102 MYTHS OF THE IROQUOIS. 



"Come, swans, let's go to our place;" and as tbey went he sang just as 

 the man had done. They had gone but a little way when the man saw 

 them. He began to cry, "Come back! Oh, do come back!" but the 

 boy did not look around and they kept on their way. By and by they 

 came to a large rock in which there was a hole, and the swans went up 

 into the rock until they came to a door which the boy proceeded to open. 

 Upon entering the cave he found his own clothes and many others, 

 and also a fire and food all prepared, but no living person. After put- 

 ting on his clothes he went to sleep for the night. In the morning he 

 found a fire and food, but saw no one. 



Upon leaving the cave he found the swans still waiting at the entrance, 

 and, jumping into the canoe, he said, " Come, swans, let's go to the island." 

 When he arrived there he found the man had been killed and nearly 

 eaten up. He then went to the skeleton, which said, " You are a very 

 smart boy; now you must go and get your sister whom this man car- 

 ried off many years ago. You must start to-night and go east, and by 

 and by you will come to some very high rocks where she goes for water, 

 and you will find her there and she will tell you what to do." 



The boy started and in three days arrived at the rocks, where he found 

 his sister, to whom he called, "Sister, come, go home with me"; but she 

 replied, "No, dear brother, I cannot go; a bad man keeps me here, and 

 you must go, for he will kill you if he finds you here." But as the boy 

 ■would not be persuaded to leave without her she allowed him to stay. 

 INow this very bad man had gone to a great swamp whei'e women and 

 children were picking cranberries. The sister then went to the house 

 and, taking up the planks over which her bed was made, she dug a pit 

 Tinderneath it sufiiciently large for her brother to sit in ; then she went to 

 her brother and bade him follow her, and to be sure and step in her 

 tracks and not touch anything with his hands or his clothes. So she 

 covered him up in the pit she had prepared for him, and made her bed 

 up again over the place. She then cooked a little boy for the man, put it 

 with wood and water by his bed, and then went and lay down. Soon 

 the man and dogs returned; then immediately the dogs began barking 

 and tearing around as if they were mad. The man said, "You surely 

 have visitors" ; she replied, "None but you." And he said, " I know bet- 

 ter"; and he took a stick and commanded her to tell him the truth, but 

 she denied it, sayiug, " Kill me if you like, but I have none.'' He then 

 went to his bed and sat down to eat his sapper; but he said to himself, 

 " She has some one hidden; I will kill him in the morning." He then 

 called her to build a fire, but she replied, " You have wood, build your 

 own fire." Then he said, " Come, take off my moccasins"; but she re- 

 plied, " I am tired, take them off yourself" Then he said to himself, 

 " Now I know she has seen someone, for she was never so saucy." 



In the morning he started off for the swamp to get some children for 

 his dinner. A short distance from home he concealed himself to watch 

 the girl. As soon as he was gone she called her brother and said, 



