Chapter XXIII: Part 2: also consists of Seneca legends and myths, which are (18)

Placing this mysterious substance in his mouth, Haiwanenqgwi at once mounted higher and higher. In a very short time he had reached the Land in the Blue Sky. When he arrived there he looked around, and while doing this Sʻhadahgeah saw him, and an Oqtcihgah [288] Ongwe asked him whence he came. “Oh! I came from below,” was the answer of Haiwanenqgwi. “How did you get up here?” was asked him. “I walked on the air,” he answered; “and I have come to notify you that there will be a great council at Broken Land to be held seven days from now. You must all come.”

Thence Haiwanenqgwi went westward, passing through the air, and soon came to a lodge situated on a cloud. Entering the lodge, he saw therein seven men of the Hinon people, who were all smoking, so the lodge was filled with smoke. He gave his message to the elder man, whose title was Shedwaqsot, and who assured him that they would all go to the council.

From that place Haiwanenqgwi went straight to the middle of the Blue Sky, where there was a door. Passing through this, he saw an old man sitting there, whose name was Sadjawiski;[289] he also was smoking. Haiwanenqgwi said to him, “I came to notify you of a great council to be held at Broken Land seven days from now.” “Very well; I will go,” said the old man. “I have been waiting a long time for you, because I knew that you were coming and knew what your message would be. My brother, Shagoewatha,290 knows that you are coming to see him, too. Wait a few moments; a man291 will pass here soon; tell him too of the council.” Soon a man came on the run from the east; when he arrived where the old man was he stopped. This man was Odjisdanohgwah,292 but the people whence Haiwanenqgwi came call him Gaaqgwaah,293 for he gives light to the world. In reply to the invitation to attend the council he said, “It is well; I will attend,” and continued on his journey; he did not seem to care for Haiwanenqgwi or for Sadjawiski.

Now Haiwanenqgwi came to an opening directly under the door in the Blue Sky, far down into which he went. There he saw an old man called Shagoewatha, to whom he said, “I have come to notify you of the great council to be held at Broken Land in seven days from now.” The old man replied, “It is well; I will attend it.”

Next Haiwanenqgwi went up and notified Sʻhagodiyoweqgowa, who said in reply, “I have been wishing for a long time to meet all kinds of people, so I will surely go.” Later Niagwaihegowa [294] also promised to be at the great council at the appointed time.

Now Haiwanenqgwi went home feeling quite happy, thinking that he had completed his task. But when he reached home, Tsodiqgwadon asked him, “Have you now notified everybody?” He replied, “Yes; so far as I know.” “No; you have not. You must go to another country, situated directly east of this, which is a great island on which are many people,” declared Tsodiqgwadon. “It is well,” said Haiwanenqgwi (who did not desire to go, although he could not help doing as he was commanded); “I will rest tonight and start in the morning.” “You may do so,” added Tsodiqgwadon.

Early the next morning Haiwanenqgwi started, walking on the ground, but when he came to the water at the end of the earth he walked on the air until he arrived at Tgawenosdenh,[295] where he saw many kinds of people, whom he notified, and then returned home. On his arrival there, Tsodiqgwadon asked him, “Are you now through with your task?” “Yes,” replied the messenger. “No; you have not yet finished your work,” declared his questioner. “You must go to Othowege,296 where the chief Hathogowa297 dwells, in the far regions of the north. You will have to travel on the air in order to go there and return in one day.”

So Haiwanenqgwi went on the air until he reached Othowege, which was a very cold place, for the wind was blowing and the snow was falling all the time. Hathogowa, the chief, was naked (he looked like a human being), and there were a great number of the Otho [298] people. Haiwanenqgwi delivered his message to all. In reply to the invitation they said, “It is well; we will go to Broken Land.”

Haiwanenqgwi thence returned home. When he arrived there Tsodiqgwadon said to him, “You are not yet through with your task.” “Well,” replied the messenger, “I will wait until tomorrow, for I am so tired that I can not start today.” So then next morning Tsodiqgwadon gave him further instructions, saying to him: “I want you to go to Onenonhge,[299] where Dedioshwineqdon300 lives. To get there you must go directly to the southern end of the earth.”

The messenger started, following the course indicated. At last he found a beautiful country, which was very warm and full of flowers, and he saw there a large number of people who looked like Ongwe Honwe.[301] He gave them his message. “It is well,” they said; “we will attend the council.”

When Haiwanenqgwi reached home he declared that he was not able to go anywhere else. Thereupon Tsodiqgwadon, laughing, said to him, “Now, my friend, your work is done.”

