ALGONQUININDIAN TALES

COLLECTED BYEGERTON R. YOUNG

AUTHOR OF "BY CANOE AND DOG-TRAIN, " "THE APOSTLE OF THE NORTH, ""THREE BOYS IN THE WILD NORTH LAND, " ETC. 

[Illustration: The rabbit tells Nanahboozhoo of his troubles. ]

1903

CHIEF BIG CANOE'S LETTER

GEORGINA ISLAND, LAKE SIMCOE. REV. EGERTON R. YOUNG. 

DEAR FRIEND: Your book of stories gathered from among my tribe has verymuch pleased me. The reading of them brings up the days of long time agowhen I was a boy and heard our old people tell these tales in the wigwamsand at the camp fire. 

I am very glad that you are in this way saving them from being forgotten, and I am sure that many people will be glad to read them. 

With best wishes, KECHE CHEMON (Charles Big Canoe), Chief of the Ojibways. 

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

In all ages, from the remotest antiquity, the story-teller has flourished. Evidences of his existence are to be found among the most ancient monumentsand writings in the Orient. In Egypt, Nineveh, Babylon, and other ancientlands he flourished, and in the homes of the noblest he was ever an honoredguest. 

The oldest collection of folklore stories or myths now in existence is ofEast Indian origin and is preserved in the Sanskrit. The collection iscalled _Hitopadesa_, and the author was Veshnoo Sarma. Of this collection, Sir William Jones, the great Orientalist, wrote, "The fables of Veshnoo arethe most beautiful, if not the most ancient, collection of apologues in theworld. " As far back as the sixth century translations were made from them. 

The same love for myths and legends obtains to-day in those Oriental lands. There, where the ancient and historic so stubbornly resist any change--inPersia, India, China, and indeed all over that venerable East--the man whocan recite the ancient apologues or legends of the past can always securean audience and command the closest attention. 

While the general impression is that the recital of these old myths andlegends among Oriental nations was for the mere pastime of the crowds, itis well to bear in mind that many of them were used as a means to conveygreat truths or to reprove error. Hence the recital of them was notconfined to a merely inquisitive audience that desired to be amused. Wehave a good example of this in the case of the recital by Jotham, asrecorded in the book of Judges, of the legend of the gathering of the treesfor the purpose of having one of them anointed king over the rest. Of thislegend Dr. Adam Clarke, the commentator, says, "This is the oldest and, without exception, the best fable or apologue in the world. "

The despotic nature of the governments of those Oriental nations caused thepeople often to use the fable or myth as an indirect way to reprove orcensure when it would not have been safe to have used a direct form ofspeech. The result was that it attained a higher degree of perfection therethan among any other people. An excellent example is Nathan's reproof ofDavid by the recital of the fable of the poor man's ewe lamb. 

The red Indians of America have justly been famous for their myths andlegends. We have never heard of a tribe that did not have a store of them. Even the hardy Eskimo in his igloo of ice is surprisingly rich in folklorestories. A present of a knife or some other trifle that he desires willcause him to talk by the hour to his guest, whether he be the daring traderor adventurous explorer, on the traditions that have come down to him. Theinterchange of visits between the northern Indians and the Eskimos hasresulted in the discovery that quite a number of the myths recited inIndian wigwams are in a measure, if not wholly, of Eskimo origin. On theother hand, the Eskimo has not failed to utilize and incorporate into hisown rich store some that are undoubtedly of Indian origin. 

For thirty years or more we have been gathering up these myths and legends. Sometimes a brief sentence or two of one would be heard in somewigwam--just enough to excite curiosity--then years would elapse ere thewhole story could be secured. As the tribes had no written language, andthe Indians had to depend entirely upon their memory, it is not to bewondered at that there were, at times, great divergences in the recital ofeven the most familiar of their stories. We have heard the same legendgiven by several story-tellers and no two agreed in many particulars. Others, however, were told with very slight differences. 

We have adopted the course of recording what seemed to us the most naturalversion and most in harmony with the instincts and characteristics of thepure Indian. The close scientific student of Indian folklore will see thatwe have softened some expressions and eliminated some details that werenon-essential. The crude Indian languages, while absolutely free fromblasphemy, cannot always be literally translated. _Verbum sat sapienti_. 

The method we have adopted, in the presentation of these myths and legendsin connection with the chatter and remarks of our little ones, whileunusual, will, we trust, prove attractive and interesting. We haveendeavored to make it a book for all classes. Here are some old myths innew settings, and here are some, we venture to think, that have neverbefore been seen in English dress. These will interest the student of suchsubjects, while the general style of the book will, we hope, make itattractive to young readers. 

Nanahboozhoo, the personage who occupies the principal part in these myths, is the most widely known of all those beings of supposed miraculous birthwho played such prominent parts in Indian legends. He does not seem to havebeen claimed by any one particular tribe. Doubtless legends of him weretransmitted down from the time when the division of tribes had not soextensively taken place; when perhaps the Algonquin, now so subdivided, wasone great tribe, speaking one language. 

The variety of names by which he is known is accounted for by these tribaldivisions and the rapid changes which took place in the language owing toits having no written form to maintain its unity. 

What his original name was, when legends about him first began to be told, is of course unknown. However, since the white race began to gather up andrecord these Indian myths he has been known as Misha-wabus, Manabush, Jous-ke-ha, Messou, Manabozho, Nanahboozhoo, Hiawatha, Chiabo, Singua-sew--and even some other names have been heard. We have given him inthis volume the name of Nanahboozhoo as that was the one most frequentlyused by the Indians among whom we lived or visited. 

There is more unanimity about his origin, among the tribes, than about hisname. The almost universal report is that he was the son of Mudjekeewis, the West Wind. His mother was Wenonah, the daughter of Nokomis. 

The author desires very gratefully to record his indebtedness, forassistance or hints received in the pleasant work of here clustering theseIndian folklore stories, to many friends, among them such Indianmissionaries as Revs. Peter Jones, John Sunday, Henry Steinham, Allan Salt, and also to his Indian friends and comrades at many a camp fire and in manya wigwam. He also wishes in this way to express his appreciation of andindebtedness to the admirable Reports of the Smithsonian Institution. Hehas there obtained verification of and fuller information concerning manyan almost forgotten legend. 

In regard to a number of the finest of the photographic illustrations inthe volume the author gratefully acknowledges his obligations to the CanadaPacific Railway Company, without whose assistance it would have beenimpossible to reach many of the sublime and romantic places here portrayed;until very recently known only to the adventurous red Indian hunter, butnow brought within the reach of any enterprising tourist. 

CONTENTS

Introductory Note

CHAPTER I. 

The Children Carried Off by the Indians--The Feast inthe Wigwam--Souwanas, the Story-teller--Nanahboozhoo, the Indian Myth--How the Wolves Stole His Dinner, andWhy the Birch Tree Bark is Scarred--Why the Raccoonhas Rings on His Tail. 

CHAPTER II. 

The Children's Return--Indignation of Mary, the IndianNurse--Her Pathetic History--Her Love for the Children--TheStory of Wakonda, and of the Origin of Mosquitoes. 

CHAPTER III. 

More about Mary and the Children--Minnehaha Stung bythe Bees--How the Bees Got Their Stings--What Happenedto the Bears that Tried to Steal the Honey. 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Love Story of Wakontas--His Test of the TwoMaidens--His Choice--The Transformation of Misticoosis. 

CHAPTER V. 

The Startling Placard--What Happened to the LittleRunaways--The Rescue--Mary Tells Them the Legend of theSwallows--How Some Cruel Men were Punished who Teasedan Orphan Boy. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Souwanas Tells of the Origin and Queer Doings ofNanahboozhoo--How He Lost His Brother Nahpootee, the Wolf--Why the Kingfisher Wears a White Collar. 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Legend of the Bad Boy--How He was Carried Awayby Annungitee, and How He was Rescued by His Mother. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Happy Christmas Holidays--Indians Made Glad withPresents--Souwanas Tells How Nanahboozhoo Stole theFire from the Old Magician and Gave It to the Indians. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Kinnesasis--How the Coyote Obtained the Fire from theInterior of the Earth. 

CHAPTER X. 

The Christmas Packet--The Distribution of Gifts--A Visitby Dog Train, at Fifty-five Below Zero--Souwanas TellsHow the Indians First Learned to Make Maple Sugar. 

CHAPTER XI. 

Mary Relates the Legend of the Origin of Disease--TheQueer Councils Held by the Animals Against Their CommonEnemy, Man. 

CHAPTER XII. 

The Naming of the Baby--A Canoe Trip--The Legend ofthe Discovery of Medicine--How the Chipmunk Carried theGood News. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

In the Wigwam of Souwanas--How Gray Wolf PersecutedWaubenoo, and How He was Punished by Nanahboozhoo. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

The Pathetic Love Story of Waubenoo--The Treacheryof Gray Wolf--The Legend of the Whisky Jack. 

CHAPTER XV. 

A Novel Race: the Wolverine and the Rock--How theWolverine's Legs were Shortened--A Punishment forConceit. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The Legend of the Twin Children of the Sun--How TheyRid the Earth of Some of the Great Monsters--Their GreatBattle with Nikoochis, the Giant. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Souwanas Tells of the Queer Way in which NanahboozhooDestroyed Mooshekinnebik, the Last of the Great Monsters. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Welcome Springtime in the Northland--How NanahboozhooKilled the Great White Sea Lion, the Chief of theMagicians--The Revenge--The Flood--Escape of Nanahboozhooand the Animals on the Raft--The Creation of a New World. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Among the Briers and Wild Roses--Why the Roses haveThorns--Why the Wild Rabbits are White in Winter. 

