120 SENECA FICTION, LEGENDS, AND MYTHS |eth. ann. 3» 



thicket and over mountains and ravines, and come to me by a round- 

 about way at noon tomorrow," he said to the moccasins. 



When the elder brother reached the rotten stump he looked at it 

 and, seeing something; like nostrils, put his finger in and almost made 

 the woman sneeze. Though suspicious of the tree, he followed the 

 moccasin tracks swiftly all day and night. 



At the bi'eak of daj' the younger brother and the woman continued 

 their journey. At noon the elder brother came back to the place 

 where he saw the stump and not finding it, he was in a terrible rage. 

 He knew now that he had been deceived. He continued to follow 

 the tracks, and on the second day the pursued couple heard his whoop 

 again. Taking out of his pouch a part of the jaw of a beaver with 

 a couple of teeth in it, the younger brother stuck it into the ground, 

 saj'ing, ■' Let all the beavers come and build a dam across the world, 

 so that the waters may rise to his neck, and let all the beavers in the 

 world bite him when he tries to cross." Then he and the woman 

 ran on. 



When the elder brother came up, the dam was built and the water 

 neck-deep; finding that the tracks disappeared in the water, he said, 

 " If they have gone through I, too, can go through." When the water 

 reached his breast all the beavers began to bite him, and he was 

 forced to turn back and look for another crossing. All day he ran 

 but could find no end to the dam and cried out, " I have never heard 

 before of a beaver dam across the world." He then ran to the place 

 whence he had started. The dam was gone and all that remained was 

 a bit of beaver jaw with two teeth in it. He saw his brother's work 

 in this and was now raving with anger. He rushed along with all 

 speed. 



The second day after the younger brother and the woman heard 

 his whoop again. Taking out a pigeon feather from his pouch, 

 the younger brother placed it behind him on the ground, saying, " Let 

 all the pigeons of the world come and leave their droppings here, so 

 that my brother may not pass." All the pigeons of the world came, 

 and soon there was a ridge of droppings 6 feet high across the country. 

 When the elder brother came up he saw the tracks disappearing in the 

 ridge ; thereupon he said, " If they have crossed I, too, can cross it." 

 He walked into it but he could not get through, and so he turned 

 back with great difficulty and ran eastward to look for an opening; 

 he ran all da}', but the ridge was everywhere. He cried in anger, " I 

 have never known such a thing." Going back, he slept until morning, 

 when he found that all was clean — nothing to be seen but a pigeon 

 feather sticking in the ground. He hurried on in a frenzy of rage. 



After dropping the feather the younger brother and woman ran 

 until they came to an old man mending a great fish net. The old man 