When the 10 days were expired all the people from all parts of the world came in great numbers—from the four quarters and from above and from below—from the east and west, north and south. They gathered about their several stations around the great council fire. At noon, when the sun was high in the blue sky, Tsodiqgwadon arose and asked, “Are you, the peoples of all the world, now present?” They answered him in chorus, “We are present.” Thereupon Tsodiqgwadon said: “I will tell you what this council is called for. A chief of all the peoples dwelling above and below is to be chosen, and it is for you to select one.” Now the tribes of people talked among themselves and one with another; but Tsodiqgwadon sat still, listening to what was said. They talked until night and then they talked all night. They remained a whole year, talking day and night. At the end of the year they chose Gaasyendietʻha [302] as chief of all the people of the world above and below. All agreed to this choice, and Gaasyendietʻha himself was willing. When this was done they had to select a second chief. Another year was passed in talking. Tsodiqgwadon sat in the midst of the vast throng, listening all the time. At last Hinon was chosen as the second chief. Then Tsodiqgwadon said, “Who shall be chief of each locality?” Then each tribe sat together, talking among themselves. The first to complete their deliberations were the Stone Coats,303 who chose Ongwe Hanyos,304 one of their own people. The Ongwehonwe were the next; they chose one of their principal men, and the other peoples chose the same chiefs as they had before. Tsodiqgwadon was chosen chief of the Snake People only. The council then closed and all went to their homes.

LEGENDS

59. GENONSGWA [305]

Once there was a village in which it was the custom of the people to fight a great deal, for they were very warlike. A strange boy came to this village; he was small and perhaps 4 years old. No one knew whence he came. He could do nothing for himself, but he wandered around the village, staying here and there in the several lodges. First one family then another would keep him for a little while. The people did not care much for him, nor pay much attention to him. Finally he grew to be a young man. There was at this time a good deal of talk among the people about getting up a party to go on the warpath. At last 20 men were found who were willing to go. This young man, hearing about the party, asked permission to go, too. He asked one and then another, but all refused his request. Thereupon he said: “I do not care. I will go anyhow.” He was so peculiar that no one really liked him.

The 20 warriors started and he went along with them. When night came, fires were built; there were two men at each fire, but the boy built a fire for himself. Several days passed in this way. One night, however, when all were asleep, the young man had a dream. A man appeared to him, who said: “I have come to warn you that if you do not change your course somewhat you shall all perish tomorrow at noon. Tell this to the headman of the party and urge him to change his course.” They were then going northward. The boy told his dream the next morning to the headman, who scolded, saying: “I did not want this fellow; he is nothing but a hindrance, nothing but a coward. We have come to meet an enemy. Why should we turn back even if we know there is one in our path?” So, after eating their morning meal, they continued northward, paying no heed to the warning in the young man’s dream.

When the sun was near the middle of his path across the sky, the party, which was going in Indian file, noticed that the headman stopped, then the next one, then the next. The boy, who brought up the rear, found that they were looking at a track, saying: “It is Ganiagwaihegowa, which always kills the people it meets. Its magic power is so great that the instant anyone looks at its tracks, no matter how far off, Ganiagwaihegowa knows it, and returns to destroy that person.” As the boy listened, he said: “I am very anxious to see this bear. I have never seen such a thing.” The men said, “You do not want to see so terrible a thing;” but he insisted. The chief said: “If this is really your wish, you must not follow us. We shall turn off here and go in a different direction, and you can go on northward; but if you meet this bear you must run in some direction, some course different from ours.” They tried to make him go with them, but he would not do so.

Breaking a small tree that stood near, the young man hung his bundle in the crotch; then he went on. Soon he saw a tremendous object ahead of him; when near it, he recognized it as a great bear, sitting on the trail, with its back toward him. Creeping up, the young man stood looking at it. It had no hair on its body, only a little on the end of its tail.[306] He struck it with his arrow, whereupon the bear rushed after the youngster, who ran away. The bear drew so near as they ran that the youngster could feel its breath. Now he dodged from tree to tree, then, darting off straight, he ran on swiftly, with the bear close behind him, until he came to a stream which looked very deep. They two could just jump over it. So the youngster sprang across, and the bear leaped after him. Then the youngster sprang back to the other side and the bear did the same. Thus they jumped across many times. Now as the young man ran he felt that his strength was growing greater, while he saw that that of the bear was failing. Seeing the bear failing fast, the youth, making a great loop, sprang once more across the stream, with the bear after him. Then he made a loop on the other side, and on going across the river, he saw the bear still weakening. Pursuing the same course once again, he passed the bear about the middle of the stream—he going one way, and the bear the other. The bear did not follow by sight but by scent alone. Lastly, the bear did not cross the stream, but followed all the boy’s tracks. Now, the beast had failed so much that the youth was just behind it as it kept tracking him. As the bear almost failed in trying to jump across the river, it scrambled to get a footing. Then the boy shot from the bank behind, the arrow entering the middle of one of the animal’s forefeet.307 At this the great bear scrambled to the bank; then reeling from tree to tree, it staggered and fell. Rising again, the beast struggled for a time, but at last it rolled over dead.

