faith in my grandmother's admonitions, and she
had given me a dreadful idea of this bird. It was
one of her legends that a little boy was once stand-
ing just outside of the teepee (tent), crying vigor-
ously for his mother, when Hinakaga swooped
down in the darkness and carried the poor little
fellow up into the trees. It was well known that
the hoot of the owl was commonly imitated by
Indian scouts when on the war-path. There had
been dreadful massacres immediately following this
call. Therefore it was deemed wise to impress
the sound early upon the mind of the child.

Indian children were trained so that they hardly
ever cried much in the night. This was very ex-
pedient and necessary in their exposed life. In my
infancy it was my grandmother's custom to put me
to sleep, as she said, with the birds, and to waken
me with them, until it became a habit. She did
this with an object in view. An Indian must al-
ways rise early. In the first place, as a hunter, he
finds his game best at daybreak. Secondly, other
tribes, when on the war-path, usually make their
attack very early in the morning. Even when our
people are moving about leisurely, we like to rise
before daybreak, in order to travel when the air is
cool, and unobserved, perchance, by our enemies.

As a little child, it was instilled into me to be

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