mooney] the mountain people 343 



83. tsuwe'nAhI: a legend of pilot knob 



In the old town of Kaniiiiiu o" J'iocon river, there was a hizy fellow 

 named Tsuw'e'iiahi, who livinl from house to house among his relatives 

 and never brought home anv* game, although he used to sjjend nearly 

 all his time in the w'oods. At last his friends got very tired of keep- 

 ing him, so he told them to get some parehed corn ready for him and 

 he would go and bring baek a deer or els(> would never trouble them 

 again. They filled his pouch with parehed eoi'n, enough for a long trip, 

 and he started oti' for the mountains. Day after day passed until they 

 thought the\- had really seen the last of him, but before the month was 

 half gone he was back again at Kanuga, with no deer, but with a won- 

 derful story to tell. 



He said that he had hardly turned awa}' from the trail to go up the 

 ridge when he met a stranger, who asked iiim where he was going. 

 Tsuwe'uiihi answ'cred that his friends in the settlement had driven him 

 out because he was no good hunter, and that if he did not find a deer 

 this time he would never go back again. ''Why not come with meT' 

 said the stranger, "mj- town is not far from here, and you have rela- 

 tives there." Tsuwe'nahi was very glad of the chance, ))ecause he 

 was ashamed to go back to his own town; so he went with the stranger, 

 who took him to Tsuwa'tel'da (Pilot knob). They came to a cave, 

 and the other said, "Let us go in here;" but the cave ran clear to th(^ 

 heart of the mountain, and when they were inside the hunter found 

 there an open countrj' like a wide bottom land, with a great settle- 

 ment and himdreds of people. They were all glad to see him. and 

 brought him to their chief, who took him into his own house and 

 showed him a seat near the lire. Tsuwe'nahi sat down, l)ut he felt it 

 move under him, and when he looked again he saw that it was a tur- 

 tle, with its head sticking out from the shell. He jumped up, but the 

 chief said, "It won't hurt you; it only wants to see who you ai'e." 

 So he sat down very carefully, and the turtle drew in its head again. 

 They brougiit food, of th(> same kind that he had been accustomed to 

 at home, and when he had eaten the chief took him through the set- 

 tlement until he had seen all the houses and talked with most of the 

 people. When he liad seen everything and liad rested some; days, he 

 was anxious to get back to his home, so tiie chief himself brought him 

 to the mouth of the cave and showed him the trail that led down to the 

 river. Then he said. "You are going back to the settlement, but you 

 will never be satisfied there; any more. Whenevei- you want to come 

 to us, you Know the way." The chief left him. and Tsuwe'nahi went 

 down tlic mountain and along the river until he came to Kanuga. 



He told his story, but no one believed it and tiie people oidy laughed 

 at him. After that he would go away very often and be gone for sev- 

 eral days at a time, and when he came l)ack to the settlement lie would 



