508 SENECA FICTION, LEGENDS, AND MYTHS [eth. ann. 32 



from her hands, exclaiming : " This is not a wampum belt ; it is a piece 

 of bark, and still you say it is a belt of wampum. You, indeed, have 

 no sense." And throwing the piece of bark away she struck the 

 skin of the woman a cruel blow with her war club. Continuing her 

 rebuke, she said, " It is too true that you have no sense. It is entirely 

 your fault that one has robbed us of our chestnuts." Then the 

 woman, looking far away in the distance, saw the pack, consisting 

 of the case of chestnuts, disappearing in the forest beyond the edge 

 of the clearing. Then the old woman said : " Come ! Let us pursue 

 him. It is distressing to think that he has robbed us. On the other 

 hand, it seems that he is a person who has more orenda (magic 

 power) than his uncle Ohgwe' Haiiges"lia' ("'Human Skin"), this 

 Gajihsondis. So, therefore, let us pursue him and kill him with 

 blows of our war clubs. If, perchance, we may be able to overtake 

 him, we will surely kill him." 



It so happened that Gajihsondis heard the footsteps of the women 

 as they drew near in pursuit of him, and without further ado, he 

 took his pack from his back and laid it down, and seated himself 

 beside it. 



When the women came close to him on the run, he struck the case 

 of chestnuts with his arrow, saying: "It seems that I should sing 

 you a song so that you may dance, because you come in so great 

 anger. It is fine, indeed. The song that I will sing is pleasant to 

 hear. So, now, you must dance." 



Then he sang: "One shall not return from the upper side of the 

 sky. One shall not return from the upper side of the sky. One 

 shall not return from the upper side of the sky. One shall not rob 

 me of my song (the orenda of my song)." He kept on singing this 

 song; and the women, the mother and her daughters, danced without 

 ceasing as they circled around the spot where he was seated; and the 

 mother kept on saying, " Exert yourselves my children ; this is a 

 very fine song." But Gajihsondis kept on singing, "On the upper 

 side of the sky, on the upper side of the sky, on the upper side of 

 the sky, one shall not return thence"; and the women kept on rising 

 in the air. Before long they had ascended half the height of the 

 tallest trees, and they still danced on. Then Gajihsondis suddenly 

 ceased his singing, and taking up his pack and slinging it on his 

 back by the forehead strap, started on homeward leisurely. He had 

 not gone very far when suddenly he saw the body of a woman fall- 

 ing, followed in quick succession by the bodies of three other women, 

 all falling, head foremost, to the earth. 



Then the young man started for home, but he stopped along the 

 way to rest at times. Without further adventure he reached his 

 uncle's lodge, bearing the bark case full of chestnuts. On reaching 

 the lodge he called out, "Oh, my uncle! Are you still living?" 



