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



skull. There was a hole worn through his skin covering through 

 M'hich he kept a strict watch on his uncle. 



About midnight, perhaps, suddenly the old man began to moan 

 and groan, muttering strange words very loudly, the sounds in- 

 creasing in intensity. Interspersed with these mutterings were the 

 sounds 'e/T', 'e?!', 'c/T'. Suddenly arising from his couch, he moved 

 about on his knees, meanwhile uttering the same sounds and 

 words as the youth had first heard. Then, with one great cry of 

 'en''! he cast himself on the fire and pushed with his feet and hands 

 the huge firebrands that had accumulated over toward the place 

 where lay his nephew. Seeing this, the nephew, quickly uncover- 

 ing himself, leaped up just in time, for the great pieces of burning 

 logs fell blazing where he had just lain. Running over to the op- 

 posite side of the fire, he took down from its resting place the 

 war club of his uncle. His uncle then being close to him, groping 

 around on his knees and uttering dark words, the youth struck him 

 a blow on the head, saying at the same time, " What is causing you 

 to see marvels?" and again raised the war club to deliver another 

 lilow. But the dream of the old man ceased at that time, and 

 the uncle took a seat at one side of the fire, and the youth took 

 a seat on the opposite side. Thereupon the uncle said to his nephew : 

 " Compliance with what the dream commanded me is of the utmost 

 difficulty." The youth answered: "Well, what did the dream com- 

 mand you to do?" The uncle made reply: "It commanded me, 

 saying, 'You two shall hazard your lives'; it said to me that we 

 two must 'take the roof off the lodge.'" The youth replied: "So 

 let it come to pass. What it has commanded amounts to nothing." 



Then the two men returned to bed for the remainder of the night. 

 Very earl}' the next morning the youth went to the spot where the 

 skull of his uncle protruded from the ground. When he reached the 

 place, the uncle addressed him : " Well, what happened during the 

 night? " The young nephew answered: "Well, he says that he and 

 I shall hazard our lives by trading objects this very night which is 

 approaching." To this statement the uncle replied: "I have been 

 saying all along that he is determined to outmatch your magic 

 power (orenda), as is well known. It is his manner of doing things. 

 He will request something which you do not possess, and if it so be 

 that you can not obtain it at once, something direful will happen 

 to .you — you die, paying the penalty by your death. Now I know 

 that he will request the entrails of a bear from you, for the very 

 reason that you have them not. Then you must proceed in this man- 

 ner: You must go out and find a wild grapevine. AVhen \o\\ have 

 found it you must unwind the vine and cut off a sufficient portion. 

 This you must rub between your hands and blow on, and instantly 

 the vine will become the entrails of a bear. You must say, ' I want 



