{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_10891/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_10891","id":"gutenberg_10891","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10891","summary":null,"tags":["Algonquian Indians -- Fiction","Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Folklore","Indians of North America -- Folklore","Native America","Tales -- North America"],"text":"ALGONQUIN\nINDIAN TALES\n\n\nCOLLECTED BY\nEGERTON R. YOUNG\n\n\nAUTHOR OF \"BY CANOE AND DOG-TRAIN,\" \"THE APOSTLE OF THE NORTH,\"\n\"THREE BOYS IN THE WILD NORTH LAND,\" ETC.\n\n\n[Illustration: The rabbit tells Nanahboozhoo of his troubles.]\n\n\n\n1903\n\n\n\n\nCHIEF BIG CANOE'S LETTER\n\n\nGEORGINA ISLAND, LAKE SIMCOE.\nREV. EGERTON R. YOUNG.\n\n\nDEAR FRIEND: Your book of stories gathered from among my tribe has very\nmuch pleased me. The reading of them brings up the days of long time ago\nwhen I was a boy and heard our old people tell these tales in the wigwams\nand at the camp fire.\n\nI am very glad that you are in this way saving them from being forgotten,\nand I am sure that many people will be glad to read them.\n\nWith best wishes,\nKECHE CHEMON (Charles Big Canoe),\nChief of the Ojibways.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\n\nIn all ages, from the remotest antiquity, the story-teller has flourished.\nEvidences of his existence are to be found among the most ancient monuments\nand writings in the Orient. In Egypt, Nineveh, Babylon, and other ancient\nlands he flourished, and in the homes of the noblest he was ever an honored\nguest.\n\nThe oldest collection of folklore stories or myths now in existence is of\nEast Indian origin and is preserved in the Sanskrit. The collection is\ncalled _Hitopadesa_, and the author was Veshnoo Sarma. Of this collection,\nSir William Jones, the great Orientalist, wrote, \"The fables of Veshnoo are\nthe most beautiful, if not the most ancient, collection of apologues in the\nworld.\" As far back as the sixth century translations were made from them.\n\nThe same love for myths and legends obtains to-day in those Oriental lands.\nThere, where the ancient and historic so stubbornly resist any change--in\nPersia, India, China, and indeed all over that venerable East--the man who\ncan recite the ancient apologues or legends of the past can always secure\nan audience and command the closest attention.\n\nWhile the general impression is that the recital of these old myths and\nlegends among Oriental nations was for the mere pastime of the crowds, it\nis well to bear in mind that many of them were used as a means to convey\ngreat truths or to reprove error. Hence the recital of them was not\nconfined to a merely inquisitive audience that desired to be amused. We\nhave a good example of this in the case of the recital by Jotham, as\nrecorded in the book of Judges, of the legend of the gathering of the trees\nfor the purpose of having one of them anointed king over the rest. Of this\nlegend Dr. Adam Clarke, the commentator, says, \"This is the oldest and,\nwithout exception, the best fable or apologue in the world.\"\n\nThe despotic nature of the governments of those Oriental nations caused the\npeople often to use the fable or myth as an indirect way to reprove or\ncensure when it would not have been safe to have used a direct form of\nspeech. The result was that it attained a higher degree of perfection there\nthan among any other people. An excellent example is Nathan's reproof of\nDavid by the recital of the fable of the poor man's ewe lamb.\n\nThe red Indians of America have justly been famous for their myths and\nlegends. We have never heard of a tribe that did not have a store of them.\nEven the hardy Eskimo in his igloo of ice is surprisingly rich in folklore\nstories. A present of a knife or some other trifle that he desires will\ncause him to talk by the hour to his guest, whether he be the daring trader\nor adventurous explorer, on the traditions that have come down to him. The\ninterchange of visits between the northern Indians and the Eskimos has\nresulted in the discovery that quite a number of the myths recited in\nIndian wigwams are in a measure, if not wholly, of Eskimo origin. On the\nother hand, the Eskimo has not failed to utilize and incorporate into his\nown rich store some that are undoubtedly of Indian origin.\n\nFor thirty years or more we have been gathering up these myths and legends.\nSometimes a brief sentence or two of one would be heard in some\nwigwam--just enough to excite curiosity--then years would elapse ere the\nwhole story could be secured. As the tribes had no written language, and\nthe Indians had to depend entirely upon their memory, it is not to be\nwondered at that there were, at times, great divergences in the recital of\neven the most familiar of their stories. We have heard the same legend\ngiven by several story-tellers and no two agreed in many particulars.\nOthers, however, were told with very slight differences.\n\nWe have adopted the course of recording what seemed to us the most natural\nversion and most in harmony with the instincts and characteristics of the\npure Indian. The close scientific student of Indian folklore will see that\nwe have softened some expressions and eliminated some details that were\nnon-essential. The crude Indian languages, while absolutely free from\nblasphemy, cannot always be literally translated. _Verbum sat sapienti_.\n\nThe method we have adopted, in the presentation of these myths and legends\nin connection with the chatter and remarks of our little ones, while\nunusual, will, we trust, prove attractive and interesting. We have\nendeavored to make it a book for all classes. Here are some old myths in\nnew settings, and here are some, we venture to think, that have never\nbefore been seen in English dress. These will interest the student of such\nsubjects, while the general style of the book will, we hope, make it\nattractive to young readers.\n\nNanahboozhoo, the personage who occupies the principal part in these myths,\nis the most widely known of all those beings of supposed miraculous birth\nwho played such prominent parts in Indian legends. He does not seem to have\nbeen claimed by any one particular tribe. Doubtless legends of him were\ntransmitted down from the time when the division of tribes had not so\nextensively taken place; when perhaps the Algonquin, now so subdivided, was\none great tribe, speaking one language.\n\nThe variety of names by which he is known is accounted for by these tribal\ndivisions and the rapid changes which took place in the language owing to\nits having no written form to maintain its unity.\n\nWhat his original name was, when legends about him first began to be told,\nis of course unknown. However, since the white race began to gather up and\nrecord these Indian myths he has been known as Misha-wabus, Manabush,\nJous-ke-ha, Messou, Manabozho, Nanahboozhoo, Hiawatha, Chiabo,\nSingua-sew--and even some other names have been heard. We have given him in\nthis volume the name of Nanahboozhoo as that was the one most frequently\nused by the Indians among whom we lived or visited.\n\nThere is more unanimity about his origin, among the tribes, than about his\nname. The almost universal report is that he was the son of Mudjekeewis,\nthe West Wind. His mother was Wenonah, the daughter of Nokomis.\n\nThe author desires very gratefully to record his indebtedness, for\nassistance or hints received in the pleasant work of here clustering these\nIndian folklore stories, to many friends, among them such Indian\nmissionaries as Revs. Peter Jones, John Sunday, Henry Steinham, Allan Salt,\nand also to his Indian friends and comrades at many a camp fire and in many\na wigwam. He also wishes in this way to express his appreciation of and\nindebtedness to the admirable Reports of the Smithsonian Institution. He\nhas there obtained verification of and fuller information concerning many\nan almost forgotten legend.\n\nIn regard to a number of the finest of the photographic illustrations in\nthe volume the author gratefully acknowledges his obligations to the Canada\nPacific Railway Company, without whose assistance it would have been\nimpossible to reach many of the sublime and romantic places here portrayed;\nuntil very recently known only to the adventurous red Indian hunter, but\nnow brought within the reach of any enterprising tourist.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nIntroductory Note\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nThe Children Carried Off by the Indians--The Feast in\nthe Wigwam--Souwanas, the Story-teller--Nanahboozhoo,\nthe Indian Myth--How the Wolves Stole His Dinner, and\nWhy the Birch Tree Bark is Scarred--Why the Raccoon\nhas Rings on His Tail.\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nThe Children's Return--Indignation of Mary, the Indian\nNurse--Her Pathetic History--Her Love for the Children--The\nStory of Wakonda, and of the Origin of Mosquitoes.\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nMore about Mary and the Children--Minnehaha Stung by\nthe Bees--How the Bees Got Their Stings--What Happened\nto the Bears that Tried to Steal the Honey.\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nThe Love Story of Wakontas--His Test of the Two\nMaidens--His Choice--The Transformation of Misticoosis.\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nThe Startling Placard--What Happened to the Little\nRunaways--The Rescue--Mary Tells Them the Legend of the\nSwallows--How Some Cruel Men were Punished who Teased\nan Orphan Boy.\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nSouwanas Tells of the Origin and Queer Doings of\nNanahboozhoo--How He Lost His Brother Nahpootee,\nthe Wolf--Why the Kingfisher Wears a White Collar.\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nThe Legend of the Bad Boy--How He was Carried Away\nby Annungitee, and How He was Rescued by His Mother.\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nHappy Christmas Holidays--Indians Made Glad with\nPresents--Souwanas Tells How Nanahboozhoo Stole the\nFire from the Old Magician and Gave It to the Indians.\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nKinnesasis--How the Coyote Obtained the Fire from the\nInterior of the Earth.\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nThe Christmas Packet--The Distribution of Gifts--A Visit\nby Dog Train, at Fifty-five Below Zero--Souwanas Tells\nHow the Indians First Learned to Make Maple Sugar.\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nMary Relates the Legend of the Origin of Disease--The\nQueer Councils Held by the Animals Against Their Common\nEnemy, Man.\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nThe Naming of the Baby--A Canoe Trip--The Legend of\nthe Discovery of Medicine--How the Chipmunk Carried the\nGood News.\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nIn the Wigwam of Souwanas--How Gray Wolf Persecuted\nWaubenoo, and How He was Punished by Nanahboozhoo.\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nThe Pathetic Love Story of Waubenoo--The Treachery\nof Gray Wolf--The Legend of the Whisky Jack.\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nA Novel Race: the Wolverine and the Rock--How the\nWolverine's Legs were Shortened--A Punishment for\nConceit.\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nThe Legend of the Twin Children of the Sun--How They\nRid the Earth of Some of the Great Monsters--Their Great\nBattle with Nikoochis, the Giant.\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nSouwanas Tells of the Queer Way in which Nanahboozhoo\nDestroyed Mooshekinnebik, the Last of the Great Monsters.\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\nWelcome Springtime in the Northland--How Nanahboozhoo\nKilled the Great White Sea Lion, the Chief of the\nMagicians--The Revenge--The Flood--Escape of Nanahboozhoo\nand the Animals on the Raft--The Creation of a New World.\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\nAmong the Briers and Wild Roses--Why the Roses have\nThorns--Why the Wild Rabbits are White in Winter.\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\nPassing Hunters and Their Spoils--The Vain Woman--Why\nthe Marten has a White Spot on His Breast.\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\nShooting Loons--Why the Loon has a Flat Back, Red\nEyes, and Such Queer Feet--Nanahboozhoo Loses His\nDinner--Origin of Lichens--Why Some Willows are Red--The\nPartridge.\n\nCHAPTER XXII.\n\nNanahboozhoo's Ride on the Back of the Buzzard, who\nLets Him Fall--A Short-lived Triumph--Why the Buzzard\nhas No Feathers on His Head or Neck.\n\nCHAPTER XXIII.\n\nA Moonlight Trip on the Lake--The Legend of the\nOrphan Boy--His Appeal to the Man in the Moon--How\nHe Conquered His Enemies.\n\nCHAPTER XXIV.\n\nSouwanas's Love for Souwanaquenapeke--How Nanahboozhoo\nCured a Little Girl Bitten by a Snake--How the Rattlesnake\ngot Its Rattle--The Origin of Tobacco--Nanahboozhoo\nin Trouble.\n\nCHAPTER XXV.\n\nThe Dead Moose--The Rivalry Between the Elk and the\nMoose People, and Their Various Contests--The Disaster\nthat Befell the Latter Tribe--The Haze of the Indian\nSummer.\n\n\nGlossary\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\nThe rabbit tells Nanahboozhoo of his troubles\n\nWith the children cuddled around, Souwanas began\n\nThe wild and picturesque Ka-ka-be-ka Falls\n\nThey howled with rage and terror\n\nThe startling placard\n\nWhile her mate stood beside her\n\nSurrounding them were fierce Indian dogs\n\nThe beautiful reflections in the water\n\nThey tumbled the tall ghost over\n\nTheir dog trains were in constant demand\n\nWhere the fire was stolen\n\nThe coyote was too quick for them\n\nAcross a single log at a dizzy height\n\nWhich white men now call Cathedral Mountain\n\nTheir babies with them\n\nGave him such a terrible beating\n\nThe big rock was surely gaining on him [note: not in actual text]\n\nSun dance lodge of the Blood Indians\n\nThey both threw their magic sticks\n\nHe took a leap into the open mouth\n\nHe ran away west, to the great mountains\n\nWigwams and Indians\n\nThe Indian story-teller\n\nNanahboozhoo then mounted on the back of the great buzzard\n\nWith Mary and Kennedy in the birch canoe\n\nNanahboozhoo gave him a great push\n\nThey were excited at his coming\n\n\n\n\nAlgonquin Indian Tales\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n\nThe Children Carried Off by the Indians--The Feast in\nthe Wigwam--Souwanas, the Story-teller--Nanahboozhoo,\nthe Indian Myth--How the Wolves Stole His Dinner, and\nWhy the Birch Tree Bark is Scarred--Why the Raccoon\nhas Rings on His Tail.\n\nWithout even knocking at the door there noiselessly entered our northern\nhome two large, unhandsome Indians. They paid not the slightest attention\nto the grown-up palefaces present, but in their ghostly way marched across\nthe room to the corner where the two little children were playing on the\nfloor. Quickly but gently picking them up they swung them to their\nshoulders, and then, without a word of salutation or even a glance at the\nparents, they noiselessly passed out of that narrow door and disappeared in\nthe virgin forest. They were pagan Saulteaux, by name Souwanas and Jakoos.\n\nThe Indian names by which these two children were called by the natives\nwere \"Sagastaookemou,\" which means the \"Sunrise Gentleman,\" and\n\"Minnehaha,\" \"Laughing Waters.\"\n\nTo the wigwam of Souwanas, \"South Wind,\" these children were being carried.\nThey had no fear of these big Indians, though the boy was only six years\nold, and his little sister but four. They had learned to look with laughing\neyes even into the fiercest and ugliest of these red faces and had made\nthem their friends.\n\nSo even now, while being carried away among the dense trees, they merrily\nlaughed and shouted to each other. The bright patches of sunshine on the\nground, the singing birds, and the few brilliant-hued summer flowers,\nbrought forth their exclamations of delight, while all the time the grave,\nsilent Indians hurried them on deeper and deeper into the forest. Yet\ncarefully they guarded their precious loads, and as the antlered deer in\npassing through the thick woods and under the low branches never strike\ntrunk or bough, so these sons of the forest glided swiftly on without\nallowing any hurt to come to the children of the paleface, even if at times\nthe faint trail led them over slippery rocks and under low intertwining\nbranches.\n\nThe wigwam of Souwanas was pitched in a beautiful spot at the edge of the\ngreat forest near the sandy, rocky eastern shore of Lake Winnipeg. This\ngreat lake is well called The Sea, which is the meaning of its Indian name.\nIt is about as long as Lakes Ontario and Erie combined and in some places\nis eighty miles wide.\n\nAt the entrance of the wigwam, which was made of a couple of tanned\nreindeerskins, the children were carefully lifted down from the men's\nshoulders and then taken into this Indian abode. Coming in suddenly from\nthe bright sunshine it was some time before they could see distinctly. The\ndoor flap of deerskin had dropped like a curtain behind them. All the light\nthere was came in through the hole in the top, where the poles of the\nwigwam crossed each other. Presently, however, they were able to see a\ncircle of Indian children gathered around a small fire that smoldered on\nthe ground in the center of the tent. It was now in the pleasant summer\ntime, but the fire was needed for something else than warmth, as the little\nSagastao and Minnehaha discovered before long. They were soon seated in the\ncircle with the red children, who, young though they were, were a wee bit\nstartled at seeing these little palefaces. The white children, however,\nsimply laughed with glee. This outward demonstration seemed very improper\nto the silent red children, who were taught to refrain from expressions of\ntheir gladness or sorrow.\n\nThe Indians had brought the white children for a characteristic reason.\nThey had said among themselves, \"If the white father and mother love us as\nthey say they do we will test them by taking away their children without\nasking permission.\" They also wished to show their own love for the\nchildren, and so had really brought them to a children's feast.\n\nIt was perhaps as queer a tea party as you ever heard of. There was no\ntable on which to put the good things prepared for the feast. No plates, no\ncups and saucers, no knives, no spoons, not even a chair! There were no\ncakes, no tarts, no jam, no pies, not even any bread and butter!\n\n\"Well, what a feast!\" you say. \"Without any place to sit, or good things to\neat!\" Not too fast! There were both of these. There was the lap of mother\nearth, and so down on the ground, with bearskins and deerskins on it for\nrugs, the children sat. Then the deerskin door was again opened and in came\nIndians with birch-bark dishes, called _rogans_, in which were nicely\nprepared wild ducks, rabbits, and partridges. But as they were uncooked\nthey could not yet be eaten by the now expectant, hungry children.\n\nThen began the preparation of the feast. Some of the Indians added dry wood\nto the fire until there was a hot, smokeless blaze. Others took out their\nsharp hunting knives and cleverly cut up the ducks, rabbits, and\npartridges. Then these pieces were spitted on the ends of sharp points of\nhard wood and skillfully broiled or toasted in the hot flames. As fast as\nthe dainty bits of meat were cooked and a little cooled they were given to\nthe children in their fingers, and in that way the little ones had their\nfeast.\n\nNow, please don't turn up your noses at such a feast. Think of it: out in a\nwigwam in the lovely forest, where the wild birds sing and the squirrels\nchatter, where is heard the music of the waves playing on the shore but a\nfew yards away, with great friendly Indians as your waiters! The very air\nof that northern summer gives you an appetite ready for anything.\n\nThose little people, red and white, soon became the jolliest of friends,\nand as the white children could speak the Indian language as well as their\nown they were soon all chattering away most merrily while they daintily\npicked the bones. Of course this way of eating was hard upon their hands,\nfaces, and clothing, but what healthy child ever gave a second thought--if\na first--to any of these things?\n\nAfter a time this feast, as all feasts must, came to an end. Then the\nquestion was, \"What shall we do next for the children?\" for the whole day\nhad been planned by the grown-up Indians for the entertainment of the\nlittle people. Canoes had been collected on the shore of Winnipeg, handy if\nit should be decided that they all should go for an afternoon outing on the\nwater. However, Souwanas, who had gone out to look at the sky and observe\nthe winds and waves, now came in and reported that he thought they would\nbetter put off the canoe trip to some time when the lake was more calm. It\nwas then suggested that the children be asked what would please them most.\nThe little folks, white and red, were not slow in giving their decision.\n\n\"Tell us a story about Nanahboozhoo.\"\n\n\"Who shall be the story-teller?\"\n\nThere was a hearty call for \"Souwanas!\"\n\nOn coming in from investigating the weather, but a few minutes before,\nSouwanas had seated himself on a robe and was now enjoying his calumet, or\npipe. Stoical though he was, his dark eyes flashed with pleasure at the\nunanimous call of the children, but, Indianlike, it would have been a great\nbreach of manners if he had let his delight be known. Then, again,\nIndianlike, it would never have done to have seemed to be in a hurry. The\nIndian children well knew this, but who ever heard of white children that\ncould sit like statues, grave and dignified, while the story-teller took\ntime to finish smoking a large pipe of tobacco?\n\nSo it was in this case. In their wild excitement and eagerness to have the\nstory begin, both Sagastao and Minnehaha sprang up and, rushing toward\nSouwanas, vied with each other in seeing which could first pluck the\nhalf-smoked calumet from his mouth. Such audacity appalled the Indian\nchildren and fairly took the breath away from the older Indians. For was\nnot Souwanas a chief, and the calumet almost a sacred thing while between\nhis lips?\n\nSouwanas, however, was greatly delighted. Here was a new experience, and\nthe very boldness of the children of the palefaces was an evidence of their\nunbounded confidence and love. To little Sagastao the calumet was\nsurrendered, and, with the children cuddled around him, Souwanas began his\nstory:\n\n[Illustration: \"With the children cuddled around him Souwanas began his\nstory.\"]\n\n\"Now, you must know that Nanahboozhoo was a queer fellow. He could make\nhimself as tall as a tree or as small as a turtle or snake. Nothing could\nkill him. He could not be drowned even if dropped hundreds of feet into\nthe lake, nor burned to death even if he tumbled into the fire. He often\nmet with accidents, but he always came up right again and was ready for\nsome other adventure in some new shape. He has left his marks on the rocks\nand trees, leaves and flowers. Almost anywhere we look we see signs that\nNanahboozhoo has been around. As his temper was very uncertain he sometimes\ncaused trouble and injured the appearance of things which were once more\nbeautiful than they are now. But in general he was the friend of our race\nand worked changes that were for our good.\n\n\"One day, as Nanahboozhoo was walking along on a sandy shore, he felt very\nhungry. It was now in the autumn of the year. As he wandered on he saw an\nobject moving toward him. He had not long to wait before he saw that this\nobject was a great black bear. He pulled up a young tree by the roots and\nhid himself, preparing to kill the bear when he should come near. When the\nbear came near Nanahboozhoo made a big jump out of his hiding place and\nkilled the bear with one blow. Then he built a big fire, and having singed\nall the hair off the bear he cut him up and nicely roasted him. When the\nmeat was cooked Nanahboozhoo cut it up into fine pieces, for he intended to\nenjoy his feast by eating leisurely.\n\n\"While he was thus busy preparing his feast he was annoyed by a strange\nsound among the tree tops that rubbed together when the wind blew.\nNanahboozhoo was very quick-tempered, and as the noise continued he\ndetermined to stop it. So he left his feast on the ground and climbed away\nup one of those trees to the spot where the other pressed against it. He\nwas endeavoring to pull the two great trees apart when one of his hands got\ncaught between them and was firmly held. While struggling to get loose he\nheard a pack of wolves running toward his bear meat. This made him struggle\nthe harder to get his hand free. The fierce wolves soon scented the food\nand had a good time devouring it, in spite of the shoutings of\nNanahboozhoo.\n\n\"When Nanahboozhoo at length got his hand free and came down he found\nnothing left of his feast but the skull of the bear. He was very angry, not\nonly at the wolves that had eaten his feast but also at the trees that had\nheld him, the great Nanahboozhoo, in so tight a grip. As the wolves had run\naway he could not, at present, punish them, but he resolved that he would\nso punish these great birch trees that they would never give him such a\nsqueeze again. So he prepared a great whip and with it he severely thrashed\nthe trees. Up to this time the birch had been the most beautiful of trees.\nIts great trunk was of the purest white, without any blemish or blotch upon\nit. But ever since the thrashing Nanahboozhoo gave it it has had to carry\nthe marks of that terrible whipping; and that is why the white birch tree\nis so covered with scars.\n\n\"When Nanahboozhoo had ceased thrashing the trees he found himself so very\nhungry that he resolved to eat the brains that were in the head of the\nbear, that had been overlooked by the wolves. However, he found the skull\nvery hard. So he transformed himself into a little snake, and in this way\ngot inside of the bear's skull and enjoyed his feast. In fact he enjoyed it\ntoo much, for when he was through with his eating he could not get out of\nthe skull, he was so full. However, he was able to roll along, skull and\nall, but as he could not see where he was going he bumped along in a very\nerratic manner until at length he tumbled into a big lake and sank at first\ndeep down under the waves.\n\n\"When he came up to the surface he just put a part of the head of the bear\nout of the water, as does the bear when swimming. Then he listened\nintently. It was not long before Nanahboozhoo heard voices saying:\n\n\"'Look! There is a bear swimming. Let us kill him.\"\n\n\"So there was a chase on the lake, and it was not long before the Indians\ncame up, in their canoe, and one of them with his stone ax struck the\nbear's head such a blow that he split open the skull.\n\n\"This just suited Nanahboozhoo, and instantly he sprang out and made for\nthe shore.\n\n\"Then Nanahboozhoo journeyed on and again he began to feel very hungry. The\nbrains of the bear were not much to one who had had his mind set on eating\nthe whole carcass. It was not long before he met the raccoon awkwardly\ncarrying a birch _rogan_ that he had stolen from a couple of blind men.\nSeeing the merry smile on the raccoon's face, Nanahboozhoo bade him a good\nday, and asked him what was amusing him.\n\n\"The raccoon, who did not know that it was Nanahboozhoo with whom he was\ntalking, told him how he obtained the dish. When Nanahboozhoo heard this he\nwas very angry at the raccoon for his heartless trick.\n\n\"It seems that there was quite a large settlement of people who had among\nthem a couple of blind men. As these Indians were hunters they had to be on\nthe move a good deal of the time following the game. As the other people\nwere kind-hearted, instead of killing these old blind men, now that they\nwere unable to hunt, they arranged for them a wigwam in a safe, quiet\nplace, near the lake. Then they gave them a kettle and bowl and other\nnecessary things and cut a large pile of wood and placed it close at hand.\nIn order that they might be able to get water for their cooking and yet not\nstumble into the water their friends fastened a rope, for their guidance,\nfrom the door of the wigwam to a post on the edge of the lake.\n\n\"The old men were now quite comfortable. Their friends came frequently with\nabundant supplies of food and the blind men were able to do their own work\nand were happy together. They divided the day's work so that one day one\nwould be the cook while the other would bring in the wood and go for the\nwater. Next day they would change about. It gave each enough to do, and not\ntoo much.\n\n\"For a long time the two men lived contented and happy. But it happened\nthat one day the raccoon was out prowling along the shore, looking for\nsomething to eat, when he happened to find the end of the rope that was\ntied to the post at the water's edge.\n\n\"Now you must know,\" said Souwanas, \"that, next to the wolverine, the\nraccoon is the biggest mischief in the woods. He is full of tricks, but he\nis very cunning and suspicious. So before he interfered with the rope he\ncautiously followed it up and found that its other end was at the wigwam of\nthese two old blind men. Hearing no noise, he cautiously peered into the\nwigwam and saw them both sleeping near the fire. There was a smell of\nsomething good to eat, and the raccoon decided to wait around to see if he\ncould not get hold of it.\n\n\"While he was thus waiting the old men woke up, and one said to the other,\n'My brother, I am feeling hungry; let us prepare our dinner.'\n\n\"'Very well,' said the other; 'it is your turn to go to the lake for water\nwhile I make the fire.'\n\n\"When the raccoon heard this he ran down to the lake and quickly untied the\nrope from the stake and, drawing it back, tied it to a clump of bushes on\nthe land. When the old man with the kettle felt his way along the rope\nuntil he reached its end he tried to dip up the water as usual, but all in\nvain. There was nothing but the dry earth and bushes. Not finding any water\nhe returned to his brother with the sad news that the lake had dried up,\nand that already bushes were growing where yesterday there was plenty of\nwater. When his brother heard this doleful story he laughed at it, and\nsaid:\n\n\"'Why, that cannot be possible. No bushes could grow up in such a short\ntime.'\n\n\"However his brother declared it was the case, and so the other one said,\n'Well, let me go, and see if I can find some water.'\n\n\"When the tricky raccoon heard this he hurried back and at once untied the\nrope from the bushes and refastened it to the post near the water. When the\nsecond brother came along he easily found the water, and filling the kettle\nhe returned to the wigwam where he vigorously accused his brother of lying.\nHe, poor fellow, could not understand it and was much perplexed.\n\n\"The preparation of their dinner went on, and soon it was ready. There was,\nhowever, another one present that the blind men had no suspicion of, and\nthat was the raccoon, who had now noiselessly come into the wigwam and\ngreedily sat watching the preparations. This dinner consisted of eight\npieces of meat which, when cooked, were placed in their _rogan_, or wooden\nbowl. When ready they sat down with this bowl between them and began to\neat. Each took a piece of meat, and they talked of various things while\nthey ate.\n\n\"The raccoon now noiselessly took four of the pieces of meat out of the\nbowl and began eating them. Soon one of the men reached into the bowl, to\nget another piece of meat, and finding only two pieces left, he said:\n\n\"'My brother, you must be very hungry, to eat so fast. I have only had one\npiece of meat, and there are only two left.'\n\n\"'I have not taken them,' was the reply, 'but I suspect that you are the\ngreedy one who has eaten them.'\n\n\"This made the other brother very angry, and as they thus went on arguing,\nthe raccoon, to make matters worse, and to have, as he told Nanahboozhoo,\nsome more sport with the old blind fellows, hit each of them a smart blow\non the face. The poor old men, each believing that the other had struck\nhim, began to fight; and so they upset the _rogan_ and lost the rest of\ntheir dinner and nearly set the wigwam on fire.\n\n\"The raccoon then seized the two remaining pieces of meat and the bowl,\nand, with shouts of laughter, rushed out of the wigwam. The old men,\nhearing this, perceived that they had been fooled, and they at once stopped\nfighting and apologized to each other.\n\n\"The raccoon's rascally trick made Nanahboozhoo very angry. Indeed he had\nhad a good deal of trouble to keep from letting the raccoon know who he\nwas. So just as soon as the raccoon had finished he said:\n\n\"'I am Nanahboozhoo. Those old blind men are my brothers, and I'll teach\nyou a lesson you will never forget!'\n\n\"So he seized the raccoon and killed him, and carried his body back to the\ntent of the blind men and made out of it a great feast for them, and\ndeclared that in future the old raccoons should have to carry as many\ncircles on their tails as pieces of meat that had been stolen out of the\n_rogan_ of the blind men.\"\n\n\"Good for Nanahboozhoo!\" shouted Sagastao. \"Mr. Raccoon couldn't play any\ntricks on him. Now tell us another story.\"\n\nBut here Minnehaha interposed.\n\n\"I think,\" said she, \"we had better go home now, for father and mother may\nbegin to think they have lost their little ones.\"\n\n\"Let us wait until dark,\" said Sagastao, \"and then Mary won't see our dirty\nclothes!\" For their greasy fingers had soiled them badly.\n\nThe wishes of the little girl, however, prevailed, and so it was not long\nere the Indian salutations, \"Wat cheer! Wat cheer!\" were shouted to all,\nand once more the two children were hoisted upon the shoulders of the big\nIndians, and in the same manner in which they had been brought to the\nwigwam in the forenoon they rode home in the beautiful gloaming.\n\nVery tired were they, yet not so weary but that they were able with their\nlittle hands to rub some of the paint off the faces of their big stalwart\ncarriers and daub it on their own. The effect was so ludicrous that their\nmerry laughter reached the ears of their expectant parents even before they\nemerged from the gloom of the forest.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n\nThe Children's Return--Indignation of Mary, the Indian\nNurse--Her Pathetic History--Her Love for the Children--The\nStory of Wakonda, and of the Origin of Mosquitoes.\n\nIn reaching home the children were quietly received by their parents, who,\nunderstanding Indian ways, had no desire to lessen their influence by\nfinding fault with them for carrying off the children. They treated the\nmatter as though it were one of everyday occurrence.\n\nMary, the Indian nurse, however, did not regard the incident so calmly.\nWhen the children were brought back dirty, greasy, bedaubed, and so tired\nthat they could hardly hold up their little heads, her indignation knew no\nbounds, and as she was perfectly fearless she couched her sentiments in the\nmost vigorous phrases of the expressive Cree language.\n\nThe history of Indian Mary was very strange. Indeed there was an incident\nin her life so sad that from the day of her recovery she was considered to\nbe under the special care of the Good Spirit, so that even the most\ninfluential chiefs or hunters had a superstitious fear of showing any\ntemper, or making any bitter retort, no matter what she might say.\n\nYears before this time Mary was the wife of a cruel pagan Indian who bore\nthe English name of Robinson. Although she was slight of figure, and never\nvery strong, he exacted from Mary a great deal of hard work and was vexed\nand angry if, when heavily burdened with the game he had shot, she did not\nmove as rapidly along on the trail as he did, carrying only his gun and\nammunition.\n\nOnce, when they were out in the woods some miles from his wigwam, he shot a\nfull-grown deer and ordered her to bring it into the camp on her back.\nPicking up his gun he started on ahead, and being a large, stalwart man,\nand moving with the usual rapidity of the Indians on the homeward trail, he\nsoon reached his wigwam. Unfortunately for him--and, as it turned out, for\nMary also--he found some free-traders[1] at his abode awaiting his return.\nThey had few goods for trade in their outfit, but they had a keg of fire\nwater, which has ever been the scourge of the Indians.\n\n[Footnote 1: Fur buyers who were not agents of the Fur Company.]\n\nRobinson informed them of his success in shooting the deer and that it was\neven now being brought in. The traders not only purchased what furs\nRobinson had on hand but also the two hind quarters of the deer which Mary\nwas bringing home. Robinson at once began drinking the fire water which he\nhad received as part payment.\n\nHe was naturally irritable, and short-tempered even when sober, but he was\nmuch more so when under the influence of spirituous liquors. The\nunprincipled traders, knowing this, and wishing to see him in one of his\ntantrums, began in a bantering way to question whether he had really shot a\ndeer, since his wife was so long in coming with it.\n\nThis made him simply furious, and when Mary did at length arrive, laboring\nunder the two-hundred-pound deer, she was met by her husband now wild with\npassion and the white man's fire water. Little suspecting danger she threw\nthe deer from her shoulders, where it had been supported by the carrying\nstrap across her forehead. Weary and panting, she turned to go into the\nwigwam for her skinning knife, but ere she had gone a dozen steps she was\nstartled by a yell from Robinson which caused her instantly to turn and\nface him. The sight that met her eyes was appalling. Before her stood her\nhusband with an uplifted gleaming ax in his hands and curses on his tongue.\nSeeing that there was no chance to fly from him she threw herself toward\nhim, hoping thereby to escape the blow. She succeeded in saving her head,\nbut the ax buried itself in her spine.\n\nMary's piercing screams speedily brought a number of Indians from\nneighboring wigwams. When they found poor Mary lying there in agony, with\nthe ax still imbedded in the bones of her back, their indignation knew no\nbounds.\n\nIndians, as a rule, have great self-control, but this sight so stirred them\nthat there was very nearly a lynching. Robinson, now sobered by his fears,\nclearly foresaw that terrible would be his punishment, and while the\nIndians and traders turned to attend to Mary's wounds the wretched husband\nstealthily slipped away into the forest and was never again seen there.\nRumors, however, at length reached Mary that he had fled away to the\ndistant Kaministiquia River, where for a time he lived, solitary and alone,\nin a little bark wigwam. One day, when out shooting in his canoe, he was\ncaught in some treacherous rapids and carried over the wild and picturesque\nKa-ka-be-ka Falls, about which so many thrilling Indian legends cluster.\n\nFor seven years Mary was a helpless invalid. When she did recover her back\nhad so curved that she looked like a hunchback. As she was poor, and\nutterly unable either to hunt or to fish, we helped her in various ways.\nShe was always grateful for kindness, and in return was very willing to do\nwhat she could for us. She was exceedingly clever with her needle, and with\na little instruction was soon able to assist with the sewing required.\nHowever, what especially won her to us and gave her a permanent place in\nour home, was her great love and devotion to our little ones.\n\n[Illustration: \"The wild and picturesque Ka-ka-be-ka Falls.\"]\n\nLittle Sagastao was only a few months old when she installed herself as his\nnurse, and for years she was a most watchful and devoted as well as\nself-sacrificing guardian of our children in that Northern home. She seemed\nto live and think solely for them. At times, especially in the matter of\nparental discipline, there would be collisions between Mary and the mother\nof the children; for the nurse, with her Indian ideas, could not accept\nof the position of a disciplined servant, nor could she quietly witness the\npunishment of children whom she thought absolutely perfect. Hence, if she\ncould not have things exactly as she wanted them, Mary would now and then\nallow her fiery temper to obtain the mastery, and springing up in a rage\nand throwing a shawl over her head she would fly out of the house and be\ngone for days.\n\nHer mistress paid no attention to these outbursts. She well knew that when\nMary had cooled down she would return, and it was often amusing to see the\nway in which she would attract the children's attention to her, peering\naround tree or corner, and then come meekly walking in with them as though\nthey had only been for a pleasant outing of an hour or so.\n\n\"Well, Mary,\" would be the greeting of her mistress, while Mary's quiet\nresponse would be the Indian greeting of, \"Wat cheer!\"\n\nThen things would go on as usual for perhaps another six months, when Mary\nwould indulge again in one of her tantrums, with the same happy results.\n\nShe dressed the children in picturesque Indian costumes--coats, dresses,\nleggings, moccasins, and other articles of apparel of deer skin, tanned as\nsoft as kid, and beautifully embroidered with silk and bead work. Not a\nspot could appear upon their garments without Mary's notice, and as she\nalways kept changes ready she was frequently disrobing and dressing them\nup.\n\nWhen Souwanas and Jakoos came that morning and picked up the children Mary\nhappened to be in another room. Had she been present she would doubtless\nhave interfered in their movements. As it was, when she missed the children\nher indignation knew no bounds, and only the most emphatic commands of her\nmistress restrained her from rushing after them. All day long she had to\ncontent herself with muttering her protests while, as usual, she was busily\nemployed with her needle. When, however, the two stalwart Indians returned\nin the evening with the children on their shoulders the storm broke, and\nMary's murmurings, at first mere protests, became loud and furious when the\nhappy children, so tired and dirty, were set down before her. The Indians,\nknowing of the sad tragedy in Mary's life, would not show anger or even\nannoyance under her scathing words, but, with the stoical nature of their\nrace, they quietly endured her wrath. This they were much better prepared\nto do since neither of the parents of the white children seemed in the\nslightest degree disturbed by their long absence or the tirade of the\nindignant nurse. With high-bred courtesy they patiently listened to all\nthat Mary had to say, and when the storm had spent itself they turned and\nnoiselessly retired.