HEw"^] FICTION 107 



mouth of an affluent of the stream upon which they first started and, 

 having arrived at their destination, the leader of the party said, 

 "This is the place." After they had landed and established their 

 camp the leader said to his comrades, " Now, you must hunt and 

 bring into the camp all the game you can." It was then early in the 

 summer. He told each one to do the best that lay in his power, with 

 a strict command to observe the usual fasts and injunctions. 



In the morning of the day following their arrival at the King- 

 fisher's Place the leader in behalf of his men and himself besought 

 the Stars, the Moon, and the Sun to prosper them and to give them 

 a large measure of success in killing an abundance of game for their 

 larder. Being e.xpert hunters, they soon had plenty of meat and 

 furs: the meat was dressed and properly cured, while the skins were 

 prepared for tanning later. 



One day one of the hunters said : " I am going a little farther away 

 than usual. I am hunting elks." But the leader said to him: " You 

 must be careful in all that you undertake. No man must take any 

 chances by going far out of the usual bounds, for I fear something 

 evil maj^ come to us." 



Now, it so happened that one of the hunters was exceedingly stub- 

 born and would not accept advice from any source. So, without 

 regard for the timely caution of his chief, he went farther than he 

 had intended to go. after an elk. When night came all the hunters 

 reached camp safe, except this stubborn man. As the others gath- 

 ered around their fire at night they discussed his probable fate if he 

 had gone too great a distance, reaching the conclusion that he had 

 gone farther away than he had intended to go. 



Now, the stubborn man had traveled all day. When night came 

 on he erected a brush lodge and kindled a brigiit fire. He had en- 

 camped near a stream. Soon he heard in the distance voices which 

 seemed to be those of human beings. Loolcing across the stream he 

 saw on the farther bank what he believed to he two women, one 

 carrying a baby which seemed to be very fretful, for the woman 

 sat down and nursed it continually. The hunter, who was deceived 

 as to the true character of the supposed women, was delighted to 

 see people of any kind at that time. 



Now, the women saw him at the moment he looked across the 

 stream to learn what kind of people were making the sounds he had 

 heard; and one of them hailed him with " Brother, how did you cross 

 the stream?" It seemed strange to him that these women should 

 call to him from so great a distance, but he told them to cross just 

 below the point at which they then were and to come directly toward 

 his fire and camp. The women kept on asking him, however, how he 

 had crossed, but he answered only as before. Nevertheless, the 

 women continued to say, " Tell us. You must have crossed in some 



