118. The Legend of Gādjisʹdodoʻ and Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs
It is said that in ancient times there lived together in a very long lodge two male persons. They were related one to the other as uncle (mother’s brother) and nephew. As such, according to the custom of the times, they occupied opposite sides of the fire in the long lodge.
For something to eat, as he grew, the nephew, who was a very little boy, shot birds and other small game.
It came to pass one day that Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs said: “Oh, my nephew! I am thankful that now you are growing into manhood. It is a long time since I began to care for you. It will happen that a little later on you will kill larger animals.” [[587]]
In time this did happen, for one day he killed a partridge, which he carried home. On entering the lodge his uncle exclaimed: “Wuʻ, my nephew! I am very thankful you are returning home, having killed a large game animal. What is the name of the animal you have killed? What kind of animal is it? Do you know?” In reply the youth said: “I do not know.” The old man, going toward his nephew, grasped the partridge so quickly that he raised the young boy off the ground, saying: “Hand me at once the body of the thing which you are bringing back killed, for you, of course, do not know what kind of thing it is.” Then the old man, going aside and taking a seat, began to pluck and dress the partridge, saying at the same time: “This thing requires, of course, nothing but dumplings.” Setting a kettle over the fire, he made dumplings which he put into the kettle with the partridge. The old man kept on saying, as he watched the bird cooking: “Perhaps this will taste exceedingly good to us two.” The grease floated on the top of the water, for the bird was very fat. Then the old man, removing the kettle from the fire, set it aside. He put into a bark bowl or dish a share for his nephew, saying: “Oh, my nephew! this is what you may eat,” but he held it just over the fire. When the young boy arose to receive his portion and reached out for the dish, his uncle, grasping his hand along with the dish, pulled the nephew over the fire, wherein he fell on his elbows. At once he arose covered with hot coals, and took a seat aside on his own side of the fire. Dissimulating his evil purpose, the old man said: “I am in too much of a hurry, for I thought that I held it aside from the fireplace.” The nephew was greatly astonished at what his uncle had done to him, for he never had illtreated him before; and the lad began to weep, saying to himself: “I wonder why he has done this thing to me.”
The next morning the old man said: “Oh, my nephew! arise. Game animals usually go about the clear places very early in the morning. So arise and go out to hunt.”
After arising and making needed preparations, the nephew started out to hunt in the forest. He kept on thinking: “My uncle has indeed abused me very much.” As the boy went from place to place he was much surprised to hear a man at a distance say, Tcĭt! and he directed his steps toward the spot whence he believed the sound came. Soon he was surprised to see the skull of an old man protruding out of the ground. As the boy approached the skull said to him: “Oh, my nephew! you are much to be pitied now, for affairs have taken a turn which will cause you misfortune. Exert yourself with all your (magic) power, for he will indeed outmatch your orenda (magic power) if it so be that you do not learn to remember the things which you have killed.” Thus spoke the skull of the old man. [[588]]
But he continued: “You shall do this in your defense. I will assist you. I am the brother of your uncle, who has outmatched to the utmost degree my orenda. I will tell you, moreover, that that lodge, so long, was at one time full of our relations and kindred, who are now no more. This is the reason it is so long and empty. Now go yonder, not far from here, to an old rotten log, lying prone, and in which you will find a raccoon, as it is called. You must kill it, and you must pass by this place on your way home and I will give you further instructions.” Going to the place indicated by the skull of the old man, the boy killed the raccoon, returning at once to the place where the skull protruded from the ground. Thereupon the skull said to him: “You must not forget the name raccoon, for this is the name of this animal which you have killed. On your way home you must keep on saying, ‘Raccoon, raccoon, raccoon.’ So return home now. And he will again ask, probably, as is his custom, ‘What is it that you are bringing home killed?’ So do not get into the habit of forgetting. Exert yourself as much as possible.”
Thereupon the young boy started for his home in the long lodge, saying as he trudged along, “Raccoon, raccoon, raccoon.” At first he whispered it, but when nearing the lodge he uttered it loudly. Just as he pushed aside the door flap and stepped inside the lodge he stubbed his foot, and his burden, the raccoon, fell inside and he beside it. At that moment his uncle, the old man, said: “Oh, my nephew! now you are bringing back, killed, a large game animal; what is its name and what kind of animal is it?” Now, after his mishap at the doorway, the boy had entirely forgotten the name of the animal, so he reluctantly answered: “I do not know the name of it.” At this his uncle demanded the game, saying: “Hand the body to me, then, for you do not know what kind of thing you are bringing home killed.” The nephew did as he was told, whereupon his uncle, taking a seat aside, began to skin the animal, at the same time saying: “The name of this animal is raccoon.” The nephew took a seat on the opposite side of the fire.
Then the old man set a kettle over the fire, with the remark: “The only way to prepare this game is to cook it with corn-meal mush, which should be eaten with it. I shall skim off the grease and pour it over the mush.” The youth did nothing but watch his uncle. When the meal was cooked the uncle kept saying: “This will indeed taste very good to us two.” Then he took out a share for his nephew, putting into a bark dish some of the mush and a portion of the meat. Going to the edge of the fireplace, he said, “Oh, my nephew! here is a portion for you to eat,” again holding it over the fire. The youth arose quickly to receive it and took the bark bowl in his hands. Just as before, the old man grasped his hands and drew him into [[589]]the fire, at the same time saying: “What is the use of my holding it somewhere else when I myself am hungry.” Of course the youth fell into the fire on his elbows, and on jumping out he was all covered with hot coals and ashes. Going aside, he took a seat there. Then Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs began to eat. When he had finished, he remarked to himself, “I think I will save some of this for another time”; so he put some of the food in a high place. The youth, his nephew, began to weep, saying: “Perhaps he will kill me; I think it possible.”
