9G SKXr.CA FICTION, LIXiENDS, AND MYTHS (Ki'ii. AXN. .12 



put it into ti)e skin and carried it with him, running as fast as he 

 could, hoping to reach iiome that night. Once more he came out at 

 the same JLong Lodge in the opening at the time it began to be dark. 

 '■ AA'ell, this is wonderful," thought he. 



lie made up his mind to spend the night in the Long Lodge, .so 

 he kindled a fire, spread out the skin, cooked his meat, and sat down 

 to supper. As he ate he threw- the bones behind him. Soon lie 

 heard back of him a noise which- .sounded like the gnawing of bones 

 by a dog. " Perhaps it is a hungry ghost that does this," thought the 

 young man. " Well, I will gi\e it some meat." So he threw it pieces 

 of meat and heard the soimds made as they were being eaten. After 

 he had eaten his supper he got tmder the bearskin to sleep. But he 

 •soon felt something begin to pull the skin at his feet. When the 

 file began to die out he arose quickly and stirred up the embers, 

 putting on more wood. All was quiet, however, and he lay down 

 again. After a while, as the fire began to go down again, something 

 crawled over his body and came up to his breast. He threw his arms 

 around it, wrapping it in the bearskin covering, and sprang to his 

 feet. A terrible struggle now began lietween the man and his 

 unknown antagonist. They wrestled from that place to the othe?' 

 end of the Long Lodge and then down along the other side of the 

 I'oom. When they had almost reached the place whei-e they started 

 the gi'ay of the dawn came; instantly the body in his arms dropped 

 to the floor and lay still. He lashed the bearskin around it closelv; 

 then, leaving it on the floor, he cooked his breakfast. 



After breakfast he was curious to know what was under tlic l)ear- 

 skin, for he thought it must be something connected with the woman. 

 Opening the bearskin carefully he found nothing but a blood-clot 

 about the size of his fist. First, he made a wooden ladle with his 

 flint knife. Then, heating water, he dissolved in it some of the 

 blood. Forcing open the skeleton woman's jaws, he jioured down 

 her throat some of the blood. Again he did the same thing. 



At length her breast began to hea\e. AVhen he had given her half 

 the blood she breathed, and when she had taken all the blood she said. 

 "I am very hungry." The young man pounded corn and made thin 

 gruel, with which he fed her; soon she was able to sit up, and in a 

 .short time she was well again. Then she said: "This village was 

 inhabited a short time ago. My father was the chief of it. He and 

 all his people have gone .south and they live now not far from here. 

 Many men from the north wanted to marry me. and when I wa- 

 unwilling to marry them they enchanted me in this place, .so that 

 my father and all his people had to leave, and I was left here for 

 dead." " Come ! I will go with you to him," said the young man. 



The young man and woman set out together for the south, and they 

 soon came to the village. The first lodge on the edsje of the village was 



