resulted in the claim that\nstate courts had no jurisdiction over the internal affairs of Indian\ntribes, and Jemmy was acquitted.\n\nThis incident serves to call attention to the very general belief of the\nSeneca Indians in witchcraft. Indeed not only did the Indians believe in\nit, but many of the neighboring whites. There are many white rural\ncommunities today where belief in witches is current, and one has only\nto visit the rural settlements about Reading, Pa., or read the accounts\nof investigations reported in the _Journal of American Folk Lore_, to\nfind how prevalent among the whites of today is the belief in witches.\n\nRed Jacket was somewhat familiar with history. In his defense he said,\n\u201cGo to Salem, and there find a record of hundreds persecuted and scores\nslain for the same crime that has brought down the arm of vengeance upon\nthe (guilty) woman.... What crime has this man committed more than the\nrulers of your own people, in carrying out in a summary way the laws of\nhis people and your people, and the laws of his God and your God...?\u201d\n\nThis belief in witches and sorcerers has not been entirely eradicated\namong the state Indians to this day. All the older Indians have witch\nstories to tell, and some of them have had personal experience with\nwitchcraft. It is not considered good form to talk about witches, for if\none reveals too much knowledge he is apt, himself, to be accused of the\nevil art. It matters not whether the Indian is a christian or\nnon-christian as far as witchcraft is concerned. Both christians and\nfollowers of Handsome Lake express a belief in it.\n\nIt is customary for the Indians to call all manner of sorcerers,\n\u201cwitches.\u201d Both sexes are implied, and it is to be doubted that an\nIndian would recognize the term wizard, though for the sake of\nconsistent English I have employed the term throughout this work. To the\nSeneca all \u201cotgont\u201d charm holders are witches and capable of witchcraft.\nAn Indian will seldom mention anything about witches to white people for\nfear of ridicule, but they admit that some white people know much about\nthe sinister art. The Tonawanda Indians, for example, know of a white\ndoctor who is capable of diagnosing the symptoms of witch poisoning, and\nhe has a great reputation for curing bewitched patients.\n\nAn understanding of the Seneca belief in witchcraft is essential for an\nunderstanding of Seneca folk-lore, and not only folk-lore but the\npsychology of the group.\n\nCertainly, all through the folk-lore of the Seneca, one will find a\nsteady belief in the ability of \u201cpowered\u201d persons to transform\nthemselves into any sort of creature desired, particularly the form of\nsome chosen animal. One of the most common methods is to have a\ncollection of animal pelts into which the person may enter and assume\nthe character of the beast, but retaining human intelligence. Most\nfrequently in modern times the witch is reputed to be able to become an\nowl, a dog or a big snake.\n\nTo guard against witches many Indians buy witch powder from witch\ndoctors. By using this properly the witch is kept away from the person\nand his household.\n\nIn case of uncertainty the witch doctor goes into a trance and\nprescribes the proper remedy. Sometimes a person is bewitched by a\nspirit or by a charm that he has failed to pacify. The charm then causes\nbad dreams, wounds, broken bones and even death in the family unless\nsatisfied by the proper ceremony.\n\n\n                60. CONTENTS OF A CHARM HOLDER\u2019S BUNDLE.\n\nEdward Cornplanter stated that a complete bundle of charms\n(god\u00e4\u2019\u0115sniyus\u00b4ta\u2019kwa), should contain the following articles: (a) Scales\nof the great horned serpent or some of its blood; (b) round white stone\ngiven possessor by a pygmy; (c) claws of the death panther or fire\nbeast; (d) feathers of dewat\u00b4yowais, or exploding bird; (e) castor of\nwhite beaver; (f) otn\u00e4\u00b4yont, or sharp bone; (g) gane\u00b4ont-w\u016dt, or corn\nbug; (h) small mummified hand; (i) hair of dagwanoeient, or flying head\nof the wind; (j) bones or bone powder of the Nig\u00e4\u2019\u00b4wah\u0113 or monster bear;\n(k) small flute or whistle from an eagles\u2019 wing bone; (1) anti-witch\npowder; (m) bag of sacred tobacco; (n) claws or teeth of various wild\nanimals; (o) a small mortar and pestle; (p) a small war club; (q) a\nsmall bow and arrow; (r) miniature bowls and spoons of wood; (s) a small\nwooden doll; (t) clairvoyant eye oil. These objects are called\notcin\u0103\u2018ke^n\u2019\u00b4d\u0103\u2019.\n\nIndividuals also had other charms, as different kinds of stones or\nwooden tablets that they scraped into a powder as \u201cmedicine.\u201d\n\nBy consulting his bundle a charm holder could tell how to overcome a\nsorcerer\u2019s influence, or determine what spirit had been offended and\nneeded propitiation.\n\nEach bundle was \u201csung for\u201d in an appropriate ceremony of the charm\nholders\u2019 society.\n\n\n                  61. CONTENTS OF A WITCH BUNDLE.[53]\n\nIn a witch bundle found in an abandoned house of an old witch, the\nfollowing articles were found:\n\n1 bundle containing miniature weapons and utensils.\n\n1 bundle containing dolls made of some soft brown wood.\n\n1 package of small sacks from animal hearts.\n\n1 ball of fine cord or thread.\n\n1 box of dried snake blood.\n\n1 bottle of eye oil.\n\n1 package of hair of different shades.\n\n1 bundle containing packages of various powders.\n\n1 box containing a collection of various greases.\n\n1 package containing smaller parcels of nail parings.\n\n1 package of many wrappings containing a smaller inner package, with wet\nblood, and containing a small sharp bone.\n\n1 dried human finger.\n\nCollection of snake skins.\n\nThe witch is also reputed to have had a black calf skin, and a big dog\nskin. She was capable of transforming herself and much of the time lived\nin a small round pond as the wife of a monster black snake. When she\nfinally died and was buried a witch light, gahai\u2018\u00b4, was seen over the\npond.\n\n\n                      62. OVERCOMING A WITCH.[54]\n\nA strong man began to feel sick and could not tell what troubled him. He\ntook all kinds of medicine and went to three doctors but he grew\nsteadily worse. After a while he could work no more and went to the home\nof a friend for help. His friend told him to stay with him until he\nrecovered.\n\nHe was given a room on the far side of the house and as it had only one\nwindow it could be easily darkened. He was very weak and could eat only\none meal a day. This caused him to stay in bed most of the time. After a\nwhile his friend said: \u201cI am going to go to Newtown after a witch doctor\nwho has just come from Tonawanda.\u201d So he went after the witch doctor.\n\nThe witch doctor made a poultice and placed it on the sick man\u2019s\nabdomen. He covered the poultice with rags and moss. The poultice was\nvery hot and appeared to be drawing something out of the patient. Pretty\nsoon, the witch doctor yelled, \u201cNow is the time,\u201d and grabbed the\npoultice and ran to the kitchen stove where he threw the contents of the\npoultice into the ash pan. Then he stirred into the poultice and pulled\nout a small sharp bone with a white hair wound around it.\n\nEverybody examined the bone, and finally the witch doctor said, \u201cIt is\nmy opinion that Widow \u2014 is bewitching you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, she calls here every day to see how he is,\u201d said the woman of the\nhouse.\n\nThe witch doctor told her to watch for the witch and notice what she did\nwhen she came next time. The sick man did not sleep that night but\ncovered his face and began to talk to himself. He was now becoming a\n\u201cwitch\u201d himself. In his hand he held the witch bone with the hair around\nit.\n\nThe next morning an old woman left her cabin on a hill and started down\ninto the valley and up another hill to visit the sick man. Suddenly he\nbegan to talk. \u201cHere she comes,\u201d he said. \u201cShe is now leaving her house.\nNow she is down by the well. Now she is on the road. Now she is crossing\nthe bridge. Now she is at the gate. Now she is walking up the path. Now\nshe is by the apple tree. Now she is at the door.\u201d As he said this there\nwas a rap-rap-rap outside and the housewife opened the door, and there\nstood the old woman.\n\nThe old woman looked worried. \u201cI couldn\u2019t sleep last night,\u201d she said.\n\u201cI worried too much about Bill, besides I think I have lost something.\u201d\nThen she went in to see the sick man. He had his head covered but yelled\nout, \u201cYou\u2019re the one; you leave me alone after this or I will kill you.\u201d\n\nThe old woman pretended she didn\u2019t know what he was talking about and\nsoon went out.\n\nThat night the sick man talked to the bone. He wound one of his own\nhairs about it and then threw it at the wall, saying, \u201cYou go back to\nher and stick in her heart.\u201d\n\nEverybody in the house heard the bone fly through the wall, for it went\n\u201cping!\u201d Then the sick man went to sleep.\n\nThe next morning the old witch didn\u2019t come so the people went to her\nhouse and it was locked. Someone climbed in a window and found her dead\nin bed. They turned back the quilts and found the sharp bone driven into\nher heart. Nobody felt sorry but said, \u201cIt served her right; she had no\nbusiness witching people.\u201d\n\n\n                    63. THE SCORNED WITCH WOMAN.[55]\n\nThere was a beautiful young woman, the daughter of a witch. When the old\nwitch died her husband wanted to burn up her bundles of witch poisons,\nbecause he was a Christian, but the beautiful daughter said, \u201cFather,\nlet us keep this bundle; you never can tell what might happen if we\nshould destroy it.\u201d So she hid the bundle.\n\nNow, there was a handsome young fellow living in the neighborhood and he\ncame to the house once or twice to see her father. The young woman\ndetermined to get this young man so she made witch medicine and put it\nin his cider when he visited the house the next time. It was night and\nwhen the young man went out to go home she went out the back door and\nfollowed him. Pretty soon she coughed and he looked around. Then she\ncalled him and he asked her what she wanted. She asked him to sit down\non a log by the road. They stayed there quite a while. After a while the\ngirl said, \u201cWhy don\u2019t we two get married?\u201d The young fellow replied,\n\u201cWhat is the use?\u201d Then he went home.\n\nNow he had just secretly married another girl from Cold Spring and he\nwent to her house. Pretty soon she said, \u201cYou have been somewhere. You\nhave been visiting some other woman.\u201d She then scolded him.\n\nHe felt very bad for he loved his bride, but he felt that he could not\nhelp having made the mistake of calling on the man who was his friend.\nHe never thought about the girl because he did not like her. He\ntherefore made up his mind that he had been witched.\n\nHe felt very bad the next day and wanted some more cider, but the man\nwho had it lived a long way past his friend\u2019s house. Nevertheless he\ntried to go past the house to the one further on, but all the while he\nfelt something pulling him back. In a moment he yielded and returned to\nthe house, where the beautiful young woman let him in at the back door.\nHe drank some cider, and called for more. This was the young woman\u2019s\nchance and she put in a double portion of love powder. His mind changed\nquickly and he began to sing love songs. After a while the girl said to\nher father, \u201cWe two are going to get married.\u201d The father didn\u2019t know\nwhat to say. He should have been glad, because the young fellow helped\nhim draw wood in winter. But he had heard that his friend had another\nwoman. He therefore said nothing, but looked worried.\n\nAfter a while the young man went out again and as before the young woman\nfollowed him and they sat down on the same log as the previous night. It\nwas dark and the girl kissed him and held onto him. After a while he\nsaid, \u201cI am going home, I really don\u2019t love you. I am married to\nFidelia.\u201d\n\nAt this the young girl became very angry and said, \u201cYou had better leave\nher and come to live with me. If you don\u2019t I will bewitch you and make\nyou sorry.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow can you witch me?\u201d asked the young fellow.\n\n\u201cI never will tell you,\u201d said she, \u201cbut I will make you so sorry that\nyou will wish you were dead.\u201d\n\nThe young fellow then left her and went home to his own wife. As before\nshe scolded him roundly and accused him of unfaithfulness, but he said\nnothing. He was a good provider and worked hard.\n\nIn a few days the young fellow began to be sick. He had sharp pains all\nover his body. He kept at work, however, and though he was tempted to\nvisit his friend and get cider he kept away. Day by day he grew weaker\nand at night it seemed as if some one were scraping his body. Each day\nhe grew thinner until he could work no more.\n\nAfter thinking over the matter he decided to call in a witch doctor.\nThis he did and the doctor advised him to visit a certain swamp near the\ncreek and watch from across the water what was happening. That night he\nwent down the hill and crouched back of a dead tree, at the same time\nkeeping a sharp eye on the swamp across the stream. It was moonlight and\nhe could observe everything in detail, for the stream was not wide. Soon\nhe saw something swinging in the wind near an elm tree. He looked more\nclosely and saw that it was a large bark doll suspended by a long\nstring. Soon the moon shone full upon it and as he looked he saw the\nbeautiful young witch woman come through the grass. She paused beneath\nthe tree and saluted the doll, calling it by the young fellow\u2019s name.\nShe took out a knife and began to scrape it, to reduce its size, and as\nshe did this the young fellow began to feel a sinking feeling as if he\nwere shriveling up. The girl kept talking and laughing at the doll,\nsaying, \u201cYou are tied up now. Well when the string rots you will fall\nand die. Meanwhile I will scrape you and eat your body.\u201d Then when she\nhad said this, she took out some sharp thorns and stuck them in\ndifferent parts of the doll, and the young man yelled right out it hurt\nhim so. Thereupon the young woman laughed and said, \u201cAha, I can hear you\ngroan way here.\u201d\n\nAfter this the young fellow went home and was sick all night. The next\nday he resolved to do what the witch doctor had told him, but he was as\nyet too weak to perform the ceremony. As he lay thinking about his\nmisfortune he heard a footfall outside and then a rap. His wife went to\nthe door and there stood the young woman. \u201cI have brought him some nice\nsoup,\u201d she said. \u201cI hear he is very sick.\u201d\n\nShe entered and went over to the young fellow. He hid his face and said,\n\u201cGo away, I know what you are doing to me. You have poisoned me. I am\nsending for a crow today.\u201d\n\nThe girl laughed and said, \u201cWhat are you sending for a crow for?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will soon find out,\u201d he said.\n\nThat afternoon the witch doctor came and asked, \u201cWell has she been here?\nIf she has I can go ahead with the plan; I have brought the crow.\u201d\n\nSo the young fellow took the crow and cut out its heart at the same time\nsaying, \u201cI bestow upon you the name of \u2014\u2014,\u201d the name of the young woman.\n\nThe witch doctor and he then went into the back shed and made a model of\na kettle-hanging frame. They put it on the dirt floor of the shed and\nthen put a long splinter through the heart. They lighted another\nsplinter and passed it under the heart several times, scorching it.\n\nThe next day the young woman came to the house again. This time she was\ncrying very hard. She came in and said, \u201cNow look what you did to me.\u201d\nShe opened her waist and showed her breast. It was burned and blistered.\n\nThe young fellow then said, \u201cYou let me alone and quit witching me or I\nwill burn your heart right out of you. You made me do wrong. I\u2019ve got a\ngood woman.\u201d\n\nThen the young woman said, \u201cI\u2019ll quit; you are too strong for me.\u201d After\nthat the young fellow got well.\n\nAfter that the young woman never witched anybody, but was a good friend\nto the young fellow\u2019s wife and took care of her babies.\n\n\n                    64. CATCHING A WITCH BUNDLE.[56]\n\nOne night three men came to the house of a man named William and asked\nhim to go with them to a place on the Four-mile Level. It seemed that a\nman by the name of Jesse \u2014\u2014 had been having very bad luck and had lost\none child after another by some strange disease. William was reminded of\nthis and asked by one of the men, a Tonawanda witch doctor, to assist in\nthe hunt for the mysterious source of death. He consented and went along\nwith the party.\n\nReaching the desired spot the witch doctor took a forked stick and held\nit by the long forked ends, one in either hand. He walked forward and\nwhen he pointed the stick in a certain direction the stick would glow.\nHe kept following the glow until he reached an old stump way in the\nheart of the bush lot. The three men followed him silently. When he\ntouched the stump the forked stick seemed on fire and bent down and\ntouched the ground between two roots. \u201cThis is where we must dig,\u201d said\nthe witch doctor.\n\nOne of the men carried a spade and dug as directed. Very soon he struck\na stone, after which the witch doctor assumed charge of the digging. A\nlantern was lighted and as the earth was scraped away the investigators\nfound a cubical slate box with a cover over it, made from thick slabs\nfrom the creek bottom. The witch doctor lifted the cover and looked in.\n\u201cIt is there,\u201d he whispered, placing some white powder on the top of the\nbox.\n\nThe party now went back to Jesse\u2019s house and dug a hole at the corner of\nthe woodshed. In this the witch doctor placed a five-gallon crock. Over\nthis he placed a large piece of silk, weighted at the corners so that it\nstretched taut, like a drumhead over the mouth of the crock. He then\nmade a little fire and cast medicine powder into it, at the same time\ntalking and commanding the witch bundle to come from its slate box\nthrough the air into the crock. After a while there was a ball of fire\nflying through the air and it came down and went through the silk\nwithout burning it.\n\n\u201cNow we have it,\u201d said the witch doctor. \u201cWe can open it now.\u201d So they\nopened it and found a bundle of rags all saturated with fresh human\nblood. In the middle of the bundle they found a sharp bone called\notn\u00e4\u00b4yont, and it was red with blood. It was the bone that had been\ndrinking the blood of Jesse\u2019s children. The witch doctor then took the\nbone and took care of it. After that there was no more sickness and the\nlast child got well. It seems that these sharp bones must be taken care\nof and if neglected they will eat the blood of children until some one\nfinds the bundle and takes care of it.\n\n\n                65. WITCH WITH A DOG TRANSFORMATION.[57]\n\nA sick woman with a wasting disease noticed that every night something\nwould peek in her window. Her husband could find no evidence of this\nuntil one night after a snow storm he found the tracks of a large dog\noutside the window. Following the tracks to the road he saw that they\nbecame human footprints and were lost in the other tracks at the side of\nthe road.\n\nThe next morning among the friends that called upon the sick woman was\nan old lady who lived near the creek in a small house. She was a widow\nand lived alone. This old lady asked about the sick woman in such a\npeculiar manner that the husband grew suspicious. After the old woman\nleft the sick woman began to feel much worse.\n\nThat night she screamed, \u201cShe is looking at me!\u201d And the husband going\noutside saw as before dog tracks running down to the road. He watched\nand soon some men came by and he asked them if they had seen a large\ndog. The men said they had; one had just ran down the road toward the\ncreek. Morning came and the husband determined to investigate further.\nHe crossed the road and walked down the other side until he came to the\nEsther \u2014\u2014 place. He noticed that a large dog had run along the fence and\nhad leaped over it. On the other side there were human footprints going\nto the house.\n\nMorning came and the old woman called again inquiring about the health\nof the sick woman. This time the husband said, \u201cIf you don\u2019t stop\nwitching my wife I will fix you.\u201d The old lady asked him what he meant\nand said that she was not a witch.\n\nThe husband then resolved to watch in the woodshed all night, if need\nbe, and to catch the dog looking into the window. He got some blankets\nto keep himself warm and waited with his rifle. After a while he heard a\nsniffing sound and presently heard something walking around the house.\nCautiously he looked out and saw the dog with its paws on the\nwindow-sill of his wife\u2019s room. Fire was coming out of the dog\u2019s eyes.\nThe husband now ran out and chased the dog which ran down the road.\nThere were many people on the road, for it was moonlight and it was\nsleighing time. They saw him chasing the dog. It ran to the fence and\njumped over. As it poised in mid air over the fence the man fired his\ngun. There was a yelp and the people saw something shoot through the air\nand jump into the window of the cabin. The people watched this and\nlooked over the fence but there was no mark or track on the snow, except\nsome dog hair. Three days later the people went to the house and found\nthe old woman dead on her bed with a bullet in her heart. There was dog\nhair on the window where she had dived through. It was sure then that\nshe had been a witch. The sick woman recovered.\n\n\n                66. WITCH STEALS CHILDREN\u2019S HEARTS.[58]\n\nThere was an old woman who always helped with children\u2019s funerals, and\nwould sit up all night while the tired parents slept. She would lock the\ndoor and stay with the dead children. Everybody thought she was a nice\nold woman until one time a woman walking by her house saw a witch light\nfly out of her chimney and go into the graveyard. \u201cHoh,\u201d she said to\nherself, \u201cI guess old lady E\u2014\u2014 must be a witch.\u201d\n\nSoon thereafter another child died and the old lady came as usual to\nhelp with the funeral. That night she sat up with the corpse but this\ntime the woman who had suspected the old lady told her husband Gus to\nwatch her through a window.\n\nGus found a place outside where he could see into the room. At midnight\nthe old lady took a knife and cut the heart out of the child and then\nran out of the house while everybody else slept. She went to her own\nhouse and shortly turned into a ball of fire and flew out of the\nchimney. The light went to an old cemetery where there were many sunken\ngraves. Gus followed, though he was frightened. He saw the old woman put\nsomething into a hole in a grave hollow and say, \u201cThere, I have got you\nanother. Now you are my friend and will have to show me where I can get\nmoney.