The next morning the old man again spoke to his nephew, saying: “Oh, my nephew! do you arise. It is the custom for game animals to be found in the open places very early in the morning.” Quickly arising from his bed, the youth at once made the necessary preparations, and after finishing these, he started out to hunt. Once more he directed his course toward the place where the skull of his uncle protruded from the ground. On arriving there, his uncle addressed him: “Well, my nephew, what came to pass?” The youth answered: “I kept repeating the name ‘raccoon’ as I went along, and when I had reached a point quite near the lodge I just whispered the name to myself, saying ‘Raccoon, raccoon, raccoon.’ But at the very doorway I caught my foot in an obstruction, and the body of the animal fell into the lodge and I with it. At that moment my uncle asked me, ‘What is the name of the game you are bringing home killed?’ Of course, I did not remember anything whatever about the name of the animal, so I answered him, ‘I do not know.’ To this the old man replied, ‘Quickly hand me the body of the animal, for you do not know its name; and it is well known that raccoon is its name.’ ” Then the man whose skull protruded from the ground said: “Oh! how unfortunate it was that stumbling against an obstruction and falling down caused you to forget the name of the animal. Exert yourself to the utmost. Be brave. Your only safety consists in remembering the names of the animals that you may kill. You must remember at all times these names. Now, then, go to that place there in the distance where turkeys abound. One of them you must kill; and when you have killed it, you must pass by this place on your way home.” As directed, the youth went to the place designated by his uncle, and there he killed a turkey. Then he returned to the spot where his uncle’s skull protruded from the ground. To encourage him his uncle said: “Be brave and exert yourself to the utmost. This time you must remember the name of this game bird. It is called a turkey. As you are going along homeward, you must keep saying, ‘Turkey, turkey, turkey’; and as soon as you arrive near the lodge you must set your feet down carefully as you walk, and must go along whispering the name to yourself, ‘Turkey, turkey, turkey.’ ” [[590]]
So the youth started for home, and as he went along he kept saying, “Turkey, turkey, turkey.” On arriving near the lodge, he began to whisper the name, “Turkey, turkey, turkey,” and he set each foot down carefully and securely. In this way he reentered his home without mishap. And the old man, his uncle, was surprised and said: “Oh, my nephew! you are bringing back a large game animal, killed. I am thankful for it. What is the name of it?” The youth replied: “Oh! the name of it is turkey—just turkey.” The old man, his uncle, merely exclaimed, Wuʻʹ, and, going aside, took a seat there. In the meantime the youth dragged the body of the turkey aside to pluck and dress it. While engaged at his task he remarked: “The only way to cook this is to boil it down to a pot roast.” Next he proceeded to pluck and then to quarter the bird. When he had finished his task, he started the meat to cooking in a kettle over the fire. As he saw it begin to cook he kept saying: “It will certainly taste good to uncle and me.” The uncle on his part said: “I have been thinking generally that he [my nephew] would become perhaps a fine hunter; for it has been a very difficult task for me to raise you, and I have worked hard to do it.”
When the turkey was cooked the youth said: “I will not act in the manner my uncle acts on such occasions.” Thereupon he set aside a portion of the boiled turkey in a bark bowl, which he offered to his uncle by holding it directly over the fire, which was burning briskly, saying: “This is what you will eat.” The uncle, exclaiming, “Oh! I am thankful for it,” arose to receive it. As he grasped the bark bowl, the youth, seizing his hands along with the bowl, drew the old man over so that he fell into the fire. At this the youth said, excusing himself: “I am so hungry, indeed, that perhaps I was holding the bowl in an unintended place.” The old man answered, “Now my nephew, you have abused me. It has been my habit to think that you would not treat me in this manner, for I have raised you from childhood to youth.” The nephew was eating, but he answered his uncle: “I just thought that that was perhaps the custom on such occasions, for you were in the habit of acting in this manner.” So saying, he kept on eating. Finally he said, “I believe I will save myself a portion for a later time;” and he laid aside some of the boiled turkey.
The next morning the old man did not say, as was his custom, to his nephew: “Come now, arise, my nephew.” On the other hand, the young nephew said to himself: “So be it. I will now arise, I think. My uncle is accustomed to say that the game animals go about in the open country very early in the morning.” So the young man arose then, and proceeded to make his usual preparations before going out to hunt. After eating his morning meal he started from the lodge. The uncle spoke not a word. It would appear, one would think, [[591]]that he was angry. The youth went directly to the place where his other uncle’s skull protruded from the ground.
Having arrived at the spot, the skull addressed him, saying: “Well, my nephew, what happened?” The youth answered: “I remembered the name all the way home, and when my uncle asked me, ‘What are you bringing home, killed?’ I answered him, ‘Only a turkey.’ My uncle replied, merely, Wuʻʹ. Then I prepared the bird and cooked it. As soon as it was cooked I kept saying: ‘I shall not act in the manner in which my uncle acts.’ Then I put a portion for him on a bark dish and held the dish directly over the fire, saying: ‘Oh, my uncle! eat this portion.’ He replied, ‘Hoʹ, I am very thankful,’ and grasped the dish, whereupon, gripping his hands, I pulled him down into the fire. I may have held it in the wrong place because I was very hungry, but the real reason I did so was because I was angry with him on account of the many times he scorched and burned me. My uncle said: ‘I believe that you have now begun to abuse me.’ I replied that it seemed to be the custom when one was giving food to another. He walked to and fro, and one would think that my uncle was angry.”
The skull of the uncle at once replied: “It was just right for him. Now, indeed, this is about to come to pass. It is impossible that in the future he will ask you for the name of the things which you may bring home killed. Oh, my nephew! It is known that your uncle is making preparations. He is gathering logs and burning them on the fire, and when night comes he will have a great fire, as is well known. So, be brave, careful, and watchful. You must not go to sleep. An evil dream will cause him to arise suddenly, as is well known. Then you must quickly take down his war club and strike a blow with it on your uncle’s head, at the same time saying: ‘What is causing you to see marvels?’ And if he does not answer at once, ‘It has ceased,’ you must again strike a blow on his head with the war club. Then it will come to pass that he will say, as is well known, ‘The thing that the dream spirit has commanded me is baleful.’ Whereupon you must ask him, ‘What did the dream spirit command you to do?’ In answer he will tell you what he has been commanded to require you to do. Then you must return to this place, as I do not know what he will say.”
Now, the youth returned to the lodge which he called his home. Night came on them. The fire was a brisk one. It so happened that the old man, the uncle, said: “The reason I have put these large logs on the fire is because it seems likely that we two will have a very cold time tonight.” The two lay down as usual, but the youth kept awake as he had been warned to do by his uncle’s [[592]]skull. There was a hole worn through his skin covering through which he kept a strict watch on his uncle.
