HEwS] LEGENDS 555 



as the breast ornaments of the child, they soon found the eyes of their 

 uncle, which were partially bloodshot. When they had secured 

 these they removed also the others, in pairs, and, tossing them up 

 into tlie air, said to them: "Return to the place whence you were 

 taken by stealth." At once these eyes took flight and returned to 

 their owners. After killing the female child and compassing the 

 death of the treacherous Hane"hwa', the lads started for home with 

 their uncle's eyes. 



When the boys reached the point whence they must descend they 

 assumed the size and form of fleas, and, using the seed heads of the 

 dandelion as parachutes, they easily floated down from cloudland 

 to the earth. Going directly to the lodge of their uncle, they re- 

 turned to him his eyes. He was delighted beyond measure when he 

 found that his nephews had been successful in their expedition and 

 had so speedily brought back his eyes. 



The lads had killed the baby in cloudland by means of potent 

 drugs given them by their uncle while they were still on the earth. 

 Before starting their uncle had told them not to fail to put this 

 deadly drug on the baby, for he knew that the child was the life 

 itself of the great witch, Gaho°'dji'da"ho"k. Through its death the 

 witch herself necessarily died, because the child was her life, not her 

 baby, as it appeared to be. Thus, Gaho"'dji'da"ho°k was destroyed 

 and the young deanoii'do'^'' man at last was revenged on her, partly 

 through the potent orenda of his nephews and partly by means of 

 the potent " medicine " with which he had armed them before they 

 had started on their expedition into cloudland. 



115. The Legend of the Misogamist 



In ancient days, it is said, there lived a good mother and her son 

 in a lodge that stood alone. Now, the son was a very successful 

 hunter; in the chase of all kinds of game animals he had no com- 

 petitor. The possession of an overflowing larder and of rare and 

 excellent furs and skins gave him an enviable prestige among his 

 people. 



It was natural among a hunter people that the prowess of the 

 young man in the chase should make him an attractive figure in the 

 eyes of all the mothers among his people who had marriageable 

 daughters. So these thrifty mothers urged their daughters to make 

 the usual marriage bread and to go to his lodge with proposals of 

 marriage. Each of these obedient daughters would say: "Indeed, 

 1 believe that thou and I should marry." This was the address 

 made to the young man after the young woman had set her basket of 

 marriage bread before him, seated, to receive her. In replying, the 

 young man would say to each : " In so far as I am concerned it is my 



