ON THE ETHNOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 543 
Scarcely knew what to think ; and when told that the work was done 
would not believe it till he had examined it with his own eyes. Finding 
the task really satisfactorily performed, a great hate now sprang up in 
his heart towards the youth, and he secretly determined to cut his life 
short, lest he should prove a future rival to himself and rob him of his 
influence and power. To this end he prepared a snare for him. Pre- 
tending to be well pleased at the manner in which he had performed his 
first task, he told the young man that he would not wait till he had 
accomplished the other tasks before giving him his daughter to wife, but 
would bestow her upon him that very day. The young man, nothing 
loth to possess so desirable a wife as one of the Shaman’s daughters, 
asked which of the two was to be his wife. Said the Shaman, ‘ Choose for 
yourself, my son ; you may have which you like.’ The youth looked at 
the two young women, and to his surprise found them so exactly alike 
that he could not tell the one from the other, and was at a loss for the 
moment which to choose, till he caught the soft and yearning look in the 
eyes of the younger, whose heart he had unconsciously won, when he 
hesitated no longer, but chose her. ‘Very well,’ said the parent, ‘TI will 
prepare a house for you, and to-night you shall find both it and her ready 
for you.’ Now the young woman’s love for the youth made her suspect 
her father’s motives, and feigning complete indifference for her future 
husband she sought to discover her parent’s purposes. He, never sus- 
pecting that her feelings had been roused, or that she cared one jot for the 
youth, made no secret of his purpose. He had caused a deep hole to be 
made in the ground, just before the door of the chamber he had prepared 
for the newly wedded pair, at the bottom of which he had built a huge 
fire of charcoal, and over the top of which, on a level with the ground, he 
had placed a cunningly contrived door that revolved on a central pivot. 
This door was so evenly hung that it remained balanced by its own 
weight, effectually covering the hole and the fire beneath ; but should one 
not familiar with the contrivance be unwary enough to place his foot on 
either half of the door, it would immediately give way beneath and pre- 
cipitate him into the yawning furnace below, from which there was no 
possible escape. This was the bridal couch the jealous Shaman prepared 
for his unsuspecting sdn-in-law, and the latter would doubtless have thus 
miserably ended his life but for the love and warning of his bride. 
Having ascertained that her father entertained no doubts that his trap 
would successfully dispose of her lover, and that they would be left in 
peace, at least for the night, if he succeeded in passing the death-trap, she 
took the opportunity, unobserved by her sister or parents, to acquaint her 
husband with the whole plot, telling him how to safely cross the door. 
He saw from this that his young wife’s help was the aid the old woman 
had told him would be given him after he had performed the first task, 
and feeling that some friendly power was working for him, he awaited 
the approach of night without agitation or concern. When they had 
eaten their supper, and the young women had retired, the Shaman pointed 
out to the youth the apartment occupied by his bride, and Jeft him to 
join her, As he approached the door he trod very carefully, trying the 
ground in front of him before he put his foot down. When he had got 
uite near the door he felt the ground give way beneath his advanced 
foot, and pressing upon it a little discerned the outlines of the trap-door ; 
and putting his foot in the centre, as his wife had instructed him, he gave 
a leap and crossed the treacherous spot without harm, and the warm wel- 