\n\nThe children were worn out with their day's adventure, and their mother\nintimated that Mary ought at once to bathe them and put them to bed. This,\nhowever, did not satisfy Mary. It had become her custom to dress them up in\nthe afternoons and keep them appareled in their brightest costumes during\nthe rest of the day; therefore now the weary children, after being bathed,\nwere again dressed in their best and brought out for inspection and a light\nsupper before retiring. The bath and the supper had so refreshed them that\nwhen Mary had tucked them into their beds they were wide awake and asked\nher to tell them a story. But sleep was what they needed now more than\nanything else, and she tried to quiet them without any further words, but\nso thoroughly aroused were they that they declared that if she refused they\nknew somebody who would be glad to have them visit him again, and that he\nwould tell them lots of beautiful things.\n\nThis hint that they might return to the wigwam of Souwanas was too much for\nMary, who very freely gave utterance to her sentiments about him. The\nchildren gallantly came to the defense of the old Indian and also of\nNanahboozhoo, of whom Mary spoke most slightingly, saying that he was a\nmean fellow who ought to be ashamed of many of his tricks.\n\n\"Well,\" replied Sagastao, \"if you will tell us better stories than those\nSouwanas can tell us about Nanahboozhoo, all right, we will listen to them.\nBut, mind you, we are going to hear his Nanahboozhoo stories too.\"\n\n\"O, indeed,\" said Mary, with a contemptuous toss of her head, \"there are\nmany stories better than those of his old Nanahboozhoo.\"\n\n\"Won't it be fun to see whose stories we like the best, Mary's or\nSouwanas's!\" said Minnehaha, who foresaw an interesting rivalry.\n\nMary had now committed herself, and so, almost without realizing what it\nwould come to, she found herself pitted against Souwanas, the great\nstory-teller of the tribe. However, being determined that Souwanas should\nnot rob her of the love of the children, she was tempted to begin her\nstory-telling even though the children were exhausted, and so it was that\nwhen the lad asked a question Mary was ready.\n\n\"Say, Mary,\" said Sagastao, \"the mosquitoes bit us badly to-day. Do you\nknow why it is that there are such troublesome little things? Is there any\nstory about them?\"\n\n\"Yes. Wakonda, one of the strange spirits, sent them,\" said Mary, \"because\na woman was lazy and would not keep the clothes of her husband and children\nclean and nice.\"\n\n\"Tell us all about it,\" they both cried out.\n\nMary quieted them, and began the story.\n\n\"Long ago, when the people all dressed in deerskins, there was a man whose\nname was Pug-a-mah-kon. He was an industrious fellow, and had often to work\na good deal in dirty places. The result was that, although he had several\nsuits of clothes, he seemed never to have any clean ones.\n\n\"It was the duty of his wife to scrape and clean his garments and wash and\nresmoke them as often as they needed it. But she neglected her work and\nwould go off gossiping among her neighbors. Her husband was patient with\nher for a time, but at length, when he heard that Wakonda was coming to\npay a visit to the people, to see how they were getting along, he began to\nbestir himself so as to be decently attired, in clean, handsome apparel, to\nmeet this powerful being, who was able to confer great favors on him, or,\nif ill-disposed, to injure him greatly.\n\n\"He endeavored to get his wife to go to work and remove the dirt that had\ngathered on his garments. She was so lazy that it was only from fear of a\nbeating that she ever did make any attempt to do as he desired. She took\nthe garments and began to clean them, but she was in a bad humor and did\nher work in such a slovenly and half-hearted way that there was but very\nlittle change for the better after the pretended cleaning.\n\n\"When the news was circulated that Wakonda was coming, the husband prepared\nto dress himself in his best apparel, but great indeed was his anger and\ndisgust when he found that the garments which he had hoped to wear were\nstill disgracefully grimy.\n\n\"While the angry husband was chiding the woman for her indolence Wakonda\nsuddenly appeared. To him the man appealed, and asked for his advice in the\nmatter.\n\n\"Wakonda quickly responded, and said: 'A lazy, gossiping wife is not only a\ndisgrace to her husband, she is annoying to all around her; and so it will\nbe in this case.'\n\n\"Then Wakonda told her husband to take some of the dirt which still clung\nto his garments, which she was supposed to have cleansed, and to throw it\nat her. This the man did, and the particles of dirt at once changed into\nmosquitoes. And so, ever since, especially in the warm days and nights of\nearly summer when the mosquitoes with their singing and stinging come\naround to trouble us, we are reminded of this lazy, slovenly woman, who was\nnot only a trial to her husband, but by her lack of industry and care\nbrought such a scourge upon all the people.\"\n\n\"Didn't Wakonda do anything else?\" murmured the little lad; but that\nblessed thing called sleep now enfolded both the little ones, and with\nmutterings of \"Nanahboozhoo--Wakonda--Souwanas--Mary\"--they were soon far\naway in childhood's happy dreamland.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n\nMore about Mary and the Children--Minnehaha Stung by\nthe Bees--How the Bees Got Their Stings--What Happened\nto the Bears that Tried to Steal the Honey.\n\nThe next morning while Mary was dressing them the children told her of\ntheir adventures in the wigwam of the Indians. Mary was really interested,\nthough she pretended to be disgusted at the whole thing, and professed, in\nher Indian way, to be quite shocked when they both confidentially informed\nher that they had had such a good time that they were going again even if\nthey had to run away and be whipped for it.\n\nThis was terrible news for Mary, and placed her in an awkward position. To\ntell the parents of the children's resolve was something she would never\ndo, as it might bring down upon them some of the punishment which was quite\ncontrary to her principles. Yet, on the other hand, to let them go and to\ngive no information might cause more trouble than she liked to think of.\n\nNeither could she bear the thought of the two children returning from\nanother day's outing with their neat clothing and pretty faces soiled and\ndirty. Do as they might, she had never once informed on them, and she had\nno mind to begin now. She earnestly pleaded with them not to carry out\ntheir resolve. The little ones were shrewd enough to see that they had\nthoroughly alarmed her, and they were in no hurry to surrender the power\nwhich they saw they had over her.\n\nMary never said a word in English. She understood a good deal that others\nsaid, but she never expressed herself in other than the Indian language.\nHence both little Sagastao and Minnehaha always talked with her in her own\ntongue.\n\nMinnehaha, seeing Mary's anxiety at their determination to run away to the\nIndians, thought of compromising the matter by insisting that Mary should\ntell them more tales. If she would do this they \"would not run away very\nsoon;\" especially did she emphasize the \"very soon.\" This was hardly\nsatisfactory to Mary, but as it was the best promise she could get she was\nobliged to consent.\n\nLittle Sagastao, who was Mary's favorite, once more unsettled her when he\nsaid, \"Now, Mary, remember, we have only promised not to run away very\nsoon. That means that we intend to do it some time.\"\n\nIt seems that the little conspirators had talked it all over in the morning\nin their beds, and had decided how they would get stories out of Mary\nwithout really promising not to run away to the wigwam of Souwanas.\n\nThe children, being dressed, were taken down by Mary to prayers and\nbreakfast, after which an hour was allowed in summer-time for outdoor\namusement before the lessons began. Little Sagastao generally spent his\nhour, either with his father or some trusty Indian, playing with and\nwatching the gambols of the great dogs, of which not a few were kept at\nthat mission home. Minnehaha was with her mother, and was interested in the\nbestowal of gifts to the poor widows and children who generally came at\nthat hour.\n\nOwing to the isolated situation of the mission, and the fact that there\nwere no organized schools within hundreds of miles, some hours of the\nforenoon were devoted to the education of the children in the home. The\nafternoons, according to the season, were devoted to reading and amusement.\n\nMary, the nurse, while able to read fluently in the Cree syllabics, had no\nknowledge of English. As the children's education progressed they wanted to\nteach Mary. She stubbornly resisted, however, declaring that if they taught\nher to read English they would want to make her talk it.\n\nThe mother noted the unusual expectancy manifested by the children during\nthe day, and on inquiring the reason was promptly informed that Mary had\npromised to tell them a story, or legend, and \"had got to do it.\"\n\n\"Why has she _got_ to do it?\" said the loving mother, struck with the\nemphasis which they had placed on the word.\n\nThe little mischiefs were cunning enough to see that they had nearly run\nthemselves into trouble, and were wisely silent. Mary also noticed this,\nand at once her great loyalty to the little folk manifested itself, and\nquickly turning to her mistress she said, with an emphasis which was quite\nunusual:\n\n\"Mary has promised them a story, and as she always keeps her word she has\n_got_ to tell it.\"\n\nSaying this she quickly sprang from the floor, where she had been sitting,\nand taking a child by each hand she marched with them out of the room.\n\n\"Hurrah for you, Mary! you saved us that time,\" said little Sagastao.\n\nMary would not have been sorry if in some way the parents received an\ninkling of what was in the minds of the children, yet she had such peculiar\nideas that she would never herself be the one to convey that information.\n\nDuring the brief summer months the pleasantest walks were along the shores\nof the lake. Many were the cosy little cave-like retreats where Mary often\nled the children. There, with the sunlit waters before them, and the\nrippling waves making music at their feet, the old nurse crooned out many\nan Indian legend or exciting story about the red men of the past. To-day,\nhowever, she was perplexed by the attitude of the children and could not\nselect any story that she thought of sufficient interest to divert their\nminds from Souwanas and Nanahboozhoo. So for a time they wandered on along\nthe pleasant shore, or turned aside to gather the brilliant wild flowers.\n\nA scream of pain from Minnehaha interrupted their pleasure. In gathering\nsome wild lilies she was stung on both hands by some honey bees that were\nin the flowers. Mary quickly made a batter of clay and bound up the wounded\nhands in it. Then she sat down and took the child in her lap.\n\n\"Naughty bees to sting me like this,\" said Minnehaha, with tears streaming\ndown her cheeks. \"I was not doing them any harm.\"\n\n\"Yes, you were, and so were we all,\" said the brother. \"We were carrying\noff the flowers from which they get their honey, which is their food.\"\n\n\"Well, they might let us have a few flowers without stinging us,\" replied\nMinnehaha.\n\nThe intense pain of the stings rapidly abated under Mary's homely but\nskillful treatment, and as the child still retained her place in Mary's lap\nshe said,\n\n\"Can you tell us why such pretty little things as bees have such terrible\nstings? My hands felt as if they were on fire when I was first stung, and I\ncould not help crying out with the pain.\"\n\n\"Well,\" said Mary, \"there was a time when the bees had no stings, and they\nwere as harmless as the house flies. They were just as industrious as they\nare now, but they had any amount of trouble in keeping their honey from\nbeing stolen from them, for every creature loves it.\n\n\"In vain they hid their combs away up in hollow trees and in the clefts of\nhigh rocks. The bears, which are very fond of honey, were ever on the\nlookout for it, and were very clever in getting it when once they found\nwhere it was hidden away. Birds with long beaks would suck it out, and even\nthe little squirrels were always stealing it. The result was that whole\nswarms often starved in the long winters, because all their honey, which is\ntheir winter food, was stolen from them. The bees were in danger of being\ndestroyed. They gave up working in great numbers together, and scattered\ninto little companies, and in the most secret places tried to store away a\nlittle honey, just enough to keep them alive from season to season. But\neven these little hives were often discovered and the honey devoured.\n\n\"Things had come to such a pass with them that they had almost given up\nhope of lasting much longer.\n\n\"Fortunately for them, word was circulated that Wakonda, the strong\nspirit--the one who sent the mosquitoes--was coming around on a tour, to\nsee how everything was progressing. He was greater than even Nanahboozhoo,\nand was perhaps a relative of his, but he very seldom appeared, or did\nanything for anyone. However, it happened that he had this year left his\nbeautiful home at Spirit Lake and was journeying through the country, and\nhe was willing to help all who were in real distress.\n\n\"So the bees resolved to apply to him for help. Wakonda received them very\ngraciously, and ate heartily of the present of beautiful honey which some\nof them had made and had succeeded in keeping out of the way of bears and\ntheir other enemies.\n\n\"When his feast of honey was over he listened to their tales of sorrow and\nwoe. He was indignant when he heard of the numbers of their enemies, and of\nthe persistency of their attacks upon such industrious little creatures.\n\n\"For a time Wakonda was uncertain as to the best method to adopt to help\nthem. He dismissed them for that day, and told them to come again on a day\nhe mentioned, saying that by that time he would know just what to do--for\nhelp them he would. The bees were so delighted with this news that they\ncould not keep it to themselves but must go and tell their cousins, the\nwasps and hornets, and even bumblebees.\n\n\"When the appointed time arrived the bees were on hand--and so were the\nwasps, hornets, and bumblebees. Wakonda welcomed the bees most kindly, but\nwas a little suspicious about their visitors, and he asked some sharp\nquestions. But the bees were in such good humor about the help that was\ncoming that they did not refer to the bad habits of their cousins at all.\nThen Wakonda made a speech to the bees, and told them how much he loved\nthem for their industrious habits, which he wished all creatures had. He\npraised them for the fact that, instead of idly wasting the summer days,\nthey used them in gathering up food for the long, cold winter.\n\n\"Then he proceeded to give them the terrible stings which they have had\never since, and as the wasps and hornets claimed to be their cousins\nWakonda was good-natured enough to give them the same sort of weapons.\nSome people, especially boys, think this was a, great mistake, and would be\nvery glad if Wakonda had refused to give stings to the yellow wasp and the\nblack hornet.\"\n\n\"Well, what happened after the bees got their stings?\" said Sagastao.\n\n\"A good deal happened,\" said Mary, \"and that very soon. A lot of them,\nwithout as much effort to conceal their nest as formerly, selected a tall,\nhollow tree, and using a big knot hole as the door began secreting their\nhoney in it. They had made the combs, and were now filling them, when along\ncame a couple of bears. These animals, as you have been told, are great\nhoney thieves, but they always had hard work to find where the timid bees\nhad cunningly hid it away, and now they could hardly believe that right\nhere before them was a great swarm of bees filling the air with their\nbuzzing as they flew in and out of the knot hole.\n\n\"With saucy assurance they at once began climbing the tree, expecting to be\nable to put their long paws into that big hole and draw out the combs. But\nthey never reached that knot hole. The noise they made in their climbing\nalarmed the bees. Out they came in great numbers, and now, instead of\nflying around in a panic, like so many house flies, and seeing their honey\ndevoured, they at once flew at their enemies, the bears. They stung them on\ntheir noses and about their eyes and lips, and indeed in every spot where\nthey could possibly reach them with their terrible new weapons.\n\n\"The bears could not make out what the trouble was. They howled with rage\nand terror, yet they were resolved to get that honey, and still tried to\ncrawl up higher on the tree. But at length the bees mustered in such vast\nnumbers--for those away gathering honey, as they returned, joined in the\nattack--that the bears became wild with pain and fear, and had to give up\ntheir effort and drop to the ground. Even then the bees gave them no peace,\nand continued to sting them until they were obliged to run into the dark\nforest for relief.\n\n\"Thus it happens now that almost all creatures that bother the bees are\nsimilarly treated.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"They howled with rage and terror.\"]\n\n\"Well,\" said Minnehaha, \"they need not have stung me because I was picking\na few flowers; but, after all, I am glad they have their stings or I\nsuppose we should never have any honey.\"\n\n\"They are not big enough to have much sense,\" replied Sagastao, \"and so\nthey go for everyone that gets in their way.\"\n\nMary now carefully removed the clay poultices, which had effectually done\ntheir work. A wash followed, in the waters of the lake which rippled at\ntheir feet, and soon not the slightest trace of the sting remained. By the\ntime they reached home both pain and tears were well-nigh forgotten.\n\nThat evening before the children were sent to bed they overheard Jakoos,\nwho had come to the house with venison to sell, telling in the kitchen a\nstory that he had heard from Souwanas about a naughty fellow, called\nMaheigan, who tried to capture a beautiful kind-hearted maiden, Waubenoo,\nand of how Nanahboozhoo thrashed him, and then afterward, because of some\nnaughty children not holding their tongues, Waubenoo was turned into the\nWhisky Jack.\n\nWhat the little children overheard had very much excited their curiosity,\nand so when Mary was putting them to bed they demanded from her the full\nstory.\n\nAs this was one of the Saulteaux Indian legends, while Mary was a Cree, she\nwas not familiar with it. She told the children that she knew nothing about\nit, but this by no means set their curiosity at rest.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n\nThe Love Story of Wakontas--His Test of the Two\nMaidens--His Choice--The Transformation of Misticoosis.\n\nA few days later Mary was annoyed by having the children tell her frankly\nthat they did not think she was a first-class story-teller. For if she had\nbeen she ought to have been able to answer Minnehaha's question about what\nNanahboozhoo did to Maheigan when he tried to catch Waubenoo.\n\nMary was vexed at herself that she was unable to answer the question, for\nshe well knew that the children would not rest satisfied until they had the\nstory told them by some one, possibly Souwanas himself. Indeed, knowing\nthem so well, she had fully resolved to post herself from one of the noted\nstory-tellers who have all the Indian legends at their tongue tips. But as\nyet she was ignorant in this matter, and therefore fell considerably in the\nchildren's estimation. Alary was somewhat hurt by noticing, perhaps for the\nfirst time, Sagastao and Minnehaha whispering confidentially to each other.\nThe children conversed with Mary only in her own language, which at that\ntime they perhaps understood better than they did English. Now, much to\nMary's annoyance, their confidential whisperings were carried on in\nEnglish. Being sensitive and quick-tempered, when she saw this sudden break\nin their affections toward her she was inclined to resent it, and asked the\nreason why she was not allowed to know what they were talking about.\n\nBlunt little Sagastao spoke up at once:\n\n\"Minnehaha and I have talked it over, and have decided that unless you tell\nus better stories, and ones which you know all about, we're going to run\naway to the wigwam of Souwanas.\"\n\nThis was humiliating and distressing news. Mary fancied she had told them a\ngood story, and that with a few others like it she could satisfy their\ncuriosity and keep them at home until the brief summer would have passed.\nNot so, however, thought the children. They saw their advantage and were\nresolved to keep it, and when their lessons were over and they were left\nentirely in the charge of Mary they taxed the little woman in a way that\nobliged her to exercise all her gifts as a story-teller, and she was far\nfrom being a poor one.\n\nOne day she took them out in a graceful birch canoe among the picturesque\nislands. They landed on one of these islands, and spent some time in\nexploring its beauties and resting where grew a profusion of the fragrant\nIndian grass. They were for a time much interested in the various wild\nbirds that then were so numerous and fearless. Beautiful gulls of\ndifferent varieties were there nesting, and by following Mary's directions\nthe children were delighted to find that they could approach very near to\nthe nests of some of them without disturbing the mother bird while her\nmate, in fearless confidence, stood on guard beside her.\n\n[Illustration: The startling placard.]\n\n[Illustration: While her mate stood beside her.]\n\n\"Now, Mary, hurrah for a story!\" cried the children, as they sat at lunch.\n\nWhile Mary was wondering what she would tell them, Minnehaha, with all the\nrestless, inquisitive spirit of childhood, noticing the ceaseless rustling\nmovements of the leaves in the stately northern poplar while the leaves of\nall the other trees were so still, said:\n\n\"Why is it, Mary, that even while the leaves on the other trees are so\nquiet those almost round ones are ever stirring?\"\n\nMary knew the Indian legend, and at once proceeded to narrate it.\n\n\"It is believed by our people,\" said Mary, \"that there are other persons\njust as clever as Nanahboozhoo, and as able to do wonderful things, but\nthey are very seldom heard of. Some of them were the children of Wakonda,\nthe powerful spirit who dwelt in the region of Spirit Lake, where they say\nit is always sunshine. Many strange things have been told about them, but\neverybody says they are kind-hearted, and never did anything to injure any\nof our people unless it was well deserved. The story is that long ago one\nof these sons of Wakonda, whose name was Wakontas, could not find a wife\nto suit him in his own beautiful country, and so he came to the regions\nwhere the Indians dwelt.\n\n\"For a long time he wandered throughout great regions of country before he\nfound anyone who interested him. However, in his journeyings Wakontas went\ninto the wigwam of some Indians where there were two lovely maidens, so\nvery beautiful that he fell in love with both of them. He was in the\ndisguise of a very fine-looking young hunter. So clever was he in the use\nof his bow and arrow that at the end of every hunting excursion he returned\nladen with the richest spoils of the chase. He fell more and more in love\nwith the two girls, and knowing, of course, that he could only get one of\nthem he found a great difficulty in making his choice. He had already gone\nto the girl's father, and after finding out from him the price demanded for\nhis daughter, without mentioning which one, very quickly by his magic\npowers he obtained the heavy price and laid it at the father's feet. Both\nof the girls seemed equally pleased with him, and each one secretly hoped\nthat she might be the object of his choice. Still he hesitated, and\nalthough he tried many experiments yet they so nearly equaled each other in\ncleverness and beauty that he was still undecided. However, there was a\ngreat difference in their dispositions. While one was proud and jealous,\nand had a very bitter tongue, the other was just the opposite; while one\nwas very selfish, the other was generous and kind-hearted. But Wakontas was\nnot able to find this out at first, and after he had considered various\nplans he decided that he would put on one of his many disguises and thus\ntry them.\n\n\"So he started off as though going on a hunting expedition, but soon after\nhe was out of sight he quickly assumed the form of a poor and aged Indian,\nand came to the home of these two beautiful sisters, and asked for\nassistance. Wakontas chose a time when he knew the rest of the family were\naway from the wigwam, in order that he might see how the two sisters would\nact toward him.\n\n\"When he walked into the wigwam, for nobody ever knocks at an Indian tent,\nthe maidens were a little startled at thus suddenly seeing this\nrough-looking old beggar-man in their midst. The selfish, proud girl, whose\nname was Misticoosis, at once began assailing him, and cried, 'Auwasta\nkena!' (Get out; go away, you!)\n\n\"In vain he pleaded that he was aged and hungry. She would not listen to\nhim.\n\n\"Omemee, the other young Indian maiden, who had not said a word, but had\nbeen pitying him from the first moment she saw how feeble and sad he\nlooked, now interfered, and remonstrated with her sister, whose tongue kept\nup a constant stream of abuse. Taking the old man to her side of the wigwam\nshe seated him on a rug of deerskins and then built up before him a bright\nfire. Then she quickly brought in venison, cooked it nicely, and gave him\nthe broth for drink and the meat for food. He thanked her gratefully, but\nshe checked his words and said that her greatest joy was in making others\nhappy. Not satisfied with what she had done, and noticing that his shoes\nwere old and worn, she took out of her beaded workbag a pair of splendidly\nworked moccasins, and put them on his feet.\n\n\"All this time, while this good-hearted, generous Omemee was treating the\npoor old man so kindly, the proud, selfish Misticoosis was talking as hard\nand as fast as she could against such deeds of kindness to all old people.\nIn her opinion, when they had got so old and helpless as that old fellow\nwas, they ought to be killed by their relatives.\n\n\"The old man again expressed his thanks to the kind sister, and then went\nhis way.\n\n\"Soon the girls began to think of arraying themselves for the return of\ntheir friend and lover. The proud, selfish Misticoosis spent all the time\nin fixing herself up in the most elaborate manner. She had lately become\nquite jealous of her sister, and she was resolved to so outshine her in\nappearance that the handsome young hunter would surely prefer her. But\nOmemee (a name which means a dove) thought to herself:\n\n\"'My father and mother and the rest of the family will soon be returning to\nthe wigwam, tired and hungry, and the best thing I can do will be to have a\ngood dinner ready for them all.' So, only taking time to comb and brush her\nluxuriant hair and make herself neat and tidy for her work, she set about\ncooking the meal. She skillfully prepared venison and bear's meat, and the\nfinest of fish.\n\n\"Hardly had she finished her work and seen everything nicely cooked before\nshe heard the happy shoutings of her younger brothers, and the sweet\nbirdcalls of her little sisters.\n\n\"As Omemee and her sister Misticoosis hurried out to greet them they were\nsurprised to see the handsome stranger gliding along in his beautiful canoe\nalongside of the larger one of the family. Of course, the sight of their\nlover excited the two girls. Misticoosis, who had spent all the hours in\narraying herself in her finery and adornment, boldly thrust herself to the\nfront, and crowded out the modest Omemee, who was flushed by the busy work\nof cooking the dinner, and was wisely dressed in a costume which harmonized\nwith her face and with the work in which she had been engaged so\nindustriously.\n\n\"The instant the handsome young Indian landed--fancy the amazement of the\ntwo girls to notice that he had on his feet the same beautiful moccasins\nthat, not many hours before, Omemee had given to the aged feeble man!\nBefore anyone could utter a word he came striding up to the girls, and\nsaid:\n\n\"'As an old, weary man, I came to your wigwam a few hours ago. Misticoosis\ngave me nothing but abuse, yet my only crime was that I was old. Her tongue\nwent on and on without stopping, and all of her words were words of abuse\nfor the old man and anger that he should have been left to live so long.\nBut Omemee, kind-hearted Omemee, pitied the poor old man. She made him sit\ndown on a couch of deerskins, that he might rest his tired limbs. She\nbuilt a fire and warmed him. She took of the best of the venison, and made\nhim food and drink, and then ere he left she put on his feet the most\nbeautiful of her moccasins. All her gifts to the unknown old man were the\nbest she had.\n\n\"'See the beautiful moccasins, the gift of Omemee!\n\n\"'I was that old man--I am now the lover long seeking a bride. I have made\nmy choice. Two beautiful maidens for a time divided my heart. There is no\ndivision now. By testing them I have found out that only one is lovely\nwithin.\n\n\"'That no man may have to put up through life with the unceasing clatter of\nthe tongue of Misticoosis, she will be from this time the unbeautiful aspen\ntree, while her tongue shall be the leaves that will never again be still\neven in the gentlest breeze. The leaves of other trees shall rest at times,\nbut the aspen leaves, now the tongue of Misticoosis, shall ever be restless\nand unquiet.'\n\n\"And even while he was speaking, Misticoosis, who was amazed and ashamed at\nthe words he spoke, became rooted to the ground, and gradually turned into\nan aspen tree.\n\n\"Then, turning from her to the maiden of his choice, he exclaimed:\n\n\"'But Omemee, the loving, the tender, the kind-hearted, thou art my heart's\nchoice!'\n\n\"Saying this, the handsome hunter opened his arms, and Omemee sprang toward\nhim. For a moment he held her in his arms; then he said:\n\n\"'I am Wakontas, and to the beautiful home of Wakontas thou shalt be\ntaken.'\n\n\"Then there was a wonderful transformation; as quickly as a butterfly\nbursts from its chrysalis, so suddenly was Omemee transformed into a\nbeautiful dove and the hunter as quickly assumed the same lovely form.\nTogether they arose into the air, and flew away to the unknown but\nbeautiful home of Wakontas, in the land of perpetual sunshine.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n\nThe Startling Placard--What Happened to the Little\nRunaways--The Rescue--Mary Tells Them the Legend of the\nSwallows--How Some Cruel Men were Punished who Teased\nan Orphan Boy.\n\nWhen Mary entered the children's bedroom one bright, pleasant morning she\nwas amazed at finding both of the beds empty and a piece of foolscap paper\npinned to the dressing table. The writing on it was beyond her power to\nread. She remembered now that the children had begged her not to come very\nearly in the morning to wake them up, and as their requests were as a law\nshe had lingered as long as she dared, and indeed had only gone to call\nthem when her mistress had asked the reason for their nonappearance. Not\nuntil she had shown the paper, with its inscription, to the kitchen maid,\nwho could read English, did its full meaning burst upon her. Of course, she\nwas very much troubled, and yet such was her loyalty to the children that\nshe hesitated about letting the parents know what had occurred. She was\nfully aware that she could not long keep the startling news from them, and\nyet she was still resolved that never should any information be imparted by\nher that might bring down upon them any punishment, no matter how much\ndeserved.\n\nIt was a long, rough trail through the primitive forest to the wigwam of\nSouwanas. How long the children had been away she could not tell. Mary,\nwith Indian shrewdness, had felt their beds, and had found them both quite\ncold, so she knew the little mischiefs had been off at least an hour. She\ninterrogated not only the maid in the kitchen but also Kennedy, the man of\nall work, outside. Neither of them had seen or heard anything of the\nchildren, and as they did not share Mary's ideas the escapade of the\nchildren was soon known.\n\nThe parents were naturally alarmed when they heard the news. At once the\nfather, accompanied by Kennedy and the dogs, Jack and Cuffy, started off on\nthe trail of the runaways. The intelligent dogs, having been shown a couple\nof garments recently worn by the missing boy and girl and being told to\nfind them, at once took up the trail in the direction of the wigwam of\nSouwanas, running with such rapidity that if they had not been restrained\nby the voice of their master they would very quickly have left him and his\nIndian attendant far behind.\n\nAt length, with a sudden start, both dogs, growling ominously, dashed off\nahead, utterly regardless of all efforts made by their master to restrain\nthem. This suspicious conduct on the part of the dogs of course alarmed the\nfather and his Indian companion, and as rapidly as the rough trail would\nallow they hurried on in the direction taken by the dogs. Soon their ears\nwere greeted by a chorus of loud and angry yelping. Fear gave speed to both\nthe men, and soon they dashed out from the forest into the opening of an\nIndian's clearing. Here was a sight that filled them with alarm, and almost\nterror. Standing on a pile of logs were little Sagastao and Minnehaha.\nSagastao erect and fearless, with a club about as large as an ordinary\ncane, while behind him, leaning against a high fallen log, was Minnehaha.\nSurrounding them were several fierce, wolfish Indian dogs, among whom Jack\nand Cuffy, wild and furious, were now making dire havoc. One after another,\nwounded and limping, the curs skulked away as the two men rushed up to the\nchildren.\n\n\"Ha! ha! hurrah for our Jack and Cuffy; aren't they the boss dogs!\" shouted\nthe fearless little runaways, and now that the victory was won they nimbly\nsprang down from their high retreat and, apparently without the slightest\nfear, congratulated both their father and the Indian on the superiority of\ntheir own dogs.\n\nTrembling with anxiety, the anxious father, thankful at the narrow escape\nof his children, as he clasped them in his arms could not but be amazed at\nthe indifference of the little ones to the great danger from which they had\njust escaped. After petting Jack and Cuffy for their great bravery and\ncourage the return journey was begun, much to the regret of the children,\nwho pleaded hard to be allowed to resume their trip to the wigwam of\nSouwanas to hear the stories of Nanahboozhoo.\n\n[Illustration: \"Surrounding them were several fierce, wolfish Indian\ndogs.\"]\n\nThe father was perfectly amazed at this request, and of course it was\nsternly refused. He had started off in pursuit of the runaways with a\nresolve to punish them for this serious breach of home discipline, but his\nalarm at their danger and his thankfulness for their escape had so stirred\nhim that he could not punish them nor even chide them at the time. All he\ncould do was to bring them safely home again and, as usual in such\nemergencies, turn them over to the tender mercies of their mother.\n\nSturdily the children marched on ahead for a while, then Kennedy, the\nIndian, took Minnehaha in his arms. He had not carried her many hundred\nyards before the weary little one fell fast asleep, softly muttering as she\nslipped off into the land of dreams, \"Wanted to hear about Nanahboozhoo.\"\n\nGreat was the excitement at home when the party returned. Sagastao rushed\ninto the arms of his mother, and without the slightest idea of having done\nanything wrong began most dramatically to describe how \"our Jack and Cuffy\nthrashed those naughty Eskimo dogs\" that chased Minnehaha and him upon that\ngreat pile of logs. Mary in the meantime had taken from Kennedy's arms the\nstill sleeping Minnehaha, and almost smothered her with kisses as she bore\nher away to bed.\n\nThere was great perplexity on the part of the parents to know just what to\ndo to impress upon the little ones that they had been very naughty in thus\nrunning away, for it was very evident from the utterances of both that they\nhad not considered the matter in that light. Now, in view of the weariness\nof Minnehaha, it was decided to leave the matter of discipline in abeyance\nuntil a little of the excitement had passed away.\n\nIn the meantime Sagastao was ready to talk with everybody about the whole\naffair. It seems that he and Minnehaha had decided that Mary was \"no good\"\nin telling stories. He said her stories neither frightened them nor made\nthem cry, but Souwanas was the boss man to tell Nanahboozhoo stories. He\nsaid they got up before anybody was stirring, that morning, and dressed\nthemselves so quietly that nobody heard them. They remembered the trail\nalong which Souwanas and Jakoos had carried them. After they had walked for\nsome time they came to where there was a larger trail, and they turned into\nit, and came upon a lot of dogs that had been chasing some rabbits. Soon\nthe rabbits got away from the dogs, when they reached those trees that had\nbeen chopped down. Minnehaha was the first to notice that the dogs had\nturned back, and were coming after them, and she shouted:\n\n\"'O, look! those dogs think we are rabbits, and they are coming for us!'\"\n\n\"When I saw they really were coming,\" said Sagastao, \"Minnehaha and I\njumped up on the logs, and we climbed up as high as we could, and I took up\na stick, and then I stood up with Minnehaha behind me, and I shook the\nstick at them, and--and I shouted:\n\n\"'A wus, atimuk!'\" (Get away, you dogs!)\n\n\"They came so near on the logs that I hit one or two of them, while all of\nthe others on the ground kept barking at us. But I kept shouting back at\nthem, 'A wus, atimuk!' My! it was great fun. Then all at once we heard Jack\nand Cuffy, and, I tell you! soon there was more fun, when our big dogs\nsprang at them. Every time an Eskimo was tackled by Jack or Cuffy he went\ndown, and was soon howling from the way in which he was shaken. And they\nhad nearly thrashed the whole of them when papa and Kennedy came rushing\nup. I wished they had been there sooner, to have seen all the fun.\"\n\nThus the lad's tongue rattled on, while it was evident he was utterly\nunconscious of the danger they had been in.\n\nAfter some deliberation it was decided that, in view of this runaway being\nthe first offense of the kind, the punishment should be confinement to\ntheir own room the next day, until six o'clock in the evening, on a diet of\nbread and water. At this Mary was simply furious. She well knew, however,\nthat it was necessary for her to control herself in her master's and\nmistress's presence. She managed to hold her tongue, but her flashing eyes\nand an occasional mutter, which would come out as she went about her usual\nduties, showed the smoldering fire that was burning inside. The children\nhad been duly lectured for their breach of discipline and then, that\nevening, consigned to their room for their imprisonment which was to last\nuntil the next evening. That night Mary took up her mattress and blankets\nand went and slept on the floor between the two beds of the children, and\nin spite of orders, so the maid said, she secretly carried up a goodly\nsized bundle from the kitchen.\n\nThe day was one of unusual quietness, as the lively pair, who generally\nkept the house full of music, were now supposed to be away in humiliation\nand disgrace. All regretted that the punishment had to be inflicted and the\nchildren made to realize their naughtiness in thus running away, and all\nwere looking forward to the hour of six o'clock with pleasant anticipation.\nWhen it arrived word was sent to the children that their hours of\nimprisonment were over, and that they were to present themselves in the\nlibrary. Quick and prompt was the response, and noisily and hurriedly the\ntwo darlings came rushing down the stairs, followed by Mary. They were\narrayed in their most beautiful apparel, and were evidently prepared by\ntheir nurse to go with her for a walk.\n\nThe father, feeling that it was necessary, began to make a few remarks\nexpressive of regret that he had thus been obliged to punish them, when he\nwas interrupted by little Sagastao with the honest and candid remark,\nspoken in a way which, while perfectly fearless, was yet devoid of all\nrudeness or impertinence:\n\n\"O, father dear, you needn't feel badly about us at all, as Mary has been\nwith us all day and has told us lovely stories.\"\n\n\"And Mary brought us taffy candy,\" broke in darling Minnehaha, with equal\ncandor; \"and some currant cakes and other nice things, so we got on very\nwell after all.\"\n\nThese candid utterances on the part of the two children not only amazed but\namused the parents, and were another revelation of Mary's wonderful love\nfor the children and her defiance of disciplinary measures which she\nthought might cause the slightest pain or sorrow. And here she stood in the\nopen door, and as soon as their father's words and their own rather\nstartling \"confessions\" were ended she called them to her and away they\nwent for a long walk along the beautiful shore of the lake, leaving their\nparents to conjecture whether the punishment that had been inflicted would\nproduce any very salutary results.\n\nWhen the children were gathered that evening in the study with their\nparents little Sagastao said:\n\n\"Papa, Minnehaha and I have been talking it all over with Mary and she has\nshown us that it was naughty on our parts to run away as we did; and we are\nsorry that we did anything that caused you and mamma sorrow and anxiety\nabout us, and so, ... Well, we know you will forgive us.\" And as the four\nlittle arms went twining around the parents' necks there was joy and\ngladness all round, and it was evident that there was no danger of the\nescapade being repeated.\n\nThe following are a couple of the legends that Mary told them while they\nwere prisoners in their own room that day.\n\n\nTHE LEGEND OF THE SWALLOWS.