THE HACKBERRY TREE TELLS HIS STORY 71 



"In one of the tribes that lived on the banks of 

 the stream here, there was a beautiful maiden, the 

 daughter of the chief. She was very much in love 

 with one of the young men, one of the great hunters 

 of the tribe. Many times he carried her across the 

 stream, with the water shoulder deep, to the other 

 side where he picked wild strawberries for her in 

 the spring, raspberries and blackberries in the sum- 

 mer, and hazel nuts in the fall. They became 

 in love with each other. 



"One day a visiting tribe came to hunt and fish 

 here, and to establish friendly relations. In this 

 tribe was a young warrior, the son of the chief, who 

 fell madly in love with the maiden at first sight. 

 Within a week he had made such ardent love to 

 her, and had deliberately crossed the path of our 

 mighty hunter so many times, that serious trouble 

 was imminent. 



"One evening, while the whole world was 

 wrapped in gorgeous moonlight, the three met 

 as if by appointment on that high bank by the 

 stream and there under the big walnut tree ar- 

 ranged to decide whether the hunter or the warrior 

 should take the Indian maiden. It was left to her 

 to decide, so with the sportsman instinct of her race 

 she said that the one who first swam the river and 