CHAPTER XX. 

Passing Hunters and Their Spoils--The Vain Woman--Whythe Marten has a White Spot on His Breast. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Shooting Loons--Why the Loon has a Flat Back, RedEyes, and Such Queer Feet--Nanahboozhoo Loses HisDinner--Origin of Lichens--Why Some Willows are Red--ThePartridge. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Nanahboozhoo's Ride on the Back of the Buzzard, whoLets Him Fall--A Short-lived Triumph--Why the Buzzardhas No Feathers on His Head or Neck. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

A Moonlight Trip on the Lake--The Legend of theOrphan Boy--His Appeal to the Man in the Moon--HowHe Conquered His Enemies. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Souwanas's Love for Souwanaquenapeke--How NanahboozhooCured a Little Girl Bitten by a Snake--How the Rattlesnakegot Its Rattle--The Origin of Tobacco--Nanahboozhooin Trouble. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

The Dead Moose--The Rivalry Between the Elk and theMoose People, and Their Various Contests--The Disasterthat Befell the Latter Tribe--The Haze of the IndianSummer. 

Glossary

ILLUSTRATIONS

The rabbit tells Nanahboozhoo of his troubles

With the children cuddled around, Souwanas began

The wild and picturesque Ka-ka-be-ka Falls

They howled with rage and terror

The startling placard

While her mate stood beside her

Surrounding them were fierce Indian dogs

The beautiful reflections in the water

They tumbled the tall ghost over

Their dog trains were in constant demand

Where the fire was stolen

The coyote was too quick for them

Across a single log at a dizzy height

Which white men now call Cathedral Mountain

Their babies with them

Gave him such a terrible beating

The big rock was surely gaining on him [note: not in actual text]

Sun dance lodge of the Blood Indians

They both threw their magic sticks

He took a leap into the open mouth

He ran away west, to the great mountains

Wigwams and Indians

The Indian story-teller

Nanahboozhoo then mounted on the back of the great buzzard

With Mary and Kennedy in the birch canoe

Nanahboozhoo gave him a great push

They were excited at his coming

Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER I. 

The Children Carried Off by the Indians--The Feast inthe Wigwam--Souwanas, the Story-teller--Nanahboozhoo, the Indian Myth--How the Wolves Stole His Dinner, andWhy the Birch Tree Bark is Scarred--Why the Raccoonhas Rings on His Tail. 

Without even knocking at the door there noiselessly entered our northernhome two large, unhandsome Indians. They paid not the slightest attentionto the grown-up palefaces present, but in their ghostly way marched acrossthe room to the corner where the two little children were playing on thefloor. Quickly but gently picking them up they swung them to theirshoulders, and then, without a word of salutation or even a glance at theparents, they noiselessly passed out of that narrow door and disappeared inthe virgin forest. They were pagan Saulteaux, by name Souwanas and Jakoos. 

The Indian names by which these two children were called by the nativeswere "Sagastaookemou, " which means the "Sunrise Gentleman, " and"Minnehaha, " "Laughing Waters. "

To the wigwam of Souwanas, "South Wind, " these children were being carried. They had no fear of these big Indians, though the boy was only six yearsold, and his little sister but four. They had learned to look with laughingeyes even into the fiercest and ugliest of these red faces and had madethem their friends. 

So even now, while being carried away among the dense trees, they merrilylaughed and shouted to each other. The bright patches of sunshine on theground, the singing birds, and the few brilliant-hued summer flowers, brought forth their exclamations of delight, while all the time the grave, silent Indians hurried them on deeper and deeper into the forest. Yetcarefully they guarded their precious loads, and as the antlered deer inpassing through the thick woods and under the low branches never striketrunk or bough, so these sons of the forest glided swiftly on withoutallowing any hurt to come to the children of the paleface, even if at timesthe faint trail led them over slippery rocks and under low intertwiningbranches. 

The wigwam of Souwanas was pitched in a beautiful spot at the edge of thegreat forest near the sandy, rocky eastern shore of Lake Winnipeg. Thisgreat lake is well called The Sea, which is the meaning of its Indian name. It is about as long as Lakes Ontario and Erie combined and in some placesis eighty miles wide. 

At the entrance of the wigwam, which was made of a couple of tannedreindeerskins, the children were carefully lifted down from the men'sshoulders and then taken into this Indian abode. Coming in suddenly fromthe bright sunshine it was some time before they could see distinctly. Thedoor flap of deerskin had dropped like a curtain behind them. All the lightthere was came in through the hole in the top, where the poles of thewigwam crossed each other. Presently, however, they were able to see acircle of Indian children gathered around a small fire that smoldered onthe ground in the center of the tent. It was now in the pleasant summertime, but the fire was needed for something else than warmth, as the littleSagastao and Minnehaha discovered before long. They were soon seated in thecircle with the red children, who, young though they were, were a wee bitstartled at seeing these little palefaces. The white children, however, simply laughed with glee. This outward demonstration seemed very improperto the silent red children, who were taught to refrain from expressions oftheir gladness or sorrow. 

The Indians had brought the white children for a characteristic reason. They had said among themselves, "If the white father and mother love us asthey say they do we will test them by taking away their children withoutasking permission. " They also wished to show their own love for thechildren, and so had really brought them to a children's feast. 

It was perhaps as queer a tea party as you ever heard of. There was notable on which to put the good things prepared for the feast. No plates, nocups and saucers, no knives, no spoons, not even a chair! There were nocakes, no tarts, no jam, no pies, not even any bread and butter!

"Well, what a feast!" you say. "Without any place to sit, or good things toeat!" Not too fast! There were both of these. There was the lap of motherearth, and so down on the ground, with bearskins and deerskins on it forrugs, the children sat. Then the deerskin door was again opened and in cameIndians with birch-bark dishes, called _rogans_, in which were nicelyprepared wild ducks, rabbits, and partridges. But as they were uncookedthey could not yet be eaten by the now expectant, hungry children. 

Then began the preparation of the feast. Some of the Indians added dry woodto the fire until there was a hot, smokeless blaze. Others took out theirsharp hunting knives and cleverly cut up the ducks, rabbits, andpartridges. Then these pieces were spitted on the ends of sharp points ofhard wood and skillfully broiled or toasted in the hot flames. As fast asthe dainty bits of meat were cooked and a little cooled they were given tothe children in their fingers, and in that way the little ones had theirfeast. 

Now, please don't turn up your noses at such a feast. Think of it: out in awigwam in the lovely forest, where the wild birds sing and the squirrelschatter, where is heard the music of the waves playing on the shore but afew yards away, with great friendly Indians as your waiters! The very airof that northern summer gives you an appetite ready for anything. 

Those little people, red and white, soon became the jolliest of friends, and as the white children could speak the Indian language as well as theirown they were soon all chattering away most merrily while they daintilypicked the bones. Of course this way of eating was hard upon their hands, faces, and clothing, but what healthy child ever gave a second thought--ifa first--to any of these things?

After a time this feast, as all feasts must, came to an end. Then thequestion was, "What shall we do next for the children?" for the whole dayhad been planned by the grown-up Indians for the entertainment of thelittle people. Canoes had been collected on the shore of Winnipeg, handy ifit should be decided that they all should go for an afternoon outing on thewater. However, Souwanas, who had gone out to look at the sky and observethe winds and waves, now came in and reported that he thought they wouldbetter put off the canoe trip to some time when the lake was more calm. Itwas then suggested that the children be asked what would please them most. The little folks, white and red, were not slow in giving their decision. 

"Tell us a story about Nanahboozhoo. "

"Who shall be the story-teller?"

There was a hearty call for "Souwanas!"

On coming in from investigating the weather, but a few minutes before, Souwanas had seated himself on a robe and was now enjoying his calumet, orpipe. Stoical though he was, his dark eyes flashed with pleasure at theunanimous call of the children, but, Indianlike, it would have been a greatbreach of manners if he had let his delight be known. Then, again, Indianlike, it would never have done to have seemed to be in a hurry. TheIndian children well knew this, but who ever heard of white children thatcould sit like statues, grave and dignified, while the story-teller tooktime to finish smoking a large pipe of tobacco?

So it was in this case. In their wild excitement and eagerness to have thestory begin, both Sagastao and Minnehaha sprang up and, rushing towardSouwanas, vied with each other in seeing which could first pluck thehalf-smoked calumet from his mouth. Such audacity appalled the Indianchildren and fairly took the breath away from the older Indians. For wasnot Souwanas a chief, and the calumet almost a sacred thing while betweenhis lips?

Souwanas, however, was greatly delighted. Here was a new experience, andthe very boldness of the children of the palefaces was an evidence of theirunbounded confidence and love. To little Sagastao the calumet wassurrendered, and, with the children cuddled around him, Souwanas began hisstory:

[Illustration: "With the children cuddled around him Souwanas began hisstory. "]

"Now, you must know that Nanahboozhoo was a queer fellow. He could makehimself as tall as a tree or as small as a turtle or snake. Nothing couldkill him. He could not be drowned even if dropped hundreds of feet intothe lake, nor burned to death even if he tumbled into the fire. He oftenmet with accidents, but he always came up right again and was ready forsome other adventure in some new shape. He has left his marks on the rocksand trees, leaves and flowers. Almost anywhere we look we see signs thatNanahboozhoo has been around. As his temper was very uncertain he sometimescaused trouble and injured the appearance of things which were once morebeautiful than they are now. But in general he was the friend of our raceand worked changes that were for our good. 