\u201d\n\nSoon the light soared overhead again and went back into the old lady\u2019s\nchimney.\n\nThe next morning Gus went to the father of the dead child and told him\nwhat he had heard and seen. The father was very mad but after examining\nthe child could find no marks where the heart had been taken out. The\nold witch had healed the cut. So then they went to the cemetery and\nfound the grave. Digging down where they saw the hole they came to a\ncorpse and it was all covered with blood and had a child\u2019s heart in its\nmouth, gnawing at it. The men poured kerosene from a lantern in the hole\nand set it afire. Then they went to the old lady\u2019s house and found\nbloody rags on the table, but she was not there having gone back to the\nhouse for the funeral. The father of the dead child then ran home and\nfound the old lady there.\n\n\u201cYou are an old witch,\u201d he stormed. \u201cNow I know why you have been going\nto children\u2019s funerals. You must confess now or I will kill you.\u201d He\ngrabbed her by the hair and swung her around. She burst out crying and\nsaid, \u201cYes, I now confess. I took children\u2019s hearts to give to my\nfriend. This friend gives me luck and I would starve without her.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou go home and quit this business,\u201d said the father.\n\nThe old lady went home and after the child was buried the family called\nin a witch doctor and they made a charm against the witch woman, and\nsoon she died.\n\n\n                  67. HOTCIWAHO. (HAMMER IN HIS BELT.)\n\nThis was near a river. There lived Hotciwaho an old man. His house was\napart from all others and his grandson lived with him. Now this\nHotciwaho wore women\u2019s clothes and beneath his skirt he wore a hammer\n(mallet), and he would hide by the springs back of the rocks and kill\nchildren when they came for water. He would strike them on their heads\nwhen they stooped over to dip. Their bodies would be found at the spring\nby the people who after a time found so many that they thought some\nsubtle poison must haunt the places where they drew their water. Now\nthis Hotciwaho would always go to the house where they were mourning\nover the death of the child and he would weep. Now the people never saw\nthe tears fall from his eyes but they were always wet when he moaned\nover the child and said, \u201cHagi\u0103\u2019\u00b4!\u201d He did not truly cry but before\nentering wiped his saliva over his cheeks and eyes so as to appear\ngrieving. This was his trick.\n\nNow why did he kill people? He was lazy and loved good food. Now at\nfunerals the bereaved always provided a feast and afterwards the death\nfeast and the mourners could take away a portion of the soup, bread and\ncakes. This is why he killed children. He wanted the food.\n\nNow such a man when he does a wrong many times thinks it no offence. The\ngrandson thought this all wrong and being afraid that he too would be\nkilled stole his grandfather\u2019s hammer and struck him a blow on the head\nand killed him. So he died in the same way.\n\n\n                    68. HOW AMERICA WAS DISCOVERED.\n\n                         HANDSOME LAKE\u2019S STORY.\n\nAccording to Chief Cornplanter, Handsome Lake taught that America was\ndiscovered in the manner here related.\n\nA great queen had among her servants a young minister. Upon a certain\noccasion she requested him to dust some books that she had hidden in an\nold chest. Now when the young man reached the bottom of the chest he\nfound a wonderful book which he opened and read. It told that the white\nmen had killed the son of the Creator and it said, moreover, that he had\npromised to return in three days and then again forty but that he never\ndid. All his followers then began to despair but some said, \u201cHe surely\nwill come again some time.\u201d When the young preacher read this book he\nwas worried because he had discovered that he had been deceived and that\nhis Lord was not on earth and had not returned when he promised. So he\nwent to some of the chief preachers and asked them about the matter and\nthey answered that he had better seek the Lord himself and find if he\nwere not on the earth now. So he prepared to find the Lord and the next\nday when he looked out into the river he saw a beautiful island and\nmarveled that he had never noticed it before. As he continued to look he\nsaw a castle built of gold in the midst of the island and he marveled\nthat he had not seen the castle before. Then he thought that so\nbeautiful a palace on so beautiful an isle must surely be the abode of\nthe son of the Creator. Immediately he went to the wise men and told\nthem what he had seen and they wondered greatly and answered that it\nmust indeed be the house of the Lord. So together they went to the river\nand when they came to it they found that it was spanned by a bridge of\ngold. Then one of the preachers fell down and prayed a long time and\narising to cross the bridge turned back because he was afraid to meet\nhis Lord. Then the other crossed the bridge and knelt down upon the\ngrass and prayed but he became afraid to go near the house. So the young\nman went boldly over to attend to the business at hand and walking up to\nthe door knocked. A handsome man welcomed him into a room and bade him\nbe of ease. \u201cI wanted you,\u201d he said. \u201cYou are bright young man; those\nold fools will not suit me for they would be afraid to listen to me.\nListen to me, young man, and you will be rich. Across the ocean there is\na great country of which you have never heard. The people there are\nvirtuous, they have no evil habits or appetites but are honest and\nsingle-minded. A great reward is yours if you enter into my plans and\ncarry them out. Here are five things. Carry them over to the people\nacross the ocean and never shall you want for wealth, position or power.\nTake these cards, this money, this fiddle, this whiskey and this blood\ncorruption and give them all to the people across the water. The cards\nwill make them gamble away their goods and idle away their time, the\nmoney will make them dishonest and covetous, the fiddle will make them\ndance with women and their lower natures will command them, the whiskey\nwill excite their minds to evil doing and turn their minds, and the\nblood corruption will eat their strength and rot their bones.\u201d\n\nThe young man thought this a good bargain and promised to do as the man\nhad commanded him. He left the palace and when he had stepped over the\nbridge it was gone, likewise the golden palace and also the island. Now\nhe wondered if he had seen the Lord but he did not tell the great\nministers of his bargain because they might try to forstall him. So he\nlooked about and at length found Columbus to whom he told the whole\nstory. So Columbus fitted out some boats and sailed out into the ocean\nto find the land on the other side. When he had sailed for many days on\nthe water the sailors said that unless Columbus turned about and went\nhome they would behead him but he asked for another day and on that day\nland was seen and that land was America. Then they turned around and\ngoing back reported what they had discovered. Soon a great flock of\nships came over the ocean and white men came swarming into the country\nbringing with them cards, money, fiddles, whiskey and blood corruption.\n\nNow the man who had appeared in the gold palace was the devil and when\nafterward he saw what his words had done he said that he had made a\ngreat mistake and even he lamented that his evil had been so enormous.\n\n\n         69. ORIGIN OF THE CHARM HOLDERS\u2019 MEDICINE SOCIETY.[59]\n\nThere was in old times a young chief who was a hunter of great cunning,\nbut though he killed many animals he never took advantage of their\npositions. He never shot a swimming deer or a doe with a fawn, he never\nkilled an animal fatigued by a long run nor took one unawares. Before\nthe hunt he always threw tobacco and made a ceremony to ask permission\nto kill game. Nor was he ever ungrateful to the animals of the woods who\nhad been his friends for so many years. The flesh that was useless he\nleft for the wolves and birds, calling to them as he left it: \u201cCome, my\nfriends, I have made a feast for you.\u201d Likewise when he took honey from\na tree he left a portion for the bears and when he had his corn\nharvested he left open ears in the field for the crows, that they might\nnot steal the corn sprouts at the next planting. He fed the fish and\nwater animals with entrails and offal. No ruthless hunter was he but\nthoughtful. He threw tobacco for the animals in the woods and water and\nmade incense for them with the oye\u00f1kwao\u00f1\u00b4we\u2018, the sacred tobacco, and\n\u201cthrew it\u201d even for the trees. He was a well loved chief for he\nremembered his friends and gave them meat. All the animals were his\nfriends and all his people were loyal to him. All this was because he\nwas good and he was known as the \u201cprotector of the birds and beasts.\u201d So\nhe was called. It is supposed that his own name was His-hand-is-red.\n\nThe southwest country is a land of mysteries. There are many unknown\nthings in the mountains there and also in the waters. The wildest people\nhave always lived there and some were very wise and made different\nthings. When, many years ago, the O\u00f1gwe\u00b4 ho\u00f1we\u2018, (Iroquois) began to\nmake excursions to this distant country they encountered many nations\nthat were friendly and more that were hostile. The Iroquois used to like\nto go in this country for there they learned new things and found new\nplants and new kinds of corn and beans and when they would fight and\ndestroy a tribe they would carry away curiously-made things and some\ncaptives back to their own country.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  THE RESTORATION OF RED HAND.\n\n  In this drawing the animals whom Red Hand had befriended are shown\n    anxiously awaiting his revivification by use of the sacrificial\n    medicine made from the \u201clife sparks\u201d of their companions. The Bear\n    is shown raising him to his feet.\n]\n\nWhile one of these exploring parties was in the far southwest looking\nfor war and new things, a band of very savage people attacked them. The\nyoung chief, the friend of the animals, was with the party, and, being\nseparated from the rest of his party, was struck down by a tomahawk\nblow. The enemy cut a circle around his scalp-lock and tore it off. He\ncould not fight strong because he was tired and very hungry from the\nlong journey, so he was killed. The enemy knew him because he had been a\nbrave fighter and killed a good many of their people in former battles\nso they were glad when they killed him and prized his scalp. Now he lay\ndead in a thicket and none of his warriors knew where he was but the\nenemy showed them his scalp. So they knew that he was dead but they did\nnot kill all the Iroquois.\n\nBlack night came and alone upon the red and yellow leaves the chief lay\ndead and his blood was clotted upon the leaves where it had spilled. The\nnight birds scented the blood and hovered over the body, the owl and the\nwhippoorwill flew above it and O\u2018sh\u2018\u0103\u00b4d\u0103\u2019ge\u0103\u2019, the Dew Eagle, swooped\ndown from the regions over the clouds. \u201cHe seems to be a friend,\u201d they\nsaid, \u201cwho can this man be?\u201d A wolf sniffed the air and thought he\nsmelled food. Skulking through the trees he came upon the body, dead and\nscalped. His nose was upon the clotted blood and he liked blood. Then he\nlooked into the face of the dead man and leapt back with a long yelping\nhowl,\u2014the dead man was the friend of the wolves and the animals and\nbirds. His howl was a signal call and brought all the animals of the big\nwoods and the birds dropped down around him. All the medicine animals\ncame,\u2014the bear, the deer, the fox, the beaver, the otter, the turtle and\nthe big horned deer (moose). Now the birds around him were the owl, the\nwhippoorwill, the crow, the buzzard, the swift hawk, the eagle, the\nsnipe, the white heron and also the great chief of all birds,\nOshadahgeah, who is the eagle who flies in the world of our Creator\nabove the clouds. These are all the great medicine people and they came\nin council about their killed friend. Then they said, \u201cHe must not be\nlost to us. We must restore him to life again.\u201d Then a bird said, \u201cHe is\nour friend, he always fed us. We cannot allow our friend to die. We must\nrestore him.\u201d Then the Wolf came up to the body and said, \u201cHere is our\nfriend, he always gave us food in time of famine. We called him our\nfather, now we are orphans. It is our duty to give him life again. Let\neach one of us look in our medicine packets and take out the most potent\ningredient. Then let us compound a medicine and give it.\u201d Then the Owl\nsaid, \u201cA living man must have a scalp.\u201d\n\nSo the animals made a wonderful medicine and in its preparation some\ngave their own lives and mixed them with the medicine roots. Now when\nthe medicine was made all of it was contained in the bowl of an acorn.\nSo they poured it down the throat of the man and the Bear feeling over\nthe body found a warm spot over his heart. Then the Bear hugged him\nclose in his hairy arms and kept him warm. The Crow had flown away for\nthe scalp but could not find it, then the White Heron went but while\nflying over a bean field thought herself hungry and stopped to eat and\nwhen filled was too heavy to rise again. Then the Pigeon Hawk, the\nswiftest of the birds, said that he would go and surely find it. By this\ntime the enemy had become aware that the animals were holding a council\nover their friend whom they had slain and so they carefully guarded the\nscalp which they stretched upon a hoop and swung on a thong over the\nsmoke hole of a lodge. The Pigeon Hawk, impatient at delay shot upward\ninto the air and flying in wide circles discovered the scalp dangling\nover the fire drying in the hot smoke. Hovering over the lodge for a\nmoment he dropped down and snatching the scalp shot back upwards into\nthe clouds, faster and further than the arrows that pursued him swift\nfrom the strong bows of the angered enemy. Back he flew, his speed\nundiminished by his long flight, and placed the scalp in the midst of\nthe council. It was smoky and dried and would not fit the head of the\nman. Then Big Crow (buzzard) emptied his stomach on it to clean it of\nsmoke and make it stick fast and O\u2019sh\u2019\u0103\u00b4d\u0103\u2019ge\u0103\u2019 plucked a feather from\nhis wing and dipped it in the pool of dew that rests in the hollow on\nhis back and sprinkled the water upon it. The dew came down in round\ndrops and refreshed the dry scalp as it does a withered leaf. The man\nhad begun faintly to breathe when the animals placed the scalp back in\nhis head and they saw that truly he would revive. Then the man felt a\nwarm liquid trickling down his throat and with his eyes yet shut he\nbegan to talk the language of the birds and animals. And they sang a\nwonderful song and he listened and remembered every word of the song.\nThis song the animals told him was the charm song of the medicine\nanimals and they told him that when he wished the favor of the great\nmedicine people and when he felt grateful, to make a ceremony and sing\nthe song. So also they told him that they had a dance and a dance song\nand they told him that they would teach him the dance. So they danced\nand some shook rattles made of the squashes (gourds) and though his eyes\nwere closed he saw the dance and he knew all the tunes. Then the animals\ntold him to form a company of his friends and upon certain occasions to\nsing and dance the ceremony, Had\u012b\u2019\u00b4d\u014ds, for it was a great power and\ncalled all the medicine animals together and when the people were sick\nthey would devise a medicine for them. Now they said that he must not\nfail to perform the ceremony and throw tobacco for them. Now the name of\nthe society was Hadi\u2019\u00b4dos. Then the chief asked the medicine people what\nthe ingredients of the medicine were and they promised to tell him. At a\ntime the animals should choose they would notify him by the medicine\nsong. Now he could not receive the secret because he had been married.\nOnly hoyahdiwadoh (virgin men) may receive the first knowledge of\nmysteries. Now the chief greatly wished for the medicine for he thought\nit would be a great charm and a cure for the wounds received in war.\nAfter a time the chief was lifted to his feet by the hand of the bear\nand then he recovered his full life and when he opened his eyes he found\nhimself alone in the midst of a circle of tracks. He made his way back\nto his people and related his adventure. He gathered his warriors\ntogether and in a secret place sang the medicine song of the animals,\nthe Hadi\u2019\u00b4dos. So they sang the song and each had a song and they\ndanced.\n\nAfter some time the chiefs decided to send another war party against the\nenemy in the southwest to punish the hostile people who were attacking\nthem. Then the friend of the birds and animals said, \u201cIt is well that we\ndestroy them for they are not a reasonable people,\u201d and so he went with\nhis party.\n\nNow after a certain number of days the party stopped in an opening in\nthe forest to replenish their stock of food. Now the place where they\nstopped was grassy and a good place for camp. Now a short distance away,\na half day\u2019s journey, was a deer lick and near it a clear spring and a\nbrook that ran from it and to this place all the animals came to drink.\nThe party wanted fresh meat and so dispatched two young men,\nhoyahdiwadoh, to the lick for game. As they approached it they heard the\nsound of a distant song and drawing near to the lick they sat down on\nthe bank over the spring and listened to the song. It was a most\nwonderful song and floated through the air to them. At a distance away\nthe animals came and drank but so entranced were they by the music that\nthey killed none. Through the entire night they sat listening to the\nsong, and listening they learned sections of the song. In the morning\nthey returned to the camp and reported what they had heard to their\nchief. Then said the chief, \u201cThat song is for the good of the medicine.\nYou must find the source of the song and discover the medicine that will\nmake us powerful in war and cure all our ills. You must purge yourselves\nand go again on the morrow.\u201d So the young men did as directed and went\nagain to the spring and threw tobacco upon its surface. As night came on\nthey listened and again heard the great song and it was louder and more\ndistinct than before. Then they heard a voice singing from the air and\ntelling them the story of their lives and they marveled greatly. The\nsong grew louder and as they listened they discovered that it emanated\nfrom the summit of a mountain. So they returned in the morning and\nreported to their chief and sang to him parts of the song. Then he said,\n\u201cYou must cleanse yourselves again and this time do not return until you\nhave the medicine, the song and the magic.\u201d So the young men cleansed\nthemselves again and went to the spring and as the thick night came on\nthey heard the singing voices clear and loud, ringing from the mountain\ntop. Then said one of the young men, \u201cLet us follow the sound to its\nsource,\u201d and they started in the darkness. After a time they stumbled\nupon a windfall, a place where the trees had been blown down in a\ntangled mass. It was a difficult place to pass in the darkness for they\nwere often entrapped in the branches but they persevered and it seemed\nthat some one were leading them. Beings seemed to be all about them yet\nthey could not see them for it was dark. After they had extricated\nthemselves from the windfall they went into a morass where their\nfootsteps were guided by the unseen medicine animals. Now the journey\nwas a very tedious one and they could see nothing. They approached a\ngulf and one said, \u201cLet us go up and down the gulf and try to cross it,\u201d\nand they did and crossed one gulf. Soon they came to another where they\nheard the roaring of a cataract and the rushing of waters. It was a\nterrifying place and one of the young men was almost afraid. They\ndescended the slope and came to a swift river and its waters were very\ncold but they plunged in and would have been lost if someone unseen had\nnot guided them. So they crossed over and on the other side was a steep\nmountain which they must ascend but could not because it was too steep.\nThen one of the young men said, \u201cLet us wait here awhile and rest\nourselves for we may need our strength for greater dangers.\u201d So he said.\nBut the other said, \u201cI am rested, we must go onward somehow.\u201d When he\nhad so spoken a light came flying over and sang for them to follow it.\nSo they followed the winged light and ascended the mountain and they\nwere helped. The winged light kept singing, \u201cFollow me, follow me,\nfollow me!\u201d And they were safe when they followed and were not afraid.\nNow the singing, flying beacon was the whippoorwill. He led them. After\na time the light disappeared but they struggled up the mountain side\nunaided by its guidance. The way became very stony and it seemed that no\none were helping them now and then they wished that their unseen friends\nwould help them, so they made a prayer and threw sacred tobacco on the\npath. Then the light came again and it was brighter, it glowed like the\nmorning and the way was lighted up. The singing continued all this while\nand they were nearing its source and they reached the top of the\nmountain. They looked about for they heard the song near at hand but\nthere was no one there. Then looked about and saw nothing but a great\nstalk of corn springing from a flat rock. Its four roots stretched in\nthe four directions, north, east, south and west. The roots lay that\nway. They listened and discovered that the music emanated from the\ncornstalk. It was wonderful. The corn was a mystically magic plant and\nlife was within it. Then the winged light sang for them to cut the root\nand take a piece for medicine. So they made a tobacco offering and cut\nthe root. As they did red blood like human blood flowed out from the cut\nand then the wound immediately healed. Then did the unseen speaker say,\n\u201cThis root is a great medicine, and now we will reveal the secret of the\nmedicine.