590 SENECA FICTION, LEGENDS, AND MYTHS [eth. ann. 3! 



So the youth started for home, and as he went along he kept say- 

 ing, " Turkey, turkey, turkey." On arriving near the lodge, he began 

 to whisper the name, " Turkey, turkey, turkey," and he set each foot 

 down carefully and securely. In this way he reentered his home 

 without mishap. And the old man, his uncle, was surprised and 

 said: "Oh, my nephew ! you are bringing back a large game animal, 

 killed. I am thankful for it. What is the name of it ? " The 

 youth replied : " Oh ! the name of it is turkey^ — just turkey." The old 

 man, his uncle, merely exclaimed, ll'w", and, going aside, took a seat 

 there. In the meantime the youth dragged the body of the turkey 

 aside to pluck and dress it. While engaged at his task he remarked : 

 " The only way to cook this is to boil it down to a pot roast." Xext 

 he proceeded to pluck and then to quarter the bird. When he had 

 finished his task, he started the meat to cooking in a kettle over the 

 fire. As he saw it begin to cook he kept saying : " It will cejiainly 

 taste good to uncle and me." The uncle on his part said : " I have 

 been thinking generally that he [my nephew] would become perhaps 

 a fine hunter ; for it has been a very difficult task for me to raise you, 

 and I have worked hard to do it." 



When the turkey was cooked the youth said : " I will not act in the 

 manner my uncle acts on such occasions." Thereupon he set aside a 

 portion of the boiled turkey in a bark bowl, which he offered to his 

 uncle by holding it directly over the fire, which was burning briskly, 

 saying : " This, is what you will eat." The uncle, exclaiming, " Oh ! 

 I am thankful for it," arose to receive it. As he grasped the bark 

 bowl, the youth, seizing his hands along with the bowl, drew the old 

 man over so that he fell into the fire. At this the youth said, ex- 

 cusing himself: " I am so hungry, indeed, that perhaps I was holding 

 the bowl in an unintended place." The old man answered, " Now my 

 nephew, you have abused me. It has been my habit to think that 

 you would not treat me in this manner, for I have raised you from 

 childhood to youth." The nephew was eating, but he answered his 

 uncle: "I just thought that that was perhaps the custom on such 

 occasions, for you were in the habit of acting in this manner." So 

 saying, he kept on eating. Finally he said, " I believe I will save 

 myself a portion for a later time ; " and he laid aside some of the 

 boiled turkey. 



The next morning the old man did not say, as was his custom, to 

 his nephew : " Come now, arise, my nephew." On the other hand, the 

 young nephew said to himself: " So be it. I wnll now arise, I think. 

 My uncle is accustomed to say that the game animals go about in the 

 open country very early in the morning." So the young man arose 

 then, and proceeded to make his usual preparations before going out 

 to hunt. After eating his morning meal he started from the lodge. 

 The uncle spoke not a word. It would appear, one would think, 