The young man left the bear’s carcass after he had taken three hairs from its “whiskers” and one tooth out of its mouth. Then going back to the spot where he had left his bundle and getting it, he followed the trail of the twenty men. Running fast, he overtook them, whereupon he said, “I have killed Ganiagwaihegowa, of which you were so much afraid.” They were naturally greatly astonished, for no man had ever been able to kill this creature, so they said: “If he has done this, he must have great orenda. Let us go back and see.” So they turned back, and after traveling until sunset they came to the place where the body of Ganiagwaihegowa lay. They saw that it was of enormous size, and said: “We will burn up the body; we will keep up the fire all night until it is burned. Then each man shall take a little of the ashes and a few of the bones, just enough for medicine to give him its magical power.” After the fire had gone out, the men went to sleep; in the latter part of the night they stirred the ashes with sticks until each found a piece of bone. The chief said: “You must be very careful about taking the remnants of this bear. Let each one before taking up his bone say what gift he wants, what power he desires.” Most of the men desired to be good hunters and brave warriors and some to be fast runners. One man said, however, “I want to be admired by all women.”

The things the young man had chosen were good for every purpose, but he did not let the others know that he had taken anything. The headman said, “We will go on in the same direction; that is, toward the north.” The men had changed their opinion of the young man; they now looked on him with respect as a person of great magical powers. The party traveled many days.

One night they camped and lay down to sleep. The young man dreamed again, and his dream said: “Tomorrow at noon you will meet an enemy of greater number than your own party, and among them will be a very large man of great magic power; he is so much larger than the rest that you will easily know him. You must all fight him. If your party does not believe you, when you tell the dream to them, do not mind that, but keep on in the same direction you are going, and at noon they will know the truth. When you see the enemy let every man hang up his bundle; let no one keep his bundle. Then begin to fight, and keep on until you conquer.” In the morning the young man did not tell his dream. He thought that it was useless to do so. They started on after eating their morning meal. When the sun was well up in the sky, they saw a bear get up, stretch himself, and look at them, saying, “We have now met, and we shall get what we want.” Thereupon the bear turned and disappeared. It was evidently one of the enemy, who had come to warn them. The headman talked to his men, saying that the enemy was probably near, and that they should be of good courage, and that they would conquer the enemy. So they went on. Before very long they saw the enemy, and the enemy saw them. A war whoop was heard; then the arrows began to fly. The young man said: “Now let every man hang up his bundle on the tree.” After this was done, the fight began. The young man, remembering his dream, watched for the large man. Soon he saw him, and noticed that he had a sort of medicine which he held up in front of his face like a shield, a little to one side, to ward off the arrows. The young man also saw that the man’s defense was larger [308] than the one he himself had (it was known that the smaller it was, the more power it possessed), and the youth felt sure of success when he became aware of this fact. (The magic power, or orenda, was born with the boy, as it was with all the Genonsgwas—a tiny hand to be put in the palm of his own hand.) Just at that moment the large man of the enemy, discovering the young man, said: “You will get what you deserve now, you Stone Coat. I will kill you, and thus punish you (for treachery).” They watched each other, paying no attention to the rest of the people, for each was eager to kill the other, but they could not hit until they came hand to hand. They began to strike with clubs and made a terrible fight.

Finally, the young man, snatching the stranger’s club, hurled it away and threw him down. When the enemy saw their chief man overpowered, they began to run. The youth kept on until he had killed the big man. A large number of the enemy were killed, but not one of the 20 men was injured. Having piled up the dead of the enemy, they burned them. The victors secured a great string of scalps (the big man was not a Genonsgwa; he was merely a very large and strong man with magical powers).

The warriors now had great respect for the young man, and when they came home and told everything, the respect of the people increased so that he was made a chief. The people thought of him as a Genonsgwa, though he did not look like one; they remembered only the big man’s words.

Now, another expedition was spoken of and many volunteered, but only 30 were taken, for that was as large a party as was required. All were ready. The women had provisions prepared for them. Starting out, they went toward the north, as before.

On the third night the young man, now a chief, dreamed that some one came to him, saying: “Tomorrow night when you camp the enemy will be camped near by, and you will discover each other. (It was not the custom of Indians in those days to attack in the night, but always just at daybreak.) Now be you ready, all of you, as soon as daylight is dawning and attack the enemy. Be sure that you attack and not they.” The next morning Stone Coat, the chief, told his dream (he knew the warriors believed him then) word for word. That night when they camped, they discovered the enemy not far away, also arranging a camp. During the night few of the warriors slept, for they felt anxious, and some were afraid of an attack, though it was not the rule to attack in the night.