\u201d So the voices told them the composition of the medicine that\nhad healed the chief and instructed them how to use it. They taught the\nyoung men the Gano\u00b4ta\u2019, the medicine song, that would make the medicine\nstrong and preserve it. They said that unless the song were sung the\nmedicine would become weak and the animals would become angry because of\nthe neglect of the ceremonies that honored their medicine. Therefore,\nthe holders of the medicine must sing the all-night song for it. And\nthey told them all the laws of the medicine and the singing light guided\nthem back to the spring and it was morning then. The young men returned\nto their chief and told him the full story of their experiences and he\nwas glad for he said, \u201cThe medicine will heal all wounds.\u201d\n\nIt was true, the medicine healed the cuts and wounds made by arrows and\nknives and not one of the Iroquois was killed in their battle with the\nenemy. When they returned home the chief organized the lodges of the\nmedicine and the medicine people of the Hadi\u2019\u00b4dos and the Niga\u2018ni\u2018g\u0103\u00b4a\u2018\nwere called the Hono^n\u2019\u00b4tci\u2018no^n\u2019\u00b4g\u00e4. The medicine was called the\nniga\u2018nig\u0103\u00b4a\u2018, (little dose) because its dose was so small. So started\nthe Hono^n\u2019\u00b4tci\u2018no^n\u2019\u00b4g\u00e4.\n\n\n                 70. ORIGIN OF THE FALSE FACE COMPANY.\n\n\n                         THE STONE GIANTS.[60]\n\nThere were different things in the olden days, strange happenings,\nstrange animals and birds, and strange people. It seems that they do not\nlive any more, so men only half believe the tales of them now.\n\nThe stone giants are a kind of men-being that are now gone. What we have\nheard about them I will tell.\n\nThere was once a far north country where a race of giants dwelt. They\nwere very tall and bony. It was cold in that north country and the\ngiants lived on fish and raw flesh. When the summer came to that region\nthere was dry sand upon the ground and the giants, it is supposed,\ntaught their children to rub it on their bodies every day until the\nblood came out where the skin was worn through. After awhile the skin\nbecame hard and calloused, like a woman\u2019s hand when the harvest is over.\nEach year the young rubbed their bodies with the sand, until when they\nhad grown to be men, it was hard like rawhide and the sand stuck in and\nmade them look like men of stone. This is what some wise men thought,\nbut others said stone giants were born that way.\n\nAs time went on these giants grew more ferocious and warlike. They\nbecame tired of the flesh of beasts and fish and yearned for the flesh\nof men. Then they sallied forth to the lands south of them and captured\nIndians and devoured their flesh, tearing it from their living bodies.\nAll the nations and tribes of Indians feared them, for no arrow would\npierce their hard stony coats. Thus, secure in their armors of callous\nand sand, no season was too cold for them, no journey too long and no\ntribe strong enough to overwhelm them. They became more and more\nboastful and arrogant until they even laughed at the warnings of the\nGreat Ruler, the Good Minded, and hallooed up to the skies mocking\nwords. \u201cWe are as great as the Great Ruler,\u201d they said. \u201cWe have created\nourselves!\u201d\n\nWhen the Confederacy of the five brother nations was young, these\nterrible stone giants crossed the river of rapids and swept down upon\nthe scattered settlements of the Five Nations. By day they hid in caves\nand at night they came forth in the darkness and captured men, women and\nchildren, rending their bodies apart and chewing up their flesh and\nbones. When they pointed their fingers at men they fell down dead.\n\nThe medicine men cried to the Good Minded Spirit until it seemed that\nprayer was only like hollow talking in one\u2019s throat. The giants kept on\nwith their raids and feasted undisturbed. No dark place was secure from\ntheir eyes, they penetrated the deepest shadows and found the hiding\nplaces of those who fled from them. Villages were destroyed and\nabandoned, councils were not held, for sachems and chieftains were the\nvictims for the flesh-of-men feasts of the giants. The boldest warriors\nshot their strongest arrows from their strongest bows upon these\ninvaders, but though the arrow shafts were strong and tipped with the\ntoughest of flint, when they struck the stone coated giants, the arrows\nbroke and the flints snapped and the giants gathered up the warriors and\nshredded their meat from their bones with their sharp teeth.\n\nAt last the Good Ruler saw that men would become exterminated unless he\nintervened. Thus, he commanded the Holder of the Heavens to descend from\nthe sky and use his strategy to destroy the entire race of stone giants.\nAccordingly, the Holder of the Heavens dropped from the place above the\nclouds, and hiding in a deep forest, took the form of a stone giant and\nwent among the band. Awed by his display of power, his wonderful feats\nand his marvelous strength they proclaimed the new comer the great chief\nof all the stone giants. In honor of his installation the Holder of the\nHeavens swung his huge war club high over his head and roared\nferociously, \u201cNow is the time to destroy these puny men, and have a\ngreat feast such as never before!\u201d Leading forth the mighty tribe he\nplanned to attack the stronghold of the Onondagas. Arriving at the foot\nof the great hill on whose summit was the stockade where the Onondagas\nhad assembled, he bade the giants hide in the caves in the hills or make\nburrows and there hide. They were to await the dawn when they would\ncommence the assault. Having instructed them the Holder of the Heavens\nwent up the fort hill on a pretense and then gave the whole earth a\nmighty shake. So mighty was the shaking that the rocks broke from their\nbeds and fell in masses over one another and the earth slid down making\nnew hills and valleys. The caves all collapsed and the crouching stone\ngiants were crushed to bits. You could see bones once in caves among the\nOnondagas. All but one was killed and he, with a terrible yell, rushed\nforth and fled with the speed of a being impelled by the Evil Minded to\nthe Allegheny mountains, where, finding a cave, he hid so long in the\ndarkness that he became the Genonsgwa, a new creature to terrify\nmen-being.\n\n\n                           THE GENONSGWA.[61]\n\nThe Genonsgwa was a monster terrible for his anger and fierceness. But\none spot on his entire being was vulnerable and that was a certain spot\non the bottom of his foot. The Holder of the Heavens did not pursue this\nsolitary fugitive, but rested content in the fact that the race of stone\ngiants was destroyed and that this one survivor would not be\nparticularly harmful when his fury subsided and his terror gave way.\n\nFor many years the Genonsgwa lived in the mountains, or, sallying forth\non long journeys, made new abodes where for a time he dwelt. Sometimes\nin fits of rage he would rush from his cavern in the rocks and hurl\nstones into the rivers until he had made a waterfall, the booming of\nwhose waters made noises like the voices of the Hi\u2019\u00b4nos, and then in his\nmadness, he would call up to the father of thunders, and he, looking\ndown, would become enraged at the insolent Genonsgwa and fling his fires\ndown upon his cave retreats in the mountains. Then when the earth shook\nwith the rumbling of thunders, reminding Genonsgwa of the awful day when\nthe Holder of the Heavens shook down the rocks, he would crawl far back\ninto the rocks and the listener miles away might hear his voice as he\nmoaned and pleaded and quarreled with the powers that threatened his\nlife.\n\nAs the years went by, Genonsgwa became more human and his spirit was\nquelled, but yet those who sought him found no mercy for he was the last\nof the stone giants. No one could see him, so terrible was his visage\nand so strong was his magic.\n\nNow at this time a hunter lost his direction in a strange forest and\nthough he traveled far and sought with vision keen the trail that should\nlead him out, he failed. A terrific hail storm broke from the heavens\nand snapped the branches and ripped off the leaves of the trees and beat\ndown the underbrush and the hunter was bruised and dazed by the tumult\nof the storm. All day he wandered, wading blindly through marshes or\nstumbling through windfalls, wounded and bleeding. The hail like sharp\nflints still rained from the skies and the thunders still rumbled their\nthreats and the hunter feared the anger of the heavens. A great rock\nlike a deep shadow loomed up dark against the trees and the hunter\nhurried to it and found a great cavern for a shelter. When the leaves\nhad been carried into a corner by the wind he made himself a bed and\nslept.\n\nThe rock shook and the hunter awoke and thought the great turtle moving\nfrom his moorings. A rhythmic roaring filled his mind with fear. A voice\ncried out, \u201cYou are in my lodge without permission! Who was it that bid\nyou enter! Do you not know that I kill everybody!\u201d\n\nThe voice was terrifying and hurt the hunter\u2019s ears like thunder when it\nis very close. Then again it spoke. \u201cOh warrior, see by my eye-light the\nbones of people who have sought me to kill me,\u2014they are a yellow powder!\nListen! I know you came without intent of evil and therefore you shall\nnot suffer. I am the last of the kind of men that were here before men\ncame here, so harken, for I have seen the earth in its making. When the\nturtle\u2019s back was small I lived here. My brothers are all departed but\ntheir spirits still are living. They are in the forest\u2019s depths and live\nwithin the trees. Only you must dream and you shall see their faces.\nSome are monsters, some are human, some are like the beasts,\u2014but dream\nand see them. Then go forth and carve their faces on the basswood that\nspeaks when you approach. It is my voice speaking. Be wise and learn my\nsecrets, how disease is healed, how man and beast and plant have the\nsame great kind of life, how man and beast and plant may talk together\nand learn each other\u2019s mission. Go and live with the trees and birds and\nbeasts and fish and learn to honor them as your own brothers. I will be\nwith you always in your learning. Go now and carve the faces that you\nsee in your dreaming and carry back the faces to your people, and you\nand those that see them shall organize a society to preserve my\nteaching. Moreover, that posterity may not forget me and these words I\nspeak within the mother turtle\u2019s shell, I bid you collect many turtles\nand make rattles of their shells and when the company of faces shall\nshake them, let all who know my wisdom and remember you and your\nadventure and me and who I am.\u201d\n\nFor a long time the hunter meditated upon the wisdom of the giant within\nthe cave and when the wisdom was imbedded in his mind he lay down and\nslept again and had visions of strange things. When he awoke he found\nhimself lying at the foot of an enormous basswood tree that as he looked\nat it it transformed itself into a great face like one he had seen in\nhis dreams.\n\n\n                            THE FALSE FACE.\n\nUnfolding from the trunk of the basswood, the great face stared out at\nthe spellbound hunter and opening wide its wide protruding lips began to\nspeak. He told of his wonderful eyesight, its blazing eyes could see\nbehind the moon and stars. His power could summon the storms or push\naside the clouds for the sunshine. He knew all the virtues of roots and\nherbs, he knew all the diseases and knew how to apply the remedies of\nherbs and roots. He was familiar with all the poisons and could send\nthem through the air and cure the sick. He could breathe health or\nsickness. His power was mighty and could bring luck in battles. Evil and\npoison and death fled when he looked, and good health and life came in\nits stead. He told of the basswood and said that its soft wood was\nfilled with medicine and life. It contained the life of the wind and the\nlife of the sunshine, and thus being good, was the wood for the false\nfaces that the hunter must carve.\n\nLong the hunter listened to the words of the giant false face and then\nhe wandered far into the forest until the trees began to speak. Then he\nknew that there were trees there in which were the spirits of the beings\nof which he had dreamed and that the Genonsgwa was speaking. He knew\nthat now his task of carving must begin and that the dream-beings, the\nvoices, the birds and the animals that he saw must be represented in the\nbasswood masks that he must make. And so he began, and for a score of\nyears he continued his carving. He lived among the animals and trees and\nlearned all that they could tell, becoming so attached to the things of\nlife that men call beneath them, that he wished forever to stay and be\nas a brother to the animals and trees. But a day came when the giant\u2019s\nvoice spoke from a basswood tree and bade him return to his kinsman. The\nhunter who had entered the forest young now was old. He was filled with\nknowledge and mysteries and was wiser than all men living. Gathering up\nthe many faces that he had carved he made them into one big bundle and\nlifted it upon his broad shoulders and found the trail that led from the\nforest to the villages of his people. Of strange appearance and of\ngigantic proportions, he entered the council hall of his nation and\ncalling a chosen few together told the story of his adventure and\nrelated the laws of the order of which he was the delegated founder.\n\n\n                      THE FALSE FACE SOCIETY.[62]\n\nThe society, known as the False Face Company, was to be a most secret\none and only for a qualified number. Its object was to benefit, protect\nand help all living things of earth. Its meetings were to be held only\nwhen the moon was away and when there was no light in the night. The\nhunter taught the chosen band a new dance and a new song and beat time\nwith a large turtle shell as he sang. He explained the meanings of the\nmasks and distributed them among the band, telling each person his\nspecial duty to the new society. He explained the relation of mankind to\nthe rest of nature and enjoined all to use every influence to protect\nall living nature. In return for this kindness he promised that a great\npower should come upon them, the power of the spirits of the Genonsgwa,\nand how they should become great medicine men, whose power should be\nover the spirits of the elements. He unfolded and conducted the band\nthrough all the elaborate ceremonies that had been taught him in the\nforest by the animals and trees and spirits of the Genonsgwa. The\nCompany was to have no outward sign and members were to recognize one\nanother only by having sat together in a ceremony.\n\nSo deeply was the assembled company impressed by the hunter\u2019s words that\nthe new society at once became a strong and well united organization and\nother lodges spread rapidly through all the nations of the Iroquois and\nthe False Face Company became one of the greatest factors for good that\nthe people had ever known. They drove all the witches away and cured all\nthe sickness of the people.\n\n\n                       THE MASK-MAKING CEREMONY.\n\nThe masks are carved from living basswood trees and are thereby supposed\nto contain a portion of the life or spirit of the tree. In making these\nmasks the Iroquois select the basswood not alone for its absorbent\nquality which is supposed to \u201cdraw out\u201d disease, but for its remedial\nvalues as well. In solution a tea of its bark will cure a cold and\nrelieve spasmodic affections. Its astringent sap is applied to relieve\nwounds and bruises, while the mask itself is supposed to be of signal\nimportance in the relief of corruptive diseases.\n\nIn the ceremonies attending the making of a living mask, the tree is\nvisited for three days. At the dawn of the first day the leaders of the\nFalse Face Society gather around the tree and smoke the sacred tobacco\ninto the roots and throughout the branches to their topmost. As the\nsmoke \u201clifts to the sunrise\u201d songs of incantation are sung and the tree\nis asked to consent to share its heart with whomsoever the sacred gift\nis to be sent. At sunrise the ceremony is repeated and the next day\ncontinued in the same manner until the three days\u2019 propitiation chant is\ncompleted and then the axe is lifted to the tree. If at the first stroke\nof the axe the tree remain firm and unbending it has consented to lend\nits heart. An outline of the face is then drawn on the bark and cut into\nthe tree to a depth of about six inches. After thanking the tree this\nblock is gouged out to be carved into the desired shape during a final\nsong and dance that concluded the ceremony.\n\n\n  GENERAL NOTES.\u2014This account of the stone giants or stone coats,\n  G\u0115^nno^n\u2019\u00b4sgwa\u2019, has been compiled from the accounts of several\n  informants. There appears to be some confusion as to the origin of\n  the stone coats as well as a disagreement as to the origin of the\n  false faces. In one widely accepted account the Hadui false faces\n  were the whirlwind spirits; in this account the last survivor of the\n  stone giants is the founder of the False Face Company. In 1903 I was\n  given a wooden mask covered with sand and pebbles and having a large\n  flint arrowhead in the center of the forehead. The Cattaraugus\n  Seneca woman who gave it to me stated that it was a secret mask and\n  represented the stone giant. There appears, therefore, to be a\n  ceremonial connection between the stone giants and the false faces.\n\n\n                 71. THE ORIGIN OF THE LONG HOUSE.[63]\n\nChief Big Kittle relates the following story of the origin of the League\nof the Five Nations.\n\nWhere the Mohawk river empties into the Hudson in ancient times there\nwas a Mohawk village. The people there were fierce and warlike and were\ncontinually sending out war parties against other settlements and\nreturning would bring back long strings of scalps to number the lives\nthey had destroyed. But sometimes they left their own scalps behind and\nnever returned. They loved warfare better than all other things and were\nhappy when their hands were slimy with blood. They boasted that they\nwould eat up all other nations and so they continued to go against other\ntribes and fight with them.\n\nNow among the Mohawks was a chief named Dek\u0101n\u0103w\u012b\u00b4da, a very wise man,\nand he was very sad of heart because his people loved war too well. So\nhe spoke in council and implored them to desist lest they perish\naltogether but the young warriors would not hear him and laughed at his\nwords but he did not cease to warn them until at last dispairing of\nmoving them by ordinary means he turned his face to the west and wept as\nhe journeyed onward and away from his people. At length he reached a\nlake whose shores were fringed with bushes, and being tired he lay down\nto rest. Presently, as he lay meditating, he heard the soft spattering\nof water sliding from a skillful paddle and peering out from his hiding\nplace he saw in the red light of sunset a man leaning over his canoe and\ndipping into the shallow water with a basket. When he raised it up it\nwas full of shells, the shells of the periwinkles that live in shallow\npools. The man pushed his canoe toward the shore and sat down on the\nbeach where he kindled a fire. Then he began to string his shells and\nfinishing a string would touch the shells and talk. Then, as if\nsatisfied, he would lay it down and make another until he had a large\nnumber. Dekaniwida watched the strange proceeding with wonder. The sun\nhad long since set but Dekanawida still watched the man with the shell\nstrings sitting in the flickering light of the fire that shadowed the\nbushes and shimmered over the lake.\n\nAfter some deliberation he called out, \u201cKw\u0113, I am a friend!\u201d and\nstepping out upon the sand stood before the man with the shells. \u201cI am\nDekanawida,\u201d he said, \u201cand come from the Mohawk.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am Haio\u00b4w\u0115nt\u2019ha of the Onondaga,\u201d came the reply.\n\nThe Dekanawida inquired about the shell strings for he was very curious\nto know their import and Haio\u00b4w\u0115nt\u2019ha answered, \u201cThey are the rules of\nlife and laws of good government. This all white string is a sign of\ntruth, peace and good will, this black string is a sign of hatred, of\nwar and of a bad heart, the string with the alternate beads, black and\nwhite, is a sign that peace should exist between the nations. This\nstring with white on either end and black in the middle is a sign that\nwars must end and peace declared.\u201d And so Haiowentha lifted his strings\nand read the laws.\n\nThen said Dekanawida, \u201cYou are my friend indeed, and the friend of all\nnations.\u2014Our people are weak from warring and weak from being warred\nupon. We who speak one tongue should combine against the Hadiondas\ninstead of helping them by killing one another but my people are weary\nof my advising and would not hear me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI, too, am of the same mind,\u201d said Haiowentha, \u201cbut Tatodaho slew all\nmy brothers and drove me away. So I came to the lakes and have made the\nlaws that should govern men and nations. I believe that we should be as\nbrothers in a family instead of enemies.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen come with me,\u201d said Dekanawida, \u201cand together let us go back to my\npeople and explain the rules and laws.\u201d\n\nSo when they had returned Dekanawida called a council of all the chiefs\nand warriors and the women and Haiowentha set forth the plan he had\ndevised. The words had a marvelous effect. The people were astonished at\nthe wisdom of the strange chief from the Onondaga and when he had\nfinished his exposition the chiefs promised obedience to his laws. They\ndelegated Dekanawida to go with him to the Oneida and council with them,\nthen to go onward to Onondaga and win over the arrogant erratic\nTatodaho, the tyrannical chief of the Onondaga. Thus it was that\ntogether they went to the Oneida country and won over their great chief\nand made the people promise to support the proposed league. Then the\nOneida chief went with Haiowentha to the Cayugas and told them how by\nsupporting the league they might preserve themselves against the fury of\nTatodaho. So when the Cayuga had promised allegiance Dekanawida turned\nhis face toward Onondaga and with his comrades went before Tatodaho. Now\nwhen Tatodaho learned how three nations had combined against him he\nbecame very angry and ran into the forest where he gnawed at his fingers\nand ate grass and leaves. His evil thoughts became serpents and sprouted\nfrom his skull and waving in a tangled mass hissed out venom. But\nDekanawida did not fear him and once more asked him to give his consent\nto a league of peace and friendship but he was still wild until\nHaiowentha combed the snakes from his head and told him that he should\nbe the head chief of the confederacy and govern it according to the laws\nthat Haiowentha had made. Then he recovered from his madness and asked\nwhy the Seneca had not been visited for the Seneca outnumbered all the\nother nations and were fearless warriors. \u201cIf their jealousy is\naroused,\u201d he said, \u201cthey will eat us.