Having said this, he set out along the path. When he had gone a long

way he was startled to hear at some distance the sound, “doʻʹ, doʻʹ,

doʻʹ, doʻʹ,” which one would suppose was made by a woodpecker loudly

pecking on a great hollow tree. Going to the tree whence the noise

came, he saw fluttering from place to place and pecking holes in the

trunk a cuckoo of enormous size. A sight that caught his eye and

conveyed a more serious warning was the great number of arrows stuck in

the tree near the spot where the cuckoo was fluttering about. He

concluded that these arrows had belonged probably to those who had been

his brothers, and that therefore this bird was possessed of great

orenda (magic power), which it exerted with evil purpose only.

Thereupon the lad exclaimed: “It shall see its doom, for now I will

kill it.” Aiming at the cuckoo, his arrow struck in the very center of

its body, whereupon it began to beat with its wings against the tree to

which it was pinned.

Thus leaving the bird, the boy went on until evening, when he again

came to a spot where there were still traces of the former fireplace.

There he stopped for the night. After taking his pack from the forehead

strap and laying it aside, he kindled a fire, by which he warmed up the

meat and the bread he had brought. When he finished his meal he set up

a forked or pronged rod to which he fastened a small portion of bread.

The spot was literally covered with rods carrying bread of all ages,

which had been set up by persons at widely varying times. Having

completed his offering, the boy retired for the night, resting on his

pack. Soon he began to be troubled with dreams, so that he rolled and

tossed from side to side and could not sleep.

Suddenly he was startled by the barking of a small dog, which had a

very shrill bark, such as he had never before heard. The sound drew

nearer. The night was very dark. Quickly arising and taking with him

all his things he ran to a near-by stream and ran up the trunk of a

tree that slanted far out over the water. In a short time he became

suddenly aware from its barking that the dog was near and that it was

rapidly coming nearer still. When the animal was very close the boy

heard the sound of rattles [of deer knuckles] and a woman’s voice

approaching, too, saying to the dog: “Do your best, my slave. Just

leave me the head of Hodadeñon.” Now he was startled by the barking of

the cur directly under the tree in which he was seated. Carefully

fitting his arrow, he released it, whereupon the arrow flew with the

sound “thum!” and he heard the cry of the cur, “kwĕñʻʹ, kwĕñʻʹ,

kwĕñʻʹ,” so he knew that he had struck it. There the woman turned back,

saying: “Aha! It is true, I think, as all people are saying, that

Hodadeñon is without a peer in sorcery.”

In the morning the lad descended from his perch on the slanting tree

and went to the place where lay the cur, stark dead. The arrow had

struck the body fairly in the middle, where it still remained. He drew

his arrow out of the dog’s body, when he suddenly found that there was

a very small knuckle rattle tied to its neck. Having removed this

rattle bell, he cast the body of the dog, which was indeed very small,

into the water. In doing this he remarked, “Now will begin the period

in which my mind is to be disturbed by serious difficulties, it would

seem. I think those women whose minds are evil do not live far from

here.” So saying, he started on his journey.

The lad had not gone far when all at once he saw a man coming toward

him. As they met, the stranger said: “I am thankful that you are in

health and peace, Hodadeñon.” Hodadeñon answered: “It is true in the

terms of your greeting to me. It is now my turn, too, to greet you. I

am thankful that you are well and in peace.” The man replied: “This is

certainly the truth.” Then the two smiled, and one asked: “Is it not

true that you and I are friends?” Whereupon the other answered: “Indeed

it is the truth we are friends. Whence did you come?” Then the lad

said: “Ho, far from here have I come. Whence did you come to this

place?” The stranger replied: “I, this self of mine, came from far from

here, and I have left no relations, and this is the reason why I am

called Hodadeñon (Sʻhodadeñon [433]). It is known that I myself am the

last one. The lodge whence I came was very long and, it is said, was

full of my relations, now dead, and of my own brothers. They were

destroyed on the way to the place where dwell those women of evil

minds. We are friends, so let us go together. You can aid me, and we

shall be able to rob them of tobacco.” The stranger’s answer was, “Be

it so,” whereupon the two at once started off along the path.

After going a long distance they found the remains of a fire; there

they stopped for the night. As soon as they had warmed up bread and

meat they ate their evening meal. When they had finished eating the

stranger said: “It is a fact that these portions of bread affixed to

the top of the rods are the cause or occasion for which all our kinsmen

died. Moreover, it is for us to make this a feast of Reunion of the

Living, which we must use as the means of thanksgiving and prayer. We

must make an offering of tobacco by casting tobacco on the fire. It is

called the ceremony of making an offering of tobacco. I have tobacco

with which to do this.” Hodadeñon answered: “So be it. How shall we do

it?” The stranger: “All provisions that you have brought with you we

must lay in a circle around the fire, and a portion we must place aside

in the dark (i.e., conceal it).” Saying, “So be it,” Hodadeñon began to

take the things out of his pouch and to lay them in a circle around the

fire. He also hid far away in the dark some meat and bread.

Standing beside the fire and holding the tobacco from the pouch in his

hand, he said: “Come now, listen to me, you, all kinds of animals and

you, too, who have formed and made my life.” With these words he cast

the tobacco into the fire, exclaiming: “Now do you listen; now the

smoke of tobacco arises. Moreover, he and I ask you to give us

assistance, all of you who inhabit the forests and who are immune to

enchantment, and you who have made my life and that of my friend, who,

too, has no relations left, and myself who have no relations left, for

which reason I am called Hodadeñon. We shall fetch all these from the

place where they have perished. These are the things for which I pray.

So thus we here fulfill our obligation by placing this tobacco in this

place, and we have laid away food in the darkness.” Having completed

this invocation, Hodadeñon said to his companion: “Come, now, let us

go.”

At midnight the two started and had gone very far when daylight came.

As they traveled they suddenly heard ahead of them the sounds “duʻʹ,

duʻʹ, duʻʹ, duʻʹ.” Thereupon Hodadeñon said to his friend: “Show your

courage now, my friend. We have arrived, it seems, in the place where

those who have evil minds dwell. Closer let us go.” At last they

reached the place in which the lodge stood, and they halted some

distance from it.

All at once they heard a man singing and beating a drum. As he sang, he

said: “Here I am making tobacco; here I am making tobacco; here I am

making tobacco; he who has tobacco prepares tobacco.” Hodadeñon said to

his companion, “Now is the time,” and his friend replied: “So let it

be.” Then they two entered the lodge, where they came face to face with

an old man, who held a mallet in his hand with which he was pounding

the tobacco all over. He was so old that his eyebrows hung down far

over his eyes. Hodadeñon said to him, “Oh, my uncle!” but he did not

notice him and kept on pounding the tobacco. At this, Hodadeñon,

drawing his war club, struck him a blow on the forehead, causing the

blood to gush forth. After a long while the old man said, “Oh! I am

sweating,” at the same time wiping the blood off his forehead. Next,

upraising his eyebrows and looking at them, he said: “Oh! my two

nephews, you have now arrived. Take courage, my two nephews, because I

myself am a slave working in tobacco.” Hodadeñon answered: “I have come

after tobacco and nothing else, because my elder brother, who is far

from here, desires to smoke.” The old man answered: “He is, I suppose,

my own brother. So be it. Take some back with you.”

So Hodadeñon, taking up a twist of tobacco, threw it, saying: “Go hence

to the opening of the chimney of the lodge where my sister abides and

drop in the ashes [at her feet].” The sister, greatly surprised to see

the ashes of the fire fly up, exclaimed, “I am thankful that my brother

Hodadeñon, it would seem, is still alive,” and she picked up the

tobacco.

Next the young men asked the man with the long eyebrows where stood the

lodge of the very wicked women. He answered the spokesman: “Have

courage. There stands the lodge yonder, on the farther side of the

lake. It is doubtful whether you two can cross the lake. As we know,

the ice on it is very slippery. No matter who it is that goes there, as

soon as he steps upon the ice a man speaks out, saying: ‘Let it rain

bones; let it be nothing but bones.’ And at once he becomes a pile of

bones. Such will happen to you if it be that you two are sorcerers.”

Hodadeñon said in reply: “Come, my friend, let us start.” Then they set

out at once. Arriving at the lake, they found that the ice that covered

it was very smooth and that the lodge stood on the farther shore. There

a number of people were walking about. One would think that they were

expecting something to happen, for they were looking around. Hodadeñon

said to his companion: “Come, let us start.” Unstringing their bows,

they started on their journey over the ice, in the course of which they

used their bows as walking sticks, striking with them upon the ice.

Everything went on all right as they made their way over the frozen

surface. All at once the people on the shore saw them coming, whereupon

they came at once on the ice to meet the bold visitors. At once the

people shouted, “It is raining bones,” and they came on, while the two

kept on their way. At last one of the people of the shore exclaimed:

“Aha! Now I believe it certain that Hodadeñon, the great wizard, has

arrived, and they have indeed crossed the lake.” Then all returned to

their lodge on the shore. Having crossed the lake, the two went at once

to the lodge on the shore. With bravado they entered it, finding all

the occupants at home. One there was who was an old woman.

One of the inmates said to the strangers: “It is a custom with us that

when anyone visits us we amuse ourselves, and generally for this

purpose we bet our heads.” Hodadeñon asked: “How is it customary for

you to do this?” The reply was: “We run a race here on the ice. We

usually make a circuit of the lake and we use the snowshoe.” Hodadeñon

answered: “So be it, then; let us bet then.” He then made very fine

snowshoes, which were very small. When he had completed his task, he

announced: “I am now all ready.” Thereupon all went to the ice, and one

said: “Now we must go around the border of the lake on the ice, and

whoever comes in ahead to this scratch line shall win.” Then the

runners went to the scratch line, where they stood awaiting the order

to go. Hodadeñon said: “I shall run alone on my side.” But the

lake-dwellers pitted four men against him.

The order to go (Oʹnĕⁿʻʹ) was given—at which the contestants started to

run around the lake. When they had run half the way around it Hodadeñon

was in the rear of the others. Removing his snowshoes and setting them

side by side, he got upon them, saying to them: “Take courage, pass

him; yes, pass them, and go directly to the scratch line. The other

runners were suddenly made aware of the fact by the furious sounds they

heard that Hodadeñon was overtaking them very fast. In a short time he

passed them, and, easily keeping ahead of them, he soon arrived at the

place whence they had started. When his opponents arrived at the

scratch line he was standing there awaiting them. Addressing them, he

said: “I have now won from you; I have outrun you. Come on, my friend,

let us behead them now, one and all.” So the two destroyed all the

wicked people.

Next they went aside to a long pile of bones and proceeded to lay them

in order, side by side, working at this task for a long time. When they

had finished, they began to push against a great elm tree, while

Hodadeñon shouted: “The great elm is falling on them who are sleeping

here.” Bravely they arose, all mingled together, men and women, some

with one arm or one leg longer than the other. Then Hodadeñon said:

“Take courage, my friend, it seems you must aid me in restoring the

defective limbs of the people here.” At once he went to work amending

the arms and legs of the people who had received the wrong limbs in

their resurrection. This work having been finished, Hodadeñon said:

“Let everyone go home to the place whence he came,” but all replied:

“We do not know whence we came to this place.” Hodadeñon answered: “So

let it be; then you must accompany us home. We will go back to that

place where my brother and sister abide, because that lodge in which

they dwell is very long, so you can live there. Come, now, let us

start.”

So all departed from that place, with Hodadeñon in the lead. They were

many nights on the way before they reached home; they were many in

number when they reached their destination. Once there, Hodadeñon said:

“Oh! my elder sister, we have now returned home, and you must assign

them places in the lodge, for I do not know all.” Thereupon she told

him to make the assignments himself, so when the large party entered he

walked back and forth in the lodge, dividing it among them. But before

making the assignments he said: “Now, it is not right that one man

should live by himself and one woman by herself; hence it shall be that

a man and a woman shall dwell together, and they shall sleep together,

and they shall whisper together; they shall love each other, and thus

they shall be happy.”

Thus they dwell today according to the labors of Hodadeñon.

This is the length of the legend.

118. THE LEGEND OF GĀDJISʹDODOʻ AND SʻHOGOⁿʻʹGWĀʼS

It is said that in ancient times there lived together in a very long

lodge two male persons. They were related one to the other as uncle

(mother’s brother) and nephew. As such, according to the custom of the

times, they occupied opposite sides of the fire in the long lodge.

For something to eat, as he grew, the nephew, who was a very little

boy, shot birds and other small game.

It came to pass one day that Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs said: “Oh, my nephew! I am

thankful that now you are growing into manhood. It is a long time since

I began to care for you. It will happen that a little later on you will

kill larger animals.”