"One day, as Nanahboozhoo was walking along on a sandy shore, he felt veryhungry. It was now in the autumn of the year. As he wandered on he saw anobject moving toward him. He had not long to wait before he saw that thisobject was a great black bear. He pulled up a young tree by the roots andhid himself, preparing to kill the bear when he should come near. When thebear came near Nanahboozhoo made a big jump out of his hiding place andkilled the bear with one blow. Then he built a big fire, and having singedall the hair off the bear he cut him up and nicely roasted him. When themeat was cooked Nanahboozhoo cut it up into fine pieces, for he intended toenjoy his feast by eating leisurely. 

"While he was thus busy preparing his feast he was annoyed by a strangesound among the tree tops that rubbed together when the wind blew. Nanahboozhoo was very quick-tempered, and as the noise continued hedetermined to stop it. So he left his feast on the ground and climbed awayup one of those trees to the spot where the other pressed against it. Hewas endeavoring to pull the two great trees apart when one of his hands gotcaught between them and was firmly held. While struggling to get loose heheard a pack of wolves running toward his bear meat. This made him strugglethe harder to get his hand free. The fierce wolves soon scented the foodand had a good time devouring it, in spite of the shoutings ofNanahboozhoo. 

"When Nanahboozhoo at length got his hand free and came down he foundnothing left of his feast but the skull of the bear. He was very angry, notonly at the wolves that had eaten his feast but also at the trees that hadheld him, the great Nanahboozhoo, in so tight a grip. As the wolves had runaway he could not, at present, punish them, but he resolved that he wouldso punish these great birch trees that they would never give him such asqueeze again. So he prepared a great whip and with it he severely thrashedthe trees. Up to this time the birch had been the most beautiful of trees. Its great trunk was of the purest white, without any blemish or blotch uponit. But ever since the thrashing Nanahboozhoo gave it it has had to carrythe marks of that terrible whipping; and that is why the white birch treeis so covered with scars. 

"When Nanahboozhoo had ceased thrashing the trees he found himself so veryhungry that he resolved to eat the brains that were in the head of thebear, that had been overlooked by the wolves. However, he found the skullvery hard. So he transformed himself into a little snake, and in this waygot inside of the bear's skull and enjoyed his feast. In fact he enjoyed ittoo much, for when he was through with his eating he could not get out ofthe skull, he was so full. However, he was able to roll along, skull andall, but as he could not see where he was going he bumped along in a veryerratic manner until at length he tumbled into a big lake and sank at firstdeep down under the waves. 

"When he came up to the surface he just put a part of the head of the bearout of the water, as does the bear when swimming. Then he listenedintently. It was not long before Nanahboozhoo heard voices saying:

"'Look! There is a bear swimming. Let us kill him. "

"So there was a chase on the lake, and it was not long before the Indianscame up, in their canoe, and one of them with his stone ax struck thebear's head such a blow that he split open the skull. 

"This just suited Nanahboozhoo, and instantly he sprang out and made forthe shore. 

"Then Nanahboozhoo journeyed on and again he began to feel very hungry. Thebrains of the bear were not much to one who had had his mind set on eatingthe whole carcass. It was not long before he met the raccoon awkwardlycarrying a birch _rogan_ that he had stolen from a couple of blind men. Seeing the merry smile on the raccoon's face, Nanahboozhoo bade him a goodday, and asked him what was amusing him. 

"The raccoon, who did not know that it was Nanahboozhoo with whom he wastalking, told him how he obtained the dish. When Nanahboozhoo heard this hewas very angry at the raccoon for his heartless trick. 

"It seems that there was quite a large settlement of people who had amongthem a couple of blind men. As these Indians were hunters they had to be onthe move a good deal of the time following the game. As the other peoplewere kind-hearted, instead of killing these old blind men, now that theywere unable to hunt, they arranged for them a wigwam in a safe, quietplace, near the lake. Then they gave them a kettle and bowl and othernecessary things and cut a large pile of wood and placed it close at hand. In order that they might be able to get water for their cooking and yet notstumble into the water their friends fastened a rope, for their guidance, from the door of the wigwam to a post on the edge of the lake. 

"The old men were now quite comfortable. Their friends came frequently withabundant supplies of food and the blind men were able to do their own workand were happy together. They divided the day's work so that one day onewould be the cook while the other would bring in the wood and go for thewater. Next day they would change about. It gave each enough to do, and nottoo much. 

"For a long time the two men lived contented and happy. But it happenedthat one day the raccoon was out prowling along the shore, looking forsomething to eat, when he happened to find the end of the rope that wastied to the post at the water's edge. 

"Now you must know, " said Souwanas, "that, next to the wolverine, theraccoon is the biggest mischief in the woods. He is full of tricks, but heis very cunning and suspicious. So before he interfered with the rope hecautiously followed it up and found that its other end was at the wigwam ofthese two old blind men. Hearing no noise, he cautiously peered into thewigwam and saw them both sleeping near the fire. There was a smell ofsomething good to eat, and the raccoon decided to wait around to see if hecould not get hold of it. 

"While he was thus waiting the old men woke up, and one said to the other, 'My brother, I am feeling hungry; let us prepare our dinner. '

"'Very well, ' said the other; 'it is your turn to go to the lake for waterwhile I make the fire. '

"When the raccoon heard this he ran down to the lake and quickly untied therope from the stake and, drawing it back, tied it to a clump of bushes onthe land. When the old man with the kettle felt his way along the ropeuntil he reached its end he tried to dip up the water as usual, but all invain. There was nothing but the dry earth and bushes. Not finding any waterhe returned to his brother with the sad news that the lake had dried up, and that already bushes were growing where yesterday there was plenty ofwater. When his brother heard this doleful story he laughed at it, andsaid:

"'Why, that cannot be possible. No bushes could grow up in such a shorttime. '

"However his brother declared it was the case, and so the other one said, 'Well, let me go, and see if I can find some water. '

"When the tricky raccoon heard this he hurried back and at once untied therope from the bushes and refastened it to the post near the water. When thesecond brother came along he easily found the water, and filling the kettlehe returned to the wigwam where he vigorously accused his brother of lying. He, poor fellow, could not understand it and was much perplexed. 

"The preparation of their dinner went on, and soon it was ready. There was, however, another one present that the blind men had no suspicion of, andthat was the raccoon, who had now noiselessly come into the wigwam andgreedily sat watching the preparations. This dinner consisted of eightpieces of meat which, when cooked, were placed in their _rogan_, or woodenbowl. When ready they sat down with this bowl between them and began toeat. Each took a piece of meat, and they talked of various things whilethey ate. 

"The raccoon now noiselessly took four of the pieces of meat out of thebowl and began eating them. Soon one of the men reached into the bowl, toget another piece of meat, and finding only two pieces left, he said:

"'My brother, you must be very hungry, to eat so fast. I have only had onepiece of meat, and there are only two left. '

"'I have not taken them, ' was the reply, 'but I suspect that you are thegreedy one who has eaten them. '

"This made the other brother very angry, and as they thus went on arguing, the raccoon, to make matters worse, and to have, as he told Nanahboozhoo, some more sport with the old blind fellows, hit each of them a smart blowon the face. The poor old men, each believing that the other had struckhim, began to fight; and so they upset the _rogan_ and lost the rest oftheir dinner and nearly set the wigwam on fire. 

"The raccoon then seized the two remaining pieces of meat and the bowl, and, with shouts of laughter, rushed out of the wigwam. The old men, hearing this, perceived that they had been fooled, and they at once stoppedfighting and apologized to each other. 

"The raccoon's rascally trick made Nanahboozhoo very angry. Indeed he hadhad a good deal of trouble to keep from letting the raccoon know who hewas. So just as soon as the raccoon had finished he said:

"'I am Nanahboozhoo. Those old blind men are my brothers, and I'll teachyou a lesson you will never forget!'

"So he seized the raccoon and killed him, and carried his body back to thetent of the blind men and made out of it a great feast for them, anddeclared that in future the old raccoons should have to carry as manycircles on their tails as pieces of meat that had been stolen out of the_rogan_ of the blind men. "

"Good for Nanahboozhoo!" shouted Sagastao. "Mr. Raccoon couldn't play anytricks on him. Now tell us another story. "

But here Minnehaha interposed. 

"I think, " said she, "we had better go home now, for father and mother maybegin to think they have lost their little ones. "

"Let us wait until dark, " said Sagastao, "and then Mary won't see our dirtyclothes!" For their greasy fingers had soiled them badly. 

The wishes of the little girl, however, prevailed, and so it was not longere the Indian salutations, "Wat cheer! Wat cheer!" were shouted to all, and once more the two children were hoisted upon the shoulders of the bigIndians, and in the same manner in which they had been brought to thewigwam in the forenoon they rode home in the beautiful gloaming. 

Very tired were they, yet not so weary but that they were able with theirlittle hands to rub some of the paint off the faces of their big stalwartcarriers and daub it on their own. The effect was so ludicrous that theirmerry laughter reached the ears of their expectant parents even before theyemerged from the gloom of the forest. 

CHAPTER II. 

The Children's Return--Indignation of Mary, the IndianNurse--Her Pathetic History--Her Love for the Children--TheStory of Wakonda, and of the Origin of Mosquitoes. 

In reaching home the children were quietly received by their parents, who, understanding Indian ways, had no desire to lessen their influence byfinding fault with them for carrying off the children. They treated thematter as though it were one of everyday occurrence. 

