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ESSENTIALSOF
CRIMINAL LAW

ELEVENTH EDITION

Neil C. Chamelin
Assistant State Attorney, Second Judicial Circuit, Leon County,
Tallahassee, Florida (Ret.), and Part-time Defense Attorney

Andrew Thomas
Chief Assistant Public Defender, Public Defenders Office,
Second Judicial Circuit Leon County, Tallahassee, Florida

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Copyright 2012, 2009, 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This
publication is protected by Copyright and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction,
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caps or all caps.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Chamelin, Neil C.
Essentials of criminal law/Neil C. Chamelin, Andrew Thomas. Eleventh ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-511057-7
ISBN-10: 0-13-511057-2
1. Criminal lawUnited States. 2. PoliceUnited StatesHandbooks, manuals, etc.
I. Thomas, Clinton Andrew, II. Title.
KF9219.85.C475 2012
345.73dc23
2011035392

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN 10: 0-13-511057-2


www.pearsonhighered.com ISBN 13: 978-0-13-511057-
To my wife Vicki, sons Chris and Todd, daughter-in-law Heidi, and
my granddaughters Tally, Casey, Laney, and Jessy. They have their
grandpa wrapped around their little fingers. I love all of you very much.
Neil

Asis always true, everything I do is inspired by my wife, Alice. Also, to


my parents, Carolyn and Clinton Thomas, who taught meto love books.
And
Thispageintentionallyleft blan
CONTENTS

Preface xi
CHAPTER 1 Historical Background of Criminal Law 1
1.0 Introduction 1
1.1 The Nature of Law 1
1.2 Definition of Crime 2
1.3 Early Development of Criminal Law 4
1.4 Legal Systems and the Beginning of Common Law
1.5 Common Law in the United States 5

CHAPTER 2 Fundamentals of Criminal Law 9


2.0 Introduction 9
2.1 Morality and the Law 9
2.2 Classification of Crimes 10
2.3 Enactment and Interpretation of Statutes 12
2.4 Ex Post Facto Laws 14
2.5 Corpus Delicti 16
2.6 Lesser and Greater Included Offenses 16

CHAPTER 3 Jurisdiction 20
3.0 Introduction 20
3.1 Territorial Aspects of Jurisdiction 20
3.2 Jurisdiction over the Person 23
3.3 Jurisdiction over the Subject Matter 23
3.4 Concurrent or Overlapping Jurisdiction 25
3.5 Venue and Its Relation to Jurisdiction 26
3.6 Internet Jurisdiction 26

CHAPTER 4 The Criminal Act 31


4.0 Introduction 31
4.1 Possession as an Act 31
4.2 Procuring as an Act 33
4.3 Status as an Act 33
4.4 Methods Used to Commit the Act 35

v
vi Contents

4.5 Crime by Omission or Negative Act 35


4.6 Causation 36
4.7 Attempt 38
4.8 Conspiracy 42
4.9 Solicitation 45
4.10 Parties to Crime: Participation 46
4.11 Vicarious Liability 49

CHAPTER 5 The Mental Element 53


5.0 Introduction 53
5.1 Intent 54
5.2 Types of Intent ( Mens Rea) 56
5.3 Recklessness 57
5.4 Negligence 57
5.5 Mental Element in Mala Prohibita Offenses 59

CHAPTER 6 Matters Affecting Criminal Responsibility:


Affirmative Defenses 62
6.0 Introduction 62
6.1 Insanity 63
6.2 Alibi 66
6.3 Intoxication 66
6.4 Immunity 68
6.5 Statute of Limitations 68
6.6 Mistake of Fact 69
6.7 Mistake of Law 70
6.8 Entrapment 71
6.9 Consent 73
6.10 Duress 74
6.11 Necessity 76
6.12 Religious Belief 77
6.13 Custom 79
6.14 Victims Guilt 79
6.15 Selective Enforcement 79
6.16 Use of Force as a Defense 81
6.17 Battered Spouse Syndrome as a Defense 83

CHAPTER 7 Assault and Related Crimes 89


7.0 Introduction 89
7.1 Simple Assault 89
7.2 Battery 91
7.3 Statutory Assault and Battery 92
7.4 Domestic Violence 9
Contents vii

7.5 Assault and Battery on Sports Officials 95


7.6 Mayhem 95
7.7 Stalking 96
7.8 Hate Crime 98

CHAPTER 8 Homicide 103


8.0 Introduction 103
8.1 Noncriminal Homicide 104
8.2 Criminal Homicide 105
8.3 Suicide 118
8.4 Assisted Suicide 118

CHAPTER 9 Sex Offenses and Offenses to the Family Relationship 12


9.0 Introduction 123
9.1 Forcible Rape 123
9.2 Sexual Abuse, Sexual Assault, and Sexual Battery 129
9.3 Statutory Rape 129
9.4 Seduction 131
9.5 Fornication and Adultery 131
9.6 Incest 131
9.7 Abortion 132
9.8 Sodomy 135
9.9 Indecent Exposure 135
9.10 Obscenity 136
9.11 Prostitution and Related Offenses 138
9.12 Bigamy and Polygamy 140
9.13 Sexual Predator and Sexual Offender 140
CHAPTER 10 Theft 144
10.0 Introduction 144
10.1 Larceny 145
10.2 Embezzlement 154
10.3 Obtaining Property by Fraudulent Means 154
10.4 Receiving or Concealing Stolen Property 157
10.5 Identity Theft 162
CHAPTER 11 Robbery 166
11.0 Introduction 166
11.1 Robbery 166
11.2 Modern Robbery: Statutory Modifications 172
11.3 Carjacking 172

CHAPTER 12 Burglary and Related Offenses 175


12.0 Introduction 175
12.1 Burglary 175
viii Contents

12.2 Statutory Modifications 182


12.3 Home Invasion 183

CHAPTER 13 Arson 185


13.0 Introduction 185
13.1 Arson 185
13.2 Statutory Modifications of Arson 188
13.3 Burning with Intent to Defraud an Insurer 188

CHAPTER 14 Forgery, Uttering, and Counterfeiting 191


14.0 Introduction 191
14.1 Forgery 191
14.2 Uttering 195
14.3 Making and Uttering Worthless Checks 196
14.4 Counterfeiting 197

