Seneca Indian Myths: Hagowane and his Ten Sons

HÓNGÂK HAGOWANE	Wild Geese
OTHÄGWEⁿDA	Flint
OⁿWEⁿAUNT	Blue Snake
DAGWANOEⁿYENT	Whirlwind
DJIÄYEⁿ	Spider
GASYONDETHA	Meteor
TSODI´QGWADOⁿ	Snake
DEWAQSOⁿTHWÛS	Flea
HANÓWA	Turtle
DŌ´NYONDA	Eagle
HADIA´DES	Black-snake

AT HETGEⁿGASTENDE lived a man of great power named HAGOWANE. He belonged to the Eagle family. One day this man started off to hunt. Taking his canoe he sailed across the lake in front of his house and leaving the canoe traveled for five days toward the West, then he collected wood and made a camp. The first day he hunted, he killed five bears and six deer, brought them to camp and said to himself, "I have had bad luck to-day."

The second day he killed ten bears and twelve deer and brought them to camp. That night he skinned and roasted the fifteen bears and eighteen deer and finished the work before daylight.

deer and twenty bears, brought them to camp skinned and roasted them, finishing exactly at midnight. Then he said to himself, "I have enough now."

Putting the meat into one pile he tied it up with bark strings and shook it, saying, "I want you to be small." It shrank to a little package that he hung to his belt. In the same way, he made the skins into a small package that he hung to his belt. Then he set out for home.

When HAGOWANE came to the lake he looked everywhere for his canoe, but couldn't find it. He saw a man coming toward him.

"The man who lives on that island over there was here yesterday. He took your canoe."

"Well, I will do better. I will bring the canoe if you will take your meat home, keep half and put the other half outside your house for me."

The man himself had taken the canoe to the island and now he brought it back, "That man on the island," said he, "is an ugly fellow; he nearly killed me."

When HAGOWANE got home, he drew the canoe to a place of safety among the rocks. Then he took the packages of meat from his belt, untied and threw them down. That minute they regained their natural size. He piled the meat up inside of his house and tanned the skins, but he didn't pay HANDZOYAS for bringing back the canoe.

After a time a woman of the Wild Goose family came to HAGOWANE's house bringing a basket of bread. She said, "My mother sent me to ask you to take me for a wife."

The man hung his head a while, thinking. At last he said to himself, "I suppose nothing bad will come of this." Then he looked at the girl, and said, "I am willing."

him. He ate some of it, and said, "I am thankful. I have not tasted of bread for many years."

Then one morning when HAGOWANE was sitting on a rock outside the house, he said to himself, "I am tired of staying here, I am going away."

He sat in his canoe and rowed across the lake. After a time his wife missed him. She looked everywhere, but could get no trace of him.

When the eldest boy was almost a young man, he said to his mother, "I am going to search for my father till I find out where he is."

"You will get lost on the way," said his mother. "Oh, no, I will not," replied he.

After a time the mother gave her consent and the boy set out traveling always toward the North. While crossing a rocky place, he came upon a trail. "These footprints look like my father's," thought he, and he followed them. Soon he came to a cross trail, "I wonder where this comes from and where it goes," thought he. "When I come back, I will find out."

Not far from the cross trail, the boy saw a house and as the trail he was following entered it, he went in and looking around saw one old man in the south-east corner, another in the south-west, a third in the north-west and a fourth in the north-east corner and each one was smoking.

The first old man raised his head, looked at the boy and asked, "Well my grandson, what are you doing here? If you want to see your father come to me, I will show him to you."

The boy went to him, the old man seized him by the hair, bent his head over a bark bowl and cut it off.

"I am glad of young game," said he, "It must be worth eating, it is just the right age," and he began to cut up the body.

At home they waited long for tidings from the eldest brother. When none came, the second son said, "I must go and find my brother."

"Oh, my son," said the mother, "do not go, some misfortune has befallen your brother."

"I must go," answered the boy. "I cannot help going. I want to find my father and my brother," and he made ready for the journey. He put on a shirt, leggings and moccasins of meteor skin and took bow and arrows. The mother cried but she couldn't prevent his going.

He went North, as his brother had done, followed the same trail till he came to the cross trail and went into the house where the four old men were sitting.

The old man in the north-west corner called out, "My grandson, do you want to see your father? Come here."

The boy went and looking into a bowl half full of water saw the face of his father and the face of his brother. Then the old man seized him by the hair and cut off his head.

Nine of the brothers went, one after another, and all were killed by the four old men in the house near the cross trail. Then Yellow Flint, the tenth and youngest son, though he was still small and young, said to his mother, "I must follow my brothers."

"Oh, my son," said the mother, "you cannot go. There are four old men living near the trail. They are called HADIA´DES. They have great power."