Mary, the Indian nurse, however, did not regard the incident so calmly. When the children were brought back dirty, greasy, bedaubed, and so tiredthat they could hardly hold up their little heads, her indignation knew nobounds, and as she was perfectly fearless she couched her sentiments in themost vigorous phrases of the expressive Cree language. 

The history of Indian Mary was very strange. Indeed there was an incidentin her life so sad that from the day of her recovery she was considered tobe under the special care of the Good Spirit, so that even the mostinfluential chiefs or hunters had a superstitious fear of showing anytemper, or making any bitter retort, no matter what she might say. 

Years before this time Mary was the wife of a cruel pagan Indian who borethe English name of Robinson. Although she was slight of figure, and neververy strong, he exacted from Mary a great deal of hard work and was vexedand angry if, when heavily burdened with the game he had shot, she did notmove as rapidly along on the trail as he did, carrying only his gun andammunition. 

Once, when they were out in the woods some miles from his wigwam, he shot afull-grown deer and ordered her to bring it into the camp on her back. Picking up his gun he started on ahead, and being a large, stalwart man, and moving with the usual rapidity of the Indians on the homeward trail, hesoon reached his wigwam. Unfortunately for him--and, as it turned out, forMary also--he found some free-traders[1] at his abode awaiting his return. They had few goods for trade in their outfit, but they had a keg of firewater, which has ever been the scourge of the Indians. 

[Footnote 1: Fur buyers who were not agents of the Fur Company. ]

Robinson informed them of his success in shooting the deer and that it waseven now being brought in. The traders not only purchased what fursRobinson had on hand but also the two hind quarters of the deer which Marywas bringing home. Robinson at once began drinking the fire water which hehad received as part payment. 

He was naturally irritable, and short-tempered even when sober, but he wasmuch more so when under the influence of spirituous liquors. Theunprincipled traders, knowing this, and wishing to see him in one of histantrums, began in a bantering way to question whether he had really shot adeer, since his wife was so long in coming with it. 

This made him simply furious, and when Mary did at length arrive, laboringunder the two-hundred-pound deer, she was met by her husband now wild withpassion and the white man's fire water. Little suspecting danger she threwthe deer from her shoulders, where it had been supported by the carryingstrap across her forehead. Weary and panting, she turned to go into thewigwam for her skinning knife, but ere she had gone a dozen steps she wasstartled by a yell from Robinson which caused her instantly to turn andface him. The sight that met her eyes was appalling. Before her stood herhusband with an uplifted gleaming ax in his hands and curses on his tongue. Seeing that there was no chance to fly from him she threw herself towardhim, hoping thereby to escape the blow. She succeeded in saving her head, but the ax buried itself in her spine. 

Mary's piercing screams speedily brought a number of Indians fromneighboring wigwams. When they found poor Mary lying there in agony, withthe ax still imbedded in the bones of her back, their indignation knew nobounds. 

Indians, as a rule, have great self-control, but this sight so stirred themthat there was very nearly a lynching. Robinson, now sobered by his fears, clearly foresaw that terrible would be his punishment, and while theIndians and traders turned to attend to Mary's wounds the wretched husbandstealthily slipped away into the forest and was never again seen there. Rumors, however, at length reached Mary that he had fled away to thedistant Kaministiquia River, where for a time he lived, solitary and alone, in a little bark wigwam. One day, when out shooting in his canoe, he wascaught in some treacherous rapids and carried over the wild and picturesqueKa-ka-be-ka Falls, about which so many thrilling Indian legends cluster. 

For seven years Mary was a helpless invalid. When she did recover her backhad so curved that she looked like a hunchback. As she was poor, andutterly unable either to hunt or to fish, we helped her in various ways. She was always grateful for kindness, and in return was very willing to dowhat she could for us. She was exceedingly clever with her needle, and witha little instruction was soon able to assist with the sewing required. However, what especially won her to us and gave her a permanent place inour home, was her great love and devotion to our little ones. 

[Illustration: "The wild and picturesque Ka-ka-be-ka Falls. "]

Little Sagastao was only a few months old when she installed herself as hisnurse, and for years she was a most watchful and devoted as well asself-sacrificing guardian of our children in that Northern home. She seemedto live and think solely for them. At times, especially in the matter ofparental discipline, there would be collisions between Mary and the motherof the children; for the nurse, with her Indian ideas, could not acceptof the position of a disciplined servant, nor could she quietly witness thepunishment of children whom she thought absolutely perfect. Hence, if shecould not have things exactly as she wanted them, Mary would now and thenallow her fiery temper to obtain the mastery, and springing up in a rageand throwing a shawl over her head she would fly out of the house and begone for days. 

Her mistress paid no attention to these outbursts. She well knew that whenMary had cooled down she would return, and it was often amusing to see theway in which she would attract the children's attention to her, peeringaround tree or corner, and then come meekly walking in with them as thoughthey had only been for a pleasant outing of an hour or so. 

"Well, Mary, " would be the greeting of her mistress, while Mary's quietresponse would be the Indian greeting of, "Wat cheer!"

Then things would go on as usual for perhaps another six months, when Marywould indulge again in one of her tantrums, with the same happy results. 

She dressed the children in picturesque Indian costumes--coats, dresses, leggings, moccasins, and other articles of apparel of deer skin, tanned assoft as kid, and beautifully embroidered with silk and bead work. Not aspot could appear upon their garments without Mary's notice, and as shealways kept changes ready she was frequently disrobing and dressing themup. 

When Souwanas and Jakoos came that morning and picked up the children Maryhappened to be in another room. Had she been present she would doubtlesshave interfered in their movements. As it was, when she missed the childrenher indignation knew no bounds, and only the most emphatic commands of hermistress restrained her from rushing after them. All day long she had tocontent herself with muttering her protests while, as usual, she was busilyemployed with her needle. When, however, the two stalwart Indians returnedin the evening with the children on their shoulders the storm broke, andMary's murmurings, at first mere protests, became loud and furious when thehappy children, so tired and dirty, were set down before her. The Indians, knowing of the sad tragedy in Mary's life, would not show anger or evenannoyance under her scathing words, but, with the stoical nature of theirrace, they quietly endured her wrath. This they were much better preparedto do since neither of the parents of the white children seemed in theslightest degree disturbed by their long absence or the tirade of theindignant nurse. With high-bred courtesy they patiently listened to allthat Mary had to say, and when the storm had spent itself they turned andnoiselessly retired. 

The children were worn out with their day's adventure, and their motherintimated that Mary ought at once to bathe them and put them to bed. This, however, did not satisfy Mary. It had become her custom to dress them up inthe afternoons and keep them appareled in their brightest costumes duringthe rest of the day; therefore now the weary children, after being bathed, were again dressed in their best and brought out for inspection and a lightsupper before retiring. The bath and the supper had so refreshed them thatwhen Mary had tucked them into their beds they were wide awake and askedher to tell them a story. But sleep was what they needed now more thananything else, and she tried to quiet them without any further words, butso thoroughly aroused were they that they declared that if she refused theyknew somebody who would be glad to have them visit him again, and that hewould tell them lots of beautiful things. 

This hint that they might return to the wigwam of Souwanas was too much forMary, who very freely gave utterance to her sentiments about him. Thechildren gallantly came to the defense of the old Indian and also ofNanahboozhoo, of whom Mary spoke most slightingly, saying that he was amean fellow who ought to be ashamed of many of his tricks. 

"Well, " replied Sagastao, "if you will tell us better stories than thoseSouwanas can tell us about Nanahboozhoo, all right, we will listen to them. But, mind you, we are going to hear his Nanahboozhoo stories too. "

"O, indeed, " said Mary, with a contemptuous toss of her head, "there aremany stories better than those of his old Nanahboozhoo. "

"Won't it be fun to see whose stories we like the best, Mary's orSouwanas's!" said Minnehaha, who foresaw an interesting rivalry. 

Mary had now committed herself, and so, almost without realizing what itwould come to, she found herself pitted against Souwanas, the greatstory-teller of the tribe. However, being determined that Souwanas shouldnot rob her of the love of the children, she was tempted to begin herstory-telling even though the children were exhausted, and so it was thatwhen the lad asked a question Mary was ready. 

"Say, Mary, " said Sagastao, "the mosquitoes bit us badly to-day. Do youknow why it is that there are such troublesome little things? Is there anystory about them?"

"Yes. Wakonda, one of the strange spirits, sent them, " said Mary, "becausea woman was lazy and would not keep the clothes of her husband and childrenclean and nice. "

"Tell us all about it, " they both cried out. 

Mary quieted them, and began the story. 

"Long ago, when the people all dressed in deerskins, there was a man whosename was Pug-a-mah-kon. He was an industrious fellow, and had often to worka good deal in dirty places. The result was that, although he had severalsuits of clothes, he seemed never to have any clean ones. 

"It was the duty of his wife to scrape and clean his garments and wash andresmoke them as often as they needed it. But she neglected her work andwould go off gossiping among her neighbors. Her husband was patient withher for a time, but at length, when he heard that Wakonda was coming topay a visit to the people, to see how they were getting along, he began tobestir himself so as to be decently attired, in clean, handsome apparel, tomeet this powerful being, who was able to confer great favors on him, or, if ill-disposed, to injure him greatly. 

"He endeavored to get his wife to go to work and remove the dirt that hadgathered on his garments. She was so lazy that it was only from fear of abeating that she ever did make any attempt to do as he desired. She tookthe garments and began to clean them, but she was in a bad humor and didher work in such a slovenly and half-hearted way that there was but verylittle change for the better after the pretended cleaning. 

