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



pile by themselves. Then she proceeded to arrange a package of the 

 meat on the burden cradle, securely binding it with cords of bark. 

 Having finished her own load, she next proceeded to make a load for 

 the boy of the four legs of the deer. Deftly fashioning a pack strap 

 of bark, she fastened the load on his back, saying : " Come now, you 

 take the lead." At this he started ahead, and kept on while she 

 gathered up her utensils and made ready to follow. Her load being 

 very heavy, she could hardly manage it. In order to get it on her 

 back she had to place it first on a log, from which she was able to 

 raise it to her back. Then, with the sister following the lead of her 

 younger brother, both went along with their burdens. A long dis- 

 tance was covered when she saw him sitting on a log with his burden 

 resting on the log, too. He said : " I am resting because the load is 

 so heavy. Come, do you also rest yourself here." So, setting her load 

 also on a log, she, too, rested. Again the boy asked : " My elder sister, 

 what is the name of the thing that I killed? " She answered: "Ne- 

 ogen is its name." He asked : " Does it taste good ? " " Hoh, it tastes 

 good," she replied, " if it is cooked in the right way. Come now, let 

 us go on homeward." Of course she helped him get his burden on 

 his back. When she readjusted her own load, she followed her 

 brother. On reaching home, slie found that he forsooth had arrived 

 there too. As she entered their lodge her forehead strap broke, let- 

 ting her burden fall, with the sound, pumh! It was very heavy. 



Unwrapping and untying the packages of meat, the sister hung the 

 various pieces around the interior of the lodge; the meat nearly 

 filled the small room. Next she stretched the skin. For this pur- 

 pose she made a large hooplike frame, telling the boy to watch her 

 carefully while she did so. Then she attached the skin around the 

 edges to this frame by means of bark cords. " In this way do people 

 generally do this thing, which is called ' stretching the hide,' " said 

 the sister, " and you must ordinarily do it in the same manner, for 

 T believe that you will live a very long time." " So be it," said the 

 boy, " I will follow your instructions. Come now, do you prepare 

 the food. I will try it to learn how good it is." The sister answered : 

 " So be it. I will make a dish of meat cut into small pieces boiled 

 down. I will prepare it." So she set up the pot [over the fire] ; 

 and around the place the boy hung, continually saying: "Perhaps 

 this will taste exceedingly good to us. It tastes good indeed, I sup- 

 pose." " Oh ! it tastes good," she replied. So things went on until 

 the food was cooked, when the sister removed the pot from the fire. 

 Then she put the meat into a bark bowl, and the soup also. The 

 •deer's liver had become by this time of the consistency of bread, so 

 the brother and elder sister began to eat. While at their meal the lad 

 exclaimed three times: "i/o, my elder sister, what I killed tastes 

 exceedingly good." 



