37. The Story of Life-Eater

37. THE STORY OF LIFE-EATER

Once, when Life-eater was traveling about, he met a man out hunting. The man was very much frightened. Life-eater pursued him, and though the man strove to run away from him he could not

p. 197

do so. As he was going along he seized a little rabbit and put it into his hunting bag. Life-eater is very much afraid of a dog and when evening came the man, being afraid of him, acted like a dog. He growled and barked. Life-eater stopped and said, "Listen!" By and by the hunter barked a little. The other stood still. Then the hunter took out the little rabbit and showed it to Life-eater and he disappeared on the run. The man got back to his camp and, when night came, sat down upon the ground.

During the night something bad (or something supernatural) came to him. It seized a stout stick to hit him but when the Indian lay down he had gotten under a forked stick, and when the bad thing wanted to give him a sweeping blow it hit the forked stick. Then the man got up quickly, ran away and jumped into a big pond near by and crossed it. Looking back, he saw his pursuer standing on the other side. Then the Indian returned home without killing anything.