"When the news was circulated that Wakonda was coming, the husband preparedto dress himself in his best apparel, but great indeed was his anger anddisgust when he found that the garments which he had hoped to wear werestill disgracefully grimy. 

"While the angry husband was chiding the woman for her indolence Wakondasuddenly appeared. To him the man appealed, and asked for his advice in thematter. 

"Wakonda quickly responded, and said: 'A lazy, gossiping wife is not only adisgrace to her husband, she is annoying to all around her; and so it willbe in this case. '

"Then Wakonda told her husband to take some of the dirt which still clungto his garments, which she was supposed to have cleansed, and to throw itat her. This the man did, and the particles of dirt at once changed intomosquitoes. And so, ever since, especially in the warm days and nights ofearly summer when the mosquitoes with their singing and stinging comearound to trouble us, we are reminded of this lazy, slovenly woman, who wasnot only a trial to her husband, but by her lack of industry and carebrought such a scourge upon all the people. "

"Didn't Wakonda do anything else?" murmured the little lad; but thatblessed thing called sleep now enfolded both the little ones, and withmutterings of "Nanahboozhoo--Wakonda--Souwanas--Mary"--they were soon faraway in childhood's happy dreamland. 

CHAPTER III. 

More about Mary and the Children--Minnehaha Stung bythe Bees--How the Bees Got Their Stings--What Happenedto the Bears that Tried to Steal the Honey. 

The next morning while Mary was dressing them the children told her oftheir adventures in the wigwam of the Indians. Mary was really interested, though she pretended to be disgusted at the whole thing, and professed, inher Indian way, to be quite shocked when they both confidentially informedher that they had had such a good time that they were going again even ifthey had to run away and be whipped for it. 

This was terrible news for Mary, and placed her in an awkward position. Totell the parents of the children's resolve was something she would neverdo, as it might bring down upon them some of the punishment which was quitecontrary to her principles. Yet, on the other hand, to let them go and togive no information might cause more trouble than she liked to think of. 

Neither could she bear the thought of the two children returning fromanother day's outing with their neat clothing and pretty faces soiled anddirty. Do as they might, she had never once informed on them, and she hadno mind to begin now. She earnestly pleaded with them not to carry outtheir resolve. The little ones were shrewd enough to see that they hadthoroughly alarmed her, and they were in no hurry to surrender the powerwhich they saw they had over her. 

Mary never said a word in English. She understood a good deal that otherssaid, but she never expressed herself in other than the Indian language. Hence both little Sagastao and Minnehaha always talked with her in her owntongue. 

Minnehaha, seeing Mary's anxiety at their determination to run away to theIndians, thought of compromising the matter by insisting that Mary shouldtell them more tales. If she would do this they "would not run away verysoon;" especially did she emphasize the "very soon. " This was hardlysatisfactory to Mary, but as it was the best promise she could get she wasobliged to consent. 

Little Sagastao, who was Mary's favorite, once more unsettled her when hesaid, "Now, Mary, remember, we have only promised not to run away verysoon. That means that we intend to do it some time. "

It seems that the little conspirators had talked it all over in the morningin their beds, and had decided how they would get stories out of Marywithout really promising not to run away to the wigwam of Souwanas. 

The children, being dressed, were taken down by Mary to prayers andbreakfast, after which an hour was allowed in summer-time for outdooramusement before the lessons began. Little Sagastao generally spent hishour, either with his father or some trusty Indian, playing with andwatching the gambols of the great dogs, of which not a few were kept atthat mission home. Minnehaha was with her mother, and was interested in thebestowal of gifts to the poor widows and children who generally came atthat hour. 

Owing to the isolated situation of the mission, and the fact that therewere no organized schools within hundreds of miles, some hours of theforenoon were devoted to the education of the children in the home. Theafternoons, according to the season, were devoted to reading and amusement. 

Mary, the nurse, while able to read fluently in the Cree syllabics, had noknowledge of English. As the children's education progressed they wanted toteach Mary. She stubbornly resisted, however, declaring that if they taughther to read English they would want to make her talk it. 

The mother noted the unusual expectancy manifested by the children duringthe day, and on inquiring the reason was promptly informed that Mary hadpromised to tell them a story, or legend, and "had got to do it. "

"Why has she _got_ to do it?" said the loving mother, struck with theemphasis which they had placed on the word. 

The little mischiefs were cunning enough to see that they had nearly runthemselves into trouble, and were wisely silent. Mary also noticed this, and at once her great loyalty to the little folk manifested itself, andquickly turning to her mistress she said, with an emphasis which was quiteunusual:

"Mary has promised them a story, and as she always keeps her word she has_got_ to tell it. "

Saying this she quickly sprang from the floor, where she had been sitting, and taking a child by each hand she marched with them out of the room. 

"Hurrah for you, Mary! you saved us that time, " said little Sagastao. 

Mary would not have been sorry if in some way the parents received aninkling of what was in the minds of the children, yet she had such peculiarideas that she would never herself be the one to convey that information. 

During the brief summer months the pleasantest walks were along the shoresof the lake. Many were the cosy little cave-like retreats where Mary oftenled the children. There, with the sunlit waters before them, and therippling waves making music at their feet, the old nurse crooned out manyan Indian legend or exciting story about the red men of the past. To-day, however, she was perplexed by the attitude of the children and could notselect any story that she thought of sufficient interest to divert theirminds from Souwanas and Nanahboozhoo. So for a time they wandered on alongthe pleasant shore, or turned aside to gather the brilliant wild flowers. 

A scream of pain from Minnehaha interrupted their pleasure. In gatheringsome wild lilies she was stung on both hands by some honey bees that werein the flowers. Mary quickly made a batter of clay and bound up the woundedhands in it. Then she sat down and took the child in her lap. 

"Naughty bees to sting me like this, " said Minnehaha, with tears streamingdown her cheeks. "I was not doing them any harm. "

"Yes, you were, and so were we all, " said the brother. "We were carryingoff the flowers from which they get their honey, which is their food. "

"Well, they might let us have a few flowers without stinging us, " repliedMinnehaha. 

The intense pain of the stings rapidly abated under Mary's homely butskillful treatment, and as the child still retained her place in Mary's lapshe said, "Can you tell us why such pretty little things as bees have such terriblestings? My hands felt as if they were on fire when I was first stung, and Icould not help crying out with the pain. "

"Well, " said Mary, "there was a time when the bees had no stings, and theywere as harmless as the house flies. They were just as industrious as theyare now, but they had any amount of trouble in keeping their honey frombeing stolen from them, for every creature loves it. 

"In vain they hid their combs away up in hollow trees and in the clefts ofhigh rocks. The bears, which are very fond of honey, were ever on thelookout for it, and were very clever in getting it when once they foundwhere it was hidden away. Birds with long beaks would suck it out, and eventhe little squirrels were always stealing it. The result was that wholeswarms often starved in the long winters, because all their honey, which istheir winter food, was stolen from them. The bees were in danger of beingdestroyed. They gave up working in great numbers together, and scatteredinto little companies, and in the most secret places tried to store away alittle honey, just enough to keep them alive from season to season. Buteven these little hives were often discovered and the honey devoured. 

"Things had come to such a pass with them that they had almost given uphope of lasting much longer. 

"Fortunately for them, word was circulated that Wakonda, the strongspirit--the one who sent the mosquitoes--was coming around on a tour, tosee how everything was progressing. He was greater than even Nanahboozhoo, and was perhaps a relative of his, but he very seldom appeared, or didanything for anyone. However, it happened that he had this year left hisbeautiful home at Spirit Lake and was journeying through the country, andhe was willing to help all who were in real distress. 

"So the bees resolved to apply to him for help. Wakonda received them verygraciously, and ate heartily of the present of beautiful honey which someof them had made and had succeeded in keeping out of the way of bears andtheir other enemies. 

"When his feast of honey was over he listened to their tales of sorrow andwoe. He was indignant when he heard of the numbers of their enemies, and ofthe persistency of their attacks upon such industrious little creatures. 

"For a time Wakonda was uncertain as to the best method to adopt to helpthem. He dismissed them for that day, and told them to come again on a dayhe mentioned, saying that by that time he would know just what to do--forhelp them he would. The bees were so delighted with this news that theycould not keep it to themselves but must go and tell their cousins, thewasps and hornets, and even bumblebees. 

"When the appointed time arrived the bees were on hand--and so were thewasps, hornets, and bumblebees. Wakonda welcomed the bees most kindly, butwas a little suspicious about their visitors, and he asked some sharpquestions. But the bees were in such good humor about the help that wascoming that they did not refer to the bad habits of their cousins at all. Then Wakonda made a speech to the bees, and told them how much he lovedthem for their industrious habits, which he wished all creatures had. Hepraised them for the fact that, instead of idly wasting the summer days, they used them in gathering up food for the long, cold winter. 

"Then he proceeded to give them the terrible stings which they have hadever since, and as the wasps and hornets claimed to be their cousinsWakonda was good-natured enough to give them the same sort of weapons. Some people, especially boys, think this was a, great mistake, and would bevery glad if Wakonda had refused to give stings to the yellow wasp and theblack hornet. "

"Well, what happened after the bees got their stings?" said Sagastao. 

