450 SENECA FICTION, LEGENDS, AND MYTHS [bth. ANN. sz 



caught the chief by the haii- and cut his head off, saying, " Do not let 

 us talk with the fellow; if it had not been for him we might have 

 been far along on the way." The chief had wolves, panthers, and all 

 kinds of carnivorous animals. Going up to their dens, the younger 

 boy ordered a panther to come out, which it did, and then he said to 

 it : " Your masters wanted to feed you with human flesh ; that is not 

 the desire of Hawenniyo. He put you on earth to be free ; henceforth 

 you must never allow yourselves to be captured and fed with human 

 flesh." All the animals rose and separated. To the bear the j'outh 

 said : " I wish you to eat that dead man's body that lies yonder. 

 Then go and never be seen in this part of the country again; your 

 place is among the cliffs and moimtains." The people there asked the 

 boys to be their chiefs, saying that they had never liked the old man. 

 The boys, having agreed to this, commanded the people to remain 

 where they were, as it was not the will of Hawenniyo that his people 

 should leave their old homes. 



The two brothers now started back, saying to the people : " Our 

 father will wonder why we do not return. You stay here. We will 

 come sometime to see you." "Ulien they got home the younger one 

 said, " We have finished our work in the west ; we have killed all the 

 man-eaters. There will be no more trouble of this kind hereafter." 



90. Bald Eagle Sends Mud Turtle Around the World 



A bald-headed old man lived on the top of a mountain, while his 

 wife, who had three children, lived near a lake about half the way to 

 the summit. It was the old man's daily custom to go down to fish 

 in the lake. On his way home he gave some fish to his wife, and 

 thus they lived well and prosperously. 



After he had lived in this way many years, the old man became 

 curious to know how large the world is. Being the chief of his 

 people, having called a council, he said to the people : " I should like 

 to know the size of the world, and I wish some one would volunteer 

 to go and get this information." One young man said, " I will go." 

 "All right," answered the old man; "how long will you be gone?" 

 " I can not tell, for I do not know how far I shall have to go," was 

 the answer of the young man. "Go on," said the old man; "and 

 when you return, tell us all about your journey." 



The young man started on his journey, and after traveling two 

 months he came to a country where everything was white — the for- 

 ests, the ground, the water, and the grasses. He could not go farther. 

 It hurt his feet to walk on the white substance, so he turned back. 

 On returning home he sent word to the chief, who said, " I do not be- 

 lieve he has been around the world, but we shall hold a council and 

 hear what he has to say." The council was held, at which the young 



