Here the young man dies at sunset in conformity with a common convention. The subject was, in fact, vaguely reminded of certain familiar myths. He remembered that it is often considered fitting that a man should die as the sun goes down, while as regards the final transformation, he remarked: "I was thinking of the Greek myth, and visualised a picture in which the soul is flying from a dying man's mouth."
V.
At sunset his soul fled black from his mouth, and his body grew cold and stiff. Then they came and tried to lift him, but could not, for he was dead.
This version is practically identical with the preceding one, but in the next a yet more commonplace record is produced.
VI.
He died at sunset, and his soul passed out from his mouth. They tried to lift him up, but could not, for he was dead.
The "black thing" is now entirely superseded by the idea of the passage of the soul.
VII.
Before the boat got clear of the conflict the Indian died, and his spirit fled. They stopped the boat and tried to lift him out, but could not, for he was dead.
Here a further troublesome element has disappeared. In spite of the desperate nature of his wound, the Indian has, up to this point, lived for a long time. But that he should do so had been a source of worry to all my subjects. In this version the wounded man at length, quite naturally, dies immediately. The very common and conventional phrase; "his spirit fled" is employed, and the idea of a material soul also disappears.
