THE CODE OE HANDSOME LAKE 43 



" ' The Honon'diont will go out in fours for game for the feasts. 



" ' You may think that they are fulfilling their duty to Gai'wiio'. 



" ' The animals that fall must be thirty. 



" ' But this will happen when Gai'wiio' is new. The Honon'diont 

 will kill twenty-nine and the twenty-ninth will be a cub bear. So 

 there will not be thirty. 



" ' So this will be done when Gai'wiio' is new. It will be done at 

 Adekwe'o r ge, the Green Corn thanksgiving ceremony.' ' 



So they said and he said. Eniaiehuk. 



section 37 



" ' Now another message to tell your people. 



" ' Now this is a thing to happen. 

 ' Hereafter we shall have a new species of deer. 1 The Creator 

 will create somewhere a pair, male and female. The male deer will 

 be spotted with white and the female striped with white over her 

 back. This will be done and we say it. 



' Now moreover the messengers command that these animals 

 shall never be killed.' " 



So they said and he said. Eniaiehuk. 



section 38 



" ' Now another message for your people. 

 ' If all the world would repent the earth would become as new 

 again. Because of sin the under-world 2 is crumbling with decay. 

 The world is full of sin. Truly, this is so.' " 



So they said and he said. Eniaiehuk. 



1 These deer are the sacred creations of the Great Ruler and as such no 

 " pale invader " is permitted to see them, though a few of the faithful have 

 at certain seasons seen them in the darkness fleeing from discovery. Corn- 

 planter says these deer were killed by a jealous rival of the prophet while 

 he yet lived, so defying the new command. 



2 The under-world was thought to be a dark region beneath the surface 

 of the earth where were confined the creations of the evil-minded spirit. It 

 was a vast cave full of winding chambers, dark turbid rivers, bottomless 

 sloughs, hot springs and fetid odors, rapacious beasts, venomous serpents, 

 poisonous insects and noxious weeds. The door of the under-world was 

 guarded by the under-earth elves who had great difficulty in preventing the 

 white buffaloes from escaping. Frequently they did and then began a great 

 pursuit to kill or bring back the white buffaloes. At such a time the elves 

 would tell the sun of the calamity and he would paint his face red as a sign 

 to all the elves the world over that the chase was on. See Legend, Origin of 

 Death Dance. 