She went West to a rough and rocky place and came back with a slate rock mannikin about half the length of her little finger.

"Here," said she, "put this mannikin between your belt and your body and you can do what you like; you can change yourself to whatever form you please."

The boy put the mannikin between his belt and his body, took a bow made of hickory and arrows of red willow pointed with wasp stings, and went toward the North, as his brothers had. He found a fresh trail, and thought, "Maybe this is my father's trail." After a while he came to the cross trail running from east to west. He

stood still and thought, "Where does this trail come from and where does it go? I will find out."

He went toward the East till he came to a wide opening and saw a cloud of dust moving toward him. "I must hurry back," said he to himself, "or something may happen to me."

When he turned, the great cloud approached quickly. Soon it touched him and he grew so weak that he fell to the ground. Looking up he saw a long-legged person rushing on. He sprang to his feet, climbed a tree and shot off a wasp sting-pointed arrow. The arrow hit the man in the cloud and killed him. The long-legged stranger was DJIÄYEⁿ (Spider).

The boy went East again, another cloud of dust rushed toward him, but he turned aside. After the cloud passed, he ran on till he came to the place where the trails crossed and going northward from there came to the house where the four old men sat smoking. After standing outside a while, he found a crack and looking in saw the brothers.

''I wonder if those are the men that my mother told me about," thought he, "I will kill them if I can, if I can't I will burn down their house."

He took the mannikin from his belt and placed it on his hand. It stood up and he said to it, "I am going to ask You a question. I want to kill those old men, how am I to do it?"

The mannikin said, "You must climb that high rock over there and call out, 'I, OTHÄGWEⁿDA, am on this high rock!' You will find sharp flint stones up there. Take a handful of them and throwing them toward the house say, 'I want it to be hot.'"

The boy put the mannikin in his belt and listened to the conversation of the old men.

"Oh," replied the man in the south-east corner. "You said that all the family were dead."

"I think they are all dead except the old woman," said the man in the north-east corner.

[paragraph continues] "It seems to me that one is lurking around here somewhere."

The boy drew his bow and shot through the smoke-hole shot each one of the brothers. The arrows went deep into' their bodies, but the men were not hurt. They didn't know that they had been hit.

The boy sprang from the house and landed far away, then he climbed the rock and called out, "I, OTHÄGWEⁿDA, am on this high rock!" He heard one of the brothers say, "My back is sore. I feel as though my bones were broken."

The boy picked up a handful of sharp flint stones and threw them at the house, saying, "I want you to be red hot and burn up those old men and their house."

The flints went straight to the house; a few pieces went beyond. Those that struck the house set it on fire; those that fell beyond burned the forest; everything was blazing in and around the place. Then the boy threw a second handful of flints, saying, "I want you to cut off the heads of those old men." The flint struck each man's neck in such a way that his head dropped off.

The boy stood on the rock and watched the fire till only coals remained. All at once there was an explosion and Whirlwind, a great head, flew towards him, knocked him off of the rock and rising high in the air went straight West.

The boy sprang to his feet and looking up saw Whirlwind going higher and higher. Soon he heard a crash as Whirlwind struck the Blue, then the head came down again. When it reached the ground, OTHÄGWEⁿDA ran forward quickly and crushed it with a white flint stone.

The boy searched through the coals, with a pointed stick. At the north-west corner of the coals of the house he came upon a trail running towards the north-west, and he followed it till he came to an opening. A cloud of dust rushed toward him. He ran into the forest and waited.

[paragraph continues] The cloud stopped at the edge of the forest, and from it came an enormous Spider.

"Oh," said the Spider, "I thought somebody was on the trail. My master is fooling me. I thought he had found another one of the Goose family."

Spider turned back, running as fast as he could. The boy followed till Spider reached a house which was sunken in the ground. The boy listened outside and soon he heard some one crying. He thought, "That sounds like my father's voice; he must be in there."

He took out the mannikin, placed it on his hand. It came to life, stood up, and the boy asked, "How am I to kill the Spider that lives in this house?"

"Go to a tree just west of here," said the mannikin, "Climb to the top of it, and call out, 'I am OTHÄGWEⁿDA, and I am more powerful than anything under the Blue, I can kill any kind of game on earth.' When you have spoken these words, cut a limb from the tree, throw it towards the house and tell it to split open Spider's heart; the heart is in the ground under the house. When Spider is dead, rescue your father and burn the house."

The boy did as the mannikin said. He cut off a limb of the tree, spat on it, and straightway it was alive and he threw it towards the house, saying, "Split Spider's heart in two."

The limb went under the house to where the heart was hidden. That instant Spider stretched out and died. The boy slipped down from the tree and went to the house. Spider lay dead in the middle of the room. Under the much lay a man who seemed to be almost dead. OTHÄGWEⁿDA raised the couch and found his father. The flesh was gone from his legs and arms and he was barely alive.