About midnight, perhaps, suddenly the old man began to moan and groan, muttering strange words very loudly, the sounds increasing in intensity. Interspersed with these mutterings were the sounds ʼĕñʻ, ʼĕñʻ, ʼĕñʻ. Suddenly arising from his couch, he moved about on his knees, meanwhile uttering the same sounds and words as the youth had first heard. Then, with one great cry of ʼĕñʻ! he cast himself on the fire and pushed with his feet and hands the huge firebrands that had accumulated over toward the place where lay his nephew. Seeing this, the nephew, quickly uncovering himself, leaped up just in time, for the great pieces of burning logs fell blazing where he had just lain. Running over to the opposite side of the fire, he took down from its resting place the war club of his uncle. His uncle then being close to him, groping around on his knees and uttering dark words, the youth struck him a blow on the head, saying at the same time, “What is causing you to see marvels?” and again raised the war club to deliver another blow. But the dream of the old man ceased at that time, and the uncle took a seat at one side of the fire, and the youth took a seat on the opposite side. Thereupon the uncle said to his nephew: “Compliance with what the dream commanded me is of the utmost difficulty.” The youth answered: “Well, what did the dream command you to do?” The uncle made reply: “It commanded me, saying, ‘You two shall hazard your lives’; it said to me that we two must ‘take the roof off the lodge.’ ” The youth replied: “So let it come to pass. What it has commanded amounts to nothing.”
Then the two men returned to bed for the remainder of the night. Very early the next morning the youth went to the spot where the skull of his uncle protruded from the ground. When he reached the place, the uncle addressed him: “Well, what happened during the night?” The young nephew answered: “Well, he says that he and I shall hazard our lives by trading objects this very night which is approaching.” To this statement the uncle replied: “I have been saying all along that he is determined to outmatch your magic power (orenda), as is well known. It is his manner of doing things. He will request something which you do not possess, and if it so be that you can not obtain it at once, something direful will happen to you—you die, paying the penalty by your death. Now I know that he will request the entrails of a bear from you, for the very reason that you have them not. Then you must proceed in this manner: You must go out and find a wild grapevine. When you have found it you must unwind the vine and cut off a sufficient portion. This you must rub between your hands and blow on, and instantly the vine will become the entrails of a bear. You must say, ‘I want [[593]]the fat entrails of a bear.’ Make haste in what you are about to do, for I know that he has completed all his preparation at the lodge.” So the youth went forth to hunt for a wild grapevine, and found one which was wound around a support. Cutting off at once what he required, he began to straighten out the length. Next he fastened the coils together by means of bark cords, and by rubbing it with his hands and blowing on it he soon transformed the vine into the fat entrails of a bear.
Returning to the lodge, the youth addressed his old uncle thus, “Oh, my uncle! I return fully prepared,” to which the uncle answered: “So be it; you just go to the end of the lodge.” The nephew replied: “So be it.” Thereupon the uncle added: “It is not certain whether I shall go now or later. But you must be in an expectant mood there.” Then the youth started, passing along on the inside of the lodge, which was very long. When he reached the end of the lodge he was surprised to see there the signs of a fire, one which had burned perhaps a long time in the past. He took a seat there, for he was ready for the work ahead of him. It was not very long afterward when at last the old man began to sing in his own place: “Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering; yuʹʻhĕñ, thou Gādjisʹdodoʻ, thou who art a nephew, yuʹʻhĕñ.” This he repeated in a loud voice, and the song was heard by all the wizards and sorcerers dwelling along the borders of the land, all of whom said one to another: “Now again his intended victim is his own nephew.”
Making his way up to the place where his nephew was sitting, the old man said: “Now, I am come to barter.” He carried in his hand a piece of bark on which lay several pieces of meat. The youth answered: “What shall I give you?” The old man, in accordance with the custom on such occasions, replied: “I can not tell what it shall be. Perhaps you have the flesh of the raccoon?” The youth rejoined: “I will give it to you.” The uncle answered: “No; not that.” The youth then said: “Turkey meat; that I will give you.” The uncle replied: “No; not that.” Then the old man again began singing, “Yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering; yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, thou Gādjisʹdodoʻ, thou who art a nephew; yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.” At this moment flames burst out all around the place where Gādjisʹdodoʻ was sitting. In defense, the youth said: “Djiʹ, djiʹ, djiʹ. Oh, my uncle! verily, you mean the entrails of a bear, the very fat entrails of a bear, which I have.” As soon as he had ceased speaking, the flames went down. Drawing forth the entrails of the bear (which he had prepared), the youth gave them to his uncle. They exchanged the pieces of meat for the bear’s entrails. The old man said: “I am thankful for these.” The youth then thought to himself: [[594]]“I will go back to my place as soon as I think he has returned to his own seat on his side of the fire.” As he started, the old man again began to sing: “Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering; thou Gādjisʹdodoʻ, thou who art a nephew; yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.” Believing that his uncle had resumed his seat, the nephew returned to his couch, where he found the old man sitting, smoking. The old man said merely: “We, oh, my nephew! have now finished this task.”
The next morning the youth again went to the place where the skull of his other uncle was protruding from the ground. When he arrived there his uncle asked him what had taken place last night. In answer, the youth related in great detail just what had come to pass between the old man and himself. He told him all very carefully. Thereupon this uncle said: “Now, it is a fact that he is collecting more logs and putting them on the fire and near it, for he will again make a large fire this very night. And it is, too, a fact that when he has his dream tonight, he will say in his own mind that he desires the liver of a bear. This you do not possess. Be brave and do your very best. This time you must hunt for fungi that grow on old rotten logs. These you must procure—two in number—and you must treat them in the same manner as you did the grapevine, and at once they will become bear’s livers. So, now, go out hunting for these things.” The youth at once started on his quest for fungi in the forest. He was not very long in finding the two that he required for his purpose. At once he rubbed them with his hands, saying at the same time: “Let these soon become bear’s livers.” Immediately the transformation took place as he wished.
