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



lodge. Jumping up and seizing the corn-pounder, Okteondon struck 

 the old Avoman on the head to awaken her, saying to her, " You must 

 be dreaming about me, mother-in-law ? " " Oh, yes ! I am dreaming 

 about you," she muttered in reply. " You dream about no one else, 

 I think," said Okteondon. " Well," slie said, " I do dream about you, 

 for I fear something may happen, but you are powerful through 

 your orenda (magic power). I w^ll tell you what the di'eam said 

 to me; it said tliat my son-in-law must Icill the White Beaver, and 

 that if the door-flap which he flings back in going out stops swinging 

 before he returns with the dead Beavei', something direful will 

 happen." " Oh, mother-in-law! go back to sleep; that is a small 

 matter, nothing," said Okteondon. 



Early in the morning Okteondon fastened the string made from 

 his wife's hair to the door-flap, as he had done in the former ordeal,, 

 and bade his wife thereby keep it swinging to and fro while he 

 was gone, as she had done before. Then he went out, flinging the 

 door-flai? back as he passed through. Then, running to a knoll 

 on which stood a butternut tree, and taking a nut from it, he hur- 

 ried to a neighboring lake, where he cast the nut into the water, 

 shouting a challenge, " You who live in this lake come forth." At 

 once the water, rising, rushed toward him, following him until it 

 reached the knoll, Mhere it stopped. Okteondon saw the A^liite 

 Beaver looking out over the water, and, taking an arrow from his. 

 quiver and drawing his bow, shot the ^^Hiite Beaver, killing it. 

 Seizing its body, he hurried home with it. When he reached the 

 doorway he found the old woman trying to hold the flap to prevent 

 it from swinging to and fro and uttering words charged with her 

 orenda to accomplish her purpose. When Okteondon threw ~\^liite 

 Beaver into the lodge the old woman said: "Oh. son-in-law! you 

 are to make me a pouch of the skin of White Beaver." " Oh, no! I 

 will do what I like with it," he replied, casting it on the fire to 

 singe off the hair. Putting a kettle over the fire. Hot'hoh soon had 

 water boiling. Then the body of White Beaver having been cut 

 up, the pieces were placed in the kettle to cook. Thereupon Olcte- 

 ondon's mother-in-law said to him : " Oh, son-in-law ! I want you to 

 invite all the men of importance of this place to the feast." Okte- 

 ondon answered: "Oh, no! I will invite only such persons as I 

 choose." When tlie flesh of White Beaver was cooked Okteondon 

 removed the pieces from the kettle to cool ; then he went out of the 

 lodge, calling aloud : " I invite you, all Dagwanoenyents, to come to 

 a feast of 'eat-all' (gaqsahon)." Soon they came crowding into 

 the lodge, as they had at the first feast, and Okteondon said : " You 

 must eat up everything to the very last bit. Here are the meat, the 

 soup, and the bones; you must eat all and even lick the bowls." 

 So they began to eat; they ate the meat, drank the oily broth, and 



