110 SENECA FICTION, LEGENDS, AND MYTHS Ibth. ANN. 8i 



came to the tree. Like all Genonsgwa she could not look up into the 

 tree, for they are prevented from doinjj; so becau.se of the stony cover- 

 ing of their bodies. In a short time the younger of the women came 

 up bearing the baby. Having nursed the child she said, "We will 

 now hurry." Like her mother she could not look up into the tree, 

 and so she did not see the man. Then the elder said, " I shall keep on 

 for the reason that he is probably only one of a large hunting party." 

 As soon as the child had finished nursing she desired to know how far 

 the man was ahead of them. 



Taking a small, animate finger^* from her bosom, the elder woman 

 placed it on the palm of her hand and asked it where the man was 

 at that time. In reply the finger stood on end, pointing directly at 

 the num in the tree. But the women, not understanding this, were 

 somewhat puzzled. While they were thus perplexed tlie hunter, real- 

 izing in a moment the priceless value to them of the animate linger, 

 decided to steal it, if possible. So, sl3'ly slipping down tiie tree, he 

 struck the ground with a bound, and before the two women realized 

 what had happened he had snatched the finger from them and had 

 made good his escape. With a wail of despair the Genonsgwa women 

 called to the man to give them back the finger, saying, " You will 

 cause us much unnecessary trouble if you do not return the finger to 

 us." But, finding the finger of great service to him, he paid no heed 

 to their pleadings. 



He could run luuch faster since he got possession of the finger, as 

 it was his adviser and guide, indicating to him clearly the path to be 

 taken. He consulted it to learn how far he was from the camp of hio 

 friends and in what direction the camp was located. After asking 

 it these question-, he would place the finger on the palm of his hand, 

 when it would point in a certain direction. After running some dis- 

 tance he would consult again this animate finger. At last it did not 

 stand at an angle but pointed horizontally, and the hunter knew that 

 he had arrived very near the camp of his fellows. Having reached 

 the camp, he ate some food and regained his strength. He then told 

 his comrades that two Genonsgwa women were following him closely, 

 although it is said that after they lost the animate finger they could 

 not go much faster than a slow run. When the hunter had tolil his 

 story the chief of the party said, " We must gather up all our tilings 

 and go home tomorrow." 



The next day, just as they had placed all their things in the canoe 

 and had pushed off from shore, they saw the elder of the women, who 

 called from the bank: " Give me back what you have stolen from me. 

 If you will return what belongs to me, you shall be successful; you 

 shall always have good luck." She was weeping and was evidently 

 in great distress. Then the chief of the htmting party asked : " AMiat 

 did V'ou take from her? It may be true that we shall have greater 