Then he started for the lodge, where dwelt his uncle. Arriving there, he said: “Oh, my uncle! I have now returned.” He saw that the fire was a great one. Night came on at last, and the two lay down to sleep, but the youth did not fall asleep. It was perhaps midnight when suddenly the old man began to moan and groan with increasing force and loudness; all at once he arose and crawled around there on his knees. Finally, with a loud cry, ‘ĕñʻ, he threw himself on the fire. At once large pieces of wood, all ablaze, fell in every direction, some in the direction of the youth’s bed. Quickly arising and crossing over to the opposite side of the fire, he took down the war club of his uncle, and seeing the head of the latter close to him, moving from place to place, he struck it a blow with the club, at the same time saying: “Oh, my uncle! what is causing you to see marvels?” Then quickly he raised the club for another blow. Suddenly, however, the dream ceased, and the old man exclaimed, to avoid another blow of the war club: “It has stopped now.” Having said this he drew aside and took a seat. The youth did likewise. Addressing his nephew, the old man said: “Oh, [[595]]nephew! Compliance with the command which the dream gave me is very difficult indeed, yea, dangerous.” The youth asked: “What did it command you?” The uncle answered: “Why, it commanded me, saying you and he must barter by exchange, you and your nephew; and it commanded also that this must take place early in the morning, and that a calamitous thing would happen to you if it should come to pass that the barter by exchange failed to take place before midday.” The youth replied: “So be it; we will attend to this matter in the morning.” Then the two returned to their respective beds.
Very early the next morning the old man, having arisen, again addressed the youth: “Now you must go once more to the end of the lodge.” Having gone there, the nephew kindled a fire. All at once the old man in his place began to sing again, as before: “Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering by exchange; thou Gādjisʹdodoʻ, thou who art my nephew, yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.” As he sang the youth saw that he came toward him. Having arrived at the end of the lodge occupied by his nephew, the old man said: “Oh, my nephew! I come to barter by exchange.” The latter at once replied: “So let it be; what, then, shall I give you?” The uncle’s answer was: “Oh! you have it certainly. You have what I desire.” At this, then, the youth began to offer his uncle the things which he ostensibly guessed the old man desired. When he had consumed sufficient time to mislead his antagonist, he finally exclaimed: “Oh, my uncle! I believe that you indeed want the liver of a bear—the fat liver of a bear.” Quite deceived as to the mental acuteness of his nephew, the uncle replied: “I am very thankful for this.” Then they two made the exchange, and the old man returned to his own end of the lodge, carrying on his back the package of liver. As he went along he sang his song: “Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering by exchange, yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ; thou Gādjisʹdodoʻ, who art my nephew, yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.” Thus the uncle returned to his seat. When the youth thought that the old man had reached his own part of the lodge, he returned to his own bed. When he had reached it the old man said to him: “Now, what the dream commanded me has been fulfilled. I am thankful, too.”
Then the youth, having made the necessary preparations, departed, going to the place where the skull of his other uncle protruded out of the ground. On his arrival there, the uncle said to him: “Well, what happened?” The nephew answered him: “Oh! we completed the exchange, and I passed through the test without mishap.” To this the uncle rejoined: “Now you must hasten to return to the lodge. It is your turn to have a dream of that kind. You, too, must kindle the fire by gathering great logs, so that you may have a great fire. As soon as midnight comes it is for you to do [[596]]just as your uncle did, and as soon as he strikes you a blow with his war club, you must say: ‘It is now ceased. Difficult and sinister is what the dream commanded me to do.’ Then your uncle will ask: ‘What did it command you to do?’ In reply you must say that it commanded you to have your uncle seek for the wish [word] of your dream; and it said, too, that a direful thing should happen to your uncle should he have failed to divine your dream’s desire by midday. A small round squash, which is growing on a vine planted by your uncle beneath his bed, is what you must desire in your dream. He prizes this squash very much, believing that his life depends on it. You must say, ‘Yes’ only when he names this squash as the thing desired for you by your dream. So now quickly return to the lodge and get ahead of him in making the preparations for kindling a great fire tonight. You must make the fire, and you must gather large logs to maintain it in full blaze during the night, for you must have a fine fire.”
So the youth returned to the lodge, and when he arrived indoors he said to his uncle: “It is now my turn to make a good fire, and I will kindle it well, because I think we shall have a very cold night.” Then gathering together many large logs and pieces of wood, he proceeded to put them on the fire in order to have a fine blaze for the night, as he had been told to do. Nighttime having come, they lay down to sleep. No word of conversation passed between them. About midnight the youth began to moan and to groan, saying, ʼĕñʻ, ʼĕñʻ, ʼĕñʻ. In a short time he arose from his bed groaning then very loudly, and without further act, he cast himself on the fire, scattering in all directions with his feet and hands the blazing firebrands, some of which went in the direction of the bed of his uncle. The latter, having been awakened by the groaning, quickly arose to avoid the firebrands. Then saying, “What has happened to you?” took down his war club, and seeing the head of his nephew moving about close to him, struck it a blow with the club, which resounded with a băʼʻ, very loud. Immediately he raised the club to strike another blow, but at that moment the youth said: “Oh, uncle, it has now ceased.” After regaining his composure, he continued: “Now, what the dream commanded me to do is very difficult of fulfillment, although a severe and cruel penalty is the price of failure to perform its mandate.” Thereupon the old man asked: “What did it command you to do?” The nephew replied: “It ordered me to have my uncle seek for the desire of my dream, to divine its word in other terms; and if my uncle is not able to divine the word of the dream by midday, something cruel and sinister will befall his body.” The uncle’s answer was: “So be it. It has no great significance.” Then the two lay down again to sleep. [[597]]
Very early in the morning the youth arose and, after making his usual preparations, said to his uncle: “The time has now come for us to begin.” The uncle replied: “So be it; I am ready.” While they were taking their places the old man remarked: “Verily, you must give me a clue to the ‘word’ of your dream.” But the nephew answered: “That is not at all the custom in such cases, and it is certain that the reason it is called ‘the seeking of one’s dream word’ is that no clue shall be given.” At this reply the old man exclaimed with mock surprise, “Wuʻʹ! this is indeed an astonishing thing”; but he failed to make his nephew agree to give him a small clue to the thing he had dreamed.