\u201d\n\nThen the delegations visited the Seneca and the other nations to the\nwest but only the Seneca would consider the proposal. The other nations\nwere exceedingly jealous.\n\nThus a peace pact was made and the Long House built and Dekanawida was\nthe builder but Haiowentha was its designer.\n\nNow moreover the first council of Haiowentha and Dekanawida was in a\nplace now called Albany at the mouth of a small stream that empties into\nthe Hudson.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  The great council belt of the Five Nations. Each square represents a\n    nation and the heart in the center represents the Onondaga.\n]\n\n\n              72. DEAD TIMBER, A TRADITION OF ALBANY.[64]\n\nThere was a time of wars. The white men were angry with the Indians and\norganized an expedition against them. The Mohawk had done something and\nthe white men were going up the Hudson river to fight them.\n\nNow an Indian family lived in Ganonoh (Manhattan island), and the father\nsaid to the boy, \u201cTake this oshoe and run up to our people and do not\nstop until you warn them that the white soldiers are coming.\u201d So the boy\nran and when he had found a canoe he crossed over the river and ran\nagain. Now when he thought that he was near the Mohawk river he gave a\ncry \u201cgoweh! goweh! goweh!\u201d and at intervals he continued to cry,\n\u201cgoweh!\u201d\n\nAfter a time a Mohawk chief in the woods heard the cry \u201cgoweh\u201d and ran\nout to see who was coming and when he saw the boy he said \u201cfollow me,\u201d\nand ran to the village where he called a council. Here the boy told how\na party had been sent against them and how his father had sent him to\nwarn them just as the soldiers were leaving and how for more than two\ndays he had kept in advance of the white men. The chiefs listened\nattentively and then ordered everyone to hide what they could not carry\nfor they would burn the village before the soldiers arrived. So the\nchiefs set fire to all the houses and took the people to a safe retreat\nfurther up the river. Now when the women and children were safe the\nwarriors selected five of their swiftest runners and sent them back to\ndiscover where the enemy was. Stealthily they made their way through the\nunderbrush and found the white men encamped near the burned village. So\nthe runners went back and the warriors followed them. Some men were\nwalking around the camp but a few arrows prevented them from giving an\nalarm. The white men were sleeping on beds of leaves wrapped in\nblankets. Their arms were not at their sides but stacked up in piles\nlike bean poles. The warriors surrounded the camp, gave the cry, \u201c_baha\na a a ah!_\u201d and dashed upon the sleeping men and killed them all before\nthey could reach their arms. So the Mohawk were not punished. They built\na new village. Now the next spring the trees all died for a great\ndistance around the place where the soldiers had been killed and there\nwas a big dead woods there and to this day we call it _Dyohadai_ (Dead\nTimber), but the white men call it Albany.\n\n\n\n\n                                  XI.\n                                APPENDIX\n\n\n                        A. ORIGIN OF THE WORLD.\n\n  RELATED BY ESQUIRE JOHNSON AND RECORDED BY MRS. LAURA M. WRIGHT.[65]\n\nMany moons ago, there was a vast expanse of water, seemingly boundless\nin extent. Above it was the great blue arch of air, but no signs of\nanything solid or tangible. High above the lofty blue expanse of the\nclear sky was an unseen floating island, sufficiently firm to allow\ntrees to grow upon it, and there men-beings were. There was one great\nChief who gave the law to all the Ongweh or beings on the Island. In the\ncenter of the Island there grew a tree so tall that no one of the beings\nwho lived there could see its top. On its branches, flowers and fruit\nhung all the year around, for there was no summer or winter there, or\nday or night.\n\nThe beings who lived on the Island used to come often to the tree and\neat the fruit and smell the sweet perfume of its flowers. On one\noccasion the Chief desired that the tree might be pulled up. After some\ntime one of the people volunteered to pull it up. He was very strong and\nafter one or two efforts he succeeded in uprooting it. The Great Chief\nwas called to look at the great pit which was to be seen where the tree\nhad stood. As he and his wife stood looking down, he saw a little light\nvery far down, down in the pit. As his wife stood looking intently,\ngazing at the pit by the side of her husband, he suddenly pushed her in.\nShe fell down, down, until her husband lost sight of her entirely and\nforever. On the great expanse of water below there were sporting an\ninnumerable number of water fowl, and in the water there were a variety\nof amphibious animals such as beaver, otter, muskrats, etc. One of the\nfowls looked up and saw the woman coming slowly down\u2014and immediately\ngave the alarm. One wiser than the rest said: \u201cWhat shall we do? She\nwill be killed. We must get some _oehdah_ (dirt) for her to stand on.\u201d\nThey all looked anxiously about. The muskrat told them that he had seen\n_oehdah_ far down below the bottom of the water and he could bring some\nup. The turtle offered his shell for a support and the muskrat commenced\ndiving. After several ineffectual attempts he succeeded in bringing up a\nsmall lump of earth and put it on the turtle\u2019s back, which immediately\ncommenced to increase in dimensions, and as it grew in size, the turtle\nspread out more and more to support the woman. The fowls began to fly\nupward to meet the woman who they perceived was much exhausted. They\nreceived her on their wings and landed her safely on the turtle\u2019s shell.\nThe woman soon recovered and looked around her much surprised at her new\ncompanions. She soon began to wander over the Island as it seemed to\nher. At stated periods she went around it and soon noticed that it took\nher a longer time to make its circuit, so she concluded that it was\ngrowing larger all the time. As the time passed away the ogweh woman\nbecame quite reconciled to her new home and then she gave birth to a\ndaughter to whom she devoted all her time, and forgot her old friends in\nthe love she felt for her child. The daughter grew very fast and was\nvery obedient to her mother. In time the mother gave up going around the\nIsland at regular intervals and sent her daughter to perform the duty,\nwho ran around the Island much interested and delighted with the task.\nWonderful to relate, to the great surprise and sorrow of the woman the\ndaughter gave birth to twin boys and immediately died. The mother was\ngreatly distressed at the loss of her daughter and after mourning over\nher some time, she made a grave for her in the soft rich earth, of which\nthe Island was composed, and buried her. She took the boys in her arms\nand told them they should not suffer for she would take care of them.\nThe children grew rapidly to manhood, and were very strong and active.\nThe woman used often to go to the grave of her daughter and watched it\nvery carefully. At length she perceived something growing in two hills\nover the bosom of her daughter. After a while she commanded the eldest\nto repair to the grave. She said, \u201cYou must take charge of what you find\nthere. See that nothing is lost.\u201d When he came to the grave he found the\ntwo hills his grandmother had seen. From one, corn was growing, and from\nthe other beans, which he carefully picked and brought to his\ngrandmother, who said to him, \u201cTake good care of them that those of whom\nyou may hereafter say, \u2018they are my descendents\u2019 may eat of it, for you\nare of the earth and must live from what grows out of the earth.\u201d He\ncarefully preserved and planted the corn and beans, and at harvest there\nwas a great increase and then he began to eat the fruit of his labor. As\nyet there was no other plant or grass on the Island. Having seen the\ngreat value of what he had planted, he was suddenly inspired with a\ndesire to see other things grow and he spoke authoritatively and said,\n\u201cLet grass grow and cover the surface of the Island.\u201d Immediately grass\nbegan to spring up looking green and fresh, and it made everything look\nbeautiful. He then commanded the willow to grow and many kinds of plants\nand trees which bore fruit, and the appearance of the Island was much\nimproved. Then his grandmother said to him with a very solemn and\nimpressive manner: \u201c_Now_ you must go and seek your father until you\nfind him, and when you see him you must ask him to give you Power.\u201d\nPointing to the east, she said, \u201cHe lives in this direction. You must\nkeep on until you reach the limits of the Island, and then upon the\nwaters until you come to a high mountain, which rises out of the water\nwhich you must climb to the summit. There you will see a wonderful being\nsitting on the highest peak. You need not be afraid of him. He will not\nhurt you. You must obey him in everything. You must say to him, \u2018I am\nyour son, I have come to ask you to give me Power.\u2019 He will say to you\n\u2018I never saw you before. I do not know you. But if you are my son, then\ntake that stone and throw it up very high.\u2019\u201d The stone his father\npointed at was a very large rock which covered a good deal of ground,\nbut the son did not hesitate, he took it up as though it had been a\npebble, and threw it up very high, and when it came down it broke into a\ngreat many pieces which rolled down the mountain. The wonderful being\nseemed much pleased and said, \u201cI am now satisfied that you are my son,\nand I will give you the power you want.\u201d Suddenly a great roaring wind\nbegan to blow, and a very bright light followed so that he could see his\nfather very plainly as he sat on top of the mountain. Then there was a\nloud noise and fire fell and great streams of water rushed by him. After\na little there was a calm. Then his father said to him, \u201cWith _these_\nyou will have power to perform _anything_ you wish to undertake.\u201d He\nthen gave him a bag which he charged him not to open till he got to his\nIsland home. Receiving the bag he laid it upon his shoulders and turned\ntoward home. At first the bag seemed quite light and easy to carry, but\nhe noticed that it grew heavier as he carried it along, and as he drew\nnear the Island, its weight seemed almost insupportable, and when he\ncame within a bound of the shore, he came very near losing it. He took\none step upon the land and down upon the earth the bag fell. He could\nnot take a second step. The mouth of the bag opened as it fell and there\ncame out birds of every kind and color. They flew into the woods and\nlighted on the branches of the trees and opened their throats and poured\nforth the richest and sweetest songs, and while the birds sung and flew\nfrom tree to tree the quadrupeds came out of the bag. They sprang upon\nthe grass and into the woods. The deer and bear, the porcupine, rabbits\nand foxes each soon found their natural places,\u2014all in perfect harmony,\nroamed over the Island together.\n\nWhen the younger brother saw how successful his brother had been in\nproducing useful and beautiful things, he was filled with jealousy and\nenvy amounting to hatred, and began to devise plans to thwart him in his\ngood work, by trying to spoil some things he had made and he thought he\nwould kill him if he could find means to do it. So he commenced\nquestioning his brother, \u201cWhat do you think would most likely be fatal\nto your life?\u201d He replied, \u201cI think the leaves of the cattail flag might\nkill me if I should be pierced by them.\u201d So the younger brother got a\nbunch of the leaves, and thrust them at him hoping to pierce him, but\nthe leaves only bent and did not hurt him at all.\n\nThen he asked him again, \u201cWhat do you fear most of all things?\u201d He\nreplied, \u201cI am afraid of deer\u2019s horns, they are so sharp and hard.\u201d Then\nthe younger brother went into the woods and found a cast-off horn with\nwhich he chased his brother into the woods trying to hit him with it. At\nlast the older brother turned to the younger and said, \u201cNow you must\nstop your bad work. See how you have spoiled the fruit of the crab-apple\ntree. Taste of its juice. You must not go on spoiling things in this\nway. If you do not stop, I shall punish you. I will shut you up in\ndarkness beneath the ground with some of the animals who don\u2019t like\nlight, as the mole and the hedgehog. These hands will not destroy you,\nbut I will put you where you can not do mischief.\n\n\u201cYour dominions shall be in the darkness beneath the surface of the\nground for I shall make light.\u201d Then turning and addressing the birds\nand quadrupeds he told them of his plan. Some of them objected but the\ngreat majority were greatly pleased.\n\nSo the tree of light was created and from it sprang beautiful flowers.\nIn its light, the older brother went forth and made the hills and\nvalleys and into the valleys he poured out the water of his mouth and it\nformed the rivers and creeks, and the waters flowed into the deep\nvalleys and made lakes. Then he created the stars and the moon and to\nthe moon he gave the task of marking the months and the years. Then he\nmade a new light and hung it on the neck of a being and he called the\nnew light Gaa\u2019 gwaa\u2019 and instructed its bearer to run his course daily\nin the heavens over the earth. \u201cYou shall go each day and perform this\nduty so long as I will it,\u201d said the older brother. \u201cI will notify you\nwhen I wish you to go no longer.\u201d\n\nThe moon and the stars shone in the heavens when the sun had finished\nhis day\u2019s run and all things were perfected. He now dug up the tree of\nlight and looking into the pool of water in which the stump had grown he\nsaw the reflection of his own face and thereupon conceived the idea of\ncreating Ongwe and made them, both a man and a woman. He blessed them\nand gave them dominion over all things and recapitulated all he had\nprepared for them and how he had created good things.\n\n\u201cI give you all that exists upon the face of the earth,\u201d he said, \u201call\nwhich the earth grows and maintains, the birds that fill the air and the\nfish in the water. You two are united aht tgea nigaa and from you future\ngenerations shall succeed.\u201d\n\n\n                B. THE WYANDOT CREATION MYTH (EXTRACT).\n\n                      COLLECTED BY C. M. BARBEAU.\n\n\u201cThe people lived beyond.\u201d They were Wyandots. Word was sent out that\nthe chief\u2019s only daughter was very sick; and that all the doctors had in\nvain tried to cure her disease. A specially appointed messenger brought\nback a very old doctor that lived far away from the rest of the people.\nWhen he saw the chief\u2019s daughter he told the people, at once, that they\nmust dig around the roots of a wild apple tree that was growing just a\nlittle way out from the chief\u2019s lodge. Many of the people at once began\ntheir digging all around the tree. The old doctor instructed them to\nbring the chief\u2019s daughter, and place her under the tree as near the\nedge of the hole (that they were digging) as thy could, \u201cfor,\u201d he said,\n\u201cif you dig down into the roots of the tree, you will find something\nthat will cure her disease.\u201d He added that as soon as she would see this\nobject she would know it; and being near enough she could stretch her\nhand out and take it at once.\n\nSo they brought the girl and placed her at the edge of the hole that\nthey had dug around the tree. They went on digging with great might. As\nsoon as a party of the diggers became tired, another stepped into the\nhole and carried on the work. When they had placed the girl at the edge\nof the hole, a party of the diggers had stepped out; and before another\ncould replace it the people were startled by a terrific roar that seemed\nto come nearer and nearer. They were all looking and wondering whence it\nhad come. They soon discovered that all the ground around the tree was\ndropping downwards. Then they saw the tree falling down through the\nhole; the sick girl being pulled down with it, entangled in its\nbranches. The world underneath, into which the tree fell, was a broad\nsheet of water about which no land was to be seen. On the water were\nswimming around a pair of great white birds with long crooked necks: I\nsuppose they were swans. They heard a peal of thunder as the tree was\nfalling down; this was the first peal of thunder ever heard on those\nwaters. Both of them glanced upwards and saw the woman falling down. One\nof them said to the other:\u2014\u201cWhat a strange creature it is that is\nfalling down from above. I know that she can not be borne up by the\nwater; we must swim close together and hold her upon our backs.\u201d So they\ndid, and the woman fell gently upon their backs and rested there. Then,\nas they swam along, they turned their long necks around and looked at\nthe woman; they said to each other:\u2014\u201cWhat a beautiful creature it is;\nbut what shall we do; we can not always swim this way and hold her up.\nWhat shall we do?\u201d The other replied:\u2014\u201cI think we must go and see the\nBig Turtle. He will call a council of all the animals to decide upon\nwhat is to be done with the creature.\u201d So they swam away, found the Big\nTurtle, and showed him the woman that was resting upon their backs. Then\nthe turtle had to decide as to what was to be done. A \u201cmoccasin\u201d\n(ra\u00b4\u2018cu\u2019, i.e., a messenger) was sent around to call the animals to a\nbig council. They came at once, and were all in a great wonder. For a\nlong time they looked with awe at the wonderful creature. Finally the\nTurtle told them that they must come to a decision as to what should be\ndone regarding this creature; that they could not let her die as\u2014\u201cshe\nmust have been sent to them for some good; that since she had thus come\nto them, it was evident that their duty was to find some place for her\nto live.\u201d The swans came forward and spoke of the tree that they had\nseen falling first. Then some one else got up and said that if the place\ncould be known where this tree had fallen into the water, some of the\ndivers might go down and get just a little bit of the earth that must be\nclinging to its roots. The Big Turtle found the idea a good one and\nadvised that if the swans could show the very place where the tree had\nfallen, some one else should go down and get a little of the dirt\nclinging to its roots; that an island could be made with it for the\nwoman to rest upon, even if he himself (the Turtle) had to hold the\nisland upon his back. The swans told the animals that they could find\nthat very place; they turned around, and swam with the woman upon their\nbacks. The other animals followed until they came to the place where\nthey had seen the tree and the woman falling. There they stopped. The\nTurtle called upon the otter, the best diver, for him to go down into\nthe water and bring back some of the dirt clinging to the roots of the\ntree. The otter at once dived down. As he had been for some time out of\nsight the other animals began to speculate as to whether he was going to\ncome back. By and by, they saw him coming back through the water. Upon\nreaching the surface he was so completely exhausted that he opened his\nmouth to gasp a breath and went down again,\u2014dead. Then the muskrat was\nappointed to dive down. He remained still longer under the water. The\nsame fate as the otter\u2019s befell him. Then the beaver and a number of\nother animals tried and failed in the same day until so many had been\nlost that way that the Turtle said he would not call upon any other to\ndive down. He suggested, however, that somebody should volunteer to do\nso. They remained in expectation for a little while. Finally, away out\nto one side, a little old ugly toad (t\u0115no\u00b4\u2018skwaoy\u0229) spoke up and said\nthat he would try. The other animals looked at each other, laughing and\njeering at the presumption of this little toad. The Big Turtle, however,\nacceded to her suggestion, acknowledging that she might perhaps\naccomplish what the others had failed to do. So she took a long breath\nand down she went. The others all gathered around and watched her as she\nwent away down out of sight into the clear waters. For a long time they\nlooked downwards with the expectation of seeing her coming back. But she\nremained so long in the water that the others began to whisper to each\nother that she would not come back. For a long time they remained in\nexpectation. At the end they saw a bubble of water coming up towards the\nsurface of the water. They could not see the toad as yet. The Turtle\nsaid:\u2014\u201cShe must be coming. I will swim right over the spot where the\nbubble came up; and if the toad comes back we shall hold her up.\u201d So it\nwas done. A little while later the toad appeared away down in the water.\nSome of the animals said:\u2014\u201cShe must have some earth as she has been gone\nso much longer than the others.\u201d Then the toad emerged from the surface\nof the water, just by the Big Turtle. Just as she reached the surface\nshe opened her mouth and spat out a few grains of earth that fell upon\nthe edge of the shell of the Big Turtle. Then she gave one gasp and fell\nback dead. As soon as those grains of earth had fallen upon the edge of\nthe Big Turtle\u2019s shell, the Little Turtle came forward and began\nspreading it and rubbing it around the edge of the Big Turtle\u2019s shell.\nWhile she was so doing an island began to grow around the shell of the\nBig Turtle. The animals were looking at it while it was growing. After\nit had grown into a place large enough for the woman to rest upon, the\ntwo white swans swam to its edge and the woman stepped off on to it.\n\n\n  NOTE.\u2014Recited by B. N. O. Walker, Chief Clerk at the Quapaw U. S.\n  Agency, Wyandotte, Oklahoma. Mr. Walker, now about 40 years of age,\n  is a descendant of Wyandot ancestors, on one side, and of European\n  ancestors on the other. His first European ancestor was made\n  prisoner by the Wyandots in Virginia, when a child. Mr. Walker is a\n  thoroughly reliable informant who has oftentimes heard this myth, as\n  well as others, repeated by his Aunt Kitty Greyeyes, a thoroughbred\n  Wyandot, who was living with his family. Kitty Greyeyes was\n  possessed of a good knowledge of both English and Wyandot, and she\n  had learned this myth in Wyandot. Kitty Greyeyes died at B. N. O.\n  Walker\u2019s father\u2019s home, when he, himself, (B. N. O. W.), was about\n  22 years of age. Mr. B. N. O. Walker has heard this myth many times\n  when between the age of 11 and 19. He states that his Aunt Kitty,\n  who, by the way, was a Canadian Wyandot from Anderdon, Ontario, had\n  learnt those stories from her Aunt Hunt, who spoke Wyandot almost\n  exclusively. \u201cAunt Hunt seems to have been the story teller of the\n  family.