146 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 190 



Others said that Aataentsic's husband, who was sick, had dreamed 

 that a certain tree from which they obtained their food should be cut 

 down and that as soon as he ate of this fruit he would be healed. 

 Aataentsic took his ax and went to cut down the tree. On the first 

 blow, the tree split and fell to earth. She went back, told her husband 

 this and then returned and threw herself after the tree. As she fell, 

 Turtle raised her head and saw her. She called together the other 

 aquatic animals, told them what she had seen, and asked what they 

 thought should be done. Most referred the problem to Beaver, who 

 in turn gave it to Turtle. Turtle said that they should all dive to the 

 bottom of the water and bring up soil and put it on her back. This 

 done, Aataentsic fell very gently on this island. Some time after this 

 she gave birth to a daughter (JR 10: 127-129). 



Aataentsic was the mother of him who made the earth (JR 14: 9) 

 or the grandmother (S 169) . She gave birth to two boys, Tawiscaron 

 and louskeha (JR 10: 129, 163) {Jouskeha (JR 8: 117), Toscaha 

 (S 169, 172)]. "Wlien they grew up, they fought; louskeha using the 

 horns of a stag as a weapon and Tawiscaron, some fruits of the wild 

 rosebush. loiiskeha struck his brother so hard that his blood flowed 

 abundantly and he fled. From his blood, a certain kind of stone 

 [flint] sprang up, as that used in France to fire a gun, which the 

 Indians called tawiscara after the name of the wounded brother ( JR 

 10: 129-131). 



The Huron believed that Aataentsic was the moon and lousTcelia, 

 the sun (JR 10: 133). Both governed the world. louskeha had 

 charge of the living, the animals, plants, and of the things that con- 

 cern life, and gave good weather and everything else advantageous 

 (JR 8: 117; S 169-170). He was considered good (JR 8: 117) and 

 kind (S 169). Aataentsic was spiteful and often spoiled what the 

 good louskeha did (S 170). She had charge of the souls and it was 

 she who made men die; consequently, she was considered wicked. 

 Some of the Hurons located the home of these two deities in the east 

 [cf . JR 10 : 133] ; others, in the middle. They lived a life like the 

 Indians; for example, made feasts as they did, but lived without 

 famine (JR 8: 117-119). An Attiuoindaron told the Hurons that he 

 had seen louskeha in a far-away place and his footprints on a 

 rock in the river. His house was like theirs, with plenty of com in it 

 and everything else necessary for life. He sowed corn, worked, 

 drank, ate, and slept like others (S 169). When louskeha grew old, 

 he renewed his youth again in a moment and became a young man of 

 25 or 30 ; thus he never died (S 170) . 



Four young men once went on a journey to the land of Aataentsic 

 and her son. They found louskeha alone in his house. He received 



