342 SENECA FICTION, LEGENDS, AND MYTHS [eth. ann.m 



tion to him. Finally he grew to be a young man. There was at 

 this time a good deal of talk among the people about getting up a 

 party to go on the warpath. At last 20 men were found who were 

 willing to go. This young man, hearing about the party, asked per- 

 mission to go, too. He asked one and then another, but all refused 

 his request. Thereupon he said : " I do not care. I will go any- 

 how." He was so peculiar that no one really liked him. 



The 20 warriors started and he went along with them. When 

 night came, fires were built ; there were two men at v-ach fire, but the 

 boy built a fire for himself. Several days passed in this way. One 

 night, however, when all were asleep, the young man had a dream. 

 A man appeared to him, who said : " I have come to warn you that 

 if you do not change your course somewhat you shall all perish to- 

 morrow at noon. Tell this to the headman of the party and urge 

 him to change his course." They were then going northward. The 

 boy told his dream the next morning to the headman, who scolded, 

 saying : " I did not want this fellow ; he is nothing but a hindrance, 

 nothing but a coward. We have come to meet an enemy. Why 

 should we turn back even if we know there is one in our path ? " 

 So, after eating their morning meal, they continued northward, pay- 

 ing no heed to the warning in the young man's dream. 



When the sun was near the middle of his path across the sky, the 

 party, which was going in Indian file, noticed that the headman 

 stopped, then the next one, then the next. The boy, who brought 

 up the rear, found that they were looking at a track, saying : " It is 

 Ganiagwaihegowa, which always kills the people it meets. Its magic 

 power is so great that the instant anyone looks at its tracks, no mat- 

 ter how far off, Ganiagwaihegowa knows it, and returns to destroy 

 that person." As the boy listened, he said : " I am very anxious to 

 see this bear. I have never seen such a thing." The men said, " You 

 ■do not want to see so terrible a thing;" but he insisted. The chief 

 said: "If this is really your wish, you must not follow us. W^e shall 

 turn off here and go in a different direction, and you can go on north- 

 ward; but if you meet this bear you must run in some direction, some 

 course different from ours." They tried to make him go with them, 

 but he v.ould not do so. 



Breaking a small tree that stood near, the young man hung his 

 bundle in the crotch; then he went on. Soon he saw a tremendous 

 object ahead of him; when near it, he recognized it as a great bear, 

 sitting on the trail, with its back toward him. Creeping up, the 

 young man stood looking at it. It had no hair on its body, only a 

 little on the end of its tail.'"" He struck it with his arrow, whereupon 

 the bear rushed after the youngster, who ran away. The bear drew 

 so near as they ran that the youngster could feel its breath. Now 

 he dodged from tree to tree, then, darting off straight, he ran on 