\u201d (Barbeau, \u201cHuron and Wyandot Mythology,\u201d XXXIX, 6\u201317.)\n\n\n     C. AN INTERVIEW WITH \u201cESQ.\u201d JOHNSON BY MRS. ASHER WRIGHT.[66]\n\nEsquire Johnson does not recollect the name of the man who first gave\nthe name Nan-do-wah-gaah[67] and then went to where they lived and said\nto them, \u201cYou are O-non-dah-ge-gaah,\u201d[68] and then he went to another\nplace and said to the residents, \u201cYou are Ga-nyah-ge-o-noh,\u201d[69] and\nthen he came to where he called them O-ne-yut-gaah,[70] then again to\nanother place and said \u201cYou are Que-yu-gwe-o-noh\u201d;[71] five nations, for\nthe Tuscaroras were then at the South. This was long before the\nconfederacy of the Iroquois, and the Tuscaroras did not return until\nafter the Revolutionary war.\n\nThe Mohawks have 5 sachems,[72] The Onondagas, he thinks have 4, also\nthe Oneidas and Cayugas four each, the Senecas have 4 also and two war\nchiefs, the other tribes had no war chiefs.\n\nSha-dye-na-waho,[73] Nis-ha-nye-yant,[74] Gah-nya-gaeh,[75]\nShah-de-gao-yes,[76] Sho-guh-jis-wa,[77] Ga-no-ga-ih-da-wit,\nDe-yo-ne-ho-gaah-wah,[78] were Seneca Sachems.\n\nThe Long House was first opened at Onondaga[79]; the Senecas also had a\nlong house.[80] When anything occurred to render a council necessary,\nany trusty young man might be sent as a runner to the other tribes to\ncall them together.\n\nWhen they came together the evening before the council they sang a song\n(In Seneca Wa-a-non-dah ga-ya-soh,) and in the morning one man sang a\ndifferent song as they were going to start, i.e. the volunteers to\nrevenge the murder or whatever the injury was.\n\nIn the council some leading chief would state the business and ask, what\nshall we do? A few of the chiefs would tell their views and then leading\nmen of influence would say, We will do so and so, and the multitude\nwould acquiesce and the council would break up.\n\nIn case of making peace between the Senecas, or the Iroquois, and the\nCherokees, e.g., two messengers would be dispatched by the party\ndesiring peace. They would be called before the enemies\u2019 council and\nintroduced by the chief and then would deliver their message. If their\nproposals for peace were accepted they would agree to bury the whole\nlist of grievances (bury the hatchet, Dyo-an-jo-gut,) so that they\nshould not come up in sight again. If they refused the terms they would\nsend the ambassadors back again to convey their refusal to the people\nand the war would continue.\n\nThe Quapaw war was long before the Cherokee war. This last was the last\nIndian war carried on by the Six Nations with the other Indians. Jak\nSnow\u2019s widow was a Cherokee and Gah-no-syoot Hay-a-soo-oh who died at\nAllegany, but Johnson never heard that Blue Eyes was a Cherokee.\n\nThe office of the Ga-yah-gwaah-doh was to give notice of the death of a\nsachem and the convocation of the general council to mourn for the dead\nand to raise up some one in his place, and at such convocations all the\nsubordinate vacancies would be filled by the \u201craising\u201d of chiefs and the\nelections of new ones.\n\nIn the election of new chiefs the women of the family in which the\nvacancy occurred having the name of the office in her keeping could\nconfer it on any one of the family (always on the female side), whom she\nshould regard as the most reliable. It was always the province of the\nfemale head of the household to settle such questions although she\nconsulted the whole household as to their judgment of the fitness or\nunfitness of any candidate. In like manner she could also depose (knock\nthe horns off), for any dereliction of duty. After the election etc. the\nact would be confirmed (Da-ye-a-wit ha-di-yaas-gwah), by the relations\nand then by the council. These rules applied to all ranks even to the\nHo-ya-neh-gowaak of the Grand Council.\n\nJohnson says that 72 years ago[81] last spring, he with many others, was\ninvited over from Canada by the chiefs and that he was 20 years old at\nthis time and he says at that time the Indians had an idol over at\nCornplanter\u2019s made of wood and ornamented with feathers around which\nthey sung and danced and called it GOD. He had seen the idol but not the\ndancing around it. He says that Cornplanter\u2019s son threw it into the\nriver (corroborating the story I have heard before). He says that he\nnever knew of any other such idol. But he says that the women very\ncommonly made little images, made in conformity to their dreams. (They\nconsider all remarkable dreams as revelations from the spirit world.)\nAnd not alone the dolls, but images of any other object they might be\nimpressed by in a dream, they considered them to be their gods,\nconsidered them as their protectors, etc. Some of them, not all of them,\nused to dance before them as objects of worship. (He does not know that\nthe women ever received from the Catholics any images of the Virgin, but\nhe has often seen gold or silver crucifixes among them used simply as\nornaments.)\n\nThe Indians did not all believe that their New Years and other feasts\nwere ordained of God. Johnson says that when he was about ten years old\nhe saw some of the disgusting things connected with the New Years and he\nasked his grandfather if God appointed that institution. The old man\nsaid _No_. And from that time Johnson did not believe in them and hence\nwhen the gospel came his mind was open to conviction and he embraced it.\nHe says they had the New Years from time immemorial, but the dog\nburning, he thinks, was added to it not very long ago in consequence of\nsomebody\u2019s dreams. The Big Feather and Green Corn dances he thinks were\nof equal antiquity with the New Years. He thinks all other observances\ncomparatively modern, dreamed out and agreed upon and then proclaimed to\nthe people as being God\u2019s ordinances.\n\nHe adds to the smoke of the tobacco to propitiate the pigeons when they\ntook their young, the offering of payment to the old ones,\u2014a brass\nkettle or other little dish full of ot-go-ah,[82] brooches, and various\nother things which the man who raised the smoke would deposit on the\nground before he put the tobacco on the fire, and he says that they left\nthe kettle there when they left home, considering it a real payment to\nthe pigeons, etc. (The prayers are the same as related by Oliver\nSilverheels.)\n\nHe says that anciently they had a law that if a man died his widow\nshould mourn a whole year, she should clothe herself in rags, keep her\nhead covered with rags, never wash her face or hands, never to go\nanywhere except at night weeping to the grave. (The same rules applied\nin case it was her child that died. It was the general law of mourning.)\nThe chiefs at last forbade these customs, as being too hard, often\nresulting in the death of the mourners before the year was up, and they\nappointed that the mourning should last only ten days, at the end of\nwhich they should hold the funeral feast (Ho-non-di-aak-hoh-ga-ya-soh),\nand during these ten days they should abstain from all ordinary\nbusiness; a chief, e.g. could not meet in council or attend any public\nbusiness till the ten days were over. At the funeral feast the chief or\nother person would proclaim the removal of the disabilities.\n\nJohnson says that a long time ago squashes were found growing wild. He\nsays that he has seen them and that they were quite unpalatable, but the\nIndians used to boil and eat them. He says that in their ancient wars\nwith the Southern Indians they brought back squashes that were sweet and\npalatable and beans which grow wild in the South, calico colored, and\nwhich were very good, and he thinks the white folks have never used\nthem. Also the o-yah-gwa-oweh they brought from the south where it grows\nwild, also the various kinds of corn, black, red and squaw corn they\nbrought from the prairie country south where they found it growing wild.\nAll these things they found on their war expeditions and brought them\nhere and planted them and thus they abound here, but he does not know\nwhere they first found the potato.\n\n\n                             STONE GIANTS.\n\nHe says the old people used to tell the story that after God had made\nthe world and man and animals he was one day walking around and he saw a\nstrange people coming towards him, clothed with stone and he asked them\nwho they were and who created them. They replied that they were free and\nindependent and that they had no creator, that they were their own\nmasters. He then said, \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d They said, \u201cWe are going\nto find men that we may devour them.\u201d He said, \u201cYou must not go. Very\nlikely if you do they will kill you.\u201d But the more he forbid them the\nmore they were determined to go. So he went away and blackened his face\nwith coal and took him a basswood club three or four inches through and\ncame around in front of them and fell upon them and killed all but two\nwho fled and he came around again and having washed off the black met\nthem in the place where he first saw them, and said, \u201cWhat is the matter\nwith you that you flee so?\u201d They answered, \u201cThey have been killing us,\nand we only are left.\u201d He said, \u201cThat is what I told you,\u201d though he had\ndone it himself. He said then, \u201cYou must go away and leave mankind\nalone. You must keep away from and never come nigh them again.\u201d\n\n\n                            THE THUNDER GOD.\n\nHe also at another time saw the Hih-noh coming towards him and did not\nknow him for he had not created him and he said to him, Who are you? Who\ncreated you? And whom do you own as your lord? He answered no one. Then\nhe said What do you think of men? He replied Oh they are my\ngrandchildren and if you wish me to do anything I can do it, (or I am\nready to do it.) GOD said to him, What can you do. Oh he said I can wash\nthe earth, &c. And so the Indians, when it thunders think that Hih-noh\nis washing the earth again and they call him Grandfather because he told\nGOD that they were his grandchildren.\n\n\n                ANOTHER STORY, OR FABLE, THE THUNDERER.\n\nIn ancient times there was a war party got up to go against the\nsouthwestern Indians. There were four or five men and there was a poor\nfriendless boy, an orphan, and he came to one of these men and found him\npainted and ready for the expedition. He painted himself, and the man\nbefriended him and sent him to where there was a company of men, who\nseeing him painted enquired the object and said to him, that man is your\nfriend? He said yes and they said we will go with you. There were five\nin the party besides this boy whose name was Shot-do-gas, in allusion to\nhis filthy miserable condition. They came together near Smoke\u2019s Creek\n(near Buffalo) and there they made a bark canoe and then started up the\nlake. They came after several nights to Ga-yah-hah-geh (Clear Land), and\nthere while the moon was yet high and it was quite light, they became\nsleepy, and the leader said Let us stop here. So they ran in among the\ncattail flags and tied a lot of them together on each side of the canoe\nand fastened it to them, so as to have it lie still. (Noe-oh-gwah\nga-ya-soh, cattail flag.) So they slept in the canoe. After a little\nwhile the leader awoke and thought he saw evidence that they were in\nmotion, and putting his hand over the side of the canoe, felt the rush\nof water, and aroused his companions, saying Wake up! The canoe is\nrunning swiftly. Another put his hand on the other side of the canoe,\nand said Yes we are going rapidly! They could not tell the cause of the\nmotion, but the canoe kept on. They lay in it mostly asleep and when\nthey awaked they found themselves at Green Bay, and the canoe kept on,\nand they finally landed at Chicago, at daylight, having come from\nCleveland in one night. They took the canoe into the bushes and hid it\nand got ready their breakfast and ate it and about noon they found a\ntrail leading off into the country and they started on that trail and\nthey went till night and camped and started again the next morning, and\ntill perhaps 5 p. m., they saw a man coming. They stopped beside the\ntrail till he came up. He said the chief sent me on this trail saying\nyou will meet men coming. Tell them to come on with you. They went on a\ngreat way for he had run very fast and at length they came to a house.\nBeside the door there was something tied and concealed, and he said to\nthem you must not look upon this. Something will happen to whosoever\nlooks upon it. (It was a She-wah, a sable.) They went into the house, no\none of them having looked upon the forbidden object. They found the\nhouse full of people who made room for them, and all men, women and\nchildren saluted them kindly. The chief said to his family We are in a\nhard case we have nothing for these guests to eat. They can not eat our\nfood. You must provide for them of such kind of food as they can eat.\nFour of them then went out and presently it began to thunder. Then these\nmen began to realize their situation. They had come into Hih-noh\u2019s\nhouse. The whole household were his family, although in form and speech\nthey seemed to be human beings. These four soon returned bringing with\nthem green corn, beans, squashes, etc., for their guests. The women\ncooked these things for them and they ate. They soon discovered that the\nHih-noh family lived upon serpents,\u2014that whenever they discovered a\nsnake they shot down a bolt upon him, and carried him home for food, and\nthat it was this that made the old man say We are in a hard case because\nour guests cannot eat our food. They remained there a long time living\ntogether. At length the old man said to them, Pretty soon you will see\nsomething coming in the air from the North. We have tried to kill it but\nwe cannot do it. You can do it for us. They then all went out and soon\nthere was a wind from the North and they saw something flying towards\nthem. It seemed to be a man entirely naked of a yellow color, without\nwings or any means of flying, and yet it flew swiftly towards them.\nShot-da-gas said, \u201cShoot it with an arrow,\u201d and he shot, and he shot and\nthe arrow fell below and he shot again but over-shot it. By the time his\nthird arrow was ready it had come directly overhead, and he shot and\npierced him through the body, so that he fell but a little way off. The\nHih-noh family were greatly rejoiced and poured forth many thanks upon\nhim for his exploit.\n\nAfterwards Hih-noh said, Yonder is another thing which we cannot kill,\nand he led them a long way till they came to a monstrous big whitewood\ntree, and from a large limb projecting from near the top there was a\ncreature sitting and Hih-noh said Shoot that, and Shot-de-gas drew his\nbow and shot it through the body. It crawled along the limb and finally\nfell, (bum!) and was stone dead. It proved to be a monstrous porcupine\nwith quills as large as one\u2019s finger, which the Hih-noh family had tried\nin vain to kill.\n\nThey staid a long time, when at last Hih-noh said, they are about to\ntake you home, but let Shot-do-gas remain with us, we will take care of\nhim. Shot-do-gas was willing and his friend gave his consent. They went\nout and saw a very big Mortar, (g\u00e4-ne-gah-tah,) and Hih-noh called them\nto it. Shot-do-gas climbed into it and there he was killed, but Hih-noh\nrestored him to life and he also became a hih-noh. Then the five men\nwere about to start, and all at once there commenced a terrible thunder\nstorm and Hih-noh said now take them home, and suddenly they were taken\nup on the backs of as many men and carried along with the storm and down\nat Smoke\u2019s Creek where they started. They then washed off their paint\nand started to go home, but they found the trail grown up with bushes;\nthey kept on to where there was a bark shanty, it had been rebuilt,\u2014to\nthe council house, it was gone, every(thing) was changed they kept on\nand at last met a man whom they did not know, he asked them where and\nwhither they were going, they replied we went from here and have come\nhome, he said wait and I will go and tell the people. He found the chief\nand told him here are men whom I never saw before, saying that they have\ncome home. The chief gave the call implying important business,\u2014the\npeople rushed together into the council house, the man told what he had\nseen, the chief said to him go call these men, they came, no one knew\nthem and they knew no one. The chief asked the leader of the party for\nhis name, we may perhaps remember that, he would not tell his own name\nbut the rest of the party told it and each others names, but nobody\nrecollected them. Then said the chief there is a very old woman living\nyonder, go call her, if so be she can recollect them. She came and they\ntold her their names and that one of the party named Shot-do-gas had\nremained behind. She recollected the leaving of the party a long, long\ntime ago, and recalled their names, and said that when they went away,\nthere was a poor miserable little boy, on that account called\nShot-do-gas, who left with them. It proved that one of these men was\nelder brother of this old woman, and he returned in all the freshness of\nyouth, as when he left, while his younger sister had become a\nsuperannuated old woman. All the rest of the people had grown up since\nthey left and therefore did not know them. She, the sole survivor of her\ngeneration, was the only one to recognize them and remove the unbelief\nof those that did not believe that they had ever gone from this region\nof country.\n\n\n            D. EMBLEMATIC TREES IN IROQUOIAN MYTHOLOGY.[83]\n\n                          BY ARTHUR C. PARKER.\n\nA student of Iroquoian folk-lore, ceremony or history will note the many\nstriking instances in which sacred or symbolic trees are mentioned. One\nfinds allusions to such trees not only in the myths and traditions which\nhave long been known to literature and in the speeches of Iroquois\nchiefs when met in council with the French and English colonists, but\nalso in the more recently discovered wampum codes and in the rituals of\nthe folk-cults.\n\nThere are many references to the \u201ctree of peace\u201d in the colonial\ndocuments on Indian relations. Colden in his Five Nations, for example,\nquotes the reply of the Mohawk chief to Lord Effingham in July, 1684.\nThe Mohawk agree to the peace propositions and their spokesman says: \u201cWe\nnow plant a Tree who\u2019s tops will reach the Sun, and its Branches spread\nfar abroad, so that it shall be seen afar off; & we shall shelter\nourselves under it, and live in Peace, without molestation.\u201d (Gives two\nBeavers).[84]\n\nIn a footnote Colden says that the Five Nations always express peace\nunder the metaphor of a tree. Indeed in the speech, a part of which is\nquoted above, the Peace tree is mentioned several times.\n\nIn Garangula\u2019s reply to De la Barre, as recorded by Lahontan are other\nreferences to the \u201ctree.\u201d In his \u201charangue\u201d Garangula said:\n\n\u201cWe fell upon the Illinese and the Oumamis, because they cut down the\nTrees of Peace\u2014.\u201d \u201cThe Tsonontouans, Gayogouans, Onnotagues, Onnoyoutes,\nand Agnies declare that they interred the Axe at Cataracuoy, in the\nPresence of your Predecessor, in the very Center of the Fort; and\nplanted the Tree of Peace in the same place; \u2019twas then stipulated that\nthe Fort should be us\u2019d as a Place of Retreat for Merchants, and not as\na Refuge for Soldiers.... You ought to take Care that so great a number\nof Militial Men as we now see ... do not stifle and choak the Tree of\nPeace.... it must needs be of pernicious Consequences to stop its Growth\nand hinder it to shade both your Country and ours with its Leaves.\u201d[85]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Fig. 1.\u2014The pictograph of the sky-dome in the Walum Olum. _a_ is\n    interpreted \u201cAt all times above the earth.\u201d _b_, \u201cHe made them [sun\n    and moon] all to move evenly.\u201d\n]\n\nThe above examples are only a few of many that might be quoted to show\nhow commonly the Iroquois mentioned the peace tree. There are also\nreferences to the tree which was uprooted \u201cto afford a cavity in which\nto bury all weapons of war,\u201d the tree being replanted as a memorial.\n\nIn the Iroquoian myth, whether Cherokee, Huron, Wyandot, Seneca or\nMohawk, the \u201ctree of the upper world\u201d is mentioned, though the character\nof the tree differs according to the tribe and sometimes according to\nthe myth-teller.\n\nBefore the formation of the lower or earth-world the Wyandot tell of the\nupper or sky world and of the \u201cBig Chief\u201d whose daughter became\nstrangely ill.[86] The chief instructs his daughter to \u201cdig up the wild\napple tree; what will cure her she can pluck from among its roots.\u201d\nDavid Boyle[87] wondered why the apple tree was called \u201cwild,\u201d but that\nthe narrator meant wild-apple and not wild apple is shown by the fact\nthat the Seneca in some versions called the tree the crab-apple. The\nnative apple tree with its small fruit was intended by the Indian myth\nteller who knew also of the cultivated apple and took the simplest way\nto differentiate the two.\n\nWith the Seneca this tree is described more fully. In manuscript left by\nMrs. Asher Wright, the aged missionary to the Seneca, I find the\ncosmologic myth as related to her by Esquire Johnson, a Seneca, in 1870.\nMrs. Wright and her husband understood the Seneca language perfectly and\npublished a mission magazine as early as 1838 in that tongue. Her\ntranslation of Johnson\u2019s myth should therefore be considered authentic.\nShe wrote: \u201c\u2014there was a vast expanse of water\u2014. Above it was the great\nblue arch of air but no signs of anything solid\u2014. In the clear sky was\nan unseen floating island sufficiently firm to allow trees to grow upon\nit, and there were men-beings there. There was one great chief there who\ngave the law to all the Ongweh or beings on the island. In the center of\nthe island there grew a tree so tall that no one of the beings who lived\nthere could see its top. On its branches flowers and fruit hung all the\nyear round. The beings who lived on the island used to come to the tree\nand eat the fruit and smell the sweet perfume of the flowers. On one\noccasion the chief desired that the tree be pulled up. The Great Chief\nwas called to look at the great pit which was to be seen where the tree\nhad stood.\u201d The story continues with the usual description of how the\nsky-mother was pushed into the hole in the sky and fell upon the wings\nof the waterfowl who placed her on the turtle\u2019s back. After this mention\nof the celestial tree in the same manuscript is the story of the central\nworld-tree. After the birth of the twins, Light One and Toad-like (or\ndark) one, the Light One, also known as Good Minded, noticing that there\nwas no light, created the \u201ctree of light.