hewittJ legends Ooy 



113. A Legend of ax Anthropomorphic Tribe or Rattlesnakes 



In the ancient country of the Oneida, which they occupied when 

 the League of the Iroquois was formed, were a number of subter- 

 ranean caverns, which, it was said, were inhabited by various tribes 

 of men. The following legend is about one of these caverns: 



It was said that in the olden time a certain young man of a good 

 family while out hunting in this region saw a large raccoon ahead 

 of him. which seemingly was attempting to escape from him. At once 

 the young hunter started in pursuit of the raccoon, and soon the race 

 became interesting, for the raccoon was gradually gaining on its 

 pursuer. It was not long before the raccoon had gotten out of his 

 sight, so the hunter was able to follow it only by following its tracks 

 in the snow that lay on the ground to the depth of a span. After a 

 very long pursuit the hunter finally tracked the raccoon to a large 

 river, the banks of which were very high and rocky. The tracks 

 led along under one bank for a long distance. The young man was 

 becoming quite exhausted when finally he came to the mouth of a 

 cavern in the river bank, into which the tracks of the raccoon disap- 

 peared. The entrance to this cavern was just large enough to admit 

 the body of the hunter, and he decided to go in; but before doing 

 so he set up his bow and arrows and walking stick beside the en- 

 trance. He found that the passageway inclined downward at a 

 gentle grade. After entering the passage the young hunter found 

 that the way was long. Having gone so far in that the light from 

 the entrance had entirely faded away, at last he was delighted to see 

 that it was becoming light ahead of him. So he kept on until 

 finally he emerged from the cavern. Thereupon he was surprised to 

 see that the tracks of the raccoon led out of the passageway into the 

 open. The young hunter stood quiet for some minutes, viewing the 

 country around. He was greatly surprised to find further that the 

 climate of this region was quite different from that in which he 

 commonly abode, for he found black raspberries ripe or ripening, 

 although there was much snow on the ground in the country whence 

 he had just come. Then he resolved to follow a well-beaten path, which 

 led farther into the new country. As he went along he blazed the trees 

 bordering the path, or broke twigs and branches off the trees in such 

 manner that these would serve as signs by which he could retrace 

 his steps in the event of losing his way. He noticed that the path 

 leading from the entrance to what he thought was a cavern led in- 

 land, turning to the right a short distance from the entrance. He 

 followed this road because he saw in the dust of the path the tracks 

 of the racc(K)n which he had been following. 



As he walked along, keeping a sharp lookout for whatever might 

 happen, he saw, in the distance a lodge, which from its appeafance 



