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



ing them on its round she grasped her husband's arm to keep him 

 the more effectually from putting his hand on the pouch. As he 

 showed a disposition to touch it. she pushed him over on the ground, 

 but he arose again while she still clung to him. In spite of her he 

 finally placed his hand on the pouch, saying, " Tomorrow, I shall kill 

 two otters before daylight." 



At midnight the chief's son-in-law, arising, went to a place where 

 the neighboring sti-eam made a very pronounced loop, and there he 

 watched for the otters. Soon he saw two approaching and killed 

 both. He was very hungry, and as it was not yet daylight he took 

 out the hearts of the otters, which he roasted and ate. By doing 

 this he unwittingly destroyed the power of the orenda (magic po- 

 tency) of the pouch for those who had touched it; so that day all the 

 other persons returned to the lodge without any game. The chief's 

 wife, who had said that she would kill geese, also returned empty 

 handed. When she saw the geese on the wing and clapped her hands, 

 shouting : " Let them fall dead ! Let them fall dead ! " the geese kept 

 on flying; in fact the charm, or orenda, of the pouch had been broken 

 or spoiled by some one. After these things had been reported to the 

 chief, he examined the two otters slain by his son-in-law. When he 

 saw that their hearts had been removed, he became very angry with 

 him. His daughter, the wife of the culprit, becoming frightened 

 for the welfare of her husband, concealed a piece of dog's flesh 

 and a knife, at the same time telling her husband where he could find 

 them in case of need. 



The chief said to his retinue, " My son-in-law has nullified the 

 orenda of the pouch by eating one of the taboos, which is the earnest 

 of the compact with it; so I think we would better kill him." But 

 his daughter exclaimed, " If yo\i kill him, you must first kill me." 

 As the chief was quite averse to killing his daughter, he said, " Then, 

 instead of killing him we will leave him here naked and without pro- 

 visions and we will go far away to avoid the consequences of his 

 act." So the chief and the people stripped the son-in-law of every- 

 thing, even of his weapons, and then departed, taking his wife with 

 them. 



At midnight, when all alone, the son-in-law heard some person 

 approaching on snowshoes. for this was in the winter season. In 

 a short time a man came to the lodge and said to the young man, 

 "You feel that you are doomed to die, do you not?" The young 

 man answered, " Yes ; I do think so." Then the stranger said : " You 

 shall not die. I have come here to assist you. Tomorrow morning 

 follow my tracks to a hollow tree. There you shall find a bear. 

 Kill it and you will have plenty of meat and you can make yourself 

 a robe and footwear from its skin." Then the stranger went away. 

 The next morning the young man could find no tracks other than 