"A good deal happened, " said Mary, "and that very soon. A lot of them, without as much effort to conceal their nest as formerly, selected a tall, hollow tree, and using a big knot hole as the door began secreting theirhoney in it. They had made the combs, and were now filling them, when alongcame a couple of bears. These animals, as you have been told, are greathoney thieves, but they always had hard work to find where the timid beeshad cunningly hid it away, and now they could hardly believe that righthere before them was a great swarm of bees filling the air with theirbuzzing as they flew in and out of the knot hole. 

"With saucy assurance they at once began climbing the tree, expecting to beable to put their long paws into that big hole and draw out the combs. Butthey never reached that knot hole. The noise they made in their climbingalarmed the bees. Out they came in great numbers, and now, instead offlying around in a panic, like so many house flies, and seeing their honeydevoured, they at once flew at their enemies, the bears. They stung them ontheir noses and about their eyes and lips, and indeed in every spot wherethey could possibly reach them with their terrible new weapons. 

"The bears could not make out what the trouble was. They howled with rageand terror, yet they were resolved to get that honey, and still tried tocrawl up higher on the tree. But at length the bees mustered in such vastnumbers--for those away gathering honey, as they returned, joined in theattack--that the bears became wild with pain and fear, and had to give uptheir effort and drop to the ground. Even then the bees gave them no peace, and continued to sting them until they were obliged to run into the darkforest for relief. 

"Thus it happens now that almost all creatures that bother the bees aresimilarly treated. "

[Illustration: "They howled with rage and terror. "]

"Well, " said Minnehaha, "they need not have stung me because I was pickinga few flowers; but, after all, I am glad they have their stings or Isuppose we should never have any honey. "

"They are not big enough to have much sense, " replied Sagastao, "and sothey go for everyone that gets in their way. "

Mary now carefully removed the clay poultices, which had effectually donetheir work. A wash followed, in the waters of the lake which rippled attheir feet, and soon not the slightest trace of the sting remained. By thetime they reached home both pain and tears were well-nigh forgotten. 

That evening before the children were sent to bed they overheard Jakoos, who had come to the house with venison to sell, telling in the kitchen astory that he had heard from Souwanas about a naughty fellow, calledMaheigan, who tried to capture a beautiful kind-hearted maiden, Waubenoo, and of how Nanahboozhoo thrashed him, and then afterward, because of somenaughty children not holding their tongues, Waubenoo was turned into theWhisky Jack. 

What the little children overheard had very much excited their curiosity, and so when Mary was putting them to bed they demanded from her the fullstory. 

As this was one of the Saulteaux Indian legends, while Mary was a Cree, shewas not familiar with it. She told the children that she knew nothing aboutit, but this by no means set their curiosity at rest. 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Love Story of Wakontas--His Test of the TwoMaidens--His Choice--The Transformation of Misticoosis. 

A few days later Mary was annoyed by having the children tell her franklythat they did not think she was a first-class story-teller. For if she hadbeen she ought to have been able to answer Minnehaha's question about whatNanahboozhoo did to Maheigan when he tried to catch Waubenoo. 

Mary was vexed at herself that she was unable to answer the question, forshe well knew that the children would not rest satisfied until they had thestory told them by some one, possibly Souwanas himself. Indeed, knowingthem so well, she had fully resolved to post herself from one of the notedstory-tellers who have all the Indian legends at their tongue tips. But asyet she was ignorant in this matter, and therefore fell considerably in thechildren's estimation. Alary was somewhat hurt by noticing, perhaps for thefirst time, Sagastao and Minnehaha whispering confidentially to each other. The children conversed with Mary only in her own language, which at thattime they perhaps understood better than they did English. Now, much toMary's annoyance, their confidential whisperings were carried on inEnglish. Being sensitive and quick-tempered, when she saw this sudden breakin their affections toward her she was inclined to resent it, and asked thereason why she was not allowed to know what they were talking about. 

Blunt little Sagastao spoke up at once:

"Minnehaha and I have talked it over, and have decided that unless you tellus better stories, and ones which you know all about, we're going to runaway to the wigwam of Souwanas. "

This was humiliating and distressing news. Mary fancied she had told them agood story, and that with a few others like it she could satisfy theircuriosity and keep them at home until the brief summer would have passed. Not so, however, thought the children. They saw their advantage and wereresolved to keep it, and when their lessons were over and they were leftentirely in the charge of Mary they taxed the little woman in a way thatobliged her to exercise all her gifts as a story-teller, and she was farfrom being a poor one. 

One day she took them out in a graceful birch canoe among the picturesqueislands. They landed on one of these islands, and spent some time inexploring its beauties and resting where grew a profusion of the fragrantIndian grass. They were for a time much interested in the various wildbirds that then were so numerous and fearless. Beautiful gulls ofdifferent varieties were there nesting, and by following Mary's directionsthe children were delighted to find that they could approach very near tothe nests of some of them without disturbing the mother bird while hermate, in fearless confidence, stood on guard beside her. 

[Illustration: The startling placard. ]

[Illustration: While her mate stood beside her. ]

"Now, Mary, hurrah for a story!" cried the children, as they sat at lunch. 

While Mary was wondering what she would tell them, Minnehaha, with all therestless, inquisitive spirit of childhood, noticing the ceaseless rustlingmovements of the leaves in the stately northern poplar while the leaves ofall the other trees were so still, said:

"Why is it, Mary, that even while the leaves on the other trees are soquiet those almost round ones are ever stirring?"

Mary knew the Indian legend, and at once proceeded to narrate it. 

"It is believed by our people, " said Mary, "that there are other personsjust as clever as Nanahboozhoo, and as able to do wonderful things, butthey are very seldom heard of. Some of them were the children of Wakonda, the powerful spirit who dwelt in the region of Spirit Lake, where they sayit is always sunshine. Many strange things have been told about them, buteverybody says they are kind-hearted, and never did anything to injure anyof our people unless it was well deserved. The story is that long ago oneof these sons of Wakonda, whose name was Wakontas, could not find a wifeto suit him in his own beautiful country, and so he came to the regionswhere the Indians dwelt. 

"For a long time he wandered throughout great regions of country before hefound anyone who interested him. However, in his journeyings Wakontas wentinto the wigwam of some Indians where there were two lovely maidens, sovery beautiful that he fell in love with both of them. He was in thedisguise of a very fine-looking young hunter. So clever was he in the useof his bow and arrow that at the end of every hunting excursion he returnedladen with the richest spoils of the chase. He fell more and more in lovewith the two girls, and knowing, of course, that he could only get one ofthem he found a great difficulty in making his choice. He had already goneto the girl's father, and after finding out from him the price demanded forhis daughter, without mentioning which one, very quickly by his magicpowers he obtained the heavy price and laid it at the father's feet. Bothof the girls seemed equally pleased with him, and each one secretly hopedthat she might be the object of his choice. Still he hesitated, andalthough he tried many experiments yet they so nearly equaled each other incleverness and beauty that he was still undecided. However, there was agreat difference in their dispositions. While one was proud and jealous, and had a very bitter tongue, the other was just the opposite; while onewas very selfish, the other was generous and kind-hearted. But Wakontas wasnot able to find this out at first, and after he had considered variousplans he decided that he would put on one of his many disguises and thustry them. 

"So he started off as though going on a hunting expedition, but soon afterhe was out of sight he quickly assumed the form of a poor and aged Indian, and came to the home of these two beautiful sisters, and asked forassistance. Wakontas chose a time when he knew the rest of the family wereaway from the wigwam, in order that he might see how the two sisters wouldact toward him. 

"When he walked into the wigwam, for nobody ever knocks at an Indian tent, the maidens were a little startled at thus suddenly seeing thisrough-looking old beggar-man in their midst. The selfish, proud girl, whosename was Misticoosis, at once began assailing him, and cried, 'Auwastakena!' (Get out; go away, you!)

"In vain he pleaded that he was aged and hungry. She would not listen tohim. 

"Omemee, the other young Indian maiden, who had not said a word, but hadbeen pitying him from the first moment she saw how feeble and sad helooked, now interfered, and remonstrated with her sister, whose tongue keptup a constant stream of abuse. Taking the old man to her side of the wigwamshe seated him on a rug of deerskins and then built up before him a brightfire. Then she quickly brought in venison, cooked it nicely, and gave himthe broth for drink and the meat for food. He thanked her gratefully, butshe checked his words and said that her greatest joy was in making othershappy. Not satisfied with what she had done, and noticing that his shoeswere old and worn, she took out of her beaded workbag a pair of splendidlyworked moccasins, and put them on his feet. 

"All this time, while this good-hearted, generous Omemee was treating thepoor old man so kindly, the proud, selfish Misticoosis was talking as hardand as fast as she could against such deeds of kindness to all old people. In her opinion, when they had got so old and helpless as that old fellowwas, they ought to be killed by their relatives. 

"The old man again expressed his thanks to the kind sister, and then wenthis way. 

"Soon the girls began to think of arraying themselves for the return oftheir friend and lover. The proud, selfish Misticoosis spent all the timein fixing herself up in the most elaborate manner. She had lately becomequite jealous of her sister, and she was resolved to so outshine her inappearance that the handsome young hunter would surely prefer her. ButOmemee (a name which means a dove) thought to herself:

"'My father and mother and the rest of the family will soon be returning tothe wigwam, tired and hungry, and the best thing I can do will be to have agood dinner ready for them all. ' So, only taking time to comb and brush herluxuriant hair and make herself neat and tidy for her work, she set aboutcooking the meal. She skillfully prepared venison and bear's meat, and thefinest of fish. 

