128 SENECA FICTION, LEGENDS, AND MYTHS [bth.ann. 32 



just like one. The little fellow was able to walk around looking for 

 beechnuts and he could also fly up into trees, so his uncle and elder 

 brother called him " Turkey Brother." 



The uncle and his two nephews lived together until the elder 

 nephew was of an age to be married. Then the uncle said: "Oh, I 

 am tired of cooking and of doing other kinds of woman's work. I 

 would lijfe to have something prepared by a woman. You, my 

 nephew, are now old enough to marry; so now go off among the 

 people and seek a suitable wife. There is a chief living not far 

 from here who has three excellent daughters, and you can get one of 

 them for the asking." The nephew, after a moment's hestitation, 

 replied, " It is well; I am willing to go to seek a wife." 



Now it happened that the Turkey Brother earnestly desired to leave 

 home in quest of a wife, but his elder brother deprecated his desire 

 to go at this time, saying, '' Oh, my Turkey Brother, it is better that 

 you remain at home with our uncle, who is now in need of our com- 

 pany — how can we leave him entirely alone?" But the Turkey 

 Brother, unmoved by this plea, answered, " I do not want to stay 

 with my uncle; my wish is to accompany you." No matter how 

 much the elder brother coaxed or how bitterly he scolded him for his 

 great desire to leave home at this time, the Turkey Brother was de- 

 termined to go at all cost, so finally he was permitted to leave. The 

 uncle said to him : " Now, my nephew, you must have a suitable out- 

 fit of raiment and a fitting stock of weapons, for people must see that 

 you are a great man. I will now bring what I have prepared for 

 you for an occasion of this character." 



Then the uncle brought forth a fine coat or robe of wildcat skins 

 and placed it on his nephew. Stepping back in order to see better 

 how his nephew looked in it, he declared, "That is not good enougii." 

 Then he brought out a beautiful lynx-skin robe and placed it on his 

 nephew's shoulders. Again stepping back to get a better notion of 

 the set of it, he exclaimed : " This, too, is not befitting the occasion. 

 Oh, I have another, which is just the thing for you." Thereupon he 

 took from his bark chest of treasures a magnificent panther-skin robe, 

 with the head of the animal formed into a cap or hood. When the 

 wearer of this remarkablerobebecameexcitedthishead would cry out 

 in anger. In this cap the uncle placed two loon feathers, which sang 

 at all times. This fine robe the imcle put on the shoulders of his 

 nephew and, after critically inspecting him, he exclaimed, " This is 

 befitting and needful, and it will suit the purpose of your journey; 

 now, the peopFe will see you as you are." To complete the outfit the 

 uncle now brought out a pair of liandsome moccasins and a pair of 

 beautiful leggings to match them and an ornamented pouch of a 

 whole fisher's skin, which, whenever an enemy came near its wearer, 

 snapped at and bit him. In this pouch was a stone pipe, the bowl of 