Toward day the chief told all to get ready. When light was dawning they started. On stealing up they saw that the enemy also were making ready, whereupon Stone Coat told his men to make a circle around the camp, saying at the same time, “When we are almost around I will raise a whoop; then let all give the war cry and attack.” The chief discovered that the enemy had a warrior among them, who was a larger man than the others, and saw that he had a shield to ward off arrows. Noticing that it was about the same size as his own, he said to the men, “You must fight desperately, for I do not know how we shall come out.” The headman of the enemy shouted to him: “You are among these men; you are a Stone Coat! I am determined to kill you.” (The big man had no name. The chief did not hold up his shield.) As they came nearer and nearer and finally met, the chief and the big man first used their peculiar clubs. Then they grappled, and the chief of the 30, seizing his antagonist, pulled out his arm,[309] which he threw away; but immediately it flew back. The man in turned pulled off the chief’s arm, hurling it away, but it flew back to its place and it was as it was before. While they fought, the shouting of the enemy died away; once in a while there was a shout and it could be known from the sound that the people were being killed. Now the chief pulled off the man’s head and tore off the flesh; then he kept kicking away the pieces as they came back. It so happened that if the fragments of flesh could be kept away until cool, their strength died, so that they could not come back. Hence the chief continued to fight in this manner until at last he killed the big man. When the fight was over, and the few of the enemy remaining had run away, only 15 of the chief’s men were left, as 15 had been killed. The survivors piled up the bodies, and this time they threw earth over them, as so many of their own people were among the dead. Then all started for home, where they remained a long time.

When the chief had reached the prime of life he said: “I am getting well advanced in years and delight in warfare. I want to have one more expedition, then I shall be satisfied.” People volunteered to go and 40 were made ready, for that number constituted as large a party as was wanted. These started, going toward the south. (The people they fought with came from the south.) The young man had a dream, in which a man said: “I have come to tell you that you are to have a difficult time, for a man will be among the enemy who is very powerful, and I am unable to tell you whether you will conquer him or not. Tomorrow at noon you will meet the enemy, and just before noon an owl will come on your trail, saying, ‘Be ready; your enemy is at hand.’ Then you can get ready to fight.” Having told his dream in the morning, they started on. Toward noon they heard the hooting of an owl; it flew along their trail, and alighting on a tree, said: “The enemy is near, and they have made this expedition to fight, as you have. Then each of you will be satisfied.” The chief said: “Get ready immediately. Hang up your bundles. I do not know how we shall come out if the man keeps on throwing me; if he throws me twice, run.” While they were hanging up their bundles the war whoop was given by the advancing enemy. Now, as the dream had foretold, the chief saw the strong man, and realized that he was stronger than he was himself. As they were nearing each other, the opposite side kept calling out: “We have come to destroy you. You have destroyed all our other expeditions; now we will finish you.” The chief and the strong man met and fought first with clubs. Then, clinching, they struggled a long time. At last the chief was thrown; then the strong man struggled to keep him down, but the chief, arising, threw his enemy, who barely touched the ground before he was up again. The next time the chief was thrown his men began to run, but turning to look, they stood watching the two men fight. They saw their chief’s arm pulled off, but it flew back into place; then his head was thrown off, whereupon they saw he was weakening; so some ran home, but five remained in hiding. The enemy began to walk around, gathering up the pieces of the head, for they thought all the opposing party had run away. The five who were concealed saw them gather the flesh and limbs of the chief, for now they had killed him. Then the five heard the voice of the enemy saying, “We will hold a council and give thanks for conquering this man, who has destroyed so many of our people.” So saying, they began to get ready to do this; they made a circle and the pieces of the chief’s body were placed in the center. They were to give thanks by singing the war song. A man rose and sang, and as he sang he went toward the chief’s feet; when the song was ended he went to the head, saying: “You have been conquered. We shall have peace now.” Then he struck the pieces of the chief’s body with his club, saying, “Thus I will punish you.” At that moment the pieces flew together, becoming the chief again, who, springing up, killed five persons, and then, lying down, fell apart. Each one of the enemy said: “I think this man did wrong in wishing to punish a warrior after he was dead;[310] this is why we have lost five of our men. We would better kill this man before he brings us more bad luck”; thereupon they cut off his head. Then they sang the war song again, but no one raised a club or other weapon against any dead man while they were gathering up the corpses. Of the chief’s men 10 of the 40 got home. They said: “The friend whom we depended on is killed, and we would better remain at home hereafter and only defend ourselves. If our enemies desire to fight, they must come here to fight with us.” These people lived in peace after that.