"Hardly had she finished her work and seen everything nicely cooked beforeshe heard the happy shoutings of her younger brothers, and the sweetbirdcalls of her little sisters. 

"As Omemee and her sister Misticoosis hurried out to greet them they weresurprised to see the handsome stranger gliding along in his beautiful canoealongside of the larger one of the family. Of course, the sight of theirlover excited the two girls. Misticoosis, who had spent all the hours inarraying herself in her finery and adornment, boldly thrust herself to thefront, and crowded out the modest Omemee, who was flushed by the busy workof cooking the dinner, and was wisely dressed in a costume which harmonizedwith her face and with the work in which she had been engaged soindustriously. 

"The instant the handsome young Indian landed--fancy the amazement of thetwo girls to notice that he had on his feet the same beautiful moccasinsthat, not many hours before, Omemee had given to the aged feeble man!Before anyone could utter a word he came striding up to the girls, andsaid:

"'As an old, weary man, I came to your wigwam a few hours ago. Misticoosisgave me nothing but abuse, yet my only crime was that I was old. Her tonguewent on and on without stopping, and all of her words were words of abusefor the old man and anger that he should have been left to live so long. But Omemee, kind-hearted Omemee, pitied the poor old man. She made him sitdown on a couch of deerskins, that he might rest his tired limbs. Shebuilt a fire and warmed him. She took of the best of the venison, and madehim food and drink, and then ere he left she put on his feet the mostbeautiful of her moccasins. All her gifts to the unknown old man were thebest she had. 

"'See the beautiful moccasins, the gift of Omemee!

"'I was that old man--I am now the lover long seeking a bride. I have mademy choice. Two beautiful maidens for a time divided my heart. There is nodivision now. By testing them I have found out that only one is lovelywithin. 

"'That no man may have to put up through life with the unceasing clatter ofthe tongue of Misticoosis, she will be from this time the unbeautiful aspentree, while her tongue shall be the leaves that will never again be stilleven in the gentlest breeze. The leaves of other trees shall rest at times, but the aspen leaves, now the tongue of Misticoosis, shall ever be restlessand unquiet. '

"And even while he was speaking, Misticoosis, who was amazed and ashamed atthe words he spoke, became rooted to the ground, and gradually turned intoan aspen tree. 

"Then, turning from her to the maiden of his choice, he exclaimed:

"'But Omemee, the loving, the tender, the kind-hearted, thou art my heart'schoice!'

"Saying this, the handsome hunter opened his arms, and Omemee sprang towardhim. For a moment he held her in his arms; then he said:

"'I am Wakontas, and to the beautiful home of Wakontas thou shalt betaken. '

"Then there was a wonderful transformation; as quickly as a butterflybursts from its chrysalis, so suddenly was Omemee transformed into abeautiful dove and the hunter as quickly assumed the same lovely form. Together they arose into the air, and flew away to the unknown butbeautiful home of Wakontas, in the land of perpetual sunshine. "

CHAPTER V. 

The Startling Placard--What Happened to the LittleRunaways--The Rescue--Mary Tells Them the Legend of theSwallows--How Some Cruel Men were Punished who Teasedan Orphan Boy. 

When Mary entered the children's bedroom one bright, pleasant morning shewas amazed at finding both of the beds empty and a piece of foolscap paperpinned to the dressing table. The writing on it was beyond her power toread. She remembered now that the children had begged her not to come veryearly in the morning to wake them up, and as their requests were as a lawshe had lingered as long as she dared, and indeed had only gone to callthem when her mistress had asked the reason for their nonappearance. Notuntil she had shown the paper, with its inscription, to the kitchen maid, who could read English, did its full meaning burst upon her. Of course, shewas very much troubled, and yet such was her loyalty to the children thatshe hesitated about letting the parents know what had occurred. She wasfully aware that she could not long keep the startling news from them, andyet she was still resolved that never should any information be imparted byher that might bring down upon them any punishment, no matter how muchdeserved. 

It was a long, rough trail through the primitive forest to the wigwam ofSouwanas. How long the children had been away she could not tell. Mary, with Indian shrewdness, had felt their beds, and had found them both quitecold, so she knew the little mischiefs had been off at least an hour. Sheinterrogated not only the maid in the kitchen but also Kennedy, the man ofall work, outside. Neither of them had seen or heard anything of thechildren, and as they did not share Mary's ideas the escapade of thechildren was soon known. 

The parents were naturally alarmed when they heard the news. At once thefather, accompanied by Kennedy and the dogs, Jack and Cuffy, started off onthe trail of the runaways. The intelligent dogs, having been shown a coupleof garments recently worn by the missing boy and girl and being told tofind them, at once took up the trail in the direction of the wigwam ofSouwanas, running with such rapidity that if they had not been restrainedby the voice of their master they would very quickly have left him and hisIndian attendant far behind. 

At length, with a sudden start, both dogs, growling ominously, dashed offahead, utterly regardless of all efforts made by their master to restrainthem. This suspicious conduct on the part of the dogs of course alarmed thefather and his Indian companion, and as rapidly as the rough trail wouldallow they hurried on in the direction taken by the dogs. Soon their earswere greeted by a chorus of loud and angry yelping. Fear gave speed to boththe men, and soon they dashed out from the forest into the opening of anIndian's clearing. Here was a sight that filled them with alarm, and almostterror. Standing on a pile of logs were little Sagastao and Minnehaha. Sagastao erect and fearless, with a club about as large as an ordinarycane, while behind him, leaning against a high fallen log, was Minnehaha. Surrounding them were several fierce, wolfish Indian dogs, among whom Jackand Cuffy, wild and furious, were now making dire havoc. One after another, wounded and limping, the curs skulked away as the two men rushed up to thechildren. 

"Ha! ha! hurrah for our Jack and Cuffy; aren't they the boss dogs!" shoutedthe fearless little runaways, and now that the victory was won they nimblysprang down from their high retreat and, apparently without the slightestfear, congratulated both their father and the Indian on the superiority oftheir own dogs. 

Trembling with anxiety, the anxious father, thankful at the narrow escapeof his children, as he clasped them in his arms could not but be amazed atthe indifference of the little ones to the great danger from which they hadjust escaped. After petting Jack and Cuffy for their great bravery andcourage the return journey was begun, much to the regret of the children, who pleaded hard to be allowed to resume their trip to the wigwam ofSouwanas to hear the stories of Nanahboozhoo. 

[Illustration: "Surrounding them were several fierce, wolfish Indiandogs. "]

The father was perfectly amazed at this request, and of course it wassternly refused. He had started off in pursuit of the runaways with aresolve to punish them for this serious breach of home discipline, but hisalarm at their danger and his thankfulness for their escape had so stirredhim that he could not punish them nor even chide them at the time. All hecould do was to bring them safely home again and, as usual in suchemergencies, turn them over to the tender mercies of their mother. 

Sturdily the children marched on ahead for a while, then Kennedy, theIndian, took Minnehaha in his arms. He had not carried her many hundredyards before the weary little one fell fast asleep, softly muttering as sheslipped off into the land of dreams, "Wanted to hear about Nanahboozhoo. "

Great was the excitement at home when the party returned. Sagastao rushedinto the arms of his mother, and without the slightest idea of having doneanything wrong began most dramatically to describe how "our Jack and Cuffythrashed those naughty Eskimo dogs" that chased Minnehaha and him upon thatgreat pile of logs. Mary in the meantime had taken from Kennedy's arms thestill sleeping Minnehaha, and almost smothered her with kisses as she boreher away to bed. 

There was great perplexity on the part of the parents to know just what todo to impress upon the little ones that they had been very naughty in thusrunning away, for it was very evident from the utterances of both that theyhad not considered the matter in that light. Now, in view of the wearinessof Minnehaha, it was decided to leave the matter of discipline in abeyanceuntil a little of the excitement had passed away. 

In the meantime Sagastao was ready to talk with everybody about the wholeaffair. It seems that he and Minnehaha had decided that Mary was "no good"in telling stories. He said her stories neither frightened them nor madethem cry, but Souwanas was the boss man to tell Nanahboozhoo stories. Hesaid they got up before anybody was stirring, that morning, and dressedthemselves so quietly that nobody heard them. They remembered the trailalong which Souwanas and Jakoos had carried them. After they had walked forsome time they came to where there was a larger trail, and they turned intoit, and came upon a lot of dogs that had been chasing some rabbits. Soonthe rabbits got away from the dogs, when they reached those trees that hadbeen chopped down. Minnehaha was the first to notice that the dogs hadturned back, and were coming after them, and she shouted:

"'O, look! those dogs think we are rabbits, and they are coming for us!'"

"When I saw they really were coming, " said Sagastao, "Minnehaha and Ijumped up on the logs, and we climbed up as high as we could, and I took upa stick, and then I stood up with Minnehaha behind me, and I shook thestick at them, and--and I shouted:

"'A wus, atimuk!'" (Get away, you dogs!)

"They came so near on the logs that I hit one or two of them, while all ofthe others on the ground kept barking at us. But I kept shouting back atthem, 'A wus, atimuk!' My! it was great fun. Then all at once we heard Jackand Cuffy, and, I tell you! soon there was more fun, when our big dogssprang at them. Every time an Eskimo was tackled by Jack or Cuffy he wentdown, and was soon howling from the way in which he was shaken. And theyhad nearly thrashed the whole of them when papa and Kennedy came rushingup. I wished they had been there sooner, to have seen all the fun. "

Thus the lad's tongue rattled on, while it was evident he was utterlyunconscious of the danger they had been in. 