CHAPTER 15 False Imprisonment, Abduction, and Kidnapping 201


15.0 Introduction 201
15.1 False Imprisonment 201
15.2 Abduction 204
15.3 Kidnapping 204
CHAPTER 16 Crimes Involving Narcotic Drugs and Alcoholic Beverages 21
16.0 Introduction: Narcotics Legislation 210
16.1 Analysis of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act 212
16.2 Acquisition, Possession, and Use of Narcotic Drugs 213
16.3 Crimes Involving the Use, Sale, and Manufacture
of Alcoholic Beverages 216
CHAPTER 17 Extortion, Blackmail, and Bribery 221
17.0 Introduction 221
17.1 Extortion 221
17.2 Blackmail 223
17.3 Bribery 223
17.4 Other Crimes Chargeable Against Public Officials 225

CHAPTER 18 Offenses By and Against Juveniles 227


18.0 Introduction 227
I. Crimes By Juveniles 228
18.1 Who Is a Juvenile? 228
18.2 Makeup of the Juvenile Court System 229
18.3 Philosophy of Juvenile Courts 229
18.4 Juvenile Court Jurisdiction 230
II. Crimes Against Juveniles 231
18.5 Child Abuse and Neglect 231
18.6 Child Molestation 232
Contents ix

III. Miscellaneous Issues 232


18.7 Battered Child Syndrome 232
18.8 Juveniles and the Internet 232
18.9 Assault on Schoolteachers 233
18.10 Vicarious Liability and Parental Responsibility 235
18.11 Imposition of Death Penalty or Life Sentences on Juveniles 236
18.12 Future of the Juvenile Court System 237
CHAPTER 19 Traffic Offenses 240
19.0 Introduction 240
19.1 Moving and Nonmoving Violations: Signs and Signals 241
19.2 Territorial Application of Traffic Laws 241
19.3 Who Must Obey Traffic Laws? 241
19.4 Parking and Related Offenses 242
19.5 Speeding Offenses 243
19.6 Racing 244
19.7 Driving Under the Influence 244
19.8 Reckless Driving 246
19.9 Fleeing or Attempting to Elude a Law Enforcement Officer 246
19.10 Vehicular Homicide 247
19.11 Hit and Run 248
19.12 Doctrine of Lesser Included Offenses and Traffic Laws 248
19.13 Can There Be a Defense for Mala Prohibita Offenses? 249
19.14 Driving with a Suspended License 249
19.15 Criminal or Civil? 249
CHAPTER 20 Crimes Affecting the Judicial Process 253
20.0 Introduction 253
20.1 Perjury 253
20.2 Subornation of Perjury 258
20.3 Embracery 259
20.4 Escape, Rescue, and Prison Break 260
20.5 Obstruction of Justice 264
20.6 Criminal Contempt 266
CHAPTER 21 Crimes Against Public Order 270
21.0 Introduction 270
21.1 Unlawful Assembly, Rout, and Riot 270
21.2 Affray 272
21.3 Breach of the Peace, Disturbing the Peace, and Disorderly Conduct 27
21.4 Nuisance 273
21.5 Malicious Mischief, Malicious Destruction of Property, Vandalism,
and Criminal Mischief 274
x Contents

21.6 Trespass of Real Property 275


21.7 Vagrancy 276
21.8 False Public Alarm, Harassment, and Violation of Privacy 27
21.9 Gambling and Related Offenses 278
CHAPTER 22 Organized, White-Collar, and Commercial Crimes 282
22.0 Introduction 282
22.1 Organized Crime 284
22.2 White-Collar and Commercial Crimes 287
22.3 Environmental Crime 289
22.4 Insurance Fraud 290

Index 293
PREFACE

NEW TO THIS EDITION


Model Penal Code. With permission from the American Law Institute, model
statutes are boxed and used as a foundation for thorough discussions of core
common law principles.
Universal application. No longer a treatise focusing on law enforcement issues,
this edition completely transforms the text to apply to all students.
Every word of every chapter has been reviewed, simplified, and updated. This is
now the mostreadable, accessible, and relevant book of its type.
Revised chapter on Forgery, Uttering, and Counterfeiting.
New discussion of changes in narcotics laws, enforcement, and the emergence of
medical marijuana.
Completely reorganized, simplified, and updated chapter on Offenses By and
Against Juveniles, including recent U.S. Supreme Court law affecting maximum
punishments for juveniles.
Throughout this new edition, the reader will find new references to how crime is
being affected by the Internet and advances in technology.

This is the eleventh edition of a book formerly titled Criminal Law for Police Officers.
The easy-to-read, well-organized approach of prior editions has been maintained andwe
hopeenhanced through a complete, word-by-word review and revision. We are
extremely pleased with the final product and the way this text reads and flows after many
hours of discussion, revision, and editing.
Weare also excited to add the American Law Institutes Model Penal Code. Where
the MPC has formulated recommended statutes for topics we discuss, these have been
included for the student as a conceptual aid. It is our considered belief that this will
greatly enhance the students learning of the material, and we are grateful to ALI for
granting us reprint permission.
Wecomplete the transformation from an emphasis on a law enforcement orien-tation
to a more general approach without affecting the organization of the book. As
always, there are updates to a significant amount of material because of changes in
statutory and case law, and because we paid close attention to the comments of some
fine people who took the time to provide in-depth reviews, analyses, and recommen-dations
in support of our continuing efforts to make each edition much better than its
predecessor. Special thanks go to the reviewers for this edition: Peyton Paxon, Middlesex
Community College ; Greg Plumb, Park University ; and Richard Stempein, Mohawk
Valley Community College.
It is hard to describe the joy and labor involved in sitting around a dining room table
once a week for months on end to improve your creation. It is not easy to express the

xi
xii Preface

satisfaction of coming to the end of the long nights at the computer, editing, rewriting,
e-mailing one another, and then researching some more. We hope the love and labor we
have devoted to this new edition of Essentials of Criminal Law comes through to student
and teacher alike. Our greatest reward will be having it accepted and utilized across the
country. Thanks for reading and keep sending those comments!
N.C.C.
A.T
CHAPTER

1
Historical Background
of Criminal Law

1.0 Introduction 1.4 Legal Systems and the Beginning of


1.1 The Nature of Law Common Law
1.2 Definition of Crime 1.5 Common Law in the United State
1.3 Early Development of Criminal Law

1.0 INTRODUCTION
The need for law lies in the history of the human race. In early times, when the first
humans appeared on earth, laws were not needed, for conflicts did not arise. But when
people began to live in groups, communities, and societies, laws became necessary.
People are individuals whose desires, needs, and wants differ from those of others. These
differences cause conflict. Law became necessary as a means of social control, either to
alleviate conflicts or to settle them in a manner most advantageous to the group.
As a means of social control, the enforcement oflaw in early rural societies wasusu-ally
handled informally by friends, family, and neighbors who could criticize, correct, and
ostracize those who violated the folkways and mores. In more urban areas, where inter-personal
relationships were not close and where people living next door to each other
were strangers, disputes between people and violations of the rules of society had to be
handled by more formalized law, law enforcement, and courts.
The study of criminal law may be procedural, substantive, or both. The focus of this
book is on substantive law.