60. THE GRANDMOTHER AND HER GRANDSON

An aged grandmother and her grandson lived by themselves in a lodge in the forest. When the grandson had grown to be quite a large boy his grandmother said to him: “Here are a bow and a quiver of arrows. They were formerly used by your uncle, who was killed by a great witch. So take the bow and the quiver of arrows and learn to use them.”

The next morning the grandmother said to her young charge: “Now, go out and try to kill some birds. You may go as far as you like, but do not go northward.” [311] Then she gave him a breakfast of parched corn, which hunters were accustomed to eat, for on such a meal they would not become hungry so soon as on any other kind of food. Starting out, the young grandson went through the woods shooting birds. By the middle of the day he decided to go home, feeling that his grandmother would be delighted because he had killed so many birds for their meat. Having returned to his home, the lad showed his grandmother the string of birds which he had killed. She was much pleased with his success, and dressed the birds, pounded corn for bread, and made hominy, in which she cooked the birds. When these things were done they two ate their evening meal.

The next morning the grandmother again gave her grandson parched corn to eat, and when he had eaten she cautioned him once more against going northward. By the middle of the day he had killed a larger string of birds than on the previous day, so he went home to his grandmother. She greeted him at the doorway with the words, “I thank you, grandson, for your success, for we are well off now and shall have plenty to eat.” That night, however, she talked seriously with him, cautioning him in these words: “My grandson, you must always hunt only to the southward from here. You must never go to the northward, for many dangers lurk there which may cut us both off, for you and I are the only persons of our family who are left from destruction by sorcery. So if you are obedient and listen to my words of caution to you, we shall probably live.”

The next morning after his usual breakfast of parched cornmeal the grandson started off. On that day he went farther away than on any previous days, and he saw many different kinds of game, such as he had not seen before. While animals of a certain kind were feeding he managed to get around in front of them, and taking good aim, he killed one with an arrow. The rest of these animals escaped. He went up to the dead game animal, and pulling out his arrow, cleaned it in the manner in which he had been instructed by his grandmother. Then stripping off bark from a neighboring tree and tying the game animal, so as to carry it the more easily on his shoulders, he started for home. When he reached the doorway of his home, he said to his grandmother, “I have larger game this time.” She was delighted with what he had brought home and thanked him for his prowess, saying, “This is what is called Ohsoon.” [312] Having carefully dressed the game animal, the grandmother, after reserving part of it for future use, cooked the remainder. When it was cooked they sat down together and ate it, while the grandmother continued praising her grandson.

The next morning she sent him off again, as she had done so many mornings before. But he had to go a long way this day before he was able to find any game. By the middle of the day, however, he again met with an Ohsoon, which he killed. Having secured it to his body with a bark sling, he started for home, remarking to himself, “Oh! how far away the game animals have gone from home.”

As usual, the next morning he started off to hunt. But after he had gone a short distance he began to think and wonder: “Why does grandmother forbid my going to the north? Yet game is getting scarce in the south?” Finally he came to the conclusion that he would then and there disregard the injunction of his grandmother. So he changed his course to the northward. Soon he found a large number of birds. But he had not gone much farther before he heard some one call: “Hallo, nephew! I have caught you.” Looking up, he saw a man sitting on a resting place formed of the tops of several trees, which had been drawn and tied together in a tuft or sheaf of branches. There the man sat as if he were in a basket. “Well, my nephew,” he continued, “what would you do if it should rain spears?” The young man replied, “Oh! we should be very thankful for them, for we need some.” Then the young man ran homeward as fast as he could. Having arrived there, grasping his grandmother by the hand, he dragged her along with the remark, “Oh! grandmother, we must run and hide.” She answered him, “Oh! my grandson, you have been to the north, where I told you not to go.” But he pulled her along as fast as she could go, until finally they came to a spring; leaping into this, they went along underground until they came to a rock. There they sat down and silently waited a long time. At last the boy said: “I think that the storm is over. Let us go home now.” When they reached home they found the lodge leveled to the ground. The poor old grandmother said, “This, indeed, comes of your going to the northward, where I told you not to go.” But the grandson coolly remarked: “Never mind. Oh! grandmother, I will soon have a lodge here.” Then walking around an area as large as he desired the lodge to be, he exclaimed, “Let a lodge at once fill this space of ground.” Hardly had his words died away before a lodge, complete in all its appointments, stood there. Then the grandmother and her potent grandson entered it and they two lived in it, more comfortable than they were before.

