them lie down ift a hollow, telling them: that he
Would :m*#;th r attack attheeustcmiaiy
at daybreak. , Bat at day break, haying ascendr
ed a height, he overwhelmed them with a vast
mass of rocks, where their forms may’y^t he
seen. Only one escaped to carry the news-of
their dreadful fate, and hefted towards the north.
They were thus, relieved, and began' to live in
more security, but the great Onyarhe,, was :yet~
in the country. Alarmed by- what Tarenya-
wagon had done to relieve his people, and fear*
ing for himself- he .withdrew to the lakes, where
he and his brood were destroyed with thunder
bolts, or compelled to retire, tojieep; water.
The Five Families were . so much molested
with giants and monsters, that they were compelled
to build forts to protect themseiveSv The
manner of doing it, was this;, they built fixes
against trees, and then used their .stoneaxesto
pick off the charred part; inth-is way, byWfiew-
ing the fire, they, soon MfodThem; and the fallen
trunks were burned pff in suitable lengtl% in
the same way, and then set np according to the
size and plan of the fort, a bank of earth being
piled outside , and inside. They* left two gates,
one to get water, and the other as a sally port.
Fox some time after the great Onyarhe had
left the country, they had, peace; but in after
years a still more terrifie enemy came. It had
a,plan’s head on the body of a great serpent.
This terrific foe took his position on the path
between the Onondagas and Cayugas, and thus
cut off all intercourse between their towns, for
this vwas also; the gredi thoroughfare of the Five
FamilieSj Or nations**:; The bravest warriors were
mustered to attack him with spears, darts and
clubis. They approached him pm all sides with
yellsr A teftible battle-„ensued; the monster
raged f urio usly, but he was at last pierced in a
vital place, and finally killed, This triumph was
celebrated in songs and-’dances, and-the people
were consoled, They hunted again peace,
but after* a time rumors began to be rife of the
appearance, of an extraordinary and ferocious
animal in variousjDlaces, under the name of the
great O-yaUkher, oxmammoth. bear. One morning,
while a party of hunters were in their camp,
near the banks of a lake, in the Oneida country,
they .were alarmed, by a great tumult breaking
nut from the lake. Going to see the cause of
this extraordinary noise, - they saw the monster
on the hank rolling down stones and logs into
the water, and exhibiting the utmost signs of
rage. Another.,g^eat animal of the cat kind,
with great paws, came .out of the water, and
seized the bear. A dreadful fight ensued; in
the end the hear was worsted and retired, horribly^
lamed. The next day the hunters ventured
out to the spot, where they found one of the fore
legscof the bear. It was so heavy that two men
were required to lift it, hut they found it was
palatable . food and made mspy of it, for their
Warriors belieye that it inspires courage, to eat
of fierce and brave animals.