1.1 THE NATURE OF LAW


The question, What is law? invites a multiplicity of answers, for law is a broad concept
with many definitions. For purposes of this book, law can be defined as a group of rules
governing interaction. Law is a set of regulations governing the relationships among peo-ple
and between people and their government.

1
2 CHAPTER1 Historical Backgroundof Criminal Law

Just as a carpenter uses a hammer and saw, a lawyers tool is the ability to com-municate.
Communication is defined not merely as the conveyance of words but, more
properly, as the conveyance of words with the ability to make oneself understood to the
listener or reader. The more one studies the complexities of the law, the more one real-izes
the truth of the statement that language is the essence of law. The importance of
being able to communicate in terms that mean the same thing to the parties on both
the sending and receiving ends of a communication cannot be overemphasized. What the
law strives for is uniformity of interpretation. The question then arises, why are not the
laws so pointedly written that everyone knows exactly what they mean? This question is
relatively easily answered when the problem is seen from the proper perspective. Laws
must be stable yet flexible enough to be interpreted so that they may be molded to fit
the problems of a complex and changing society. If every law were written to cover only
one specific situation, two major problems would arise. First, the number of laws would
increase at least a hundred times over, each law covering too specific a subject. The
civil law systems in France and Germany are subject to this weakness. Second, many of
these laws would become obsolete so quickly that legislatures would spend most of their
time repealing or amending them. However, when laws can be interpreted flexibly, they
can be read to include new and unexpected situations asthey arise.1
The U.S. Constitution operates on the same principle, and we use that document to
illustrate this point. The framers of the Constitution could not foresee the problems of the
twenty-first century. If the Constitution had been prepared only for the problems of 1789,
it would have collapsed many years ago. It could not function today because the problems
of society in the twenty-first century are not the same as the problems encountered by
those who framed the Constitution in the eighteenth century. Thus the Constitution was
purposely drafted to be stable and yet flexible in the sense that it might be capable of
interpretation in light of contemporary problems.
Any number of contemporary problems could be used to illustrate this point. Let us
consider afew. At one time, the federal governments right to regulate commerce between
the states waslimited to prohibiting the erection of such barriers astariffs. Georgia could
not prevent Florida from shipping chickens to Georgia merely to protect Georgia chicken
farmers. But certain related commerce problems arose. States were unwilling to prevent
certain abuses to members of the labor force. As a result, our federal labor laws came into
being. Congress cited the commerce clause of the Constitution as authority for these acts.2
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the labor laws so that today wages, working conditions,
and hours are regulated. This problem wasnot foreseen by the framers ofthe Constitution.
Years ago, segregation was said to be supported by the Constitution. However, due
to the changing times and attitudes of the people, in 1954 segregation wassaid to be in
opposition to the Constitution. Finally, the right to counsel, which is found in the Bill
of Rights, was said to apply only to federal courts and federal cases. However, in the
now-famous Gideon case, the right to counsel was said to apply to state courts and state
criminal cases. The same document was used; times had changed. 3

1.2 DEFINITION OF CRIME


Criminal law is only a small part of the entire legal field. If a state statute requires two wit-nesses
for a valid will, having only one witness will render the will invalid but will not result
in criminal charges. A crime may be defined as a public wrong. It is an act or omission
forbidden by law for which the state prescribes a punishment in its own name. What doe
CHAPTER1 Historical Backgroundof Criminal Law 3

this mean? A crime must be a wrong against the public, not merely a wrong against a
particular individual. There are many laws, in many jurisdictions, governing the rights and
duties of people in their relationships to others. However, only those violations that wrong
the public are considered criminal and make up the body of the substantive criminal law.
The determination asto whether a particular act is criminal or merely civil in nature
is a function of the people. They considered criminal those acts that they felt injured
the welfare of the entire community. Today this function rests with the legislatures of the
states.
Crimes differ from civil wrongs, commonly referred to as torts, and the primary
reason is that the legislature says they differ. In other words, only a fine line distinguishes
crimes from torts, and that line is drawn by the legislature, where and when that body so
desires and within the limits of what the public will tolerate.
Crimes are prosecuted by the state in its own name. Atort action is instituted by the
wronged individual. Persons convicted of crimes are punished by fines, imprisonment, or
death, whereas defendants wholoss tort cases are usually ordered to pay the injured party. A
crime is a public wrong, whereas a tort is private in nature, not involving the state as a party.
Punishment is prescribed and must be prescribed for convictions of criminal acts, but there is
no set amount of damages to which a wronged person is entitled in a civil suit. These are only
a few of the major differences between crimes and torts (see Table 11), differences that
exist solely as a consequence of the legislatures having attached the label crime to one act
and not the other. Thisis not to say that the legislature has an either/or choice. Thelawgivers
may choose to declare a particular act both a crime and a civil wrong, asin the case of assault
and battery. An act of this nature may be both criminally and civilly wrong, in which case
the state may prosecute and the victim may proceed in tort. Both avenues are open, and the
outcome in one does not determine the outcome of the proceedings in the other.
Although this explanation is factually correct, it is somewhat mechanical and sim-plistic.
Many other social and political, as well aslegal, considerations affect legislative
prescriptions of criminal and noncriminal wrongs. For example, a criminal conviction can
be considered by the trier of fact (jury or judge in a nonjury trial) in a civil case against
the same defendant. Onthe other hand, an acquittal in a criminal case may not be used
by the defendant for his or her own benefit in a subsequent civil case. For example, On
October 3, 1995, following a highly publicized and lengthy criminal trial former football
star O J. Simpson was found not guilty of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and
her friend, Ronald Goldman. The jury concluded the State of California had failed to
prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The verdicts in the criminal case were nei-ther
admissible nor controlling in a subsequent civil trial, where a separate jury found
Simpson liable for the deaths of Brown Simpson and Goldman and awarded damages
of $8.5 million to Goldmans estate. The Brown family did not seek damages.