Thereupon the old man began to ask the questions necessary to ascertain the dream desire of his nephew. He asked: “It may be that you desire my pouch?” His nephew answered: “No; that is not what I desire.” The old man continued: “It may be that you desire, possibly, my raccoon-skin robe?” The answer came: “No; that is not what I desire.” The next question was: “It may be that you desire flesh of the bear?” In disgust the nephew answered: “Wāʻʹ. No, no! I do not want that.” The uncle ventured: “It may be, it is probable, you desire the flesh of the raccoon?” The youth answered: “No; that is not what the dream indicated.” Another question from the uncle: “It may be, perhaps, that you desire the flesh of the turkey?” His nephew said: “No; that is not what is required.” Again the uncle asked: “It may be, perhaps, that you desire the flesh of the deer?” The nephew rejoined: “No; that is not what the dream indicated.” Meanwhile the uncle and his nephew kept walking up and down in their respective places. Again the old man asked: “It may be, perhaps, that you desire my war club?” But his nephew replied: “No; that is not what I desire.” At last the old man spoke, saying: “Well, what, indeed, will take place? I moreover have the thing, but I would like to know what I have asked?” The nephew answered in disgust: “Wuʻʹ, you know that it is not the custom that there should be a lot of talk about such things when one is seeking the ‘dream word’ of another.” He did not give any intimation to his uncle as to what his dream had indicated to him, but he kept looking up at the sun to see how near midday it was. On resuming the struggle of questioning and replying, the uncle said: “It may be, perhaps, that you desire what I prize very highly—my fetish, which is very fine and with which I hunt,” at the same time showing it to his nephew to cause him to desire it. But the nephew answered merely: “No; that is not what my dream indicated to me.” It was then nearly midday. The old man, going to and fro and stopping now and then to ask the questions, would hang his head, saying to himself: “I wonder what can be the thing that my nephew desires.” Addressing the youth, he said: [[598]]“It may be, perhaps, that you desire what I have prized highly, too, for a long time, namely, the otter fur which is white in color?” But the nephew replied: “No; that is not what I desire as answer to the demand of my dream.” Again looking up at the sun to see how near midday it was, and finding that it was very near the time for the contest to close, the old man said: “It may be, perhaps, that you desire what, too, I have prized and kept carefully in divers places, namely, my marten fur?” The nephew impatiently answered: “No; that is not what I desire at all.” At once he began to sing, for the time was about up. He said as he sang, “Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering by exchange; yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs, my uncle, yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.” Now the uncle was moving around on the opposite side of the fire. Suddenly, after the singing had commenced flames burst up all around the old man with the sound dauñʻʹ! At once he protested to his nephew, saying, “Go slow, go slow, with that, oh, nephew!” As the time had not quite expired, the nephew permitted the flames to go down again, whereupon the uncle said, “Oh, my nephew! you have been exceedingly rude with me.” But the nephew replied: “I can do nothing in this matter, for this has all been planned for me in advance. So I can do nothing.” As the time (midday) was soon to expire, the nephew again began to sing the song he sang at first, “Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering by exchange; yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs, my uncle, yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.” As before, flames at once burst all around the uncle as he stood on the opposite side of the fire. At once he exclaimed, “Oh, my nephew! do not be so hard in this thing.” But the youth again began singing: “The time is now up. Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering by exchange; yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, my own uncle, yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.”
Thereupon the old man fled to the top of his bed, on which he jumped around in an effort to avoid the pursuing flames. From that spot he spoke to his nephew, saying, “Oh my nephew! I have now overtaken your ‘dream word.’ You indeed desire—I have thought so all along—what I have planted, native squashes called djisgoñtʼăʻ, which has now its fruit.” At once the youth said, “Kuʻʹ, I am thankful for this fulfillment of what my dream word required.” Thereupon each resumed his seat in his wonted place, and the uncle said, “Do you know the history of the custom of ‘seeking for one’s dream word’?” The youth replied, “Yes, I know it—one shall give up at once what the dream has indicated when he shall have divined what it desires.” The old man, in an attempt to outwit his nephew, said, “It is customary too, I know, for me to make something identical with what you demand as your dream word.” But the youth could not be moved, saying, “Now; that is not at all right.” The old man persisted, however, saying: “It is, nevertheless, customary [[599]]that one should make an object resembling the thing desired. So I will do this, and that, too, I will give to you.” The youth did not agree to this, but answered, “That is not in the remotest sense what the dream commanded, that you should give me something artificial.”
With these words the youth again arose and began to sing again, “Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering by exchange; yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.” With a loud dauñʹ! the flames once more burst forth around the old man, and a scene similar to the former took place. Finally the old man was forced to surrender, saying, “I shall now give you what your ‘dream word’ desired.” Thereupon both resumed their seats. The uncle then said to his nephew, “It is, indeed, a fact that I live by it; so now I shall give it to you.” With these words he uncovered the plants by raising and removing his bed. The nephew on his side was watching intently what was going on in the apartment of his uncle. He was surprised to see planted there under the bed a patch of squashes, and he saw his uncle gather a squash. Covering the plant again, he gave the squash to his nephew, with the remark, “You must carefully preserve this thing.” The youth answered: “So be it. Now, the matter which was at issue has been settled.”
After making his usual preparations the nephew went to the place where his other uncle’s skull protruded out of the ground. When he arrived there the skull said to him, “Well, what happened?” The nephew answered, “Everything that you said came to pass just right, and I have brought here what he gave up to me.” Drawing it forth, he showed it to his uncle, who said: “That thing, in fact, is what I meant. There is still another thing. It is a fact that a sister of yours is there too, inclosed in a bark case which is set up under his bed whereon he is accustomed to lie down—under your uncle’s bed. That, also, you can remedy by overcoming him in this matter; so you must set your desire on this thing. This must be what your ‘dream word’ shall command you to obtain for your health and welfare. So return home at once and make the necessary preparations for having another great fire tonight. You must collect large logs and place them on the fire. Hasten and do not permit him to be quicker than you are. Be brave. Have no pity on him, for he will overmatch your orenda (magic power) if you fail to exert it to the utmost.”
