HOW THE CANNIBAL WAS DESTROYED. 57 
31. HOW THE CANNIBAL WAS DESTROYED.* 
In the beginning of this world there lived many kinds of fierce animals. 
Among these animals was one especially that was called by the people 
living in those times the cannibal. 
One time there were three men who went out hunting. They went a 
long way from home and kept on going farther and farther in search of 
game. One day they came to a country timbered with many large trees. 
They came to one of these trees and saw that something had been 
climbing on the tree, and near the base there was a large hole. The 
men thought that a bear must have made the hole, and that the bear 
was in the hole. ‘They gathered dry leaves and grass and made it up 
into a small bundle, and they set the bundle on fire and tied it to the 
end of a long pole and thrust the burning bundle intothe hole. They 
kept on dropping bundles into the hole until they thought it about time 
the bear should come out. One of the bundles which was put into the 
hole dropped out from the hole, and then they knew that the bear was 
coming out. Finally some strange animal came and peeped out from 
the hole, and it was not a bear, but a cannibal. 
As soon as they saw and knew what kind of animal it was, they ran. 
The smoke cleared away and the cannibal came down from the tree and 
smelled around until he scented the tracks of the men, and then he began 
to follow them. These men were on foot and the cannibal was very 
swift, and so it was not long until he overtook one of the men and killed 
him. ‘Then the animal took the man back to the woods, to the large 
tree, and went back after the other two men. After running a long 
way he overtook the second man. Hekilled him and carried him back 
and placed him by the side of the first man. Then he returned for the 
third man. When the third man was almost overtaken, and was run- 
ning with all his might, he saw something flat on the ground in front 
of him, but he did not stop. He saw that it was a mountain-lion, 
lying there watching and waiting for the approaching cannibal. The 
man ran on a way, then turned around and looked back to see what 
the mountain-lion would do. ‘The cannibal did not see the mountain- 
lion lying there, and before he knew anything the mountain-lion 
jumped upon him and seized him by the throat. Finally the cannibal 
was overpowered and killed, and then the man started on for his home. 
When he got home he told his people what had happened to the other 
two men. When they all heard this they started down where he last 
saw the cannibal, and when they got to the place they found nothing 
* Told by Annie Wilson. 
5D 