TABLE 11 Distinction Between Crimes and Torts


Crimes Tort

Public Wrong Private Wrong

Prosecuted by the state in its own name Action instituted by the wronged individual

Punished by fine, imprisonment, or death Normally ordered to pay monetary damages to


the injured party

Punishment prescribed No set amount of monetary damages


4 CHAPTER1 Historical Backgroundof Criminal Law

Likewise, if a civil case against a defendant ends before the criminal case begins, the
outcome of the civil case may not be considered in the criminal case regardless of who
won or lost in the civil case.

1.3 EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF CRIMINAL LAW


Criminal law evolved as a response to personal vendetta. Early in the development of
each society, it became the responsibility of the victim or the victims family to seek
redress for injury. The community in no way became involved. This led to the theory of
retributive justice. The Code of Hammurabi, circa 2100 B.C., codified the rules that called
for punishment to fit the crime: An eye for an eye. Eventually, despite the setback of
the Dark Ages, societies began treating certain offenses as crimes against the sovereign,
and the government began punishing individuals who committed offenses against the
public. This practice became the keystone of modern criminal law.
During this developmental period, the law did not take the responsibility of the
accused into consideration. That is, the law did not ask why a person had committed
a crime or whether such individual was accountable for his or her actions. Defenses
such as insanity, justification, excuse, intoxication, and infancy were not considered.
The mere doing of the act was all that wasrequired to show the commission of a crime.
Today, of course, this is no longer true in most instances. The fact that a person com-mits
a wrongful act does not makethat act criminal until the perpetrator is convicted
because of the defenses that may bar conviction. These defenses are discussed in
Chapter 6.
The key to the doctrine of responsibility is the legal approach to human psychology.
The law is based on the assumption that people act of their own free will. Their fate is not
predetermined or predestined. Therefore, the law may hold people accountable for their
actions. If the law accepted the concept of determinism, it would hold that people are not
responsible for their conduct; everything that they do would be predestined, determined
by their early environment and their genetic history. Individuals should not be on trial
for their criminal acts, but rather fate should be on trial. This theory, for obvious reasons,
would be totally unacceptable in any society as a legal theory. Many deterministic theo-ries
have been propounded throughout the history of criminal law. Some of them have
been either wholly or partially rejected. The great Italian sociologist Lombroso felt that
he could predict criminality and guilt by measuring the accuseds head, ears, nose, or
some other area. Fortunately this theory was rejected. In 1968 an Australian court acquit-ted
a man charged with murder on the theory that he was born with imbalanced chro-mosomes
and, as a consequence of this physiological deficiency, was destined to commit
crimes for which he could not be held legally accountable. 4 The defendant in this case
had the support of several medical professionals. Psychological studies conducted after
the Australian court case failed to show that individuals with XYY chromosomes have a
higher propensity for crime than those without this unusual chromosome condition. 5

1.4 LEGAL SYSTEMS AND THE BEGINNING OF COMMON LAW


Two major legal systems prevail in nine-tenths of the world: the common law and the civil
law. The common law system is prevalent in England, its dominions, and North America;
the civil law is the predominant legal system in the rest of the world. These systems had
their beginnings in completely different ways
CHAPTER1 Historical Backgroundof Criminal Law 5

The common law began as a result of the habits of individuals and the customs of
groups. These habits and customs were so entrenched in society that they became the
acceptable norms of behavior. When courts developed, violations of these customs pro-duced
the cases heard. The courts began recording their decisions, and judges looking for
assistance started following previous court decisions when confronted with new cases. This
procedure is known as stare decisis the following of precedents. Thus the customs of the
common people became the source of the common law, the law of the common people.
The remainder of the world grew under a different system of law, the civil law. We
can trace this system back at least as far as the Roman Empire, where laws were written
and codified by the rulers of the state and imposed on the people. As will be seen, the
law of the United States is a combination of common law and civil law. The two systems of
law began at opposite ends of the legal spectrum. The common law was developed by the
common people and wasimposed on the rulers of the country. The civil law was developed
bythe rulers and imposed on the people. Of course, this is a highly simplified explanation
of the development of the legal systems, but it will serve as a useful frame of reference.

1.5 COMMON LAW IN THE UNITED STATES


The English colonists who settled America brought with them a large part of the body
of law to which they were accustomedthe English common law. As a consequence of
this and their political dominance, this system predominated in the colonies with cer-tain
modificationsmodifications caused by the feeling that certain English laws were
oppressive and that it wasthese laws the colonists had come to America to escape.
Under the federalstate relationship established by our Constitution, each state in the
United States is sovereign under a federal government. Consequently each state is free to
decide whether it will select the common law system or the civil law system asthe basis for
its criminal law. The basic difference between the ways these systems operate is that under
the common law, any act that was criminal under the old common law remains criminal
today, even though it is not found in statutory form. Under the civil law, all crimes are
statutory. In the absence of a statute, there can be no crime. 6
All American states have codified some or all of their criminal laws into legal codes.
Today, such codes or statutes are the prevailing sources of criminal law and they have, for
the most part, replaced the common law. Although 38 states have abolished common law
crimes, through legislative enactment of comprehensive new criminal codes, 7 a few have
enacted reception statutes, which provide that common law crimes continue to apply if
a statute does not provide a punishment for the offense.
Even in jurisdictions that have abolished the common law, reference is still made
to the common law for definitional purposes. For example, the state of Georgia has
abolished all common law offenses. The Georgia statutes make murder a crime, how-ever,
and explain the situations under which that crime may be charged. But nowhere
in Georgia statutes is the word murder defined. The Georgia statute reads A person
commits the offense of murder when he unlawfully and with malice aforethought, either
express or implied, causes the death of another human being. 8 Thus, it is necessary to
look to the common law for a definition of the term.
Today when most crimes are statutory, how significant is the distinction between the
common law system and the civil or statutory law system? The common law states have
a distinct advantage in being able to reach back into the common law to find additional
offenses that might not be covered by statute in their jurisdictions. Although this is a rar
6 CHAPTER1 Historical Backgroundof Criminal Law