Then he put the mannikin on his hand and asked, "What shall I do with my father?"

"Now, said he "I am HODIOⁿSKOⁿ (the Trickster). I have heard old people say that when he dies he comes to life again. We will go home."

When HAGOWANE reached home, his wife looked at him and cried, "Oh, my dear son, I wish you were here. I have seen something strange."

"Why do you talk in that way?" asked HAGOWANE, "Why do you cry? Are you sorry that I have come?"

"No, you are not." And thinking he was a ghost she drove him on to the rocks, and there he had to stay.

After his father had gone, the boy burned Spider's house, When only coals were left, something shot up and flew westward. It alighted on the plain and became a Sandpiper.

"This is the way I do, this is why I say that I can kill anybody," cried the boy, and going around the edge of the opening on the eastern side he found a broad trail and followed it till he came to a cross trail. He stood at the four corners of the two trails, one going North and South, the other East and West, put the mannikin on his hand, and said, "I want you to tell me what I am to do."

"At the foot of that tree over there you will find a bark bowl; beyond the tree is a medicine spring; on the other side of the spring a plant is growing. Put the plant in the bowl and fill the bowl with water from the spring. Here, where the trail crosses, dig a hole and put the bowl into it with the plant standing in the water. Then stay close by and see what will happen."

The boy put the mannikin away and went to the pine tree that grew in the north-west, between the northern and western trails. He found the spring and farther on a plant with bright red blossoms. He did as the mannikin had told him to, then put the bowl in the ground at the crossing of the trails and standing aside watched and listened.

Soon he heard a noise in the forest like a heavy wind coming from the North. Nearer and nearer it came, with, terrible cloud of dust, and nothing could be seen till the cloud stopped at the crossing. Then, in the middle of it, the boy saw the skeleton of Blue Lizard. The skeleton walked up to the plant and ate one of its red blossoms. Though the skeleton had no place to hide the blossom, it vanished. The boy wondered greatly. "It is nothing but bones," thought he, "Where does food go?"

The skeleton grew sick. It jumped around till arms, legs, head and ribs fell apart.

OTHÄGWEⁿDA laughed, but just then he heard the noise of a heavy wind and saw it coming from the South, with a great cloud of dust. The cloud stopped at the crossing and the boy saw the skeleton of Snake. It went to the bowl and ate a blossom. That minute it began to shake and soon it fell to pieces, became a pile of bones. Then a terrible wind came from the East and stopped at the crossing. In the middle of the cloud of dust was the skeleton of NYAGWAIHE, the Ancient of Bears. It ate a blossom and then began to tremble and to disjoint; soon it was only a pile of bones. From the West came the skeleton of the Ancient of Winged Snakes. When it had turned to bones the boy put the mannikin on his hand, and asked, "Is it finished?"

"It is," said the mannikin. "All the trails are clear. If You go to the end of the southern trail you will find three of your brothers."

When the boy came to the end of the southern trail, he couldn't see anything, but after looking around a while, he found a rock with an opening in it. He went to the opening and down into the ground. It was dark there and he thought, "Maybe there are other skeletons here, but I must go on.,

At last be came to a place where there was no fire but a plenty of light, and just beyond he found three of his brothers. The' eldest called out, "Oh, my brother, you must hurry away, the skeleton will come soon."

The boy looked at his brothers and saw that their legs and arms were simply bones. He rubbed the bones with saliva and they were covered with flesh.

The three went home. When their mother saw them she cried out, and, thinking them ghosts, seized a club and drove them away. They found their father and sat on the rock with him.

The boy went back to the crossing and followed the eastern trail till he came to the end of it. At first he didn't see anything and he wondered where the Ancient of Bears came from. Then he found an opening in the ground and went down into it. "There must be other skeletons here," thought he, "but I must go on."

Soon he came to a place where there was a bright light from rotten wood which was packed up there, and farther on he found three of his brothers. All their flesh had been eaten and they were too weak to move; he brought flesh to their bones and sent them home. The mother drove them away as she had their father and brothers.

OTHÄGWEⁿDA went back to the crossing and followed the northern trail till he came to a small opening. While he was looking around, a whirlwind came upon him and he ran to the shelter of a maple tree that stood near by. Soon he heard a heavy blow on the opposite side of the tree. He looked and saw an OⁿWI (Winged-snake), lying dead at the foot of the tree. Coming in the whirlwind, it had struck the tree and been killed.

The boy went to the edge of the opening but right away he heard a second whirlwind coming. "I shall die this time," thought he, for he saw that a great number of winged-snakes were in the whirlwind. He hid behind the tree and the whirlwind rushed by, then he ran to the other side of the opening.

The boy put the mannikin on his hand; it stood up, alive, and he asked, "What can I do with the snakes that are chasing me?"