\n\n\"Long ago,\" said Mary, \"there were some Indian families who lived on the\ntop of a very high hill, like a mountain. They had quite a number of small\nchildren, and I am sorry to say they were very naughty and would often\ndisobey their parents. One of their bad deeds was to run away, and thus\nmake the father and mother very unhappy until they returned. Their parents\nwere very much afraid that some of the Windegoos or wild animals would\ncatch them when they thus ran away by themselves, with no strong man to\nguard them.\n\n\"So the parents tried to make their homes as nice as possible for them.\nThey made all sorts of toys for them and gave them nice little bows and\narrows, and other things, that ought to have amused them and kept them\nhappy at home. All the efforts of their parents, however, were of no use.\nThey soon were tired of their home amusements, and when their parents'\nbacks were turned they would run away.\n\n\"At length their conduct became so bad, and the parents found themselves so\npowerless to prevent it, that they decided to appeal to the Indian Council\nfor assistance. For a time the stern commands of the Chief were listened to\nand obeyed. Then they neglected his words, and about as frequently as ever\nthey were found playing truant from their homes and parents.\n\n\"At length, on one occasion when they had all run away and had been off for\nseveral days and could not be found, their fathers and mothers called upon\nWakonda to look for them and to send them home. Wakonda was very angry when\nhe heard about these naughty children running away so much, and so he set\noff in a hurry to find them. After a long search he discovered them on the\nbank of a muddy river making mud huts and mud animals. He was so angry at\nthem that he at once turned them into swallows, and said, 'From this time\nforward you will ever be wanderers and your homes will always be made of\nmud,' and so it has been.\"\n\n\"I say, Mary, did you remember that yarn because Minnehaha and I ran away?\"\nsaid Sagastao.\n\n\"Well, we were not making mud huts,\" said Minnehaha.\n\nMary was not to be caught, however, even if she did love them so much, and\nshe did not answer Sagastao's question, although in her heart she was not\nsorry if he saw something in the legend that would deter him from again\nrunning away.\n\n\nHOW SOME CRUEL MEN WERE PUNISHED WHO TEASED AN ORPHAN BOY.\n\n\"There was once an old grandmother who was left alone with only an orphan\ngrandson. All of her other relatives were dead. This boy was a very\nindustrious little fellow, and did all that he could to help his\ngrandmother. They both had to work very hard to have sufficient to keep\nthem from starving. Together they would go out in their canoe and catch\nfish. They also set many snares in the forest to catch rabbits, partridges,\nand other small game.\n\n\"Because they were so poor the clothing of this orphan boy was made partly\nof rabbitskins and partly of the skins of birds. When he was not busy\nhelping his grandmother he, like other little boys, was pleased to go out\nand play with the other children of the village. Some of the men of the\nvillage were very fond of teasing him, and some were even cruel to him,\nbecause of the poor clothing he had to wear. Often the poor boy would\nreturn to the wigwam of his grandmother crying and weeping because the men\nof the village had not only teased him on account of his poor clothing but\nhad almost torn his coat into pieces. His grandmother entreated the men to\nstop teasing the poor boy, who could not help his poverty. She would\npatiently mend his poor torn clothes and try to cheer him up with the hope\nthat soon these foolish, cruel men would see how wrong it was to treat him\nthus.\n\n\"But they only seemed to get worse instead of better, and so the\ngrandmother got very angry at last and determined to have it stopped.\n\n\"So she went off to Wakonda and told him all about it. Wakonda was very\nbusy just then, but he gave her some of his magical powers and told her\nwhat to do when she reached her home.\n\n\"When she arrived there she found her grandson almost naked from the abuse\nof the cruel men, who, finding that she was absent, had been more cruel\nthan ever to him. She then informed him that she was able now to put a stop\nto all their cruel actions. So she told him to dive into a pool of water\nthat was near at hand. He did as she had commanded, and there he found an\nunderground channel that led out into the great lake.\n\n\"When he came up to the top of the water in the lake he found himself\ntransformed into a beautiful seal. He at once begun playing about in the\nwaves as seals are often seen doing.\n\n\"It was not long before he was seen by the people of the village, and, of\ncourse, the men were very anxious to secure this valuable seal. Canoes were\nquickly launched and away the men paddled with their spears to try and\ncapture it. But the boy, now transformed into the seal, quickly swam away\nfrom them, as instructed by his grandmother, and so kept them busy paddling\non and on farther from the shore. When they seemed almost discouraged the\nseal would suddenly dive down, and then reappear in the water just behind\nthem. Then, before the men could turn around and spear him, he as suddenly\ndived under the water again. The pursuit was so exciting that these cruel\nmen did not notice how far out from land they had now come. They did,\nhowever, after a time see their danger, for suddenly a fierce gale sprang\nup, and the waves rose in such fury that they upset the canoes and all of\nthe wicked men were drowned. When the old grandmother saw this she once\nmore exerted the magical powers with which she had been intrusted by\nWakonda, and calling to her grandson to return home he instantly complied\nwith her request. He speedily swam back to her, and she at once transformed\nhim into his human form.\n\n\"Thus freed from his tormentors, he very rapidly grew up to manhood and\nbecame a great hunter, and was kind to his grandmother as long as she\nlived.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n\nSouwanas Tells of the Origin and Queer Doings of\nNanahboozhoo--How He Lost His Brother Nahpootee,\nthe Wolf--Why the Kingfisher Wears a White Collar.\n\n\"Who was this Nanahboozhoo that we are hearing so much about?\"\n\nThus was the old story-teller addressed by Sagastao, who always was anxious\nto learn about those who interested him.\n\nThe old man began in this way:\n\n\"When the great mountains are wrapped in the clouds we do not see them very\nwell. So it is with Nanahboozhoo. The long years that have passed since he\nlived have, like the fogs and mists, made it less easy to say exactly who\nhe really was, but I will try to tell you. Nanahboozhoo was not from one\ntribe only, but from all the Indians. Hence it is that his very name is so\ndifferent.\n\n\"The Ojibway call him Mishawabus--Great Rabbit; the Menomini call him\nManabush. He had other names also. One tribe called him Jouskeha, another\nMessou, another Manabozho, and another Hiawatha. His father was\nMudjekeewis, the West Wind. There was an old woman named Nokomis, the\ngranddaughter of the moon, who had a daughter whose name was Wenonah. She\nwas the mother of twin boys, but at their birth she died and so did one of\nthe boys. Nokomis wrapped the living child in soft dry grass, laid it on\nthe ground at one end of her wigwam, and placed over it a great wooden bowl\nto protect it from harm. Then in her grief she took up the body of Wenonah,\nher daughter, and buried it, with the dead child, at some distance from her\nwigwam. When she returned from thus laying away her dead she sat down in\nher wigwam, and for four days mourned her loss. At the end of that time she\nheard a slight noise in her wigwam, which she soon found came from that\nwooden bowl. Then as the bowl moved she suddenly remembered the living\nchild, which she had forgotten in her great grief at the loss of its\nmother. When she removed the bowl from its place, instead of there being\nthe baby boy she had placed there she beheld a little white rabbit, and on\ntaking it up she said, 'O my dear little rabbit, my Manabush!' Nokomis took\ngreat care of it and it grew very rapidly.\n\n\"One day, when Manabush was quite large, it sat up on its haunches and\nhopped slowly across the floor of the wigwam, and caused the earth to\ntremble.\n\n\"When the bad Windegoos, or evil spirits who dwell underground, felt the\nearth to thus tremble they said, 'What is the matter? What has happened? A\ngreat Munedoo (spirit) is born somewhere.' And at once they began to devise\nmeans by which they might kill Manabush, or Nanahboozhoo, as he was now\ncalled, when they should find him.\n\n\"But Nanahboozhoo did not long continue to look like a rabbit. As he was\nsuperior to other people he could change himself to any form he liked. He\nwas most frequently seen as a fine strong young Indian hunter. He called\nthe people his uncles. When he grew up he said to his grandmother, the old\nNokomis, that the time had come when he should prepare himself to go and\nhelp his uncles, the people, to better their condition. This he was able to\ndo, seeing he was more than human, for his father was the West Wind and his\nmother a great-granddaughter of the moon. Sometimes he was the beautiful\nwhite rabbit; then he would be a wolf or a wolverine; then he would be a\nlovely bird. He could even change himself to look like a dry old stump or a\nbeautiful tree. Sometimes he would be like a little half-frozen rabbit;\nthen he would be a mighty magician, and often a little snake. He was just\nas changeable in his disposition as in his outward appearance. Sometimes he\nwas doing the best things imaginable for his uncles, the Indian people, and\nat other times he was full of mischief and trickery. But on the whole he\nwas a friend, and although quick-tempered and fiery yet he did lots of fine\nthings for the people, for he was really one of the best of the Munedoos of\nthe early times.\n\n\"When the time came for him to leave his grandmother's wigwam he built one\nfor himself, and then he asked Nokomis to prepare for him the sacred\nmagical musical sticks which she alone could make. His grandmother made\nhim four sticks, and with these he used to beat time when singing his queer\nsongs. Some of them were very queer, and ended up with 'He! he! ho! ho! ha!\nha! hi! hi!' Others were in reference to some special benefits he would\nconfer on his uncles. In one of them, referring to his going to steal the\nfire for them, he sings:\n\n  \"'Help to my uncles I'm bringing,\n  Their sorrows I'll change into singing.\n  From their enemies the fire I'll steal,\n  That its warmth the children may feel.\n\n  \"'Disguised will be Nanahboozhoo,\n  That his work may the better be done;\n  But his jolly deeds ever will tell who\n  Has been sporting around in his fun.'\n\n\"At first he was a jolly fellow, full of fun, and did lots of good things\nfor his uncles. He showed them the plants and roots good for food, and\ntaught them the arts of surgery and medicine, but as the years went by he\ndid some things that caused him to be feared very much. His uncles always\nwent to him when they got into trouble, but whether he would help them or\nnot depended much on the humor he was in when they came.\n\n[Illustration: The beautiful reflections in the water.]\n\n\"After he had lived for years in the first wigwam which he had built, and\ntaught the people of the earth many things, his father, the West Wind, held\na council with the North Wind and the South Wind and the East Wind, and\nas Nanahboozhoo was never married, and was living such a lonely life, they\ndetermined to restore to life, and give to reside with him, his twin\nbrother who had died at his birth. The name of this brother was Nahpootee,\nwhich means the Skillful Hunter. Nanahboozhoo was very fond of him, and\ntook great care of him. He grew very rapidly, and he and Nanahboozhoo were\nvery great friends. Like Nanahboozhoo, Nahpootee could disguise himself in\nany form he chose. One favorite form he often assumed was that of a wolf,\nas he was often away on hunting excursions. The evil spirits, or Windegoos,\nwho dwell under the land and sea, had never been able to do much harm to\nNanahboozhoo, he was too clever for them; and although they often tried he\ngenerally worsted them. Now they were doubly angry when they heard that\nNahpootee had been restored to life and was living with him. Nanahboozhoo\nwarned his brother of their enmity, and of the necessity of being on his\nguard against them.\n\n\"These brothers moved far away and built their wigwam in a lonely country\non the shore of a great lake which is now called Mirror Lake, because of\nits beautiful reflections. Here, as he was a hunter, Nahpootee was kept\nbusy supplying the wigwam with food. Once, while he was away hunting,\nNanahboozhoo discovered that some of the evil Munedoos dwelt in the bottom\nof the very lake on the shores of which they had built their wigwam. So he\nwarned his brother, Nahpootee, never to cross that lake, but always to go\naround on the shore, and for some time he remembered this warning and was\nnot attacked. But one cold winter day, when he had been out for a long time\nhunting, he found himself exactly on the opposite side of the lake from the\nwigwam. The ice seemed strong, and as the distance was shorter he decided\nthat, rather than walk around on the shore, he would cross on the ice. When\nabout half-way across the lake the ice broke, he was seized by the evil\nMunedoos and drowned.\n\n\"When Nahpootee failed to return to the wigwam Nanahboozhoo was filled with\nalarm and at once began searching everywhere for his loved, lost brother.\nOne day when he was walking under some trees at the lake he beheld, high up\namong the branches, Ookiskimunisew, the kingfisher.\n\n\"'What are you doing there?' asked Nanahboozhoo.\n\n\"'The bad Munedoos have killed Nahpootee,' Ookiskimunisew replied, 'and\nsoon they are going to throw his body up on the shore and I am going to\nfeast on it!'\n\n\"This answer made Nanahboozhoo very angry, but he concealed his feelings.\n\n\"'Come down here, handsome bird,' he said, 'and I'll give you this collar\nto hang on your neck.'\n\n\"The kingfisher suspected that the speaker was Nanahboozhoo, the brother of\nNahpootee, and he was afraid to descend.\n\n\"'Come down, and have no fear,' said Nanahboozhoo, in a friendly tone. 'I\nonly want to give you this beautiful necklace to wear, with the white\nshell hanging from it.'\n\n\"On hearing this the kingfisher came down, but suspecting that Nanahboozhoo\nwould be up to some of his tricks he kept a sharp watch on him.\nNanahboozhoo placed the necklace about the neck of the bird so that the\nbeautiful white shell should be over the breast. Then he pretended to tie\nthe ends behind, but just as he had made a half knot in the cord, and was\ngoing to tighten it and strangle the bird, the latter was too quick for him\nand suddenly slipped away and escaped. He kept the necklace, however, and\nthe white spot may be seen on the breast of the kingfisher to this day.\n\n\"Soon after this the shade or ghost of Nahpootee appeared to Nanahboozhoo\nand told him that, as his death was the result of his own carelessness, in\nnot keeping on the land, he would not be restored to live here, but was\neven now on his way to the Happy Hunting Grounds, in the Land of the\nSetting Sun, beyond the Great Mountains.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo was deeply moved by the loss of his brother, who had been\nsuch a pleasant companion to him. So great was his grief that at times the\nearth trembled and the evil spirits dwelling under the land or water were\nmuch terrified, for they knew they would be terribly punished by\nNanahboozhoo if he should ever get them in his power. But it was a long\ntime before he had an opportunity to get his revenge on them for the death\nof his brother. How he did it I will tell you at some future time.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\n\nThe Legend of the Bad Boy--How He was Carried Away\nby Annungitee, and How He was Rescued by His Mother.\n\n\"Tell us, Mary, a story about the boys of the old times among the Indians,\"\nsaid Sagastao.\n\n\"About bad boys,\" said Minnehaha with a mischievous look in her eyes; \"for\nthis morning brother and papa had to have a 'settlement,' and it might do\nSagastao good to hear about other bad boys and what was done with them.\"\n\nThese words of Minnehaha made Mary very angry. She thought more of Sagastao\nthan she did of any other member of the family, and nothing threw her into\na rage quicker than for anyone to cross him or even to question the wisdom\nof anything he said. Now, indignant that his father had been obliged to\ncall him into his study for some misdemeanor, Mary was greatly annoyed to\nhear these words.\n\n\"O, pshaw, Sakehow,\" said Sagastao; \"do not be so touchy. I deserved the\ntalking to that papa gave me. It was wrong of me to whack that Indian boy\nwith my bat as I did, and I ought to have been punished; so if you have any\njolly good stories about bad Indian boys, and how they were punished, why,\nlet us have one.\"\n\nThis confession of her favorite, who, after his temper cooled, was always\nquick to admit that he had been in the wrong, quite pacified Mary, and she\nsettled down on the wolfskin rug with the children and began her story.\n\n\"Long ago all the Indians believed in Windegoos and other spirits that were\nmore or less friendly to good people. Some were man-eaters and, of course,\nwere always to be feared. Some Indians were in such fear of these cannibals\nthat they would never leave the wigwam after dark for fear of being gobbled\nup by some of the monsters that might be skulking about.\n\n\"There was one great creature called Annungitee, or Two Faced. He had a\ngreat habit of looking out for bad boys, very bad boys. It was said that he\ncould not see really good boys; that they were like glass, and he could not\nsee them. But when a boy became very bad he was then so black that he was\neasily seen, and Annungitee could espy him a long way off and was very\nlikely to come after him.\n\n\"Fortunately Annungitee always made a noise when he was passing along. This\nwas a good thing for bad boys, for it gave them time to scurry into the\nwigwams, out of his way. He was so big that when he set one of his feet\ndown on the ground there would be sounds like the ringing of bells and the\nhooting of owls. When he put the other foot down the sound was like the\nroaring of buffalo bulls when they are going to fight each other. Even when\nhe tried to move softly there would be sounds like birds and beasts crying\nout. All the Indians who had heard this great terrible fellow were afraid\nof him, and yet no two were able to give the same description of him. But\nthey did agree on one thing, and that was that when he caught a very wicked\nman, which he did sometimes, or very bad boys, which he often did, he just\nthrew him into one of his big ears and held him there. Indeed, it was\nbelieved that he could hold three big men or six bad boys in one of his\nears at the same time. Nobody knew where he lived, as no one had been found\nbrave enough to follow and see, and no daring hunter had ever found his\nabode in any of his hunting expeditions.\n\n\"Now a certain Indian man and his wife who lived in a wigwam quite apart\nfrom other families had one boy. He was their only child. He had been a\nvery bad, cruel, unkind boy. His father had to work hard as a hunter to\nobtain sufficient game to keep them from starving. His mother cut the wood,\ncarried up the water from the distant river, dressed the skins of the\nanimals that were shot by her husband, and did all the work of the wigwam.\nThe boy would not lift a finger to help in any way. One day the mother, who\nwas quite sick, asked him to go for some water. He refused, and was very\nsaucy to her. Then she asked him if he would please bring in some wood for\nher, as she felt cold. No, he would not do anything of the kind. She then\nbecame quite angry with him, and said:\n\n\"'If you do not be a better boy I will put you out of the wigwam, and\nAnnungitee will toss you into his ear.'\n\n\"All the same, she did not really believe he would, as she had not heard of\nAnnungitee or any other kind of ghost being around for a long, long time.\nShe only said what she did to frighten the bad boy into obedience. Indeed\nshe had often said to him, when she was angry with him, 'I do hope a ghost\nwill catch you.' But the more she talked to him the worse he became. So one\nday when he had been very lazy and very rude to her she sprang up and,\nseizing him by the arm, undertook to put him out of the wigwam. He became\nmuch frightened at this and began to cry. But she, knowing that he deserved\nto be punished, pushed him out and securely fastened the doorway, calling\nout:\n\n\"'May Annungitee catch you!'\n\n\"She did not really mean it, of course. No mother could wish her boy to\nhave such a terrible misfortune. The frightened boy then began running\nround and round the wigwam, trying to find some place where he could get\nin, but he could find no opening. After a while his crying and his efforts\nto get into the wigwam ceased, and all became still and silent. His mother\nlistened attentively, and every moment expected to hear his voice again,\nbut there was no sound except something like the sound of the singing of\nbirds and the rattling of small bells dying away in the distance. At this\nshe became very much frightened and began to cry, and to call for her boy.\nShe threw open the door flap and began to search all around her wigwam for\nher son. But all in vain! He was nowhere to be found.\n\n\"When the father came home from his hunting she told him of the sudden\ndisappearance of their boy, and he, too, was very much alarmed. They set\nout and visited the lodges of all the people around. But no one had seen or\nheard anything of the missing boy. They returned to their own silent wigwam\nvery sorrowful, and for days they mourned over the loss of their son. One\nnight, as the mother was weeping on account of her great loss, she heard\nsome one crying out to her:\n\n\"'Hi! Hi!' and at the same time she heard the sounds of bells ringing and\nowls hooting. This happened several nights, and then one night there was a\nvoice saying:\n\n\"'You said, \"Ghost, take that boy.\" Hi! Hi!'\n\n\"Next morning the wife told her husband what she had heard during the\nprevious night, and she added:\n\n\"'I believe the ghost Annungitee has taken our boy.'\n\n\"Her husband was very angry when he heard this, and said:\n\n\"'Yes, a ghost has taken our boy. You gave him to him, and he has taken\nyou at your word. So why should you complain? It serves you right.'\n\n[Illustration: \"They tumbled the tall ghost over.\"]\n\n\"At this the mother lifted up her voice and cried out so loud that it could\nbe heard a great distance.\n\n\"'Husband,' she said, 'I deserve what you have said, but I am going to try\nand get back our boy, and so to-night I will hide in the pile of wood that\nis outside the wigwam, and if the ghost comes along again, as he has been\ncoming, I will catch him by the leg, and you must rush out and try to\nrescue our son.'\n\n\"So that night she hid herself in the wood pile, and, sure enough, after a\nwhile she heard the sound of bells ringing and animals softly crying out,\nand then a loud 'Hi! Hi!' after which all was still.\n\n\"Then, as she cautiously looked out from her hiding place, there before her\nwas a great creature standing beside the wigwam. He was so tall that his\nhead was higher than the smoke hole at the top, and he was peeping down\ninto the wigwam. But, big as he was, she had a mother's loving heart after\nall, and as she thought of her boy fastened up there in one of his big ears\nshe was determined to rescue him if possible. So she cautiously moved along\nuntil she was able to seize one of his legs, which she did with all her\nstrength, and at the same instant she shouted for her husband to come and\nhelp. Out he rushed, and between them they tumbled the tall ghost over and,\nsure enough, in one of his big ears they found their little boy.\n\n\"Poor little fellow. He was half-starved, and so thin and weak that he\ncould hardly stand. But they helped him into the wigwam and gave him some\nsoup, made out of some birds that his father had killed that day.\n\n\"The tall ghost was so frightened by the sudden way in which he had been\nseized that as soon as he could get up he hurried away, and was never seen\nin that part of the country again. Some tribes say he went South, and\nthere, when he was stealing children and carrying them off in his ears, he\nwas caught by the angry parents and burned to death on a big wood pile.\"\n\n\"Did the little boy get better?\" asked Minnehaha.\n\n\"O yes, he did, after a while; but he was a long time in getting over the\nfright he had had. It did him good, however, for after that he was never\nrude and saucy to his mother and did all he could to help her.\"\n\n\"Did it do the mother any good?\" asked Sagastao, who had not been\naltogether satisfied with her treatment of the boy.\n\n\"Yes, indeed,\" said Mary; \"for after that terrible fright she was never\nknown to shout out at her boy such words as, 'I hope the ghost will catch\nyou,' or any other of the unpleasant ones which she sometimes had used when\nshe was angry with him.\"\n\n\"Thank you, Sakehow,\" said both the children. \"A pretty good story, that.\"\n\nThen what a jolly romp they had with Jack and Cuffy! The two splendid dogs\nwere the children's special protectors and companions.\n\n[Illustration: \"Their dog trains were in almost constant demand.\"]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\n\nHappy Christmas Holidays--Indians Made Glad with\nPresents--Souwanas Tells How Nanahboozhoo Stole the\nFire from the Old Magician and Gave It to the Indians.\n\nThe Christmas holidays were times of innocent festivities and gladness\namong the Indians and their white friends, both at the mission and at the\ntrading post.\n\nThe gifts which it was possible to give to the Indians were not of very\ngreat value, but they were articles much needed and were always prized by\nthe recipients even if they were never very profuse in their words of\nthanks. Minnehaha and Sagastao were wild with delight at these times, and\nwere eager to be the almoners of the mission, and carry the gifts to the\nIndians whom they loved so well. The fact that the temperature of those\nbright, cold Northern winters kept steadily many degrees below zero did not\nchill their ardor nor lessen their enthusiasm. Their dog trains were in\nalmost constant demand, for they kept flying over the various icy trails\nuntil in the different wigwams all had been remembered with some useful\ngift.\n\nFaithful Mary had made for them the warmest of fur and blanket suits.\nDressed in these, and tucked in among the robes in the cariole by their\ncareful driver, they sped along the trails. They made the woods echo with\ntheir merry shouts and laughter--unless it was so bitterly cold that they\nhad to be completely covered up. It is not to be wondered at that there\nwere times when, on reaching some distant wigwam, there were little hard,\nwhite spots on their cheeks or noses which told the watchful Indians that\nthe Frost King had been at work and that speedily those frostbites must be\nremoved. Little cared they for the momentary pain that ensued, when the\nfrozen parts were being thawed out. They were out for a good time, and they\nhad too much grit and courage to let such trifles as a few frostbites\ndisturb their happiness. The bright fires burning in the center of the\nwigwams, or in the fireplaces at the end or side of the little Indian\nhouses, were of course always welcome after a long run in the bitter cold.\n\n\"Tell us, Souwanas,\" said Sagastao one very cold day, as they were gathered\naround his wigwam fire, \"how it was that Nanahboozhoo stole the fire from\nthose who were guarding it and gave it to the Indians.\"\n\n\"It must not be too long a story,\" said Minnehaha, \"as we have yet to go to\nthe wigwam of Kinnesasis, Little Fish, with his presents, and it would be\ntoo bad to be late when they know we are coming.\"\n\nSo Souwanas pledged himself to make the story as short as he could without\nspoiling it, and then, after a few more whiffs from his beloved calumet, he\nbegan:\n\n\"It was long ago, when there were fewer people in the forests and on the\nprairies than now. They did not have as many comforts as they have now, and\none of the rarest things among them was fire. Sometimes when the\nlightning's flash set a tree on fire they would have it for a little while,\nbut they did not seem to be able to keep it going, and they were often very\ncold and generally had to eat their food without cooking it.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo was then still living with his grandmother, Nokomis, and was\nsorry to see that she often suffered from the cold and that the food was\nmiserable because it was not cooked. So he set his wits to work and decided\nthat something must be done. As he should now have to deal with the Muche\nMunedoos, evil spirits, he had to be very careful. He put himself in\nvarious disguises and at length he heard all about how the coyote had\nstolen some of the fire from the watchers in the underground world, who\npossess enormous quantities of it. It frightened him a little when he heard\nthat there was so much fire in the world under us, but he was not apt to be\nafraid very long and so as he went on searching, and on the sly listening\nto the talks of windegoos and others, he found that the fire for which he\nhad been so long searching was in the possession of a fierce old medicine\nwarrior who guarded it with the greatest care. Those who had employed the\ncoyote to get it had intrusted its keeping to him. In those days they had\nan idea that fire was such a dangerous thing that it would be almost\ncertain destruction to the race if it was given to all. This old warrior\nhad his two daughters, who were great, fierce women, to assist him in\nguarding the fire.\n\n\"Several attempts had been made to steal the fire ere Nanahboozhoo resolved\nto see what he could do. All of these other efforts had failed, and the\nparties who tried them were killed. Nokomis heard of these unsuccessful\nattempts and tried to dissuade her grandson, Nanahboozhoo, from such a\ndangerous enterprise.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo, however, was a very skillful fellow, and although this was\none of his first great undertakings, for it was long ago, he was not to be\nstopped by her fears, and so away he went. As the ice was not yet on the\nwaters he took his birch canoe and paddled eastward as far as he could.\nThen he hid his canoe where he could easily find it on his return.\n\n\"The next thing he did was to transform himself into a rabbit, and in that\nshape he hurried on until he saw in the distance the sacred wigwam where\ndwelt the old guardian of the fire and his two daughters, who were famous\nfor their height and their strength. To excite the pity of these daughters\nNanahboozhoo jumped into some water, and then crawling out, wet and cold,\nhe slowly approached the wigwam. Here the two daughters found him, and he\nlooked so miserable that they took pity on him and at once carried him into\nthe wigwam and set him down near the sacred fire, that he might soon get\nwarm and dry.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"Where the fire was stolen out of the center of the earth.\"]\n\n\"How very kind that was of the old man's daughters,\" said Minnehaha.\n\n\"I don't know about that,\" said the more matter-of-fact Sagastao; \"folks\nsometimes get into trouble by taking up everything that comes along.\nRemember that old rascal that humbugged father.\"\n\nBut Souwanas, remembering his promise, adroitly shunted off the youngsters\nand resumed his story.\n\n\"The two girls, after seeing how contented and happy the rabbit seemed to\nbe as it warmed itself by the fire, again returned to their duties in\ndifferent parts of the large wigwam. The rabbit soon after hopped a little\nnearer to the fire, that he might be able to seize hold of a burning stick\nor brand, but as he moved the ground shook and trembled under him so that\nit awoke the old man, who had fallen into a heavy sleep. Thus disturbed, he\ncalled out to his daughters in alarm:\n\n\"'My daughters, what was it that caused the ground to tremble?'\n\n\"The girls replied that they did not know. They had done nothing beyond\ntheir usual work except to bring in to warm a poor little shivering\nhalf-frozen rabbit that they had found outside. At first the old man was a\nlittle suspicious and, rolling over, he took a good look at Nanahboozhoo.\nBut he had made himself into such a poor little wretched half-drowned\nrabbit that the old man's suspicions were completely dispelled, and he\nturned over again and went to sleep.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo was pleased to hear the old man snoring again, and he only\nwaited now until the two girls should both be busy in the wigwam on the\nopposite side from the door; then he suddenly changed himself into a fleet\nyoung Indian runner, and quickly seizing hold of a burning stick he dashed\nout of the wigwam and away he rushed toward the place where he had left his\ncanoe.\n\n\"Of course there was instant pursuit. The two daughters, although they were\nmagicians, like their father, well knew that they would be punished by the\nsuperior evil spirits if they allowed any of the sacred fire to be stolen,\nand they were furious at the cunning and deceitful Nanahboozhoo, whom they\nnow recognized, for playing such a trick upon them. Shouting to their\nfather, to arouse him, they immediately ran after the retreating\nNanahboozhoo, who with the burning brand in his hand was speeding rapidly\nover the trail. But, fleet as he was, he soon discovered that the two\ngirls, by their magic, were rapidly gaining upon him. They were the\nfleetest of runners, even if they were girls, and it was for that reason\nthat they and their father were intrusted with the sacred fire. Great\nhonors were to be theirs if they guarded it to the satisfaction of those\nwho had intrusted it to them, while, on the other hand, great would be\ntheir disgrace if they failed in their duty.\n\n\"When they found that they were gaining on Nanahboozhoo, and were likely\nto regain possession of the firebrand, with shouts and threats they\ndeclared that severe indeed would be his punishment, when he fell into\ntheir hands, for his abuse of their kindness and his trickery.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo felt that he was indeed in a tight place. He did not,\nhowever, intend to be overtaken, and he sped on, if possible faster than\never, until there was only a large dried-up, barren meadow between him and\nthe spot where he had tied his canoe on the shore of the lake. The girls\nwere only a few hundred yards behind him, and he resolved to fight them\nwith this sacred fire. So, as he rapidly continued his flight, he plunged\nthe now blazing firebrand into the dry grass, here and there, on each side\nof the trail. The wind was in his face, and it carried back the fierce\nblaze and dense black smoke and not only quickly hid him from the sight of\nhis pursuers but also made it very dangerous for them to follow him.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo thus succeeded in reaching his canoe, and fixing the burning\nbrand in one end of the boat he was soon rapidly paddling over the waters\ntoward his distant home. The flying sparks of the torch burnt him badly in\nseveral places, but he did not much mind this, and he dared not stop to\ndress his wounds for fear that his pursuers would yet overtake him.\n\n\"Fortunately he succeeded in reaching his distant home. There at the shore\nto welcome his return was Nokomis, who had been full of anxiety about him.\nShe carefully dressed his burnt face and hands and gladly received the gift\nof the fire, which has been such a blessing to the Indians ever since.\n\n\"At first there was a good deal of trouble among the Indians to keep the\nfire burning. Sometimes the watchers appointed to look after it, especially\nin the summer months, would forget to add fresh fuel, or would go to sleep\nand neglect it. Then they would have to send off to some perhaps distant\nwigwam, where the people had been more careful, and secure some live coals\nfrom them.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo was troubled about this. He feared that if it were allowed to\ndie out at the same time in all of the wigwams he might not be so\nsuccessful again if he had to try to get a fresh supply from the fierce old\nman and his now wrathful daughters. So he went out into the woods and at\nlength a good spirit came to him in a dream and told him of various ways in\nwhich the fire could be obtained. He showed him how it could be made, by\nrapid friction, with dry sticks. Another way he revealed to him was by the\nstriking together of a flint stone and a piece of iron; sparks of fire\ncould thus be produced which, caught in punk, would soon become a blaze. So\nnow the Indians do not have to cover up the fires as they were formerly\nobliged to do; thanks to Nanahboozhoo's dreams, they can make it fresh\nwhenever they want it.\"\n\n\"Hurrah for Nanahboozhoo for his good work this time!\" said Sagastao.\n\n\"Well, I think he was a mean fellow, to so fool those two nice girls who\ntook him in and warmed him when he was a poor little wet shivering rabbit!\"\nsaid Minnehaha.\n\n\"Took him in?\" the lad retorted. \"Well, I guess it was well he was able to\ntake them in as he did, by setting fire to that old grass in the meadow,\nfor if he had not done so they would soon have had his scalp.\"\n\nBut here Minnehaha appealed to Souwanas, and said:\n\n\"I have been wondering how it was the old man and his daughters got the\nfire in the first place from out of the underground. Will you not tell us\nthat story some time?\"\n\nThe old man looked grave and was silent for a minute or two, then he\nreplied:\n\n\"I think you had better ask Kinnesasis. He knows the story better than I\ndo, for in his youth he traveled far West, into the land of the high\nmountains, where the legend is that the fire was stolen out of the center\nof the earth.\"\n\n\"All right. Thank you, Souwanas. We are going to take Kinnesasis some\npresents, and while there we will ask him for the story.\"\n\nHere an Indian lad rushed into the wigwam with the word that Kennedy was\ncoming with their cariole. The children were well wrapped up, and soon with\ntheir usual happy, \"Wat cheer! Wat cheer!\" they were speeding homeward.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\n\nKinnesasis--How the Coyote Obtained the Fire from the\nInterior of the Earth.\n\nA great time the children had in the wigwam of Kinnesasis. He was such a\njolly little old Indian, and he was specially happy to-day when the\nchildren opened out the gifts and presented them. He was more than\ndelighted with a suit of black clothes sent him from a distance by friends\nwho had heard about him and his needs. He quickly put on the whole suit,\nwhich fitted him very nicely, and then much amused the children by saying:\n\n\"I am sure the man who made these clothes is in heaven, or, if not yet\ndead, he will go to heaven when he dies.\"\n\n\"Why, Kinnesasis, it is the kind friends who sent you these clothes you\nought to thank, and not make such a fuss over the man who made them; he was\npaid for making them,\" said Sagastao. But Kinnesasis could only think of\nthe man who made the suit of which he was so proud.\n\nKinnesasis's old wife was, if possible, still more delighted with her\npresents than the old man with his. She and Minnehaha were always the best\nof friends, and now as the child handed her gift after gift of warm\nclothing and food her joy knew no bounds, and, old as she was, when some\nwarm shoes were given her, she sprang up and began singing an Indian song,\nwhile with all the agility of a young maiden she spun around the wigwam in\nrhythmic measure to her words, which, roughly translated, are as follows:\n\n  \"The Good Spirit has pity on me,\n  Though for days I had little to eat,\n  I was wretched and sad in my heart,\n  I was cold, O so cold! in my feet.\n\n  \"But now I have plenty of meat,\n  Clothes for my body, shoes for my feet,\n  I'll not grumble, nor sorrow, but praise\n  The Good Spirit the rest of my days.\"\n\n\"Well done!\" shouted the children when the old woman stopped. They were\ngreatly delighted with her performance. Kinnesasis, however, who, as well\nas his wife, was now a church member, professed to be much shocked at\nseeing her thus dancing, as though in the wild excitement of the Ghost\nDance. But both Sagastao and Minnehaha stood up for the old wife. They said\nthe words she sang were good enough for the church, any day, and they were\nsure nobody could find fault with her thus showing how glad and thankful\nshe was.\n\nAnd nobody ever did find fault and soon was the affair almost forgotten,\nfor now the merry jingling of more dog bells was heard, and who should come\ninto the wigwam of Kinnesasis but the parents of Sagastao and Minnehaha!\n\nCordially were they greeted. At first it was difficult for them to\nrecognize the staid little gentleman in his full suit of broadcloth as the\nlively but generally ill-clothed Kinnesasis. The visitors--who quickly saw\nand were delighted with the transformation--greeted him as though he were\nsome distinguished stranger. This vastly amused the children. Screaming\nwith laughter at Kinnesasis's pretense of keeping up the farce, they\nshouted out, \"Why, this is only our dear old Kinnesasis. He is no great\nstranger. It is only Kinnesasis with his new clothes.\"\n\n\"Well,\" then was asked, \"who is that charming old lady over there with such\na fine shawl and brilliant handkerchief on, and such fancy new shoes on her\nfeet? Surely she is a stranger.\"\n\n\"No! No!\" the children again shouted. \"Why, that is Kinnesasis's wife, with\nher new presents on! My! doesn't she look nice!\"\n\nHere the little ones seized hold of the happy old Indian woman and made her\nget up and show herself off in her new apparel, of which she was just as\nproud as Kinnesasis.\n\n\"And she gave us such a jolly dance in them, papa! Wouldn't you like to see\nher do it again?\" cried Minnehaha.\n\nBut here Kinnesasis, pretending to be shocked beyond measure, in a most\ndiplomatic manner directed the attention of the parents to some other\nmatter, and so the mischievous child did not succeed in making a church\nscandal by inducing one of the flock to dance before the missionary.\n\n\"Tell us, Kinnesasis,\" said Sagastao, \"how it was that that old man and his\ndaughters first obtained the fire which Nanahboozhoo so cleverly stole from\nthem and gave to the Indians long ago.