In the long ago an uncle and his nephew, his sister’s son, dwelt together in a lodge. It so happened that the uncle, the elder man, had to keep a recumbent position. He had lain so long that the roots of a tree standing near their lodge had overgrown his body, so it was quite impossible for him to arise.
As time passed he called his nephew to him and said to the youth: “Go yonder in the distance to the clearings, where the logs are lying one on the top of another, and plant there beans, corn, and squashes. They make good eating, I assure you. And if these things should grow under your cultivation they will furnish us with something to eat in the future.” Thus spoke the old man.
In a short time he continued: “Bring forth from under the couch yonder a basket in which there is some seed corn, as it is called.” The youth brought the basket and placed it beside the old man. With the seed corn were the beans for seed and the squash seed.
Then the old man said to the youth: “Bring me from under the couch yonder the small baskets, 10 in number; I need them; for you must make a girdle of baskets around your body.” So the nephew brought the baskets to his uncle, who with his own hands placed in each of the baskets some of the several kinds of seeds, thus dividing the seed corn, the beans for seed, and the squash seed. He carefully completed his task.
Having done so, he addressed his nephew, saying: “Come, now! go yonder to the clearings where the logs are lying one on the top of another, and there you must plant these seeds.” The young nephew replied: “So be it, my mother’s brother. I will place beside you all the things which may be necessary for you while I shall be absent planting the seeds.” So the nephew placed beside his uncle a bark dish containing hominy, a fire poker and a knife, and a cake of boiled corn bread. Then he said to his uncle: “I am now going to plant the seeds.”
Having arrived at the clearings he set to work preparing the ground for planting the seeds which he had brought. He had been at work a considerable time and had already planted a number of hills when he heard the voice of his uncle singing. The words of the song were: “Now, now, now I believe that I have arisen, now indeed.” At this the youthful nephew ran back swiftly to the lodge to prevent his uncle from arising. Having arrived there the young man seized his uncle and repressed his desire to arise, asking him, “What has come to pass that you began to sing?” The uncle replied: “I became thirsty, and so I began to sing.” The young man brought his uncle water to drink, and after the latter had quenched his thirst the youthful nephew said to him: “You must now lie quiet, as I ask [[706]]you to do.” The uncle answered: “Return again to the clearings to plant the seeds. As there are no more left in the lodge you must pick up those which you dropped from your baskets.” He referred to the 10 small baskets in which he had himself placed the various kinds of seeds.
So as soon as the young man had gathered up all the seeds which he had spilled along the path as he had hastened toward the lodge he again began to plant them in hills. Again, as he had nearly finished seeding, he heard the voice of his uncle singing: “Now, now, now I believe that I have arisen, now indeed.”
The nephew at once started on the run for the old lodge, but when he had gone only half the way he heard a loud report, băʹʻ! caused by the breaking of the roots which had been holding his uncle down. When he arrived at the lodge he found that his uncle was not there. This grieved him greatly, for he felt that he would become very wretched and poor without the aid and advice of his uncle. So he began to weep and mourn for his uncle, but at last he ceased to do so. He then entered the lodge to think upon his situation, and finally came out to see whether he could not learn whither his uncle had gone by noting the tracks he had left on the ground. For this purpose he went carefully around the lodge, examining the ground as he went. At last he found his uncle’s tracks, which showed the direction he had taken, for they had made very deep impressions in the ground as he fled in haste. From the tracks he learned that his uncle had taken a course directly westward. The young nephew then said: “So be it. I suppose it is for me to go to the place whither my uncle has gone. I will follow the tracks of my uncle, my mother’s brother.”
Thereupon the young nephew, having gotten his bow and arrows, at once started on a run on the trail of his uncle. He kept the trail in the forests for three days, when he reached the shore of a lake, and there indeed the trail ended so far as the nephew could see; so he stopped there and stood looking around; thus he stood for some time.
At last he was somewhat startled at seeing not far away a canoe,[461] which was being paddled toward him quite swiftly, and which contained what appeared to him to be a man. The canoe stopped at some distance from the spot where the young nephew was standing. He saw that a number of wild geese supplied the propelling power for the canoe, six wild geese being attached to one side of the canoe and six to the other side. Then he overheard the man who was in the canoe address the geese with these words: “My servants, you may now go forth to seek something to eat.” The wild geese at once obeyed and flew upward, making the sound stūmʻ. [[707]]