hew.'tt] legends 567 



Obeying him. the arrow flew out of the smoke-hole and disap- 

 j>eared. After being absent for only a short time, it returned through 

 the smoke-hole. The boy seized it, and, finding on it traces of 

 fresh blood, he turned to the little old woman, saying: "Oh, grand- 

 mother ! go out and look for the dead body of a deer ; it lies not 

 far from here." Not far from the lodge she found, indeed, the 

 body of a deer, which evidently had been recently killed. Hav- 

 ing brought it to the lodge, she dressed it. Then she cooked some 

 of the venison for herself and her adopted grandchildren, and 

 ^phile they were eating the little old woman continually uttered 

 words of thanksgiving to the Master of Life *^^ because she was 

 again able to eat venison. 



Every day thereafter, in the same manner, the boy sent out his 

 arrow to hunt game animals for the food required by him and 

 his little sister and their adopted grandmother. Sometimes the 

 iirrow would kill a bear, sometimes a deer; it killed game of all 

 kinds, and the small family had plenty to eat and some to spare, 

 m addition to their constant feasting. Thus they lived several 

 years, and the boy grew to young manhood. During this time the 

 youth did not go beyond the immediate neighborhood of the lodge 

 in which he lived; and he had no friends except a certain j'oung 

 man, one of the people of the region, who came to see him fre- 

 quently and who was his close friend. 



At this time the presiding chief of the settlement offered to give 

 his comely daughter to the best bowman and hunter among the young 

 men of his people. So he appointed a day when all the j'oung men 

 should go out to hunt deer and bear to provide a suitable feast for 

 the occasion. Now the friend of our future hero came to the lodge 

 to tell him of the occasion, but he did not tell him, however, that the 

 prize for the winner would be the chief's daughter; he merely asked 

 the young man to accompany him as his partner. So they started out 

 together to hunt, but they did not exert themselves very much in 

 Irilling game animals. The young man with the enchanted arrow 

 occasionally sent it out to hunt for them. When finally they resolved 

 to start for home, the arrow had killed in all twenty-four deer, so the 

 share of each was twelve; but five or six deer apiece was the average 

 of those who went out singly to win the prize for marksmanship. 

 On the return of the hunters to the village they learned of the great 

 success of the two youths who had gone as partners, and they could 

 not repress a feeling of envy toward them. Notwithstanding the 

 result of the hunt the chief said, still withholding his daughter from 

 the winner: "I will fulfill my promise after we have made many 

 feasts with all the deer which have been killed for this occasion." 

 Our future hero, however, still did not know what he had justly won 

 as a reward of the efficiency of his enchanted arrow. 



