Thus did matters pass on for yet a few years. The _Indians_ began to _multiply_ and inhabit the world. But the Hairy Breasts, a jealous, envious, and at best foolish people, could not well behold _their_ prosperity. They made _war_ upon them (the _Indians_) by stealth and destroyed numbers. Their affairs bore a most dismal aspect--[The Hairy Breasts wished for] no less than the total extinction of the whole race. At last Nayhanimis pitched off with his wife, _her father_, and another one. There were four of them. He found a Beaver lodge. Here some of the _Hairy-Breasts_ came up with him: compliments at first, afterwards sneers, taunts and revilings--but so ambiguously [given] that no hold could be taken. "How numerous, how many are there of ye?" inquired [one of] the Hairy Breasts. "We are twenty of us." replied Nayhanimis; "And so are we." rejoined the others. Now they here entered into an arrangement that whoever found _Beaver_ for the future, it should be his own. But to avoid any wrangles, he who _found_ the Beaver should plant a stick or branch upon the lodge as a mark. On their return {38} home, each recounted to his family what he had met with in the course of the day. "Now," said _Nayhanimis_ addressing his family, "we must take twenty beavers, one for each man of them (meaning the Hairy Breasts) and make a feast. If it turns out that we be able to eat these twenty beaver, and they not, then we shall be superior to them and have the upper hand." The beaver were cooked accordingly. He took his _rattler_ which he shook to the tunes of his songs, performed the usual ceremonies, and they ate the whole twenty beavers with ease. Then addressing his family thus said, "These Hairy Breasts are great boasters, but cowards. They are a people of no account. Tomorrow will decide all." The Hairy Breasts on their return did the same as Nayhanimis and cooked also twenty beavers, thinking that his band did really consist of that number. They ate, but every one was already full and yet more than three quarters of the feast remained. "Give me my rattler," said one of the oldest, "that I sing. It may happen that we find grace." He sang and shook his rattler, but it would not sound. After frequent repeated trials to no effect, he became vexed and threw it out of doors among the dogs. "This dog of a rattler will not sound in spite of all my endeavours. But hold! Hear how it rattles now that it is out. Go for it one of ye! Perhaps it was owing to some fault in me."