MOONEY] SKNKCA rUAniTloNS 859 



92. ESCAPE OF THE SENECA BOYS 



Sonio S(Mi('cii wiirriors wrvv liuiitiiii;' in the woods, and one morning, 

 on startini;' out for tlic day. they li'ft two boys V)oliind to take care 

 of tii(> cam]). Soon after tlicy iiad <i'onc, a war })arty of Chei'okee 

 canic up, and liiidin<i' the hoys alone took them both and started back 

 to the south, ti'axeliny at such a I'ate that wdien the hunters returned 

 in the eveniiiL;' they decided tiiat it was of no use to follow them. 

 AVhen the Cherokee reached their own country they giive the boys 

 to an old man. whose sons had been killed by the Seneca. lie took 

 the boys and adopted them for his own. and they t;rew up with him 

 until tliex' wen> larye and stron<;' enoui;ii to yd hunting for themselves. 



But all the time tin-y i-emembered their own home, and one day the 

 older one said to his bi-other. " Let's kill the old man and I'un away." 

 "No." said the other, ""we mieht ji-et lost if we ran away, we are so 

 far from home." "' 1 remend>er the way," said his brother, so they 

 made a plan to escape. A few days latei- the old man took the boy.s 

 with him and the tlir(>e set out to<i-ether for a hunt in the mountains. 

 WhcMi they were widl away fi-om the settlement the boys killed the 

 old man, took all the meat and parched corn meal they could easily 

 cariT, and starte<l to make their way back to the north, keeping away 

 from the main ti-ail and followine- the ridge of the mountains. After 

 nian\ <la\s the\- came to the end of tiu' mountains and foiuid a trail 

 which thi' older brother knew as the one along which they had been 

 taken when they were tirst captured. They went on bravely now 

 until they came to a wide I'learing with houses at the farther end. and 

 the older l)rother said. '"I beli(>v<> thiMv is where we used to live." It 

 was so long ago that they were not (juite sure, and besides they were 

 dressed now like Cherokee, so they thought it safer to wait until dark. 

 They saw a river ahead and went down to it and sat behind a large 

 tree to wait. Soon several women came down for wat(M- and passed 

 close to the tree without noticing the boys. Said the older l)rother, 

 "I know those women. One of them is our mother." They waited 

 until the women had tilled their buckets and started to the village, 

 when lioth ran out to meet them with the Seneca hailing-shout, 

 " (iou^e ! (JiHDc' !'' .Vt first the women were frightened and thought 

 it a party of Cherokee, but when they heard their own language they 

 came nearer. Then the mother recognized her two sons, and said, 

 '•Let us go back and danc(> for the dead come to life." and they were 

 all very glad and went into the village together. — Arranged from 

 Curtin, Seneca manuscript. 



93. THE UNSEEN HELPERS 



Ganogwioeoii, a war chief of the Seneca, led a party against the 

 Cherokee. When they came near the lii-st town he left lii> men outside 



