Leux parted from the wolf, and as soon as he was out of sight he thought he would try to make a fire as directed by the wolf, remarking that he did not think it would burn.  So he gathered some dry wood, made a little pile, and jumped over it, as he had been directed.  The wood was ignited, as the wolf had predicted, much to the surprise of Leux.  Leux then put out the fire.  After walking a short distance he kindled another in the same way.  This he put out as before, and at noon tried again, kindling the fire as before and putting it out immediately after.  Now when night came Leux made a camp and collected a pile of good dry wood and jumped over it, as he had done previously, and as he had been directed by the wolf.  But this time the wood did not burn.  He repeatedly jumped over the wood, but in vain.  The wood gave off a cloud of smoke, but no blaze appeared.  That night it was bitter cold,—­so cold that Leux was nearly frozen to death.[23]

[Footnote 23:  The above story is told substantially as here given by Leland, but with many additions.  The source from which Leland obtained his account is not given.  The account which I give is from Noel Josephs.  In Leland’s account Leux froze to death.]

One day two young girls (in Leland’s account the two girls are weasels) were walking along, and k’Cheebellock came to them and carried them to his home in another world high up in the sky.  The girls became homesick in the strange place, and every day they longed more and more to get back to the earth.  Every day they cried for their homes.  At last k’Cheebellock offered to carry them back to the earth, and took them up to transport them to their native land.  But k’Cheebellock’s wings were so large that he could not get to the ground on account of the high trees.  So he left them in the top of a very high hemlock in the midst of the forest.[24]

[Footnote 24:  Notice, also, that the thunder-birds were not able to approach the trees, and the Indian who was turned into a thunder-bird was warned not to approach the forest, for he moved so rapidly that he would get caught in the crotch of a tree.]

The girls could not get down out of the tree.  As time passed on, after a long time they saw a young man walking in the woods.  They cried out to him to come and take them down.  The first time they called, the young man did not look up.  Now this man was Leux:  they called again, and he replied that he was very busy building a road [trail], and he said he could not take them down he was so occupied.  After a long time the girls saw Leux pass by again, and they begged him to take them down from the tree.  This time Leux replied that he would take them down if one of them would consent to become his wife.  To this they agreed.

Now these girls had their hair tied with long shreds of eelskins.  They took off these strings, which bound their hair behind, and securely tied them in hard knots on the top branches of the tree upon which they were.  Leux climbed the tree and brought the girls down safe and sound.  He then demanded one of them for his wife.[25]