occurrence, these states have the power to look to the common law if an offensive act
occurs that is not covered by statute. If the offense was punishable at common law, then
it is punishable in those states today. An example of this reaching back to the common
law occurred in Pennsylvania when a defendant made numerous obscene telephone calls
to the complainant attempting to lure her into an adulterous relationship while suggesting
obscene sex acts. Apparently Pennsylvania had no statute governing this type of behavior,
so the trial court looked to the common law and found a misdemeanor that in substance
was defined as contriving and intending to debauch and corrupt the morals of the citizens.
The court invoked this offense and convicted the defendant. The conviction wasaffirmed on
appeal.9 This conviction could not have been obtained in a jurisdiction that had abolished
the common law offenses if there were no statute making this type of conduct criminal. 10
The inventive genius of the criminal mind, accompanying the various stages of
historical, industrial, informational, and sociological development, has created new anti-social
conduct against which society needs protection. Legislatures, in response, have
established new offenses by statute many of which will be covered in this book. As an
example, embezzlement, as discussed in Chapter 10, was created by statute and was not a
common law crime.
The federal judiciary has no power to exercise common law jurisdiction. The federal
government has only certain enumerated powers. This meansthat it can exercise only
those powers that have been granted to it by the people and the states. The people have
given Congress the power to enact laws but not to adopt the common law. Therefore, the
federal judiciary can exercise authority only over crimes enacted by Congress. However,
the federal judiciary, like the states, mustlook to the common law for definitions to aid in
interpreting federal laws.
To illustrate, one of the elements of the common law crime of larceny (see
Chapter 10) requires that the thief intend to deprive the rightful owner/possessor of the
property (steal). Congress created a crime of larceny when property was taken from a
federal installation. The statute made no mention of requiring an intent to steal. The
defendant was hunting on a military reserve and came across large brass shell casings that
he thought were abandoned and unwanted by the military. He put them in his truck and
waslater arrested for larceny. He argued that he had no intent to steal because he mistak-enly
believed the casings had already been abandoned and that no one else wanted pos-session.
The U.S. Supreme Court said that when the word larceny is used in the federal
statute and Congress did not specifically and forcefully eliminate a common law element,
the crime must be interpreted to include the common law elements, including the intent
to steal. The defendants conviction wasreversed. 11

DISCUSSIONQUESTIONS
1. John has committed an act that under the of the common law and its effect on the
common law of England would be crimi-nal. law of the United States?
The same act is not madecriminal by 3. What is meant by the statement that the
any statute of any state or by federal stat-ute. Constitution must be stable yet flexible?
Can such an offense be prosecuted
4. Of what significance is the concept of
successfully in the federal courts or in
responsibility with regard to the criminal
your state? Whyor why not?
law today
2. In the study of criminal law, why is it
essential to understand the significance
CHAPTER1 Historical Backgroundof Criminal Law 7

REVIEWQUESTIONS
1. T F The principle difference between a 3. T F The federal judiciary has no power
crime and a tort is that one causes impris-onment to exercise common law jurisdiction.
and the other causes the payment 4. An eyefor an eye describes the theory of:
of money.
a. the Dark Ages
2. The concept of stable yet flexible refers to: b. modern-day punishment
a. a tort c. retributive justice
b. a crime d. the doctrine of responsibilit
c. a constitution
d. the development of the common law

GLOSSARY
civil law One of two major legal systems in the language Basis for the functioning of the law.
world. All laws are codified and originate with law Group of rules governing the interaction or
the government. set of regulations governing the relationships
civil wrong Private suit between individuals, among people and between people and their
usually for money damages. This type of case government.
does not involve the government. responsibility Person held accountable for his
common law system One of two major legal or her acts and the consequences of those acts
systems in the world. It developed out of because of the exercise of free will.
the customs and habits of the people and is retributive justice Philosophy that the punish-ment
the cornerstone of most of the law in the ought to fit the crime; an eye for an eye
United States. philosophy.
communication Essence of the language of the stable yet flexible Phrase used to describe the U.S.
law. It is the ability and skill to ensure that the Constitution, a document stable enough to last
sender and receiver understand the same thing. more than 200 years, serving as the foundation of
Constitution Basic governing document of the our government, yet flexible enough to be inter-preted
United States. It is the foundation for our in light of contemporary social issues.
federal legal system and for the relationship stare decisis Latin term meaning following
between the federal government and the states. precedents of earlier court decisions.
crime Public wrong, act, or omission forbidden by substantive criminal law Branch of the criminal
law for which the state prescribes a punishment law dealing with the definitions and elements
in its own name. of crimes.
Enumerated powers The federal government has tort Another name for some civil wrongs commit-ted
only those powers specifically given to it by the by one individual against another that usually
people and the states. involves the payment of money damages.

ENDNOTES
1. For example, in State v. Dobbins, 167 power To regulate Commerce with foreign
N.E.2d (Ohio 1960), the court noted that an nations, and among the several States, and
enlightened society enacts laws in anticipa-tion with the Indian Tribes[.].
of new social ills and, in that case, found 3. Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S.335 (1963).
an assault statute to apply to consensual but 4. The Case Of Lawrence Edward Hannell,
unacceptable sexual conduct between the 1968, In Melbourne, Australia, (Extra
defendant and a minor child. Chromosome Brings Acquittal On Murder
2. Article I, Sec. 8 of the U.S. Constitution Charge). As Reported In The New York
provides, in part, that Congress shall have the Times, p. 94, October 10, 1968.
Another random document with
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everywhere for tracks; then he came back to the same place and
asked again: “Where are my wives?” He got no answer. He pulled
out another handful of the little animal’s hair, then he went to hunt for
tracks again. The tracks always led him back to the animal.

When he had pulled all of the animal’s hair out, it said: “They have
gone to the sky.”

“How did they go?” asked Djákalips.

“On a rope made of reeds. Here is the end of it. Look up and you will
see where they are.”

Djákalips climbed the rope. The sisters went far west, but he tracked
them. They ran north and south, then they ran back to the rope and
came down. As they touched the ground, the elder sister called to
Djákalips: “You will never come back to this earth; you will always
stay there [90]in the sky. You will stay where the sun goes down, and
in later times, when you look up and people see your red eyes, they
will say: ‘Djákalips is going to make water freeze.’ ”

Djákalips followed his wives north and south, but couldn’t find them;
then he went back to where the sun sets and stayed there. He
turned into the red clouds which we see in the fall of the year. When
Djákalips is seen in the west, water freezes. [91]
[Contents]
MOASÄM BEPS, THE DAUGHTER OF SOUTH
WIND

CHARACTERS

Moasäm Beps South Wind’s Daughter


Tsákiak A Bird (English name unknown)

At Euks a great many people were starving to death; they were so


weak they couldn’t stand. It was winter; snow was falling all the time.
The people were out of doors. They didn’t live in houses. Tsákiak
was the only person who had a house. He took people in, warmed
them, and gave them a little to eat; he hadn’t much.

