SewS] fiction 263 



Then he took out the manikin, which at once ran to the fire and, 

 bringing an ember, put it into the pipe. Now the nephew began to 

 smoke, and as he smoked he expectorated wampum, first on one side 

 and then on the other. The uncle said to him : " That will do very 

 well. Xow 3'ou mut^t don the feather headdress that I wore when I 

 was a young man." On the top of this headdress was a duck which, 

 when the headdress was not worn, drooped its head, seeming not to 

 be alive, but which, as soon as the headdress was put on, held up its 

 head and became alive. After the nephew had put on the head- 

 dress the uncle said to him, " Now j'ou must tell the duck to speak." 

 Addressing it, the nephew said, " Oh, my duck, speak ! " and at once 

 the duck called out in a loud voice. Thereupon the uncle said : 

 " Nephew, the two young women are thinking of you at all times, 

 for they feel that they will prosper if you marry and live with them. 

 AVhen you are at their father's lodge 3'ou must go on a hunting trip 

 and must take one of the young women with you. When you are 

 out in the woods the woman must lie down and must not see any- 

 thing. She must lie with her head carefully covered. Then you 

 shall sing, and all the wild animals will come around to listen to your 

 singing. You may kill only such as you desire." " But," he added, 

 " the 3'oung woman must not look at them ; if she does, something 

 evil will happen." "' 



The nephew, wearing his uncle's garments and feather headdress, 

 started for the chief's lodge. It was night when he drew near the 

 village in which lived the chief, and thinking it would not look well 

 for him to arrive at the lodge after dark, he decided to camp for the 

 night in the forest. For this purpose he chose a fallen tree, near 

 which he kindled a fire. Early in the night a man came to the fire, 

 saying: "My nephew, I am traveling. I am going to the village 

 near here, but it being now late. I think I will stop with you at your 

 fire. In the morning we can go on together. So I will remain on 

 this side of the fire, opposite you, and I will relate stories of what 

 has hajjpened to me during my life to pass the time away." The 

 young man unwarily agreed to this proposition of the stranger. 

 Then the man who called himself uncle began to tell stories, and 

 the young man would respond at times. But at last, growing sleepy, 

 the latter stopped making responses, whereupon the self-styled uncle 

 remarked. " Nephew, I think that you are asleep." The young man 

 did not make reply. Then the stranger stirred the fire, and blow- 

 ing sparks from it on the young man. called out, " Nephew, I think 

 that sparks of fire are falling on you." But as the young man did 

 not move, the uncle saw that he was fast asleep. Going over to 

 the side of the young man the stranger shook him, saying, " You are 

 asleep and sparks of fire are falling on your clothes; so you would 

 better remove them so that they will be safe." This awakened the 



