38 TRADITIONS OF THE CADDO. 
the boy went back to his grandmother’s house and told her about the 
boy he had met at the lake and how they had killed the big water mon- 
ster. The old woman knew that the boy’s companion was Medicine- 
Screech-Owl, and she also knew that he had given the boy wonderful 
power, though she said nothing. 
The next day the boy went to the lake again. He found the water 
very low, since the monster had been pulled out of the lake, and it was 
so clear that he could see many fish swimming about. He dived down 
to catch some of the fish, and a big sword-fish swam up to him and 
went right through him. The boy, though severely wounded, did not 
die, but shot the fish with his bow and arrow. ‘The next day he again 
went to the lake to fish, but found that all the water had gone. In 
the mud he saw two largeshells. He carried them home and cut them 
so that he could put them over the holes that the sword-fish had made 
when it cut its way through him. He wore one in front and one be- 
hind, so that no one could see the wounds that the fish had made. 
The shells had the power to hear any sound in the whole world, and 
whenever he wanted to hear anything he removed the shells from the 
holes and put them to his ears. With the power of hearing every 
sound in the world and the power given to him by Medicine-Screech- 
Owl, he became a great medicine-man and the people began to fear him 
and planned to kill him. When he heard that they were going to kill 
him he told his grandmother that they would leave the people, but 
that he would do them harm some time because they had planned to 
kill him, and so made it necessary for him and his grandmother to 
leave. They went to a high mountain near the village, and made 
their grass house on the very top of it. He found two fierce dogs and 
placed them at his door to guard the house. 
The boy knew who the people were who had planned to kill him, 
because he had heard them talking by means of his wonderful shells. 
Soon they died, one after another, until the people of the village began 
to suspect that the boy was bewitching them and causing them to die. 
Many of the warriors tried to steal up to his home on the mountain 
and kill him, but with the magic shells he could always hear them 
coming, and would set the dogs on them, so that they could never 
approach. 
He kept on bewitching so many people that finally Medicine-Screech- 
Owl decided that he would have to interfere. He started up the trail 
to the boy’s house, but first he blew his breath so hard that it took the 
magic power of sound from the shells, so that the boy could not hear 
him coming. When he was almost at the top of the mountain he blew 
his breath again and the dogs rolled over asleep, and when he passed 