One day, when it was cold and there was deep snow everywhere,
Tsákiak went on top of his house and stood looking around. He felt
badly, felt sorry for the people, they were so cold and hungry. Just
then he saw Moasäm Beps coming from the south; she was bringing
minnows, holding them out in her hand as she came along; when
she passed Tsákiak’s house, she gave him the minnows. He cooked
them over his fire and gave them to the hungry people. He felt glad
in his heart.

The next day, Moasäm Beps came again and brought many
minnows; she had both hands full. When she passed Tsákiak, she
gave them to him. He was hungry himself, but he gave all of the
minnows to the starving people.

The next day Moasäm Beps’ hands were empty, but she asked
Tsákiak where the nut pine trees were. He said: “They are on both
sides of the fire in my house.”

Moasäm Beps went in and sat on a pine tree. As soon as she was
there, the snow melted and went away. She said to Tsákiak: “Spread
five blankets under each tree; then go out and don’t look in.”

Soon on each one of the ten blankets there was a big pile [92]of pine
nuts. Then Moasäm Beps called the people in; those who were too
weak to eat she fed.

Right away all the people were strong; they were happy, too. They
gave Moasäm Beps wildcat skins and beads of every kind, and then
they went their own way, for it was warm and they had plenty to eat.
Tsákiak and Moasäm Beps went to Moasänik, her father’s home, for
Moasäm Beps was Tsákiak’s wife now.

The day they got to Moasänik, Moasäm Beps gave her husband a
pair of moccasins, and said: “You must wear these moccasins all the
time you are here; if you take them off, you will die.”

The next day she told him to go and hunt for deer. He went to the top
of a high mountain, where there was snow. Tsákiak tracked a herd of
deer and killed five.

Tsákiak went hunting every day for five days,—he started before it
was light in the morning and came home in the evening. Each time
he went Moasäm Beps told him not to take off his moccasins. The
sixth morning, when he was ready to start, Moasäm Beps said:
“Even if your feet are wet and cold, you mustn’t take off your
moccasins; if you do you won’t come home; you will die on the
mountain.”

Tsákiak tracked deer for a long time. The ground was wet and
muddy. At last he went to the other side of the mountain, where the
ground was dry; it looked nice. Tsákiak said: “This is a good place to
walk, the ground is dry. I will take off these wet moccasins and walk
around a little.”

He took off one moccasin. Snow began to fall and the wind to blow
hard and cold. Tsákiak took off the other moccasin. “I don’t care for
you any longer,” said he. “You are cold and wet.” He picked up both
moccasins and threw them as far as he could. Right away the wind
blew furiously. It turned awfully cold, so cold that Tsákiak couldn’t
walk; his legs were stiff. Snow came down fast, like big basketfuls
tipped over. Tsákiak couldn’t get air, couldn’t breathe; he died. [93]
[Contents]
WEST WIND’S WIVES

CHARACTERS

Mówas Sléwis South Wind


Tániäs Sléwis North Wind
Tkálmas Sléwis West Wind

Tkálmas Sléwis and his younger brother lived together. Tkálmas had
two wives, Mówas Sléwis and Tániäs Sléwis; Mówas had a little
baby.

Mówas was mild and kind and pleasant. The weather was nice when
she was at home, but Tániäs was always cross and stormy.

Mówas went to visit her father at Moasänik, and only Tániäs was left
at Tkálmas’ house. Right away it grew cold in the house and there
was snow and ice everywhere. Tkálmas’ brother sat all the time
looking toward the south, and kept saying: “I wish my sister-in-law
would come. We shall die if she doesn’t come soon; we shall freeze
to death.”

At last he saw Mówas coming. When she was still a long way off the
snow on the top of the house began to melt, and water dripped down
through the smoke hole, but as fast as it fell it dried up.

Tkálmas’ brother said: “Oh my best sister-in-law, even if water


freezes as hard as a rock, you can melt it. No matter how much ice
there is, your soft breath thaws it. You are the kindest and the most
useful woman in this world.”
Tkálmas heard what his brother said, but he didn’t care; he was glad
that Mówas had come. The house was dry now and the sun was
shining. Mówas gave them nice things to eat, things she had brought
from Moasänik.

Tániäs was angry at her brother-in-law, and jealous of Mówas, so as


soon as Mówas came home Tániäs took all of Tkálmas’ beautiful
beads, white, and yellow, and every color, [94]took the nice things she
had brought when she came to marry him, and went back to her
home in the north. But once each year she goes to her husband, and
stays with him till Mówas comes home from Moasänik; then she gets
angry and jealous and goes back to her home in the north. [95]
[Contents]
THE STAR BROTHERS

CHARACTERS

Gäk Crow Tohós A Duck


Gapni Louse Tûtats
Kaltsik Spider Wámanik Bull Snake
Kûlta Otter Yaukùl “One of the Stone People”
Skóla Meadow Yahyáhaäs or Yá-hi-yas or Yáhyahiyáas,
Lark always represented as a one-legged man
Tekewas

On the south side of Lake Klamath lived five brothers. The eldest
was married to Skóla. Four of the brothers were without wives.
Tekewas, their sister, was married to Kûlta, and lived not far away.
The brothers were bad men. The name of the youngest brother was
Tûtats. When he was a child his sister was fond of him; then her
mother made her forget him, but after a long time she remembered
him again, and thought: “I wonder where Tûtats is. I used to nurse
him; he was nice when he was a baby. I will go and find him.”

Tekewas got to her brothers’ house at midday. When she had been
there a while they asked: “Why don’t you go home?”

“I am not going,” said the sister. “I have come to stay all night.”

They tried to drive her away, but she wouldn’t go. The next day,
when Tekewas’ brothers told her to go home, she went to her
mother, who was outside pounding seeds, and asked: “What have
you done with Tûtats? Is he dead?”
“What do you care if he is?” said her mother. “You had better go
home. The next time you come I will tell you about Tûtats.”

Tekewas went home then, for she was glad. As soon as she was out
of sight the old woman took Tûtats from under the [96]ground, where
she kept him in a big bark basket, and his brothers carried him to the
river and let him swim.

The eldest brother said to his mother: “I am the only person who
knows what my sister thinks. She thinks bad; she will come again.
You must make Tûtats dry and put him back.”