The next morning, after having eaten his breakfast of parched corn, the youth again started off southward to hunt. But taking a circuitous course, he finally headed toward the north, remarking to himself, “I had some fun with my uncle yesterday, so I must go to see what he will say this time.” Soon he saw so many birds and was so much occupied in killing them that he had forgotten about the man in the sheaf of tree-tops. Suddenly he was halted with the challenge, “Oh, nephew! I have caught you. What would you do if I should send a shower of stones?” The youth replied, “We should be much pleased, for my grandmother often needs stones for pounding her corn for meal.” So saying, the young man fled homeward. Having arrived there, he grasped his grandmother by the arms and rushed her to the river, and then up the river to the spring. The grandmother scolded him as they fled, saying, “Oh! this is too bad, grandson; you have gone northward again.” Then she would weep bitterly. At last, coming to the spring and descending into it, they crept along until they came again to the rock under which they took shelter before. There they sat until finally the youth said, “I think the storm is now over; let us go home.” On reaching home they found their lodge in ruins again. But the youth encouraged his grandmother with comforting words and commanded the erection of another lodge as he had done in the first instance.

The next morning after he had eaten his parched corn, he started out again to hunt. Taking a southward course for a time, he soon turned toward the north. As he went along he soliloquized, “I shall not hunt, but I shall make it my business to catch my uncle.” After going some distance farther, he called a mole, to which he said, when it came to him: “I want you to take me to that tree yonder. You must go almost up to the man who sits on it. After I shall have spoken to him, you must bring me back to this place.” The mole at once agreed to aid him. By shaking himself the youth reduced his size until he became as small as a flea; then he got on the mole. The mole went to the foot of the tree indicated, whereupon the youth called out, “Oh, uncle! I have caught you.” The man looked all around but saw nothing. Again the youth shouted, “What would you do if a whirlwind should come?” The man pleaded, “Oh, nephew! do not be so hard on me as that.” The youth replied, “Oh! I did not beg that way when you asked me about spears and stones.” Then the mole ran back to the place where he had found the youth, and the latter, assuming his natural size, ran home. Grasping his grandmother’s arm, he rushed her to the spring. They both disappeared in its waters, going to their shelter under the rock. The grandmother kept scolding her grandson, saying, “It is too bad; you have been at the north again.” There under the rock they sat until the youth had calmed the whirlwind, when they came up out of the water. They found the trees uprooted and their lodge in ruins. But the youth soon had a lodge in the place of the other by merely commanding his fetishes and walking around the space of ground, as he had previously done.

The next morning, after his usual preparations, the youth started out southward from his home. When out of sight of the lodge he suddenly turned toward the north, with the remark: “I must see my uncle. I find the trees are all uprooted, and it must be that my uncle is buried under these fallen trees. So I can go to hunt in safety now.” After keeping on his journey for some time he found a large number of partridges, which he killed; then he started home. His grandmother was pleased to see him return quietly with game. After laying aside his weapons he remarked: “Well, grandmother, I have destroyed my uncle. He is no longer on the tree.” The grandmother replied, warmly, “Well, you need not think that he was alone in the world. He has a brother, who lives in a lodge farther north.” The youth made no reply, but resolved what he would do in the matter.

Early the next morning the young man ate his breakfast of parched cornmeal, after which he started off, determined to find his other uncle, who lived in a lodge. Reaching the place where the trees were uprooted, he found his first uncle dead. But he kept on his course until he came to an opening in the forest, in which he saw a lodge with smoke rising from the smoke-hole. Somewhat pleased, the youth said, “Well, I must go over there and take a look into that lodge, for that must be the place where my second uncle lives.” Going directly to the lodge and opening the door-flap, he peered in, and said to an old man sitting inside, “Well, uncle, I have come to visit you.” The old man calmly replied: “Come in, nephew. I have a rule which all who come here to visit me follow; that is, that we must run a race across this field and back again. We bet our heads on this race.” The youth answered, “Well, if that is your rule, we will run the race at once.” So they went out of doors. Drawing a mark across the opening, the old man said to the youth: “We will run to that red post over there at the end of this opening. If I can get back and across this line first I will cut off your head; but if you return and cross it first you shall cut off my head. So be ready.” At the line they stood side by side; then the old man shouted, “Now, go!” They were off instantly and ran to the post. When halfway back to the line the youth suddenly fell to the ground, a sharpened deer’s horn having pierced his foot.[313] He sat down to pull it out. Having pulled it out, he threw it far ahead, and it came down right in the path of the old man, who had made considerable headway while the boy was sitting down. Now the old man, stepping on the horn, fell to the ground. While he was pulling out the horn, the youth, passing him, crossed the line ahead of the uncle, saying, “Oh, my uncle! I have won the race.” The uncle disputed this, but when he found that it was of no use he begged for another smoke, but the nephew refusing him, he subsided. The youth took out of his pouch a sharp flint knife and, seizing his uncle’s hair, cut off his head. Dragging the body into the lodge, he burned both lodge and body. As the fire died out the old man’s head burst and out of it flew an owl. Then the youth went home and told his grandmother what he had done. But she replied, “You still have a third uncle, who is also a great sorcerer.”