In time this did happen, for one day he killed a partridge, which he

carried home. On entering the lodge his uncle exclaimed: “Wuʻ, my

nephew! I am very thankful you are returning home, having killed a

large game animal. What is the name of the animal you have killed? What

kind of animal is it? Do you know?” In reply the youth said: “I do not

know.” The old man, going toward his nephew, grasped the partridge so

quickly that he raised the young boy off the ground, saying: “Hand me

at once the body of the thing which you are bringing back killed, for

you, of course, do not know what kind of thing it is.” Then the old

man, going aside and taking a seat, began to pluck and dress the

partridge, saying at the same time: “This thing requires, of course,

nothing but dumplings.” Setting a kettle over the fire, he made

dumplings which he put into the kettle with the partridge. The old man

kept on saying, as he watched the bird cooking: “Perhaps this will

taste exceedingly good to us two.” The grease floated on the top of the

water, for the bird was very fat. Then the old man, removing the kettle

from the fire, set it aside. He put into a bark bowl or dish a share

for his nephew, saying: “Oh, my nephew! this is what you may eat,” but

he held it just over the fire. When the young boy arose to receive his

portion and reached out for the dish, his uncle, grasping his hand

along with the dish, pulled the nephew over the fire, wherein he fell

on his elbows. At once he arose covered with hot coals, and took a seat

aside on his own side of the fire. Dissimulating his evil purpose, the

old man said: “I am in too much of a hurry, for I thought that I held

it aside from the fireplace.” The nephew was greatly astonished at what

his uncle had done to him, for he never had illtreated him before; and

the lad began to weep, saying to himself: “I wonder why he has done

this thing to me.”

The next morning the old man said: “Oh, my nephew! arise. Game animals

usually go about the clear places very early in the morning. So arise

and go out to hunt.”

After arising and making needed preparations, the nephew started out to

hunt in the forest. He kept on thinking: “My uncle has indeed abused me

very much.” As the boy went from place to place he was much surprised

to hear a man at a distance say, Tcĭt! and he directed his steps toward

the spot whence he believed the sound came. Soon he was surprised to

see the skull of an old man protruding out of the ground. As the boy

approached the skull said to him: “Oh, my nephew! you are much to be

pitied now, for affairs have taken a turn which will cause you

misfortune. Exert yourself with all your (magic) power, for he will

indeed outmatch your orenda (magic power) if it so be that you do not

learn to remember the things which you have killed.” Thus spoke the

skull of the old man.

But he continued: “You shall do this in your defense. I will assist

you. I am the brother of your uncle, who has outmatched to the utmost

degree my orenda. I will tell you, moreover, that that lodge, so long,

was at one time full of our relations and kindred, who are now no more.

This is the reason it is so long and empty. Now go yonder, not far from

here, to an old rotten log, lying prone, and in which you will find a

raccoon, as it is called. You must kill it, and you must pass by this

place on your way home and I will give you further instructions.” Going

to the place indicated by the skull of the old man, the boy killed the

raccoon, returning at once to the place where the skull protruded from

the ground. Thereupon the skull said to him: “You must not forget the

name raccoon, for this is the name of this animal which you have

killed. On your way home you must keep on saying, ‘Raccoon, raccoon,

raccoon.’ So return home now. And he will again ask, probably, as is

his custom, ‘What is it that you are bringing home killed?’ So do not

get into the habit of forgetting. Exert yourself as much as possible.”

Thereupon the young boy started for his home in the long lodge, saying

as he trudged along, “Raccoon, raccoon, raccoon.” At first he whispered

it, but when nearing the lodge he uttered it loudly. Just as he pushed

aside the door flap and stepped inside the lodge he stubbed his foot,

and his burden, the raccoon, fell inside and he beside it. At that

moment his uncle, the old man, said: “Oh, my nephew! now you are

bringing back, killed, a large game animal; what is its name and what

kind of animal is it?” Now, after his mishap at the doorway, the boy

had entirely forgotten the name of the animal, so he reluctantly

answered: “I do not know the name of it.” At this his uncle demanded

the game, saying: “Hand the body to me, then, for you do not know what

kind of thing you are bringing home killed.” The nephew did as he was

told, whereupon his uncle, taking a seat aside, began to skin the

animal, at the same time saying: “The name of this animal is raccoon.”

The nephew took a seat on the opposite side of the fire.

Then the old man set a kettle over the fire, with the remark: “The only

way to prepare this game is to cook it with corn-meal mush, which

should be eaten with it. I shall skim off the grease and pour it over

the mush.” The youth did nothing but watch his uncle. When the meal was

cooked the uncle kept saying: “This will indeed taste very good to us

two.” Then he took out a share for his nephew, putting into a bark dish

some of the mush and a portion of the meat. Going to the edge of the

fireplace, he said, “Oh, my nephew! here is a portion for you to eat,”

again holding it over the fire. The youth arose quickly to receive it

and took the bark bowl in his hands. Just as before, the old man

grasped his hands and drew him into the fire, at the same time saying:

“What is the use of my holding it somewhere else when I myself am

hungry.” Of course the youth fell into the fire on his elbows, and on

jumping out he was all covered with hot coals and ashes. Going aside,

he took a seat there. Then Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs began to eat. When he had

finished, he remarked to himself, “I think I will save some of this for

another time”; so he put some of the food in a high place. The youth,

his nephew, began to weep, saying: “Perhaps he will kill me; I think it

possible.”

The next morning the old man again spoke to his nephew, saying: “Oh, my

nephew! do you arise. It is the custom for game animals to be found in

the open places very early in the morning.” Quickly arising from his

bed, the youth at once made the necessary preparations, and after

finishing these, he started out to hunt. Once more he directed his

course toward the place where the skull of his uncle protruded from the

ground. On arriving there, his uncle addressed him: “Well, my nephew,

what came to pass?” The youth answered: “I kept repeating the name

‘raccoon’ as I went along, and when I had reached a point quite near

the lodge I just whispered the name to myself, saying ‘Raccoon,

raccoon, raccoon.’ But at the very doorway I caught my foot in an

obstruction, and the body of the animal fell into the lodge and I with

it. At that moment my uncle asked me, ‘What is the name of the game you

are bringing home killed?’ Of course, I did not remember anything

whatever about the name of the animal, so I answered him, ‘I do not

know.’ To this the old man replied, ‘Quickly hand me the body of the

animal, for you do not know its name; and it is well known that raccoon

is its name.’” Then the man whose skull protruded from the ground said:

“Oh! how unfortunate it was that stumbling against an obstruction and

falling down caused you to forget the name of the animal. Exert

yourself to the utmost. Be brave. Your only safety consists in

remembering the names of the animals that you may kill. You must

remember at all times these names. Now, then, go to that place there in

the distance where turkeys abound. One of them you must kill; and when

you have killed it, you must pass by this place on your way home.” As

directed, the youth went to the place designated by his uncle, and

there he killed a turkey. Then he returned to the spot where his

uncle’s skull protruded from the ground. To encourage him his uncle

said: “Be brave and exert yourself to the utmost. This time you must

remember the name of this game bird. It is called a turkey. As you are

going along homeward, you must keep saying, ‘Turkey, turkey, turkey’;

and as soon as you arrive near the lodge you must set your feet down

carefully as you walk, and must go along whispering the name to

yourself, ‘Turkey, turkey, turkey.’”

So the youth started for home, and as he went along he kept saying,

“Turkey, turkey, turkey.” On arriving near the lodge, he began to

whisper the name, “Turkey, turkey, turkey,” and he set each foot down

carefully and securely. In this way he reentered his home without

mishap. And the old man, his uncle, was surprised and said: “Oh, my

nephew! you are bringing back a large game animal, killed. I am

thankful for it. What is the name of it?” The youth replied: “Oh! the

name of it is turkey—just turkey.” The old man, his uncle, merely

exclaimed, Wuʻʹ, and, going aside, took a seat there. In the meantime

the youth dragged the body of the turkey aside to pluck and dress it.

While engaged at his task he remarked: “The only way to cook this is to

boil it down to a pot roast.” Next he proceeded to pluck and then to

quarter the bird. When he had finished his task, he started the meat to

cooking in a kettle over the fire. As he saw it begin to cook he kept

saying: “It will certainly taste good to uncle and me.” The uncle on

his part said: “I have been thinking generally that he [my nephew]

would become perhaps a fine hunter; for it has been a very difficult

task for me to raise you, and I have worked hard to do it.”

When the turkey was cooked the youth said: “I will not act in the

manner my uncle acts on such occasions.” Thereupon he set aside a

portion of the boiled turkey in a bark bowl, which he offered to his

uncle by holding it directly over the fire, which was burning briskly,

saying: “This is what you will eat.” The uncle, exclaiming, “Oh! I am

thankful for it,” arose to receive it. As he grasped the bark bowl, the

youth, seizing his hands along with the bowl, drew the old man over so

that he fell into the fire. At this the youth said, excusing himself:

“I am so hungry, indeed, that perhaps I was holding the bowl in an

unintended place.” The old man answered, “Now my nephew, you have

abused me. It has been my habit to think that you would not treat me in

this manner, for I have raised you from childhood to youth.” The nephew

was eating, but he answered his uncle: “I just thought that that was

perhaps the custom on such occasions, for you were in the habit of

acting in this manner.” So saying, he kept on eating. Finally he said,

“I believe I will save myself a portion for a later time;” and he laid

aside some of the boiled turkey.

The next morning the old man did not say, as was his custom, to his

nephew: “Come now, arise, my nephew.” On the other hand, the young

nephew said to himself: “So be it. I will now arise, I think. My uncle

is accustomed to say that the game animals go about in the open country

very early in the morning.” So the young man arose then, and proceeded

to make his usual preparations before going out to hunt. After eating

his morning meal he started from the lodge. The uncle spoke not a word.

It would appear, one would think, that he was angry. The youth went

directly to the place where his other uncle’s skull protruded from the

ground.

Having arrived at the spot, the skull addressed him, saying: “Well, my

nephew, what happened?” The youth answered: “I remembered the name all

the way home, and when my uncle asked me, ‘What are you bringing home,

killed?’ I answered him, ‘Only a turkey.’ My uncle replied, merely,

Wuʻʹ. Then I prepared the bird and cooked it. As soon as it was cooked

I kept saying: ‘I shall not act in the manner in which my uncle acts.’

Then I put a portion for him on a bark dish and held the dish directly

over the fire, saying: ‘Oh, my uncle! eat this portion.’ He replied,

‘Hoʹ, I am very thankful,’ and grasped the dish, whereupon, gripping

his hands, I pulled him down into the fire. I may have held it in the

wrong place because I was very hungry, but the real reason I did so was

because I was angry with him on account of the many times he scorched

and burned me. My uncle said: ‘I believe that you have now begun to

abuse me.’ I replied that it seemed to be the custom when one was

giving food to another. He walked to and fro, and one would think that

my uncle was angry.”

The skull of the uncle at once replied: “It was just right for him.

Now, indeed, this is about to come to pass. It is impossible that in

the future he will ask you for the name of the things which you may

bring home killed. Oh, my nephew! It is known that your uncle is making

preparations. He is gathering logs and burning them on the fire, and

when night comes he will have a great fire, as is well known. So, be

brave, careful, and watchful. You must not go to sleep. An evil dream

will cause him to arise suddenly, as is well known. Then you must

quickly take down his war club and strike a blow with it on your

uncle’s head, at the same time saying: ‘What is causing you to see

marvels?’ And if he does not answer at once, ‘It has ceased,’ you must

again strike a blow on his head with the war club. Then it will come to

pass that he will say, as is well known, ‘The thing that the dream

spirit has commanded me is baleful.’ Whereupon you must ask him, ‘What

did the dream spirit command you to do?’ In answer he will tell you

what he has been commanded to require you to do. Then you must return

to this place, as I do not know what he will say.”

Now, the youth returned to the lodge which he called his home. Night

came on them. The fire was a brisk one. It so happened that the old

man, the uncle, said: “The reason I have put these large logs on the

fire is because it seems likely that we two will have a very cold time

tonight.” The two lay down as usual, but the youth kept awake as he had

been warned to do by his uncle’s skull. There was a hole worn through

his skin covering through which he kept a strict watch on his uncle.

About midnight, perhaps, suddenly the old man began to moan and groan,

muttering strange words very loudly, the sounds increasing in

intensity. Interspersed with these mutterings were the sounds ʼĕñʻ,

ʼĕñʻ, ʼĕñʻ. Suddenly arising from his couch, he moved about on his

knees, meanwhile uttering the same sounds and words as the youth had

first heard. Then, with one great cry of ʼĕñʻ! he cast himself on the

fire and pushed with his feet and hands the huge firebrands that had

accumulated over toward the place where lay his nephew. Seeing this,

the nephew, quickly uncovering himself, leaped up just in time, for the

great pieces of burning logs fell blazing where he had just lain.

Running over to the opposite side of the fire, he took down from its

resting place the war club of his uncle. His uncle then being close to

him, groping around on his knees and uttering dark words, the youth

struck him a blow on the head, saying at the same time, “What is

causing you to see marvels?” and again raised the war club to deliver

another blow. But the dream of the old man ceased at that time, and the

uncle took a seat at one side of the fire, and the youth took a seat on

the opposite side. Thereupon the uncle said to his nephew: “Compliance

with what the dream commanded me is of the utmost difficulty.” The

youth answered: “Well, what did the dream command you to do?” The uncle

made reply: “It commanded me, saying, ‘You two shall hazard your

lives’; it said to me that we two must ‘take the roof off the lodge.’”

