170 THE BIG CANOE

death in the abyss below. It was Thaimshim himself
who patiently plucked a moccasin from the foot of the
injured lad and carried it to the village where the
stern old chief sat carving a mask in front of his
lodge, so absorbed in his task that he did not notice
the object which the raven boldly dropped at his feet
until a slave ran forward and placed it in his hands.

“It is Kadonah’s moccasin!” cried the chieftainess,
who sat working on a net near by. “Our son has met
with some misfortune which Raven the Wise One
makes known to us by this sign! See how excited he
is; hear how loudly he caws. See how he hops from
tree to tree, as if he were urging us to follow him.”

The chief was deeply impressed by the words of
his wife, and quickly assembled his men and followed
the raven across valley and river, through gulch and
forest, up cliff and rock pile, to the clump of stunted
cedars high up on the side of the mountain. There
they found Kadonah, still unconscious. They found
the magic arrow, too, and the bundle of precious crys-
tals, and bore the young chief back to his father’s
lodge, where the medicine-men set his broken bones
and bound up his many bruises.

Through all the noisy incantations with which the
shamans tried to cure him, Kadonah lay motionless,
not even knowing that he was at home once more.
When at last he opened his eyes and saw the roar-
ing fire upon the hearth of his father’s house, felt its