The next morning the youth started off again, this time to visit his third uncle. On his way he passed the uprooted trees and then the burned lodge. Keeping on, he saw some distance ahead a lodge standing in a clearing in the forest. When he came to the edge of the woods, he found that the opening was large and that the lodge stood on the farther side of it. This, he thought, must be the lodge of his third uncle. When he reached the lodge, he looked in it, saying to a man sitting inside, “Well, uncle, I am here to visit you.” The man replied: “Oh nephew! I am glad you have come. I have a game to play. Everyone who comes here plays it with me. We bet our heads on the issue of the game.” The youth replied, “Well, uncle, what is this game?” “We hide right here in this room,” answered the uncle. “I will hide, and if you do not find me before midday, you lose, and I will cut off your head; but if you find me, you will win, and then you shall cut off my head.” The youth replied, “It is well.” Then the uncle said: “Now you must lie down here on the ground, and I will cover you with an elk skin. When I am ready I will let you know.” Thereupon the youth lay down, but after he had been carefully covered with the elk skin by his uncle, changing himself into a woodtick, he got on his uncle’s neck. When the old man said, “I am ready,” the woodtick called out, “I have found you, my uncle.” The old man thought the voice came from behind, so he hid again. Again the woodtick called out, “I have found you, my uncle.” The old man looked everywhere, but he could not see his nephew; he saw no one. Once more the old man hid and was discovered. Thus he kept on until midday, as was his right. The old man, thinking all the time that the youth was still under the elk skin, wondered how he could find him so easily. He frequently ran outside to see by the sun how near midday it was; then he would hurry back to hide. At last he decided to hide outside the lodge, but the youth called out, “That will not do, uncle; you said that we must hide in the lodge.” It now being nearly midday, the old man was frightened, so with a long pole he pushed the sun off toward the east. Then running in, he hid again. But the youth shouted, “I have found you, my uncle.” Again the sun was nearly overhead, and again the old man, running out, with the long pole pushed [314] the sun toward the east and kept on hiding, but without success. He was discovered each time. At last when the sun was directly at midday, directly “at mid-sky,” the youth called out to his victim: “Oh, uncle! I have found you. I have won the game.” Thereupon the old man begged for one more smoke, but the youth, knowing his purpose, would not let him have another. Instead, he proceeded to cut off his head; then he dragged the old man’s body into the lodge, where he burned it. When the flesh had burned from the head of the old man, the head burst open and out flew an owl. Looking around this place, the youth saw large heaps of bones of persons whom the old man, having deceived, had killed and eaten.

Then the youth went home and told his grandmother what he had done. Her only reply was: “My grandson, you still have a fourth uncle, who is more evil and more potent in orenda than the others. I advise you not to go near him, for I greatly fear that harm will come to you.” The grandson said, “I shall not go, grandmother.”

The next morning, after eating his repast of parched cornmeal, he started, directing his course southward. But when he was out of sight of his lodge he changed his course toward the north. Making a circuit around his home, he passed all three places where he had visited his uncles, and finally came to a fourth opening with a lodge standing in its center. Arriving at the lodge, he peeped into it; there he saw a man who was still older than his other uncles. Making his presence known, he said, “Well, uncle, I have come to visit you.” The old man answered, saying: “It is well, my nephew. Come in and sit down. I have a game which I play with all those who come to visit me. I play the bone-dice game. Each has only one throw, and we bet our heads on the result. So get ready.” The youth replied: “It is well, uncle; I will play with you. I will go out for a moment, but will return in as short a time as possible.” Going to the river bank, and seeing a flock of ducks, the youth called them to come to him. When they did so, he said to them: “I have a bet, and I want you to aid me with your magic power. I desire six of you to lend me your right eyes [315] for a short time. I will bring them back as soon as I make my throw.” At once six of the ducks, removing their right eyes, gave them to the youth. On his way back to the lodge the youth said to the eyes, “When the old man throws, some of you drop into the bowl with your sight down, but when I play you must all drop with your sights turned up.” When he entered the lodge, he said to the old man, “We will play with my dice.” The old man objected to the use of the dice belonging to the youth, but the latter insisted on his right to use his own dice, as the person challenged. They spread a deerskin on the ground, on which they placed a bowl. When the youth had put his dice into the bowl, he asked his uncle to take the first throw, but the old man was not willing to do so. After disputing for some time, however, the old man shook the bowl, whereupon the eyes, as ducks quacking as they flew, rose slowly to the smoke-hole, and then fell back into the bowl as dice, some right side up and others the wrong side up. Then the youth shook the bowl, and the dice flew up as ducks, quacking loudly, and going out of the smoke-hole, they disappeared in the clouds. The old man, as was the custom, sat, saying: “Let there be no count. Let there be no count,” while the youth cried out: “Let the count be five. Let the count be five.” In a short time they heard the ducks coming in the distance, and then they soon dropped into the dish as dice again, all being right side up, at which the youth cried out, “I have won the game.” The old man begged to be permitted to take one smoke more, but the nephew, refusing him, proceeded to cut off the old man’s head with his flint knife. Then placing the head and body of the old man in the lodge, he set it on fire. When the head burst open, out flew an owl. Then the youth took the six eyes back to the river, and calling up the ducks to him, he moistened the eyes with spittle and replaced them in the heads of the ducks. Thanking the ducks for the aid they had given him, he dismissed them, and they flew far away.

