172 SENECA FICTION, LEGENDS, AND MYTHS (KiH. ANN. 32 



The next morning the young man went home, where lie told the 

 people what had oceiirred, adding: " You can now fish in the pond as 

 much as you desire; there is no one to give you trouble now." So it 

 came to pass that the Ganiagwaihe kept his word to his cousin. 



33. A Dead Max Speaks to His Mother through the Fire 



An old woman and her son lived in a lodge in a certain village, 

 and a brother and his sister in another. The old woman's son and 

 the brother were of the same height and looked so much alike that 

 they could scarcely be known from each other; they were great 

 friends. 



The son often visited the brother and sister, and the brother found 

 out that he thought of marrying his sister, who was yet very young, 

 when she became old enough. The brother was not pleased with 

 this prospect, so he made up his mind to kill his friend. The next 

 time the latter came the brother killed him. Digging a deep hole 

 iHider the fireplace and putting the body therein, he covered it with 

 earth, and made a fire again over the spot. . 



The mother waited for her son, but he did not come home. Then 

 she went to the other lodge and asked, " AVhere is my son 'i " " He 

 left here to go home. It may be he is in the woods now. He said 

 he was going to cut wood for arrows," answered the young man. 



Wlien the woman went out the brother started off and, cutting 

 wood, quickly ran to her lodge, where he sat down and began to 

 whittle arrows. Soon afterward she came in. Turning to her, he 

 asked, "Where have you been, mother?" "Oh! I have been over 

 at your friend's lodge." She failed to detect any difference l)etween 

 her son's voice and his. He said, " Well, mother, I am going over 

 there a while." Putting up the arrows and running home, he said: 

 " I am afraid, my sister, that there is impending danger and that we 

 are going to die. Hurry to the spring and leave your pail there: 

 then run around in every direction so as to make many trails and 

 come back to the lodge." 



Going to the spring, the girl covered the ground with tracks and 

 returned. The brother said, " I am now going to put you into the 

 head of my arrow and send you off to a safe place." Taking hold of 

 his sister's arm, he shook her until she became very small ; then 

 opening the arrowhead, he put her into the cavity, and after care- 

 fully securing iier there, said: "I am going to shoot you toward the 

 east. When the arrow strikes the ground you must jump out and 

 run. I will soon overtake you." Standing by the fireplace, he shot 

 the arrow out of the smoke-hole. In due time it came down on a* 

 stone far off in the east, when the arrow burst and the girl came out 

 and ran off. 