\"\n\nAt first Kinnesasis hesitated about telling the old legend, saying that he\ndid not think the father and mother of the children would care for such\nstories.\n\n\"Don't they, though!\" cried the children. \"You don't know them very well,\nthen, if you don't know that they like stories just about as well as we\ndo.\"\n\nAnd with this they at once appealed to the parents, who of course sided\nwith them and expressed their desire to listen to this story that the\nchildren had told them they were to hear from dear old Kinnesasis.\n\nThrowing some more logs on the fire, around which the white visitors with\nthe Indians gathered, Kinnesasis began:\n\n\"It was long ago, when I was a young lad, that I heard the story from the\nold story-tellers of our people. I had traveled with my father for many\ndays far toward the setting sun. We reached the land of the great\nmountains, and there, with our people of those regions, we spent some\nmoons. It was while we were among them that I heard from the ancient\nstory-teller the legend of how the fire was stolen from the center of the\nearth, where it was kept hidden away from the human family.\n\n\"That there was such a thing as fire was well known. It had been seen\nbursting out of the tops of distant mountains, and there had been times in\ngreat thunderstorms, when the lightning had set fire to dead trees--and\nindeed in this latter way the Indians had become acquainted with its value\nto the human race. But they had not taken care to keep it burning, and no\none had been appointed to specially look after it.\n\n\"The reason why fire had not been from the first given to men was because\nwhen the race was created the fire was not much needed. The earth was then\nmuch warmer than it is now. There was no snow or ice ever seen except on\nthe tops of the very highest mountains. Great animals now all dead, and\nothers that could only live in the hottest countries, lived all over these\ngreat lands. Then there was abundance of fruit and nuts and roots that were\nall very good for food. Then some great disaster happened to the world and\nsoon it began to grow colder and many animals, and even families, perished.\nSnow and ice appeared where they were never seen before. There was great\nsuffering from the cold. The hunters began to kill the animals for food.\nThey were now not satisfied with the fruit and roots, they wanted something\nbetter.\n\n\"So the fire was much needed. But where it was, or how to get it, was the\nquestion. Fortunately an old dreamer dreamed a dream about it. As the\ncouncil assembled to hear his dream he told them that the fire was\npreserved in the heart of the earth by a magician called Sistinakoo, and\nthat it was kept very carefully surrounded by four walls, one within the\nother, in each of which was a single door. At the first door a great snake\nkept guard. At the second door a mountain lion or panther was the guardian.\nA grizzly bear guarded the third door, and at the fourth and last door\nSistinakoo himself kept watchful care over the precious fire that smoldered\non a stone altar just inside this last wall.\n\n\"When the council heard all this they were almost discouraged. They thought\nit would be impossible for anyone to get by all of these guards and steal\nthe fire.\n\n\"They first asked the fox to try, but he only reached the first door when\nthe great snake nearly made a meal of him. Thoroughly frightened, he rushed\nback to the top of the earth and told of his narrow escape.\n\n\"For a time nothing more was done to try and get the fire. The people\ncontinued to suffer, for the earth kept getting colder and colder and ice\nand snow were now to be found in lands that had previously been comfortably\nwarm. So the council was called again, and the question again raised as to\nwhat could be done.\n\n\"It happened that there came to the council a very old man who remembered a\ntradition, handed down from his forefathers, which said that part of the\nearth beneath us was hollow, and that some of the animals, even the great\nbuffaloes, had dwelt in those underground regions before they came to dwell\non the surface of the earth. He said that the coyote, the prairie wolf, was\nthe last one to leave, and that he was sure that he still remembered the\nroute to the very spot where Sistinakoo, the head chief of the regions,\nguarded the fire so jealously.\"\n\n\"Why should they so guard the fire, and be so careful about letting people\nhave it, when we know how good it is?\" asked Minnehaha.\n\n\"Because,\" replied Kinnesasis, \"there was a tradition that at some time or\nother the fire should get the mastery over men, and the whole world be\nburned by it, and they thought that they would carefully guard it from\ngetting scattered about by careless people who might set the world on\nfire.\"\n\n\"Well, go on, Kinnesasis, and tell us the rest of the story,\" said the\nimpatient Sagastao.\n\n\"So when the Indian council heard this story they sent for the king of the\ncoyotes and told him of their wish that he should return to that underworld\nand bring up the fire for their use.\n\n\"To their surprise and great delight the coyote said he would go, and he\nimmediately began his preparations for the journey. So greatly had the cold\nincreased that he found the dark mouth of the entrance under the mountains\nalmost surrounded by snow and ice. After traveling for some time in the\ndarkness he reached the outer wall, where he waited, a little distance from\nthe door, until the snake was taking his usual sleep. Then he quickly\nstepped past him. Knowing the habits of the other animals, he waited until\nthey were asleep and then he noiselessly passed them all. Even Sistinakoo\nhimself was sound asleep. So the coyote crept silently up to the fire and\nlighted the large brand or torch that was securely fastened to his tail.\nThe instant it began to blaze up, as the coyote rushed out through the\nfirst door, Sistinakoo shouted, 'Who is there? Some one has been here and\nhas stolen the fire!'\n\n[Illustration: \"The coyote was too quick for them all.\"]\n\n\"He at once began to make a great row and loudly called to the different\nkeepers to close the doors in the walls. But the coyote was too quick for\nthem all, and ere the sleepers were wide enough awake to do anything he had\npassed through all the doors and was far on his way to the top of the\nground. The fire was gladly received by the people, but after some time,\nwhen some big prairies and forests had been burned up by it, the men got\nfearful that the world might be destroyed and so they intrusted it to the\ncare of the old magician and his two daughters, with orders to be very\ncareful to whom they gave any. It was from them Nanahboozhoo stole it, to\nscatter it once more freely among the people as we now have it.\n\n\"But the tradition was still believed in the days of my grandfather that,\ngood as the fire was to warm us, and cook our food, it would yet become our\nmaster, and do the world much harm.\"\n\nKinnesasis was thanked by all for his recital of this suggestive legend,\nespecially by his older listeners, who saw much in it that was in harmony\nwith the earlier beliefs of other nationalities.\n\nBy this time, however, the dogs in their trains were impatiently barking,\nand longing to get back home for their suppers. So, after farewell\ngreetings to Kinnesasis and his wife, one cariole after another was loaded,\nand away the happy ones sped over the icy expanse of the frozen lake.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\n\nThe Christmas Packet--The Distribution of Gifts--A Visit\nby Dog Train, at Fifty-five Below Zero--Souwanas Tells\nHow the Indians first Learned to Make Maple Sugar.\n\nHow great the excitement was which attended the arrival of the Christmas\npacket can hardly be realized by persons who have never been exposed to the\nprivations of a land which the mail reaches every six months, and where\nthey wait half a year for the daily paper. After this long waiting it is no\nwonder that a great shout was raised when far away in the distance the\nlong-expected, heavily-loaded dog-trains were seen that for several hundred\nmiles had carried the precious messages of love and the tokens of good will\nfrom dear ones far away.\n\nThis year an extra train well loaded with much-needed supplies for the\nmission was among the arrivals. Its coming was hailed with special delight\nby the children; for even in that Northland Santa Claus was not unexpected,\nand it was surmised by some of the wee ones that possibly some of his gifts\nwould arrive about that time.\n\nAnd they were not disappointed, for loved ones far away in more favored\nlands had remembered these little ones in their Northern home, where the\nFrost King reigns, and many and varied were the gifts which they now\nreceived.\n\n\"I am going to take Souwanas some of my candies,\" said Sagastao.\n\n\"And I am going to give him a nice red silk handkerchief,\" said Minnehaha.\n\nThe children had by this time pretty well learned his weakness for these\nthings, and it was a pleasure now for them to think that they had it in\ntheir power to make him happy.\n\nThe next morning was, as usual, bright and cloudless, but it was bitterly\ncold. The mercury was frozen in one thermometer, and in the other one the\nspirit indicated fifty-five below zero. Yet so impatient were these\nspirited children to be off with their gifts to Souwanas, and with\nsomething also for each member of the family, that their pleadings\nprevailed. A cariole with plenty of fur robes was soon at the door, and\nwith old Kennedy as their driver they were soon speeding away behind a\ntrain of dogs.\n\nIndians are naturally alert and watchful, and so the merry jingle of the\nsilvery bells was heard while the cariole was still at some distance on the\ntrail. Cordially were they welcomed, and strong arms speedily carried them\ninto the cosy wigwam where, in the center, burned a great fire of dry\nspruce and birch wood.\n\nAs the cold was so intense, and the children had permission to remain for\ntwo hours, it was decided that Kennedy should return home at once with the\ndogs, as it would have been cruel to have kept them out in the cold so\nlong.\n\nThe heavy wraps were soon removed and the children were comfortably seated\non the fur rugs provided for them. Then they very proudly opened their\nparcels and distributed the contents--their own gifts as well as those\nwhich had been sent to Souwanas and his family from the mission. Minnehaha\nreserved her special gift for the last. When all of her others had been\nbestowed she unfolded the beautiful red silk handkerchief and, going over\nto Souwanas, she did her best to tie it nicely around his neck.\n\nThe old man, genuine Indian that he was, was much moved by her winsome ways\nand handsome gift.\n\nHe said but little, but there was a soft, kindly look in his eyes that\nshowed his gratitude more than any words could have done. It meant a good\ndeal more than perhaps he would like to admit and those who saw it were\nthankful that they had observed it, knowing that it meant so much.\nSagastao, who had already given him several presents, had held on to his\nbox of candies. He had learned that for such things the old man could be\ncoaxed to do almost anything, and now he held them out, and said:\n\n\"Now, Souwanas, as all the presents have been passed around, I have got\nsome fine sweeties for you, but we must have a first-class Nanahboozhoo\nstory for them.\"\n\n\"O yes!\" said Minnehaha. \"And as it is to be for sweeties let us have a\nnice sweet story of Nanahboozhoo this time.\"\n\n\"A sweet story you want? Well, before I begin let us fix up the fire and\nall get comfortably seated around it.\"\n\nThen, as they usually did, the two white children cuddled as close to the\ninimitable story-teller as they could. Little cared they for the cold\nwithout or even for the occasional puffs of smoke which seemed at times to\nprefer to enter the eyes of the listeners rather than to go out at the\norifice at the top of the wigwam.\n\n\"A sweet story,\" musingly said the old man, \"in this land of fish, and\nbears, and wolves, and wildcats, and wolverines!\" Then he paused long\nenough to fill his mouth again with the candies which he enjoyed so much.\n\n\"A sweet story. Then it must be of a land, south of this, where for some\nyears I dwelt, many, many moons ago. A land where the Se-se-pask-wut-a-tik\n(sugar maple tree) grows and flourishes in all its beauty.\n\n\"There, in those wigwams, long ago lived the people whom we call the\nHurons, the Dakotahs and the Ojibways. These Ojibways are cousins of my own\npeople, the Saulteaux. Well, the story I want to tell you had its beginning\nlong, long ago. One day there came a great embassage of Indians from the\nfar South with words of peace and good will. They said that in their\ncountry they had no cold weather, and very seldom saw any snow. They said\nthat the trees were different, and that many things grew there that they\ndid not see in our Northern country. They brought with them many presents\nand were kindly received by our people, and then, after some weeks of\nfeasting and speech-making, they returned home laden with the best gifts\nour tribes could bestow.\n\n\"Among the presents which these Southern Indians brought was a large\nquantity of sugar. This was the first time it was ever seen among the\nIndians of the North. It was very much prized, and was very carefully\ndivided among the people so that each one had a small quantity. It did not\nlast very long, for everybody was fond of it. When it was all gone the\npeople were sorry, and the question was asked, 'Why cannot we send a\ncompany of our own people and get more of it?'\n\n\"This suggestion met with the favor of the tribes, and a large party of the\nbest runners was selected, and being well supplied with rich presents and\npipes of peace they started off to find the Southland and to obtain\nabundance of the sugar. Some weeks passed by before word was heard from\nthem, and the news was very bad. Fierce wars had broken out among the\ntribes that lived between ours and those who dwelt in that far South. Our\nIndians had to fight for their lives. Many of them were killed, others were\nbadly wounded, and of the large company that started out not more than half\never returned to their homes. The expedition was a complete failure.\n\n\"Still there was the memory of the sugar among them, and it happened that\none day in the council somebody said:\n\n\"'Why not send to Nanahboozhoo?'\n\n\"Good!\" shouted Minnehaha; \"that is just what I thought they would do.\"\n\n\"Well, hold on,\" said her more matter-of-fact brother; \"just as like as not\nNanahboozhoo would give them salt instead of sugar, if he were in one of\nhis tantrums.\"\n\nSouwanas was not displeased at this interruption on the part of the\nchildren, and gladly availed himself of the opportunity thus offered to\nonce more help himself to the sweets.\n\nEarnestly appealing to Souwanas, Minnehaha, who always looked on the bright\nside of things, and who had a quick intuition quite beyond her years, said:\n\n\"It could not be a sweet story if Nanahboozhoo gave them salt instead of\nsugar; could it, Souwanas?\"\n\nThe old man, as soon as his mouth was sufficiently emptied to resume his\nstory, amused by the earnestness with which the child appealed to him,\nreplied with the words, \"Tapwa, tapwa!\" (Verily, verily!)\n\nSagastao, however, unwilling to give in, retorted, \"O 'tapwa, tapwa'\ndoesn't mean anything, anyway.\"\n\nSouwanas only laughed at this criticism, and proceeded with his story.\n\n[Illustration: Across a single log at a dizzy height.]\n\n\"So it was decided to send a deputation to Nanahboozhoo to tell him of\nthe wish of the tribes to have Se-se-pask-wut (sugar), as had the tribes of\nthe Southland.\n\n\"The deputation who started off to find Nanahboozhoo had a great deal of\ndifficulty in finding him. It seems that a great strife had arisen between\nNanahboozhoo and some of the underground Muche Munedoos--bad spirits,\nsometimes called the Ana-mak-quin--who had determined to kill Nokomis, the\ngrandmother of Nanahboozhoo, because of their spiteful hatred of\nNanahboozhoo, whom they knew they could not kill because he had\nsupernatural powers.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo had, as usual, been playing some of his pranks on them, and\nthat was why they were determined to kill Nokomis.\"\n\n\"What were some of the tricks that Nanahboozhoo had been up to this time?\"\nasked Sagastao.\n\n\"It would take me too long to tell you now,\" replied Souwanas.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo dearly loved his grandmother, although he was often giving\nher great frights, just as other grandsons sometimes do. So when he heard\nof what the Muche Munedoos were threatening he took up his grandmother on\nhis strong back and carried her far away and made for her a tent of maples\nin a great forest among the mountains. The only access to it was across a\nsingle log at a dizzy height over a wild rushing river.\n\n\"It was now in the fall of the year, and the leaves of these trees were all\ncrimson and yellow, so brilliant that when seen from a long distance they\nlooked like a great fire. Thus it happened that when the bad spirits\nfollowing after Nanahboozhoo and Nokomis saw the brilliant colors through\nthe haze of that Indian Summer day they thought the whole country was on\nfire, and they turned back and troubled them no more. Nanahboozhoo was\npleased that the beautiful maple trees had been of so much assistance to\nhim. He decided to dwell among them for some time, so he prepared a very\ncomfortable wigwam for himself and his grandmother.\n\n\"It was in the wigwam among the maples that the deputation found\nNanahboozhoo. He received them kindly, and listened to their story and\ntheir request.\n\n\"At first Nanahboozhoo was perplexed. He was such a great traveler that he\nhad often been down in the great Southland, and well knew how the sugar was\nthere made. He had seen the fields of sugar cane, and knew the whole\nprocess by which the juice was squeezed out and then boiled down into\nsugar. He also knew that it required a lot of hard work before the sugar\nwas made.\n\n\"When Nokomis heard the request of the deputation to her grandson she was\nvery much interested--for had not Nanahboozhoo several times, when\nreturning from those trips to the South, brought back to her some of the\nsugar?--and she had liked it very much; and so now she added her pleadings\nto theirs that he would in some way grant them their request.\n\n\"Of course Nanahboozhoo could not refuse now, so he told them that, as the\nbeautiful maple trees had been so good to him and Nokomis, from this time\nforward they should, like the sugar cane of the South, yield the sweet sap\nthat when boiled down would make the sugar they liked so much.\n\n\"He told them, however, that it was not for the lazy ones to have, but only\nfor those who were industrious and would carry out his commands. Then\nNanahboozhoo described to them the whole process of sugar making. He told\nthem that only in the spring of the year would the sweet sap flow. Then\nthey were to have ready their tapping gouges, their spiles and buckets.\nGreat fireplaces were to be built and here, as fast as the sap was gathered\nfrom the trees, it was to be boiled down in their little kettles into the\nnice molasses; and then a little more, so that when it cooled it would\nharden into sugar.\n\n\"'Now,' added Nanahboozhoo, 'go back to your people and tell them that it\ndepends on their industry between now and the spring who shall have the\nmost of the sugar you love so well.' Then he skillfully modeled out a stone\ntapping gouge of the shape required to make the incision in the tree from\nwhich the sap would flow. With his knife he made a sample spile of cedar,\nthe thin end of which was to be driven into the hole made by the gouge and\nalong which the sap would flow. Then he told them to make plenty of buckets\nof birch bark, and thus be ready when the time came to secure an abundant\nsupply of sap. Thus the art of making maple sugar first came to be known.\nNanahboozhoo gave it to the Indians long ago. Then when the palefaces came\nthey followed the same process. That is the way Nanahboozhoo showed us how\nto get the maple sugar.\"\n\nBut here the sound of the barking of the dogs, and the sweet tones of the\nsilvery bells on the collars of the dogs that had come for the children,\ntold that the two hours had passed away.\n\n\"Thank you ever so much,\" said the grateful Minnehaha, as she rose to have\nloving hands carefully wrap her up for the return ride, \"for that sweet,\nsweet story. It was so good of Nanahboozhoo to tell them about the sap in\nthe maple trees, even if it is only there in the spring time.\"\n\n\"I think old Nokomis deserves a good deal of the credit,\" said Sagastao.\n\"It seems to me that Nanahboozhoo would not have done it if she had not\nmade him.\"\n\n\"Well, Nanahboozhoo did it, anyway, and so we and the Indians have our\nmaple sugar and molasses, and I am glad. And so, hurrah for Nanahboozhoo!\"\nThus replied Minnehaha.\n\nHere Souwanas lifted the well-wrapped-up child, and carried her out to the\ncariole, where she and her brother were speedily covered and tucked in\namong the warm robes.\n\n\"Marche! Marche!\" was shouted to the dogs by the driver, and away they sped\nover the icy trail with such speed that it was not long ere they were again\nsafe and happy in their own cozy home.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\n\nMary Relates the Legend of the Origin of Disease--The\nQueer Councils Held by the Animals Against Their Common\nEnemy, Man.\n\n\"Mary, how is it that I get sick sometimes,\" said Sagastao the following\nsummer, \"and have to take medicine that I dislike? Why can't we always be\nwell?\"\n\nFor the last week or ten days Mary had been most devoted and faithful in\nwatchful care over her restless charge, who had been very sick but was now\nrapidly recovering.\n\n\"As soon as you are a little stronger I will tell you the legends of\nsickness and medicine, as handed down by our Indian forefathers,\" said\nMary, \"but now you must only rest, and eat, and sleep.\"\n\n\"Well, Sakehow\" (beloved), his pet name for his faithful nurse, \"I will try\nand mind you; don't forget.\"\n\nThe next week was one of rapid recovery, and very proud, indeed, was Mary\nwhen she led forth the two children, in the bright sunshine of a delightful\nsummer day, to a cozy resting place among the rocks where the waves of Lake\nWinnipeg rippled on the sandy beach at their feet.\n\nMinnehaha was eager for a story about the sweet birdies or the brilliant\nflowers, but the young invalid had his way this time, and Mary proceeded to\ntell the story of the Indians' idea as to the origin of sickness and\ndisease.\n\n\"Long, long ago,\" said Mary, \"all the animals and birds on this earth lived\nin peace and harmony with the human family. Then there was food for all in\nabundance without any shedding of blood. Even the wild animals, that now\nlive by killing and devouring each other, found plenty of food in the\nfruits and vegetables that then were so abundant.\n\n\"Men and women also lived on similar things, and were contented and happy.\nBut as the years went on the people became so numerous, and their\nsettlements spread over so much of the earth, that many of the poor animals\nbegan to be cramped for room.\n\n\"Even this could have been borne, but by and by men began to make bows and\narrows, spears and knives, and other weapons, and began to use them on the\ndefenseless animals. Then soon they began to eat the flesh of the animals,\nand presently they found that they preferred the meat thus obtained to the\nfruits and vegetables of the earth.\n\n\"Formerly they had made their garments out of the fiber of the trees and\nplants, which the women carefully prepared and wove; but after a while they\ndiscovered that the skins of the buffalo and deer and other animals, when\nwell prepared, made better and more durable garments and wigwams than the\nmaterials they had previously used. As time went on the destruction of\nthe larger animals increased, and men became so much more cruel than\nformerly that even the frogs and worms, that in the earlier days were never\nharmed, were now destroyed without mercy, or by sheer carelessness or\ncontempt. Thus the animals came to be in such a sad plight that it was\nresolved by them to call great councils of their members together to\nconsult upon what could be done for their common safety.\n\n\"The bears were the first to assemble. They gathered together on the peak\nof a great smoky mountain, which the white men now call Cathedral mountain,\nand the great white bear from the Northland was appointed chairman.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"Which the white men now call Cathedral Mountain.\"]\n\n\"Well, that was funny,\" said Minnehaha. \"Just fancy a big white bear\nsitting up in a chair! Why, he would need a whole sofa to hold him.\"\n\n\"Don't be silly, child,\" said the patronizing brother. \"It was a bears'\ncouncil and, of course, the chairs used were bears' and not men's.\"\n\nWhen Mary was appealed to to settle the question she could only say, \"As\nthe council was held on the top of a mountain perhaps the bears sat on the\nrocks. But never mind; let me go on with the story.\n\n\"After the white bear had made his speech he took his seat and said he was\nnow ready to hear the statements of the different bears who had assembled\nto lodge their complaints against the way in which men killed their\nrelatives, devoured their flesh for food, and made garments and robes out\nof their skins.\n\n\"Nearly every kind of bear had grievous statements to make, and so\nblood-curdling were some of their recitals that it was decided to begin war\nat once against the human race.\n\n\"Then the question was asked, 'What weapons shall we use against them?'\nAfter some discussion it was decided to use bows and arrows, the favorite\nweapons of their enemies.\n\n\"'And what are they made of?' was the next question.\n\n\"This was soon answered by a bear who had been caught when young and kept\ncaptive for a couple of years in the wigwam of one of their enemies. He had\noften seen the process of making bows, and he was now able to tell all\nabout it, and even to do the work himself. It was not long before the first\nbow, with some arrows, was manufactured, and there was great excitement\nwhen the first trial of it was made. A large strong bear was selected to\nshoot the first arrow. To their great disappointment the trial was not a\nsuccess, for it was found that when the bear let the arrow fly, after\ndrawing back the bow, his long claws caught in the string and spoiled the\nshot. Other bears tried, but they all had long claws, and they all failed.\nThen some one suggested that this difficulty could be overcome by their\ncutting off their long claws. But here the chairman, the white bear,\ninterposed, saying that it was very necessary that they should have their\nlong claws in order to climb trees, or up steep rocky places. 'It is\nbetter,' said he, 'for us to trust to our claws and teeth than to man's\nweapons, which certainly were not designed for us.'\n\n\"The bears remained in council until they got very hungry, but think as\nmuch as they might they could not devise any satisfactory plan, for they\nare stupid animals after all, and they dispersed to their different homes\nno better able to fight the human race than before.\n\n\"Then the deer next held a council. Representatives of all the different\nkinds of deer, from the great elk and moose down to the smallest species in\nexistence, assembled in a beautiful forest glade. The moose was selected as\nchief. After a long discussion it was resolved that in revenge for man's\ntyranny they would inflict rheumatism, lumbago, and similar diseases upon\nevery hunter who should kill one of their number unless he took great care\nto ask pardon for the offense. That is the reason why so many hunters say,\njust before they shoot, 'I beg your pardon, Mr. Deer, but shoot you I must,\nfor I want your flesh for food.' They know that if they do this they are\nsafe.\n\n\"The Cree legend is that it is the bear that has to be propitiated by\ngentlemanly expressions when he is being approached to be killed. I well\nremember being with a couple of hunters closely following up a bear, and\njust before they fired they kept saying, 'Excuse us for shooting you,\nBrother Bear, but we must do it. We want your warm fur robe, our families\nwant your meat, our girls want your grease to put on their heads, so you\nmust excuse us, Brother Bear. Please do, Brother Bear; please do.' Thus\nthey went on at a great rate until he was killed.\n\n\"But many forget it, and the spirit of their chief knows it and is angry,\nand he strikes those hunters, or their relatives, down with rheumatism or\nsome other painful disease.\n\n\"Next the fishes and snakes and other reptiles held their council, and they\ndecided that as the human race had now become such enemies to them they\nwould trouble them with 'fearful dreams' of snakes twining about them, and\nblowing their poisonous breath in their faces, by which they would lose\ntheir appetites and die, while others of them would seek opportunity to\nmake the water they drank, or even the air they breathed, unwholesome. The\npoisonous ones were also directed to use every opportunity to kill with\ntheir deadly bites whenever possible.\n\n\"The birds also held a council, over which the crow was appointed chairman.\nThe eagle objected, and wanted the place, but he was voted down because\nthere were so few of his kind, and these were only hunted for their\nfeathers to adorn the war bonnets of the great chiefs and warriors. The\ncrow was appointed because he was always with the human race and knew the\nvarious schemes and tricks they were inventing to injure the birds and\nanimals of various kinds. After much deliberation the birds decided to give\ncolds, and coughs, and throat diseases, and consumption, to the human\nrace, and to thus lessen their numbers that there might be room for all\ncreatures.\n\n\"The insects and smaller animals then held their council, and the grubworm\nwas appointed to preside over the gathering. He was so elated over his\nelection, and that they had arranged a scheme which should be fatal\nespecially to women, that he fell over backward and could not get on his\nfeet again. So from that time the grubworm has only been able to wiggle in\nthat way. There was any amount of talking and buzzing among the crowd. The\nfrog was especially noisy and angry in his remarks.\n\n\"'It is high time,' said he, 'that we began to do something against this\ncruel human race, or we will soon be swept off the earth. See how my back\nis ugly with lumps and sores because men have so kicked and knocked me\nabout!'\n\n\"Others followed in the same strain of indignant protest against man's\ncruelty. Even the flies and mosquitoes had something to complain of.\n\n\"Well, after the buzzing, and the croakings, and the hummings and angry\ntalkings were over, they settled down to business.\n\n\"Some were appointed to poison the waters so that malarias and fevers\nshould attack the now hated race. Others, such as the flies and mosquitoes,\nwere to carry in their bites and stings many diseases. Thus it has come to\npass that there is more damage done to the hated human beings by these\nbites and stings than the mere smarting pain caused at the time of the\nbite. Thus, because the human race changed from being all kindness to the\nrest of the creatures, both great and small, into being cruel and savage,\nall these various creatures have combined to bring dreadful diseases among\nmen in revenge for their own wrongs.\"\n\n\"That is too bad,\" said Minnehaha. \"Why could they not have kept on loving\neach other all the time, instead of things being as they are now?\"\n\nSagastao, who had laughed at the idea of the mosquitoes coming to a\ncouncil, and of their having anything to complain of, said, \"I would like\nto know what mosquitoes lived on in those good old days you speak about.\nNow they are after me lively enough.\" And he slowly lifted up his hand, on\nthe back of which a couple were rapidly filling themselves with his blood.\n\nBut Mary, who, Indian like, was wise and observant, only said, \"Wait a\nminute or two and I will show you.\" Then she quickly hurried back into a\nswampy place and soon returned with a thick juicy leaf, to the under side\nof which several mosquitoes were still clinging, with their bodies\ndistended with its juice.\n\n\"There,\" she said, as she carefully held the leaf sideways, \"that is what\nmost of the mosquitoes still live on. They attack our race in revenge for\nour being so cruel as to kill so many of the animals, large and small, but\nthis, as you can easily see, is their natural food.\"\n\nThis appeal to the eye quite silenced the children, who had considered the\nwhole story as only an Indian legend to be amused with.\n\nMary, who had often been worsted by the sharp criticisms and inquiries with\nwhich they were apt to receive her pet Indian legends, was quite delighted\nat her apparent triumph, so she hastily sprang up, saying:\n\n\"It is time we were going home. Some other day I will tell you the story of\nhow the medicines came.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\n\nThe Naming of the Baby--A Canoe Trip--The Legend of\nthe Discovery of Medicine--How the Chipmunk Carried the\nGood News.\n\nThere was great excitement among a number of Indian men and women who had\ngathered on the shore in front of the mission one pleasant summer morning.\nGrave Indians, with Souwanas in their midst, were calmly discussing some\nobject of interest, while Mary and a party of women, some of whom had their\nbabies with them, were much more noisy, talking rapidly about something\nwhich was evidently a matter of exciting interest. Even Sagastao and\nMinnehaha were rushing in and out of the house and running from one group\nof Indians to the other, full of eager inquiries and pleasant\nanticipations. What could it all be about?\n\nLet us ask the children, for such little people often know more than we are\nlikely to give them credit for. Here comes Minnehaha, and we ask her the\ncause of such an early gathering of the Indians, and the reason why they\nare so unusually interested in some matter unknown to us.\n\n[Illustration: \"Their babies with them.\"]\n\n\"Why, don't you know?\" the bright little girl promptly replies. \"They have\ncome to form a Naming Council, to give my little baby sister an Indian\nname. You see,\" she added, \"Sagastao and I were born among the Cree\nIndians, but baby was born here among the Saulteaux. Just think: the first\nlittle white baby born among them! And they want to give her a nice\nSaulteaux name. The reason why they are talking so much now, before they\nform the council, is that lots of them have pet names they want to give our\nbaby, but of course she can only have one.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" said Sagastao, \"and our old Mary is trying to get the women to\noppose the name that Souwanas will offer, just because she is down on him.\nBut I'll bet he will beat her yet.\"\n\n\"You should not say, 'I'll bet.' Mother has often told you that it was very\nrude,\" reprovingly said little Minnehaha. \"You never learned it from father\nor mother. You must have picked that up from some rough trader.\"\n\n\"Well, all right, I'll not say it again, but I'll bet--no, I mean--hurrah!\nfor Souwanas and his side, anyway,\" and off he ran.\n\n\"Dear me!\" said the little sister. \"I do have so much trouble with that\nboy!\"\n\nSoon the council assembled. The men and women arranged themselves in a big\ncircle and spent some time in drinking some strong, well-sweetened tea that\nhad been prepared for them. They had been desirous of having their usual\npagan ceremonies, but of course this could not be allowed, so the\nceremonies of tea drinking and their usual smoking were substituted. Then\nthe little baby was brought in by her nurse and handed to one of the oldest\nwomen. She took the child, and after kissing her and uttering some words of\nendearment passed her on to the woman on her left. She in her turn kissed\nher, uttered some kindly words, and passed her on to the next. So baby went\nfrom hand to hand until she had made the complete circle of women and men.\nThis was the ceremony of adopting the child into the tribe.\n\nMary, the nurse of the older children, was excluded from this circle as she\nwas of another tribe. After some more tea had been drunk the child was\nagain sent on her rounds. This time each person, as he or she held the\nchild, pronounced some Indian name that he or she wished the babe to be\ncalled. Mary, who had now crowded herself into the circle, persisted in\nhaving a voice in the matter. She wanted the child to be called\nPapewpenases (Laughing Bird), but she was voted down by the crowd, who\nsaid:\n\n\"No, that is Cree; we must have Saulteaux.\"\n\nWith a certain amount of decorum each name suggested was discussed, only to\nbe rejected.\n\nFor a time there was quite a deadlock, as no name could be decided upon.\n\n\"Now that you have all spoken,\" said Souwanas, \"and cannot come to any\nagreement, I, as chief, will make the final decision. This is the first\nwhite child born among us, as Sagastao and Minnehaha, whom we all love,\nwere born at Norway House, among the Crees. Most of the names which you\nhave suggested have some reference to birds and their sweet songs. A\ncompound name, which will include these ideas and mine, Souwanas (South\nWind), can surely be found.\"\n\nThis suggestion was well received, as Florence was born in the spring of\nthe year, when the birds, returning from the South, filled the air with\nmelody after the long stillness of that almost Arctic winter.\n\nSo busy brains and wagging tongues were at work, and the result was the\nformation of the following expressive name, which was quickly bestowed upon\nthe child. It was first loudly announced by Souwanas himself:\nSouwanaquenapeke; which in English is, \"The Voice of the South Wind Birds.\"\n\nAt once all the Indians took it up and uttered it over and over again, so\nthat it would not be forgotten. Even Sagastao and Minnehaha, who could talk\nas well in the Indian language as in English, took up the word and shouted\nout, Souwanaquenapeke, until they had it as thoroughly as their own.\n\nMary alone was vexed, and so annoyed that she could not conceal her\ndisappointment. This was particularly noticed by Sagastao, and as soon as\nMinnehaha joined them they slipped quietly away together. Having obtained\npermission they took a canoe and went for a paddle on the quiet lake. Mary,\nlike all other Indians, was passionately fond of the water, and in spite of\nher crooked back was a strong and skillful paddler.\n\nThe children were placed in the center of the canoe, on a fur rug, while\nMary seated herself in the stern and paddled them over the beautiful sunlit\nwaves.\n\nFor a time but little was heard, for the children were absorbed in the\nscenes of rarest beauty or watched some fish, principally the active gold\neyes, sporting in the water around them.\n\nAfter a while the children began to clamor for a story, but Mary would not\nspeak a word. Sagastao suspected the cause of Mary's unusual silence.\n\n\"What is the use, sakehou,\" he protested, \"of your being in a pet because\nbaby was not named Papewpenases? The name they gave her pleased everybody\nelse; you must be pleased too.\"\n\n\"If you are cross and won't speak to us we will go and run away to\nSouwanas; won't we?\" said Minnehaha.\n\nThis was too much for Mary, and she quickly surrendered and made an excuse\nabout thinking of some beautiful story to tell them when they should land\non that little rocky island just ahead of them.\n\n\"Very well,\" said Sagastao, \"let us have the one about how medicines were\ndiscovered and given to the Indians to cure diseases.\"\n\n\"Just the one I was thinking about,\" said Mary; \"and while we rest on the\nlovely white sand I will tell you the story.\"\n\nA few vigorous strokes of the paddle sent the canoe well up on the sandy\nshore, and soon they all landed. A good romp relieved them of the stiffness\ncaused by the cramped position in the canoe. Then as they cuddled down in\nthe warm sand Mary began her story.\n\n\"You remember, little sweethearts, how the animals of various kinds held\ncouncils and decided to be revenged on the human family for their cruelty\nby sending diseases among them. Well, these creatures did as they said they\nwould and the result was that lots of men died, and also the women and\nchildren, that did the creatures no harm, were getting different kinds of\nsicknesses and many of them were dying.\n\n\"Were there no diseases among them before these times?\" inquired Minnehaha.\n\n\"No; not what you might call diseases,\" replied Mary. \"The people lived\nsuch simple lives that, with the exception of accident, such as being\ndrowned in great storms or killed by falling trees, or something that way,\nnearly all the people died of old age.\"\n\n\"Then they had no doctors in those days?\" asked Sagastao.\n\n\"No; there were no medicine men in those times. Although there were those\nskillful to set broken limbs or attend to any who happened to be\naccidentally wounded, but that was nearly all. Then all at once these\ndiseases sent by the angry animals began to appear among them, and, of\ncourse, there was much alarm. The people did not know what had brought\nthem, nor how to get rid of them. Many people were sick and numbers of them\ndied.\n\n\"You see, the animals held their councils in secret, and away from the\npresence of men, and so it would never have been known if the ground\nsquirrel, called by some the chipmunk, had not gone and told all about the\ncouncils to the men. He had always been friendly to the human race. He had\nattended a number of the councils and was the only animal that had ventured\nto say anything in the favor of man. By doing this he so enraged the other\nanimals that some of them fell upon him with great fury, and would have\ntorn him in pieces if he had not been able to escape into his hole in the\nground. As it was, they so tore and wounded him with their teeth and claws\nthat the stripes remain in his back to this day.\n\n\"Well, when he was healed enough to get around again he visited the abodes\nof the human race and was very sorry to find that the diseases sent by the\nother angry animals were causing much suffering and many deaths, so he\nrevealed the whole thing to a number of men and told them to be on their\nguard. But even this was not sufficient. It was felt that, now that these\ndiseases were spreading among them, they must have some remedies for the\ncure of them or they would all soon be destroyed.