LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY, 
17 
point and then arrest it. As a result, the various episodes are 
practically told in two unequal narrations, neither of which is 
complete in itself, for all interest in future elaboration of the 
plot would cease if the first description were complete in itself 
and, on the other hand, the second description of the episode- 
in which the action is performed — being the denouement, 
cannot be stressed in the same manner as the first. A few 
examples will bring this out clearly. 
Let us compare, for instance, the episodes described by the 
old woman on pages 13 and 14 with the following elaboration. 
"Shortly after the old woman had finished speaking, the 
sister entered and, seeing her brother, addressed him, ‘Brother, 
I have brought you something to eat.’ Then she handed him a 
wooden bowl containing a large amount of liver as dry as bone. 
He took the bowl and as soon as he noticed its contents, threw 
it straight into the face of his sister, saying, T am not accustomed 
to food of this kind. My brothers, who brought me up, never 
gave me any food like this.’ His sister then left the lodge and, 
it being supper-time, the old woman cooked him a supper of 
vegetables. After he had finished his supper his sister came in 
again. 'Tenth-son, your brother-in-law wants you to prepare 
his sweatbath. He is accustomed to using a certain stone which 
you will find on yonder hill and which he wishes you to get for 
him/ Then she left the lodge. Her brother went to the hill and, 
following his grandmother’s advice, ascended it on the side 
opposite the stone, touched it with his stick, and it rolled rapidly 
down the hill. He then carried it to his brother-in-law’s lodge, 
but left it outside. Then he went to inform the latter that he 
had brought the stone. His brother-in-law merely nodded and 
told him to bring the bark for the lodge structure. This he 
set out to do, and when he came near the tree he carefully took 
a place of safety and touched the bark with his stick. It fell 
with a terrific crash. Then he took as much of it as he wanted 
and carried it to his brother-in-law. The latter merely nodded 
and sent him to get the lodge-poles. When he came to the 
place where the snakes were confined he took some tobacco 
and threw it to them. They accepted it and allowed him 
to seize them and carry them to his brother-in-law. Having 