While swimming, Tûtats lost a hair out of his head. It was a beautiful,
bright hair. The mother didn’t notice it; she wiped him quickly, rubbed
him with deer fat, put him in the basket, and carried him back under
the ground.

The next morning, when Skóla was starting off to dig roots, she saw
something red on the ridge of the mountains. Her husband said:
“That is Tekewas lying there; she means to kill us.” The brothers
were so frightened that they wouldn’t go out of the house, but sat
inside; they wouldn’t even look out. But Skóla watched.

When Tekewas came to the house, the eldest brother asked: “Why
do you come so often? You were here yesterday.”

Tekewas stayed all day; while she was swimming in the river she
found the long bright hair. She took it to her mother and asked: “Who
is so beautiful as to have this kind of hair?”

“No matter,” said her mother. “Why do you come to trouble your
brothers? You are Kûlta’s wife; you should stay with him.”

The next day Tekewas brought five pairs of nice moccasins, and told
her mother to give them to her brothers, and tell one of them he must
go home with her and get some of Kûlta’s beads. The eldest brother
said: “I will go.”

“I don’t want you to go,” said Tekewas.

“Your second brother is ready to go,” said her mother.

“I don’t want him; he has enough of my beads.” One after another,


the brothers got ready, but Tekewas refused each one. “No,” said
she, “you have had enough of Kûlta’s beads. I want Tûtats to go with
me.”

“Who is he?” asked her mother.

“You know that you can’t fool me. I have a young brother; [97]I want
him to go with me. It is getting late; where is he?” Every time
Tekewas turned her body she talked to the sun, told it to go quick, so
it would be dark soon.

Her brothers didn’t want her to stay all night, so they took the basket
from under the ground, and got Tûtats ready to go. They let down his
hair and combed it. It was blue and beautiful, and reached to his
feet. He cried all the time they were combing it, for he didn’t want to
go with his sister. When she started, he walked behind her, crying.

Tekewas talked to the sun, told it to go down, scolded it to make it


hurry. The sun was scared and it went as though it were sliding down
a slippery place. When they came to a clump of cedar trees, it was
already dark. Tekewas stopped and said: “We will camp here.”

“It is too near,” said Tûtats; he was crying.

“It is too dark to follow the trail,” said Tekewas. She built a fire and
gave Tûtats roots from her basket. After eating, he lay down on one
side of the fire and she on the other; then she thought: “Let him go to
sleep quick.” When he was asleep, she went over to lie by him.

He woke and got up; he was still crying. “Let her sleep till I get half-
way to the sky,” said he to himself. He found a log, put it by his
sister’s side, and told it to keep her asleep. Then he hurried home.

“What is the trouble?” asked his brothers. “Why did you come back?”

“I don’t like my sister. I left her asleep. When she wakes up she will
come to kill us. We must get away from here.”

The brothers hired old man Kaltsik to help them. Kaltsik made a
basket and put the five brothers into it; then he made a web, took the
basket up into the air, let it down into the web, and started.

“Don’t look down till I tie you to the sky,” said the old man. “If you do,
you will fall out and get killed.”

When Tekewas woke up, she ran back to the house and asked:
“Where are my brothers?”

“I don’t know,” said the old woman.

“Yes, you do. Here is a trail going up to the sky!” [98]Tekewas was so
mad that she ran around the house so fast and so many times that
she set it on fire.

Old man Kaltsik was half-way to the sky when he saw the blaze, and
said: “Your house is burning!” The eldest brother forgot and looked
down, over the edge of the basket. That minute the web broke, and
the five brothers fell out, one after another.

The mother and daughter were fighting; each had a wooden paddle.
When Tekewas saw her brothers falling, she said to her mother: “You
mustn’t say: ‘Fall this side’; you must say: ‘fall in the middle.’ ”

“Fall this side! Fall this side!” cried the mother.

Tekewas knocked the paddle out of her hand into the fire. Four of the
brothers fell into the fire. When sparks flew out, Tekewas pushed
them back with her paddle. As often as her mother got her paddle
out of the fire, Tekewas knocked it in again. The youngest brother fell
last.

“This side! This side!” cried his mother.

Tekewas jumped on her and fought with her. Tûtats swayed back
and forth, back and forth, and fell outside the fire, but his sister
pushed him into it, and he was burned up.

His mother ran to the south side of the fire, his sister to the north
side. The old woman knocked Tûtats’ heart out of the fire, for she
was on the right side. She said to the heart: “We shall see who will
live, you or your sister. You will be a great mountain with a white top,
and will live always. In later times people will come to you to get
wisdom, to be great talkers, and brave warriors, and you will talk to
them and help them.”

The heart flew north and became Mount Shasta; then the mother
stirred the fire till four hearts flew out and off toward the north. Each
heart became a mountain. The heart of the eldest brother went as far
as the ocean. But the youngest brother is the largest of the five, and
he is the only one who always has snow on his head.

Tekewas, when she thought she had killed her brothers, went home
to Kûlta; then the old woman remembered Skóla, and hunted for her.
At last she found her; she was dead, [99]but by her side were two
babies. The grandmother pressed them together with her hands, and
they became one. She was glad and called the child Wéahjukéwas.
She made a hole in the ground and hid him.

That night the old woman took the baby out and rubbed him with
ashes. In the morning he noticed things. Each night she rubbed him
with ashes; each morning he was larger and stronger. She talked to
the earth, to the mountains, and to the springs, and asked them to
make her grandson strong and make him grow fast.

One morning the grandmother saw Tekewas lying on the ridge of a


hill; she was red and beautiful. The old woman was frightened; she
thought Tekewas had seen the little boy.

Tekewas came to the grass house and asked for seeds and roots.
The grandmother had forgotten the boy’s deerskin blanket; she had
left it in the house when she put him under the ground as she always
did in the daytime. Tekewas saw the blanket, and said: “You have a
baby! Whose is it?”

The old woman said: “My daughter, you shouldn’t talk so to me. I am
old; I had children, but now I am alone; you have killed all my sons.
Go away! You know where the seeds and roots are; take them and
go off.”

Tekewas got the seeds and started, but she came back and said: “I
know whose baby it is. It is Skóla’s, and you must give it to me.”

