THE SEVEN BROTHERS AND THE WOMAN. 63 
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8. THE SEVEN BROTHERS AND THE WOMAN.* 
In the time of the story, there were several villages, and in these 
villages there was always a head man or chief. In one of these villages 
there was a head man, who had a wife. Now, at this time there were 
all kinds of people living, good people and bad people, and there were 
people who had great powers of all kinds. There was a certain per- 
son who had the power to change his looks, so that sometimes he would 
appear to be a young man, and at other times an old, ugly man. His 
name was Mixed-Timber (Kilakilakawi). One time Mixed-Timber 
started for the village where the chief lived, expecting to carry off his 
wife. On arriving at this place, he changed his looks so that he ap- 
peared to be a young man. Late in the evening he reached the chief's 
place. When the chief’s wife stepped out to bring in wood for the 
fire she saw a man standing in front of her. When she stepped out 
of the tipi she noticed a fragrant odor; this came from Mixed-Timber. 
She started to see who he was, and the man kept backing off, and the 
woman kept following him, until they reached the end of the village. 
She found that she could not turn back any more, but had to con- 
tinue following this man. ‘They went outside of the village, and Mixed- 
Timber stopped to tell the woman that he had made a long journey 
for her; then they started off toward the west, traveling all that night, 
until the next night, when they stopped to rest and sleep. When they 
stopped to rest, the woman was told to lie down at a certain place. The 
man lay down in another place. Next day they continued their jour- 
ney until darkness came, when they stopped again. The woman lay 
down again at a certain distance from Mixed-Timber, and at times she 
wondered why they did not lie together. The next day they started again 
to the place where they were going, and as far as the woman could 
see, she saw something in sight. As they came nearer to it, it changed 
into the shape of a lodge, and they finally reached the place, and the 
woman was told not to go in until bidden. She was finally asked in 
harsh words to enter. In the room there was an old, ugly man, sitting 
by the fireplace. ‘There was also the mother of Mixed-Timber. After 
a while, the old man, who was Mixed-Timber, asked for something to 
eat, and he was given some meat. His mother, and also the woman 
he had brought, ate with him. After the meal Mixed-Timber started 
out on another hunting trip, and while he was making this trip, his 
mother told the young woman that on his return she would be asked 
to go and bring some water; that he had a drinking place all of his 
*Told by Ahahe (Waco). 
