"Let us make camp," Raven Wing suggested after a time. "I see a sandy beach. Up to now the shore has been bordered with great flat rocks."
"It is too early," Hawk Eye said. "The weather is fine. It is better to keep to our paddles until sundown. Take care that your canoe does not grate upon a hidden rock. There are many in the water."
Raven Wing was glad when his elder companion later turned toward shore for he was becoming a little tired. It required skill as well as strength to paddle the heavy laden canoes.
"My father's grandmother was a Wahpeton Sioux. Her tribe, called the People of the Leaves, used to build their movable tepees along the shores of this lake," said Raven Wing.
"That was many, many years ago. We shall have to sleep beneath a tree," answered Hawk Eye.
"My grandfather made his first offering to the Great Spirit here," went on Raven Wing. "He tossed his most beloved possession, a necklace of bear claws, into this very lake."
"It is a beautiful spot for such a ceremony," Hawk Eye said, thoughtfully. "I have not as yet made my offering to the Great Spirit."
Raven Wing made no answer. After his father's death his mother had arranged the ceremony for him. He now wished that she had chosen for that occasion the spot on which his grandfather had stood.
As the canoes scraped bottom, Hawk Eye said; "I will here offer my most valued possession to the Great Spirit." Stepping on shore, he opened a doeskin pouch that was fastened to his belt.