\n\n\"While thus wondering what they should do their little friend the ground\nsquirrel came to their help again. He went about among the trees and\nplants, who were always friendly to man, and he told them of the sad\ncalamities that had come to the human race.\n\n\"When the trees and plants heard what had been done by the animals to\ninjure and destroy their friends they speedily held councils among\nthemselves and resolved that they would do all they could to overcome the\nevil.\n\n\"First the great trees held their councils, talked over the matter, and\ndecided what they could do in the way of furnishing remedies to cure these\ndiseases that were doing so much injury. The pine and the spruce and the\nbalsam trees said, 'We will give of our gums and balsams.' The slippery elm\nsaid it would give of its bark to make the soothing healing drink. The\nsassafras said it would give of its roots to make the healthful tea that\nwill bring back health again. The prickly ash and the sumach and others\nvolunteered their help, and spoke of the wonderful healing power there was\nin them, if rightly used.\n\n\"When the plants came to their council the numbers that wanted to help were\nvery great. No one was able to keep a record of them and of the healing\npowers they professed to have. There was the mandrake, with its May apples,\nand the wintergreen, with its pretty red berries; the catnip and the\nbone-set, which are so good for colds; the lobelia, which is such a quick\nemetic; the spikenard, the peppermint, the snakeroot, sarsaparilla,\ngentian, wild ginger, raspberry, and scores of others. All cheerfully\noffered assistance.\n\n\"When the ground squirrel, who had for days been attending the council of\nthe trees and plants, had made out his list of what remedies each tree and\nplant could furnish he was very much delighted, and then, thanking them for\ntheir offered assistance, he rapidly returned to the abodes of mankind and\ninformed them of his great success.\n\n\"Of course they were very much pleased, and very grateful to the ground\nsquirrel for his kindness and his interest in their happiness. This is the\nreason why the chipmunk, or ground squirrel, lives near the homes of men.\nYou never see an Indian shoot them or the boys or girls try to snare them.\nThey are always welcome among the trees and the wigwams. The Indians love\nthem because they spoke up for man when the other animals turned against\nhim, and because it was one of their ancestors that made the trees and\nplants reveal their good medicines for the cure of the sick.\"\n\n\"Now I know why it was, when I was out with the Indian boys, that they\nnever would shoot an arrow at a chipmunk, even when I asked them to,\" said\nSagastao.\n\n\"Yes,\" said Mary, \"all of the Indians have heard their fathers tell of the\nkindness of the old father chipmunk in the days when the animals knew so\nmuch and could talk, and so they warn the children against injuring these\npretty little creatures.\"\n\nBut it was now time they were returning. The light canoe was once more\npushed down into the lake, and soon they were merrily gliding along over\nthe clear, transparent waters to their cozy home.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\n\nIn the Wigwam of Souwanas--How Gray Wolf Persecuted\nWaubenoo, and How He was Punished by Nanahboozhoo.\n\n\"We have come to-day for a nice story about Nanahboozhoo,\" said Minnehaha,\nas she and Sagastao lifted the deerskin door at the wigwam of Souwanas, and\nentered with all the assurance of children who knew they were welcome.\n\n\"Did he ever do anything to punish bad fellows who were cruel to their\nwives and children?\" asked Sagastao. \"Because, if he did, I wish he would\ncome and thrash old Wakoo, that bad fellow who has been thrashing his wife\nagain because he said she did not snare enough rabbits to suit him.\"\n\nSouwanas, who was one of the kind-hearted Indians, never cruel to any of\nhis family, was much amused at the fire and indignation with which the\nyoung lad spoke. So after he had had comfortable seats arranged for the\nchildren among the robes and blankets he endeavored to satisfy their\ndemands. \"Nanahboozhoo,\" he said, \"did such things long ago, but once,\nwhen he was giving a good thrashing to a man who had been very cruel to his\nwife, the wife, as soon as she was able, sprang up from the place where her\nhusband had knocked her to, seized a paddle and attacked Nanahboozhoo with\nsuch fury that he resolved never to interfere again, if he could help it,\nin a quarrel between man and wife. And,\" added the old man, with a merry\ntwinkle in his eye, \"it is best for everybody, if possible, to keep out of\nsuch quarrels.\"\n\n\"Yes, but, mismis\" (grandfather, Minnehaha's pet name for Souwanas), \"you\nsurely know a nice story in which Nanahboozhoo helped some one without\ngetting into trouble himself.\"\n\n\"Of course I do, my grandchild,\" said the old man, \"and I know you will be\npleased with it.\n\n\"My story is about a lovely Indian maiden who was bothered by a cruel\nhunter. He was determined that she should marry him, although she did not\nlike him, and Nanahboozhoo came to her rescue.\n\n\"The maiden's name was Waubenoo. She had the misfortune to lose both her\nfather and mother when she was about eighteen years old. There were four\nchildren, all much younger than she, left in her sole care. They had no\nuncles or aunts, or other relatives, near, to take care of them, and so\nWaubenoo had to hunt and fish to get food for her little brothers and\nsisters. Fortunately her father had left a number of good traps and nets,\nand plenty of twine for snares, and so the industrious girl got on fairly\nwell. The great lake near her wigwam was well supplied with fish, and the\nforests all round had in them many rabbits and partridges and other small\ngame. When great storms arose on the big lake, and Waubenoo could not go\nout alone in her birch bark canoe to visit her nets, some of the Indians,\nwho were pleased to see how kind and industrious she was, would overhaul\nher nets and bring in what fish were caught. Thus she toiled on, and with\nthe assistance of these kind Indians she did very nicely. Her little\nbrothers and sisters loved her dearly, and did what they could to help in\nthe simpler and easier part of the work. Every decent person among the\nIndians was pleased with her industrious habits, and often, in their quiet\nway, had some cheery words of encouragement for her.\n\n\"But there was one exception, and this was a selfish Indian hunter who,\nseeing what a fine-looking, strong woman she had become, and so clever in\nher work with both nets and traps, resolved that she should be his wife, to\nwork for him and do his bidding. This man had been married before and, if\nthe reports were true which had been told, it was likely that his wife had\ndied because of his cruelties to her. So he resolved, in his selfishness,\nto take Waubenoo from caring for her brothers and sisters to be his wife,\nand to hunt and fish for him, that he might live a life of idleness.\n\n\"Her parents being dead this selfish young Indian did not have to go to her\nfather to buy her to be his wife. All he thought he had to do was to go and\ntell her she had to be his wife and come and do as he commanded her. So\nharsh and cold were his words, and so very rough and forbidding his looks,\nthat, while Waubenoo was frightened, she was grave and high spirited enough\nto indignantly refuse his request, and to order him never to trouble her\nagain.\n\n\"This, of course, made him very angry. He refused to go, and continued to\ninsist on her going with him.\n\n\"Fearing that he might revenge himself upon her by doing her or the\nchildren some harm, she told him that it was her duty to stay with the\nlittle ones whom the death of the parents had left in her care; that they\nmight perish if she now left them.\n\n\"But nothing would turn away his anger, and if it had not happened just\nthen that some friendly Indians came along he would have cruelly beaten\nher. Before them he durst not strike her, and so, muttering some threats,\nhe sulkily strode away into the forest.\n\n\"Poor Waubenoo was now sadly troubled. Lighthearted and free, she had\ncheerfully worked and toiled for her loved ones, but now here comes this\ncruel, fierce-looking man, whom she could only look on with fear and dread,\nand threatens to drag her away from them all. Gray Wolf, for that was his\nname, had a bad reputation among the Indians. The young men shunned him and\nthe maidens took good care to be out of the way when he was around. That he\nwould persist in his attempts to get Waubenoo all were convinced, but that\nhe should succeed no one desired. Still, while Indian ideas on some of\nthese things are so peculiar that no one seemed disposed to interfere, at\nthe same time some of them were generally on the lookout for her\nprotection. As for brave Waubenoo, while certain that he would still\ntrouble her, she was resolved never to submit to him.\n\n\"Thus the weeks rolled on, with Gray Wolf looking for some opportunity to\ncarry her off, and making several attempts to do so, which Waubenoo, ever\nalert and watchful, succeeded in preventing.\n\n\"At length his persistent attempts became so annoying that she was obliged\nto neglect much of her work in order to keep on her guard. Food was getting\nscarce because she dared not now go far from her wigwam to hunt for the\npartridges and rabbits and other small creatures she was so clever in\nsnaring.\n\n\"At length she resolved to go to Nanahboozhoo and seek his aid in getting\nrid of this troublesome fellow. When Nanahboozhoo heard her sad story he\nbecame very angry. He was indignant that such a commendable maiden, one who\nhad been so kind to her little brothers and sisters, should be bothered by\na big, selfish, lazy fellow who only wanted her because she was so\nindustrious and so clever at her work.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo had heard much about her kindly treatment of the children,\nand of her skill in providing for their wants, so he lost no time in going\nback with her to her wigwam. At first the younger children were much afraid\nof him, as they, like all other Indian children, had heard such wonderful\ntales about him. But he was in such a jolly good humor that day, and was so\ndelighted with everything he saw about Waubenoo's wigwam and with the\nproofs of her industry that he soon made friends with all the children. How\nto go to work to give Gray Wolf such a lesson that he would never trouble\nthem any more he hardly knew at first. However, he had not been there many\nhours before he had to come to a decision, for one of the little children\ncame rushing into the wigwam with the terrible news that Gray Wolf,\ncarrying a big dog whip and looking very angry, was coming along the trail.\nNanahboozhoo only laughed when he heard this, and he very quickly decided\nwhat to do. 'Sit down there,' he said to Waubenoo, 'in that dark side of\nthe wigwam, with a blanket over your head, and keep perfectly still until I\ncall you; and you, children, must keep quiet. Do not be frightened or say a\nword, no matter what happens.'\n\n\"Then Nanahboozhoo, who, as you know, could change himself into any form he\nliked, suddenly transformed himself so as to look exactly like Waubenoo. So\nperfect was his resemblance to her, even to his dress, that her brothers\nand sisters could not have detected the disguise. Indeed, the young ones\ncould not help looking over to the spot where the real Waubenoo sat in the\ngloom with the blanket drawn over her head. But they were Indian children,\nearly trained to be quiet and do as they were told, and so they fully\nobeyed his commands.\n\n\"Of course, when Gray Wolf came into the wigwam he was completely\ndeceived, and now, thinking that he had caught Waubenoo when there were no\nfriendly Indians around, he at once began speaking very fiercely to her:\n\n\"'I have asked you for the last time,' he said, 'and now I have come with\nmy dog whip and I intend giving you a good thrashing and then driving you\nto my wigwam. I intend to call you Atim, my dog, and like a dog I am going\nto thrash you.'\n\n[Illustration: \"Gave him such a terrible beating.\"]\n\n\"He then savagely raised the whip to strike, as he thought Waubenoo, but\nthe blow never reached its victim, or even Nanahboozhoo in his disguise, at\nwhom it was aimed, for Nanahboozhoo was so enraged that anybody in the\nshape of a man could be so cruel and selfish as to come and threaten a kind\nyoung woman like Waubenoo that he suddenly sprang at Gray Wolf, and seizing\nhim by his scalp lock he dragged him out of the wigwam, and then wrenching\nthe heavy whip out of his hand gave him such a terrible beating that he\nremembered it as long as he lived. Then roughly throwing him to the ground,\nNanahboozhoo, still in the disguise of Waubenoo, hurried into the wigwam\nand said to the real Waubenoo:\n\n\"'Now, while he is weak and cowed, go out and talk sternly to him, and tell\nhim that if he ever troubles you again it will be worse for him than this\nhas been.'\n\n\"When Waubenoo came out her appearance so terrified Gray Wolf that he tried\nto get up and skulk away, weak as he was. Waubenoo, glad that her enemy\nwas so conquered that he would not be likely to trouble her much more, did\nas Nanahboozhoo requested her.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo was heartily thanked by Waubenoo and the children for thus\nridding them of this bad Indian, who had for so long made their lives\nmiserable. Ere he left Nanahboozhoo warned the children to say nothing\nabout his coming, 'for,' said he, 'if Gray Wolf finds out who it was that\nthrashed him he may yet be troublesome.'\n\n\"Well would it have been for all if the children had remembered this\nadvice,\" added Souwanas.\n\n\"O tell us what they did, and what happened,\" shouted Sagastao.\n\n\"Not to-day,\" said the old man; \"it is time you both were back at your\nlessons, and as I am going that way with some whitefish I will take you\nwith me in my canoe.\"\n\n\"But is that all about the story of Waubenoo and the children?\" said\nMinnehaha.\n\n\"Yes,\" said Souwanas, \"until we come to the next. For a long time after\nGray Wolf received the beating he kept away from them, although his heart\nwas full of anger and revenge. Although he was a big fellow he feared to\nagain threaten her who, although she seemed but an ordinary-sized Indian\nmaiden, possessed the strength that had enabled her to give him such a\nthrashing.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\n\nThe Pathetic Love Story of Waubenoo--The Treachery\nof Gray Wolf--The Legend of the Whisky Jack.\n\n\"It came about in this way,\" said Souwanas, \"and it is such a sad story\nabout beautiful Waubenoo.\"\n\n\"Will it make me cry?\" said the tender-hearted Minnehaha. \"If so, I do not\nthink I want to hear it.\"\n\n\"Stay and hear it, you little pussy,\" said Sagastao. \"I am sure it is not\nworse than the Babes in the Wood.\"\n\n\"Well, you always cry first, when we read that story together,\" said\nMinnehaha.\n\nAt this the lad had nothing to say, for in spite of his apparent\nbrusqueness his heart melted more quickly, and his eyes filled easier with\ntears, at a pathetic story, than did his sister's.\n\n\"Well, go ahead, Souwanas,\" said Sagastao. \"We each have a pocket\nhandkerchief, and when they are used up you can lend us a blanket.\"\n\nAt this quaint speech everybody laughed, and then the old man began his\nsecond story about Waubenoo. \"It all came about because little children\nhave long tongues, and this story should warn little children that, while\nthey have two eyes and two ears, they have but one tongue, and that they\nshould not at any time talk about or repeat half of what they have seen and\nheard.\n\n\"The little brothers and sisters of Waubenoo had been warned that they\nshould say nothing about the visit of Nanahboozhoo to their wigwam. In\nfact, Nanahboozhoo was such a queer fellow that he did not at any time want\npeople to be gossiping about him, and, if he had done any good deed for\nanyone, he did not wish them to be ever speaking about it. Then another\nreason why Nanahboozhoo did not want them to talk about his visit and help\nwas the fear that Gray Wolf, finding out how it was that he had received\nsuch a beating, would be more bitter and revengeful against Waubenoo and\nwould again try to get her in his power. The little children were, of\ncourse, delighted that their wigwam was no longer visited by Gray Wolf,\nwhose coming had always filled them with terror, while Waubenoo was so\npleased at having thus got rid of him that she was happier and brighter\nthan she had been for a long time. It was not long before some of the other\nIndians noticed the change. They were surprised that Gray Wolf had so\nsuddenly stopped his visits, and that he seemed so dejected and sullen.\nNaturally their curiosity was excited, and they were anxious to find out\nwhat had happened.\"\n\n\"Better to have been minding their own business,\" broke in young Sagastao,\nwho seemed to see the drift of the story.\n\n\"Be quiet, and do not interrupt Souwanas,\" said Minnehaha, who often felt\ncalled upon to restrain her brother's impulsiveness.\n\n\"Of course,\" Souwanas continued, \"Gray Wolf had so suffered that he had\nvery little to say, and if ever teased about Waubenoo he fell into a great\npassion.\n\n\"Waubenoo herself was too sensible to gratify their idle curiosity, but the\nvery return of her brightness, and her unwillingness to talk about the\nmatter, only added to the foolish desires of outsiders to find out what had\nreally occurred. So some of these naughty busybodies began questioning the\nchildren when they could get them away from Waubenoo, for in her presence\nthey were as mute as she was. They pestered and bothered the children and\ntried in various ways before they succeeded. But one day, while Waubenoo\nwas away overhauling her traps, some of those wicked meddlers visited her\nwigwam and succeeded in getting one of the smallest ones--I just forget now\nwhether it was a boy or a girl.\"\n\n\"A girl, of course,\" shouted Sagastao.\n\n\"No, indeed; I am sure it was a naughty boy,\" said Minnehaha.\n\n\"Well, no matter which; but one of them said: 'Nanahboozhoo!'\n\n\"This one word, Nanahboozhoo, was quite enough to startle and alarm them,\nfor Nanahboozhoo was also much feared, as he sometimes did dreadful things.\n\n\"The fact that Nanahboozhoo had been in their very midst, although they\nwere a long time in hearing anything more than the one word from the now\nfrightened children, was quite enough to excite the whole village, for the\nnews was soon spread abroad by the tattlers.\n\n\"Such busybodies could not be satisfied with only hearing that Nanahboozhoo\nhad visited the wigwam of Waubenoo. Of course they wanted to hear about\nwhat he said and did, and I am sorry to have to say that after a while,\nwith coaxing and presents, they managed to get from the children the whole\ndelightfully exciting story.\n\n\"When Gray Wolf, who was so jeered and laughed at by all who dare, heard\nfrom the gossipers how it had happened that he had received such a\nthrashing he was doubly wild and furious.\n\n\"When Waubenoo found out that all was known about how Nanahboozhoo had\nhelped her she was very sorry that her little brothers and sisters had been\nso naughty and disobedient. She also knew that now she would have to be\nmore careful than ever against the movements of Gray Wolf. But the fact was\nthat he had been so cowed by his beating that he was afraid to openly\nattack her, lest she should get Nanahboozhoo to help her again and it might\nbe worse for him than it was at his first meeting. But he treasured up\nrevengeful feelings in his heart and resolved that at some time or other he\nwould dreadfully punish her.\n\n\"Some years passed by, and the older children, next to Waubenoo, were able\nto do most of the hunting and fishing as well as to be on guard against\nany of the evil doings of Gray Wolf. Thus they were able, in a measure, to\nrepay their sister, whom they dearly loved, although they were so\nthoughtless, for all her great kindness to them.\n\n\"One fall there came to the village a splendid Indian hunter. He was of the\nsame tribe, but lived with his people, most of the time, at a distant part\nof the country. He was so pleased with this village, where dwelt Waubenoo,\nthat he decided to remain for the winter and hunt. He was such a very\npleasant fellow and such a great hunter that he soon made many friends.\nGray Wolf was the only man who seemed to hate him, and he was even so rash\nas to insult him openly in an Indian gathering.\n\n\"Soquaatum, for this was the young warrior's name, stood the insults of\nGray Wolf for some time, then, when he saw that some of the young hunters\nbegan to think he was afraid of Gray Wolf, he suddenly sprang at him and\nknocked him down, and then seizing him by his belt, he shook him as easily\nand thoroughly as a wildcat would a rabbit. Then he threw him from him and\nsat down among the people as though nothing had happened.\n\n\"That evening, when he and the relatives with whom he lived were seated\naround the fire in the wigwam, he heard for the first time the story of\nWaubenoo: of her great industry, her love for her little brothers and\nsisters, and how she had been threatened by Gray Wolf and then befriended\nby Nanahboozhoo.\n\n\"This story very much interested Soquaatum, and especially as in his\nhunting he had met her younger brother, now a fine strapping hunter, and\nhad become very fond of him, although he was much younger. So he resolved\nthat as soon as he could he would visit her wigwam and seek her\nacquaintance.\"\n\n\"Ho! Ho! So this is to be a love story,\" said Sagastao.\n\n\"Be quiet, do,\" said his sister. \"All love stories do not end well.\nRemember, there was Gray Wolf!\"\n\nSouwanas profited by the interruption, for it gave him an opportunity to\nlight his pipe with flint and steel, and he then resumed the story.\n\n\"Soon after Soquaatum arrayed himself in his most attractive costume and\ncalled at the tent of Waubenoo. His excuse was that he wanted to see her\nbrother and arrange some hunting excursion.\n\n\"Waubenoo, who had often heard her brother speak of his great skill as a\nhunter, and had also heard how easily and thoroughly he had handled Gray\nWolf, received him most kindly and at once made him welcome.\n\n\"Well, it is not surprising that he should soon fall in love with Waubenoo,\nand so pleased was she with his manner, as well as his attractive\nappearance, that she became very fond of him, and it was not many days\nafter their first meeting before it was noised abroad that Soquaatum and\nWaubenoo were lovers.\n\n\"Soquaatum remained until about the middle of the winter. Then he returned\nto his distant home to make all preparations for receiving his wife, for\nwhom he was to come in the spring.\n\n\"Gray Wolf was, of course, furious when he heard that Waubenoo was to be\nmarried, and to the man who had humiliated him in the presence of so many\npeople. Though angry and revengeful, he was at heart a cowardly fellow, and\nnow that Waubenoo's brother was full-grown he was afraid of him, as well as\nof Soquaatum while he was in the neighborhood. But his fears did not\nprevent him from thinking of schemes for revenge which, however, came to\nnothing, because the friends of Waubenoo were so vigilant and well\nprepared.\n\n\"At length one of his plans succeeded, and this is how it happened:\n\n\"Gray Wolf enlisted a young Indian who was equally bad with himself to help\nhim. As Soquaatum had now been gone for some weeks to his home, which was\nfar east from that region, Gray Wolf and his wicked companion went a good\nlong distance--many miles--in that direction. There they made a hunting\nlodge and laid their plans to capture Waubenoo. Then Gray Wolf's companion\nwent back and remained secreted near the wigwam of Waubenoo. One night he\nsaw her two brothers leave, about midnight, for some distant traps that\nwould take them all day to reach.\n\n\"As soon as this bad fellow was satisfied that they were well out of sight\nand hearing he rushed up to the tent of Waubenoo and hastily aroused her\nfrom her sleep. He had arrayed himself as though he was gaining on her,\nshe began calling: 'Soquaatum! Soquaatum!' Alas! he was far away, but there\nwas another who, fortunately, was near. Nanahboozhoo had been out hunting\nand he had a sled which he was dragging, loaded with game. He was surprised\nas he heard this calling, 'Soquaatum! Soquaatum!' and as he continued\nlistening it became hoarse and then only like a whisper. He could stand it\nno longer; he rushed through the woods and there he saw Waubenoo, dashing\nalong on snow-shoes, calling in a low whisper: 'Soquaatum! Soquaatum!'\nwhile not a hundred feet behind her was Gray Wolf, yelling in triumph that\nhe would soon capture her. Unfortunately Nanahboozhoo was not in a very\ngood humor that day. He had heard of some little children that had been\ntattling about him, and he had heard that the children in the tent of\nWaubenoo had told about his visit.\n\n\"However, when he saw who it was that was in danger, and heard her cry to\nhim for help when she saw him, and especially when he saw who it was that\nwas after her, he quickly turned Waubenoo into a bird and without any\ntrouble she quickly flew up into a tree out of the reach of danger.\n\n\"Ever since that Waubenoo has been the Whisky Jack, and if you will listen\nto Whisky Jack when he is not scolding or clamoring at your camp for food\nhis voice is like that of the lost Indian maiden, with a bad cold, calling\nfor her lover.\"\n\n\"What did Nanahboozhoo do to Gray Wolf?\" said Sagastao.\n\n\"Hush,\" said Minnehaha. \"Don't you know Nanahboozhoo doesn't like to have\nchildren talk about him?\"\n\nThis excessive caution on the part of the little girl vastly amused\nSouwanas. Then he told them that Nanahboozhoo turned Gray Wolf into a dog\nand made him draw home his heavy load of meat.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\n\nA Novel Race: the Wolverine and the Rock--How the\nWolverine's Legs were Shortened--A Punishment for\nConceit.\n\nThere was great excitement one morning among the children in the schoolroom\nwhen Mary came in with the word that some hunters with their dog sleds had\ncalled, and that they had with them a great wolverine which had been killed\nin the woods not very far away. The children ran out to look at it.\n\nNow the wolverine is known to be such a cunning, clever animal that the\nkilling of one is quite an event among the Indians, and the lucky hunter\nwho succeeds in destroying one is the hero of the hour. A man may on one\nhunting trip kill several bears or wolves, or many other animals, and there\nis not much said about it, but to kill a wolverine, that pest and scourge\nof the hunters, is indeed a feat that any man is proud of.\n\n\"Why is it called a wolverine?\" asked Sagastao.\n\n\"Because it was once like a wolf, and had small feet and long legs, but now\nits legs are short and its feet are very large.\"\n\n\"What shortened its legs and made its feet become so large?\" asked\nSagastao.\n\nIt was too cold a day to remain any longer outside looking at the\nwolverine, or to learn more about it, so the children were obliged to\nreturn to their warm schoolroom, where their lessons were resumed.\n\nIt was evident, however, that both Sagastao and Minnehaha were ready with a\ncouple of questions for Mary, and it was not long after school hours that\nthey sought her and asked:\n\n\"Mary, what was it that shortened the legs of the wolverine? and what made\nhis feet so big?\"\n\n\"The wolverine,\" replied Mary, \"was once the finest of all the different\nkinds of wolves. He had the softest and nicest of fur. His legs were long,\nand his feet were firm and handsome, but he was an awfully conceited\nfellow. He fancied he was the handsomest creature in existence and looked\ndown with contempt on all the other kinds of wolves. He used to go to the\nside of the clear transparent lake, where he could see his shadow reflected\nin the water, and he would strut up and down and say: 'O dear, what a\nlovely creature I am!'\n\n\"It is true he was very clever in many ways. He was so swift that he could\nrun down even the antelope and the elk, and at all the great animal\ngatherings, where the different creatures met in council, he was the\nswiftest there, and easily won the chief prizes at the great races which\nthe animals used to hold. Indeed, he won so many races that at length he\ncould get no animal to compete with him. He even tried to get up races with\nthe birds, but they laughed at him for his conceit.\n\n\"One day he happened to be hunting among the mountains. Near the top of\none he saw a large ball-like rock, standing there apart from the other big\nrocks. Coming up close to this great round rock he said to it:\n\n\"'Was that you I saw walking just now?'\n\n\"'No; I cannot walk, I have lain here for a long time,' said the rock.\n\n\"The wolverine retorted that he was sure he had seen the rock walking.\n\n\"This made the rock angry and he told the wolverine that he was telling a\nfalsehood. Then the saucy wolverine replied:\n\n\"'You need not speak to me in that way, for I have seen you walking.'\n\n\"Then the wolverine ran off a little distance and challenged the rock to\ncatch him. But the rock did not reply to this and the bold wolverine came\nclose up to the rock, struck it with his paw, and said:\n\n\"'Come, now, see if you can catch me!'\n\n\"'I cannot run,' said the rock, 'but I can roll.'\n\n\"At this the conceited wolverine began to laugh. 'That will do! All I want\nis a race. You can run or roll, just as you like.'\n\n\"Then the race began; the wolverine started down the mountain side at a\ngreat rate, and the rock came rolling behind him. At first the big rock did\nnot move very fast, and the wolverine laughed as he looked back and saw the\nrock was so far behind. But the rock came on faster and faster, and now it\nmade the wolverine do his very best to keep ahead of it. On they rushed,\nover the sticks and stones and rough places, down--down that great, long\nmountain side. At length, swift and strong as he was, the wolverine began\nto get tired, and although he was running as he never did before in his\nlife the big rock was surely gaining on him. By and by he was so frightened\nthat in looking behind at the rock, now close at his heels, he tripped over\na stick and down he fell. The rock rolled over him and, just as it had\ncompletely crushed him down to the earth, there it stopped.\n\n\"Then the wolverine, whose head was not crushed under the rock, cried out:\n\n\"'Get off! go away! you are hurting me. You are crushing my bones.'\n\n\"But the rock replied:\n\n\"'You tormented me and told me I was telling a falsehood, and you\nchallenged me to a race with you; and now that I have caught you I will not\nstir until some one stronger comes and takes me off.'\n\n\"Then the wolverine lifted up his voice and cried to his relatives, the\nwolves and foxes, to come and remove the rock.\n\n\"When these animals came and saw him in such a plight, they asked him:\n\n\"'How came you to get under the rock?'\n\n\"The wolverine replied:\n\n\"'I challenged the rock to catch me, and it rolled on me.'\n\n\"When the wolves and the foxes heard this they were not very sorry. They\nknew how conceited the wolverine had been about his speed, indeed they\nwere all smarting because of the ease with which he had beaten them, and\nso, instead of helping him at once, they said he deserved his punishment.\n\n\"After a time, however, they began to be sorry for the poor wolverine, who\nwas crying out piteously for help, but they found they were not able to\nremove the rock. They could not even stir it in the least.\n\n\"'Get out of the way,' said the wolverine, 'and I will call my other\nfriends, the thunder and the lightning.'\n\n\"In a few minutes a great black cloud was seen rapidly coming out of the\nwest. As it came rushing along the foxes and the wolves were very much\nfrightened by the great noise it made. However, they had courage enough to\nask the lightning to take off the fine coat of the wolverine but not to\nkill him. Then they ran back and watched to see the lightning do its work.\nThe lightning promised to do what had been asked of him; for he had heard\nof this proud, conceited wolverine, who had boasted that he could run like\nlightning, and now he was just going to teach him a lesson. So he darted\nback a distance to gather force, and then he came on with a rush and struck\nthe rock and knocked it into small pieces. He also completely stripped the\nskin from the back of the wolverine but did not kill him. When the\nwolverine got up and stood there naked, with all his beauty gone, he was\nvery angry at the lightning.\n\n\"'You are like other so-called friends I have heard about,' he said; 'you\ncannot do a thing but you must overdo it and spoil all. You had no need to\ntear my beautiful fur coat from my back when you knew I only asked you to\ncome and strike the rock.'\n\n\"Then the poor, shivering wolverine gathered the pieces of his coat and\ncarried them to his sister the frog, who dwelt in a marsh, and he asked her\nto sew them together. The frog had sore eyes, and when she sewed them\ntogether she did not do it properly. Hence the wolverine was very angry,\nand he hit her a crack on the head and knocked her into the water. Then he\ntook up the coat and went and found his youngest sister, the mouse. He told\nher of his troubles, and how the frog had so badly done her work. Then he\nshowed the mouse how he wanted the coat to be sewed. His little sister felt\nbadly for her big brother, and so she set to work and with great care sewed\nall the pieces together in their right places. When the wolverine saw how\nnicely she had done her work he was much pleased.\n\n\"'You mice may live everywhere,' he said, in real gratitude, 'and in spite\nof all your enemies you will never be destroyed.'\n\n\"Then the wolverine tried to put on his coat, but, alas! he found his legs\nhad been shortened and his feet very much flattened out by the terrible\ncrushing he had had under that big stone which he had been so foolish as to\nchallenge to a race.\"\n\n\"Guess he didn't run many more races,\" said Sagastao.\n\n\"No, indeed,\" was the reply; \"he was so mortified and angry that from that\nday to this the wolverine has always been a sulking, solitary animal, and\nplaying all the mean tricks he can on all kinds of animals as though he had\na spite against them. He now has not one friend who ever cares for him,\nunless it is his little sister the mouse.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\n\nThe Legend of the Twin Children of the Sun--How They\nRid the Earth of Some of the Great Monsters--Their Great\nBattle with Nikoochis, the Giant.\n\nOne pleasant summer day, when the children had the pleasure of a canoe\nouting with Mary and Kennedy, they decided to visit the wigwam of their old\nfriends, Kinnesasis and his wife. They had not seen them for some time, and\nas Souwanas was away on a long hunting excursion they could not expect any\nNanahboozhoo stories until his return. Kinnesasis was a capital\nstory-teller, and they were eager to reach his wigwam. There, after making\nboth him and his wife happy with some gifts, they knew they could get some\ninteresting stories in return.\n\nThey met with a hearty welcome and spent a happy day there. Among the\nstories Kinnesasis told them, as handed down by his forefathers, the\nfollowing is perhaps the most interesting:\n\n\"Long ago there were great monsters on this earth. Some of them were\nenormous animals and fiercer than any that now exist. Then there were\nmagicians, and other evil spirits, like windegoos, some of whom were tall,\ngiant cannibals, that filled the people with terror. They lay in wait and\ncaught the children, and even the grown-up people, as the wild beasts now\ncatch their prey. Then they kindled up great fires and roasted them and ate\nthem.\n\n\"Often, when the parents went to look for their children, they also were\ncaught and eaten.\n\n\"The people were rendered very miserable not only by these great monsters\nin human form, but also by the attacks of the enormous animals that then\nlived. Indeed they began to fear that they would all soon be killed, unless\nhelp came to them.\n\n\"These people were worshipers of the sun, whom they called the great Sun\nFather, and some tribes still have their sun dances in his honor. When he\nsaw that the people were in such great trouble and were likely to be all\nkilled by their cruel enemies he resolved to deliver them from their foes.\nSo he disguised himself and came down to the earth and married a beautiful\nwoman of the Northland. They had lovely twin boys, whose names were\nSesigizit, the older, and Ooseemeeid, the younger. They grew so rapidly\nthat they were able to walk when only a few days old. Their sun father\ndisappeared as soon as they were born, going to the far Eastland.\n\n\"Strange to say, although these two boys grew so rapidly at first, they as\nsuddenly ceased growing, and so remained quite small. But they were very\nintelligent, and were ever asking questions.\n\n\"'Who is our father?'\" they inquired of their mother one day.\n\n[Illustration: Sun dance lodge of the Blood Indians.]\n\nBut she ignored the question, and although they kept bothering her it was\na long time before she would give them any information at all, and that was\nvery little. However, she did tell them that they were more than ordinary\nchildren and finer than other boys, but then there are lots of mothers who\nsay such things to their own little ones.\n\n\"As they were now big enough, she brought out of hiding a couple of bows,\nand quivers full of arrows, and some magic rabbit sticks, and gave them to\nthe boys.\n\n\"'These were left for you by your father,' said the mother, ere he went\naway, and he gave commands that they were to be given to you as soon as you\nwere able to use them.'\n\n\"The children were, of course, anxious to try their bows and arrows and\nthese magic sticks. So very soon after they had received them they resolved\nto go off on a hunting expedition.\n\n\"The mother, who was anxious about them, warned them of the various\nmonsters in human shape, great windegoos and cannibals, that were ever\nlying in wait to catch and roast and eat little boys. She also told them of\nthe animals that were so enormously large that they could catch them up and\nswallow them as easily as a turkey does a grasshopper.\n\n\"Thus she tried to put them on their guard against the terrible foes that\nhad devoured so many of their people. The boys, however, were not much\nfrightened, and they eagerly set off on their journey.\n\n\"They were especially warned by their anxious mother not to go to the\neast, as there was a narrow lake there to which many of these evil\ncreatures came for water, especially a great monster wolf that had devoured\nmany people. Yet they immediately started off in that direction, for, like\nsome other boys, they did not obey even their mother. It was noon before\nthey reached the lake. At first, as they examined it, everything seemed\nvery quiet and still.\n\n\"'Mother must have been mistaken,' said Sesigizit; 'I do not see any living\nthing here.'\n\n\"But as they wandered farther along the shore, suddenly Ooseemeeid cried\nout:\n\n\"'O see that great wolf on the other side!'\n\n\"They dropped down as quickly as they could, but the fierce brute had\nalready caught sight of them. He was very much larger than any of the\nwolves that now howl in the dark forests. He not only destroyed many of the\npeople, but when he came to springs, or small streams, he either drank up\nall the water or so spoiled it that it was unfit for use.\n\n\"The boys shot their arrows at him, but his sides were so tough, for he had\nbones like jointed armor upon them, that he was only slightly wounded. He\nwas, however, made very angry by their attacks, and he picked up a magic\nstick and threw it at them. They would have fared badly if they had not so\nsuddenly thrown themselves upon the ground that it passed over them.\n\n\"When the boys saw that their arrows were not swift enough to kill such a\ngreat animal they decided to use the magic rabbit sticks which their\nfather, the sun, had given them, with orders that they were only to be used\nwhen the arrows failed.\n\n\"The wolf, when he saw that one of his magic sticks had missed its aim, was\nmore savage than ever, and he seized his remaining one, for he only had\ntwo, and he threw it with all his power at the boys. This time they both\njumped high up from the ground and the stick passed under them.\n\n\"It was their turn now, and so they both threw their magic sticks with such\nforce that the great bony armor of the wolf was crushed in and he was\nkilled.\n\n\"Sesigizit quickly ran around the lake to the spot where the great body lay\nand cut out the heart of the wolf, while Ooseemeeid secured the two magic\nsticks that the wolf had thrown at them, as well as their own weapons, and\nthen with these trophies they returned to their own home.\n\n\"'Where have you been?' asked the anxious mother when they appeared.\n\n\"'We have been to the lake,' they replied.\n\n\"She could hardly believe it.\n\n\"'My boys,' she said, 'you surely are mistaken, for no one who goes there\nreturns. The great monsters that devour our people live there, and they let\nno one escape.'\n\n\"Then they told her of their battle with the great wolf, and how they had\nkilled him. They also showed her his heart, which they had brought home\nwith them.\n\n\"She was very much excited. She called the people together, and there was\ngreat rejoicing at the death of this terrible wolf which had been such a\nscourge to them.\n\n\"Some time after Sesigizit and Ooseemeeid asked their mother if she knew\nwhere grew any good tough wood suitable for making bows and arrows. Her\nanswer was:\n\n\"'Far away in the foothills is a canyon, or ravine, where a forest of just\nsuch wood as you need is growing, but the path that leads to it is narrow,\nand there sits guard a great monster giant who kills and throws into the\nravine everyone who has attempted to get any of that wood. And in addition\nthere is a fierce mountain lioness prowling around somewhere on the route,\nand she has already killed many people and carried them off to her den.'