SSwS] MYTHS 485 



to the end of the ravine, piling up the debris in a great dam, so that 

 the river became a lake on the south side of the mountain, which is 

 called Hadiqsadon Genonsgwa ganyudae.^'^ 



105. The Twelve Brothers and Their Uncle, Dagwanoentent 



Once there lived 12 brothers who were great hunters, and who 

 dwelt very happily together. Everyone knew that they excelled in 

 whatever they undertook, for they had great magical powers and 

 were honest. 



Every morning the brothers would start off in different directions 

 to hunt, and would return in the evening. The eldest brother seemed 

 to understand best the women, who went around the world to destroy 

 men, so he always avoided them. One day, however, while he was 

 hunting he saw a red-headed woodpecker drumming on the trees, 

 making a great noise. As he watched the bird, it went around the 

 tree and then flew to another tree and around that. Finally it flew 

 to the ground, and, behold ! a beautiful young woman took the place 

 of the bird. She said to the hunter, "Are you not ashamed to point 

 an arrow at a woman? Come and talk to me." Thereupon he went 

 up to her — this was the last thing he remembered. She took him to 

 a high rock where stood another woman, who said " Let his bones 

 come to the ground," and his body fell, becoming a heap of bones. 

 Great piles of human bones lay around this rock, for many men had 

 been decoyed to the place by the first woman and destroyed by the 

 other. 



Night came, and as the eldest brother did not return, the remain- 

 ing 11 said that some evil had befallen him, and that he would never 

 retui-n. As predicted, he never came home; his mat remained 

 vacant, and they left everything as it was a'nd mourned him as dead. 



After a long time another brother was missing one evening and 

 he, too, never returned. Later it was learned that while walking 

 along in the woods he came upon two women, who with their wiles 

 put him to sleep. One of them said : " Let us put him into the ground 

 imtil mold appears all over him — he shall be alive — and let him 

 remain there until his uncle finds out where he is and rescues him." 



Now, the 10 remaining brothers were greatly alarmed, and they 

 told their youngest brother, whom they loved very dearly, that " he 

 must stay at home and not go roaming about the forest, for he was 

 young and did not know the world as well as they did." 



Again many moons passed, and then one night the third brother 

 was missing. The others knew he must be dead, or he would not 

 have failed to return when night came. Now, three mats were 

 vacant, and the remaining brothers were almost heartbroken. 



