24 HUGO RIED'S account of the INDIANS 



the whirlwind addressed him and said, " Return to your 

 hut." "No," said he, "I intend going wnth thee for- 

 ward." "That cannot be," said the spirit, "for I am not 

 as formerly. I am dead to the world, and you cannot go, 

 for no human being can go where I am going, nor can 

 earthly eyes behold our figures ; therefore return." He 

 w^ould not. " Well ," said the voice, " how can I take thee, 

 there is an immense sea to pass." At last finding him 

 positive, she bound him to her waist with her sash, tell- 

 ing him to hold his breath as they went through the air. 

 They arrived at last in the land of spirits where he could 

 see nothing like human fonns, and only heard innumer- 

 able voices, exclaiming, " What a stench of something 

 earthly, you must have brought that." The wife ac- 

 knowledged she had, but exculpated herself on the ground 

 that the being she brought w^as a superior one, being not 

 only a great hunter, but could do anything. " Return 

 him to the earth again, take him away," exclaimed the 

 voices. But one voice at length said, " Let us try him 

 first and see what he can do." He was ordered to climb 

 a pole of great length, and bring down a feather from the 

 top. He felt afraid to ascend, but his wife told him to 

 try, but not to look down wiiile doing so. He accom- 

 plished the feat and there was great applause, when the 

 voices cried out aijojyui-cushna — our brother-in-law — is 

 good at climbing. He was then given a long hair and told 

 to split it from end to end. This again made his courage 

 fail, but his wife told him to do it and to have faith. He 

 had faith in her word and the hair split from end to end 

 with ease. " Well done, our brother-in-law," exclaimed 

 the voices. He was told to make a map of the constel- 

 lation of Ursus Major and show the position of the North 

 star. Ho felt great fear to attempt this as he had seen 

 the Seers do this but had never learned it himself. His 



