m^n'Tr] LEGENDS 405 



The uncle, who was alone, felt sure that his nephew was dead. 

 Often as he sat in front of the fire in the evening, taking a handful 

 of ashes in each hand, he held them over his head, letting the ashes 

 drop on. his face. At night he would hear someone coming, then 

 a rap and a voice calling out, " Well, uncle, I have come." Jumping 

 up and brushing off the ashes he would go to the door, only to find a 

 fox or an owl. In this way he was deceived a number of times, so 

 he had resofved not to be deceived again. 



The night after the death of the otters the old woman again 

 dreamed, and her son-in-law hit her again with the corn-pounder. 

 Waking up, she said. " I dreamed that my son-in-law must kill the 

 bird on the top of the great tree." He answered, " Oh, mother-in-law ! 

 T will attend to that in the morning, so go to sleep now." In the 

 morning his mother-in-law said, " If you get back after the door, 

 which 3'ou have slammed in going out, stops swinging, something 

 strange will happen." Again tying a hair to the door, he darted off. 

 A'^lien near the tall ti'ee he saw on the very top a black eagle. The 

 first arrow he sent went almost to the tree, but was driven back by 

 the magic power of the eagle. Then he shot a second arrow, which 

 struck the eagle right in the heart, bringing it to the ground. Taking 

 the eagle, he rushed back to the lodge, meanwhile keeping the door 

 swinging with his hair. When he returned home, he called out, 

 " Mother-in-law, here is the eagle." She said, Wkii, whuf astonished 

 at what he had done (this eagle was the old woman's third brother, 

 which had always fed on the men thrown into the ravine). 



Now the lad, having taken his wife outside, said, " I want this lodge 

 to turn into flint, and let it become heated to a white heat." ^^^ The 

 old woman and her three daughters were inside at the time. The 

 former cried out, " Have pity on me, son-in-law," but he answered, 

 " You had no pity for me, mother-in-law ; so let them all within 

 bum up." Having gone back with his wife to the men near the 

 ravine, he said : " I have brought back this woman. Now we shall 

 be revenged. This is the woman who threw us off this bank to die in 

 the ravine below." Stripping off a wide piece of bark from a tree 

 and tying the woman thereto with bark thongs, he placed it in a 

 leaning position against a tree. Then all gathered fuel, which was 

 piled aroimd the woman, and a fire kindled by which the old woman's 

 daughter was burned to death. 



The youth found two of his brothers among those whom he had 

 rescued. It appeared that all the men were related, some as 

 brothers, others as cousins. The young man went with his brothers 

 to his uncle's lodge. Before starting he had told all the other persons 

 to go to their homes. \Vhen near the lodge of the old uncle they 

 heard the aged man weeping. They listened for some time. Wlien 

 the old man stopped weeping he began to sing, "Ten summers I 