The youth hastened back. Having arrived in the lodge, he said to his uncle, “Now I think I will again kindle a good fire, because we may be going to have a very cold night.” So, gathering together a number of logs and large pieces of dry wood, he placed them in a pile, and with smaller pieces of wood he kindled a great fire for the night. [[600]]
Night having come, the two retired to rest, each on his own side of the fire. About midnight the youth again began to moan and groan loudly, and the moaning became louder and louder. In a short time he got off his bed and crawled around on his hands and knees. Next, without further warning, he threw himself on the fire, scattering the firebrands over the place where lay his uncle, who at once arose, saying, “What has happened?” Taking down his war club and seeing the head of his nephew close to him, he struck it a blow with the club, which resounded with a very loud băʼʹ! As he raised the club for a second blow, the youth exclaimed, “Oh, my uncle! it has now ceased,” whereupon the uncle addressed him, saying, “What is causing you to see visions?” His nephew replied, “What it commanded me to do is baleful unto death if not fulfilled.” The uncle asked further, “What did it command you to do?” The nephew answered: “The thing it commanded is that you shall again ‘seek to divine the word of my dream’ tomorrow; and if you shall not have divined the ‘word of my dream’ before the sun shall have reached the zenith evil shall befall your person.” The old man mockingly retorted, “Let it be so,” drawing out the expression. Thereupon they both returned to their beds, on which they again lay down for the rest of the night.
The next morning the youth arose, and after making his usual morning preparations, said to his uncle, “The time has now arrived for what I have been commanded to do; so let us begin.” As before, the uncle mockingly said, “So let it be,” once more drawing out the expression to indicate his contempt for his nephew.
After a moment of silence the old man said, “Oh, my nephew! you will just give a small clue to the ‘word of your dream.’ ” His nephew replied, “You know that is not the custom on such occasions, for the reason that it would be of no use to make ‘seeking the word of a dream’ a test if one should furnish a clue. Come, then, let us begin.” This he said with some impatience, knowing full well that the uncle was only seeking to cause him to make some error in the test.
So the old man began by asking, “Perhaps you may mean in your desire, suggested by the ‘word of the dream,’ the flesh of the moose?” But the youth replied, “No; that is not what is desired.” The old man asked again, “Perhaps you mean in your desire, suggested by the ‘word of the dream,’ the flesh of the bear?” And the youth answered, “No; that is not what is desired.” The uncle once more asked, “Perhaps you may mean in your desire, suggested by the ‘word of the dream,’ the flesh of the raccoon?” But the youth answered, “No; that is not what is desired.” Then the uncle asked the same question regarding the flesh of the deer, the turkey, the fat entrails of the bear, the liver of the bear, and various other [[601]]substances, receiving from his nephew in each instance a negative answer. Finally, he asked, in an attempt to throw the youth off of his guard, “Oh, my nephew! what can you mean? What is it you desire?” But the youth, alert and crafty, replied, “Pshaw! are you not seeking to divine the ‘word of my dream,’ and still you want me to give you a clue to it?” The old man replied, “But I have now named all the things that I own.” He kept walking up and down in his own part of the lodge. Again the time was nearly up—it was almost midday. So the old man said, “Well, so be it; perhaps you may mean in your desire, suggested by the ‘word of the dream,’ my leggings?” His nephew answered, “No; that is not what is desired.” Once more the uncle suggested, “My breechclout?” The nephew answered as before, “No; that is not what is desired.” Then the old man, seeking to gain time, remarked, “I am wondering, Oh, my nephew! what it is that you desire?”
Then the nephew, becoming wearied with the dilatory tactics of his uncle, began to sing, as before, “Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering by exchange; yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he is my uncle, yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.” Again the flames burst up out of the ground all around the place where the uncle was standing, with the sound dauñʻʹ. Thereupon the old man exclaimed, “Oh, my nephew! do not be too hasty with that thing.” As the time had not yet fully arrived to end this test, the youth willed that the flames subside, and with the sound dauñʻʹ they quickly subsided.
Then the old man resumed his questions, saying “Perhaps you may mean in your desire, suggested by the ‘word of the dream,’ my otter-skin robe?” The nephew replied, “No; that is not what is desired.” Next the old man named “my bow and arrows, which I so dearly prize?”
The nephew, Gādjisʹdodoʻ, was walking to and fro in his own part of the lodge, looking every now and then to see whether the sun had reached the meridian, for he knew well that the time was almost up. Finally, to test the endurance of the old man, he again began to sing, using the words of the song for this kind of a ceremony: “Yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, he and I are bartering by exchange; yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ, and he is my uncle, yuʹʻhĕñ, yuʹʻhĕñ.”
With a loud dauñʻʹ the flames again burst forth from the ground all around the old man, who now climbed up the bark wall of the lodge to escape them, at the same time crying out, “Oh, my nephew! do not be too hasty with that thing.” Knowing his mastery of the old man, the youth willed once more that the flames should subside, and they did so. Whereupon the old man descended from his place of refuge on the bark wall. [[602]]
The old man said to his nephew, “At no time must you lay the heavy hand of punishment on me;” but he would not admit defeat. The youth answered, “The time is now nearly up, and I can not change in any manner the command given me by the dream.” With these words he again began to walk to and fro, singing his wonted song, at which the flames burst forth once more from the ground all around the place in which the old man moved, burning his hair and even his eyelashes.
At this moment the old man cried out, “I have now divined the ‘word of your dream.’ I have thought all along that perhaps what you desired is the small woman in a bark case standing under the bed whereon I usually rest. She is, indeed, very small. That is, perhaps, what you desire?” The youth replied: “I am thankful. Set her in the place where people usually sit in the lodge.” For answer the old man said: “You would agree, perhaps, that I make a bark case, a very small one, and also make a small doll which I should fasten in the bark case. This is just the way they do when they ‘divine the dream word’[434] of anyone.”
Combating his uncle’s attempt to have the command of the dream changed and therefore made entirely void, the nephew said to him, “The dream did not tell me that the command should be carried out by means of an artificial thing.” At this he again began to walk to and fro in his own part of the lodge, singing, as before, the potent song, which caused the flames again to burst out of the ground and completely cover the old man, Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs, as he sat on his bed. At once he exclaimed, “I will now give up what you desire.” The flames went down with a roar.
