324 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 43 



them what the water signified, and she finally answered that the water was 

 going to rise. Then they said: " Let us get our peoiile together and dance and 

 enjoy ourselves as long as we can." So all the families in that place gathered 

 together, made a circle about the water, holding each other's hands, and began 

 to dance. They also gathered dry canes to make lights to dance by. 



Among them, however, were two young men, who said to themselves: "We 

 will run off and try to save ourselves." So, while the others danced, they 

 started off on the run. The dancers danced on until the earth grew soft beneath 

 their feet, but the youths ran away farther and farther. At last even where 

 they were the ground became soft, and every time they stepped the eartli sank 

 under them. By and by one of them was so exhausted with the constant effort 

 that he could go no farther, and sank into the mud. The other, however, kept 

 on running and jumping until at last he came to solid earth. After he had 

 gone along on this a short distance farther he looked back and saw nothing 

 but water, with fishes jumping about in it. Now he was alone. He did not 

 know which way to go, but he kept on walking for a long time and at last 

 came to a village. He did uot go to this at ouce, but remained back in the 

 woods within sight of it. One day a little girl came out of this village to get 

 wood. She came toward the place where he was in hiding, but did not observe 

 him until she was very near. Then he discovered himself to her and asked 

 her in what house she lived. She said, " Will you go back with me to my 

 house?" but he answered "No, I am afraid those people are bad." After that 

 the little girl visited him every time she went after wood, but did not tell 

 anyone about him. By and by she took the youth for her husband, and yet 

 told no one. Presently, however, she became iiregnant. When the people dis- 

 covered this they were angry and w-anted to kill her. They sent her off into 

 the forest. At that time she was almost ready to give birth and the child 

 was born in the woods while she was staying with her husband. Afterward 

 she returned to the town carrying her infant in an old-time baby basket tied 

 with a hide string. When the people saw the child they were glad, for they 

 knew that her husband was a human being and nothing supernatural, so the 

 chief sent for her husband, and she went to get him. He came with her to 

 the chief. Then all the people gathered together and began asking him about 

 himself and where he was from. So he told them all his troubles and how 

 he had saved himself from the place which had sunk. They were glad to have 

 him and he stayed with them. They also went in the direction from which 

 he had come to see whether what he said was true and found that it was. As 

 far as they could see over the great water there were fishes jumping about. 

 The hinder parts of these, however, were the only parts like fish: their heads 

 were like those of human beings. The shore was strewn with coals from the 

 fires of these people and with timbers from their houses. 



Afterward there were two trees in this body of water about a quarter of a 

 mile from the bank, one of which was a cypress, and the other a komc'li 

 (Creole, cliama'wf). People used to take bark from the cypress to cure 

 diseases, but no one could approach the other. This bears " little grains " in 

 spring, and it was supposed that the pearls in mussel shells were grains which 

 the mussels had obtained from this tree by feeding upon it. Therefore, on 

 account of their inability to approach the tree itself, people opened mussels 

 and took the grains from them. 



Although affected by Christian beliefs, the mortuary ceremonies 

 observed by the Tunica until recent times were evidently directly 

 descended from older customs. 