\n\n\"Ooseemeeid at once desired to set off and get a supply of this wood, but\nSesigizit, when he found out how fearful their mother was that they would\nboth be killed if they made the attempt, at first refused to go. His\nobjection, however, vanished when he saw his brother making ready to start,\nand in spite of their mother's fears they started off.\n\n\"They had not gone very far when they met the great mountain lioness. She\nwas out hunting food for her cubs. These she had hidden in a den which was\naway up on a precipitous mountain side.\n\n\"Ooseemeeid asked her if she knew the way to the canyon where grew the good\nwood.\n\n\"'Yes,' she replied. 'I am just going that way, and I will show you the\nroute.' She said this because she wished in this way to allure the two boys\nto walk near to her den, and there she would kill them for food for her\ncubs.\n\n\"So she led them until they came to a place where the path was very\ndangerous, because it was on a narrow, shelving rock around the mountain\nside. Here the monster lioness asked the boys to walk on ahead of her, but\nthey refused, saying that they had been taught never to walk in front of\ntheir elders. The lioness urged, but the boys were firm, and so she had to\nyield and let them have their way.\n\n\"When in the most dangerous part of the pass the boys pretended to be very\nmuch alarmed, and asked to be permitted to walk between her and the\nmountain side. At first she was suspicious, but they seemed now to be so\ncowardly and afraid that she thought they were not able to do her any harm,\nso she walked on the outer edge of the pass and let them have the inside,\nand also allowed them to put their hands on her as though to steady\nthemselves. When they came to the most dangerous spot, where it was so\nnarrow that even a mountain lion had to be careful, they both suddenly drew\ntheir magic sticks and, giving her a great shove, sent her over the side of\nthe narrow rocky ledge and down she fell--to be dashed to pieces thousands\nof feet below.\n\n\"With a shout of triumph the two boys carefully pushed on and, finding the\nden, quickly killed the cubs and cut off the right forepaw from each one to\ncarry home.\n\n\"From this high pass they could now see the canyon where grew the good\nwood for which they were seeking. They also saw the lodge of the monster\ngiant who guarded the narrow path that led to it. They saw by its size that\nhe must be an enormous creature, and so they looked to see that their\narrows and magic sticks were all in good order and handy for use.\n\n\"The great giant had heard their shout of triumph when they had destroyed\nthe mountain lioness and it made him very angry, for he hated any noise or\ndisturbance; his name, Nikoochis, which means solitude, indicated this.\n\n\"When he saw the small boys he was at first inclined to laugh in derision\nat them, but when they had come near enough to shoot their magic arrows at\nhim he soon began to roar with the stinging pain they gave him.\n\n\"In vain he tried to catch the active little fellows; he was so big and\nclumsy, and they were so quick in their movements, that it was an utter\nimpossibility for him to get his hands upon them.\n\n\"Then he began tearing up great rocks and stones and tried to crush them by\nhurling these at them. Here the boys' father, the sun, came to their help,\nand he shone so fiercely into the eyes of the great monster that he was\nunable to see very well, and the boys easily kept out of the way of the\nrocks thrown at them.\n\n[Illustration: \"They both threw their magic sticks.\"]\n\n\"The monster was big and fat and unaccustomed to exertion, and he was soon\ntired out. Indeed he was so big that the arrows of the boys seemed only\nlike pins and needles sticking into him, and the boys began to fear that\ntheir quivers would be emptied before they had conquered him. Just then\nthey met an old witch with a bundle of sticks which she was carrying to her\nwigwam. She was very angry with Nikoochis, for he would not allow her even\nto gather the dry sticks that fell to the ground in the forest he was\nguarding. The result was that she had to wander far away to get the little\nfuel she needed in her wigwam.\n\n\"The boys told her of their battle with this selfish old monster, and that\neven now he was badly wounded by their arrows, which, however, did not seem\nto reach any vital spot. She told them that the only place where their\nweapons could be effectual in killing him was in the top of his skull. That\nthey must first in some way crack it with their magic rabbit sticks, and\nthen they could shoot their arrows into his brain. Hearing this they\nquickly resumed their attack upon him. In vain he tore up great rocks and\nhurled them with all his force at them. They either cleverly jumped on one\nside or sprang up into the air out of the way.\n\n\"Then, watching for their opportunity, they waited until he stooped down,\nand when he was struggling to loosen from the earth a great rock as big as\na house Sesigizit threw, with all his power, his magic rabbit stick. It\nstruck the giant fair on the top of his head with such force that it broke\noff a piece of his skull. The next instant Ooseemeeid fired one of his\narrows so accurately that it pierced into the brain through the spot thus\nleft exposed.\n\n\"With a roar of rage and pain the great monster fell, rolled down into the\ndeep canyon, and died.\n\n\"After securing his big flint knife, which dropped from his belt, the boys\nhurried into the canyon and gathered a lot of fine wood for arrow shafts\nand returned to their mother. When she asked them where they had been they\nreplied that they had been to the canyon, and that they had killed both the\nmountain lioness and the great giant.\n\n\"At first she could hardly believe this, but as they had brought the paws\nof the cubs and the flint knife of the great giant, why, she just had to\nbelieve it. Great indeed were the rejoicings of the people at being thus\nrid of these creatures.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\n\nSouwanas Tells of the Queer Way in which Nanahboozhoo\nDestroyed Mooshekinnebik, the Last of the Great Monsters.\n\nOne cold day Souwanas, who had not been seen by the children for some\ntime--he had been away on a long hunting excursion--quite unexpectedly\nwalked into the mission house during the school hours of Sagastao and\nMinnehaha. The news of his coming was hailed with delight by the children,\nand it required a certain amount of firmness on the part of the heads of\nthe household to keep them at their studies. They were, however, quickly\npacified, and returned with diligence to their lessons, when informed that\ntheir old friend had been invited to stay all day and doubtless would have\na story of some kind for them when their studies were all over.\n\nThe venison and bear's meat which he had brought were quickly purchased at\na price that well pleased him. Then he sat down for a rest and a smoke in\nthe kitchen. Of course he had his usual tiff with Mary, the nurse, who was\nvery jealous of him because he had so won the love and confidence of the\nchildren. Souwanas was greatly amused at her jealousy of him, especially\nsince he was told by one of the Indian maids that the children had been\noverheard gravely debating between themselves which was the better\nstory-teller, Mary or Souwanas.\n\nWhen peace again reigned some illustrated volumes from the library were\ngiven to Souwanas for his inspection. He was not able to read English, but\nhe was very fond of looking at pictures.\n\nThere was one book that had a special fascination for him, in fact when he\nfirst examined it, and had had some of its illustrations explained to him,\nit gave this superstitious Indian about the biggest fright he had ever\nreceived. It was a book in which were pictured and described many of the\ngreat extinct monsters of the old times. These enormous hideous creatures,\nwhose bones and fossil remains are still occasionally to be found, quite\nalarmed him. Yet the book was generally about the first one he desired to\nsee.\n\nOn this present visit, however, Souwanas, while as usual eager again to\ninspect this book, was observed to look at it in a very different spirit.\nThe explanation came out later, when he had the children around him--indeed\nalmost the whole household--listening to a new Nanahboozhoo story which he\nhad secured from some famous old Indian whom he had met while far away on\nhis long hunting excursion.\n\n\"Yes, it is true,\" he began, \"that there did once live on this earth, both\nin the land and in the water, great animals like those here shown in this\nbook. I have been to the wigwam of the great Shuniou and from him I have\nlearned much about them, as handed down in the tradition of our\nforefathers. Great and terrible were they, and the people of those times\nlived in great terror of them, for the bows and arrows and even the stone\nwar clubs of the strongest warriors were powerless to kill or even\ndangerously wound such monsters. It was well for the inhabitants of the\nearth in those days that these great monsters were few in number and that\nthey were constantly fighting among themselves, for so large and terrible\nwere they that only animals as big and fierce of other kinds could battle\nwith them.\n\n\"But there was one great monster that lived in the water, and as he had no\nenemies big enough to attack him he lived on, even long after the other\ngreat animals were all killed off.\n\n\"Shuniou said that the tradition was that a great rush of waters caused\nmany of the last of the great monsters that had tusks of ivory to be\ncarried to the far Northland, and there, as the terribly cold winter set\nin, they were all frozen to death.\n\n\"This must be true,\" added Souwanas, \"for it was not many years ago that\nthe Hudson Bay Company sent their men there to get this ivory, which they\nintended to ship to England. They came back with word that some of the dead\nbodies had been seen where the ice broke up. But this great monster in the\nwater, as I have said, lived on after the rest were all supposed to have\ndied off or been killed. He was a terrible scourge to those Indians whose\nwigwams were on the shores of the great sea in which he lived. They were\nin mortal terror when they ventured out in their canoes to fish. This they\nhad to do, as they depended almost entirely on fish for their living, and\nthere were times when the fish left the shallow waters near the shore and\nwent out far from land. There the Indians had to follow and catch them or\nthey and their families would starve.\n\n\"Happily for them, sometimes for months together no one would hear or see\nanything of this great sea monster. Then, perhaps, suddenly he would rise\nup right under a canoe in which were several Indians, whom he would easily\ncatch and swallow one by one. He would sometimes rush after a herd of deer\nthat had gone out swimming in the waters. He would catch and easily swallow\nseveral of them.\"\n\n\"Well, I should think that the big horns of a moose or reindeer would give\nhim some trouble to swallow,\" said Sagastao.\n\n\"He was so large,\" said Souwanas, \"that the horns or body of the largest\ndeer did not seem to bother him in the least degree.\"\n\n\"I wonder if it were not one of his great grandfathers that swallowed\nJonah,\" said the observant Minnehaha.\n\n\"The Indians at length came to be so much distressed by the loss of so many\nof their number, and by their inability to slay the monster, that they\nresolved to ask Nanahboozhoo to come and help them if he possibly could.\n\n\"I ought to have told you,\" said Souwanas, \"that this great monster was\ncalled by the Indians Mooshekinnebik.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo at once responded to their request, for he was very angry\nwhen he heard how many industrious fishermen had been swallowed by this\ncreature. He was doubly angry when he returned with the deputation who had\ngone for him and further learned that, only the day before, Mooshekinnebik\nhad been mean enough to come near to the shore and catch and swallow some\nboys and girls who had been out swimming that warm summer day.\n\n\"When Nanahboozhoo informed Nokomis of the request of the people for his\nhelp to deliver them from the long hated Mooshekinnebik she was very much\nfrightened, and more so when he told her of the strange and dangerous plan\nhe was going to adopt to carry out his purpose. It was this: he was going\nto allow himself to be swallowed by this monster who had already destroyed\nso many people.\"\n\n\"O how dreadful!\" said Minnehaha. \"We will never hear any more nice stories\nabout Nanahboozhoo.\"\n\n\"All a pack of lies; there never were any such monsters,\" snapped out old\nMary, who could not longer conceal her jealousy at seeing how interested\nthe children were in the story.\n\n\"Hold on, Mary; not so fast,\" cried Sagastao, taking the book from Souwanas\nand showing the pictures to Mary.\n\n\"There, Sakehow,\" he said, using his favorite term of endearment, \"look\nfor yourself and see those lovely creatures--some of them quite big enough\nto swallow us all without winking.\"\n\nBut Mary was stubborn, as well as jealous, and would not give in, even when\nKennedy, the favorite dog driver, who was present, told her that even now\nthere were some of the great tusks and bones of animals that the officers\ncalled mammoths over at the Hudson Bay Company's fort ready to be shipped\nto England next summer. She was, however, quickly silenced when Sagastao\nsat down beside her and throwing his head into her lap said, very\ncoaxingly:\n\n\"Now, Mary, just be quiet and let us hear Souwanas tell the rest of the\nstory of what Nanahboozhoo did to Mooshekinnebik.\"\n\nPeace being thus restored, Souwanas, who had been much amused by Mary's\nire, resumed his story:\n\n\"When Nokomis heard her grandson describe how he was going to let the\nmonster swallow him she resolved to come and pitch her tent on the\nseashore, among the people who had been so troubled, and there to await the\nreturn of her grandson, if he should ever come back from such a perilous\nadventure.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo asked his mother for some magic singing sticks, and also for\na very sharp knife. Then he made for himself a small raft of logs and,\nbidding her good-bye for a short time, he sprang on it and was soon\nfloating out, in search of the dreaded creature, over the great waters.\n\n\"When well out from the shore he began to make music with his magic sticks\nand to sing a defiant song:\n\n  \"'Ho, ho! great fish down in the sea,\n  Come, if you dare, and swallow me.\n  My brothers all you're fond of eating,\n  'Tis time some one gave you a beating.\n  He, he! Hi, hi! Ho, ho! Ho, ho!\n\n  \"'You see I am not far away,\n  So come and taste me while you may;\n  Yet not afraid am I, no, no!\n  So hurry up, old fish. Ho, ho!\n  He, he! Hi, hi! Ho, ho! Ho, ho!'\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo sang this brave song over and over, to the weird harmony of\nhis magic music sticks, until he reached the place where the great fish was\nresting.\n\n\"When the great monster Mooshekinnebik heard the voice of Nanahboozhoo he\ncame up to the surface of the water to find out who was making all that\nmusic and shouting out such defiant words.\n\n\"When he saw that it was only one young man on a raft of dry logs, he\nordered one of his children to go and knock the raft to pieces and swallow\nthat noisy fellow. But this was not what Nanahboozhoo wanted, and so he\nshouted out:\n\n\"'I want the old father fish to eat me.'\n\n\"This made old Mooshekinnebik very angry, and so, open mouthed, he rushed\nfuriously at Nanahboozhoo who, when the great monster was close enough,\ntook a leap into the open mouth and was immediately swallowed up.\n\n\"For a short time after being swallowed Nanahboozhoo was unconscious, but\nhe soon recovered himself and was able to look around and see the queer\nprison in which he was now confined. It was fortunate for him that he had\neyes like a cat, and so could see as well in the dark as in the light. He\nfound that he was not the only inmate of this queer prison; there were a\nlot of creatures whom he called his brothers--the bear, the deer, the fox,\nthe beaver and even the squirrel. Nanahboozhoo inquired of them and they\ntold him how they had been captured and the length of time they had been in\nthat horrid place. They also informed him that many others who had been\ncaptured were now dead. Nanahboozhoo found that they were quite hopeless,\nand looked forward to nothing but death. However he called them around him\nand informed them that he had willingly come among them for the purpose of\naffording a speedy deliverance.\n\n\"This was indeed good news. Then he explained to them the plan he had in\nhis mind, and said that it was necessary for them to kick up a rumpus in\nthe interior of this monster, that they would thus make him so very sick\nthat he would have to go near to land, and when they should have him there\nhe thought he had another plan that would enable them all to escape.\n\n[Illustration: \"He took a leap into the open mouth.\"]\n\n\"They all agreed to do anything they could to help on his plans, so\nNanahboozhoo took out his magic singing sticks and began to play and sing.\n\n\"At once the bear, the deer, the fox, the beaver, and indeed all of the\ncreatures that were still alive, caught up the lively tune, and such a\ndancing and jumping and flying around was hardly ever seen before.\n\n\"This internal commotion very much disturbed Mooshekinnebik. He could not\nmake out what was the matter. He shook himself thoroughly, but that did no\ngood; then he darted off through the water at a great rate, but this also\nwas of no use. Then he rolled over and over and over in the water. This of\ncourse stopped the dancing and hubbub inside for a time, but as the walls\nof the prison were soft, also the floor and ceiling, nobody was hurt, and\nso the instant it ceased they were up and at it again, harder than ever.\nMooshekinnebik never had such a turn in his life. He did not know what to\ndo. Still Nanahboozhoo kept singing louder and louder, while the dancers\nkept up their wild antics around him.\n\n\"At length Nanahboozhoo decided that the monster was about enough\nfrightened for him to do something else, and so he drew out his sharp knife\nand gave Mooshekinnebik a good stab near his heart.\n\n\"This threw him into convulsions and added to his terror, and he began\nswimming toward the shore. When Nanahboozhoo knew this he kept stabbing him\nmore and more, until at length his body was heard to scrape on the shallow\nsandy ground. At this Nanahboozhoo with a mighty effort plunged his knife\nwith all his power deep into the monster's heart.\n\n\"The instant he did this Mooshekinnebik was thrown into a number of mighty\nconvulsions, and in one of them, with one tremendous effort, he fairly\nthrew himself out of the water on the shore, and there he died.\n\n\"So great and terrible had been these dying convulsions that all the\ncreatures inside, and even Nanahboozhoo himself, had become unconscious\nfrom being so knocked about.\n\n\"How long they remained so they did not know. Nanahboozhoo was the first to\nregain his senses, and he was indeed very sorry to see that all of his\ncomrades were still unconscious. He had some difficulty in getting out from\nunder the bodies of his comrades, who were piled up on him. He was glad\nthat the monster was dead, but he was uncertain whether they were on the\nshore or at the bottom of the water. So he speedily determined to find out.\nHe climbed up over the bodies of his comrades to the place that he thought\nwas the thinnest, and there, with his keen knife, he began cutting through\nthe roof of this queer prison.\n\n\"To his great delight he was soon able to see the sunshine coming through.\nWhen he had cut a hole big enough to let in some air and sunshine he took\nup his magic singing sticks and began singing, for the purpose of reviving\nall those imprisoned with him. His song was not much to us, but it was a\ngreat deal to those shut up in such a prison. It was:\n\n  \"'Kesik-in-na-win,\n  Kesik-in-na-win.'\n  (I see the sky,\n  I see the sky.)\n\n\"As Nanahboozhoo continued to sing this over and over, one after another\nhis brothers sneezed and opened their eyes. They were indeed a happy lot at\nthe prospect of deliverance.\n\n\"When Nanahboozhoo saw that they were all now recovered he again set to\nwork with his knife, and it was not long before he had a hole large enough\nto permit all of the imprisoned creatures to make their escape.\n\n\"The news soon spread, and it was not long before Nokomis, with others,\ncame to see the huge dead monster, and there were great rejoicings.\"\n\n\"And this,\" added Souwanas, \"is the tradition, as told by Shuniou, of how\nNanahboozhoo destroyed Mooshekinnebik.\"\n\n\"What became of the little monsters?\" asked Minnehaha.\n\n\"The Indians,\" replied Souwanas, \"under the leadership of Nanahboozhoo made\nsuch a war upon them that they were soon annihilated.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\n\nWelcome Springtime in the Northland--How Nanahboozhoo\nKilled the Great White Sea Lion, the Chief of the\nMagicians--The Revenge--The Flood--Escape of Nanahboozhoo\nand the Animals on the Raft--The Creation of a New World.\n\nThe coming of the pleasant springtime was hailed with great delight. Seven\nor eight months were found to be a very long spell of cold winter weather,\nand so when with a rapidity unknown in more Southern climates the winter\nbroke up, and the welcome warm weather made its appearance, everybody\nseemed to feel its genial influence.\n\nThe first little wild flowers were looked for with intense interest, and\ngreat indeed was the joy of the children when some were found. The sweet\nsinging birds that in the previous autumn, on the first signs of the coming\ndown from the colder North of the Frost King, had flitted away to the\nsummer Southland were now returning in multitudes. The air was full of\ntheir melody, and as scores of them, fearless and trustful, made themselves\nat home in the bird resorts around Wahkiegum, great indeed was the\nchildren's delight as they welcomed them back to their haunts in the North.\n\nAnd really it did seem as though the birds were glad to be there again,\nfor it is only in the North that these birds sing their sweet love songs to\neach other and build their nests and hatch out their little broods.\n\nThe Whisky Jacks, that had been croaking out their hoarse cries all winter,\nseemed to get sulky and vexed that they were now so little admired, and so\nthey flitted away farther north and buried themselves in the interior of\nthe deepest forests.\n\nIn the joyousness of those happy days up in those high latitudes, when the\nchanges of every twenty-four hours can easily be noticed, Sagastao and\nMinnehaha for a time troubled neither Souwanas nor Mary for Indian legends\nor stories. There was in the rapid melting of the snow, the breaking up of\nthe immense ice fields on the lake, the appearance of the land, and then\nthe grass and flowers, and the planting of seeds in their little gardens,\nenough to keep them busy and happy.\n\nBut even all these things at length lost their interest. The flights of the\nwild geese, swans, and ducks had all ceased. They, with many other kinds of\nmigrating birds, were busy nesting. The sweet songsters around the home\nwere everyday companions, and, while the children loved them as much as\never, the excitement of their coming had died away. So when one day they\nsaw Souwanas coming over the now sparkling waters in his canoe they were\ndelighted to welcome him. As usual, when he reached the shore the contents\nof his canoe were examined speedily. There the children found a couple of\nbeavers that had but lately been trapped, and a dozen or more muskrats that\nSouwanas had speared in the marshes. These animals were the result of one\nnight's hunting, and now Souwanas was on his way home to have them skinned\nand the pelts prepared for sale to the fur traders.\n\nThe children's curiosity was much aroused by the sight of the beavers and\nmuskrats, and they questioned the old man about them. The queer, broad,\nscaly tail of the beavers much interested them, and drew from Souwanas an\ninteresting account of the various purposes for which the clever,\nindustrious beavers use this apparently awkward appendage.\n\n\"Do you know any Nanahboozhoo stories in which he tells anything about\nbeavers or muskrats?\" asked Sagastao.\n\n\"Yes, indeed,\" replied Souwanas; \"in nearly all the stories that are told\nabout the forming of the new land after the great flood both the beaver and\nthe muskrat are mentioned, as well as the other animals.\"\n\n\"Tell us one of the stories,\" urged little Minnehaha.\n\nThe arrival of some other canoes at this point interrupted the\nconversation. The newcomers were on their way to the wigwam of Souwanas,\nwho was their chief. He was about to go on with them, but when he saw the\nlook of disappointment on the faces of the children he, with his usual\nthoughtful kindness, transferred the two beavers and the muskrats from his\nown canoe to one of the late arrivals. Then telling the people to give them\nto his wife, to have them all cooked and ready for dinner, by which time he\nwould join them, he sent the people on their way. Having lighted his\ncalumet, with the children seated near him, he began:\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo's life commenced long before the great flood of waters that\ncovered the earth, about which all of our tribes have heard something. He\nhad his own wigwam and furnished it with everything he wanted. One day when\nwalking on the shore of a great river he saw some sea lions lying on the\nsandy beach, basking in the sun. These animals, like the beaver, could live\nas well in the water as on the land. As he closely watched them from a\ndistance, and saw the rich, shiny skins, he thought what a nice tobacco\npouch could be made out of one of them. When Nanahboozhoo once set his\nheart on anything he at once began to work hard to secure it. He tried\nvarious plans to capture one of these sea-lions, but none of them\nsucceeded. They were too clever to be caught as other animals are, and he\nsaw that he would have to adopt some unusual method. He decided that he\nwould go down very early to the spot on the bank of the river where they\nwere in the habit of sunning themselves and disguise himself as an old\nstump of a tree, then, when they came out and were enjoying the sunshine,\nhe would shoot the fine old white one with the beautiful glossy skin that\nhe had so much admired. As on other days the lions came, and when they saw\nthis stump the white lion, which was a kind of king among them, said:\n\n\"'I never saw that big stump before. I think it must be Nanahboozhoo.'\n\n\"Another one said he thought the same thing.\n\n\"Others only laughed, and said, 'It is only an old pine stump.'\n\n\"However, as a number of them were suspicious, it was decided to go up and\nshake it and see if it would move, and thus really find out. They went to\nit, and three of them together used their greatest efforts to move it.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo had to make one of the hardest efforts of his life to hold\nfirm. However, he succeeded, and so the lions only said:\n\n\"'It really is a stump of a tree, but it is very strange we did not notice\nit before.' Then they rolled about on the warm sand in the sunshine until\none after another fell asleep.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo now noiselessly and quickly turned himself into a young\nhunter, then taking up his bow and arrow he shot the white lion. His arrow\nstuck fast in his body and badly wounded him, but did not kill him. At once\nthe lions all plunged into the river and disappeared. Nanahboozhoo was\nsorry that he did not get the lion's skin, indeed he was greatly vexed and\nannoyed to have to return to his wigwam without it. A day or two after, as\nhe was walking in the woods, he met with a very old woman. She had a bundle\nof slippery elm bark, out of which poultices were made by the Indians for\nwounds and bruises, and also some roots for medicine.\n\n\"'Where are you going, nookoom (grandmother), and what are you going to do\nwith the bark and roots?'\n\n\"'O' said she, 'you cannot imagine what trouble we are in, for Nanahboozhoo\nhas shot and badly wounded one of our chiefs, and great efforts are going\nto be made to catch and kill him.'\n\n\"She also told him that she had been honored in being sent for to come and\nuse all of her healing arts to try and restore the wounded chief to health\nagain, and that now she was on her way to his abode to poultice him with\nthe slippery elm bark, and to give him medicine, made by boiling the roots,\nto allay the great fever from which he was suffering.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo thus discovered that these lions, as he had supposed them to\nbe, were wicked magicians who had been doing a great deal of harm, and who\nwhen they chose to do so could change themselves into the form of lions and\nlive either under the water or on land, as best suited them, to escape from\nbeing killed by those whom they had injured. As the old woman was very\ntalkative, Nanahboozhoo soon obtained from her all the information he\ndesired. Among other things she told him that sometimes people came to her\nfor bad medicines, to give to persons with whom they had quarreled, and in\nthis way they would kill them with the poisons which she made out of\ntoadstools and other deadly things.\n\n\"Hearing these dreadful facts from her own lips Nanahboozhoo resolved to\nkill her, but first he had her tell him where the wounded chief's abode\nwas, and all about what was expected of her when she arrived there. He then\nspeedily tomahawked her, and clothing himself in her garments he made\nhimself look exactly like her, after which he took up her bundle of bark\nand roots and went to the dwelling of the chiefs.\n\n\"There he found quite a crowd assembled, but all were in confusion and\nexcitement on account of the wounded chief. When they saw, as they thought,\nthe old woman coming, whom they were eagerly expecting, they made way for\nher. Nanahboozhoo went straight to the place where the wounded chief lay.\n\n\"He was surprised to see that the arrow which he had shot was still\nsticking in his side. He made a great ado about preparing the poultices and\nmedicine, and set everybody around him doing something to help carry out\nhis plans. Then when all were hurrying, and none looking at him,\nNanahboozhoo pushed the arrow with such force into the body of the chief\nthat it killed him instantly. Then with a shout of triumph he made his\nescape.\n\n[Illustration: \"He ran away west, to the great mountains.\"]\n\n\"There was, of course, great excitement among the people. They at once\ncalled a council and consulted what they should do to destroy Nanahboozhoo.\nThey were, as I have told you, magicians, and had power to raise the\nwaters, and so they resolved to drown him. They accordingly called on the\nwaters to rise and rush over the plains and forests in the direction in\nwhich he lived. Nanahboozhoo had traveled with great speed back to his\nwigwam, but hardly had he reached it ere he heard the roar of the floods of\nwater that were coming to overwhelm him. He saw his great danger and he ran\naway west, to the great mountains; but the floods of water continued rising\nand drove him up higher and higher. When he saw that he was nearing the\nhighest peak he began to think what he must do next. Around him in the\nraging waters were quantities of logs and trees, and among them, or on the\nnow small peak of land, were numbers of various animals.\n\n\"With all his powers he set to work and it was not very long ere he had a\nlarge raft made out of the floating logs. As the last spot of land was now\nbeing overwhelmed by the flood, and he pitied the animals that were\nswimming about, he took them on the raft with him. As Nanahboozhoo knew all\nthe animals and their languages he held a council on the raft. He told them\nthat if he could get even a very little of the old world that was drowned\nhe could make a new world for them all. He first asked the otter if he\nwould try, and see if he could dive down and bring up a little portion of\nthe earth. The otter at once made the attempt, but after a while he came up\nto the surface apparently quite dead. Nanahboozhoo reached out and lifted\nhim in and placed him in a sunny spot on the raft. Then the beaver tried.\nHe took a great header and down he dived, resolved to succeed if possible,\nbut after a time even he came up apparently as lifeless as the otter.\nNanahboozhoo lifted his body up out of the water and laid it in the sun by\nthe side of the otter. The muskrat next volunteered to try what he could\ndo, so down he dived and, after a much longer time than the others had been\ndown, he too floated up senseless and cold. Nanahboozhoo took him up, and\nas he did so he noticed that there was earth in his mouth and on his paws.\nHe carefully collected this in his hand, and then placed the body of the\nmuskrat beside the otter and the beaver. He then blew upon the earth and\nthus made it dry and porous, so that when it was placed in the water it\nwould not sink but float. He then put a lively little mouse upon it, which\nby running round and round upon the earth made it grow larger and larger.\nNanahboozhoo then put a squirrel upon it for the same object. Then the\nmarten and mink--for the new earth was now so extended that it could hold\nup these light animals.\n\n\"For a time Nanahboozhoo had to guard the now rapidly growing young world\nfrom the larger animals with a stick, for fear they would sink it. They\nwere all very tired of having to remain huddled together so long on the\nraft, and were eager to follow the smaller creatures that seemed so happy\non the new earth, even if it were not very large as yet. As there was much\nto be done to fit this new world up for them to dwell upon, everyone had to\ndo what he could. The birds were sent to fly over the water to pick up\nbranches and seeds.\n\n\"By and by Nanahboozhoo decided that the earth, which had now grown beyond\nthe reach of his eyes, was large enough, and so he revived the otter, the\nbeaver and the muskrat, and with them and all the other animals around him\nhe took possession of the new world.\n\n\"In order to ascertain the size of the world he sent a wolf to run to the\nend of it and then to return at once to him. The wolf easily made the\njourney in one day. Nanahboozhoo then kept him with him for some time, and\nagain sent him off. The second journey took him five days, the third ten,\nthe fourth a month, then he was gone a year and then five years. Thus it\nwent on, until at length Nanahboozhoo started off a young wolf just able to\nrun on the long journey. This one died of old age ere he had completed the\ntrip. Nanahboozhoo then said that the world was large enough, and commanded\nit to cease from growing.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\n\nAmong the Briers and Wild Roses--Why the Roses have\nThorns--Why the Wild Rabbits are White in Winter.\n\nOne day as the children were out in the clearings back of their home,\ngathering some of the wild strawberries that grew there and also some of\nthe wildflowers that bloomed during the short brilliant summer, they were\ndelighted to see Souwanas coming along the road with his gun on his\nshoulder and some ducks and rabbits in his hand.\n\nVery cordial were their greetings, but soon the quick eyes of the kindly\nIndian noticed that there were several long red scratches and even some\ndrops of partly dried blood on the hands of his little friends. It was\nhardly necessary for him to ask the cause of the wounds, as the bunches of\nsweet briers and wild roses, with their sharp needle-like thorns, in the\nhappy children's hands told the tale.\n\nPutting down his gun and game, Souwanas quickly gathered some of the sweet\nfragrant grass which is there so abundant, and skillfully twisting it into\nlittle coils he wound one around each of the bunches of flowers which the\nchildren had gathered, and which they were still having trouble to hold on\naccount of the thorns.\n\nThe bouquets thus arranged could now be carried without inflicting any\nmore wounds or pain. Amid their chat and laughter, for these white children\nwere taught, like Indian children, not to be afraid of a few scratches or a\nlittle pain, Minnehaha, who was industriously wiping the blood from some\nwounds on her little white hands with her apron, said:\n\n\"How is it, Souwanas, that all these rosebushes and briers have such sharp\nthorns on them?\"\n\n\"I suppose Mary would say that Nanahboozhoo, the rascal, had something to\ndo with it,\" put in Sagastao.\n\nAt this reference to Mary there was a mischievous twinkle in the eyes of\nthe old Indian.\n\n\"Yes,\" he replied, \"Nanahboozhoo had lots to do with it, and yet when you\nhear the story you will see that he was not such a rascal at the time he\ndid it as Mary would make out, but almost as good as her pet, Wakonda, who\ngave the bees their stings.\"\n\n\"O tell us all about it now,\" said Minnehaha. \"We have this forenoon as a\nhalf holiday, and papa is to join us in about an hour for a walk in the\nwoods.\"\n\nThe kind-hearted old Indian had been pleased with the plucky way in which\nthe children had slighted their wounded hands, and before he began his\nstory he acted the part of the skillful physician. He found some soft juicy\nleaves which he crushed and spread on the ugly red scratches. The effect\nwas magical, and the children who had so bravely treated their wounds with\nindifference gratefully acknowledged the sudden cessation of the smart.\n\nSelecting a pretty spot under a clump of balsam trees, where some\nboulder-like stones afforded them comfortable seats, the children cuddled\ndown with their old friend, to hear how the roses got their thorns.\n\n\"Long ago the roses were the most abundant of flowers, but they grew on\nbushes that were smooth and fragrant, and such delicious eating that all\nthe animals that eat grass or browse were constantly seeking for and\ndevouring not only the rose flowers but also the bushes on which they grew.\nThe result was that the roses of all kinds were in danger of being\nexterminated. In those days trees and flowers and other things had greater\npowers of thinking and acting than they have now, and so the roses of\ndifferent kinds met in council to decide what could be done to preserve\nthose of them that were still left in existence. It was decided that a\ndeputation of them should be sent to Nanahboozhoo to implore his\nassistance.\n\n\"He is such an eccentric fellow, and assumes so many disguises, that they\nhad a good deal of difficulty in finding him. They traveled long distances,\nand inquired of the various wild animals they met and even consulted the\ntrees and hills. At length they were informed that he was now living in a\nvalley among the mountains and experimenting as a gardener. They hurried\naway as fast as the fierce wind which they had hired to carry them could\nblow them along. At first when they reached his abode they were very much\nfrightened, as it was easy to observe from the loud angry tones in which\nNanahboozhoo, although afar off, was speaking, that he was in a great rage.\nHowever, they had come too far to be easily discouraged. They quietly drew\nnear, and hiding behind some dense balsam trees they carefully listened to\nfind out the cause of his anger. Fortunately, they could not have come at a\nbetter time for themselves, for it seems that Nanahboozhoo had become very\nmuch interested in his work as a gardener. All the things he had planted\nhad grown so well that in order to protect them from prowling wild animals\nhe had set all around the garden a fine hedge of rosebushes. So many were\nrequired that Nanahboozhoo had been obliged to transplant bushes from a\ngreat distance around, for they did not grow so abundantly as formerly.\n\n\"The morning of the very day on which the deputation of the rosebushes\narrived Nanahboozhoo had returned from one of his short adventures. Fancy\nhis indignation at finding that in his absence all sorts of animals, from\nthe rabbit to the mountain elk, had visited his abode, and had not only\ncompletely eaten that lovely hedge of rosebushes, but had also greatly\ninjured the beautiful garden, of which he was so proud!\n\n\"When the deputation of roses understood the cause of his wrath they at\nonce left their hiding places and, aided by a sudden puff of wind, came\nbefore Nanahboozhoo. The sight of them excited his curiosity, as it had\nseemed to him that every rosebush had been destroyed. Before he could say a\nword, however, the rosebushes, who were then able to talk, at once\npresented their petition and pleaded for his powerful assistance to save\nthem from being exterminated by their enemies.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo listened to their petition, and after some consultation with\nthe rose bushes it was decided to cover the stocks and branches, up to the\nvery beautiful flowers, with small thorn-like prickles, so that every\nanimal henceforth would be afraid to either devour or closely approach\nthem, as they had been accustomed to do in the past. With this protection\ngranted them they were more than pleased, and so it now happens that roses\nof many kinds still exist in various parts of the world.\"\n\n\"Thank you very much for that story,\" said Minnehaha. \"Even if Nanahboozhoo\ndid put prickles on the rosebushes he was not a rascal, for we would not\nhave had any roses at all but for what he did.\"\n\nFor a wonder, Sagastao was silent for a time; but at length he found\nsomething to say, and his words were a bit of a confession and promise of\namendment:\n\n\"Now that I know why it is that the prickles are on the wild roses I'll not\nget mad even if my fingers bleed when I am gathering a bouquet for mother.\"\n\nAt this moment the two favorite dogs, Jack and Cuffy, came bounding up. By\nthis the children knew that their father was not far behind, and they were\nnot disappointed. At first he looked anxious when he saw the little hands\nwrapped up in green leaves, but as with merry laughs they told him what the\nleaves were for everything was bright again.\n\nSouwanas was greeted very cordially, as usual, and assured that at the\nmission house he would find in the mistress a willing purchaser of his\nducks and rabbits. The children were always interested in the game,\nalthough Minnehaha strongly declared that it was a pity to kill the pretty\ncreatures. Souwanas and their father were chatting together while the\nchildren were turning the ducks and rabbits over.\n\n\"See what red eyes some of the ducks have,\" said Sagastao. \"They look as\nthough they had been crying.