Still attempting to thwart his nephew by sly cunningness, the old man said: “It is the custom to make something resembling that which the ‘word of the dream’ commanded to be produced and which customarily is given to the one who has dreamed; and it is now my purpose to make a bark case resembling the one which is lying under my bed, and in which shall be the representation of a woman. I shall make it fine and beautiful. I will give it to you.” The youth replied: “You know that now the time is up for you to do your part, and yet you delay, although you have asked me not to be too heavy handed with you. So at once give me what is required by the ‘word of the dream.’ ”
Seeing that it was of no use trying to outwit his nephew, the uncle went over to his bed and, raising it up on one side, drew from under it a small bark case, in which was the small woman. She was indeed very small. As he drew her forth she was winking her eyes, and as she saw her brother she smiled pleasantly. The old man gave the case to his nephew without further resistance. Then the youth prepared her to take her away. It was very cold, being winter, so he [[603]]wrapped her up in furs in a close bundle and replaced her in the bark case, which he carried on his shoulder out of the lodge.
The youth directed his course toward the place where the skull of his other uncle protruded out of the ground. He arrived there bearing on his shoulder the case of bark. His mysterious uncle said to him, “Well, nephew, what has happened since you were here the last time?” The nephew replied, “Everything you said has come to pass as you desired.” The uncle answered: “Now it is your other uncle’s turn to kindle the fire, and he is gathering the necessary fuel for it. This is what your uncle is now doing. So perhaps you will return there never to come back here alive. When you reach your lodge he will have completed his preparations, and the fire too will be a great one. It shall be your duty to watch him carefully during the night. Just at your back—behind you—shall stand the case of bark containing your sister. At midnight your uncle will be suddenly roused again, I know, by an evil dream, and will again scatter the firebrands in all directions. Some will fall over your bed, and so you must be up and out of the way. At the first symptoms of his dream you must leap up and, going over to the opposite side of the fire, you must take down his war club and strike him a blow with it; then at once raise it for a second blow. When he shall say, ‘Now it has ceased,’ you must ask, ‘What thing is causing you to see marvels?’ Then he will answer, ‘The thing that the dream has commanded me is baleful and difficult of accomplishment.’ ”
The nephew asked, “Well, what did the dream command you to do?” The uncle replied, “It said that when daylight came again I must haul you around in a sledge made of green, fresh-peeled bark, ten times around this lodge, and that you must be entirely naked. You know that this lodge is very long. It said also that something evil would befall you, should you, my nephew, fail to see that this desire is carried out as the dream has declared it.”
The nephew, Gādjisʹdodoʻ, answered, “Let it be so.” The two thereupon returned to their respective beds, and there they lay down to rest and sleep.
Very early the next morning Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs arose, saying to his nephew, “Oh, my nephew! I am now going to fetch the bark sledge required for our purpose.” To this the youth Gādjisʹdodoʻ replied, “So be it.” The old man went out, and it was not long before he reentered the lodge, saying, “I have now completed my preparations out of doors; now we two will go out there.” They went forth, and the old man at once began to wrap the youth in the newly stripped bark which he had prepared for the purpose and to bind him very closely with bark cords. After coming out of the lodge the old man had said, “Now undress yourself fully,” and there in front of the doorway the youth undressed himself. There stood the bark sledge. [[604]]On coming out the old man had told him, “You must lie down upon this thing.” It was winter and very, very cold. The wind was severe, and the snow was blustering. When the youth lay down on the bark sledge the old man wrapped him up with the bark sides and tied him therein securely, saying as he did so, “I am doing this lest you should fall when I start to run.” Finally he said, “Oh, my nephew! I am now ready.” The nephew, Gādjisʹdodoʻ, answered, “So be it.”
Next the old man drew a starting line and began drawing the sledge around the lodge very swiftly. While running, the old man sang: “I am dragging him in a sledge, I am dragging him in a sledge, I am dragging him in a sledge. He is Gādjisʹdodoʻ, you who are a nephew. I am dragging him in a sledge, I am dragging him in a sledge,” etc. Having gone around the lodge once and having returned to the doorway of the lodge, Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs said, “Oh, my nephew! are you alive?” Gādjisʹdodoʻ answered, “I am alive.” At this the old man said, “This is once around,” and started again drawing the sledge around the lodge, singing, as before, while he ran.
Having gone around the lodge a second time, the old man said, “Oh, my nephew! are you alive?” The nephew replied, “Hōʹ, I am alive.” Saying, “This is the second time,” the uncle again started around the lodge. The weather was indeed very cold, and no one who was entirely naked could possibly live in weather so severe (except he be a very great sorcerer).
Having returned to the doorway of the lodge, the old man again asked, “Oh, my nephew! are you alive?” and the youth replied as before, “Yes; I am alive.” Every time the old man started to drag the sledge he began singing the same song with the same words. Thus they made a circuit of the lodge nine times, when the youth in his reply to his uncle’s usual question pretended to be nearly dead, answering in a very feeble voice, that he was still alive. To this his uncle exultingly rejoined, “‘ĕñʻʹhĕñ!” meaning by this exclamation, “I thought you would not last.” So the old man gleefully started dragging the sledge around the lodge again, and he sang the same song with the same words. When they had returned to the doorway of the lodge they had completed the tenth circuit of the lodge, as decreed by the old man’s ‘dream word.’ Again the old man asked, “Oh, my nephew! are you still alive?” With a strong voice the nephew answered, “I am alive.” To this the old man rejoined in surprise, Wuʻʹ! (an exclamation of wonder).
