hkwitt'] fiction 95 



bottom. But in a few moments he rose to the surface of the water 

 in midstream and. holding out his claws as if exhibiting scalps, he 

 exchiimed in derision, "I am a brave man. and here is where I live," 

 and he at once sank out of sight. 



7. The Old M.^n's Ghakdson and the Chief of the Deserted 

 Village 



A certain grandfather and his grandson lived together. They were 

 the only people of their tribe left. All the others had been killed by 

 sorcerers. 



When the boy l]ecame old enough he had bows and arrows given 

 him by his grandfather, and he would go out hunting. As he grew 

 older he hunted larger game, until he was old enough to kill deer. 

 Each time the grandson brought home game the old man danced and 

 rejoiced and told the youth the name of the game -which he had 

 brought in. 



One day the grandfather said : " Now. you arc old enough to marry 

 a wife. I should like to have a woman here to cook. You must go 

 south and find a wife. The people there are good and healthy. None 

 of them have been killed off. For an ordinary man to reach their 

 village it is a journe}^ of six years, but you will go much more 

 quickly." The grandfather gave the young man, among other things, 

 a pair of moccasins and sent him off. 



About noon of the first day the youth came to an opening in the 

 woods. There he found a large village in the opening. He went to 

 one lodge and then to another, but he found that they were all vacant. 

 Then he went to the Long Lodge,'" and he looked in ; there he saw the 

 dead body of a young woman, well-dressed, with beautiful ornaments, 

 lying on a bench in the middle of the room. As he looked in. he 

 thought, " I will go in and take those things. They will be good 

 presents for my wife when I find one." So he went in, took off the 

 bracelets and neck ornaments and then went out. After he was out- 

 side of the Long Lodge he said to himself, " I think I will go home 

 now and look for a wife another day." 



So he started northward, as he thought, running along quickly. 

 After a while he came to a clearing, which, to his surprise, he found 

 was the one he had just left ; he saw the same village and Long Lodge, 

 and he thought, '' Well, I must have made some mistake in the direc- 

 tion." He took his bearings again and nurried on toward home. 

 Again he came out in the same village. " It must be that this woman 

 brings me back because I have taken her ornaments. I will give them 

 back to her." So he went into tlie Long Lodge and put all the orna- 

 ments back on the dead body and liurried homeward. On the way 

 he killed a bear. Skinning it and takinor some of the best meat, he 



