364 SENECA FICTION, LEGENDS, AND MYTHS [kth. ann. S2 



was left. He went hunting; but could kill nothing; he went day 

 after day, but always had the same ill luck, for he had lost his magic 

 power (orenda) for hunting, as his wife had foretold. One day 

 when he came home from hunting, he found his new wife sucking 

 her moccasin, for she was famishing with hunger. He cried and 

 sobbed, saying, " This is my punishment ; she warned me that this 

 would happen if I was untrue to her."' Thereupon he decided to 

 go back to his first wife and children at once and never to leave 

 them again. 



He set out without saying a word to the starving wife or to his 

 anxious mother. When he reached his cabin not a single footprint 

 was to. be seen. He went in, but only to find it empty — wife and 

 children were not there, nor any meat, but their worn moccasins 

 were hanging up. The sight of these made him very sad. As he 

 was nearly starved, he searched everywhere for food. On the hearth 

 he found three small mounds of ashes, of different sizes, the third 

 being very small. Sitting down, he wondered what this could mean, 

 for he knew that it must have been left by his wife as a sign to 

 him should he ever come to the cabin. At last he made up his mind 

 that he had three children now, and he determined to find them 

 even if he had to follow them to the end of the world. 



He mused, " My boys are very playful, and as they followed their 

 mother they must have hacked the trees as they went." Indeed, 

 as the mother and the boys were starting away, the boys said, " We 

 will make some sign, so that if our father ever thinks of us and 

 comes back, he will be able to follow us." But the mother said: 

 " No, children, you must not ; he will never come, for he has another 

 wife, and will never think of his children in the woods." Neverthe- 

 less, as they went on and played by the way, the boys hacked the 

 trees and shot arrows in sport, so the father was soon able to trace 

 them. He found that after a day's journey they had camped for 

 the night, for he discovered the remains of a fire, and on a tree near- 

 by, four pairs of worn-out moccasins. Tying these in a bundle, he 

 hung it on his arm. 



Again he walked all day, finally coming to the remains of a fire, 

 near which he saw four pairs of worn moccasins hanging up as be- 

 fore. He was very tired and hungry. 



The next morning he traveled on and, as before, found the remains 

 of a fire and four pairs of worn moccasins hanging on a tree. He 

 always took these with him. Near noon the next day he saw smoke in 

 the distance, .seeming to rise from a cabin, and so it proved to be. 

 He saw also two boys playing around, running, and shooting arrows; 

 on seeing him they ran to tell their mother that a man was coming. 

 On looking out, she recognized her husband, whereupon she told 

 the boys to stay inside the lodge. He had not recognized the chil- 