The youth replied: “So let it come to pass. What it has commanded

amounts to nothing.”

Then the two men returned to bed for the remainder of the night. Very

early the next morning the youth went to the spot where the skull of

his uncle protruded from the ground. When he reached the place, the

uncle addressed him: “Well, what happened during the night?” The young

nephew answered: “Well, he says that he and I shall hazard our lives by

trading objects this very night which is approaching.” To this

statement the uncle replied: “I have been saying all along that he is

determined to outmatch your magic power (orenda), as is well known. It

is his manner of doing things. He will request something which you do

not possess, and if it so be that you can not obtain it at once,

something direful will happen to you—you die, paying the penalty by

your death. Now I know that he will request the entrails of a bear from

you, for the very reason that you have them not. Then you must proceed

in this manner: You must go out and find a wild grapevine. When you

have found it you must unwind the vine and cut off a sufficient

portion. This you must rub between your hands and blow on, and

instantly the vine will become the entrails of a bear. You must say, ‘I

want the fat entrails of a bear.’ Make haste in what you are about to

do, for I know that he has completed all his preparation at the lodge.”

So the youth went forth to hunt for a wild grapevine, and found one

which was wound around a support. Cutting off at once what he required,

he began to straighten out the length. Next he fastened the coils

together by means of bark cords, and by rubbing it with his hands and

blowing on it he soon transformed the vine into the fat entrails of a

bear.

Returning to the lodge, the youth addressed his old uncle thus, “Oh, my

uncle! I return fully prepared,” to which the uncle answered: “So be

it; you just go to the end of the lodge.” The nephew replied: “So be

it.” Thereupon the uncle added: “It is not certain whether I shall go

now or later. But you must be in an expectant mood there.” Then the

youth started, passing along on the inside of the lodge, which was very

long. When he reached the end of the lodge he was surprised to see

there the signs of a fire, one which had burned perhaps a long time in

the past. He took a seat there, for he was ready for the work ahead of

him. It was not very long afterward when at last the old man began to

sing in his own place: “Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering;

yuʹʻhĕñ, thou Gādjisʹdodoʻ, thou who art a nephew, yuʹʻhĕñ.” This he

repeated in a loud voice, and the song was heard by all the wizards and

sorcerers dwelling along the borders of the land, all of whom said one

to another: “Now again his intended victim is his own nephew.”

Making his way up to the place where his nephew was sitting, the old

man said: “Now, I am come to barter.” He carried in his hand a piece of

bark on which lay several pieces of meat. The youth answered: “What

shall I give you?” The old man, in accordance with the custom on such

occasions, replied: “I can not tell what it shall be. Perhaps you have

the flesh of the raccoon?” The youth rejoined: “I will give it to you.”

The uncle answered: “No; not that.” The youth then said: “Turkey meat;

that I will give you.” The uncle replied: “No; not that.” Then the old

man again began singing, “Yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering; yuʹʻhĕñ,

yuʹʻhĕñ, thou Gādjisʹdodoʻ, thou who art a nephew; yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.”

At this moment flames burst out all around the place where Gādjisʹdodoʻ

was sitting. In defense, the youth said: “Djiʹ, djiʹ, djiʹ. Oh, my

uncle! verily, you mean the entrails of a bear, the very fat entrails

of a bear, which I have.” As soon as he had ceased speaking, the flames

went down. Drawing forth the entrails of the bear (which he had

prepared), the youth gave them to his uncle. They exchanged the pieces

of meat for the bear’s entrails. The old man said: “I am thankful for

these.” The youth then thought to himself: “I will go back to my place

as soon as I think he has returned to his own seat on his side of the

fire.” As he started, the old man again began to sing: “Yuʹʻhĕñ,

yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering; thou Gādjisʹdodoʻ, thou who art a

nephew; yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.” Believing that his uncle had resumed his

seat, the nephew returned to his couch, where he found the old man

sitting, smoking. The old man said merely: “We, oh, my nephew! have now

finished this task.”

The next morning the youth again went to the place where the skull of

his other uncle was protruding from the ground. When he arrived there

his uncle asked him what had taken place last night. In answer, the

youth related in great detail just what had come to pass between the

old man and himself. He told him all very carefully. Thereupon this

uncle said: “Now, it is a fact that he is collecting more logs and

putting them on the fire and near it, for he will again make a large

fire this very night. And it is, too, a fact that when he has his dream

tonight, he will say in his own mind that he desires the liver of a

bear. This you do not possess. Be brave and do your very best. This

time you must hunt for fungi that grow on old rotten logs. These you

must procure—two in number—and you must treat them in the same manner

as you did the grapevine, and at once they will become bear’s livers.

So, now, go out hunting for these things.” The youth at once started on

his quest for fungi in the forest. He was not very long in finding the

two that he required for his purpose. At once he rubbed them with his

hands, saying at the same time: “Let these soon become bear’s livers.”

Immediately the transformation took place as he wished.

Then he started for the lodge, where dwelt his uncle. Arriving there,

he said: “Oh, my uncle! I have now returned.” He saw that the fire was

a great one. Night came on at last, and the two lay down to sleep, but

the youth did not fall asleep. It was perhaps midnight when suddenly

the old man began to moan and groan with increasing force and loudness;

all at once he arose and crawled around there on his knees. Finally,

with a loud cry, ‘ĕñʻ, he threw himself on the fire. At once large

pieces of wood, all ablaze, fell in every direction, some in the

direction of the youth’s bed. Quickly arising and crossing over to the

opposite side of the fire, he took down the war club of his uncle, and

seeing the head of the latter close to him, moving from place to place,

he struck it a blow with the club, at the same time saying: “Oh, my

uncle! what is causing you to see marvels?” Then quickly he raised the

club for another blow. Suddenly, however, the dream ceased, and the old

man exclaimed, to avoid another blow of the war club: “It has stopped

now.” Having said this he drew aside and took a seat. The youth did

likewise. Addressing his nephew, the old man said: “Oh, nephew!

Compliance with the command which the dream gave me is very difficult

indeed, yea, dangerous.” The youth asked: “What did it command you?”

The uncle answered: “Why, it commanded me, saying you and he must

barter by exchange, you and your nephew; and it commanded also that

this must take place early in the morning, and that a calamitous thing

would happen to you if it should come to pass that the barter by

exchange failed to take place before midday.” The youth replied: “So be

it; we will attend to this matter in the morning.” Then the two

returned to their respective beds.

Very early the next morning the old man, having arisen, again addressed

the youth: “Now you must go once more to the end of the lodge.” Having

gone there, the nephew kindled a fire. All at once the old man in his

place began to sing again, as before: “Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are

bartering by exchange; thou Gādjisʹdodoʻ, thou who art my nephew,

yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.” As he sang the youth saw that he came toward him.

Having arrived at the end of the lodge occupied by his nephew, the old

man said: “Oh, my nephew! I come to barter by exchange.” The latter at

once replied: “So let it be; what, then, shall I give you?” The uncle’s

answer was: “Oh! you have it certainly. You have what I desire.” At

this, then, the youth began to offer his uncle the things which he

ostensibly guessed the old man desired. When he had consumed sufficient

time to mislead his antagonist, he finally exclaimed: “Oh, my uncle! I

believe that you indeed want the liver of a bear—the fat liver of a

bear.” Quite deceived as to the mental acuteness of his nephew, the

uncle replied: “I am very thankful for this.” Then they two made the

exchange, and the old man returned to his own end of the lodge,

carrying on his back the package of liver. As he went along he sang his

song: “Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering by exchange, yuʹʻhĕñ,

yuʹʻhĕñ; thou Gādjisʹdodoʻ, who art my nephew, yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.” Thus

the uncle returned to his seat. When the youth thought that the old man

had reached his own part of the lodge, he returned to his own bed. When

he had reached it the old man said to him: “Now, what the dream

commanded me has been fulfilled. I am thankful, too.”

Then the youth, having made the necessary preparations, departed, going

to the place where the skull of his other uncle protruded out of the

ground. On his arrival there, the uncle said to him: “Well, what

happened?” The nephew answered him: “Oh! we completed the exchange, and

I passed through the test without mishap.” To this the uncle rejoined:

“Now you must hasten to return to the lodge. It is your turn to have a

dream of that kind. You, too, must kindle the fire by gathering great

logs, so that you may have a great fire. As soon as midnight comes it

is for you to do just as your uncle did, and as soon as he strikes you

a blow with his war club, you must say: ‘It is now ceased. Difficult

and sinister is what the dream commanded me to do.’ Then your uncle

will ask: ‘What did it command you to do?’ In reply you must say that

it commanded you to have your uncle seek for the wish [word] of your

dream; and it said, too, that a direful thing should happen to your

uncle should he have failed to divine your dream’s desire by midday. A

small round squash, which is growing on a vine planted by your uncle

beneath his bed, is what you must desire in your dream. He prizes this

squash very much, believing that his life depends on it. You must say,

‘Yes’ only when he names this squash as the thing desired for you by

your dream. So now quickly return to the lodge and get ahead of him in

making the preparations for kindling a great fire tonight. You must

make the fire, and you must gather large logs to maintain it in full

blaze during the night, for you must have a fine fire.”

So the youth returned to the lodge, and when he arrived indoors he said

to his uncle: “It is now my turn to make a good fire, and I will kindle

it well, because I think we shall have a very cold night.” Then

gathering together many large logs and pieces of wood, he proceeded to

put them on the fire in order to have a fine blaze for the night, as he

had been told to do. Nighttime having come, they lay down to sleep. No

word of conversation passed between them. About midnight the youth

began to moan and to groan, saying, ʼĕñʻ, ʼĕñʻ, ʼĕñʻ. In a short time

he arose from his bed groaning then very loudly, and without further

act, he cast himself on the fire, scattering in all directions with his

feet and hands the blazing firebrands, some of which went in the

direction of the bed of his uncle. The latter, having been awakened by

the groaning, quickly arose to avoid the firebrands. Then saying, “What

has happened to you?” took down his war club, and seeing the head of

his nephew moving about close to him, struck it a blow with the club,

which resounded with a băʼʻ, very loud. Immediately he raised the club

to strike another blow, but at that moment the youth said: “Oh, uncle,

it has now ceased.” After regaining his composure, he continued: “Now,

what the dream commanded me to do is very difficult of fulfillment,

although a severe and cruel penalty is the price of failure to perform

its mandate.” Thereupon the old man asked: “What did it command you to

do?” The nephew replied: “It ordered me to have my uncle seek for the

desire of my dream, to divine its word in other terms; and if my uncle

is not able to divine the word of the dream by midday, something cruel

and sinister will befall his body.” The uncle’s answer was: “So be it.

It has no great significance.” Then the two lay down again to sleep.

Very early in the morning the youth arose and, after making his usual

preparations, said to his uncle: “The time has now come for us to

begin.” The uncle replied: “So be it; I am ready.” While they were

taking their places the old man remarked: “Verily, you must give me a

clue to the ‘word’ of your dream.” But the nephew answered: “That is

not at all the custom in such cases, and it is certain that the reason

it is called ‘the seeking of one’s dream word’ is that no clue shall be

given.” At this reply the old man exclaimed with mock surprise, “Wuʻʹ!

this is indeed an astonishing thing”; but he failed to make his nephew

agree to give him a small clue to the thing he had dreamed.

Thereupon the old man began to ask the questions necessary to ascertain

the dream desire of his nephew. He asked: “It may be that you desire my

pouch?” His nephew answered: “No; that is not what I desire.” The old

man continued: “It may be that you desire, possibly, my raccoon-skin

robe?” The answer came: “No; that is not what I desire.” The next

question was: “It may be that you desire flesh of the bear?” In disgust

the nephew answered: “Wāʻʹ. No, no! I do not want that.” The uncle

ventured: “It may be, it is probable, you desire the flesh of the

raccoon?” The youth answered: “No; that is not what the dream

indicated.” Another question from the uncle: “It may be, perhaps, that

you desire the flesh of the turkey?” His nephew said: “No; that is not

what is required.” Again the uncle asked: “It may be, perhaps, that you

desire the flesh of the deer?” The nephew rejoined: “No; that is not

what the dream indicated.” Meanwhile the uncle and his nephew kept

walking up and down in their respective places. Again the old man

asked: “It may be, perhaps, that you desire my war club?” But his

nephew replied: “No; that is not what I desire.” At last the old man

spoke, saying: “Well, what, indeed, will take place? I moreover have

the thing, but I would like to know what I have asked?” The nephew

answered in disgust: “Wuʻʹ, you know that it is not the custom that

there should be a lot of talk about such things when one is seeking the

‘dream word’ of another.” He did not give any intimation to his uncle

as to what his dream had indicated to him, but he kept looking up at

the sun to see how near midday it was. On resuming the struggle of

questioning and replying, the uncle said: “It may be, perhaps, that you

desire what I prize very highly—my fetish, which is very fine and with

which I hunt,” at the same time showing it to his nephew to cause him

to desire it. But the nephew answered merely: “No; that is not what my

dream indicated to me.” It was then nearly midday. The old man, going

to and fro and stopping now and then to ask the questions, would hang

his head, saying to himself: “I wonder what can be the thing that my

nephew desires.” Addressing the youth, he said: “It may be, perhaps,

that you desire what I have prized highly, too, for a long time,

namely, the otter fur which is white in color?” But the nephew replied:

“No; that is not what I desire as answer to the demand of my dream.”