\u201d This was a great tree having\nat its topmost branch a great ball of light. At this time the sun had\nnot been created. It is significant as will appear later that the Good\nMinded made his tree of light one that brought forth flowers from every\nbranch. After he had gone on experimenting and improving the earth \u201che\nmade a new light and hung it on the neck of a being and he called the\nnew light Gaa-gwaa (g\u00e4\u2019\u00b4gw\u0101) and instructed its bearer to run his course\ndaily in the heavens.\u201d Shortly after he is said to have \u201cdug up the tree\nof light and looking into the pool of water in which the stump (trunk)\nhad grown he saw the reflection of his own face and thereupon conceived\nthe idea of creating Ongwe and made them both a man and a woman.\u201d\n\nThe central world-tree is found also in Delaware mythology, though as\nfar as I discover it is not called the tree of light. The _Journal_[88]\nof Dankers and Slyter records the story of creation as heard from the\nLenape of New Jersey in 1679. All things came from a tortoise, the\nIndians told them. \u201cIt had brought forth the world and in the middle of\nits back had sprung a tree upon whose branches men had grown.\u201d[89] This\nrelation between men and the tree is interesting in comparison with the\nIroquois myth as it is also as the central world-tree. Both Lenape and\nthe Iroquois ideas are symbolic and those who delight in flights of\nimagination might draw much from both.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Fig. 2.\u2014A false face leader rubbing his rattle on a stump. Drawn from\n    a photograph.\n]\n\nThe Seneca world-tree is described elsewhere in my notes as a tree\nwhose branches pierce the sky and whose roots run down into the\nunderground waters of the under-world. This tree is mentioned in\nvarious ceremonial rites of the Iroquois. With the False Face Company,\nHad\u012dgo^n\u2019\u00b4s\u0103sho^n\u2019\u00b4o^n, for example, the Great Face, chief of all the\nFalse Faces, is said to be the invisible giant that guards the\nworld-tree (gaindowo\u00b4n\u0115\u2018). He rubs his turtle shell rattle upon it to\nobtain its power and this he imparts to all the visible false faces\nworn by the Company. In visible token of this belief the members of\nthe Company rub their turtle rattles on pine tree trunks, believing\nthat they become filled with both the earth and the sky-power thereby.\nIn this use of the turtle shell rattle there is perhaps a recognition\nof the connection between the turtle and the world-tree that grows\nupon the primal turtle\u2019s back.\n\nIn the prologue of the Wampum Code of the Five Nations Confederacy we\nagain find references to a symbolic \u201cgreat tree.\u201d In the code of\nDek\u0101n\u0103w\u012b\u00b4d\u0103 and with the Five Nations\u2019 confederate lords (rodiy\u0101\u00b4n\u0115r) \u201cI\nplant the Tree of the Great Peace. I plant it in your territory,\nAd\u014ddar\u00b4ho\u2018 and the Onondaga nation, in the territory of you who are\nFirekeepers.\n\n\u201cI name the tree the Tree of the Great Long Leaves. Under the shade of\nthis Tree of Peace we spread the soft feathery down of the globe\nthistle, there beneath the spreading branches of the Tree of Peace.\u201d\n\nIn the second \u201claw\u201d of the code the four roots of the \u201ctree\u201d are\ndescribed and the law-giver says, \u201cIf any individual or any nation\noutside the Five Nations shall obey the laws of the Great Peace and make\nknown their disposition to the Lords of the Confederacy, they may trace\nthe Roots to the Tree and if their minds are clean and obedient\u2014they\nshall be welcome to take shelter beneath the Tree of the Long Leaves.\n\n\u201cWe place in the top of the Tree of the Long Leaves an Eagle who is able\nto see afar;\u2014he will warn the people.\u201d\n\nIn another place is the following: \u201cI Dek\u0101n\u0103w\u012b\u00b4d\u0103, and the union lords\nnow uproot the tallest pine tree and into the cavity thereby made we\ncast all weapons of war. Into the depths of the earth, down into the\ndeep under-earth currents of water flowing to unknown regions we cast\nall the weapons of strife. We bury them from sight and we plant again\nthe tree. Thus shall the Great Peace, Kay\u0115\u2019\u00b4narhe\u2018kowa, be established.\u201d\n\nThese laws and figures of speech are very evidently those which the\nIroquois speakers had in mind when addressing \u201cpeace councils\u201d with the\nwhites.\n\nSymbolic trees appear not only in Iroquois history, mythology and folk\nbeliefs but also in their decorative art. The numerous decorative forms\nof trees embroidered in moose hair and porcupine quills by the eastern\nAlgonquins and by the Huron and the Iroquois appear to be attempts to\nrepresent the world-tree and the celestial tree, in some cases with its\n\u201call manner of fruits and flowers.\u201d Many, if not most, of the modern\ndescendants of the old-time Indian, who copy these old designs have\nforgotten their meanings and some have even invented new explanations. A\nfew of the more conservative, however, remember even yet the true\nmeaning of their designs and from such much of interest has been\nlearned.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Fig. 3.\u2014Portion of legging strip. The inward curving design at the top\n    sometimes symbolizes sleep or death. (Specimens collected for the\n    New York State Museum by M. R. Harrington.)\n]\n\nIn examining examples of Iroquois decorative art one is immediately\nimpressed with the repeated use of a pattern consisting of a semi-circle\nresting upon two parallel horizontal lines having at the top two\ndivergent curved lines each springing from the same point and curving\noutward, like the end of a split dandelion stalk, (See fig. 4b.) This\ndesign or symbol, with the Iroquois represents the celestial tree\ngrowing from the top of the sky, or more properly, from the bottom of\nthe \u201cabove-sky world\u201d (g\u00e4\u00b4o\u00f1y\u0103\u2019g\u0115\u2018\u00b4). The two parallel lines represent\nthe earth. This symbol is found with the same meaning among the\nDelaware. In the Walum Olum[90] parallel semi-circles represent the\nsky-dome, though single semi-circles appear. Two parallel horizontal\nlines, likewise, represent the earth. (See fig. I, a.)\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Fig. 4.\u2014Various forms of the sky-dome symbol as employed in Iroquois\n    moose hair and quill embroidery.\n]\n\nWith the Iroquois the sky-dome and earth symbols are employed as pattern\ndesigns for decorating clothing. Nearly always these symbols are\nassociated with the celestial-tree symbol, though sometimes this is\nemployed alone. These patterns appear embroidered in moose hair,\nporcupine quills and beads as borders for leggings, skirts,\nbreech-clouts and moccasins. (See fig. 5.) Occasionally the pattern is\nfound on head-bands and hair ornaments. In some cases, especially in\nexamples of silver work and beaded articles it seems evident that the\ndecorator has not the meaning of his pattern in mind. This is true of\nsome of the more modern attempts to use it.\n\nThese outward curving designs, beside being symbols of the celestial\ntree have a secondary meaning, that of life, living and light. Curving\ninward upon themselves they sometimes represent sleep and death. Fig. 3\nshows this design on a leggin strip. In fig. 4 h we have it used in\nconjunction with a sleeping sun. The Onondaga call the double curve\ndesign o\u0115^n\u2019\u00b4sh\u0103\u2019, tendril.\n\nIn this connection it may be well to note that the \u201chorns\u201d wampum when\nplaced upon a dead civil chief\u2019s body is curved inward, the two ends\ntouching and forming the outline of a circle or heart. When the\ncondoling ceremonial chief finishes his address and is about to lift the\nstrands of wampum from the corpse to hand it to the successor he turns\nthe wampum-string so that the ends point outward and away from each\nother. These particular symbols while being those of death and life\nrespectively are regarded as horn and not tree symbols. The wampum so\nemployed \u201cthe horns,\u201d on\u0103\u2019gasho\u2018\u00b4\u0103, and alludes to the symbolic title of\nthe civil chief (roya\u00b4ner).\n\nThe celestial-tree symbol appears also as a trefoil. The third tendril\nor branch unfolds from the center of the tree. (See fig. 4 c.) A fourth\nbranch is often used and then appears as a double tree. (See fig. 4 d.)\nIn 4, e the night-sun is represented over the world-tree and in meaning\nthis sign is found to be the same as 4, h. In fig. 4, f the day-sun is\nrepresented as shining at zenith above the world-tree. In 4, g the\nsun-above-the-sky is awake and roosting in the celestial-tree. All of\nthese designs are found on borders of Iroquois garments some of which\nare shown in plate I.\n\nAnother important modification of the sky-dome and celestial-tree\ncombination is that which represents the sky-dome with the\ncelestial-tree upon it and the earth-tree within the dome below and\nresting upon a long intersection of an oval (possibly the turtle) and\nsending its long leaves or branches upward to the sky-arch.\n\nSometimes the design is used as the motif of a rosette or other balanced\ndesign. Morgan figured several and the Report of the Director of the\nState Museum of New York for 1907 shows a picture of Red Jacket\u2019s pipe\npouch ornamented with such a pattern. There the ends of the tendrils are\nsplit and represented as conventional flowers. In other instances the\nmotif is built upward upon itself as shown in figure 6. The first \u201ctree\u201d\nin this figure is copied from Lafitau[91] and the others from Mohawk\nmoccasin toes.\n\nWith the Iroquois the celestial-tree symbol is generally represented by\nthis anies-like figure. The _earth-tree_, on the other hand, is less\nhighly conventionalized. With the Iroquois as with many other tribes in\nthe forest area in North America, the Ojibwa for example, the ordinary\ntree sign is commonly used,\u2014that depicting the upward slanting branches\nof the balsam fir. Figure 7 shows the Ojibwa pictograph which is\ninterpreted as \u201cthe big tree in the middle of the earth.\u201d The terminal\nbuds on the conventionalized trees of the Huron moose hair embroidery\ntype resemble in form this balsam fir symbol. The Huron indeed call the\nbud \u201cbalsam fir.\u201d[92] The method of slanting the hair to form the design\ncreates the resemblance and causes the confusion, in all probability.\nUsed alone the \u201cbud\u201d would be a tree if placed in proper position but as\nordinarily used by the Huron at the extremity of an embroidered branch,\nit seems paradoxical to find a tree on the small end of one of its\nbranches. This is discussed more fully hereinafter.\n\nFigure 4, e, and f show the Iroquois \u201cmiddle-of-theworld-tree\u201d as used\nin conjunction with the sky-dome and sun symbols.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Fig. 5.\u2014Borders embroidered in moose hair on deer-skin garments.\n    (Seneca specimens in the New York State Museum.) _a_ is the \u201ctwo\n    curve\u201d pattern common in Iroquoian decoration. _b_ represents a\n    series of \u201csky-domes\u201d resting upon the earth, the two parallel\n    horizontal lines. _c_ represents a series of the \u201ctrees\u201d of Iroquois\n    symbolism. The unit of the design is indicated by _m_-_n_. _d_ shows\n    a series of suns and celestial trees resting on the sky-dome.\n]\n\nAnother, and more elaborate, form of the \u201ctree\u201d as it appears in\nIroquoian decorative art is a flowering plant or tree having\nconventionalized leaves (generally, \u201clong leaves\u201d), branches, buds,\ntendrils and flowers. See plate 2. In this plate (9) is shown the\nflowering tree as embroidered in porcupine quills on an Iroquois pouch\ncollected by Lewis H. Morgan, and now in the New York State Museum. It\nwill be perceived that here the diverging curved lines play a\nconspicuous part in the make-up of the tree. Like all Iroquois symbolic\ntrees of the purely conventional type the tree is exactly balanced on\neach side of the central line that represents the trunk or stalk.\n\nWith the Huron these trees are, likewise, used as an adornment for bags\nand other things where a comparatively large surface is afforded. Dr.\nSpeck illustrates one of these trees in the article on moose hair\nembroidery previously cited, and gives the Huron interpretation for the\nvarious parts of the tree. With the Huron, it is most interesting to\nnote, the topmost flower is called not a flower but a star, thus\nsuggesting some dim recollection of the \u201ctree of light.\u201d\n\nThe Confederated Iroquois made similar trees, though they interpret some\nof the parts differently. With them the significance of the tree is\nrecognized. Mr. Hewitt describes the tree in his Onondaga creation\nmyth.[93] His informants in relating the myth said: \u201cAnd there beside\nthe lodge stands the tree that is called Tooth (Ono\u2019\u00b4dj\u0103\u2019). Moreover,\nthe blossoms this standing tree bears cause the world to be light,\nmaking it light for men-beings dwelling there.\u201d This agrees with the\nSeneca version previously cited in this article.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Embroidered pouch made by the Seneca before 1850. Note tree and floral\n    designs. Specimen in New York State Museum.\n  Scale x\u00bd.\n]\n\nThe \u201cTree of Peace\u201d symbolically planted by Dek\u0101n\u0103w\u012b\u00b4d\u0103, as has been\nnoted was called the \u201cTree of the Great Long Leaves.\u201d It will be\nobserved that the \u201ctree of light\u201d in nearly every case where leaves are\nshown at all has long sword-like leaves. This is true among the Huron in\ntheir older patterns, as among the Iroquois. The Huron, however, now\ncall these long leaves \u201cdead branches\u201d and the unopened flowers \u201cbalsam\nfir.\u201d[94] The Huron, as with most of the Iroquois, have likely forgotten\nor confused the true names of the elements of their designs. These\ndesigns, with the Huron at least, seem to have undergone some change due\nto the necessity for trade purposes of working their patterns in outline\nand quickly. It is most important to observe, however, that oftentimes\nwhen the object of using a symbol is primarily for decorative purposes,\nthe Indian artist or needle-worker gives parts of the design \u201cpattern\nnames,\u201d often at entire variance with the real meaning of the part but\nbased upon real or fancied resemblance. With the Huron with whom the\ndecorative element is now of primary importance this seems to have been\nthe case. Indeed, Dr. Speck does not say that the parts of the designs\nwhich he illustrates are symbols though he does give the names which the\nHuron told him. The Huron are very likely making \u201ctrees of light\u201d and do\nnot know it, in this respect being similar to their Iroquois brethren.\nThe designs are worked, as some of my Indian informants say, \u201cbecause\nthey are Indian\u201d and likewise because they have become accustomed to\nthem and because there seems nothing more appropriate to invent.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Fig. 6.\u2014Various forms of the celestial tree. Here the unit is\n    superposed to form the tree.\n]\n\nThis instance suggests how with change of environment myths, symbols and\nceremonial rites may lose their meaning and yet preserve their outward\nform.\n\nThe two-curve motif in Indian art is widely distributed throughout\nAmerica. In many instances it seems to have meanings similar to that\ngiven it by the Iroquois, though there are other instances where it has\nnot. It is sometimes used with a few simple additions to represent the\nface of the thunderbird or even the human face, at least the eyes and\nnose. In a more elaborate form it is found in the Fej\u00e9rvary Codex as a\ntree symbol though a variation of the form in the Vienna codex makes the\ncross-section of a vase.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Fig. 7.\u2014\u201cThe big tree in the middle of the earth.\u201d From the Ojibwa\n    _Mid\u00e9wiwin_.\n]\n\nIt is not strange that the simple outline should be found almost\nuniversally. It is one of those simple conceptions in art that would\noccur to any people independently. Many things in nature suggest it. It\nis not its outline, however, so much as its use as a definite symbol and\nits combination with others that gives it interest to the writer.\n\nThe world-tree with its long leaves and luminous flowers is worthy of\nmore detailed consideration. It seems to have been a deeply imbedded\nconcept with the certain branches of the Algonquin stock and of the\nIroquois, affecting not only their mythology and ceremonial language but\nalso their decorative art. Whether the idea has a deeper and more\nprimitive meaning than here suggested the author does not pretend to\nknow.\n\n\n             E. THE SOCIETY THAT GUARDS THE MYSTIC POTENCE.\n\nAmong the Seneca Indians for many years the most important ceremonial\nsociety has been and now is the organization called Neh\nHo-noh-chi-noh-gah (Ne\u2018 Ho-no^n\u2019tci\u2018no^n\u2019\u00b4g\u00e4\u2018), commonly called the\n\u201cSecret Medicine Society,\u201d and as often the \u201cLittle Water Company.\u201d\n\nThis society (ho\u0115nnidio^n\u2019got) is instituted primarily to preserve the\nmystic potence or orenda (meaning magical power) supposed to be inherent\nin the medicine called the niga\u2018ni\u2018g\u0103\u00b4\u0103\u2018 (meaning small dose), and to\npreserve the methods of administering it.\n\nOf the several native societies that have survived among the Seneca,\nnone remains more exclusive, more secret or so rigorously adheres to its\nancient forms. No organization among the Seneca is so well knit together\nand not one is so united in its purpose. Its members and officers are\namong the most conservative and best respected men of their communities,\nand they preserve the rites of the order with great fidelity. Harmony\nprevails for discord of any kind would be at variance with the very\nfundamental teachings of the order. No organization among the Senecas\ntoday is so mysterious, nor does any other possess the means of\nenforcing so rigorously its laws. The Honohtcinohgah is without doubt a\nsociety of great antiquity; few Iroquois societies, perhaps, are more\nso. One authority has contended that it is a tribal branch of an\norganization found everywhere, among Indians throughout the continent\nand produced arguments to support the theory, but an examination of its\ntraditions and ritual would lead to the opinion that it is purely\nIroquoian.\n\nIn order to understand the organization it is first necessary to\nunderstand the legend of its origin when many otherwise obscure\nallusions will be made apparent. This is given in 69, under Traditions,\npage 386.\n\n\n                           NEH NIGAHNIGAHAH.\n\nThe charm medicine is known as the niga\u2018ni\u2018g\u0103\u00b4a\u2018 and each member\npossesses a certain amount of it. The secret of compounding the\nniga\u2018ni\u2018g\u0103\u00b4a\u2018 rested with only one man in a tribe, who, according to the\nteachings of the society, would be apprised of approaching death and\ngiven time to transmit the knowledge to a successor whom he should\nchoose. According to the traditions of the Honohtcinohgah the secret\nholder always foreknew the hour of his death and frequently referred to\nit in lodge meetings.\n\nThe \u201csmall dose\u201d medicine is composed of the brains of various mammals,\nbirds, fish and other animals and the pollen and roots of various\nplants, trees and vegetables. These ingredients are compounded and\npulverized with certain other substances as squash seeds, corn roots,\netc., and constitute the base of the niganigaah.\n\nThat this medicine actually possesses chemical properties that react on\nhuman tissue was proven by Dr. J. H. Salisbury, an eminent physician and\na former State chemist, who according to Mrs. H. M. Converse analyzed\nand experimented with a small quantity that he had secured from a member\nof the society.\n\nThe medicine itself is of a yellowish hue and when opened in the dark\nsometimes appears luminous, probably from the organic phosphorus that it\ncontains. The utmost caution is employed by the members of the\nHonohtcinohg\u00e4h to preserve the medicine from exposure to the air in\nunsafe places and from contaminating influences. It is held in a small\nskin bag[95] and wrapped in many coverings of cloth and skin and finally\nenclosed in a bark, wood or tin case to keep it free from moisture,\ndisease and dirt.\n\nAmong the Seneca of modern times John Patterson was the last of the\nholders of the secret and the secret of the precise method of\ncompounding the medicine died with him, he in some way having failed to\ninstruct a successor. The members thus doubly guard their medicine and\nare loath to use it except in cases of extreme necessity for when it is\nexhausted not only will they be unable to secure more but by a legend\nwhen the medicine is gone the Senecas will forever lose their identity\nas Indians.\n\n\n             METHOD OF ADMINISTERING THE CHARMED MEDICINE.\n\nA person who wishes to have the medicine given him for the cure of a\nwound, broken bone or specific disease, must purge himself and for three\ndays must abstain from the use of salt or grease. His food must be the\nflesh of white birds or animals and only the white portions. The system\nof the patient is then ready to receive the medicine. The medicine man\ncomes to his lodge and an assistant searches the house for anything that\nmight destroy the \u201clife\u201d of the medicine such as household animals,\nvermin, decayed meat, blood, soiled garments, etc. These things removed\nfrom the house, the patient is screened off and the guard patrols the\npremises warning away all infected or obnoxious persons. An attendant\nwho has previously been dispatched to a clear running stream enters with\na bowl of water that has been dipped from the crest of the ripples as\nthey \u201csang their way down the water-road.\u201d Not to antagonize the forces\nin the water, it was dipped the way the current ran, down stream, and\nnot upward against it.\n\nEverything now being in readiness the medicine man takes a basket of\ntobacco and as he repeats the ancient formula he casts pinches of the\ntobacco into the flames that the sacred smoke may lift his words to the\nGreat Spirit. The water is then poured out in a cup and the medicine\npacket opened. With a miniature ladle that holds as much of the powder\nas can be held on the tip of the blade of a small penknife, the medicine\nman dips three times from the medicine and drops the powder on the\nsurface of the water in three spots, the points of a triangle. If the\nmedicine floats the omen is good, if it clouds the water the results are\nconsidered doubtful and if it sinks death may be predicted with a degree\nof certainty and the medicine is thrown away. In the case of severe cuts\nor contusions and broken bones the medicated water is sprinkled upon the\naffected part and an amount is taken internally. A medicine song is then\nchanted by the \u201cdoctor\u201d who accompanies himself with a gourd rattle.