108 MYTHS OF THE IROQUOIS. 



and sincerely that the people, not wishing to be outdone by any other 

 tribe, also began singing and kissing him and making merry ; and while 

 the excitement was at its height, pleased with his success, the facetious 

 traveler escaped and continued his journeyings. 



Arrived at the next village he again began calling, "Goh-weh, goh- 

 ■weh"; and th^ people and chiefs gathered around him, crying, "Let us 

 hear." And he answered, '' As I passed through the last town some peo- 

 ple wept at my news, others began quarreling, kicking, and fighting." 

 Immediately his contagious news produced its effect, and in the confu- 

 sion he again escaped, saying to himself " What fools people are." 



That night, as he was preparing to camp out, a man passed who in- 

 quired the distance to the next village; but the traveler said, "Ton 

 cannot reach it to-night. Let us camp together." As they were each 

 recounting stories, and the new-comer was boasting of his superior cun- 

 ning, the traveler inquired, "What log is that you now use for a pil- 

 low?" and he guessed hickory, elm, &c. But the traveler said, "No, it 

 is everlasting sleep." In the morning the traveler took some pitchy resin 

 and rubbed over the eyes of his sleeping comrade and left, laughing at 

 the probable chagrin the man would feel when attempting to open his 

 eyes, and in the recollection of the warning regarding everlasting sleep 

 and his boasts of superior cunning. 



No further accounts of the traveler's jokes are told. 



KINGFISHER AND HIS NEPHEW. 



An old man and his nephew were living together in a good home 

 near the river, where they enjoyed themselves day after day. One 

 morning the old man said to his nephew, "When you are a man, remem- 

 ber in hunting never to go west; always go to the east." 



The young man reflected and said to himself, "Why should this be 

 so?" My uncle To-b6-sene always goes west, and brings home plenty of 

 fish. Why should he tell me not to go? Why does he never take me 

 with him?" 



He made up his mind at last that he would go, never minding 

 about the advice. So he set off in a roundabout way, and as he passed 

 the marsh land near the river he saw his uncle. "Ha!" he thought, 

 "now I know where he catches his fish"; and he watched him take from 

 his pocket two sharp sticks and put them in his nose, and then plunge 

 into deep water and come up with a nice fish. He watched him care- 

 fully and then returned home. Presently the uncle came back, bringing 

 some nice fish, but he never guessed that the nephew had seen him. 



The young man now felt certain that he conld fish as well as his 

 uncle. Accordingly, one day when the old man had gone deer hunting, 

 he thought it a good opportunity to try the new method. He hunted 