Again looking up at the sun to see how near midday it was, and finding

that it was very near the time for the contest to close, the old man

said: “It may be, perhaps, that you desire what, too, I have prized and

kept carefully in divers places, namely, my marten fur?” The nephew

impatiently answered: “No; that is not what I desire at all.” At once

he began to sing, for the time was about up. He said as he sang,

“Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering by exchange; yuʹʻhĕñ,

yuʹʻhĕñ, Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs, my uncle, yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.” Now the uncle was

moving around on the opposite side of the fire. Suddenly, after the

singing had commenced flames burst up all around the old man with the

sound dauñʻʹ! At once he protested to his nephew, saying, “Go slow, go

slow, with that, oh, nephew!” As the time had not quite expired, the

nephew permitted the flames to go down again, whereupon the uncle said,

“Oh, my nephew! you have been exceedingly rude with me.” But the nephew

replied: “I can do nothing in this matter, for this has all been

planned for me in advance. So I can do nothing.” As the time (midday)

was soon to expire, the nephew again began to sing the song he sang at

first, “Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering by exchange; yuʹʻhĕñ,

yuʹʻhĕñ, Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs, my uncle, yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.” As before, flames

at once burst all around the uncle as he stood on the opposite side of

the fire. At once he exclaimed, “Oh, my nephew! do not be so hard in

this thing.” But the youth again began singing: “The time is now up.

Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering by exchange; yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ,

Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, my own uncle, yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.”

Thereupon the old man fled to the top of his bed, on which he jumped

around in an effort to avoid the pursuing flames. From that spot he

spoke to his nephew, saying, “Oh my nephew! I have now overtaken your

‘dream word.’ You indeed desire—I have thought so all along—what I have

planted, native squashes called djisgoñtʼăʻ, which has now its fruit.”

At once the youth said, “Kuʻʹ, I am thankful for this fulfillment of

what my dream word required.” Thereupon each resumed his seat in his

wonted place, and the uncle said, “Do you know the history of the

custom of ‘seeking for one’s dream word’?” The youth replied, “Yes, I

know it—one shall give up at once what the dream has indicated when he

shall have divined what it desires.” The old man, in an attempt to

outwit his nephew, said, “It is customary too, I know, for me to make

something identical with what you demand as your dream word.” But the

youth could not be moved, saying, “Now; that is not at all right.” The

old man persisted, however, saying: “It is, nevertheless, customary

that one should make an object resembling the thing desired. So I will

do this, and that, too, I will give to you.” The youth did not agree to

this, but answered, “That is not in the remotest sense what the dream

commanded, that you should give me something artificial.”

With these words the youth again arose and began to sing again,

“Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering by exchange; yuʹʻhĕñ,

yuʹʻhĕñ, Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.” With a loud dauñʹ! the

flames once more burst forth around the old man, and a scene similar to

the former took place. Finally the old man was forced to surrender,

saying, “I shall now give you what your ‘dream word’ desired.”

Thereupon both resumed their seats. The uncle then said to his nephew,

“It is, indeed, a fact that I live by it; so now I shall give it to

you.” With these words he uncovered the plants by raising and removing

his bed. The nephew on his side was watching intently what was going on

in the apartment of his uncle. He was surprised to see planted there

under the bed a patch of squashes, and he saw his uncle gather a

squash. Covering the plant again, he gave the squash to his nephew,

with the remark, “You must carefully preserve this thing.” The youth

answered: “So be it. Now, the matter which was at issue has been

settled.”

After making his usual preparations the nephew went to the place where

his other uncle’s skull protruded out of the ground. When he arrived

there the skull said to him, “Well, what happened?” The nephew

answered, “Everything that you said came to pass just right, and I have

brought here what he gave up to me.” Drawing it forth, he showed it to

his uncle, who said: “That thing, in fact, is what I meant. There is

still another thing. It is a fact that a sister of yours is there too,

inclosed in a bark case which is set up under his bed whereon he is

accustomed to lie down—under your uncle’s bed. That, also, you can

remedy by overcoming him in this matter; so you must set your desire on

this thing. This must be what your ‘dream word’ shall command you to

obtain for your health and welfare. So return home at once and make the

necessary preparations for having another great fire tonight. You must

collect large logs and place them on the fire. Hasten and do not permit

him to be quicker than you are. Be brave. Have no pity on him, for he

will overmatch your orenda (magic power) if you fail to exert it to the

utmost.”

The youth hastened back. Having arrived in the lodge, he said to his

uncle, “Now I think I will again kindle a good fire, because we may be

going to have a very cold night.” So, gathering together a number of

logs and large pieces of dry wood, he placed them in a pile, and with

smaller pieces of wood he kindled a great fire for the night.

Night having come, the two retired to rest, each on his own side of the

fire. About midnight the youth again began to moan and groan loudly,

and the moaning became louder and louder. In a short time he got off

his bed and crawled around on his hands and knees. Next, without

further warning, he threw himself on the fire, scattering the

firebrands over the place where lay his uncle, who at once arose,

saying, “What has happened?” Taking down his war club and seeing the

head of his nephew close to him, he struck it a blow with the club,

which resounded with a very loud băʼʹ! As he raised the club for a

second blow, the youth exclaimed, “Oh, my uncle! it has now ceased,”

whereupon the uncle addressed him, saying, “What is causing you to see

visions?” His nephew replied, “What it commanded me to do is baleful

unto death if not fulfilled.” The uncle asked further, “What did it

command you to do?” The nephew answered: “The thing it commanded is

that you shall again ‘seek to divine the word of my dream’ tomorrow;

and if you shall not have divined the ‘word of my dream’ before the sun

shall have reached the zenith evil shall befall your person.” The old

man mockingly retorted, “Let it be so,” drawing out the expression.

Thereupon they both returned to their beds, on which they again lay

down for the rest of the night.

The next morning the youth arose, and after making his usual morning

preparations, said to his uncle, “The time has now arrived for what I

have been commanded to do; so let us begin.” As before, the uncle

mockingly said, “So let it be,” once more drawing out the expression to

indicate his contempt for his nephew.

After a moment of silence the old man said, “Oh, my nephew! you will

just give a small clue to the ‘word of your dream.’” His nephew

replied, “You know that is not the custom on such occasions, for the

reason that it would be of no use to make ‘seeking the word of a dream’

a test if one should furnish a clue. Come, then, let us begin.” This he

said with some impatience, knowing full well that the uncle was only

seeking to cause him to make some error in the test.

So the old man began by asking, “Perhaps you may mean in your desire,

suggested by the ‘word of the dream,’ the flesh of the moose?” But the

youth replied, “No; that is not what is desired.” The old man asked

again, “Perhaps you mean in your desire, suggested by the ‘word of the

dream,’ the flesh of the bear?” And the youth answered, “No; that is

not what is desired.” The uncle once more asked, “Perhaps you may mean

in your desire, suggested by the ‘word of the dream,’ the flesh of the

raccoon?” But the youth answered, “No; that is not what is desired.”

Then the uncle asked the same question regarding the flesh of the deer,

the turkey, the fat entrails of the bear, the liver of the bear, and

various other substances, receiving from his nephew in each instance a

negative answer. Finally, he asked, in an attempt to throw the youth

off of his guard, “Oh, my nephew! what can you mean? What is it you

desire?” But the youth, alert and crafty, replied, “Pshaw! are you not

seeking to divine the ‘word of my dream,’ and still you want me to give

you a clue to it?” The old man replied, “But I have now named all the

things that I own.” He kept walking up and down in his own part of the

lodge. Again the time was nearly up—it was almost midday. So the old

man said, “Well, so be it; perhaps you may mean in your desire,

suggested by the ‘word of the dream,’ my leggings?” His nephew

answered, “No; that is not what is desired.” Once more the uncle

suggested, “My breechclout?” The nephew answered as before, “No; that

is not what is desired.” Then the old man, seeking to gain time,

remarked, “I am wondering, Oh, my nephew! what it is that you desire?”

Then the nephew, becoming wearied with the dilatory tactics of his

uncle, began to sing, as before, “Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are

bartering by exchange; yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs yuʹʻhĕñ,

yuʹʻhĕñ, he is my uncle, yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.” Again the flames burst up

out of the ground all around the place where the uncle was standing,

with the sound dauñʻʹ. Thereupon the old man exclaimed, “Oh, my nephew!

do not be too hasty with that thing.” As the time had not yet fully

arrived to end this test, the youth willed that the flames subside, and

with the sound dauñʻʹ they quickly subsided.

Then the old man resumed his questions, saying “Perhaps you may mean in

your desire, suggested by the ‘word of the dream,’ my otter-skin robe?”

The nephew replied, “No; that is not what is desired.” Next the old man

named “my bow and arrows, which I so dearly prize?”

The nephew, Gādjisʹdodoʻ, was walking to and fro in his own part of the

lodge, looking every now and then to see whether the sun had reached

the meridian, for he knew well that the time was almost up. Finally, to

test the endurance of the old man, he again began to sing, using the

words of the song for this kind of a ceremony: “Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he

and I are bartering by exchange; yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs

yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, and he is my uncle, yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.”

With a loud dauñʻʹ the flames again burst forth from the ground all

around the old man, who now climbed up the bark wall of the lodge to

escape them, at the same time crying out, “Oh, my nephew! do not be too

hasty with that thing.” Knowing his mastery of the old man, the youth

willed once more that the flames should subside, and they did so.

Whereupon the old man descended from his place of refuge on the bark

wall.

The old man said to his nephew, “At no time must you lay the heavy hand

of punishment on me;” but he would not admit defeat. The youth

answered, “The time is now nearly up, and I can not change in any

manner the command given me by the dream.” With these words he again

began to walk to and fro, singing his wonted song, at which the flames

burst forth once more from the ground all around the place in which the

old man moved, burning his hair and even his eyelashes.

At this moment the old man cried out, “I have now divined the ‘word of

your dream.’ I have thought all along that perhaps what you desired is

the small woman in a bark case standing under the bed whereon I usually

rest. She is, indeed, very small. That is, perhaps, what you desire?”

The youth replied: “I am thankful. Set her in the place where people

usually sit in the lodge.” For answer the old man said: “You would

agree, perhaps, that I make a bark case, a very small one, and also

make a small doll which I should fasten in the bark case. This is just

the way they do when they ‘divine the dream word’ [434] of anyone.”

Combating his uncle’s attempt to have the command of the dream changed

and therefore made entirely void, the nephew said to him, “The dream

did not tell me that the command should be carried out by means of an

artificial thing.” At this he again began to walk to and fro in his own

part of the lodge, singing, as before, the potent song, which caused

the flames again to burst out of the ground and completely cover the

old man, Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs, as he sat on his bed. At once he exclaimed, “I

will now give up what you desire.” The flames went down with a roar.

Still attempting to thwart his nephew by sly cunningness, the old man

said: “It is the custom to make something resembling that which the

‘word of the dream’ commanded to be produced and which customarily is

given to the one who has dreamed; and it is now my purpose to make a

bark case resembling the one which is lying under my bed, and in which

shall be the representation of a woman. I shall make it fine and

beautiful. I will give it to you.” The youth replied: “You know that

now the time is up for you to do your part, and yet you delay, although

you have asked me not to be too heavy handed with you. So at once give

me what is required by the ‘word of the dream.’”

Seeing that it was of no use trying to outwit his nephew, the uncle

went over to his bed and, raising it up on one side, drew from under it

a small bark case, in which was the small woman. She was indeed very

small. As he drew her forth she was winking her eyes, and as she saw

her brother she smiled pleasantly. The old man gave the case to his

nephew without further resistance. Then the youth prepared her to take

her away. It was very cold, being winter, so he wrapped her up in furs

in a close bundle and replaced her in the bark case, which he carried

on his shoulder out of the lodge.

The youth directed his course toward the place where the skull of his

other uncle protruded out of the ground. He arrived there bearing on

his shoulder the case of bark. His mysterious uncle said to him, “Well,

nephew, what has happened since you were here the last time?” The

nephew replied, “Everything you said has come to pass as you desired.”

