536 ANNUAL, REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1918. 



largely idealized by tradition. Prophetic dreams and visions an- 

 nounced to his doubting grandmother his alleged divine origin and 

 heavenly mission among men; prodigies attended his birth and 

 childhood; he had power on earth and in heaven — that is to 

 say, he knew and sought to do the will of the Master of Life, 

 Te'haro n 'hywa'k'ho n \ His mother and grandmother were poor 

 and despised and lived alone in a small lodge by themselves on 

 the outskirts of the village to which they belonged, and so they 

 had few, if any, visitors who might seek the daughter for a wife. 

 But there came a day when the watchful mother became aware that 

 her daughter would herself in due time give birth to a child, and 

 bitterly did she reprove her for not marrying a man in the 

 customar}- way, for now she was bringing scandal upon her mother 

 and herself. The daughter, however, steadfastly denied that 

 she had had commerce with any man at any time, but her mother 

 doubted her and carried her reproof so far as to cause the daughter 

 much bitterness of spirit, and she, therefore, spent much time in 

 silently weeping, for she loved her mother and claimed that she did 

 not know the cause of her pregnancy, and she was deeply grieved 

 by her mother's chiding. It was then that the mother had a dream 

 in which she was told by a divine messenger that she was doing her 

 daughter great wrong in not believing her statement that she did 

 not know the source of her condition ; and she was further told that 

 her daughter would bear a male child, whom they must call 

 Deganawida, and that he would be indirectly the cause of ruin to 

 their people. 



The repentant mother upon awaking asked her daughter's forgive- 

 ness for the wrong she had done her in not believing her denials. 

 They, however, decided to destroy the life of the child when it should 

 be born because of the dream's declaration that he would grow up 

 and be the source of evil to their people. So when the child was born 

 they carried it to a neighboring stream of water, which was frozen 

 over, and cutting a hole in the ice thrust the child into it to drown, 

 and they returned to their lodge. But when they awoke in the 

 morning they found the child unharmed and lying asleep between 

 them. This attempt to rid themselves of this child was repeated 

 twice more, but each time no harm came to the child, and then after 

 consultation the two women decided that it was the will of the Mas- 

 ter of Life that they should raise the child. They were most kind 

 to him thereafter, and they gave him the name Deganawida, as the 

 dream had directed the grandmother to do. He was reputed to have 

 been one of seven brothers, but in regard to the father or fathers 

 of the six younger brothers tradition is silent. 



When he grew to man's estate he informed his mother and grand- 

 mother that he must leave them to perform a great work in lands 



