shaped like an animal's heart placed on its base,
with the apex upward.

"The reason why this hill is called Minnewa-
kan Chantay, or the Heart of the Mysterious
Land, I will now tell you. It has been handed
down from generation to generation, far beyond
the memory of our great-grandparents. It was
in Chotanka's line of descent that these legends
were originally kept, but when he died the stories
became everybody's, and then no one believed in
them. It was told in this way."

I sat facing him, wholly wrapped in the words
of the story-teller, and now I took a deep breath
and settled myself so that I might not disturb him
by the slightest movement while he was reciting
his tale. We were taught this courtesy to our
elders, but I was impulsive and sometimes forgot.

"A long time ago," resumed Weyuha, "the
red people were many in number, and they inhabi-
ted all the land from the coldest place to the re-
gion of perpetual summer time. It seemed that
they were all of one tongue, and all were friends.

"All the animals were considered people in those
days. The buffalo, the elk, the antelope, were
tribes of considerable importance. The bears were
a smaller band, but they obeyed the mandates of
the Great Mystery and were his favorites, and for

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