The uncle answered: “Now it is your other uncle’s turn to kindle the

fire, and he is gathering the necessary fuel for it. This is what your

uncle is now doing. So perhaps you will return there never to come back

here alive. When you reach your lodge he will have completed his

preparations, and the fire too will be a great one. It shall be your

duty to watch him carefully during the night. Just at your back—behind

you—shall stand the case of bark containing your sister. At midnight

your uncle will be suddenly roused again, I know, by an evil dream, and

will again scatter the firebrands in all directions. Some will fall

over your bed, and so you must be up and out of the way. At the first

symptoms of his dream you must leap up and, going over to the opposite

side of the fire, you must take down his war club and strike him a blow

with it; then at once raise it for a second blow. When he shall say,

‘Now it has ceased,’ you must ask, ‘What thing is causing you to see

marvels?’ Then he will answer, ‘The thing that the dream has commanded

me is baleful and difficult of accomplishment.’”

The nephew asked, “Well, what did the dream command you to do?” The

uncle replied, “It said that when daylight came again I must haul you

around in a sledge made of green, fresh-peeled bark, ten times around

this lodge, and that you must be entirely naked. You know that this

lodge is very long. It said also that something evil would befall you,

should you, my nephew, fail to see that this desire is carried out as

the dream has declared it.”

The nephew, Gādjisʹdodoʻ, answered, “Let it be so.” The two thereupon

returned to their respective beds, and there they lay down to rest and

sleep.

Very early the next morning Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs arose, saying to his nephew,

“Oh, my nephew! I am now going to fetch the bark sledge required for

our purpose.” To this the youth Gādjisʹdodoʻ replied, “So be it.” The

old man went out, and it was not long before he reentered the lodge,

saying, “I have now completed my preparations out of doors; now we two

will go out there.” They went forth, and the old man at once began to

wrap the youth in the newly stripped bark which he had prepared for the

purpose and to bind him very closely with bark cords. After coming out

of the lodge the old man had said, “Now undress yourself fully,” and

there in front of the doorway the youth undressed himself. There stood

the bark sledge. On coming out the old man had told him, “You must lie

down upon this thing.” It was winter and very, very cold. The wind was

severe, and the snow was blustering. When the youth lay down on the

bark sledge the old man wrapped him up with the bark sides and tied him

therein securely, saying as he did so, “I am doing this lest you should

fall when I start to run.” Finally he said, “Oh, my nephew! I am now

ready.” The nephew, Gādjisʹdodoʻ, answered, “So be it.”

Next the old man drew a starting line and began drawing the sledge

around the lodge very swiftly. While running, the old man sang: “I am

dragging him in a sledge, I am dragging him in a sledge, I am dragging

him in a sledge. He is Gādjisʹdodoʻ, you who are a nephew. I am

dragging him in a sledge, I am dragging him in a sledge,” etc. Having

gone around the lodge once and having returned to the doorway of the

lodge, Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs said, “Oh, my nephew! are you alive?”

Gādjisʹdodoʻ answered, “I am alive.” At this the old man said, “This is

once around,” and started again drawing the sledge around the lodge,

singing, as before, while he ran.

Having gone around the lodge a second time, the old man said, “Oh, my

nephew! are you alive?” The nephew replied, “Hōʹ, I am alive.” Saying,

“This is the second time,” the uncle again started around the lodge.

The weather was indeed very cold, and no one who was entirely naked

could possibly live in weather so severe (except he be a very great

sorcerer).

Having returned to the doorway of the lodge, the old man again asked,

“Oh, my nephew! are you alive?” and the youth replied as before, “Yes;

I am alive.” Every time the old man started to drag the sledge he began

singing the same song with the same words. Thus they made a circuit of

the lodge nine times, when the youth in his reply to his uncle’s usual

question pretended to be nearly dead, answering in a very feeble voice,

that he was still alive. To this his uncle exultingly rejoined,

“‘ĕñʻʹhĕñ!” meaning by this exclamation, “I thought you would not

last.” So the old man gleefully started dragging the sledge around the

lodge again, and he sang the same song with the same words. When they

had returned to the doorway of the lodge they had completed the tenth

circuit of the lodge, as decreed by the old man’s ‘dream word.’ Again

the old man asked, “Oh, my nephew! are you still alive?” With a strong

voice the nephew answered, “I am alive.” To this the old man rejoined

in surprise, Wuʻʹ! (an exclamation of wonder).

Then the old man proceeded to unfasten the youth from the sledge and

from the bark wrappings with which he had so closely secured him,

ostensibly to keep him from falling off the sledge. As they two

reentered the lodge the old man said, “Oh, my nephew! now that which

was commanded me by the dream has been fulfilled.” The nephew replied,

“So be it,” and taking up the bark case in which was his sister, he

placed it on his back, carrying it by means of the forehead strap. He

then went directly to the place where his uncle’s skull protruded from

the ground. When he arrived there bearing his sister on his back, his

uncle of the skull asked him, “Well, my nephew, how have things gone?”

The nephew replied, “Everything that you advised me to do has been

satisfactorily accomplished.” Thereupon the uncle said to him: “You

must hasten back to the lodge, for it is now your turn to kindle a

great fire. You must say to your uncle, ‘I am gathering wood and fuel

to build a great fire, for I think that tonight we shall have a very

cold night.’ And tonight about midnight you must dream and groan; then,

quickly arising, grope on your hands and knees, and finally cast

yourself on the fire, scattering the firebrands in all directions,

especially toward the bed on which your uncle lies. When he arises and

strikes you a blow on the head with his war club, you must quickly say,

‘It has now ceased,’ for he will raise the club at once to strike a

second blow. He will then ask you, ‘What is it that is causing you to

see marvels?’ You must answer, ‘Compliance with what my dream has

commanded me is most difficult, and the command is accompanied with

evil portent.’ When he asks you, ‘What did it command you to do?’ you

must say, ‘It commanded me to draw you, my uncle, in a bark sledge 10

times around this lodge, and to require you to be naked, entirely so.’

This is what you shall tell him when he asks what you have dreamed.”

The youth replied, “So let it be.” Continuing his advice, the uncle

said: “You must carefully guard the person of your sister. Be brave and

do not waver; do not agree to his proposal that he may not undergo the

test entirely naked, claiming this exemption on account of his great

age. This is what he will say, but do not consent to this proposition.

Now hasten back to the lodge.”

Having returned to the lodge, the youth said to his uncle, “It is my

turn to kindle the fire today, for we shall have a very cold and stormy

night.” The uncle merely said, “I will care for your sister, of course,

for it is very cold.” But the youth replied, “Carrying her along with

me will in no wise interfere with what I am about to do.” So, carrying

his sister on his back by means of the forehead strap, he went forth to

gather wood. He kindled a great fire for the night and did not leave

his sister alone for a single moment.

When night came, they all retired to their beds. The sister of the

youth remained in the bark case, which the youth placed between himself

and the bark wall of the lodge. About midnight he began to groan and

moan and utter incoherent words. Then, having arisen, groped around on

his knees, and finally cast himself into the fire, scattering the

firebrands in all directions, especially over the bed of his uncle.

Thereupon the old man leaped up, and seizing his war club, went across

the lodge and struck the youth a blow on the head, at the same time

asking, “What is it that is causing you to see marvels?” The youth

quickly answered: “It has now ceased. Compliance with what my dream

commanded me is most difficult, and the command is accompanied with an

evil portent.” The uncle at once asked, “What did it command you to

do?” The youth answered, “It commanded me to drag you, my uncle, in a

bark sledge 10 times around this lodge very early tomorrow morning. The

evil portent is that if this be not accomplished before midday some

great calamity shall befall your person.” The uncle merely replied, “So

let it be.” Then they retired to their respective beds.

Very early the next morning the youth, Gādjisʹdodoʻ, arose and said in

a loud voice, “Oh, my uncle! I am now going after the bark sledge.” The

uncle answered, “So be it; it is well.” The youth went out, and soon

returning to the doorway, said, “Oh, my uncle! I am now ready; let us

go out and begin at once.” With these words he laid his bark sledge

down in front of the doorway. When his uncle came out the youth said,

“You must undress yourself.” But the old man said, “Just let me remain

dressed, for I am so very old.” His nephew, Gādjisʹdodoʻ, replied: “I

did not say that. So come, undress yourself.” And he began at once to

undress the old man. When the old man was undressed he lay down on the

bark sledge, and the youth quickly bound him fast to it with bark

cords. The old man kept saying, “You are binding me too closely; you

have made the cords too taut.” But his nephew replied, “Oh! I am a

swift runner, you know, and I fear that you may fall off. Oh! uncle, I

am now ready.”

Then the nephew started dragging the sledge very swiftly around the

lodge, singing as he ran, “I am dragging him on a bark sledge, I am

dragging him on a bark sledge; Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs, who is my uncle, I am

dragging him on a bark sledge; I am dragging him on a bark sledge.” The

uncle kept saying, “Oh, my nephew! the sledge is now going too fast.”

The youth did not slacken his terrific pace, however, and the sledge at

times turned over and over. Meanwhile the old man kept saying, “Oh, my

nephew! do not be so rude in this matter; it is going too fast.” But

the youth only answered, “That is, however, my speed.” When they got

back to the doorway the youth asked, “Oh, my uncle! are you alive?” The

uncle answered, “I am alive.” At this the youth at once started on the

run, singing the same song as that he used on the first trip.

It now came to pass that all the great sorcerers and past masters in

wizard craft who dwelt on the borders of the land of this old man said,

“He has now overmatched his orenda, or magic power,” meaning that the

youth had overcome the orenda of his uncle. Thus spake the great

wizards.

Having returned the ninth time to the doorway, the old man’s nephew

asked again, “Lo, my uncle! are you still alive?” Receiving no reply,

he looked down on the upturned face and saw that his uncle’s eyes were

frozen hard. Thereupon, he exclaimed, “Now, Oh, my uncle! you will

enjoy the bark sledge,” and without any hesitation he started on the

tenth circuit. Exerting all his speed and strength, he sped to the end

of the lodge, the sledge flying high in the air with the great speed,

turning over and over in its course. Turning away from the lodge, the

youth with a mighty effort swung the sledge far off to one side and let

it strike the ground, where he left it. It was so cold that when the

sledge struck the ground there was only a crackling of ice.

Then the youth, Gādjisʹdodoʻ, returned to the lodge in which his sister

was still fastened in her case of bark. When she saw her brother

entering the lodge she smiled, and said, “Oh, my elder brother! I am

thankful that we both are still alive, having gone through what we

have.” The brother, taking up the bark case, placed it on his back,

carrying it with the forehead strap. Then the two went to the place

where their other uncle’s skull protruded from the ground.

Having arrived there, this uncle said, “Well, my nephew, what came to

pass?” Gādjisʹdodoʻ replied: “Verily, I have overcome his orenda—the

evil potency of my old uncle, who is now no more. Let us all go back to

the lodge.” Reaching down, he drew his uncle up and caused him to

stand, and he stroked his body in order to restore his flesh, which had

been withered by the magic power of his evil-minded brother. When he

had accomplished this task, the youth said, “Now let us return to the

lodge.”

Having arrived there, the youth unbound his sister and disengaged her

from the bark case. Then he stroked her body to restore it to its

normal size—to the size of a normal woman. When this task was

accomplished Gādjisʹdodoʻ said: “We now are again united in our full

number. We shall remain here in our lodge in peace and contentment, for

he who was in his time a mighty sorcerer has departed.”

There, in that lodge, they dwell to this day. This is the end of the

legend of Gādjisʹdodoʻ and Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs.

119. THE LEGEND OF DEODYATGAOWEN

In the long ago, in the times of the elder people, there lived in the

land toward the place of sunrise a wonderful tribe of human beings, at

a place called Dyohnyowanen (at the Great Lowland).

It so happened that one of the young men dwelling there resolved to

make an expedition into the distant West, into the region through which

lay the path of the sun. The name of this young man was Dehaenhyowens

(He-Who-Cleaves-the-Sky-in-Twain).[435] To promote his design, he

persuaded his friends to prepare a great feast, to which all the people

should be bidden and at which, as was the custom of the country, he

should announce to the public his purpose of making an expedition into

the West to the end of the earth, in order to slaughter unknown men and

to obtain the scalps of the alien peoples whom he might encounter,

since the scalps would serve as tokens of the victors’ prowess and

craft in warfare.

The feast having been prepared, the people were bidden to it. When they

had all gathered together in their ganonses (long lodge of public

assembly), and while they were enjoying the good things provided for

their entertainment the host, Dehaenhyowens, arose to make the speech

in which he announced his purpose with respect to the expedition, at

the same time calling for volunteers from among the young men to

accompany him and share his fortunes. He asked only for young men,

those who had just arrived at manhood (at the age of puberty). Further,

he informed those who might volunteer to accompany him that they would

have to renounce their lives, their kith and kin; that they must agree

on adherence to a unanimity of purpose and to continue their journey

forward no matter what kind of obstacles might present themselves; that

his own brother, Gaenhyakdondye (Along-the-Side-of-the-Sky), had

already volunteered to go with him; and that they two in the capacity

of war chiefs would lead the party should one be formed. Beside the two

brothers 28 others volunteered to share the lot of the two reckless

adventurers. So Dehaenhyowens appointed a time to start and a

rendezvous for the party, earnestly urging all to be prepared to depart

at the appointed time.

