lso by the attacks of the enormous animals that then
lived. Indeed they began to fear that they would all soon be killed, unless
help came to them.

"These people were worshipers of the sun, whom they called the great Sun
Father, and some tribes still have their sun dances in his honor. When he
saw that the people were in such great trouble and were likely to be all
killed by their cruel enemies he resolved to deliver them from their foes.
So he disguised himself and came down to the earth and married a beautiful
woman of the Northland. They had lovely twin boys, whose names were
Sesigizit, the older, and Ooseemeeid, the younger. They grew so rapidly
that they were able to walk when only a few days old. Their sun father
disappeared as soon as they were born, going to the far Eastland.

"Strange to say, although these two boys grew so rapidly at first, they as
suddenly ceased growing, and so remained quite small. But they were very
intelligent, and were ever asking questions.

"'Who is our father?'" they inquired of their mother one day.

[Illustration: Sun dance lodge of the Blood Indians.]

But she ignored the question, and although they kept bothering her it was
a long time before she would give them any information at all, and that was
very little. However, she did tell them that they were more than ordinary
children and finer than other boys, but then there are lots of mothers who
say such things to their own little ones.

"As they were now big enough, she brought out of hiding a couple of bows,
and quivers full of arrows, and some magic rabbit sticks, and gave them to
the boys.

"'These were left for you by your father,' said the mother, ere he went
away, and he gave commands that they were to be given to you as soon as you
were able to use them.'

"The children were, of course, anxious to try their bows and arrows and
these magic sticks. So very soon after they had received them they resolved
to go off on a hunting expedition.

"The mother, who was anxious about them, warned them of the various
monsters in human shape, great windegoos and cannibals, that were ever
lying in wait to catch and roast and eat little boys. She also told them of
the animals that were so enormously large that they could catch them up and
swallow them as easily as a turkey does a grasshopper.

"Thus she tried to put them on their guard against the terrible foes that
had devoured so many of their people. The boys, however, were no