“Skóla is dead,” said the old woman; “she had no children.” She
drove Tekewas away and followed her to see that she didn’t stop on
the mountain to watch the house. She was sorry that Tekewas had
seen the blanket. When she came back, she rubbed the boy and
talked to the earth, to the mountains, to the trees, to everything for a
long time; then she put him away under the ground.
Each night and morning the old woman rubbed the little boy with
deer’s fat, and soon he was large enough to run around and play.
Then she said to him: “My grandson, you mustn’t show yourself; you
must always play in the tall grass; never go away from it!” [100]

Tekewas came every day; sometimes she wanted to stay, but her
mother drove her off. When the boy was large enough to trap birds,
his grandmother said: “Stay near the house; don’t go far, for if you
do, you will get killed.” One evening she asked: “What have you
been doing all day?”

“Playing with birds,” said the boy. “They can talk to me now.”

“The best way to play is with a bow and arrows. You can shoot an
arrow toward the sky, then watch and see where it falls.”

One day the boy noticed that his shadow was two, and he was one.
The next morning, when he went out to play, he shot an arrow up to
the sky; then he held his head down and listened. The arrow came
back, hit him on the top of the head and split off one half of him;
there was another boy just like him. He wished the second boy to be
small, to be a baby. He called the baby by his own name. He went to
a clump of brush, scratched a place in the middle of it, put his
blanket down there, put the baby on it, and said: “Don’t cry; if you do,
our aunt will come and eat us up.”

For a long time he sat and talked with his little brother, then he went
home. It was night and his grandmother was frightened; she thought
that Tekewas had killed the boy.

“Why did you stay so long?” asked she.

“I lost my blanket. I put it down in the brush and then couldn’t find it.”
The next morning his grandmother gave him a wildcat skin blanket,
and he went out to play; but he didn’t play, he sat by his little brother
and cried, he was so sorry for him. When it was dark, he covered the
child with brush and went home. “What is the matter?” asked his
grandmother. “Why have you been crying?”

“I shot at a bird and then couldn’t find my arrow.”

“I can make you as many arrows as you want; don’t cry,” said his
grandmother.

The next morning, when he was starting out, the boy said: “I must
take a few seeds with me; I get hungry.” [101]

She gave him seeds, tied them up in a squirrel skin and said: “Be
careful this time, don’t lose your blanket or arrows.”

When he came home in the evening, he said: “Grandmother, you


must pound seeds for me to carry to-morrow. I don’t like whole
seeds, and I can’t eat the roots in my arms, I bite myself.”

The next day he took pounded seeds to his little brother, fed him,
petted him, and talked to him till night, then he wrapped his wildcat
skin blanket twice around the child, took his old blanket, and went
home.

“Where is your new blanket?” asked his grandmother.

“I found my old one. I like it better. I left the new one in the brush.”

When four days old, the little boy could walk. The fifth day the elder
boy cried all the time; he was wondering who had killed his father
and mother. His grandmother had never told him; she only frightened
him to make him careful. His little brother could play with him now.
That night his grandmother asked: “What ails you? Why do you cry?”

“Because I have nobody to play with.”

“You are a lonely child, but you mustn’t think of that,” said his
grandmother, and she began to cry.

“To-morrow will you fill my sack full of pounded seeds?” asked the
boy.

“You can’t eat all I give you; you must waste it,” said his
grandmother, “but you shall have all you want.”

The little boy could eat a great deal; he ate the pounded seed his
brother brought and that afternoon he cried for more. The elder boy
made five straw rings to shoot at and roll around to amuse the little
fellow. The next day, when the child began to cry for more seeds his
brother went home, and said: “Grandmother, you must give me more
pounded seeds. I shot my arrow up, and when it was coming down
to hit me on the head, I ran away and it hit my sack and spilt all the
seeds.”

“You must be more careful,” said his grandmother.

“You told me you would give me all I wanted to eat.” [102]

“Yes, but you must not waste things.”

She filled a willow pan, and told him to go away before any one saw
him.

When night came, the boy gave his brother his bow and arrows,
covered him with grass, and went home, crying.

“What is the matter?” asked his grandmother.


“I have lost my bow and arrow. I dropped them to follow a bird and
kill it with a stone; when I came back I couldn’t find them.”

“Don’t cry,” said his grandmother. “I will make you another bow and
more arrows. You shall have everything you want.”

“I threw away my moccasins to-day; I want a new pair,” said the boy.

The next morning he had a nice pair of new moccasins. The two
boys played all day, rolling straw rings and shooting at them with
arrows.

That night the old woman looked at her grandson and said: “You
have only one head; where is the other?”

“I didn’t have two heads,” said the boy, and he began to cry.

“You had two heads.”

“I had only one.”

“You have always had two; now you have one. Where is the other?”
At last he told her about his brother. “After it is dark,” said she, “go
and bring your brother to the house.”

He brought the little boy on his back. The old woman cried when she
saw him; she rubbed him with ashes, and talked to the earth and
mountains, asking them not to hurt him. In the morning she put both
of the children in the hole where the first child had been and threw a
straw mat over the hole.

That day Tekewas came for roots. She saw the mat and asked: “Why
did you throw away that nice mat?”
“Go off!” cried her mother. “Don’t torment me. You have killed your
brothers. My spirit is old; you can kill me if you want to, but don’t
torment me. Go away and let me alone!” She drove her off.

The next morning Tekewas went early to look for tracks. [103]She
found the place where the boys had rolled straw rings and saw that
some of the tracks were very small. She followed the larger tracks till
she came to her mother’s house. “You didn’t tell me the truth!” cried
she. “There are children here! Every afternoon I hear little boys
laughing.”

The old woman scolded her, drove her off, watched her till she was
out of sight; then she took the boys out of the hole and told them to
go and play, but not to run around; if they did a bad woman would
catch them.

That day the boys followed a white-necked duck. They tried to shoot
it but couldn’t. At night the elder boy said: “Grandmother, you must
give me an arrow with a strong head; then I can kill ducks.”

She gave him one and all the next day he followed the duck; at last
he hit it. The bird screamed like a man and hid in the bushes. Ever
since that time ducks like that one scream in the same way. When
the boy found the bird, it said: “Don’t kill me. I always bring good
news. Take this arrow out and I will talk to you.”

The boy pulled out the arrow, then the bird said: “Little boys, don’t
think that you have a father and a mother. Your aunt killed them. She
loved her youngest brother, but he didn’t love her, so she killed him
and all of her brothers. Now she is trying to kill you. I hear her sing in
her heart: ‘I will kill my nephews, I will kill my nephews!’ When you
are large enough to shoot ducks from a canoe, you can kill her if you
try. She swims in the lake in the form of a duck; when she is in the
form of a woman she has long red hair. She will call you as though

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