\"\n\n\"Guess you would have cried too,\" rather indignantly replied Minnehaha, \"if\nyou had been shot as they were.\"\n\n\"Huh!\" he replied with a tinge of contempt, \"how could they cry after being\nshot? I don't believe that is it at all. And, look here, Minnehaha, I am\ngoing also to ask why it is that, while all the rabbits were so white in\nwinter, they are all now so brown in summer.\"\n\nQuickly the resolve was carried out, and so, while Minnehaha was telling\nher father what a beautiful story they had heard about the roses, Sagastao,\nwith his hand on the shoulder of the old Indian, who was seated on a rock,\nwas eagerly firing at him his double-barreled question: \"Why have some\nducks such red eyes, and why are the rabbits white in winter and brown in\nsummer?\"\n\n\"Both done by Nanahboozhoo,\" said the old man with a smile, as he took his\npipe out of his mouth.\n\n\"Hurrah for Nanahboozhoo!\" shouted the lad.\n\nThis outburst on the part of Sagastao at once attracted the attention of\nthe others to him and Minnehaha wanted to know what was the matter now.\n\n\"Why, did you not hear? Souwanas says that Nanahboozhoo gave the ducks the\nred eyes and makes the rabbits to be white in winter and brown in summer.\"\nThen turning to Souwanas he asked, \"How does Nanahboozhoo do it?\"\n\nHere the father, while amused at the lad's enthusiasm, interposed, and\nsaid:\n\n\"You have already kept Souwanas a long time, and perhaps he is busy.\"\n\n\"Busy!\" said the irrepressible Sagastao, who was shrewd beyond his years.\n\"Busy! Why Souwanas would rather tell stories than do anything else--unless\nto smoke his pipe.\"\n\nThen he glibly told Souwanas in Saulteaux what had passed between him and\nhis father in English, and added, \"Is that not so, Souwanas?\"\n\nThe old Indian smiled, and said kindly:\n\n\"How can I help enjoying telling stories when I have such good little\nlisteners?\"\n\n\"But what about his dinner?\" asked the kind-hearted Minnehaha. \"If we keep\nhim here telling stories he will be too late to get back to his wigwam for\nhis dinner. I think we had better take him home with us.\"\n\nThis was quickly decided upon, and that there might be no mistake a piece\nof bark was quickly cut from a birch tree and a few lines written upon it\ntelling the good mother in the home that they had met Souwanas, and that he\nwas entertaining the children with Nanahboozhoo stories and would be with\nthem to dinner. Then Jack, the great dog, was called and sent back with the\nmissive, with orders to give it to his mistress.\n\nAs the dog dashed away homeward the mischievous Sagastao said:\n\n\"My! don't I wish I was in the kitchen when Mary hears that we are out here\nwith Souwanas listening to stories about Nanahboozhoo! Won't she be hopping\nmad!\"\n\n\"It will be better,\" said his father, \"for Souwanas to tell his story than\nfor you to make any further remarks of that kind.\"\n\nAt first Souwanas seemed to show some hesitancy in beginning his story in\nthe presence of his missionary, and he whispered to Sagastao his fears that\nperhaps his father would not care for such trifles as Indian legends and\nstories.\n\nWith his usual bluntness, the lad declared:\n\n\"O, you don't know our father if you think that way about him. He loves\nnice stories as well as we do, and tells us lots of them; so go ahead, for\nyou are going home to dinner with us.\"\n\nThus assured, the old man began:\n\n\"I will tell you to-day about how it is that the rabbits are white in\nwinter.\n\n\"Long ago they were always brown, just like those that are lying there\nwith the ducks. It is true that they increase very fast, but then it is\nvery true that they have many enemies. They have not many ways to defend\nthemselves against their foes, who are of so many kinds. Almost all the\nanimals that live on flesh are always hunting for rabbits, and so are the\nfoxes of all kinds, the wild cats, wolves, and wolverines, and even the\nlittle weasels and ermine. Then there are fierce birds--the eagle, the\nhawks of all kinds and the owls--that are always on the lookout for\nrabbits, young or old.\n\n\"The result was that with this war continually being waged against them the\npoor rabbits had a hard time of it, and especially in winter; for they\nfound it very difficult to hide themselves when the leaves were off the\ntrees and the ground covered with snow. In those days in the long ago the\nanimals used to have a great council. There the great fathers or heads of\neach kind of animal and bird used to meet together and talk about their\nwelfare and the welfare of each other. Then there was peace and friendship\namong them while at the council.\n\n\"They appointed a king, and he presided as a great head chief. All the\nanimals that had troubles or grievances had a right to come and speak about\nthem and, if possible, have them remedied.\n\n\"Some queer things were said sometimes. At one council the bear found great\nfault with the fox, who had deceived him, and had caused him to lose his\nbeautiful tail by telling him to go and catch fish in a big crack in the\nice. He sat there so long that the crack froze up solidly and to save his\nlife he had to break off his tail.\n\n\"But all the things they talked about were not so funny as that. They had\ntheir troubles and dangers, and they discussed various plans for improving\ntheir condition and considered how they could best defeat the skill and\ncleverness of the human hunters.\n\n\"When the rabbit's turn came to be heard he had indeed a sorrowful tale to\ntell. He said that his people were nearly all destroyed. The rest of the\nworld seemed combined against his race, and they were killing them by day\nand night, in summer and winter, and they had but little power to fight\nagainst their many enemies. They were almost discouraged, but had come to\nthe council to see if their brethren could suggest any remedy or plan to\nsave them from complete destruction. While the rabbit was speaking the\nwolverine winked at the wildcat, while the fox, although he tried to look\nsolemn, could not keep his mouth from watering at the thought of the many\nrabbits he intended yet to eat.\n\n\"Thus it can be seen that the poor, harmless rabbit did not get much\nsympathy from that part of the crowd that killed his race all the rest of\nthe year.\n\n\"Still there were some animals, like the moose, and the reindeer, and the\nmountain goat, that stood up in the council and spoke out bravely for the\nrabbit. Indeed they told the animals that had only laughed at the rabbit's\nsad story that, if nothing was done for the little rabbit and they went on\nkilling as they were doing, they would soon be the greatest sufferers, for\nif the rabbits were all gone there was nothing else that they could get in\nsufficient numbers to keep them alive. This, which is a fact, rather\nsobered some of them at first; but they soon resumed their mocking at the\npoor little rabbit and his story, and, as they were in the majority, the\ncouncil refused to do anything in the matter.\n\n\"When the moose heard the decision of the council he was very sorry for his\npoor little brother the rabbit, so after thinking it over he told the\nrabbit to jump up on one of his flat horns while he was holding them down.\nThen the moose carried him out some distance from the council meeting, and\nsaid:\n\n\"There is no hope for you here. The most of the animals live on you, and so\nthey will not do anything that will make it more difficult for you to be\ncaught than it is now. Your only chance is to go to Nanahboozhoo, and see\nwhat he can do for you.\"\n\n\"Hurrah!\" shouted Sagastao. \"I thought it would be to Nanahboozhoo after\nall.\"\n\nContinuing, Souwanas said:\n\n\"The moose encouraged the rabbit by saying, 'Nanahboozhoo's name was once\nManabush, or Keche-Wapoose, Great Rabbit, and so I am sure he will be your\nfriend, as I think he is a distant relation.'\n\n\"Not waiting for the council to close, away sped the rabbit along the route\ndescribed by the moose, who had lately found out where Nanahboozhoo was\nstopping. The rabbit was such a timid creature that when he came near to\nNanahboozhoo he was much afraid that he would not be welcomed. However,\nhis case was desperate, and although his heart was thumping within him\nwith fear he hurried along to have the thing over as soon as possible. To\nhis great joy he found Nanahboozhoo in the best of humor and he was\nreceived most kindly.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo saw how wearied and tired the rabbit was after the long\njourney, and so he made him rest on some fragrant grass in the sunshine\nwhile he went out and brought in for him to eat some of the choicest things\nfrom his garden. Then afterward he had the rabbit tell of all his troubles\nand of how he was treated at the council.\n\n\"This part of the story, of how they acted at the council, made\nNanahboozhoo very angry.\n\n\"'And that's the way they treated this little brother at the council we\nhave given them, where it is expected that the smallest and the weakest\nshall have the same right to have his case heard and attended to as the\nbiggest and strongest! It is high time that somebody was coming to me with\ncouncil news if things are like this. Look out, Mister Fox, and Wolverine,\nand Wild Cat, for if I get after you I will so straighten you out that you\nwill be sorry that the rabbit had to go to Nanahboozhoo for the help you\nought to have given him!'\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo had worked himself up into such a furious temper that the\nrabbit was almost frightened to death. But when he saw this Nanahboozhoo\nonly laughed at him, and said he was sorry to have scared him.\n\n\"'I was so angry,' said Nanahboozhoo, 'at those animals for ill-treating\nyou that I forgot myself; and now, little brother, what do you want me to\ndo for you?'\n\n\"They had a long talk about the matter and the decision was that there\nshould be two great changes. The first was that the eyes of the rabbit were\nto be so increased in power that they should in future be able to see by\nnight as well as by day, and the second was that in all Northlands where\nmuch snow falls during many months of the year rabbits shall change into a\nbeautiful white color, like the snow, and thus continue as long as the\nwinter lasts. And the rabbits now have a much better time than they had\nformerly. They can glide away in the darkness from their enemies when in\nthe woods, and when out in the snow they are not easily seen and often\nescape notice by remaining perfectly still.\"\n\nBut long ere Souwanas had ended Jack had returned from the home with a note\nto say that dinner would soon be ready, and that no one could be more\nwelcome than Souwanas.\n\n\"But what about the red eyes of the ducks?\" said the two children, whose\nappetites for stories were simply--well, like those of other boys and\ngirls.\n\nHere the father had to interfere and say that there had been quite enough\nfor one day. However, before the walk homeward began, Souwanas was pledged\nto tell the other story at the first convenient opportunity.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\n\nPassing Hunters and Their Spoils--The Vain Woman--Why\nthe Marten has a White Spot on His Breast.\n\nAs the home where Sagastao and Minnehaha lived was near a trail along which\nnumbers of Indian hunters were accustomed to travel when on their way to\nthe trading post with their furs, they frequently called in to see their\nloved friends the palefaces. These hunters were always welcome, and as they\nwere very seldom in a hurry the children drew from them many a quaint\nIndian legend or story of animal life.\n\nIt was also a great pleasure for the children to have the hunters,\nreturning from a successful trip, open their fur packs and spread out\nbefore them the rich furs and tell them stories about these animals--the\nsilver fox, the otter, beavers, minks, martens, ermines, and sometimes even\nabout great bears and wolves, whose skin they had often had. These valuable\nfurs were generally well dressed and prepared for shipment by the\nindustrious women before they were taken to the trading post. Sometimes,\nhowever, a hunter when on the trail to the trading post would find in one\nof his traps an animal just caught, and not having time to return to his\nwigwam and have the skin dressed and dried he would carry the animal just\nas it was and sell it to the fur traders.\n\nOne day there called a number of Indians, and among them was a hunter with\na couple of martens which he had caught in his trap that very morning.\nSagastao and Minnehaha had never seen these little animals before, and they\nhandled them with much interest and asked several questions about them.\n\n\"Why has the marten that queer white spot on its throat?\" asked Minnehaha.\n\nThe Indians looked at each other and a grim smile flitted over their\nbronzed faces when they heard this question.\n\nTheir conduct only the more excited the curiosity of the children and they\nboth clamored for the answer. Then one of the Indians said:\n\n\"Ask Mary; she knows all about the story, and as a woman was in the affair\nshe can tell it better than we can.\"\n\nWith this answer the children had to be content, for the hunters, having\ndrank their cups of tea, soon took their departure.\n\nWhen the children found Mary they at once demanded the story.\n\n\"What story?\" said Mary.\n\n\"O, you know what we want, for you were in the kitchen and heard what was\nsaid.\"\n\n[Illustration: Wigwams and Indians.]\n\nBut Mary still protested her ignorance, and declared that she had been so\nbusy caring for Souwanaquenapeke that she had not listened to half the\nchatter that had passed between them and the Indians.\n\n\"O, I know you, sakehow Mary,\" said Sagastao. \"You don't want to tell us\nbecause there was a woman like yourself mixed up in it.\"\n\nMary bridled up with indignation, but before she could utter a word the\narms of Sagastao were around her neck, and he cried:\n\n\"Forgive me, sakehou! for speaking so foolishly. I do remember now that you\nhad left the kitchen with baby before Minnehaha asked the question.\"\n\nThis prompt apology and the sweet word \"sakehow\" restored harmony, and Mary\nwas now anxious to please them.\n\n\"What was the question which interested you?\" asked Mary.\n\n\"Why has the marten that queer white spot on its throat?\" asked Minnehaha.\n\n\"And the men told us to go to you because there was a woman in it,\" added\nSagastao.\n\nMary smiled when she heard this.\n\n\"Yes,\" she said, \"there was a foolish woman mixed up in the story. It was\nlike this, as far as I can remember, and it is a story from the North\npeople. Long ago a man had a wife who was a very proud, vain woman. She was\nnot contented with having her husband and her own people saying nice things\nabout her, but she wanted to be flattered and admired by every creature.\nYou know that I have told you that, in old times, animals could talk and\ndo many things. Well, this conceited woman, with her silly foolish way,\nbegan attracting the different animals around her. Almost everybody was\nlaughing at her, but she seemed to think it great fun to have so many\nadmirers. She got a lesson one day when flirting with the bear. They were\nwalking along together and she let him put his arm around her, but he gave\nher such a hug that he broke two of her ribs. She was a long time getting\nwell and then her husband gave her a great lecturing. You would have\nthought that this would have cured her, but not a bit of it. When she was\nwell again she was just as silly as ever, though she took good care not to\nflirt with any animal that could hug like a bear. She next bewitched the\nskunk with her foolishness. But one day, as they walked together, a dog\nsuddenly attacked the skunk and in his anger and excitement he so perfumed\nthe woman, instead of the dog, with his odor that her husband found her out\nand gave her a beating.\n\n\"Everybody was now laughing at her on account of her silly ways, and as her\nhusband had persons employed to see what creatures she went out walking\nwith she had to remain at home in her wigwam. But when a woman gets proud\nand conceited and carries on like this one did she is hard to cure. The\nfact was, her husband was too kind to her. He did not give her plenty of\nwork to keep her busy and out of mischief. Instead of making her chop the\nwood and carry the water, and do other hard things, he did it for her, for\nhe was very proud of her and she was indeed a beautiful woman. He did,\nhowever, make her stay in their wigwam instead of allowing her to go about\nwherever she liked.\n\n\"She spent most of her time in fixing herself up in her beautiful clothes\nand thinking what a lovely creature she was. But she soon missed the\nflattery of her admirers and resolved that, in spite of her husband, she\nwould try to hear it again. So vigilant, however, were her husband and his\nfriends that they were too clever for her.\n\n\"One day her husband returned from hunting and visiting his traps and\nsnares. Among other animals that he had trapped was a beautiful marten. He\nhad caught it in what is called a dead-fall; that is, where a log is so\narranged that when the animal reaches the bait he is directly under the\nlog, which falls upon him the instant he pulls the bait.\n\n\"When the woman took up the marten which her husband had thrown at her feet\nshe noticed that it was still quite warm, but she said nothing about it to\nher husband, who, picking up an ax and blanket, said that he was going off\nto visit his more distant traps and would not be back for some days. Before\nhe left he made her promise that she would not leave the wigwam until his\nreturn.\n\n\"The woman, as soon as she was sure that her husband was really gone,\npicked up the marten. On examining it she was convinced that it was not\ndead, only knocked senseless by the falling log, so she rubbed it, and\nbreathed into its nostrils, and then with a reed blew air into its lungs.\n\n\"Sure enough, the life was in it, and the first sign it gave was a big\nsneeze or two. At this the woman wrapped it up in a warm covering and held\nit until it was well again. The marten, of course, was very much frightened\nwhen it found itself in the hands of a woman. It was about to struggle to\nget free, when the woman spoke to it in its own language. At this it was\nvery much surprised, and more so when the woman told it how she had given\nit back its life, and that now in return it must do what she desired.\n\n\"Any animal or human being would be willing to promise as much when its\nlife had been thus restored to it.\n\n\"'I will do anything I can for you,' said the marten.\n\n\"'I want you to go to your king marten,' said the woman, 'and tell him that\na beautiful lady has heard so many wonderful things about him that she is\nvery anxious to have a visit from him.'\n\n\"This the marten promised to do, and it was not very long before the king\nmarten came. Of course he had to be very cautious, as he had been warned of\nthe many who were watching the silly woman.\n\n\"Hardly, however, had he time to say much to her before the footsteps of\nher husband were heard outside. The instant he opened the door of the\nwigwam the king marten ran out, and disappeared in the forest.\n\n\"'What was that?' asked the husband.\n\n\"'O, dear, that was the marten you trapped. It must have come to life and\nescaped,' said the woman, who thus cleverly saved herself and the king\nmarten.\n\n\"The man was suspicious, but as the marten which he had trapped was not to\nbe found he could not find fault with her, except to say that she ought to\nhave skinned the marten soon after he had brought it in.\n\n\"The king marten, who was a very conceited fellow, had been quite struck\nwith the beauty of the woman, and so, in spite of his narrow escape, he\nresolved to go and see her again. By watching her husband's departure he\nmanaged to have several brief visits, and at length became so infatuated\nwith her that he tried to coax her to run away with him.\n\n\"When she heard this she was very angry, for, with all her foolishness, she\nhad only acted as she did because of her vanity and love of flattery. Now\nthat the marten had dared make such a request she resolved that he should\nbe punished; so one day, when he was sitting beside her and saying a lot of\nfoolish flattery, she heard the footsteps of her husband approaching, but\ndid not warn the king marten.\n\n\"So the man thus caught the old marten sitting by the side of his wife. At\nthis he was much annoyed, and as the marten suddenly ran out the man asked\nthe woman what it meant. So she told him all that the marten had said, and\nof his impertinence in asking her to leave him and become the marten's\nwife. At this the man was very indignant, and so they arranged to punish\nthe marten.\n\n\"The next time the man went off he told his wife to fill the kettle with\nwater and put it on the fire to boil. Then the man took his traps and\nstarted off as though he were going on a long journey. But he only went a\nlittle way, just far enough to throw the marten off his guard, and, sure\nenough, while he was watching he saw the marten go into the wigwam.\n\n\"Then the man came quietly to the door and listened. He heard the marten\nurging his wife to leave and run away with him. Then he suddenly sprang\ninto the tent and shouted out:\n\n\"'Old king marten, what are you doing here? How dare you talk to my wife?'\n\n\"So saying, the man seized the kettle of boiling water and threw its\ncontents at the marten, severely scalding him. The marten tore at his\nburning breast as he dashed away into the woods. And from that day to this\nall martens have that whitish spot on their chests caused by that burn.\"\n\n\"What became of the woman?\" said Sagastao.\n\n\"Never mind now. We have wasted too much time already on such a\ngood-for-nothing conceited flirt,\" said Mary.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\n\nShooting Loons--Why the Loon has a Flat Back, Red\nEyes, and Such Queer Feet--Nanahboozhoo Loses His\nDinner--Origin of Lichens--Why Some Willows are\nRed--The Partridge.\n\nNothing gave the children greater pleasure than to have the Indians take\nthem in their canoes for a couple of hours' trip on the bright waters of\nthe beautiful lake that spread out before their home.\n\nThese pleasant outings were sometimes rendered exciting and doubly\ninteresting by the sight of a black bear or a deer wandering on the shore\nor swimming from some point on the island. At other times there would be\nnumbers of loons, or great Northern divers, as they are generally called.\nTheir wonderful quickness in diving, then the length of time that they\ncould remain under the water and the great distance they would swim before\ncoming to the surface were watched with great interest by both Sagastao and\nMinnehaha.\n\nThe Indians did not often hunt loons. In fact they found it so difficult to\nshoot one that more than its value in ammunition was generally expended in\nthe attempt. The Indians always declared that these clever birds could see\nthe flash of their guns and dive down out of danger before the shot reached\nthem.\n\nHowever, as some of them were desired for their beautiful feather-covered\nskins, which make most valuable and beautiful caps and muffs, it was\ndecided that Souwanas and Kennedy should take the missionary's\nbreech-loading rifle, in addition to their own guns, and try to secure a\nfew.\n\nThe children begged to be allowed to accompany them, and as the day was\nunusually fine and the lake almost without a ripple they were given a\nholiday and allowed the privilege of an all-day outing with these two\ntrusty and experienced men.\n\nA generous lunch, with the indispensable tea kettle, was placed in the\ncanoe by careful Mary, who, as usual, was angry that the children were to\nbe so long under the witchery of old Souwanas.\n\nWith the merry shouts of laughter from the children as their accompaniment\nthe two Indians skillfully plied their paddles, and it was not long before\nthey were some miles distant and on the lookout for loons. It often happens\nthat the things desired are the last to come. So it was this day. Wild\nducks in goodly numbers, and even geese and some swans and pelicans were\nfrequently seen. At length, however, strange, mournful sounds far ahead\nwere heard, and the experienced Indians knew that the birds for which they\nwere looking were not far away. Still it was some time before the first\nlong white neck and black head were seen in the distance, for the cry of\nthe loon not only differs from that of any other bird, but is very\nfar-reaching.\n\nThe excited children were now told to be very still and keep quiet, using\ntheir eyes alone, and witness the contest between man's skill and the\nbirds' cleverness.\n\nSo accustomed have some old loons become to being fired at and missed by\nIndians using the old-fashioned flintlock shotgun, which makes such a flash\nwhen fired, that they just barely keep out of range. The instant they see\nthe fire flash--down they go, and then as the shot or bullet strikes the\nplace where they were they bob up again serenely in the same spot, or in\none not very far distant. This risky sport some of them will keep up for\nhours, or until the disheartened hunters have wasted nearly all their\nammunition.\n\nTo-day, however, there was to be a new weapon tried against them, and, alas\nfor them, they were sadly worsted. Kennedy first loaded his old flintlock\nshotgun and blazed away, but, as usual, they were out of sight under the\nwater before the shot struck the place where the loons had been.\n\nFor a time the loons were shy, and swam quite a distance away. But after a\nwhile, as they found that Kennedy's gunshots could be dodged, they did not\nbother to swim very far away. This was just what Souwanas was waiting for.\nHe now took up the rifle, and as soon as a loon came to the surface he\nfired from this new weapon, that gave no flash to warn the poor bird of the\ndeadly bullet that was so rapidly speeding on its way. Thus it happened\nthat loon after loon was struck and several beautiful birds were\nsecured--greatly to the sorrow of the children, who delighted in watching\ntheir clever diving and sudden reappearance after Kennedy discharged his\nold gun. Out of deference to their feelings the Indians soon ceased\nshooting, although with this new rifle they could easily have secured many\nmore.\n\n\"Let us now go ashore, on one of these islands,\" said Sagastao, \"and have\nour lunch.\"\n\n\"And a Nanahboozhoo story after,\" put in Minnehaha.\n\nThis plan was just what the Indians were thinking about, and so in a short\ntime they were all on the shore. Dry wood was abundant and a bright fire\nwas soon burning, and then, when the water was boiled and the tea made, the\nlunch basket was opened and the meal was much enjoyed by all.\n\n\"Now, Souwanas,\" said Minnehaha, \"we are all ready for the story at the\nsame time, and if your pipe goes out I'll hand you a burning stick with\nwhich you can light it again.\"\n\n\"Maybe I will keep you very busy,\" remarked the old man, much amused at the\noffer--and so it proved, for his pipe to-day persisted in going out.\n\n\"One day,\" began Souwanas, \"as Nanahboozhoo was walking along the shore of\na lake he became hungry. He considered what it would be best for him to do\nin order to procure something to eat. He decided to deceive the waterfowls.\nHe saw a duck swimming along near the shore and spoke to the bird in this\nfashion:\n\n\"'Come here, my brother.'\n\n\"'What is it?' said the duck, as it approached Nanahboozhoo.\n\n\"'Kesha Munedoo (Gracious Spirit) has revealed words to me to tell to all\nthe waterfowl some very important things. Go and tell all sorts of\nwaterfowl to come, and when they are all together I will inform you what\nhas been revealed to me.'\n\n\"The duck obeyed Nanahboozhoo, who in the meantime made a very bare wigwam\nof green boughs, or rather caused it to appear that he did, for he did not\nexert much labor upon it. All sorts of waterfowl came to Nanahboozhoo and\nthey seemed anxious to hear what had been revealed. Nanahboozhoo received\nthem with great apparent friendliness and invited them to come into the\nwigwam. When they had all entered, he said:\n\n\"'You must all dance, first, before I tell you what has been revealed to\nme. All of you must stand close together around inside of the wigwam and\nput your necks close together while dancing, and all of you must flap your\nwings at the same time.'\n\n\"Then Nanahboozhoo commenced singing:\n\n  \"'Pau-zau-gwa-be-she-moog,\n  Ke-ku-ma-mis-kwa-she-gun.'\n\n  (\"'Shut your eyes,\n  And I'll make you wise.')\n\n\"These words Nanahboozhoo repeated three times.\n\n\"All the fowl kept time to the music and words of the song, and danced,\nshutting their eyes. Nanahboozhoo continued singing, changing to the\nfollowing words:\n\n  \"'Au-yun-ze-kwa-gau.'\n\n\"All the time such was Nanahboozhoo's power over the birds that they kept\nsinging and dancing and at the same time holding their heads close\ntogether. Nanahboozhoo's voice was singing in the center of the tent, his\ndrum beating at the same time, while he in person went around in the wigwam\nor lodge wringing the necks of the waterfowl and throwing them on the side\nof the lodge. The loon, the great diver bird, was dancing on the open door\nside of the lodge. He suspected that Nanahboozhoo was up to some of his\ntricks, doing something bad, so he opened his eyes and saw. At once he gave\nthe alarm, and shouted:\n\n\"'Nanahboozhoo is killing us!'\n\n\"All the fowl that were still alive when they heard these words at once\nflew out at the top opening of the lodge, except the loon, or diver, and he\nbeing at the door turned and ran out of the lodge as fast as he could\ntoward the shore of the lake.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo was so angry at him for daring to open his eyes, and then for\nwarning the others, enabling many of them to get away, that he ran after\nhim and stamped upon him as he had just reached the shore. Hence it is,\nbecause of Nanahboozhoo's cruelty, that the loon has had a flat back and\nred eyes, and its feet are so unlike those of any other waterfowl.\n\n\"When Nanahboozhoo had made a large fire he took the waterfowls he had\nkilled before the diver gave the alarm, and covered them under the ashes,\nleaving only their feet sticking out. While he was waiting for them to cook\nhe felt very sleepy, so he lay down to rest.\n\n\"But before he went to sleep he said, 'My face side has always done all the\nwatching. This is not fair. I will make my back do its share of the\nwatching.'\n\n\"So, as he cuddled down to have a sleep before the fire, he said to his\nback:\n\n\"'Now, you do the watching, you lazy, broad back, while I am sleeping.'\nThen, being very tired, he fell into a heavy sleep.\n\n\"After a time the watcher called out:\n\n\"'Nanahboozhoo! Indians are coming!'\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo slightly raised himself, but he saw no Indians, so he lay\ndown to sleep again.\n\n\"But again and yet again, for three times, did his faithful watcher call\nand warn him against his approaching enemies. Nanahboozhoo was now so\nstupid with sleep that he only aroused himself a little, not enough to\nenable him to detect the lurking enemy. So he became very angry with his\nwatcher, his broad back, and gave it a great thrashing, saying:\n\n\"'There! take that, you great stupid watcher, for so disturbing me with\nyour false reports!'\n\n\"Then Nanahboozhoo fell asleep again. The broad back was very much\noffended at the treatment he had received, for he knew he was right, and\nnow, though the Indians were close at hand, he did not again warn\nNanahboozhoo, so the enemies came and stole all of his cooked fowls. The\nIndians carefully lifted out the fowls by their legs, which Nanahboozhoo\nleft sticking up. When they had eaten the bodies of the fowls they stuck\nback the legs in the ashes, as Nanahboozhoo had left them.\n\n\"When at last his sleep was ended Nanahboozhoo arose ready for his meal of\nnicely cooked fowl. Great, indeed, were his surprise and indignation when\nhe pulled out the feet from the ashes and found that the bodies of the\nfowls were not there.\n\n\"He flew into a passion and resolved to punish his back. So he made a fire\nof big trees and stood with his back very close to it. When his flesh began\nto be badly burned it blistered, and made a noise like the roasting of\nmeat. Nanahboozhoo did not at first seem to mind the pain, and only said:\n\n\"'You may well say 'Zeeng, Zeeng,' in your burning. I will teach you a\nlesson you will remember for not telling me that the Indians were stealing\nmy roasted waterfowl.'\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo then went on his way, but in spite of his magic powers he\nfelt a sort of a soreness in his back. He twisted his head around and saw\nthe blisters that had been made by the fierce fire. So he thought how he\nmust get rid of them, for they bothered him, although nothing could injure\nhim for very long. While walking on the edge of a precipice he\nslipped--and away he slid, far down the rocky side. When he reached the\nbottom, he looked back, and there, on the rock, on which he had slid down,\nhe saw things which he had never seen before.\n\n\"'My nephews,' said Nanahboozhoo, 'when they see these things on the rocks,\nwill call them Wau-konug (lichen), and although they are poor food they\nwill keep them from starving when they have nothing better.'\n\n\"This is the Indian tradition of the origin of the patches of lichen\nattached to the bare rocks. The Indians still call them 'no-scabs,' and\nwhen boiled they make a kind of jelly food which is a little better than\nstarvation.\n\n\"Then Nanahboozhoo, although his back was bleeding from his sliding down\nthe rough rocks, continued walking, sometimes along the shore and sometimes\nin the thick bush. In one place where the thicket was very dense such was\nhis magic power that he pulled a lot of the thickets together and walked\nover on their tops. When he looked back he saw that the blood from the\nwounds in his back had given a red color to the bushes over which he had\nwalked. Then said Nanahboozhoo:\n\n\"'My nephews will call these bushes \"Me-squah-be-me-sheen\" (red willows).\nThey will use them to stop bleeding when they meet with any severe\naccidents;' and such the Indians still do when they live among them.\n\n\"This is the tradition as to the origin of the red willow, once so common\nin many of the Indian haunts.\n\n\"The reason why the partridge is called Kosh-ko-e-wa-soo (one that\nstartles) is because one made even Nanahboozhoo give a big jump. It\nhappened in this way:\n\n\"As Nanahboozhoo was walking along one day in the woods he saw a small\ncreature. This little thing thought it would be best for him to be brave in\nthe presence of Nanahboozhoo, and so when he was asked who he was he\nanswered:\n\n\"'I am one who startles.'\n\n\"'You cannot startle me,' said Nanahboozhoo.\n\n\"The little creature suddenly flew away and Nanahboozhoo resumed his\njourney. By and by he reached a dangerous rocky point on the shore. Just as\nhe was at the worst point the partridge suddenly flew almost from under his\nfeet with a rumbling noise, and so startled him that he jumped up, sprang\nquickly aside, fell into the water, and got a great wetting. So even\nNanahboozhoo had to confirm the name of the little partridge.\"\n\nThe return trip was not much enjoyed by the children. The dead loons in the\ncanoe did not look as attractive as they had appeared when swimming and\ndiving so gracefully in the lake. Souwanas was quick to notice their\ndepression of spirits, and he there and then resolved that he would never\nagain shoot any living thing in their presence, and he faithfully kept his\nresolve.\n\nMary met them as they landed and her quick eyes detected the change in\ntheir spirits, and as they wore their hearts on their sleeves for her she\nquickly found out the cause of their sorrow. She was not slow in availing\nherself of the opportunity afforded of giving Souwanas and Kennedy a\nvigorous scolding for nearly breaking the hearts of her precious darlings,\nby killing in their presence some of the birds whose play they had often\nwatched for hours together.\n\nThe two men took her scolding in their usual silent way, and then had a\nquiet laugh together when her wrath had exhausted itself and she had\nindignantly walked off with the children.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII.\n\n\nNanahboozhoo's Ride on the Back of the Buzzard, who\nLets Him Fall--A Short-lived Triumph--Why the Buzzard\nhas No Feathers on His Head or Neck.\n\nOne beautiful warm day, when the leaves of the trees were all bright and\ngolden with their autumnal tints, the children were visiting at the tent of\nSouwanas.\n\nThe old man was making a beautiful little bow and a quiver full of arrows\nfor Sagastao while the old wife was manufacturing an elaborate baby cradle,\nof the Indian pattern, for Minnehaha, in which she could carry her favorite\ndoll in the style popular among the Indian girls.\n\nThe children were much interested in watching these highly-prized gifts\nbeing prepared for them, and of course had much to say in the way of thanks\nto those who were doing so much to add to their happiness.\n\nWhile they were thus busy several canoes were seen coming from the south.\nAs the wind was favorable sails had been improvised out of blankets, each\nfastened to a couple of oars, and with these simple appliances they sped\nrapidly along. Seeing Souwanas's wigwam on the point of land the Indians\ncame to the shore and smoked and chatted for a short time ere they\nresumed their journey toward the north.\n\n[Illustration: The Indian story-teller.]\n\nThey had in their canoes quite a variety of game, and among them a large\nill-smelling bird called a turkey-buzzard. It was said that the young\nIndian hunter who had shot it thought at first that it really was a turkey,\nbut he found out his mistake when he went to lift it from the ground where\nit had fallen. The odor was so offensive that at first he thought he would\nleave it behind, but when he remembered that often some of the large\nfeathers were used in ornamental work he decided to bring it along.\n\nThe children were interested in its appearance, as this was the first dead\nturkey-buzzard they had ever seen.\n\n\"Look, Souwanas,\" said Minnehaha, \"the poor birdie has no feathers on its\nneck or head. It must be very cold there when the winter comes.\"\n\n\"Well, I think that, as likely as not, it was its own fault that it lost\nits feathers,\" said Sagastao, and then he added as he poked the rank bird\nover with a stick:\n\n\"I would not be surprised to hear that Nanahboozhoo had something to do\nwith it.\"\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo had,\" said Souwanas, \"and it was because of a mean trick that\nthe buzzard played upon him. And now that these Indians are off, who are in\na hurry to reach Poplar Point, if you will sit down on the rocks in the\nwarm sunshine I will tell you the story.\"\n\nNo second invitation was necessary, so while the children seated\nthemselves near him on the; smooth granite rock the old man continued his\narrow making and told them the following story:\n\n\n\"One day when Nanahboozhoo was walking through the country he saw the\nbuzzard soaring up high in the air. Like an eagle, he was making graceful\ncircles round and round with very little effort. After a time the buzzard\nflew down to the earth, and there he stood on a rock with his great wings\noutstretched. Nanahboozhoo quietly approached and entered into conversation\nwith him.\n\n\"'Brother Buzzard,' he said, 'you must be very happy when sailing around up\nthere in the blue sky where you can so easily see everything that is going\non down here on the world below you. I wish you would take me up there on\nyour back and let me see how this world looks from that high place in the\nblue sky, where you live so much.'\n\n\"The buzzard on hearing this request at once flew down to the side of\nNanahboozhoo and said:\n\n\"'I will with pleasure take you up on my back and let you see, as you\ndesire, how the world looks from that high place.'\n\n\"Then Nanahboozhoo, seeing how smooth was the back of the great bird, said:\n\n\"'Brother Buzzard, your back is so smooth that I am afraid I will slip off,\nso you must be careful not to sweep round too rapidly in your circles in\nthe sky.'\n\n\"The buzzard told Nanahboozhoo that he would be very careful although at\nthe same time he was resolved, if it were possible, to play a trick on him;\nfor he had a grudge of some long standing against him which Nanahboozhoo\nseemed to have forgotten.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo then mounted on the back of the great buzzard and held by his\nfeathers as well as he possibly could. The buzzard then took a short run,\nsprang from the ground, and spreading his great strong wings speedily rose\nup higher and higher in the sky.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo at first felt rather timid as he found himself thus rapidly\nsoaring through the air, especially as it was so difficult for him to keep\nhis seat. When the buzzard began circling round and round it was even more\ndifficult, for the body of the bird leaned over more and more as his speed\nincreased. But Nanahboozhoo was very clever, and after a while he became\nmore accustomed to his queer position and was very much interested in the\nsplendid sights of the great world beneath him, over which he could now see\nfor such a great distance. Lakes and rivers, forests and mountains, all\ngave delight to Nanahboozhoo, who had wonderful powers of vision.\n\n\"At length, as they rose up higher and higher in the blue sky, Nanahboozhoo\nshouted out in his delight as far away in the distance he recognized the\nwigwam of his grandmother, Nokomis. Indeed so delighted was he that for a\nmoment he let go his hold on the buzzard and swung up his arms in his\nexcitement. The treacherous buzzard noticed this, saw it was the\nopportunity for which he had been watching, and circled round so suddenly\nthat his body was tilted over, and before Nanahboozhoo could regain his\ngrip he slipped off the smooth back and fell like a stone to the ground. So\nterrible was the force with which he struck the earth that he was knocked\nsenseless, and lay there for a long time like one dead.\n\n\"But, as I have told you, Nanahboozhoo was more than human and nothing\ncould really kill him. So it happened that after a while he recovered his\nsenses, but he was annoyed, disgusted, that he had allowed the buzzard to\nplay such a mean trick on him.