302 SENECA FICTION, LEGENDS, AND MYTHS [eth. ANN. 32 



looks lilje the blood of our people, like the blood of our great chief." 

 They all gathered at the place where the blood wa.s coming, and one 

 of the tallest men said, " I will try to look over." He stretched him- 

 self up, but could see nothing except the bare cliff. Then another 

 man got on his shoulders, a third on the shoulder of the second, 

 another and another doing likewise until in this way they reached 

 the top. Djofiiaik saw men coming, and noticing that they were the 

 same kind of people as Doonongaes, he said, " They are so many I 

 will run away." So, slipping down from the tree, he was otf. 



The men looked around — there lay the great chief of their people. 

 One of them, who became chief for the time, said : " Every one of 

 us must do his best (in the exercise of orenda). We will try to make 

 him alive again. Let two of you build a very large fire and two of 

 you go to the end of a lake for a thing that has been of great aid to 

 our people — the white pebble. Go quickly; and two more go to 

 Doonongaes's lodge at the end of Ganyodaes, to get his fisher-skin 

 pouch and bring it here ; and two of you go to the end of the earth 

 and notify our grandfather, who lives there. Tell him what has 

 happened and find out what he thinks about it. Let two go to the 

 place w^here the rocks are the highest in the world, for in that place 

 lives a man who is master of the thing that has the greatest power 

 in the world. Let two get on the trail of the man who killed our 

 chief, Doonongaes; when they overtake him, let them kill him if 

 necessary, but if not let them bring him here and we will do what 

 we like with him." In a short time the two appointed to make a fire 

 had an enormous one burning. The two sent for the white pebble 

 reached a lake surrounded by a hemlock forest that seemed to grow 

 on rocks without anj^ earth. On looking around, the two men saw 

 many stones of the kind for which they were sent. Having picked up 

 the right one, they went back immediately, saying on their return, 

 " We have brought what we were sent for." The new chief thanked 

 them. Now all the people waited. 



The two men sent to Doonongaes's lodge reached the lake, and 

 as they went along the bank, one of them said : " I am getting hungry. 

 Let us have some fish." " Very well, we will catch some," i-eplied 

 the other. Soon they had a number of fish, and sitting down on 

 the bank, they began to eat them raw. Skahnowa saw these men 

 eating fish, so he cam? near and asked: " What are you doing? You 

 are stealing my fish." "Oh. no! " replied the men; "this lake does 

 not belong to you." "Well, to whom does it belong?" asked 

 Skahnowa. " It belongs to the Controlling Power," was the reply. 

 " No. the man who owns this lake has ordered me to watch it," 

 said Skahnowa. "What is his name?" he was asked. "His name 

 is Doonongaes," he replied. " Well," said the two men, " Doonon- 

 gaes was killed some time ago." " Are you sure of that." asked 