When the day arrived, Dehaenhyowens notified by a messenger all the

volunteers, who eagerly presented themselves at the rendezvous. When

they had completed all their preparations, they set out, directing

their course toward the place of the sunset.

As these warriors traveled on they finally came to a place in which

they found the habitations of a people whom they did not know. These

unoffending people they ruthlessly killed and scalped, and after this

bloody exploit they continued their journey toward the West.

Having journeyed a short distance farther, they suddenly came to the

settlement of another people. At the dawn they attacked these people,

slaying all the males who did not escape in the darkness, and, having

scalped the slain, they passed on, still following the course of the

sun.

A day’s journey farther on they came to the dwelling place of a third

people, whom they dealt with as before. Next morning they resumed their

march. They repeated their bloody exploits wherever they found a

village on the line of their march, continuing this slaughter for many

moons.

After pursuing this course for a long time, the packs of scalps which

they carried on their backs became so heavy as to be burdensome. Of

course, a number of the band had been killed by the people whom they

had attacked, so it now happened that those who remained began to

complain of the weight of the scalps. One and all said, “It seems

advisable that we should now leave our packs of scalps here in some out

of the way place for safekeeping.” Finally their chief, Dehaenhyowens,

said: “It is probable also that we may now see what we are seeking—the

scalp of all scalps. This we could use to cover all we have. Moreover,

the kind of thing(s) which we bring with us would not spoil.”

It was about this time that they fell in with a man so tall that

one-half the height of the tallest trees was the measure of his

towering stature. Then it was that Gaenhyakdondye

(Along-the-Edge-of-the-Sky, i.e., the Horizon) said: “Our good fortune

has brought about the accomplishment of the purpose of our expedition

upon which we had agreed—namely, that we should see in our hands a

large quantity of scalps. I think the next thing to be done is to

resolve to kill this man, whom we have met in this place. We shall then

become possessed of the large scalp about which my brother has already

prophesied. So let us attack him at once.” Immediately deploying, they

began to assault him, shooting arrows at him, and struck him with their

war clubs and stone hatchets, but they could make no impression on him

and failed to harm him in the least. At last the strange man said to

them, kindly: “What is it you desire to do? Do you imagine that you can

kill me?” They answered, “That is indeed our purpose, as it has been

our purpose on the journey hither to kill all who fall in our way, no

matter who they may be.” To this frank admission the strange man

replied: “The purpose for which you are banded together is not good.

From this time forward you must utterly renounce it and carefully

refrain from carrying it out. Know that it is quite impossible for you

to kill me. The reason I came to meet you here was to give you this

counsel. I watched you as you made your way to this place, and saw with

grief that you killed many people. I want you to know that the reason I

have come to meet you is that you have now committed wrongs enough on

innocent people; and I want you to know further that if you do not

cease from doing these wrongs you also shall die.” To this the leader

of the band, Dehaenhyowens, answered: “We are very thankful to you for

this good counsel, and we will try to abide by it. We will pass beyond

this point, as we have bound ourselves by a vow to attempt to reach the

place where the sun regularly sinks from view—the spot where the sun

goes to and fro.” Then the stranger said merely, “Do you, then, start

on your journey.” While they listened to him with bowed heads he

vanished, and they did not know nor see whither he went.

When they realized that they were again alone they departed from that

place. After traveling a long time, finally they saw before them a very

large lake, which barred their progress straight ahead. When they saw

that there was apparently no means of crossing the lake, Dehaenhyowens,

the leader of the band, said, “What should we do to pass over this

lake?” Thereupon one of the band, who seldom uttered a word, said: “We

have made an agreement bound with a vow that no matter what the

circumstances or the obstacles might be, we would nevertheless pass

through them as we have done in the past. Now the time has indeed come

for us to fulfill our agreement.” Dehaenhyowens answered, “It is indeed

even as you have stated it. Come, then, it is thou who must take the

lead.”

Then the man addressed started ahead, going out alone on the surface of

the lake. Thither did he go unflinchingly. Thereupon in turn each of

the others started in his wake, and crossed the lake safely.

When they reached dry land on the farther shore, they stood still,

looking around and examining the new country. They were surprised to

see that the visible sky rose and fell at regular intervals.[436] As

they conjectured, it rose to the height of the tallest pine tree known

to them, and they saw, too, that the place from which it rebounded was

so smooth that it glistened. While they watched the rising and falling

of the sky they saw a large number of pigeons, which flew out from the

other side of the sky, and after flying around returned whence they had

come.

Then Dehaenhyowens, the leader of the band, said: “What manner of thing

shall we now do? To be sure, here seems to be indeed the end of the

earth. It is evident, of course, that there is another country beyond

this sky barrier which is thus continually rising and falling.” Again

that member of the band who was never in the habit of speaking much

said, “You are of course well aware of the nature of the agreement by

which we bound ourselves together before we started away from home;

moreover, you know that those of us who are still alive number only

five. The opportunity now presents itself for us to do that on which we

all agreed; its fulfilment is now demanded of us; it is for us to act

in accordance with our agreement.”

Thereupon the leader of the band, Dehaenhyowens, said, “Come, then; let

us now lay aside our burden of scalps in this place for safekeeping

until our return.” So each of the band carefully concealed his pack of

scalps in such manner that he would be able to find it should he ever

have the opportunity of passing that spot again. When they had

concealed the scalps Dehaenhyowens, addressing himself to him who had

last spoken, said, “Now, it is thou who must take the lead in passing

this obstacle in our path, for our path leads directly into that

farther country. We must pass so quickly under the sky as it rises that

we shall not be caught by it when it falls back again.”

So the man who had been designated to take the lead, having reassured

himself, selected a favorable starting point for his dash under the

sky. Carefully timing the rising and the falling of the sky, he finally

dashed forward as swiftly as possible. His friends watched him run

onward until he had disappeared from view on the farther side of the

barrier. As the sky kept on rising and falling a second man, making

like dispositions, dashed forward, clearing the barrier as the first

had done, and disappearing from view on the other side. The third and

the fourth man had like success in clearing this obstacle. The sky,

however, did not cease from rising and falling back on its resting

place.

It was then the turn of the fifth and last man to make the perilous

attempt. His four companions anxiously watched him making his

dispositions to clear the danger which they had safely passed. They did

not see him start, but as the sky arose they saw him still far from the

passage, and just as he entered it the sky fell back crushing him to

death. He had miscalculated the distance he had to run to reach the

passageway, and thus his career ended.

Then the leader of the band, Dehaenhyowens, said: “Let us be thankful

that we have been fortunate enough to go through this danger, which has

taken one of our number. We now number only four, and we are without

arms or other means of defense. We know not whether we shall require

them or not. Now, I believe that we must depart hence and go forward.

It is very evident that we have arrived in a land quite different from

the one known to us. The light of this world is unequaled in its

brightness; the daylight of the land whence we started is like the

light of a starlight night compared with it. Now, let us depart hence.

We will go, seeking to find human beings, if there be such, who may

have a settlement here.”

Without further parleying they started forward. As they traveled along

they saw that the trees of all kinds were very large and tall, and that

they were in full bloom; these trees were of surpassing beauty. The

travelers were greatly surprised to learn that the flowers supplied the

light of that world, and they also observed that all the beasts and

animals and birds possessed exceptionally fine bodies and presence.

They remarked, too, that they had seen nothing during their journey

thither so wonderful and strange. They saw with astonishment also the

exuberance of the growing grasses and plants, among which they beheld

in rich profusion the fruited stalks of the strawberry plants, which

were as tall as the grasses. During their entire journey thither never

had they found such large, luscious berries.

Having gone some distance into the new country they were surprised to

see in the distance a great multitude of human beings, who were

assembled on the heath, which was the playground of that people; they

appeared to the travelers to be occupied with games of amusement.

Dehaenhyowens, the leader of the band, said, “What is to be done now,

my friends, seeing that we have arrived at the dwelling place of

strange human beings, and that we have nothing with which to defend

ourselves should they attempt to do us harm?” Thereupon, Gaenhyakdondye

said: “We have indeed made an agreement, as you know, that we should

forsake our kindred and our lives in order to accomplish the purpose of

this expedition. You know that each of us volunteered by ‘notching the

rod’ to carry out that agreement. If we are to die here, we can do

nothing to avoid such an end; we must not break our resolution and

compact to follow the path of the sun to the last. The only thing that

is certain in the case of our death is that our careers would end

here.” His brother, Dehaenhyowens, replied, “The matter stands even as

you have stated it; so then let us go forward to meet this people.” At

this they started toward the place where they saw a great multitude

assembled. In a very short time the anxious travelers came to a

standstill not far from the others. Looking around, they saw that the

inhabitants of the settlement were in readiness to witness a game of

lacrosse, and that the players were even then standing in their

accustomed places.

In a short time the game commenced, and the vast multitude drew near as

interested spectators. As soon as it was fairly under way there arose a

great tumult; there was shouting and loud cries of excitement and

approbation caused by the varying fortunes of favorite players. The

great multitude rejoiced, and the new arrivals were greatly delighted

with what they saw.

At this time one of the players exhibited great rudeness in his manner

of playing, striking right and left with his netted club without regard

to other players who might be injured by his recklessness. Thereupon a

person from the crowd, going up to him, said: “Do thou cease acting so

rudely; thy manner is too violent, because one who is rejoicing does

not act thus. So do not act thus again.” Then the players at once

resumed the game, playing as they never had played before. In a short

time, however, the player who had been cautioned to be more mild in his

methods of play exhibited again his violence toward his playmates. At

once the man who had before reprimanded him went up to him again and

said, “Assuredly, I forbade thee acting again so rudely as thou hast

done, yet thou hast disobeyed my request. Now thou shalt rest for a

time. Thou art too unkind and headstrong.” Thereupon, seizing the ball

player by the nape of the neck and by the legs and lifting him up

bodily, he bore him away. Not far distant stood a very large tree.

Thither the man carried the ball player, and having arrived near the

tree, he cast the youth against its trunk. Headforemost his body

penetrated the trunk, part of his head coming out on the opposite side,

while his feet still protruded on the nearer side. Then the man quietly

returned to the ball ground, and play was resumed. The game was

continued until one of the sides had scored the number of points

requisite to win, and then the players again mingled with the crowd.

Then the man who had imprisoned the rude player in the tree released

the prisoner, with an admonition to be more mild in his methods in the

future. On his return to the multitude the man told them that it was

time for them to return to their several homes, and they dispersed.

It was then that this man, who seemed to be one of the chief men of the

settlement, came to the place where stood the traveling company of

Dehaenhyowens. As soon as he joined them he asked familiarly, “So you

have arrived, have you?” Replying to this question, Dehaenhyowens said,

“We have now arrived.” The man answered, “Assuredly, the reason that

you have arrived safe in this land is that one of your number began at

the very time of your departure from home to think, repeatedly

soliloquizing, ‘Oh, Thou Master of Life, Thou shouldst have pity on us,

so that we may pass through all the dangers which beset the

accomplishment of the purpose of our solemn agreement. But, if it so be

that we shall die on this earth, grant that we may also arrive in that

other land that is extant, where Thou thyself abidest, Thou Master of

Life.’ Every day, every night also, such was his mind. It was that

which was able to bring your bodies into this land—this elder country.

Moreover, you have fully accomplished that which I promised you when I

met you on your way hither. So now, let me ask you, who among you is

willing that I should restore his life; that is, refit his being?”

Then one of the four travelers answered, “I am one that is willing; you

shall begin on me.” Then the man of the settlement, going to a tree

which stood not far distant and seizing it, bent it down to the earth;

he then stripped the bark in one entire piece from the trunk. Placing

this piece of bark on the ground, he said to the volunteer, “Now, do

thou come hither to me.” Thereupon the man who had consented to have

his body and being refitted went forward to him. Then the host placed

the man on the outspread piece of bark, while the latter’s three

companions intently watched him in what he was doing to their

companion; and they saw him begin his work. Having taken apart the

fleshly body of their companion, and unjointed all his skeleton, he

laid each several piece aside. And then he took each of the pieces,

each one of the joints of the bones, and wiped it very carefully. He

soon completed his task, washing all.

He then began to join together all the bones and all the portions of

flesh in their proper relations. As soon as he had completed his task

he said to his guests: “Now I have refinished this work. What is solely

of the other world has been removed, for what is of the earth earthy is

out of place here. Now, my friend, arise again.” Then the man whose

body and being had been remodeled arose, and he stood erect and cast

his eyes around him. His host said to him, “Like unto what is your life

as you now feel it? Do you feel different from what you were before I

remodeled your body and being?” To this the renewed man replied: “The

conditions of my life are such that I feel immeasurably better, and

happier than I did before.” His host said to him, “If this be, indeed,

true, make the attempt to overtake and seize that deer standing yonder

in the distance. When the remodeled man started toward it the deer at

once fled in terror. The man ran swiftly in pursuit, and the deer had

not gone very far before he overtook and seized it. On bringing it back

to the place where his host stood, the latter said to him, “Now,

assuredly, your life has become a new thing—you have acquired the life

of this country.”