He gathered boughs and sticks, made a large, long pile, set fire to the west end of it, and said to the wind, "My grandfather, blow gently on the west end of this pile."

His grandfather heard him and soon there was a mighty fire. When it was burning fiercely the boy said, "Grandfather, let the breeze die down." Straightway it stopped blowing. When the whirlwind of snakes came again, the snakes were swept into the fire and every one of them perished.

Free of the snakes, the boy hurried along the northern trail till he saw a whirlwind going toward the north-east, then he took out the mannikin and asked, "Which way must I go?"

As the boy traveled along he saw a trail going toward the north-west, but he went straight ahead. When he came to the end of the trail he found an opening in the ground near a birch tree. He went into the opening and soon came to a place where an old man sat smoking. "What can that old man be doing?" thought he.

The old man straightened up, and said, "I am weak this morning. It seems to me that somebody is around here.

He raised his head and looked around and as he looked his eyes seemed to project from his head.

He saw OTHÄGWEⁿDA, and said, "My nephew, I am glad that you have come. I will find out what luck you have."

He took a rattle made of a DAGWANOEⁿYENT and shook it, saying "Sáwa, Sáwa!"

"No, my nephew, I will try first," said the old man whose name was DEWAQSOⁿTHWÛS (Flea). They disputed till they came to blows. The old man threw down his rattle and struck at the boy and his own arm fell off. He struck with the other hand and that arm fell off. Then he kicked at him with one leg and that fell off; with the other and that dropped. The old man was now only head and body.

The arms and legs tried to get back to their places on the body but the boy pushed them away and shot an arrow through the old man. The arrow took root and became a

small tree. Flea tried to bite the boy but as he made the attempt his head flew off.

The boy pounded the body, jumped and danced around it, and said, "Oh, my uncle is in pieces now!"

In the old man's house he found the last three of his brothers, weak and wretched as the others had been. He cured them and sent them home. The mother drove them from the house and they sat down on the rock with their father and brothers.

After his brothers had gone OTHÄGWEⁿDA took out the mannikin and asked, "Is there anything on the north-east trail?"

At the end of the north-west trail, the boy found a house without a door. "How can I get into this house," thought he. Looking through a crack he saw an old woman of the Blue Snake people; she was singing and the song said, "OTHÄGWEⁿDA is coming. OTHÄGWEⁿDA is coming!

The boy didn't see how the woman got out of the house, but all at once he saw her going along the trail that ran toward the West; he followed her. She went into a small lake and down deep in the water. Then he saw a tail come to the surface and begin to move around in a circle. On the tail were two little things like fins. They rubbed against each other and made beautiful music. In the water the old woman was a fish. After a while she came partly out of the water but seeing the boy she drew back, and said, "My grandson, don't kill me. I have never harmed any of your people."

"When you lie down, put it under your head. You have a dream and the dream will tell you what you want to know."

The boy went home with the old woman and looking around saw an opening in the ground and in it many people almost dead. He got them out, rubbed them with saliva, healed them and sent each man to his own home. When all had gone, he asked the old woman why she had captured these people and shut them up.

"I did not shut them up," said the woman. "My husband is a man-eater. He brought them here. He lives on another trail. His name is DEWAQSOⁿTHWÛS (The Weeper-Flea)."

"I am glad," said the woman. "Your people are safe now, for you have destroyed their greatest enemy."

OTHÄGWEⁿDA traveled on the north-east trail till he came to a house where he heard singing. The song said, "The youngest son of the HÓNGÂK (Goose) woman is going everywhere in the world. We wish he would come to us."

The song stopped and the woman said, "I feel badly. Let us go and throw rocks." They went to a place where there were white flint rocks as large as a house. The woman picked up one of the rocks and threw it into the air. It came down on her head, but didn't hurt her. Then she threw it to-the man, who caught it and threw it back.

When tired of playing they went to the house. The man said, "I feel as though some one were here." Looking around he saw the boy, and he asked, "My grandson, what are you doing here?"

"My grandson," said the woman, "I am glad you have come, we have been waiting for you. You have killed the man-eater and the skeletons. Now we want you to free the men who are in an opening under our house."

The boy found many men in the opening which the man-eater had forced this man and woman to guard. He liberated them, and sent each man to his own home.

"Now," said OTHÄGWEⁿDA, "let all the trails disappear. Trails must not be made across the world to deceive people."

he saw his father and nine brother sitting on a large flat rock he asked, "Why don't you go into the house?"

"Your mother wouldn't let us stay in the house; she drove us out," answered HAGOWANE.

The boy went into the house, and asked, "Mother, are you sorry that I found my father and my brothers?"

The woman was glad then. She welcomed her husband and sons. They came in, and all were happy.

HAGOWANE AND HIS TEN SONS