Then the old man proceeded to unfasten the youth from the sledge and from the bark wrappings with which he had so closely secured him, ostensibly to keep him from falling off the sledge. As they two reentered the lodge the old man said, “Oh, my nephew! now that which was commanded me by the dream has been fulfilled.” [[605]]The nephew replied, “So be it,” and taking up the bark case in which was his sister, he placed it on his back, carrying it by means of the forehead strap. He then went directly to the place where his uncle’s skull protruded from the ground. When he arrived there bearing his sister on his back, his uncle of the skull asked him, “Well, my nephew, how have things gone?” The nephew replied, “Everything that you advised me to do has been satisfactorily accomplished.” Thereupon the uncle said to him: “You must hasten back to the lodge, for it is now your turn to kindle a great fire. You must say to your uncle, ‘I am gathering wood and fuel to build a great fire, for I think that tonight we shall have a very cold night.’ And tonight about midnight you must dream and groan; then, quickly arising, grope on your hands and knees, and finally cast yourself on the fire, scattering the firebrands in all directions, especially toward the bed on which your uncle lies. When he arises and strikes you a blow on the head with his war club, you must quickly say, ‘It has now ceased,’ for he will raise the club at once to strike a second blow. He will then ask you, ‘What is it that is causing you to see marvels?’ You must answer, ‘Compliance with what my dream has commanded me is most difficult, and the command is accompanied with evil portent.’ When he asks you, ‘What did it command you to do?’ you must say, ‘It commanded me to draw you, my uncle, in a bark sledge 10 times around this lodge, and to require you to be naked, entirely so.’ This is what you shall tell him when he asks what you have dreamed.” The youth replied, “So let it be.” Continuing his advice, the uncle said: “You must carefully guard the person of your sister. Be brave and do not waver; do not agree to his proposal that he may not undergo the test entirely naked, claiming this exemption on account of his great age. This is what he will say, but do not consent to this proposition. Now hasten back to the lodge.”
Having returned to the lodge, the youth said to his uncle, “It is my turn to kindle the fire today, for we shall have a very cold and stormy night.” The uncle merely said, “I will care for your sister, of course, for it is very cold.” But the youth replied, “Carrying her along with me will in no wise interfere with what I am about to do.” So, carrying his sister on his back by means of the forehead strap, he went forth to gather wood. He kindled a great fire for the night and did not leave his sister alone for a single moment.
When night came, they all retired to their beds. The sister of the youth remained in the bark case, which the youth placed between himself and the bark wall of the lodge. About midnight he began to groan and moan and utter incoherent words. Then, having arisen, groped around on his knees, and finally cast himself into the fire, scattering the firebrands in all directions, especially over the bed of [[606]]his uncle. Thereupon the old man leaped up, and seizing his war club, went across the lodge and struck the youth a blow on the head, at the same time asking, “What is it that is causing you to see marvels?” The youth quickly answered: “It has now ceased. Compliance with what my dream commanded me is most difficult, and the command is accompanied with an evil portent.” The uncle at once asked, “What did it command you to do?” The youth answered, “It commanded me to drag you, my uncle, in a bark sledge 10 times around this lodge very early tomorrow morning. The evil portent is that if this be not accomplished before midday some great calamity shall befall your person.” The uncle merely replied, “So let it be.” Then they retired to their respective beds.
Very early the next morning the youth, Gādjisʹdodoʻ, arose and said in a loud voice, “Oh, my uncle! I am now going after the bark sledge.” The uncle answered, “So be it; it is well.” The youth went out, and soon returning to the doorway, said, “Oh, my uncle! I am now ready; let us go out and begin at once.” With these words he laid his bark sledge down in front of the doorway. When his uncle came out the youth said, “You must undress yourself.” But the old man said, “Just let me remain dressed, for I am so very old.” His nephew, Gādjisʹdodoʻ, replied: “I did not say that. So come, undress yourself.” And he began at once to undress the old man. When the old man was undressed he lay down on the bark sledge, and the youth quickly bound him fast to it with bark cords. The old man kept saying, “You are binding me too closely; you have made the cords too taut.” But his nephew replied, “Oh! I am a swift runner, you know, and I fear that you may fall off. Oh! uncle, I am now ready.”
Then the nephew started dragging the sledge very swiftly around the lodge, singing as he ran, “I am dragging him on a bark sledge, I am dragging him on a bark sledge; Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs, who is my uncle, I am dragging him on a bark sledge; I am dragging him on a bark sledge.” The uncle kept saying, “Oh, my nephew! the sledge is now going too fast.” The youth did not slacken his terrific pace, however, and the sledge at times turned over and over. Meanwhile the old man kept saying, “Oh, my nephew! do not be so rude in this matter; it is going too fast.” But the youth only answered, “That is, however, my speed.” When they got back to the doorway the youth asked, “Oh, my uncle! are you alive?” The uncle answered, “I am alive.” At this the youth at once started on the run, singing the same song as that he used on the first trip.
It now came to pass that all the great sorcerers and past masters in wizard craft who dwelt on the borders of the land of this old man said, “He has now overmatched his orenda, or magic power,” meaning [[607]]that the youth had overcome the orenda of his uncle. Thus spake the great wizards.
Having returned the ninth time to the doorway, the old man’s nephew asked again, “Lo, my uncle! are you still alive?” Receiving no reply, he looked down on the upturned face and saw that his uncle’s eyes were frozen hard. Thereupon, he exclaimed, “Now, Oh, my uncle! you will enjoy the bark sledge,” and without any hesitation he started on the tenth circuit. Exerting all his speed and strength, he sped to the end of the lodge, the sledge flying high in the air with the great speed, turning over and over in its course. Turning away from the lodge, the youth with a mighty effort swung the sledge far off to one side and let it strike the ground, where he left it. It was so cold that when the sledge struck the ground there was only a crackling of ice.
Then the youth, Gādjisʹdodoʻ, returned to the lodge in which his sister was still fastened in her case of bark. When she saw her brother entering the lodge she smiled, and said, “Oh, my elder brother! I am thankful that we both are still alive, having gone through what we have.” The brother, taking up the bark case, placed it on his back, carrying it with the forehead strap. Then the two went to the place where their other uncle’s skull protruded from the ground.
Having arrived there, this uncle said, “Well, my nephew, what came to pass?” Gādjisʹdodoʻ replied: “Verily, I have overcome his orenda—the evil potency of my old uncle, who is now no more. Let us all go back to the lodge.” Reaching down, he drew his uncle up and caused him to stand, and he stroked his body in order to restore his flesh, which had been withered by the magic power of his evil-minded brother. When he had accomplished this task, the youth said, “Now let us return to the lodge.”
Having arrived there, the youth unbound his sister and disengaged her from the bark case. Then he stroked her body to restore it to its normal size—to the size of a normal woman. When this task was accomplished Gādjisʹdodoʻ said: “We now are again united in our full number. We shall remain here in our lodge in peace and contentment, for he who was in his time a mighty sorcerer has departed.”
There, in that lodge, they dwell to this day. This is the end of the legend of Gādjisʹdodoʻ and Sʻhogoⁿʻʹgwāʼs.