on his part. The little insects refused to make any concession,
and have ever since been the tormentors of man; however, the birds
of the air declared that they would punish them for their
obstinacy, and this they continue to do unto this day.

Our people have always claimed that the stone arrows
which are found so generally throughout the country are the ones
that the first man used in his battle with the animals. It is not
recorded in our traditions, much less is it within the memory of
our old men, that we have ever made or used similar arrow-heads.
Some have tried to make use of them for shooting fish under water,
but with little success, and they are absolutely useless with the
Indian bow which was in use when America was discovered. It is
possible that they were made by some pre-historic race who used
much longer and stronger bows, and who were workers in stone, which
our people were not. Their stone implements were merely
natural boulders or flint chips, fitted with handles of raw-hide or
wood, except the pipes, which were carved from a species of stone
which is soft when first quarried, and therefore easily worked with
the most primitive tools. Practically all the flint arrow-heads
that we see in museums and elsewhere were picked up or ploughed up,
while some have been dishonestly sold by trafficking Indians and
others, embedded in trees and bones.

We had neither devil nor hell in our religion until the white
man brought them to us, yet Unk-to-mee, the Spider, was doubtless
akin to that old Serpent who tempted mother Eve. He is always
characterized as tricky, treacherous, and at the same time
affable and charming, being not without the gifts of wit, prophecy,
and eloquence. He is an adroit magician, able to assume almost any