The remaining three of Dehaenhyowens’ party, seeing how desirable was

the change brought about in the body and life of the other by having

him remodeled, said, “We, too, wish to have the same changes made in us

as were brought about in the body and life of our companion. So we ask

that the same be done for us, too.”

Then the host of the band of Dehaenhyowens proceeded to renew and

remodel the bodies and the lives of the three who had last requested

him to do so. When he had completed this task he said to them as their

friend, “Now, I have recast all your lives; I have finished everything

that concerns and fits them for this country. We will now start to go

to the lodge, where you shall remain while you are in this country as

your home.”

So the band of Dehaenhyowens and their host started. They walked

leisurely along, noting the many strange things which attracted their

attention on every side. They had not gone far before they reached a

very large lodge, into which their host led the party; here they saw a

very old woman who presided over the lodge. On entering, the host of

Dehaenhyowens and his friends said to the old woman: “I have brought

here those persons who, I said, would take up their abode here when

they arrived in this country. They shall remain here under your care

and keeping.” The aged woman, the mistress of the lodge, replied: “It

shall be even as you have said. These, my grandchildren, shall be one

with me here in this lodge.” Then, the man who had brought the visitors

there said: “Now I will go away. Make yourselves at home.” And he left

the lodge at once to attend to his own affairs.

The mistress of the lodge said to her guests, to make them feel more at

home: “I am not quite alone, you see, in caring for the lodge, which is

very large. The male persons who dwell here are absent hunting; they

will soon return for the night. I will now prepare something for you to

eat.” Thereupon she set before them what was ready cooked in the lodge.

When they first entered the lodge the band of Dehaenhyowens noticed

that the old woman was busily engaged in making a mantle for herself;

at intervals she held the work up at arm’s length to note the effect of

her labor. The visitors discovered also that human hair was the

material out of which the old woman was making her mantle. They saw,

too, that their aged hostess possessed a very small cur, which lay near

by on her couch. They were astonished to see that, when the old woman

left her work for a few moments, the cur quickly arose and, going over

to the place where the old woman had left her hair work, began to

unravel hurriedly but steadily all the work that the old woman had done

on her mantle. When the dog had nearly unraveled all the work the old

woman returned to continue her task.

While the visitors were eating what the old woman had set before them

the male members of her household returned, each bearing a bundle. On

entering the lodge they said to the old woman: “We have returned. We

were fortunate throughout the entire expedition in killing much game.”

The mistress of the lodge said in reply: “Verily, be it known that a

short time ago Teharonhiawagon brought to this lodge the human beings

(oñgwe), who, he said, were coming to this country, and who, he said,

would abide in this lodge when they should arrive. They have arrived,

and these men here are they. Talk with them and become acquainted with

them.” Thereupon the men who had just returned to their lodge drew near

the visitors and conversed with them, saying: “We are, indeed, thankful

that you have arrived here safe. It is now a long time that we have

kept watching you on your way hither. Moreover, be it known, now that

we have seen one another, we are greatly rejoiced.” Then they mutually

stroked one another’s bodies, as was customary on such occasions, and

greatly rejoiced to become acquainted.

Then the old woman began to prepare food for the returned hunters; and

when it was cooked the old woman called the men, saying, “Now, of

course, you will eat the food which I have prepared for you”; and the

men began to take their nourishment. Their manner of doing this seemed

most peculiar to the band of Dehaenhyowens; hence they intently watched

the hunters, who did not eat the food set before them. Instead, they

merely absorbed the exhalations of the food, it being the odor or

effluvium of the food that satisfied their hunger. When they had

finished their meal the old woman said to them, “It is now time,

perhaps, that you should go out to hunt game which our human guests can

eat, for you know that they do not eat the same kind of things that you

do.”

Accordingly, the hunters started out of the lodge to seek game for

their guests. As soon as the men were gone the old woman took from the

headrest of her couch a single grain of corn and a single squash seed.

Going to the end of the fireplace, there she prepared in the ashes two

small hills or beds, in one of which she placed the grain of corn and

in the other the squash seed, and carefully covered them with rich

soil. In a very short space of time the visitors were greatly surprised

to see that the seeds had sprouted and shot out of the ground small

plantlets, which were growing rapidly. Not very long after this they

saw the cornstalk put forth an ear of corn and the squash vine a

squash. In the short space of a few hours these plants had supplied the

old woman with ears of corn and squashes. These she prepared to cook.

By this time the men who were out hunting returned to the lodge,

bringing with them the carcass of a fine deer which they had killed.

This they speedily set to work to skin and quarter. As soon as they had

finished this task, the old woman set the venison, corn, and squashes

over the fire to cook in kettles on stone supports and hastened the

cooking by putting hot stones into them. When these things were cooked

she placed them in fine bowls of bark, which she set before the

visitors, bidding them to eat heartily. So Dehaenhyowens and his

friends ate their fill.

It now came to pass that the aged woman said, “It is time, you will

agree, I think, for you to go again to hunt.” This she said to the male

members of her family. Then the visitors saw something very strange.

They saw the old woman take from under her couch a large quantity of

corn husks and carry them to what appeared to be an added lodge or

separate room and there push aside the door flap. In that room the

visitors saw what seemed to them a lake, round in form. The old woman

made a circuit of the lake, heaping the corn husks around its edges.

When this task was finished she set the corn husks on fire and they

quickly burst into flames, and these flames consumed all the water of

the lake. Next she said to her men folks, “Now, I have again completed

the preparations. Do you start now. You must be careful. In the course

of your excursion you must not injure any person.” These words she

addressed to the men of her lodge, and they departed on their usual

trip through the land.

It came to pass that the band of Dehaenhyowens remained in the lodge of

the old woman during the entire time they were in that country.

Furthermore, it happened that when they took a stroll in the country

while the men of the lodge were absent they came on a spring of water

which formed a large pool. One of the party, using his bow as a rod,

thrust it into the pool to see whether he could find any living thing

in it; but he saw nothing to attract his attention. When they returned

to the lodge they again stood their bows in the usual place, in a

corner of the room. When the men of the lodge had returned home from

their excursion into the country one of them said, “There is something

in this lodge that has the smell of game (i.e., something to be

killed),” and he at once began looking around from place to place. Then

the others after sniffing the air exclaimed, “It is true; there is

something in here that smells like a game animal.” At this one went to

the place where the bows belonging to the band of Dehaenhyowens were

standing and, taking one of the bows in his hand, said, “It is, indeed,

this bow that has the scent.” Turning to Dehaenhyowens, he said: “To

what place have you been? What is the place like where you touched

something with this bow?” Answering, Dehaenhyowens said, “Yonder, not

far away, you know, there is a cliff, and on the farther side of it

there is a spring of water, forming a deep pool.”

Thereupon the men of the lodge exclaimed, “Let us all go to that place

right away,” and all started out of the lodge and ran swiftly to the

spring. When they arrived there Dehaenhyowens said to his companions,

“There, in this spring and pool, I thrust my bow to rouse whatever

might dwell therein.” One of the men of the country answered: “It is

certain that some mysterious creature abides herein. We shall see what

it is. Do you, our friends, stand yonder, a little aloof, and then you

shall see the thing done, when we shall kill it.”

Heeding this admonition, the band of Dehaenhyowens drew back a short

distance and watched the men of the country make their dispositions for

the attack. They did not wait long to see a wonderful phenomenon, for

the men of the country at once began their task. One touched with a rod

the bottom of the pool whence flowed the spring of water. Thereupon

began to be heard loud sounds, even such as are heard when the voicings

of thunder fill the air with a deafening din. Such was the tumult and

confusion at this time that the now thoroughly frightened human beings

fled from the spot to seek safety. There were also flashes of lightning

followed by loud crashes and deep rumblings of the thunder. This uproar

continued for some time, when suddenly it ceased and one of the hosts

of Dehaenhyowens said, calling his guests back: “Oh, come back! We have

now killed this creature.”

Thereupon, when they had again assembled, they departed, going back to

their lodge. When they reached it they said to the old woman: “We have

now killed that uncanny creature, that Otkon. Indeed, we do not know in

what possible way it happened that this creature took up its abode so

very near this lodge. We had never before noticed it. It may have been

there a long time, since it had grown so large. We have barely escaped,

perhaps, some great misfortune.” The old woman replied gratefully,

“What a very remarkable affair it is, in which our visitors have been

of assistance to us.” In a moment she asked: “What is the Otkon?[437]

What is the form and kind of thing you have so fortunately killed?” The

men answered: “It is the Great Blue Lizard which we have destroyed.” So

they rested for the night.

The next morning the old woman said to the men of her lodge: “For

myself, I am thinking that it is just the time of the year when you

should again make mellow and moist all the things that grow on the

earth. What do you say?” One of the men replied, “It would seem well,

perhaps, that you should ask him who is the principal one to be

consulted in regard to our duties in this matter. It is possible that

he may say: ‘It is now the proper time of the year in which you should

again make mellow and moist all the things that severally grow on the

earth.’” So saying, he ceased talking with her.

Arising from her seat and pushing aside gently the door flap at the

entrance to the adjoining room, the aged woman made the inquiry just

noted. The person addressed answered: “For myself, I too think that it

is time, perhaps, for doing that about which you have asked me. So let

it be done as you wish.”

Allowing the door flap to fall back, the old woman withdrew to her own

apartment in the lodge. In order to make the needed preparations for

carrying out the purpose of her inquiry she gathered a quantity of corn

husks and, again entering the place in which the lake was situated, she

heaped once more the corn husks along the shore. When she had placed

the corn husks around the entire circuit of the lake she set them on

fire. When the fire had become brisk and bright the old woman, turning

to the men of the lodge, said: “I have now again made the necessary

preparations for the performance of your accustomed task, and you shall

start on your journey to make all things that grow on the earth moist

and mellow and the soil as well. They who are visiting us shall

accompany you wherever you may go; you must carefully keep them from

harm, and you must show them all things of interest on your journey.”

Taking up their implements and weapons, the men of the lodge and their

guests departed. During the course of their long journey one of the

hosts of the Dehaenhyowens and his men said: “You shall now see the

things over which we have charge. He whom you are wont to call

Hawenniyo (the Ruler) is the person who has charged us with all these

matters, and we shall continue to have the care of them so long as the

earth endures. We shall tend all those things which he has planted on

the earth; we shall habitually cause water to fall on them; we shall

keep all the water in the several rivers on the earth fresh at all

times; and we shall water all those things upon which you and your

people live, so that all things which he has made to be shall not

perish for the need of water. And you, you human beings, shall then

live in health and contentment. Such are our duties from day to day.”

Then it was that Dehaenhyowens and his party, looking beneath them, saw

another earth far below. As they proceeded they heard loud noises, like

the voicings of Thunder when he draws near on earth; and there began to

be bright flashes of lightning, and next there began to be rain; and,

finally, raindrops fell to the lower earth.

As they moved onward they saw a huge serpent, which had formidable

horns protruding from its head. Then one of the hosts of Dehaenhyowens

and his friends said: “Look at that creature moving along swiftly

yonder. It is known that were it to emerge permanently from the

interior of the earth it would bring great misfortune to the things

that dwell on the earth; in fact, it would bring to an end the days of

a large multitude of you human beings. To see that it never comes forth

permanently out of the ground is one of the duties with which we are

strictly charged.” In a moment the speaker continued, “Now you shall

see what will take place when we will kill it.” As the party of

Dehaenhyowens watched, their hosts began to pursue the serpent. The

voice of the Thunder was exceedingly loud and the flashes of lightning

amazingly vivid. Finally, the huge serpent was hit by its pursuers and

began to flee from them. It sought unsuccessfully to hide beneath

standing trees, but these trees were struck and riven into splinters;

then it fled to the mountains, seeking to conceal itself beneath their

shelter; but this also was in vain, for it was repeatedly hit by the

men of Thunder, and, finally, was killed.

As an explanation of this phenomenon the hosts of Dehaenhyowens and his

friends said: “It is verily true that beneath the surface of the ground

whatever is otkon (i.e., malign by nature) moves to-and-fro from place

to place. It would, indeed, be most unfortunate for us all should this

species of being be permitted to travel from place to place upon the

earth. Hence such beings are doomed to abide beneath the surface of the

ground in the interior of the earth.

“And now concerning the origin of these beings: It was he whom we call

the Evil-minded One [438] that formed their bodies; and it came to pass

that he whom you call Hawenniyo (i.e., the Disposer, or Ruler) decided

that so long as the earth endures these beings shall abide under the

surface of the earth. Furthermore, we ourselves believe that He who

charged us with the performance of this task of keeping them beneath

the surface of the earth will cause it to come to pass, perhaps when

the earth is nearing its end—then, and not until then—that these beings

shall be permitted to come forth upon the earth. So is it, indeed, to

come to pass that when the event is not distant—the end of the earth—He

will bring to an end the duties with which we are severally charged, to

be performed for the benefit of the things that live upon the earth.