\nAfter the ceremony of healing, the people of the house partake of a\nfeast of fruit, and the medicine man departs with his fee, a pinch of\nsacred tobacco. The following description of the lodge ceremony from the\nlips of a Seneca will not be out of place. The story is related exactly\nas it came from the tongue of the interpreter.\n\nJesse Hill speaking: \u201cMother scraped off basswood bark, soaked it in\nwater and wrapped it around my leg. Next day we sent for the medicine\nman. He came at sun set and sent to the creek for fresh water to be\ndipped where the current was swift, with a pail not against the current.\nPoured some in a tea cup and pulled out the medicine bag. Opened it with\na charmed shovel not much larger than a pin. Dipped three times. Cup of\nwater. Floated. Go up or down. Understood it was good medicine. Took\nsome in his mouth and sprayed it on my leg. Told mother to put a curtain\naround my bed so no one could see me. If anyone saw any part of my body,\nmedicine would do no good. Soon came dark. All the animals were put out.\nTook tin pail and made fire. Put in center of room and all sat around in\nsilence. Medicine man made prayer. Scattered tobacco mother had prepared\nover fire. Took rattle made of gourd and chanted medicine song loud and\nlouder. Half hour pain had gone. Boiled different fruits together till\nsoft. Put kettle where all could help out with little dipper. Left two\ndoses of medicine. Eat nothing but white things. White of egg of chicken\nhad white feathers and eat chicken if white. Five or six days spoke\nthings. All certain took pain away.\u201d\n\n\n                       THE MEDICINE LODGE RITUAL.\n\nThe Honohtcinohgah \u201csits,\u201d that is, holds lodge meetings, four times\neach year; in mid-winter, when the moon N\u012dsha proclaims the new year,\nwhen the deer sheds its hair, when the strawberries are ripe and when\ncorn is in the milk. At these ceremonies each member brings his or her\nmedicine to be sung for and if unable to be present sends it by\nmessenger.\n\nOnly members know the exact place and time of meeting. At the entrance\nof the medicine lodge, a private house of a member chosen for the\nceremony, a guard is stationed who scrutinized each person who attempts\nto pass within. Across the door within is placed a heavy bench \u201cmanned\u201d\nby several stalwart youths who, should a person not entitled to see the\ninterior of the lodge appear, would throw their weight against the bench\nand force the door shut leaving the unfortunate intruder to the mercy of\nthe outside guards and incoming members.\n\nEach member entering the lodge has with him his medicine, a quantity of\ntobacco, a pipe and perhaps a rattle although most of the lodge rattles\nare in the keeping of Honondiont or officers. As the members enter the\nroom they deposit their contribution of tobacco in a husk basket placed\nfor the purpose on a table at one side and then put their medicine\npackets beside the basket of the sacred herb.\n\nThe ceremony proper commences about 11 P. M. in the summer and in winter\nan hour earlier and lasts until nearly daybreak. The feast makers enter\nthe lodge several hours previous to the ceremony and cook the food for\nthe feast and prepare the strawberry wine.\n\nThe seats in the lodge are arranged around the sides of the room leaving\nthe center of the room open.\n\nWhen all is in readiness a Honondiont takes a basket of sacred tobacco,\noy\u0115\u00f1kwa o\u00f1weh, and, as he chants the opening ceremony he casts the\nsacred herb into the smouldering coals. The lights are all burning and\nthe members are in their seats, the only exception being the feast\nmakers whose duties require their attention at the fireplace.\n\nFrom the manuscript notes of Mrs. Harriet Maxwell Converse, I find the\nfollowing translation of the \u201cLine Around the Fire Ceremony.\u201d\n\n\n                   THE LINE AROUND THE FIRE CEREMONY.\n\n  The Singer, (to the members): \u201cThis is the line around the fire\n  ceremony. Now I have asked blessings and made prayer.\u201d\n\n  The Singer sprinkles sacred tobacco on the fire.\n\n\n    (The Singer speaks to the invisible powers):\n\n               \u201cNow I give you incense,\n             You, the Great Darkness!\n             You, our great grand parents, here to night,\u2014\n             We offer you incense!\n             We assemble at certain times in the year\n             That this may be done.\n\n  (We trust that all believe in this medicine,\n\n  For all are invited to partake of this medicine.)\n\n  (Now one has resigned. We ask you to let him off in a friendly\n  manner. Give him good luck and take care that his friends remain in\n  faithful!)\n\n           Now we offer you this incense!\n         Some have had ill luck\n         Endeavoring to give a human being.\n         We hope you will take hold\n         And help your grandchildren,\n         Nor be discouraged in us!\n\n           Now we act as we offer you incense!\n         You love it the most of all offerings!\n         With it you will hear us better\n         And not tire of our talking,\n         But love us with all power\n         Beyond all treasures\n         Or spreading you words through the air!\n\n           All men traveling under the great heavens,\n         You have invited, your grandchildren and all nations!\n\n           Oh you that make the noise,\n         You the great Thunderer!\n         Your grandchildren wish to thank you!\n         All your grandchildren have asked me\n         To offer this incense upon the mountain to you!\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  _ARRANGEMENT\n    OF THE\n    LITTLE WATER LODGE_\n  This diagram shows the arrangement of the lodge room of the Little\n    Water Company, sometimes also called the Medicine Society, the\n    Guards of the Mystic Potence and the Night Song Company.\n]\n\n  (Speaking to the Great Spirit, Sho-gwa-yah-dih-sah-oh):\n\n                   Oh you the Manager of All Things!\n                 We ask you to help us,\n                 To help us make this medicine strong!\n                 You are the Creator,\n                 The Most High,\n                 The Best Friend of men!\n                 We ask you to help us!\n                 We implore your favor!\n\n                   I have spoken.[96]\n\nAfter the tobacco throwing ceremony the keeper of the rattles gives each\nperson in the circle a large gourd rattle and then the lights are\nextinguished leaving the assembly in total darkness. The watcher of the\nmedicine uncovers the bundles exposing contents to the air and as he\ndoes so a faint glow like a luminous cloud, according to the elect,\nhovers over the table and disappears. The leader or holder of the song\ngives a signal with his rattle calling the assembly to order and then\nbegins to beat his rattle. The people shake their rattles in regular\nbeats until all are in unison when the holder of the song commences the\nsong, which is taken up by the company. \u201cAnd such a song it is! It is a\ncomposition of nature\u2019s sounds and thrills the very fiber of those who\nhear it. It transports one from the lodge back into the dark mysterious\nstone-age forest and in its wierd wild cadences it tells of the origin\nof the society, of the hunter in the far south country and how when he\nwas killed by the enemy the animals to whom he had always been a friend\nrestored him to life. It tells of his pilgrimage over plain and\nmountain, over river and lake, ever following the call of the night bird\nand the beckoning of the winged light. It is an opera of nature\u2019s people\nthat is unsurpassed.\u201d\n\nThe first song requires one hour for singing. Lights are then turned up\nand the feast maker passes the kettle of sweetened strawberry juice and\nafterward the calumet from which all draw a puff of the sacred incense.\nThen comes an interval of rest in which the members smoke sacred tobacco\nand discuss lodge matters. The medicine is covered before the lights are\nturned up.\n\nWith a chug of his resonant gourd rattle the leader calls the people\ntogether for the second song which is wilder and more savage in\ncharacter. The whippoorwill\u2019s call is heard at intervals and again the\ncall of the crows who tell of a feast to come. The whippoorwill song is\none that is most beautiful but it is played on the flute only at rare\nintervals and then it is so short that it excites an almost painful\nyearning to hear it again but there is art in this savage opera and its\nperformers never tire of it because it is wonderful even to them. During\nthe singing every person in the circle must sing and shake his rattle;\nto pause is considered an evil thing. It is no small physical effort to\nshake a long necked gourd a hundred and fifty times a minute for sixty\nminutes without cessation. This I soon discovered when as a novitiate of\nthe society I was placed between a medicine woman and man and given an\nextra heavy rattle. Every now and then a hand from one or the other side\nwould stretch forth from the inky blackness and touch my arm to see if I\nwere faithful and sometimes a moist ear would press against my face to\ndiscover if I were singing and listening a moment to my attempts, would\ndraw back. The song in parts is pitched very high and it is a marvel\nthat male voices can reach it. At times the chief singers seem to employ\nventriloquism for they throw their voices about the room in a manner\nthat is startling to the novice. At the close of the song lights are\nturned up and the berry water and calumet are passed again and a longer\nperiod of rest is allowed. There are two other sections of the\nsong-ritual with rest intervals that bring the close of the song close\nto daybreak. The feast makers pass the berry water and pipe again and\nthen imitating the cries of the crow, the ho-non-di-ont pass the bear or\nboar\u2019s head on a platter and members tear off a mouthful each with their\nteeth imitating the caw of a crow as they do so. After the head is eaten\neach member brings forth his pail and places it before the fireplace for\nthe feast maker to fill with the alloted portion of o-no\u2018\u00b4-kwa or hulled\ncorn soup. When the pails are filled one by one the company disperses\ninto the gray light or dawn and the medicine ceremony is over. At the\nclose of the last song each one takes his packet of medicine and\nsecretes it about his person.\n\nThe medicine song according to the ritual of the society is necessary to\npreserve the virtue of the medicine. It is an appreciation of the\nfounder of the order and a thanksgiving to the host of living things\nthat have given their life-power that the medicine might be. The spirits\nof these creatures hover about the medicine which they will not desert\nas long as the holder remains faithful to the conditions that they saw\nfit to impose when it was given to the founder. The psychic influence of\nthe animals and plants is the important part of the medicine and when\nthe medicine is opened in the dark they are present in a shadowy form\nthat is said to sometimes become faintly luminous and visible. Members\nare said frequently to see these spirit forms, and sometimes not\nindividual members only but the entire company simultaneously,\u2014but I am\nnow trenching on a subject of which I am asked not to speak. There are\nmarvels and mysteries connected with the ceremonies of the\nHonotcinohgah, suffice to say, that white men will never know, nor would\nbelieve if told. The Indian has some sacred mysteries that will die with\nhim.\n\nSome one has suggested that Indian songs are not stable but vary from\ntime to time, but this idea is at once dispelled when we see a company\nof fifty young men and old chanting the same song without a discord from\nnight till morning. The song is uniformly the same and probably has\nvaried but slightly since it originated. It is still intact with none of\nits parts missing, although the words are archaic and some not\nunderstood.\n\nThe medicine men teach that if a charm packet is not sung for at least\nonce in a year the spirits will become restless and finally angry and\nbring all manner of ill luck upon its possessor. The spirits of the\nanimals and plants that gave their lives for the medicine will not\ntolerate neglect and will relentlessly punish the negligent holder and\nmany instances are cited to prove that neglect brings misfortune. The\nmedicine will bring about accidents that will cause sprains, severe\nbruises and broken bones and finally death. I know of several persons,\nmyself, who becoming Christians, have neglected their medicine. Whether\nthe belief is true or not, some have certainly met with repeated\naccidents. In every Seneca settlement the story is the same and\nindividuals are pointed out who having neglected their medicine have\nbecome injured or maimed for life. Should some member of a family die\nleaving his medicine its orenda will compel the person who should take\nthe dead one\u2019s place to respect its desires. I will relate one instance.\nWhen John Patterson the last holder of the secret died he left his\nmedicine in the loft of his house. His son, a well educated man of wide\nbusiness experience, one of the shrewdest men of the Seneca and a person\nseemingly free of superstition, thought that he would allow the medicine\nof his father to remain idle. He wished to have nothing to do with the\nold fashioned heathenish customs of his father. Indeed he did not take\ninterest enough in the medicine to look for it. Several medicine\nsittings passed by and the man began to suffer strange accidents. One\nevening as he sat with his family on the veranda of his home (a modern\ndwelling such as is found in any modern town), the members say that he\nheard the medicine song floating in the air above him. He was startled\nand each of the family was frightened. The singing continued until at\nlength it grew faint and ceased. Upon several occasions the family and\nvisitors heard the song issuing from the air. Mr. Patterson sent for the\nleader of the lower medicine lodge, William Nephew, who asked where the\nmedicine was hidden. No one knew but after a search it was discovered.\nMr. Nephew ordered that a feast should be made and the rites performed.\nThen was the modern educated Indian forced to join the lodge and take\nhis father\u2019s seat. This story, of which I have given but the bare\noutline, is commonly known among the Senecas, Mr. M. R. Harrington, of\nthe American Indian Museum, being perfectly familiar with the facts of\nthe case which he took pains to learn while staying at the Patterson\nhome. Howsoever this may be explained it is nevertheless considered one\nof the mysteries of the medicine and the instance is not a solitary one.\n\nFew white people have ever been allowed in a medicine lodge and when\nthey have been they have not seen to witness the ceremony in full. I\nknow of only four who ever become members, holding the medicine: Joseph\nKeppler, the publisher, and Mrs. Harriet Maxwell Converse, George K.\nStaples, and George L. Tucker, with all of whom I have sat in the\nmedicine lodge.\n\n\n\n\n                              BIBLIOGRAPHY\n\n              Works Consulted in Editing This Compilation.\n\n\n Barbeau, C. M.        _Wyandot Tales_, Jour. Amer. Folk Lore, Vol. 28,\n                         (1915), p. 83\u201395.\n\n                       _Huron and Wyandot Mythology_, Dept. Mines,\n                         Canada, No. 80.\n\n Beauchamp, W. M.      _Iroquois Trails_, Fayetteville, N. Y., 1897.\n\n                       _Iroquois Folk-Lore_, Onondaga Co. Hist. Soc.,\n                         Syracuse, 1922.\n\n Boaz, F.              _Mythology and Folk Lore of the N. A. Indians_,\n                         Jour. Am. Folk-Lore, Vol. 27, 375.\n\n Hewitt, J. N. B.      _Iroquois Cosmology_, 21 An. Rept. Bur. American\n                         Ethnology.\n\n Hewitt and Curtin     _Seneca Myths, Fiction and Folk-Tales_, 32 An.\n                         Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethnology.\n\n Leland, C. G.         _Algonquin Legends._\n\n Lowie, R. L.          _Test Theme in N. A. Folk-Lore_, Jour. Am.\n                         Folk-Lore, Vol. 21, 97\u2013148.\n\n Mooney, James         _Myths of the Cherokee_, 19 An. Rept. Bur. Amer.\n                         Ethnology.\n\n Radin, Paul           _Literary Aspects of N. A. Mythology_, Bulletin\n                         16, Canadian Department of Mines.\n\n                       _Religion of the N. A. Indians_, Jour. Amer.\n                         Folk-Lore, Vol. 27, 335.\n\n Reichard, Gladys A.   _Literary Types and Dissemination of Myths_,\n                         Jour. Amer. Folk-Lore, Vol. 34, 269\u2013307.\n\n Skinner, Alanson      _Central Algonkian Folk-Lore_, Jour. Am.\n                         Folk-Lore, Vol. 27, 97\u2013100.\n\n                       _Menomini Folk Lore_, Anthrop. Papers, Amer. Mus.\n                         Nat. Hist., Vol. XIII, 1915.\n\n Waterman, T. T.       _Explanatory Elements in the Folk Tales of the N.\n                         A. Indians_, Jour. Am. Folk-Lore, 38, 1.\n\n\n\n\n                                 INDEX\n\n\nNOTE: Themes, characters, episodes and common material are indexed in\nitalics. Other subjects are in the usual Roman.\n\n _Adoption by animals_, 137.\n\n _Air canoe_, 97, 100, 318.\n\n _Air jumping_, 28.\n\n Albany, traditions of, 406, 407.\n\n America, discovery of, 383.\n\n _Ancient One_, 5, 59, 60.\n\n Ancient relics, 54.\n\n _Animal foster-parents_, 25, 137, 148.\n\n _Animal paw target_, 28, 160.\n\n _Animal skin, borrowing of_, 30, 132, 201.\n\n Animals, origin of, 67;\n   evil, 68, 414.\n\n _Animals talk to men_, 29, 137, 147, 224, 389.\n\n _Animated finger_, 31, 337.\n\n Arrow making, 98.\n\n Ashes, washing in, 197.\n\n _Astral body_, 29.\n\n _Ataentsic_ (see Ancient One), 6, 59, 60.\n\n Autumnal colors, origin of, 82.\n\n _Awaiting women_, 118, 135.\n\n\n Barbeau, C. M., cited, 86 f.n., 459;\n   myth by, 417.\n\n _Bark dagger_, 31, 191.\n\n _Bark dolls_, 31\n   (see also dolls).\n\n Bark lodge, 43, interior, 44;\n   picture, 47.\n\n _Basket from sky_, 86.\n\n _Beads, magical_, 155.\n\n Bear, 387.\n\n _Bear claw mittens_, 126.\n\n _Bear, monster_, 17\n   (see also Niahgwahe).\n\n _Bears talk_, 148, 149 ff.\n\n _Bearded monster_, 228.\n\n Beauchamp, William M., 459.\n\n _Beaver_, 309;\n   evil beaver, 162, 189.\n\n _Beaver, white_, 17.\n\n Beds, 52.\n\n _Bewitched_, 370\n   (see also witchcraft, witches, wizards).\n\n _Bewitched parents_, 26.\n\n Bibliography, 459.\n\n _Big Breast_, 19.\n\n _Bird colors, origin of_, 313.\n\n Blow gun, 18, 355.\n\n _Blue lizard_, 17, 163\n   (see lizard, blue).\n\n _Blue otter_, 17.\n\n Bluesky, William, 107, f.n.\n\n _Boaster makes good_, 24, 350, 355, 361.\n\n Boas, F., 459.\n\n _Boiling oil_, 29, 267, 275, 291, 297, 348.\n\n Bone awl, 98.\n\n _Borrowed eyes_, 31, 105.\n\n _Borrowed skin_, 31, 237.\n\n _Boy hero_, 97, 111, 116, 122, 128, 137, 142, 147, 154, 159, 173, 200,\n    241, 253, 269, 280, 342, 359, 426.\n\n _Box contains girls_, 28, 234, 250.\n\n _Brother and sister_, 293, 344.\n\n _Brothers_, 261, 278;\n   as tormentor, 205, 206.\n\n _Buffalo, chief_, 138;\n   stampedes herd, 138.\n\n Buffalo, early, 37.\n\n Buffalo Historical Society, cited, 42 f.n.\n\n _Buffalo one rib_, 33, 139.\n\n Buffalo songs, 141.\n\n _Bungling boy_, 142.\n\n _Bungling guest_, 26, 209 ff.\n\n Bundles, of magical objects, 163, 222, 368, 369, 372, 376.\n\n Burmaster, Everett R., notes by, 369.\n\n _Burning corpse_, 282, 300.\n\n\n Camouflage, 356.\n\n _Cannibal_, 133, 156, 203, 269, 271, 284, 335, 345.\n\n Canoe, 134, 256, 269, 305, 342, 427.\n\n Capture, 356.\n\n Cattaraugus reservation, ix.\n\n _Cave of giant_, 397\u2013398.\n\n Cedar waxwings, 331.\n\n _Celestial tree_, 6, 12, 33, 59, 60, 411, 417, 433.\n\n Charm holders\u2019 society, 393.\n\n Charms, witch, 366, 376.\n\n _Cheek tying_, 118, 119, 124.\n\n Cherokee, 358, 422.\n\n _Chestnuts, origin of_, 132.\n\n Chewink, 326.\n\n Chickadee, 325.\n\n Clay pots, 54.\n\n Cleansing, 391.\n\n _Cloudland eagle_, described, 16, 387.\n\n Child killer, 282.\n\n _Chipmunk\u2019s stripes_, 314.\n\n Clothing of Seneca, 41, 48.\n\n Clouds, scouts of Thunderer, 226.\n\n Coffin, 298.\n\n Colden, C., quoted, 431.\n\n Columbus, C., 384.\n\n Comet, origin of, 80, f.n.\n\n _Concealed hearts_, 28, 202, 274.\n\n _Conception by entrance_, 105.\n\n _Conflict between Good and Evil_, 69\u201370.\n\n _Contest with sorcerers_, 23, 168, 245\u2013252, 265, 351.\n\n Converse, H. M., 446, 456.\n\n _Corn maiden_, 206.\n\n Cornplanter, Edward, picture, plate 2;\n   cited, 85, f.n., 107, f.n., 146, f.n., 153, f.n., 199, f.n., 305,\n      f.n., 383, 386, f.n.\n\n _Corn rains_, 28, 205.\n\n _Cornstalk, magic_, 392.\n\n Corn storage, 53.\n\n _Cosmic trees_, 10, 415, 431.\n\n _Cosmogony_, 59, 411.\n\n Costumes of characters, described, 155, 174\u2013175, 184, 218, 278.\n\n Council, 182, 281, 422, 429.\n\n Crabs (crawfish), 319, 321.\n\n _Creation of man_, 69\u201370, 71, 416, 434.\n\n _Creator_, 86.\n\n Cripples, origin of, 107, 158, 204,\n   (see skeletons restored).\n\n _Crow_, 325, 388.\n\n\n _Dancing maidens_, celestial, 86;\n   conjured, 215.\n\n _Daughters, lost_, 228;\n   beautiful, 154.\n\n _Death, origin of_, 93.\n\n Deer, 202.\n\n _Dekanawida_, 403.\n\n Descent, 423.\n\n _Dew eagle_, 387,\n   (see cloudland eagle).\n\n _Divided Body_, 133.\n\n _Divided lodge_, 200, 235, 284.\n   (See forbidden chamber.)\n\n Doctor, Laura M., 372, f.n.\n\n _Dog_, guard, 133, 136;\n   turns to stone, 136;\n   guardian, 202;\n   carries refugee, 295;\n   saves master, 303;\n   witch\u2019s transformation, 378.\n\n _Dolls, magic_, 130, 272, 273, 345;\n   witch, 374, 423.\n\n _Door-flap action_, 30, 259.\n\n _Door-post tying_, 121, 261.\n\n _Double deceives sister_, 25, 290.\n\n _Dream animals_, rescues hero, 24;\n   in form of deer, 166;\n   spider, snake, 173;\n   appears, 179.\n\n _Dream demand_, 27, 187, 245, 259.\n\n _Dream fast_, 241.\n\n _Dream god_ (Aikon), 10.\n\n _Dream helpers_, 29, 173.\n\n _Dreams_, 4, 423.\n\n Drum, 138, 201.\n\n _Dry hand_, 19, 368.\n\n _Dual existence_, 168.\n\n _Ducks, leg tying_, 214.\n\n _Duel_, 168, 231;\n   _of dream tests_, 245, 259;\n   rejected, 335.\n\n _Dwarf, a monster_, 228.\n\n\n _Earth diver_, 33, 62, 412, 419.\n\n _Earth-god_, 8.\n\n _Earth Holder_, 5.\n\n _Education of young_, 142.\n\n _Elk, magic_, 188;\n   _carries hero away_, 236.\n\n _Enchanted clearing_, 31, 165.\n\n _Enchanted family_, 109, 159, 169, 173, 200, 242, 268, 297, 348.\n\n _Enchanted girls_, 31, 169, 275.\n\n _Enchanted lodge_, 109, 165.\n\n _Enchanted spring_, 31.\n\n _Entrapped_, 178, 267, 270, 287, 348.\n\n _Evil banished_, 34, 71.\n\n _Evil Mind_ (Tawiskaro), 9, 64, 69, 71.\n\n _Eye plaster_, 312, 321.\n\n\n _False Faces_, 8, 342, 347, 399;\n   society of, 400\u2013401, 435.\n\n _Famine_, 185, 205, 337.\n\n Fat, origin of, 67.\n\n _Father search_, 34, 65, 413, 414.\n\n _Filthy hero_, 97, 123, 426.\n\n _Fire beast_, 6, 61, 79.\n\n _Fire drill_, 271.\n\n _Fire-place burial_, 28, 293.