\n\n\"Then he prepared to resume his journey, and of course he looked up to see\nif there were any sign of the buzzard. He had not far to look, for there,\nup in the sky, not far off, was the old buzzard laughing at the trick he\nhad played upon Nanahboozhoo, and much pleased with his own cleverness in\ndeceiving one known to be so crafty.\n\n\"'Laugh away, old buzzard,' said Nanahboozhoo. 'You have had the best of me\nthis time, but look out! For I will put a mark upon you for this trick of\nyours that will enable your friends and your enemies to recognize you both\nby day and by night.'\n\n\"But the buzzard, from his high safe place in the sky, only laughed back in\nderision, and said:\n\n\"'No, indeed, Nanahboozhoo, you will do nothing of the kind. You have been\ndeceiving the other creatures, but in me you have found your match. You\ncannot deceive me. And now, especially as you have threatened me, I will\nalways be on the watch for you.'\n\n[Illustration: \"Nanahboozhoo then mounted on the back of the great\nbuzzard.\"]\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo made no reply to this boastful speech, but he did a lot of\nthinking, and he soon had his plans laid to teach Mr. Buzzard a lesson he\nwould never forget.\n\n\"Resuming his journey he pushed on as though nothing had happened.\n\n\"The buzzard was at first suspicious and watched him for some time. Then\nseeing nothing unusual in his movements he flew away into the distant sky.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo, in order to carry out his plan to punish the buzzard,\nresolved to turn himself into a dead deer. He knew that the buzzard lived\non dead animals of all kinds. He chose a high spot, visible from a great\ndistance, and there he laid himself down and changed himself into the body\nof a great deer. It was not long before the various animals and birds that\nsubsist on such things began to gather round this dead body.\n\n\"The buzzard, that has such wonderful eyes, to see great distances, saw\nfrom afar this gathering of the birds and animals, and as he was ever on\nthe lookout for such things he soon joined the rest of the creatures around\nthe deer. He flew round and round it several times, for he was at first\nsomewhat suspicious. The closest inspection, however, showed him that it\nwas only a dead deer, and that was the unanimous opinion of all the other\nanimals and birds that gathered there. There could be no doubt in any\ncreature's mind but that it was a deer and that it was quite dead.\n\n\"The buzzard, now that all his suspicions were gone, in his great greed to\nget the best he could savagely began, with his powerful beak, tearing a\nhole in the side of the body that he might get down to the rich fat that is\naround the kidneys. This is what those fierce, greedy birds always try to\nget first. Deeper and deeper into the flesh he tore, until at length he was\nable to crowd in his head and neck to reach the dainty morsels he so much\nprized.\n\n\"This was just what Nanahboozhoo was waiting for, and when the head and\nneck of the buzzard were completely hidden in the body up jumped the deer,\nand as he did so the flesh closed up so tightly around the head and neck of\nthe buzzard that the greedy bird was there securely held.\n\n\"'Ha, ha, old buzzard! I did catch you after all, as I said I would,' said\nNanahboozhoo. 'Now pull out your neck and head.'\n\n\"The buzzard with very great difficulty at length succeeded in drawing his\nhead out of the side of the deer. The effort to do so, however, was so\ngreat that he lost all of the beautiful feathers that once adorned his head\nand neck. From that day they have never grown on him again, and there is\nnothing there to be seen but the red rough-looking skin.\n\n\"'Never again,' said Nanahboozhoo, 'will feathers cover your neck or head,\nand so your friends and enemies, as they see you, will be reminded of how\nNanahboozhoo punished you for playing one of your tricks on him. And also\nfrom this time forward your food will only be of the rankest kind, and the\ndisagreeable odor will so cling to you that even in the darkest nights your\nhateful presence will be detected and shunned.'\n\n\"Thus,\" added Souwanas, \"the buzzard is the most despised of birds, because\nhe is such an ugly fellow, with his featherless head and neck, and because\nhis disagreeable odor taints the sweet air wherever he goes.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII.\n\n\nA Moonlight Trip on the Lake--The Legend of the\nOrphan Boy--His Appeal to the Man in the Moon--How\nHe Conquered His Enemies.\n\nMoonlight nights in the Northland are often very beautiful. There in the\nsummer time the gloaming continues until nearly midnight. Then nothing can\nbe more glorious than to glide along amid the beautiful fir-clad rocky\nislands in a birch canoe over the still transparent waters. So large and\nluminous are the full moons of July and August that, with the west aglow\nand with the wondrous aurora flashing and blazing in the north, there is\npractically little night and no darkness at all.\n\nNothing gave the children greater pleasure than to have permission to go\nwith Mary and Kennedy in a large roomy birch canoe for a moonlight\nexcursion during one of those warm, brilliant nights. With plenty of rugs\nor cushions, to make the coziest of seats in the center of the canoe, they\nfairly reveled in the beauties of the romantic surroundings while they\nfloated on the moonlit lake. Often in some place of more than ordinary\nbeauty Kennedy would cease paddling, and then their very quietness added\nto the charms of those happy outings.\n\n[Illustration: With Mary and Kennedy in the birch canoe.]\n\n\"Say, Mary,\" said Sagastao, \"I was reading in one of my books about the\n'man in the moon.' Do you know anything about him?\"\n\n\"He is looking at us very kindly to-night,\" said Minnehaha. \"I really\nbelieve I saw him laughing, he is so pleased we have come out to see him\nthis lovely night.\"\n\nThese remarks of the children caused all in the canoe to more closely scan\nthe great round moon that was shining with silvery whiteness straight in\nfront of them.\n\n\"There are lots of stories about the moon among our people,\" said Mary,\n\"but not a great many about the man in the moon. There is, however, a queer\none about how he came down and helped a poor orphan boy.\"\n\n\"O, tell it to us just now,\" said Minnehaha, \"while he is watching and\nlistening.\"\n\n\"Do, Mary,\" said Sagastao, \"and Minnehaha and I will watch the old fellow\nand see how he likes to be talked about.\"\n\n\"Well,\" said Minnehaha, \"Mary will be talking to him to his face, and not\nbehind his back, as people sometimes do when talking about others.\"\n\nThus the children ran on with their prattle. Mary and Kennedy were much\namused.\n\n\"Come, Mary, hurry up! Father said the gloaming would end about eleven, and\nwe must be at the shore by that time.\"\n\n\"Pretty late hours for little children,\" said Kennedy.\n\n\"Never mind that,\" said Sagastao; \"we will make up for it in winter time,\nwhen it gets dark at four o'clock.\"\n\nWith Sagastao on one side of her in the big canoe and Minnehaha on the\nother--their favorite positions when listening to her fascinating stories\nas she crooned them out in her soft, musical Cree--Mary told them the\nstory.\n\n\"Long ago,\" she began, \"there was a poor orphan boy who had neither father\nnor mother, uncle, aunt, nor any living relative that he knew of. He had a\nvery hard time of it, as the people did not seem to take kindly to him. So\nhe had to live just where he could. He managed to get along all right\nduring the pleasant summer time, but when the long cold winters began he\nsuffered very much. One winter some selfish people let him live with them\nbecause he was willing to work hard for what little they did for him. They\ntreated him badly in many ways. They made him go out into the woods and cut\nfirewood, but when he brought it home they would only allow him to stay in\nthe cold entry-way which they had built to their winter dwelling.\n\n\"They made him go and hunt different animals for food, and then when he\nbrought, them home they cooked and ate the best themselves, and just threw\nthe fragments and bones to him as they would to a dog. Every member of the\nhousehold treated him very cruelly, except a nice little girl, the youngest\ndaughter of the family. She felt very sorry for him. She would secretly\ntake him better food, and she furnished him with a knife with which he\ncould cut the tough pieces of meat. She had to be very careful not to be\ndiscovered, for if found out she would have been severely punished. So her\npity had to show itself on the sly, and the few words she was able to tell\nhim of her sympathy had to be whispered as she passed him, when nobody was\nlooking or listening. The poor boy up to this time had no ambition to\nbetter himself, but her kind words and deeds made him resolve that he must\nbegin and do something for himself. But what could he do? Everybody seemed\nagainst him but this little girl, and she could do nothing in the way of\nhelping him to escape from these people, who, now that he was becoming so\nuseful to them, would not let him go. What, really, could he do?\n\n\"Thus the days and weeks and months passed on and there seemed no chance of\nescape. He had tried to run away, but had been caught and brought back and\nbeaten.\n\n\"One night when it was not very cold he went outside of the narrow entry\nwhere he generally had to sleep and threw himself on the ground and cried\nin his sorrow and despair. He seemed to be utterly unable to better\nhimself. As he lay there he began looking up at the great bright moon that,\nnow so large and round, was, he thought, looking earnestly at him. Soon he\nwas able to see that there was a great man in the moon. As he watched him\nhe was glad to notice that he was not looking crossly at him, but kindly,\nand so he began crying to the man in the moon to come and help him to\nescape from the miserable life he was leading. Sure enough, as the boy kept\non crying and pleading he saw the man in the moon beginning to come down to\nthis world. He came to the very spot where the unhappy boy was lying, but\ninstead of helping him he made him stand up and then he gave him a good\nsound thrashing, making the boy, however, strike back at him as vigorously\nas he could. The beating he got very much disheartened and discouraged the\nboy, for it was not what he had expected. On the following night, when he\nhad recovered a little, he began reproaching the man in the moon.\n\n\"'I called for you,' he said, 'to come and help me against my enemies, and\nnow you have come and thrashed me.'\n\n\"But these words, instead of softening the man in the moon, caused him to\ncome down again and give the poor boy a far worse thrashing than before,\nbut for every blow he made the boy return one as good as he had received.\n\n\"Now for the first time the boy began to notice that the more he was beaten\nthe stronger he grew. Still he could not understand what the man in the\nmoon meant. So he came again, and they had another regular set-to, and the\nboy had another good sound thrashing. He asked him what was the meaning of\nhis beating him thus. The man in the moon now spoke to him, but his words\nwere so much like a puzzle that at first the boy did not understand them.\nThis is what the man in the moon said:\n\n  \"'Would you triumph o'er the strong?\n                            Be strong.\n    Would you let them no more conquer?\n                             Conquer.'\n\n\"For a time the boy repeated them over and over. He used to say that as the\nresult of these meetings with the man in the moon he had grown so strong\nthat he was nearly able to hold his own against his antagonist. Then one\nday, when the man in the moon was puffing from the encounter, the latter\nsaid:\n\n\"'Now by hard knocks and exercise I have put you on the way of ending your\ntroubles. Be strong, and conquer. Farewell! I am not coming again, as you\ndo not need me any more.'\n\n\"Then away he flew back to his place in the moon.\n\n\"The boy seemed now to know that he was to use his strength for his own\ndeliverance. To test himself he began tossing up the stones that were so\nnumerous on the shore of the lake. First he began with quite small ones,\nbut soon he found that he could pick up and throw about great big ones,\nthat were like rocks. When he returned from this last contest with the man\nin the moon it was nearly daylight.\n\n\"At first the people began ordering him about as usual. But they soon had\nreason to be sorry for their cruelty and abuse, for the boy seized one\nafter another of them and flung them with such violence against the rocks\nthat their brains were dashed out and their blood ran in streams down the\nsides of the rocks--where it turned into seams in the rocks which can be\nseen to this day.\n\n\"One person only, of all who lived in that dwelling, did the now strong boy\nleave alive, and that was, of course, the good-hearted little girl who used\nto speak kind words to him and befriend him when she could.\n\n\"They grew to be very fond of each other, and were afterward married and\nlived in full possession of all the things that once belonged to the cruel\npeople for whom the little orphan boy had worked so long.\"\n\n\"Well, sakehou,\" said Sagastao, \"I have been watching the man in the moon\nwhile you have been telling the story about his queer way of helping the\nboy to help himself, and he was looking pleased all the time. So I am sure\nhe is well satisfied with the way you have told the story.\"\n\nOld Mary was delighted with these words from the lips of the lad she loved\nwith such a passionate devotion.\n\n\"But what do you think about it, little sister?\" said the lad, calling to\nMinnehaha, who was cuddled down on the other side of Mary.\n\nBut the darling gave no answer, for she had long ago slipped off into\nDreamland, and there she remained until the strong arms of Kennedy lifted\nher up from the canoe and carried her home.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV.\n\n\nSouwanas's Love for Souwanaquenapeke--How Nanahboozhoo\nCured a Little Girl Bitten by a Snake--How the\nRattlesnake got Its Rattle--The Origin of Tobacco--Nanahboozhoo\nin Trouble.\n\nWahkiegun, as Souwanas named the home of his white friends, always had a\nwarm welcome for Souwanas. Little Souwanaquenapeke had learned to love him\nand nothing gave the grave old man greater pleasure than to have charge of\nher for hours at a time. He often carried her away to his wigwam and with\ngreat delight explained to visiting Indians how his name was woven into\nthat of the first little paleface born among his people.\n\nSagastao and Minnehaha, while of course pleased to see the love of the old\nchief for their sweet little sister, were sometimes a little impatient when\nthey found that he would have his hour with her before they could draw a\nNanahboozhoo story out of him.\n\n\"You are all right,\" he would say in his dry, humorous way, \"as far as you\ngo; you are only Crees,\" he would add with a smile, referring to the fact\nthat they had been born among the Cree Indians farther north; \"but\nSouwanaquenapeke is better, as she is a pure Saulteaux.\"\n\nThis of course would put Sagastao and Minnehaha on the defensive, for in\nthose days their own pride of birth was that they were Cree Indians.\nFaithful old Mary, herself a Cree, would of course take their part, and it\nwas very amusing--laughable at times--to listen to the wordy strife. In\nthese discussions Mary was always the one to first lose her temper. When\nthis happened the penalty was to have the children throw a shawl over her\nhead and thus silence her. From their loving hands she quietly took her\npunishment and was soon restored to good nature. Good-hearted Souwanas then\nspeedily responded to the call for a story. But the little Souwanaquenapeke\nmust be, if awake, in his arms, or, if asleep, in a little hammock or\nnative cradle beside him.\n\n\"What is it to be about to-day?\" asked the old man, as the children, full\nof eager anticipation, drew a couple of chairs up before him.\n\nAfter some discussion Souwanas decided to tell them the Nanahboozhoo story\nof how he lessened the power of the rattlesnakes to do harm.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo, in starting off one day from his grandmother's wigwam, had\nput on the disguise of a fine young hunter. He had not gone many miles on\nhis journey before he came to a little tent on the edge of the forest where\nhe found a young Indian mother full of grief over her sick child.\nNanahboozhoo could not but feel very sorry for her, especially when he\nheard her story that a snake had crawled noiselessly into her tent and had\nbitten her little girl while she slept. Nanahboozhoo felt such pity, both\nfor the weeping mother and the bitten child, that at once he set to work to\ncounteract the sad doings of the snake. He hurriedly went into the forest,\nand there finding a certain plant he said, 'From this day forward the root\nof this plant shall be a remedy for all people against the bites of\nsnakes.'\n\n\"Then Nanahboozhoo showed the mother that the roots were to be pounded and\nmade into a drink and a poultice. The glad mother quickly carried out his\ninstructions and the little girl was soon well again. The Indians have ever\nsince been very thankful to Nanahboozhoo for letting them know of this\nplant, which they still use for such purposes and which they call\nsnakeroot. Nanahboozhoo remained until he saw that the little girl was\nquite recovered. Then he said:\n\n\"'Now I will fix that snake so that he will not be able to do so much harm\nin the future.'\n\n\"Then going out he caught the king of the snakes and gave him a great\nscolding for the meanness of that one of his family which had crawled into\nthe tent of the Indian mother and so cruelly bitten that little girl while\nshe slept. Then getting very angry, for Nanahboozhoo was very\nquick-tempered, he said:\n\n\"'Snakes, like other things, have the right to live. They are given their\nplace in the world, and their work. They are to keep down the mice, rats,\nfrogs, toads, and other things that might become too numerous. They have\ntheir poisons given them to defend themselves if attacked. But they have no\nright to go and kill or injure anyone doing them no harm. I'll teach you\nsnakes that in future you cannot quietly crawl about and bite innocent\npeople thus.'\n\n\"So he took a piece of the wampum from one of the strings with which he had\ndecorated himself, and having carefully carved the hard shells of which\nwampum is made, Nanahboozhoo firmly fastened them to the snake's tail, and\nsaid:\n\n\"'From this day forward may all snakes like you have those noisy rattles\nupon them, so that all people will call you rattlesnakes. And may it be\nthat you can never move without making a noise with those rattles, so that\npeople will always be able to hear them and thus get ready to fight you, or\nto get out of your way before you can do any harm.'\"\n\n\"Well done, Nanahboozhoo!\" shouted little Sagastao. \"He's the one for me.\nBut why did he not kill all the rattlesnakes at once?\"\n\nSouwanas was, however, too clever to be caught trying to answer a question\nthat, although asked by a child, was beyond his knowledge, so he resorted\nto his calumet, and as the smoke of it began to taint the air Sagastao\nsaid, \"Well, Souwanas, can you tell us where you Indians first got your\ntobacco?\"\n\nThis question was more to the taste of the old Indian, so while he smoked\nhe related the tradition of the introduction of tobacco among his people.\n\n\"Very many winters ago,\" said he, \"as Nanahboozhoo was traveling on one of\nhis long journeys he visited a land of great high mountains. One day as he\nwas passing a great chasm in the mountains he saw some blue smoke slowly\ncoming up out of it. This excited his curiosity and he went to see what\ncaused it. As he drew near to it he was very much pleased with its odor. On\nfurther investigation he found that the great cave from which the smoke\narose was inhabited by a giant who was the keeper of tobacco.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo, on searching, found him half asleep in this cave among great\nbales and bags of tobacco.\n\n\"The smell of the smoke of the tobacco had so pleased Nanahboozhoo that he\nasked the giant to give him some. The giant refused in a very surly\nfashion, saying that he only gave portions of it away to his friends the\nMunedoos, who came once a year to smoke with him.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo, seeing that he was not going to be able to get any by thus\npleading for it, snatched up one of the well-filled tobacco bags, dashed\nout with it, and fled away as rapidly as possible. The great giant was\nfearfully enraged, and at once began the pursuit of this rash fellow who\nhad thus stolen his tobacco from under his very nose.\n\n\"It was a fearful race. Nanahboozhoo had to jump from one mountain top to\nthe next, and so on and on from peak to peak. Closely behind him followed\nthe giant, and Nanahboozhoo had all he could do to keep from being\ncaptured. Fortunately for him he now knew the mountains well, and he\nremembered one ahead of him the opposite side of which was very steep. When\nhe reached this top he suddenly threw himself down upon the very edge, and\nas the giant passed over him Nanahboozhoo suddenly sprang up and gave him\nsuch a push that he tumbled down into the fearful chasm. He was so bruised\nand wounded that, as he got up and hobbled away down the far-off valley,\nNanahboozhoo watching him saw that he looked just like a great grasshopper.\nHe burst out laughing, and then shouted to the giant:\n\n\"'For your meanness and selfishness I change you into a grasshopper;\nPukaneh shall be your name and you will always have a dirty mouth.'\n\n\"And so it is to this day, for every little boy who has caught grasshoppers\nknows that their saliva is as though they had been chewing tobacco.\n\n\"When Nanahboozhoo had rested himself a little he returned to the cave of\nthe giant and took possession of the great quantities of tobacco he found\nthere. He divided it among the Indian tribes, and from that time those who\nlive where it will grow have cultivated it and have supplied all the\nothers.\"\n\n\"I wish,\" said Minnehaha, \"that Nanahboozhoo had left Pukaneh and his\ntobacco in the cave, for I don't think tobacco smoke is very nice in the\nhouse.\"\n\n[Illustration: Nanahboozhoo gave him a great push.]\n\nSouwanas was amused with the little girl's opposition to his beloved weed,\nand while she was talking took the opportunity to refill his calumet. When\nit was in good smoking order he, urgently requested by Sagastao, resumed\nhis story-telling.\n\n\"Sometimes it did not fare so well with Nanahboozhoo. There were times when\nhis cleverness seemed to forsake him, and he got into trouble' that at\nother times he would easily have avoided. For example, one day in the\nsummer time as he was hurrying along he became very thirsty. Soon, however,\nhe came to a river which has many trees on its banks. He pushed his way\nthrough them until he came to the bank. Just as he was stooping down to\ndrink he saw some nice ripe fruit in the water. Without seeming to think of\nwhat he was doing he dived into the quite shallow water to get the fruit,\nhit his head against the rocky bottom and was pretty badly hurt. He was\nvexed and angry as well as disappointed, but he took a good drink of the\nwater and then he lay down on the grass in the shade of the trees to rest.\nAs he lay there on his back he saw above him on the branches of the trees\nthe fruit which he had at first thought was in the water.\n\n\"Laughing at his own stupidity and climbing up into the trees he soon had\nall the ripe fruit he could eat.\n\n\"Then on he went, and as his head was quite sore from the bump he had got\nwhen he dived into the shallow river he determined to visit some wigwams\nwhich he saw not far off.\n\n\"The people received him very kindly, with the exception of one surly,\ncross old man. They quickly prepared some balsam and put it on his wounded\nhead.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo was well pleased with this kindness, and said that he would\nbe glad to perform for them some kindly act in return.\n\n\"Before anyone else, however, could speak the cross old man sneered out:\n\n\"'O, if you think you are clever enough to do anything, grant that I may\nlive forever!'\n\n\"This request and the sneering way in which it was made caused the\nquick-tempered Nanahboozhoo to become very angry, and he suddenly sprang up\nand caught the Indian by the shoulders and violently throwing him on the\nground said:\n\n\"'From this time you shall be a stone, and so your request is granted.'\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV.\n\n\nThe Dead Moose--The Rivalry Between the Elk and the\nMoose People, and Their Various Contests--The Disaster\nthat Befell the Latter Tribe--The Haze of the Indian\nSummer.\n\nThe sight of four stalwart Indians dragging on a dog sled the body of an\nenormous moose on the ice in front of their home very much interested the\nchildren.\n\nNothing would do but they must be wrapped up and allowed to go out and\nexamine it while the men rested and had a smoke. Its great horns, its\nenormous ugly head, and then its coarse, bristle-like hair, had all to be\nexamined and commented upon. The opportune arrival of Souwanas, who had\nbeen attracted by the sight of the moose, much pleased the children, and\njust as soon as the investigation of the moose was over and the hunters had\nproceeded on their journey the children insisted on Souwanas going home to\nWahkiegun with them and telling them something about the moose. They also\nwanted to hear a wonderful story, which he knew, telling how Nanahboozhoo\nhelped the elks to conquer the moose.\n\nWhen there is a disposition to surrender we are easily conquered. So it was\nwith Souwanas on this occasion. The children in their love for their friend\npleaded so importunately that a good cup of tea was prepared for and much\nenjoyed by him before he began his story, his interested auditors as close\nas possible around him.\n\n\"Once when Nanahboozhoo was journeying through the country,\" said Souwanas,\n\"he found a village of Indians who were very poor. They were called\nOomaskos, Elk people. They had nothing but the poorest of robes on their\nbacks, and they were nearly destitute of everything in the shape of traps,\nweapons, and canoes. The village was strangely silent, for even the dogs,\nthat generally are around in such numbers, had disappeared. When\nNanahboozhoo saw this destitution and poverty he at once inquired the\nreason, and was surprised and very angry to hear that they were great\ngamblers.\n\n\"Not far off from them was another village whose people were called Mooswa,\nor Moose people, and Nanahboozhoo soon found out that, while the\ninhabitants of these two villages were antagonistic to each other, they\nfrequently met to gamble, and that the Moose people were nearly always\nsuccessful and had won from the Elk people nearly everything they\npossessed. The latter were very much humiliated at Nanahboozhoo's finding\nthem in such a wretched condition, but they told him they were convinced\nthat some trickery had been practiced upon them by their opponents. They\nalso informed Nanahboozhoo that they would be glad if he would help them to\nget back their much needed possessions.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo promised that he would assist them on condition that after\ntheir possessions were regained they should give up the pernicious habit of\ngambling. This they unanimously promised to do. The first thing\nNanahboozhoo did was to disguise himself as a whisky-jack and fly over to\nthe village of the Moose people and try to discover how it was that they\nhad been so invariably successful when they gambled with the Elk people. It\nwas as he suspected. His old enemies the Anamakquis, the evil spirits that\nhad destroyed his brother Nahpootee, the wolf, had sent one of their number\namong the Moose people, and he had enabled them to win nearly all of the\ndogs, as well as other things, from the Elk people. Indeed, he himself had\ngenerally been the one who had tossed the plum stones with which they\ngambled, and they had won by his magic powers.\n\n\"When Nanahboozhoo heard this he knew that his first work must be to secure\nthe magic muskamoot (medicine bag). So he flew round and round, and peering\nin through the top of the wigwam, where the poles crossed each other, he\nwas fortunate enough to see the magic bag hanging up on a cross pole over\nthe place where the Anamakqui slept. He noticed also that it was well\nguarded and that it would require some cleverness on his part to get it.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo was, as you know, a very clever fellow. He quickly flew back\nto the village of the Elk people and ordered the most industrious of the\nwomen, who were skillful in making fire bags, to make one exactly as he\ndescribed. This was, of course, similar to the magic muskamoot he had seen\nhanging up in the tent.\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo then put into it things that would have just the opposite\neffect to those which were in the bag of the Anamakqui. He waited until it\nwas dark, and then, noiselessly flying back to the village of the Moose\npeople, he silently entered the wigwam at the top, where there was now a\nwide opening, as it was in the warm summer time, very quickly exchanged the\nbag he had with him for the magic muskamoot, and returned to the village of\nthe Elk people. It did not take him long to arrange his plans. The chief of\nthe Elks had a beautiful daughter, and it was given out that a fine young\nchief from a far-away tribe had come to ask for her in marriage. The father\nhad welcomed this young chief--who was, of course, Nanahboozhoo--and as he\nhad brought costly gifts he was at once acknowledged as the accepted\nson-in-law.\n\n\"The news spread rapidly and it soon reached the Moose village. When they\nheard of the many gifts which this rich young stranger had brought with him\nthey, of course, were greedy to win them, as they had won the rest of the\nElks' property. It was not many days before a company of them came over to\nthe Elks, and meeting the beautiful daughter of the chief they said:\n\n\"'We have come over to have a game of plum stones with your lover, to see\nif he is a better player than we are.'\n\n\"The girl went at once into the wigwam and informed her intended husband,\nNanahboozhoo, of the challenge of these people. She also told him that they\nwere very clever but that they had no idea of him being anything else than\nwhat he appeared to be. Then she added:\n\n\"'Be sure to win; if you do not they will beat us with clubs and sticks.\nFor the custom is that the side that is defeated in the gambling must\nsubmit to a beating by the conquerors.'\n\n\"Then Nanahboozhoo and the champion for the Moose people sat down on\nopposite sides of the bowl in which were the plum stones, while the people\nof each of the two villages ranged themselves behind their own champion.\nWhen Nanahboozhoo shook the bowl, and then let the plum stones cease\nrolling, it was seen that he had won every point. At this the Elks set up a\ngreat shout of triumph. The Moose people shouted back:\n\n\"'Don't be so fast; the game is to be the best three out of five; just wait\nuntil our man has played.'\n\n\"The plum stones were then handed to him and patting his medicine bag he\nconfidently shook them up, but when they had ceased rolling it was seen\nthat he had lost every point.\n\n\"The victory was now so nearly won that the Elks began to say:\n\n\"'Get your clubs ready to thrash the Moose people, for we are surely going\nto be winners this day.'\n\n\"The Moose people were, however, not yet quite discouraged. 'There are\nthree tries yet,' they said, 'and our man may yet win.' But their hopes\nwere soon gone, for when Nanahboozhoo threw the plum stones the third time\nhe was as successful as at the first.\n\n\"This decided the game in favor of the Elks, who now rushed upon the Moose\npeople and thrashed them all the way back to their own village.\n\n\"The Moose were very much humiliated at this defeat. They had not only had\na good beating but, according to the custom of the tribes, they were\nobliged to restore much of the property which they had won from the Elks in\ntheir previous contests. A council was called not long after and there was\nquite a discussion among them as to the best plan to be adopted to defeat\nthe Elks and regain supremacy. They decided on a trial of strength, for in\nsuch encounters they had generally been victorious. They had two high poles\nerected with a crossbar on the top, and the contest was to see which side\ncould produce the man who should throw the heaviest stone over that bar.\nThey sent their challenge to the Elks to meet them if they dare.\n\n\"The Elks quickly responded and were soon at the place where the Moose\npeople, who were awaiting them, had erected the high poles with the\ncrossbar. When everything had been arranged their strongest man took up a\nheavy stone and, with a tremendous effort, succeeded in barely throwing it,\nso that it struck the crossbar and carried it down to the ground. When the\ncrossbar had been replaced a son of the chief of the Elks went forward, as\nthough he would be the competitor on the side of the Elks. He pretended as\nthough he could not even lift the heavy stone which the Moose champion had\nthrown. When the Moose people saw this they shouted out in triumph, and\nbegan to get ready to give the Elks as good a beating as they had received\nfrom them on a former occasion.\n\n\"Seeing them thus coming, Nanahboozhoo rushed forward, seized the heavy\nstone, and sent it high up and far over the tops of the poles--thus winning\nthe victory again for the Elks. With a shout of triumph the Elks again\nattacked the Moose and drove them in disgrace back to their own village.\nThe Moose people were now more humiliated than ever, but they determined to\ntry another plan; for they were resolved not to give up to the Elks, whom\nthey had so often defeated. After much consultation they said:\n\n\"'Let us have a contest at diving in the lake, that we may see if our\nchampion cannot remain longer under the water than any one of the Elks.'\n\n\"So they went over to the village of the Elks and told them they had come\nto have another contest with them. To the proposal of the Moose the Elks\nall agreed, and both parties proceeded to the lake. Here a large hole was\ncut in the ice and the champion of the Moose prepared to go down into the\nwater. One of the brothers of the beautiful Indian girl who had been\nselected as Nanahboozhoo's bride said to Nanahboozhoo:\n\n\"'As our bodies are tougher than yours you must let me compete this time.'\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo would not let him do this. He said:\n\n\"'I am not afraid of the cold water, and besides I have plenty of friends\ndown there.'\n\n\"And, sure enough, the mud turtle came up and said, in words that only\nNanahboozhoo could understand:\n\n\"'My brother, I have come up at the request of your brother, the wolf, to\naid you. Trust yourself in my care and no harm will come to you.'\n\n\"Nanahboozhoo was well pleased to hear this, for he knew that his spirit\nbrother had sent his friend the mud turtle to help him in this trial.\n\n\"The competitors now stripped themselves, and when the signal was given\nthey both dived into the water and disappeared. The Moose people had such\nconfidence in their champion that they had all brought with them very heavy\nsticks with which they intended giving the Elks a great beating in return\nfor the two previous defeats.\n\n\"The Elks, however, were not dismayed. They only said:\n\n\"'Just wait until the contest is decided.'\n\n\"In the meantime the competitors under the water were so near together at\nfirst that the people on the land heard the Moose say, 'Elk, are you cold?'\nTo which the mud turtle, who had covered the Elk competitor over with his\nshell, replied:\n\n\"'No, Moose; but are you cold?'\n\n\"As the people on the shore could not hear any answer to this question it\ngave some alarm to the Moose people about their champion, who they feared\nmust be benumbed with the cold. This was really the case, for in a short\ntime he came to the surface of the water so nearly frozen to death that he\nhad to be helped out of the water.\n\n\"When the mud turtle and Nanahboozhoo heard the shoutings of triumph of the\nElks they knew that the Moose champion had failed, and so they came up to\nthe surface. Nanahboozhoo swam ashore and joined in the pursuit of the\ndisheartened Moose people, who had again so signally failed.\n\n\"These repeated defeats very much angered and humiliated the Moose people.\nThey almost quarreled among themselves in their vexation as they talked\nthem over at their councils. Still they were in no humor to give up. They\nhad two very swift runners among them, and they decided to challenge the\nElks to a foot race. So they again sent a number of their party over to the\ntent of the Elk people and said:\n\n\"'We are not at all satisfied yet, and we wish to know if the son of the\nchief and his brother-in-law, the young stranger who has come into your\nmidst, will run a foot race against two of our young people.'\n\n\"This challenge was at once accepted and soon all preparations were made\nfor the great race. It was decided that it should be run on the ice of the\nfrozen lake, which was several miles round. Much snow had fallen, but the\npeople of both sides turned out for days and cleared out a good track. They\nmade it near the shore, and so that the finishing spot would be near where\nwas the starting point.\n\n\"The Moose felt quite certain of winning this time, because by their magic\ntheir runners were to be turned into real Moose, with four legs, and they\nargued that runners with four feet could surely beat those who had only\ntwo. But there were others who had heard about this great race, and among\nthem was the wolf, the spirit brother of Nanahboozhoo, and so he came to\nhim the night before the race.\n\n\"'My brother,' he said, 'I will come and help you in this race. You are the\nonly one that can see me, so I will be on the track, about half way round,\nand when you come there you can get on my back and I will carry you at a\ngreater speed. But you must keep your legs moving as if rapidly running, or\nthe people will suspect something unusual.'\n\n\"There was a great crowd to witness this race between the two great Moose,\nto represent the Moose people, and the son of the chief and his unknown\nbrother-in-law to represent the Elks. When the signal was given away they\nstarted over the icy trail. The Moose soon were at the front, with the\nchief's son not far behind. Nanahboozhoo was purposely a little in the\nrear, and so was able to spring upon the wolf's back without attracting\nattention.\n\n[Illustration: They were excited at his coming.]\n\n\"With this steed under him he sped along with marvelous rapidity. At the\nhalf-way point of the race he overtook his brother-in-law, and giving him\nhis hand, they were soon far in front. When they rushed in ahead there\nwas great excitement. The Moose people were soon running back to their\nvillage with the Elks whipping them to the very doors of their wigwams.\n\n\"After this the Moose dare not challenge the Elks to any further contest,\nbut they were so furious that they meditated murder in their hearts toward\nthe young stranger, who had, they now saw, been the cause of their many\ndefeats. Nanahboozhoo, however, easily thwarted their evil schemes, but at\nlength some of them were so bad that his anger was aroused and he exerted\nall his magic power.\n\n\"'Moose you are by name,' he said to them, 'and for your bad deeds I change\nyou into the animals after whom you are named. Hereafter you will live in\nthe swamps, among the willows and young birch. On them you will have to\nbrowse for a living. For a little variety in your food you may, in the\nsummer time, go out into the shallow waters and paw up and eat the great\nroots of the water-lilies.'\n\n\"Thus the Elks again had peace and quietness. Gambling was never again\nallowed among them, and Nanahboozhoo, after receiving their grateful\nthanks, returned to his own country.\"\n\n\"What did he do after that?\" asked Sagastao.\n\n\"Not much, for a while; but after a time he decided to go away up North.\nEach fall, however, he comes and looks around to see how everything is\ngoing on. Then he rests on some of the mountains and has a big smoke, which\nsettles down on the hillsides and valleys and makes the beautiful hazy\ntime which we all call the Indian Summer.\"\n\n\"Well,\" said Minnehaha, \"if the smoke of Nanahboozhoo's big pipe of peace\nmakes the beautiful haze of the lovely Indian Summer, it is about the best\nthing I have heard yet of tobacco smoke doing.\"\n\nAnd so say we all.\n\n\n\n\nGLOSSARY\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAna-mak-qui, _Evil spirits or magicians_.\n\nAn-nun-gi-tee, _The ghost with big ears_.\n\nJa-koos, _Strong-armed_.\n\nKeche-Wapoose, _Great Rabbit_.\n\nKin-ne-sa-sis, _Little Fish_.\n\nKosh-ke-e-wa-see, _Partridge_.\n\nMa-hei-gan, _Wolf_.\n\nMani-boos or Manitoos or Munedoos, _Spirits_.\n\nMe-squah-be-me-sheen, _Red Willows_.\n\nMinne-ha-ha, _Laughing Waters_.\n\nMis-ta-coo-sis, _Aspen Tree_.\n\nMis-mis, _Grandfather_.\n\nMoos-wa, _Moose_.\n\nMoo-she-kin-ne-bik, _Sea Monster_.\n\nMusk-a-moot, _Medicine Bag_.\n\nMud-je-kee-wis, _West Wind_.\n\nNa-nah-booz-hoo, _Son of Mud-je-kee-wis--West Wind_.\n\nNah-poo-tee, _Wolf_.\n\nNi-koo-chis, _Solitude--name of a giant_.\n\nNokomis, _Grandmother_.\n\nOme-mee, _Pigeon or Dove_.\n\nOo-kis-ki-mu-ni-sew, _Kingfisher_.\n\nOo-see-mee-id, _The Younger_.\n\nSe-si-giz-it, _The Older_.\n\nPa-peu-pe-na-ses, _Laughing Bird_.\n\nPug-a-mah-kon, _A hammer_.\n\nPuk-an-eh, _Grasshopper_.\n\nSa-gas-ta-oo-ke-mou, shortened to Sagastao, _The Sunrise Gentleman_.\n\nSa-ke-how, _Beloved_.\n\nSe-se-pask-wut, _Sugar_.\n\nSis-tin-a-koo, _The magician who guarded the fire in the interior of the\nearth_.\n\nShu-ni-ou, _Money_.\n\nSo-qua-a-tum, _Steadfast_.\n\nSou-wa-nas, _South Wind, The great Story-teller_.\n\nSou-wa-na-que-na-peke, _The Voice of the South Wind Birds_.\n\nWah-ki-e-gun, _The House_.\n\nWau-be-noo, _The East_.\n\nWakonda, _A supernatural Person_.\n\nWakontas, _Son of Wakonda_.\n\nWau-konug, _Lichen_.\n\nWenonah, _Daughter of Nokomis and mother of Nanahboozhoo_.","title":"Algonquin Indian Tales","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":60991}