Not until then shall the waters which are held in their several places

become polluted; finally all other things shall likewise become old and

decayed upon the earth; and all things that grow out of the ground,

too, shall grow old and sear; indeed, all things shall become withered

and decayed. Now let us turn back homeward.”

Then the party, turning homeward, retraced their steps. On reentering

their lodge the spokesman of the party said to the old woman who

presided over the lodgehold (household), “We have now completed the

task of making moist and mellow all things that grow upon the face of

the earth.” Arising from her seat, the aged matron went into the

adjoining room of the lodge and said to a person who occupied that

room, “Now, they have, indeed, returned.” With these words the old

woman withdrew and resumed her accustomed seat.

In a short time the door flap separating the adjoining room was thrust

aside and a man (hĕñʹgweʻ [439]), thrusting his head through the

doorway, asked the men who had returned, “Have you now, indeed,

completed the work? Have you made moist and mellow all things that grow

on the earth beneath this one?” The men replied in unison, “We have

indeed accomplished our task as we were charged to do.” Thereupon the

person from the adjoining room said, “Now you must rest until there

shall be another day; then you shall again recommence the performance

of the duties with which you are severally charged.”

This conversation gave Dehaenhyowens and his party the opportunity of

seeing the speaker. They were convinced that he was human; that he was,

in fact, a hĕñʹgweʻ. But they were amazed to see that while half of the

body of this strange person was in all respects like that of a human

being, the other half of his body was crystal ice. They felt, too, a

breeze that was chilling strike them from out of the doorway; but at

this moment the strange man withdrew the door flap, concealing the room

from further observation.

The aged matron of the lodge, addressing her guests, said: “That person

whom you have just seen is, in fact, the principal one of all those who

are charged with duties to perform in the economy of the earth. He is

called by us Dehodyadgaowen (i.e., the Cloven-bodied Man); he is named

also Owisondyon (i.e., Cast or Falling Hail). It is this feature that

you saw when he showed his face at the doorway, and that explains why

there came forth from him a cold breeze. This act will immediately

cause the prospective days and nights on the earth to become cold and

wintry. However, when the day again dawns he will again show his face

and the other side of his body, and immediately there will blow hither

a hot breeze.”

Then the members of the lodge said one to another: “We have paused in

our labors in order to rest. Tomorrow it will come to pass that we

shall take you back to the place whence you departed, for you have been

here now many days. This is, of course, what you human beings call

springtime.” Having said this, all the members of the lodge fell asleep

in their several places. When morning came the door flap separating the

room from the adjoining one was again thrust aside, and the strange

man, Dehodyadgaowen, showed himself in the doorway, and called out

aloud, “Now then, all you people, awake and arise; it is time to do

so.” At this all the sleepers awoke, and as they awoke, they

outstretched their arms and bodies, yawning and uttering loud

vociferations, as are heard on earth in the voice of Thunder. There

arose a warm breeze, and then the men of the lodge went out. It was but

a short time after this that the men reentered the lodge and said to

their guests: “You should accompany us on our intended journey, so that

you may see an Otkon which inhabits certain trees near the place whence

we returned. It is a long time that we have been making attempts to

kill and destroy this being, for it is possessed of very powerful

orenda.” Thereupon Dehaenhyowens replied, “It is of course right that

we should accompany you to learn what manner of being that may be.”

So all the men of the lodge started on their journey, going directly to

the place where the being that was otkon had its lair. Having gone a

long distance, the men of Thunder finally said to their guests: “There,

indeed, is the place in which the Otkon abides. You must stand in

yonder place, quite removed from any danger from this being, and you

shall see it as we shall cause it to come forth from the lair.”

Thereupon the party of Dehaenhyowens withdrew to the designated

position. They saw one of their hosts go forward and hit one of the

trees several sharp blows with his club; they saw the being come forth

from its lair and concluded that it was what they called a squirrel.

But the being, or squirrel, thrust its body only partially out of its

hiding place; at once the men of Thunder hurled their shots at it;

there were loud thunderings and the lightning flashes were vivid, and

there arose a great tumult and a terrific hurricane. In a short time

the men of Thunder ceased for a moment, having failed to hit the being.

At once the squirrel (or being) quickly descended the tree on which it

then was, and running to another tree, climbed it in an effort to

escape its tormentors. But very soon the men of Thunder shivered this

tree, whereupon the squirrel, having fled back to the first tree,

swiftly climbed back into its lair. Then the men of Thunder said: “Now,

indeed, you have seen what we call Otkon. The time is long in which we

have been making vain efforts to destroy this being, this great Otkon.”

In replying, Dehaenhyowens said: “It is now our turn; we will attempt

to kill the Otkon.” But the men of Thunder answered, “We fear that the

attempt will not result favorably; you may be injured, for, indeed,

this is an Otkon beyond measure.” Dehaenhyowens replied assuringly, “We

know that we can accomplish this task.” “If you are determined to make

the attempt, we will assist you should you fail,” said the men of

Thunder. Going up to the tree in which the squirrel had its lair, one

of the party of Dehaenhyowens tapped on it with his club. Forthwith the

squirrel again thrust out its body and gazed at the men. Taking a

knob-headed arrow from his quiver, Dehaenhyowens shot at it, hitting

the squirrel fair in the head and causing it to come tumbling to the

ground.

Thereupon the men of Thunder, taking up the body of the squirrel,

started for home, with their guests. When they reached their lodge the

men of Thunder said to the old woman, “Now, in fact, our visitors have

killed it; they have indeed killed the Otkon, which for a very long

time we have failed in our attempts to kill.” Answering this, the old

woman said: “I am very thankful to receive this news. This then shall

be done: the skin of this Otkon shall belong to me; as it is so

precious, it shall be the robe of my couch.” So Dehaenhyowens carefully

skinned the squirrel; after doing this he neatly prepared the skin,

which he spread on a suitable frame to dry. When it had thoroughly

dried Dehaenhyowens presented it to the old woman, assuring her that

was the method his people employed in preserving the skins of animals.

The old woman received the skin with many thanks, for she felt that she

had come into possession of a skin which was very precious to her.

Then, addressing the men of her lodge, she said: “Our visitors are the

ones who have accomplished this thing for us. In token of this one of

our visitors shall remain here as one of us. He shall be a coworker

with you for the reason that he and his kindred were able to accomplish

that which you yourselves were unable to do.” In giving assent to this

the men replied: “Let that, too, be done; let him who is foremost among

us say it, and it shall be done.” The old woman replied: “That is so;

his consent is all that is required to accomplish this desirable

thing.” At once arising from her seat, she went to the doorway leading

to the adjoining room and, pushing aside the door flap, said: “Behold!

Will you confirm the proposition that one of the men visiting us shall

remain here as one of us, while his companions shall return hence to

their own homes? The reason for this is that he was able to kill the

squirrel (the Otkon), and since the men who live in this lodge had

failed for so long a time to do so, I desire that he shall assist them

at all times and be a coworker with them.” Answering the old woman,

Dehodyadgaowen said: “I willingly confirm this proposition, if it be

that he himself is freely willing, and that of course he will volunteer

to have his life pounded (in a mortar). Then, as you know, it will be

possible for him to help them continually.” With this he ceased

speaking.

Returning to the group comprising the party of Dehaenhyowens, the old

woman said: “Hatchʼkwĭʻ! (Behold!), wilt thou confirm the proposition

that thou shalt remain here alone while thy companions return to their

own homes? If thou wilt be willing to agree to this, I will give thee a

new name. This shall be the name by which they shall hereafter

habitually call thee, namely, Dăgāʹĕⁿʻʹdăʼ (i.e., the Thaw, or the Warm

Spring Weather).” This member of the party of Dehaenhyowens replied, “I

willingly agree to this proposal; I am quite willing to be an assistant

to them in their work.” To this the old woman answered: “I am much

pleased that the matter is now settled. We indeed have become of one

opinion, having one purpose in view.”

At this time Dehodyadgaowen interrupted by saying, “Now, then, do you

bring his person (body) in to this room, and let him at once be

prepared for his duties.” The old woman, addressing the visitor who had

consented to remain, said, “Come! The time has arrived for doing what

you have agreed to do for us, what you require to fit you for your new

duties.” Accordingly, the man entered the room which adjoined the one

in which he and his friends were, and in which abode Dehodyadgaowen. As

soon as he had entered Dehodyadgaowen said to him: “Here stands the

mortar. Thou must place thyself in it. Now, verily, thou shalt change

thyself, thy person, as to the kind of its flesh.” Obeying his

instructor, the man at once placed himself in the hollowed end of the

mortar wherein the grain was usually pounded, whereupon Dehodyadgaowen

drew near, and taking up the pestle, pounded him in the manner in which

grain is pounded, striking three blows. Having done this, he said to

the visitor: “Thy flesh has now changed in kind. The task is

accomplished. Thou mayst sing to try thy voice.” The transformed man

began to sing, and Dehaenhyowens and his one remaining friend heard the

singing, which sounded to them exactly like the voice of approaching

thunder, only that the volume was somewhat less, as it seemed to them.

They said one to the other, “Now it is known that he, Dăgāʹĕⁿʻʹdăʼ, is

approaching,” and soon their transformed friend reentered the room.

In a short time thereafter the old woman said to the men of the lodge,

now including the newly transformed person: “You shall now start on

your journey, and you shall begin to make mellow and moist anew all the

things that are growing on the earth beneath. And this, moreover, shall

be done. Dăgāʹĕⁿʻʹdăʼ shall take the lead. So it shall be he whom they

who dwell on the earth below shall name first in the spring of the

year. Of course the human being will say, ‘Now the warm wind has come

down; now the hot spring wind blows again; and so now the spring season

will come upon us.’ They shall never forget, indeed, each time the line

of demarcation between the snowtime and the summertime arrives, for

Dăgāʹĕⁿʻʹdăʼ shall continue to change the days and nights of the

future. You men must start to accompany part of the way homeward those

who have been visiting us for so many days.”

Before they got started she resumed her discourse, saying: “Now I will

tell you, who are human beings of the earth, that it is even I whom you

call the Nocturnal Light Orb (the Moon). And He it is whom you and your

ancestors have called Deauñhyawagon, sometimes Hawenniyo (the Master or

Ruler), who has commissioned me. And this is what He has commissioned

me to do: When it becomes dark on the earth it is I who shall cause it

to be in some measure light and warm on the earth, so that it become

not too cold nor too dark; so that all the things which should grow may

grow unharmed on the earth, including all those things on which you

human beings live, dwelling as you do on the earth beneath. Until the

time that the earth shall stand no more He has commissioned me to act

and to do my duty. It is thus with us all. He has commissioned us only

for the time during which the earth beneath shall endure. Moreover, I

will now impart to you the following information so that you oñʹgwe

(human beings) living on the earth shall know that they who abide here

in this place are those whom you call Hadiwĕñnodaʹdye’s (the

Thunderers); and so that you shall know that He who established this

world is One whom you call Deauñhyawagon and also Hawĕñniʼyo (the Ruler

or Disposer). It was He who decreed that these men shall customarily

come to the lower world from the west and that they shall move toward

the east.

“So let this be a sign to you who dwell on the lower earth that when it

comes to pass that these men of Thunder come from the east you shall

know at once its meaning, and shall say one to another, ‘Now it seems

that the time is at hand in which He will take to pieces the earth as

it stands.’ Verily, such is the strict manner in which He has

commissioned us, charging us with definite duties. It is well known

that the Diurnal Light Orb (the Sun) customarily comes from one certain

direction; in like manner, it is also true of me, for I too must appear

to the lower world from one certain direction. This obligation on our

part is fixed; and our coming shall never occur in a different manner

as long as the earth endures—at least until that day in the future when

He himself, whom you call sometimes Hawĕñni’yo, shall transform what He

himself has established.

“Now the time has arrived for you to start for your home; but first,

before you depart, you must journey about this upper world to see

everything that may be beneficial to you and to your people in the days

to come. By the time you return from this journey of observation I will

have made ready what you shall take with you when you shall go again to

make mellow and wet the earth beneath. This, too, upon which I am at

work is something about which I must tell you something. I am engaged

in making myself a mantle, and the material out of which I am weaving

it is, indeed, what you think it is—human hair. You have observed as

well that each time I lay my work aside for a moment my small cur as

often undoes quite all that I have done. I will now tell you by what

means I obtain the human hair of which I am making myself a mantle.

When some human being dies on the earth below one hair from his head

detaches itself and departs thence, coming directly to me. It is such

hairs that I am using in making my mantle. This serves as a sign to me

that one has ceased to be on the earth below, and that that person is

traveling hither. This shall continue as long as the earth beneath

shall endure and have form. Moreover, mark this well, that when He

shall cause the death of human beings on the earth below, it shall then

and not before be possible for me to finish the mantle on which I am

working; and the number of hairs in this mantle will then bear witness

to the number of persons who have visited the earth below while it

lasted. Now you may take an observation trip.”