\n\n _Fish line, magical_, 30, 125, 263.\n\n Five Nations, 358, 395;\n   confederation, 405, 436.\n\n _Flayed skin_, 32, 130, 201.\n\n _Flesh-eating water_, 33.\n\n _Flint chips_, throwing, 28, 236.\n\n _Flint lodge_, 28, 261.\n\n _Flute, magic_, 66, 253.\n\n _Flying heads_, 13, 40.\n\n Folk-lore, xv;\n   types of texts, xix;\n   fabricated, xxi;\n   obtaining versions, xxii;\n   Seneca unchanged, 55.\n\n _Food plants, origin of_, 64.\n\n _Food wasting taboo_, 206.\n\n _Forbidden chamber_, 29, 201,\n   (see divided lodge).\n\n _Forbidden direction_, 108, 154, 201, 254, 269, 321.\n\n _Four, magical number_, 162 ff., 170 f.n.\n\n _Friend of animals_, 386.\n\n _Frog, evil_, 162, 322.\n\n _Frost god_, 14;\n   overcome, 91.\n\n _Funeral, pyre_, 282;\n   customs, 425.\n\n\n Games, 38\u201340.\n\n George, David, an informant, 153.\n\n _Ghostly legs_, 18.\n\n _Ghosts_, 4, 279.\n\n _Giant_, 285, 336.\n\n _Giantess, human_, 112.\n\n Gifts, 233.\n\n _Glutton destroyer_, 19.\n\n Gods and folk-beasts, 5, 16.\n\n _Good Mind_, 7, 8, 12, 64, 73, 92, 395.\n\n _Grandfather and grandson_, 142, 159.\n\n _Grandmother and grandson_, 200.\n\n _Grasshopper\u2019s leg_, 340.\n\n _Great Bear constellation_, 81.\n\n _Great Ruler_, 340, 395.\n\n _Great Spirit_, 75.\n\n _Grinding bodies_, 232.\n\n\n _Hail_, 15.\n\n Haiowentha (Haiwatha), 404.\n\n _Hair tied to earth_, 30, 255, 259.\n\n Handsome Lake, 45, 366, 383.\n\n _Harpy_, 267.\n\n Harrington, Mark Raymond, ix, 456.\n\n _Hawenio_, 8.\n\n _Head hitting_, 244, 259.\n\n _Head Opener_, 10.\n\n _Hearts detached_, 28, 202, 274.\n\n _Heart pinching_, 319.\n\n _Heart squeezing_, 28, 203.\n\n _Hero enchanted_, 179, 192.\n\n _Hero pulls out arrow_, 27, 195.\n\n Hewitt, J. N. B., xx, 6, 442.\n\n Hickory nut oil, 295.\n\n _Hidden lodge child_, 24, 167, 249.\n\n Hill, Hon. Henry W., xi.\n\n _Hoarded water_, 23, 34.\n\n _Holder of Heavens_, 395.\n\n _Hole in the ground_, 147, 159, 256, 266.\n\n _Hollow log regeneration_, 29, 100, 120, 124, 237.\n\n _Hollow tree_, 176, 177, 215.\n\n _Horned serpent_, 16, 218;\n   picture facing 218;\n   scales of, 222;\n   rescues woman, 225.\n\n _Hornet warriors_, 155 ff.\n\n _House of women_, 102, 156, 250.\n\n _Hunter_, 182, 186, 254, 262, 350, 386.\n\n _Hunters, classes of_, 152.\n\n _Hunting practice_, 241.\n\n _Hydra_, 230.\n\n\n Idioms, 142.\n\n Idol, 423.\n\n _Immaculate conception_, 34, 63.\n\n _Imposter_, 180;\n   _fails_, 24, 182, 192.\n\n _Immediate maturity_, 63, 64,\n   (see _precocious twins_).\n\n _Inexhaustible kettle_, 30, 129.\n\n _Ioueskha_, 7, 8.\n\n Informants, ix, x, 199.\n\n _Invisible friend_, 114.\n\n _Iroquois_, 386, 387, 401.\n\n _Island, lonely_, 223, 256, 270.\n\n\n Jack Berry\u2019s town, 42, 45.\n\n _Jealous father_, 228.\n\n _Jealous sister_, 99.\n\n _Jealous sister-in-law_, 26, 223.\n\n Jemmy, Tommy, 365.\n\n Jimerson, George D. (Tahadondeh), 122, f.n., 337 f.n., 342, f.n., 380,\n    f.n., 396, f.n.\n\n Johnson, Esquire, relation by, 411, 421.\n\n\n Kennedy, Fred, ix, 370.\n\n Keppler, Joseph, 456.\n\n _Kicking over tree_, 29, 204, 276.\n\n Kittle, Delos Big, ix, 403, 407, f.n.\n\n\n Ladders, 51.\n\n Lacrosse playing, 104.\n\n _Laughter overcomes magic_, 162, ff.\n\n _Lazy man_, 208.\n\n _Legends, origin of_, 97.\n\n _Leg sharpening_, 31, 213.\n\n Leland, Charles G., 459.\n\n _Levitation_, 83, 199, f.n., 256.\n\n _Lice hunting_, 30, 255.\n\n Listener, (see Hatondas), 116, 122, 154.\n\n _Lizard, blue_, 17, 163.\n\n _Lodge entraps unwary_, 156.\n\n _Lonely bird_, 29, 325, 326.\n\n _Lonely lodge_, 184, 200, 241, 253, 262, 284, 290, 298, 344, 349.\n\n Long House, 421.\n\n _Lost children_, 228.\n\n _Love glance_, 185.\n\n _Love powder_, 373.\n\n _Lover wins mate_, 26.\n\n Lowie, Robert L., 459.\n\n _Lustration_, 391.\n\n\n _Magic arrow_, 29, 100, 185, 191, 195, 263, 345.\n\n _Magic canoe_, 30, 97, 100.\n\n _Magic birds_, 31, 186.\n\n _Magic cap_, 175, 184, 352.\n\n _Magic feathers_, 31, 352.\n\n _Magic hair_, 336.\n\n _Magic moccasins_, (see running moccasins), 176.\n\n _Magic nut_, 129.\n\n _Magic path_, 135, 155, 162.\n\n _Magic pipe_, 175, 186.\n\n _Magic pouch_, 30, 116, 119, 128, 175, 181.\n\n _Magical power_, 3,\n   (see also Orenda).\n\n _Magic remedy_, 114, 257.\n\n _Magic root_, 175.\n\n _Magic spring_, 31, 133, 162, 177.\n\n _Magic suit_, 30, 167, 174, 178, 181, 220.\n\n _Maiden comes for husband_, 205, 284.\n\n _Maiden restored_, 169.\n\n _Man making_, 34, 69, 71, 416.\n\n _Marksman_, 161, 241, 253.\n\n _Marriage bread_, 60, 123, 181, 205.\n\n _Marry me_, 205, 284.\n\n Mask, making of, 401.\n\n _Master of Life_, 75, 76.\n\n _Mats, floor_, 165.\n\n _Medicine_, 175, 181, 388, 445, 447, ff.\n\n Methods of recording, xvii.\n\n Miller, Aurelia Jones, 153, f.n., 158, f.n., 340, f.n., 394, f.n.\n\n Miller, Guy, 108, f.n.\n\n _Mischief Maker_, 18, 208, 278.\n\n Mole, skin borrowed, 132, f.n., 201.\n\n _Moly_ (a magical plant), 258.\n\n _Monster marries girl_, 26.\n\n _Monster race_, 24, 140, 351.\n\n _Monsters_, 5, 130, 177.\n\n _Moon_, 12, 416.\n\n Mooney, James, 459.\n\n Morgan, Lewis Henry, 441.\n\n _Morning Star_, 12.\n\n _Mother-in-law_, 235.\n\n _Mound_, 139, 206, 230, 242, 274.\n\n Mourning, 424.\n\n _Mutilating nephew_, 117, 242.\n\n\n _Nail parings_, 332.\n\n _Name-genius_, 170, f.n., 300.\n\n _Name guessing_, 241.\n\n _Nature conscious_, 4.\n\n _Nephew_, (see uncle).\n\n Neutral, 45.\n\n New Year\u2019s ceremonial, 424.\n\n _Niahgwahe_, 126, 295, 344, 345, 351, 358.\n\n _North wind_, 88.\n\n\n _Obstacles intervene_, 129.\n\n _Obstacles produced_, 26, 264, 266, 296.\n\n _Oil, pool of_, 67.\n\n _Ongwe Ias_, (see cannibal).\n\n _Ordeals_, 241, 252.\n\n _Orenda_ (magical power), 3, 10, 159, 184, 241, 445.\n\n _Otter, blue_, 17.\n\n _Overcoming monsters_, 23, 162 ff.\n\n _Owls_, evil, 164; 177;\n   good, 387.\n\n _Owls from witches\u2019 heads_, 28, 157, 164, 177, 283.\n\n\n _Pacifying monsters_, 28.\n\n _Paddle, magical_, 256.\n\n Paint, ceremonial, 167.\n\n _Painting face_, 278\u2013279.\n\n _Panther, evil_, 165.\n\n _Partridge_, 328.\n\n _Patting gives power_, 204, 252, 255, 263.\n\n Peabody Museum of American Ethnology and Archaeology, ix.\n\n _Peace Tree_, 431, 436, 442.\n\n _Pestle and mortar_, 112.\n\n Pigeons, 424.\n\n _Pigeon feathers_, 265, 297, 347.\n\n _Pine tree, origin_, 85.\n\n Pipe, 175, 186.\n\n _Pleiades_, origin, 86.\n\n Poison cups, 231.\n\n _Porcupine monster_, 428.\n\n Pouch, 99, 165, 175, 332.\n\n _Powered finger_, 31.\n\n _Power, magically acquired_, 23, 263.\n\n _Power testing_, 71, 241\u2013252.\n\n Precipice, 266.\n\n _Precocious twins_, 23, 101, 104, 126, 135, 268.\n\n _Predestined mates_, 16, 122, 168.\n\n _Primal beings_, 34, 412.\n\n _Propitiation_, 424.\n\n _Provoker_, 229.\n\n _Puberty ceremony_, 173.\n\n Purging, 391.\n\n _Pursued by enemies_, 113, 125, 190, 280, 295, 299.\n\n _Pursuer delayed_, 113, 130, 264, 296, 299, 345.\n\n _Pygmies_, (Djogeon), 18, 32, 332.\n\n\n Quapaw, 422.\n\n _Quilt of eyes_, 31, 102, 106.\n\n\n _Rabbit, runs in circle_, 316;\n   _a gambler_, 317.\n\n _Raccoon and Crabs_, 319.\n\n _Raccoon outwits Wolf_, 312.\n\n _Race with monster_, 140, 351.\n\n Radin, Paul, 459.\n\n Red Jacket, 365.\n\n _Reducible dog_, 32, 124, 294.\n\n _Reducible sister_, 28, 234, 249, 345.\n\n _Reduction by magic_, 255, 263.\n\n _Refugees_, 285.\n\n _Refuge in hollow log_, 281.\n\n _Regeneration_, 31, 75, 87, 429.\n\n Reichard, Gladys, 459.\n\n _Rescued girls_, 232\u2013233, 249.\n\n _Restoration from enchantment_, 107, 115, 169, 201, 251\u2013252, 258, 261,\n    276\u2013277, 288, 348.\n\n _Retaliation_, 242\u2013243, 259, 261.\n\n Ritual, 449 ff.\n\n _Rival twins_, 34, 69, 70.\n\n _Root, magic_, 175, 258.\n\n _Running moccasins_, 29, 176, 264, 345.\n\n\n _Saliva gives power_, 30, 81, 114;\n   heals, 213, 257, 334\u2013335, 338.\n\n _Salt, used as charm_, 236.\n\n _Scalding fluid missile_, 109, 113.\n\n _Scalping_, 280, 342, 357, 387.\n\n _Scolding wife_, 208 ff.\n\n _Search for relatives_, 135, 159, 201.\n\n _Seeds from heaven_, 61.\n\n Seneca folk-tales, basic beliefs, 3;\n   legendary origin, 97.\n\n Seneca Indians, story-telling customs, xxiii;\n   basic beliefs, 3,\n   condition of, 45\u201346,\n   story-telling customs, 50;\n   beliefs, 365.\n\n _Serpent progeny_, 222.\n\n _Seven-headed monster_, 230, 232.\n\n Severance, Frank H., dedication to, v;\n   mentioned, xi.\n\n _Sharp bone_ (witch weapon), 370, 377.\n\n _Shell wampum_, 404.\n\n _Shooting practice_, 160.\n\n _Singing women_, 102.\n\n _Sinking basket_, 230.\n\n _Sister, enchanted_, 249, 275.\n\n _Sisters are witches_, 131, 259.\n\n Six Nations, 340.\n\n _Skeletons restored_, 27, 29, 107, 158, 204, 252, 258, 276.\n\n Skinner, Alanson, 24, 459.\n\n _Skin man_ (see flayed skin).\n\n _Skull, talking_, 32, 242, 270.\n\n _Skunniwundi_, 334, 337.\n\n _Sky basket_, 86.\n\n _Sky Holder_, 8.\n\n _Sky Journey_, 27, 74, 87.\n\n _Sky woman_, 9, 33, 60, 63.\n\n _Sky World_, 33, 59, 74, 411.\n\n _Slippery hillside_, 156, 267, 287.\n\n _Smeared hair_, 156.\n\n _Snake grows fast_, 33.\n\n _Snowshoes_, 199.\n\n Snowsnake game, 38;\n   drawing of, 39.\n\n Society, 400, 445.\n\n Sogogo (Bushy Head), 228.\n\n _Song of magic_, 130, 186, 236, 245, 247, 254, 271, 390, 455.\n\n _Son-in-law put to tests_, 23.\n\n _Son testing_, 34, 65, 414.\n\n _Sorcerer\u2019s line_, 263.\n\n _Sorcerer\u2019s island_, 26, 270.\n\n _Soul path_, 69.\n\n _Souls of creatures_, 4.\n\n _Soup spoiling_, 110, 229\u2013230.\n\n _South Wind_, 90.\n\n _Speaking first_, 75, 229.\n\n _Speaking trees_, 399.\n\n Speck, Frank G., 449, f.n., 442, f.n.\n\n _Spider_, 173, 346.\n\n _Spring god_, 15, 89, 90.\n\n _Spirit in tree_, 341.\n\n _Squirrel_, 322.\n\n Staples, George Kelley, xi, 456.\n\n _Stars, origin of_, 69.\n\n State Museum of New York, x, 440.\n\n _Step-father_, 25, 147.\n\n _Stolen eyes_, 31, 102.\n\n _Stone coats_, 335, 337;\n   country of, 394.\n\n _Stone giants_, 18, 334, 337, 340;\n   battle of, 341, 394, 395, 425.\n\n _Stone throwers_, 331.\n\n _Storage platforms_, 44.\n\n Story teller, xxv, 49\u201350.\n\n Story-telling customs, xxiii, 50.\n\n _Stream crossing_, 334, 338.\n\n _Stored property_, 200, 220, 303.\n\n _Storm wind_, 13, 15, 32.\n\n Story bag, 50, 99.\n\n _Strawberry_ patch (magic), 201.\n\n _Sudden friend_, 33, 134, 208, 257, 342.\n\n _Sun god_, 10, 76.\n\n _Sustenance, spirits of_, 15.\n\n _Sweat lodge_, 31, 106, 173, 196, 221, 233, 276.\n\n _Sweeping_, 230, 231.\n\n _Swift Runner_, 350.\n\n _Sympathetic magic_, 374, 375.\n\n\n _Taboo violated_, 28, 109, 254, 269.\n\n _Talking flute_, 29.\n\n _Talking moccasins_, 31.\n\n _Talking skull_, 32, 242, 270.\n\n _Tawiskaro_ (Evil Mind), 9;\n   names of, 10.\n\n _Tempter_, 176, 177, 269, 294, 344.\n\n Text, interlinear, xix.\n\n _Thaw_, 15.\n\n _Thrown away boy_, 24.\n\n Thunder spirit, picture of, 7, 8, 218;\n   wars on horned serpent, 222, 225;\n   wars with giants, 341, 426;\n   house of, 428.\n\n _Thunder wars upon horned serpent_, 26, 219, 225\u2013227, 428.\n\n _Tide spirit_, 16.\n\n _Toad rescues hero_, 266.\n\n _Tobacco incense_, 73,\n   demanded, 98, 186, 226, 242, 271, 332, 347;\n   offered, 386, 401, 424, 448.\n\n Toboggan, 250.\n\n Tonawanda, 366, 370.\n\n Totem, 208.\n\n Totemic carving, 42.\n\n Trail lodge, 278.\n\n _Tripping on door-sill_, 243.\n\n _Transformation_, 3, 23, 105, 244, 266, 295, 347, 352, 366, 378.\n\n Tucker, George L., xi, 456.\n\n _Turkey_ (a character), 173, 200.\n\n _Turtle outwits beaver_, 309.\n\n _Turtle, primal_, 33, 62, 414, 418.\n\n _Turtle shell rattles_, 435.\n\n _Turtle\u2019s war party_, 26, 305.\n\n _Tusks_, 356, 361.\n\n _Twins_, 63, 101, 126, 135, 268, 349, 412.\n\n _Two Feathers_, 184.\n\n\n _Uncle and nephew_, 25, 173, 184, 241, 253, 284.\n\n _Underbed sanctuary_, 28, 174, 202, 248, 249.\n\n _Underground lodge_, 169, 178.\n\n _Underground playing_, 27, 104.\n\n _Underwater cave_, 221.\n\n _Unseen spirits_, 3.\n\n _Unstoppable song_, 216.\n\n _Unwelcome guest_, 235.\n\n _Usurper_ (see imposter), 228.\n\n\n _Vampire corpse_, 27, 278, 298, 381.\n\n _Vulnerable spot_, 127, 139, 348, 355, 361.\n\n\n Walker, B. N. O., cited, 420, f.n.\n\n _Walking into ground_, 29, 104.\n\n Walum Olam, 438.\n\n _Wampum_, 116, 131, 202, 404, 424.\n\n Wampum belt, 358.\n\n _Wampum deer_, 188.\n\n _Wampum eagle_, 32, 194, 198.\n\n _Wampum spitting_, 175, 181, 187.\n\n _Wampum tears_, 30, 114.\n\n _War club, magical_, 167.\n\n _War god_, 12.\n\n _War party_, 278, 342, 355.\n\n Washington, George, 45.\n\n Waterman, T. T., 459.\n\n _Water swallowing_, 28, 125.\n\n Wenroe, 45.\n\n _Whirlwind_, 6.\n\n _White beaver_, 17.\n\n _White otter_, magical, 266.\n\n _White pebble_, 32, 125, 189, 265.\n\n _Wife hunt_, 174.\n\n _Wife rescues husband_, 237.\n\n _Will-o\u2019-wisp_, 16.\n\n _Window peeker_, 378.\n\n _Winged light_, 392.\n\n _Witch doctor_, 366, 373, 381.\n\n _Witches_, 131, 157, 158, 259, 344, 365;\n   overcoming, 370;\n   killed, 370, 372;\n   transformation, 378, 380.\n\n _Witch mother-in-law_, 189, 198, 259, 294.\n\n _Wizardry_, 159, 201, 246, 365.\n\n _Wizards_, 5, 168, 183, 201, 245, 253, 259, 260, 282, 300, 365.\n\n _Wolf_, 305, 312, 325, 387.\n\n Woodchuck, 322.\n\n _Woodchuck Leggings_, 184.\n\n _World-Tree_, 33, 416, 431, 434.\n\n Wright, Laura M., records interview, 421.\n\n Wyandots, 417;\n   myth of creation, 417.\n\n\n _Youngest sister chosen_, 86, 181, 268.\n\n\n _Zephyr_, 13.\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 1:\n\n  This is important in order to preserve every folk-motive and element\n  by which the tale may be compared in detail with those of other tribes\n  and stocks.\n\nFootnote 2:\n\n  Consult Hewitt in Handbook of the American Indians, under his article\n  Teharonhiawagon. We have re-edited some of our notes in accord with\n  his findings.\n\nFootnote 3:\n\n  S\u2018hagoewat\u00b4\u2018ha, also meaning He-punishes-them.\n\nFootnote 4:\n\n  Oddly enough, the original Hebrew concept of Yahweh, (Jehovah) was of\n  a God of elements, particularly the storms. He manifested himself in\n  the thunder\u2019s roar and by the lightning\u2019s flash, and blew like a great\n  wind from the Ark of the Covenant, terrifying the Philistines.\n\nFootnote 5:\n\n  Skinner in _J. A. F. L._ 27\u201329, cites this as a central Algonkin\n  theme.\n\nFootnote 6:\n\n  Skinner in _Anthrop._ P. of A. M. N. H. XIII, 528, cites this as a\n  Menomini theme.\n\nFootnote 7:\n\n  See 6, _supra_, for continuation of motif.\n\nFootnote 8:\n\n  There is an interesting anecdote concerning Major Jack Berry in the\n  first Annual Report of the Buffalo Historical Society, page 175. Jack\n  Berry Town was on the present site of Gardenville. He was born in\n  Little Beard Town in the Genesee country and had his home on Squawkie\n  Hill until he removed to the Buffalo tract. He was an ardent admirer\n  of Red Jacket.\n\nFootnote 9:\n\n  In another version this chief was killed and his body hidden in the\n  trunk of the celestial tree. Another chief, a rival, desired to marry\n  the daughter of the deceased one and indeed took her in the manner\n  here related. In this version it was the bride who desired to have the\n  tree uprooted in order that she might hunt for her father\u2019s body. The\n  concealing of the body of the celestial father in the body of a tree\n  reminds one of the legend of Osiris.\n\nFootnote 10:\n\n  We use this name for convenience only.\n\nFootnote 11:\n\n  This was because the Creator had first spoken. To have resisted death\n  by the hand of a mysterious power one must salute it with its own\n  greeting.\n\nFootnote 12:\n\n  Related by Edward Cornplanter, Jan., 1905, at Newtown, Cattaraugus\n  reservation.\n\nFootnote 13:\n\n  A comet or shooting star is considered a sign of the death panther.\n\nFootnote 14:\n\n  In this manner he hoped to absorb the power or strength of his\n  brothers.\n\nFootnote 15:\n\n  Related by Edward Cornplanter.\n\nFootnote 16:\n\n  Cf. Barbeau, Origin of Seven Stars, Huron Mythology, p. 59.\n\nFootnote 17:\n\n  The Pleiades.\n\nFootnote 18:\n\n  Cf. Barbeau, C. M., Huron and Wyandot Mythology, p. 56.\n\nFootnote 19:\n\n  Related by Aurelia Miller, Jan., 1905.\n\nFootnote 20:\n\n  Related by Edward Cornplanter (Great Night) and recorded as translated\n  by William Bluesky, Ganosho.\n\nFootnote 21:\n\n  Related by Guy Miller, a Tuscarora, Jan., 1905.\n\nFootnote 22:\n\n  This legend is related almost verbatim as it came from the lips of\n  Gohweh Seneca, an old Tonawanda Seneca.\n\nFootnote 23:\n\n  Related by George D. Jimerson. This version is apparently a mixture of\n  two distinct legends.\n\nFootnote 24:\n\n  Fires were kindled in large wooden dugouts. A mat or pan of clay\n  prevented the embers from injuring the canoe.\n\nFootnote 25:\n\n  Oratory\u2014hai\u00b4wanot\u0103\u2019.\n\nFootnote 26:\n\n  Rhetoric\u2014haya\u00b4dush\u00e4iend\u012b.\n\nFootnote 27:\n\n  This may be a modern interpolation.\n\nFootnote 28:\n\n  A legend, written verbatim as told in Indian-English by Aurelia Jones\n  Miller, Gah-yoh\u00b4wes, whose grandfather, Chief Warrior, told it to her\n  when she was a child.\n\nFootnote 29:\n\n  The Seneca seldom use any other word to describe a sorcerer, when\n  relating legends in English.\n\nFootnote 30:\n\n  Related by Edward Cornplanter.\n\nFootnote 31:\n\n  Or, a burning brand from the fireplace.\n\nFootnote 32:\n\n  His charm bundles, because he believed them to have lost potency.\n\nFootnote 33:\n\n  Related by George D. Jimerson (Tahadondeh), 1903.\n\nFootnote 34:\n\n  Related by Edward Cornplanter, 1905.\n\nFootnote 35:\n\n  He\u2019\u00b4no^n is the Thunder Spirit.\n\nFootnote 36:\n\n  Related by Mrs. Aurelia Jones Miller, Seneca, March, 1905. Mrs. Miller\n  said that she had heard this story among the Six Nations of Canada and\n  that she thought it might be of Mohawk origin.\n\nFootnote 37:\n\n  Meaning flint, properly Hot\u2018\u00b4hagwen\u2019\u00b4da\u2019.\n\nFootnote 38:\n\n  \u201cDry bones\u201d is a Seneca idiom meaning \u201clean from lack of food.\u201d\n\nFootnote 39:\n\n  Related by Edward Cornplanter, and later by George D. Jimerson.\n\nFootnote 40:\n\n  Related by Edward Cornplanter, 1905.\n\nFootnote 41:\n\n  Related by Chief Cornplanter, 1904.\n\nFootnote 42:\n\n  Because he realized that he was scatophagous.\n\nFootnote 43:\n\n  From Mrs. Aurelia Miller.\n\nFootnote 44:\n\n  Cornplanter says, \u201cSome girls sing this song and boys know what they\n  mean.\u201d\n\nFootnote 45:\n\n  Related by Chief Cornplanter, 1905.\n\nFootnote 46:\n\n  Partridge in Seneca is Deyenego sda\u00b4sden\u2019, meaning, Her two wings are\n  large.\n\nFootnote 47:\n\n  Meaning Beyond-the-Rapids.\n\nFootnote 48:\n\n  This episode is identical with that recorded by Barbeau in a Huron\n  myth.\n\nFootnote 49:\n\n  Related May, 1906, by George Jameson, Tahadondeh, Cattaraugus Seneca.\n\nFootnote 50:\n\n  Related January, 1905, by Aurelia Jones Miller, Cattaraugus Seneca.\n\nFootnote 51:\n\n  Related by George (Dondeh) Jimerson. This legend shows the use of a\n  large false face as a war bundle charm.\n\nFootnote 52:\n\n  Related by George D. Jimerson (Tahadondeh), June, 1903, at the\n  Silverheels\u2019 homestead, Cattaraugus Reservation.\n\nFootnote 53:\n\n  From notes supplied by Everett R. Burmaster.\n\nFootnote 54:\n\n  Related by Fred Kennedy, 1903.\n\nFootnote 55:\n\n  Related by Laura M. Doctor, of the Tonawanda reservation.\n\nFootnote 56:\n\n  Related by William Parker, Cattaraugus reservation, 1904.\n\nFootnote 57:\n\n  Related by Fred Kennedy.\n\nFootnote 58:\n\n  Related by Aurelia Jones Miller, 1905.\n\nFootnote 59:\n\n  Related by Chief E. Cornplanter.\n\nFootnote 60:\n\n  Related by Aurelia Jones Miller, Seneca, 1905.\n\nFootnote 61:\n\n  This portion of the legend was related by George D. Jimerson.\n\nFootnote 62:\n\n  Related by Edward Cornplanter.\n\nFootnote 63:\n\n  Related by Delos B. Kittle, Jan., 1905, at Newtown, Cattaraugus\n  reservation.\n\nFootnote 64:\n\n  Related by Delos Big Kittle.\n\nFootnote 65:\n\n  From the original notes of Laura M. Wright, the missionary to the\n  Seneca, 1835\u20131887. The manuscript bears the date 1876.\n\nFootnote 66:\n\n  Copied _verbatim et literatim_ from the manuscript notes of Mrs. Asher\n  Wright, who interviewed Johnson in 1870.\n\nFootnote 67:\n\n  The Seneca.\n\nFootnote 68:\n\n  The Onondaga.\n\nFootnote 69:\n\n  The Mohawk.\n\nFootnote 70:\n\n  The Oneida.\n\nFootnote 71:\n\n  The Cayuga.\n\nFootnote 72:\n\n  Johnson\u2019s estimate is wrong, the number of sachems being as follows:\n  the Mohawks, 9; the Oneidas, 9; the Onondagas, 14; the Cayugas, 10;\n  the Senecas, 8; making the Council of 50. Note that while he says that\n  the Senecas have only four he gives the names of seven. There were\n  eight and he names all but Ga-ne-o-di-yo, Handsome Lake. He may have\n  withheld this name on account of prejudice against him, for\n  Ga-ne-o-di-yo at this time was in disrepute on account of his\n  assumption of the role of prophet of \u201cThe New Religion.\u201d\n\nFootnote 73:\n\n  The Helper.\n\nFootnote 74:\n\n  Falling Day.\n\nFootnote 75:\n\n  Great Forehead.\n\nFootnote 76:\n\n  Level Heavens.\n\nFootnote 77:\n\n  Hair Burned Off.\n\nFootnote 78:\n\n  Open Door. (This sachemship was once held by Gen. Ely S. Parker.)\n\nFootnote 79:\n\n  The Confederate or League of the Five Nations Capitol or Long House.\n\nFootnote 80:\n\n  The national Long House of the Seneca.\n\nFootnote 81:\n\n  This was probably in 1798.\n\nFootnote 82:\n\n  Wampum.\n\nFootnote 83:\n\n  First published in _American Anthropologist_, Oct.-Dec., 1912.\n\nFootnote 84:\n\n  Colden, History of the Five Nations, reprint, p. 58, New York, 1866.\n\nFootnote 85:\n\n  Lahontan, Voyages, Vol I, p 42. London, 1735.\n\nFootnote 86:\n\n  Connelly, W. E., Wyandot Folk Lore, Topeka, 1899.\n\nFootnote 87:\n\n  Archaeological Report of Ontario, 1905. Boyle, David; The Iroquois, p.\n  147.\n\nFootnote 88:\n\n  Journal of a Voyage to New York in 1679\u201380, by Jasper Dankers and\n  Peter Slyter. Translated in Vol I, Trans. L. I. Hist. Soc. 1867.\n\nFootnote 89:\n\n  With the New England Indians the idea was held that men were found by\n  Glooskape in a hole made by an arrow which he had shot into an ash\n  tree.\n\nFootnote 90:\n\n  Brinton: Lenape and their Legends, p. 170. Phila., 1885.\n\nFootnote 91:\n\n  Lafitau, Moeurs des Savvages Ameriquains, Tome II, plate 3, page 43,\n  Paris, 1724.\n\nFootnote 92:\n\n  See Speck, F.G., Huron Moose Hair Embroidery, Amer. Anthropologist,\n  N.S., Vol. 13, no. 1, p 1.\n\nFootnote 93:\n\n  Hewitt, Iroquois Cosmology, Part I, p. 151; 21 An. Rept. Bur. Am.\n  Eth., Washington, 1903.\n\nFootnote 94:\n\n  Speck, op. cit.\n\nFootnote 95:\n\n  The wrapping must not be from the skin of any \u201cmedicine animal.\u201d\n\nFootnote 96:\n\n  Recorded literally as translated by Wm. Jones.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n                          TRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTES\n\n\n 1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling.\n 2. Anachronistic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as\n      printed.\n 3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.","title":"Seneca myths and folk tales","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":142846}