The youth now went home, where he told his grandmother what he had done. After hearing his story she said: “I am well pleased with what you have done, my grandson. You can now hunt with freedom in all directions, for there is now no one to harm you. You had a number of brothers, but their uncles destroyed them without mercy.”

She sent him to hunt, as usual. Being now quite a man, he could kill deer, bear, and other large game, but he had to go so far away to find them that he always returned late at night. Not liking this, he thought of a method by which this might be avoided. He went into the forest, after telling his grandmother that he was tired of going so far to hunt, that he would merely sing, and that the game would come to him. In the forest he made arrows, and by the time night came he had as many white-ash arrows as he could well carry.

The next morning, bringing out a deerskin, he caused his grandmother to sit on it. Then, covering her head with the skin, he said to her: “Now, you must not look out. If you do I shall leave here, never to return.” First, placing the great bundle of arrows on the ground outside the lodge, he began to sing: “Come to me, you elk. Come to me, you bears. Come to me, you raccoons. Come to me, you deer.” As he stood singing, soon there arose a great commotion in the forest, caused by the sound of many feet running toward the singer. The animals were coming from every direction. As they were drawn near him by his singing he began to shoot his arrows. When he had shot away about half of his arrows, and while the animals were near him—bears, raccoons, deer, and elk—and while hedgehogs were climbing the lodge roof, the grandmother, becoming frightened at the strange sounds, removing the buckskin covering from her head, looked up through the smoke-hole to see what was the cause of the tumult. In an instant a great white deer sprang over the other animals, and, taking the youth on his antlers, ran off with him into the forest.[316] All the other animals followed the man, who was singing as they ran. Then the grandmother rushed to the doorway, and, looking out, saw all the game killed, but she did not see her grandson anywhere. Then she remembered his words, but it was too late.

While the great white deer was rushing through the forest a pack of black wolves came upon its tracks, and, soon overtaking it, killed both it and the man. The next morning the aged grandmother, in an attempt to repair the damage done through her lapse of memory and great curiosity, followed the tracks of the game in order to find her grandson. The game had beaten a broad trail through the forest as they ran. In the afternoon of the day the youth disappeared the sky and clouds in the west appeared very red.[317] Seeing this, the grandmother exclaimed: “This is certainly an evil sign. My grandson is surely in trouble.” This was the very time at which the great white deer and the man were killed. The grandmother followed the trail all that day until the evening at about the time she had seen the red sky and clouds the day before. Then she came on the spot where her grandson and the deer had been killed. There she saw pieces of bloody deerskin, but not a bone, nor a bit of his body. Then she returned home in despair, weeping all the way.

61. HEART SQUEEZING AND THE DANCE OF NAKED PERSONS

A woman and her son lived together in a lodge situated not far from a small settlement. The boy began his career by hunting small game, but he soon killed such large game that everyone was astonished at his prowess. As he grew older, he went farther and farther into the woods. His mother, however, always warned him against going toward the northeast, saying that an evil woman lived there.

One day while hunting the boy thought, “I do not believe there is anyone who can overcome me magically,” whereupon he determined to go toward the northeast. Starting thither, he soon came to an opening, where he saw a woman who sang out, “I have caught you, my brother,” and at that moment the boy, feeling her in his body squeezing his heart, screamed with pain. Then the woman stopped an instant and then squeezed his heart harder than before, causing him intense pain. Just then he heard a woman’s voice say, “Hurry home, and as you go, sing, ‘I am going to have a naked dance [318] and a pot.’” The young man did this, and as he sang he felt easier. When he got home his mother said, “You have been toward the northeast, although I told you that you would get into trouble if you went there.” The mother immediately sent a messenger to tell her uncle, her mother’s brother, what had happened, and he inquired what the boy sang. The messenger told him, and he replied, “Tell his mother to notify everyone that she is going to have a dance of naked persons.”