OF LOS ANGELES CO., CALIFORNIA. 21 



time turned back, but the third [stc] time accomplished it. 

 The brother returned to the house and told his mother 

 of having found an unknown woman in his bath and threw 

 her out of it and saw her nakedness. The father and 

 mother left the hut together, and on seeking their 

 daughter could not find her. " She has gone from 

 shame," said the mother; "Where shall we find her?" 

 The father took the twig of a willow, made a ring of it, 

 and covered it with buckskin ; this was thrown to the 

 north, it returned again ; he threw it to the south, and 

 the same result ; he then threw it east ; then west, the 

 ring following all the turnings and windings of the daugh- 

 ter. The father followed the ring until it came to the sea- 

 shore. " She has drowned herself," said he, when he saw 

 the ring enter the ocean. He returned, debating with 

 himself whether it was better to punish his son first, or the 

 chief of Verdugas ; he determined on the former first. 

 On arriving home he told his wife who cried bitterly, 

 which amazed the people much. Calling together all of 

 his people, he told them they must take his son with them 

 on a hunting excursion and let him be killed by wild 

 beasts. His son was accordingly decked out in all his 

 ornaments and money beads and told to go with the people 

 hunting, when they were to stay out all night. He went, 

 and they slept out, and the next morning a fire was kindled 

 at which all were warming themselves. One of the old 

 Seers had brought a screech owl with him, hidden, which 

 was no other than the father of the boy, which he let out 

 and frightened all the people who ran off leaving the boy 

 alone, when a large bird, the Cuwot (cry cw, nothing of 

 which, save its shadow, had ever been seen), said to be 

 the boy's father in another form, came and took him up. 

 Then the people came back cry ing, "the Cuwot has carried 

 off the chiefs sou." As they came up, the bones came 