After some deliberation it was decided that, in view of this runaway beingthe first offense of the kind, the punishment should be confinement totheir own room the next day, until six o'clock in the evening, on a diet ofbread and water. At this Mary was simply furious. She well knew, however, that it was necessary for her to control herself in her master's andmistress's presence. She managed to hold her tongue, but her flashing eyesand an occasional mutter, which would come out as she went about her usualduties, showed the smoldering fire that was burning inside. The childrenhad been duly lectured for their breach of discipline and then, thatevening, consigned to their room for their imprisonment which was to lastuntil the next evening. That night Mary took up her mattress and blanketsand went and slept on the floor between the two beds of the children, andin spite of orders, so the maid said, she secretly carried up a goodlysized bundle from the kitchen. 

The day was one of unusual quietness, as the lively pair, who generallykept the house full of music, were now supposed to be away in humiliationand disgrace. All regretted that the punishment had to be inflicted and thechildren made to realize their naughtiness in thus running away, and allwere looking forward to the hour of six o'clock with pleasant anticipation. When it arrived word was sent to the children that their hours ofimprisonment were over, and that they were to present themselves in thelibrary. Quick and prompt was the response, and noisily and hurriedly thetwo darlings came rushing down the stairs, followed by Mary. They werearrayed in their most beautiful apparel, and were evidently prepared bytheir nurse to go with her for a walk. 

The father, feeling that it was necessary, began to make a few remarksexpressive of regret that he had thus been obliged to punish them, when hewas interrupted by little Sagastao with the honest and candid remark, spoken in a way which, while perfectly fearless, was yet devoid of allrudeness or impertinence:

"O, father dear, you needn't feel badly about us at all, as Mary has beenwith us all day and has told us lovely stories. "

"And Mary brought us taffy candy, " broke in darling Minnehaha, with equalcandor; "and some currant cakes and other nice things, so we got on verywell after all. "

These candid utterances on the part of the two children not only amazed butamused the parents, and were another revelation of Mary's wonderful lovefor the children and her defiance of disciplinary measures which shethought might cause the slightest pain or sorrow. And here she stood in theopen door, and as soon as their father's words and their own ratherstartling "confessions" were ended she called them to her and away theywent for a long walk along the beautiful shore of the lake, leaving theirparents to conjecture whether the punishment that had been inflicted wouldproduce any very salutary results. 

When the children were gathered that evening in the study with theirparents little Sagastao said:

"Papa, Minnehaha and I have been talking it all over with Mary and she hasshown us that it was naughty on our parts to run away as we did; and we aresorry that we did anything that caused you and mamma sorrow and anxietyabout us, and so, . . . Well, we know you will forgive us. " And as the fourlittle arms went twining around the parents' necks there was joy andgladness all round, and it was evident that there was no danger of theescapade being repeated. 

The following are a couple of the legends that Mary told them while theywere prisoners in their own room that day. 

THE LEGEND OF THE SWALLOWS. 

"Long ago, " said Mary, "there were some Indian families who lived on thetop of a very high hill, like a mountain. They had quite a number of smallchildren, and I am sorry to say they were very naughty and would oftendisobey their parents. One of their bad deeds was to run away, and thusmake the father and mother very unhappy until they returned. Their parentswere very much afraid that some of the Windegoos or wild animals wouldcatch them when they thus ran away by themselves, with no strong man toguard them. 

"So the parents tried to make their homes as nice as possible for them. They made all sorts of toys for them and gave them nice little bows andarrows, and other things, that ought to have amused them and kept themhappy at home. All the efforts of their parents, however, were of no use. They soon were tired of their home amusements, and when their parents'backs were turned they would run away. 

"At length their conduct became so bad, and the parents found themselves sopowerless to prevent it, that they decided to appeal to the Indian Councilfor assistance. For a time the stern commands of the Chief were listened toand obeyed. Then they neglected his words, and about as frequently as everthey were found playing truant from their homes and parents. 

"At length, on one occasion when they had all run away and had been off forseveral days and could not be found, their fathers and mothers called uponWakonda to look for them and to send them home. Wakonda was very angry whenhe heard about these naughty children running away so much, and so he setoff in a hurry to find them. After a long search he discovered them on thebank of a muddy river making mud huts and mud animals. He was so angry atthem that he at once turned them into swallows, and said, 'From this timeforward you will ever be wanderers and your homes will always be made ofmud, ' and so it has been. "

"I say, Mary, did you remember that yarn because Minnehaha and I ran away?"said Sagastao. 

"Well, we were not making mud huts, " said Minnehaha. 

Mary was not to be caught, however, even if she did love them so much, andshe did not answer Sagastao's question, although in her heart she was notsorry if he saw something in the legend that would deter him from againrunning away. 

HOW SOME CRUEL MEN WERE PUNISHED WHO TEASED AN ORPHAN BOY. 

"There was once an old grandmother who was left alone with only an orphangrandson. All of her other relatives were dead. This boy was a veryindustrious little fellow, and did all that he could to help hisgrandmother. They both had to work very hard to have sufficient to keepthem from starving. Together they would go out in their canoe and catchfish. They also set many snares in the forest to catch rabbits, partridges, and other small game. 

"Because they were so poor the clothing of this orphan boy was made partlyof rabbitskins and partly of the skins of birds. When he was not busyhelping his grandmother he, like other little boys, was pleased to go outand play with the other children of the village. Some of the men of thevillage were very fond of teasing him, and some were even cruel to him, because of the poor clothing he had to wear. Often the poor boy wouldreturn to the wigwam of his grandmother crying and weeping because the menof the village had not only teased him on account of his poor clothing buthad almost torn his coat into pieces. His grandmother entreated the men tostop teasing the poor boy, who could not help his poverty. She wouldpatiently mend his poor torn clothes and try to cheer him up with the hopethat soon these foolish, cruel men would see how wrong it was to treat himthus. 

"But they only seemed to get worse instead of better, and so thegrandmother got very angry at last and determined to have it stopped. 

"So she went off to Wakonda and told him all about it. Wakonda was verybusy just then, but he gave her some of his magical powers and told herwhat to do when she reached her home. 

"When she arrived there she found her grandson almost naked from the abuseof the cruel men, who, finding that she was absent, had been more cruelthan ever to him. She then informed him that she was able now to put a stopto all their cruel actions. So she told him to dive into a pool of waterthat was near at hand. He did as she had commanded, and there he found anunderground channel that led out into the great lake. 

"When he came up to the top of the water in the lake he found himselftransformed into a beautiful seal. He at once begun playing about in thewaves as seals are often seen doing. 

"It was not long before he was seen by the people of the village, and, ofcourse, the men were very anxious to secure this valuable seal. Canoes werequickly launched and away the men paddled with their spears to try andcapture it. But the boy, now transformed into the seal, quickly swam awayfrom them, as instructed by his grandmother, and so kept them busy paddlingon and on farther from the shore. When they seemed almost discouraged theseal would suddenly dive down, and then reappear in the water just behindthem. Then, before the men could turn around and spear him, he as suddenlydived under the water again. The pursuit was so exciting that these cruelmen did not notice how far out from land they had now come. They did, however, after a time see their danger, for suddenly a fierce gale sprangup, and the waves rose in such fury that they upset the canoes and all ofthe wicked men were drowned. When the old grandmother saw this she oncemore exerted the magical powers with which she had been intrusted byWakonda, and calling to her grandson to return home he instantly compliedwith her request. He speedily swam back to her, and she at once transformedhim into his human form. 

"Thus freed from his tormentors, he very rapidly grew up to manhood andbecame a great hunter, and was kind to his grandmother as long as shelived. "

CHAPTER VI. 

Souwanas Tells of the Origin and Queer Doings ofNanahboozhoo--How He Lost His Brother Nahpootee, the Wolf--Why the Kingfisher Wears a White Collar. 

"Who was this Nanahboozhoo that we are hearing so much about?"

Thus was the old story-teller addressed by Sagastao, who always was anxiousto learn about those who interested him. 

The old man began in this way:

"When the great mountains are wrapped in the clouds we do not see them verywell. So it is with Nanahboozhoo. The long years that have passed since helived have, like the fogs and mists, made it less easy to say exactly whohe really was, but I will try to tell you. Nanahboozhoo was not from onetribe only, but from all the Indians. Hence it is that his very name is sodifferent. 

"The Ojibway call him Mishawabus--Great Rabbit; the Menomini call himManabush. He had other names also. One tribe called him Jouskeha, anotherMessou, another Manabozho, and another Hiawatha. His father wasMudjekeewis, the West Wind. There was an old woman named Nokomis, thegranddaughter of the moon, who had a daughter whose name was Wenonah. Shewas the mother of twin boys, but at their birth she died and so did one ofthe boys. Nokomis wrapped the living child in soft dry grass, laid it onthe ground at one end of her wigwam, and placed over it a great wooden bowlto protect it from harm. Then in her grief she took up the body of Wenonah, her daughter, and buried it, with the dead child, at some distance from herwigwam. When she returned from thus laying away her dead she sat down inher wigwam, and for four days mourned her loss. At the end of that time sheheard a slight noise in her wigwam, which she soon found came from thatwooden bowl. Then as the bowl moved she suddenly remembered the livingchild, which she had forgotten in her great grief at the loss of itsmother. When she removed the bowl from its place, instead of there beingthe baby boy she had placed there she beheld a little white rabbit, and ontaking it up she said, 'O my dear little rabbit, my Manabush!' Nokomis tookgreat care of it and it grew very rapidly. 

"One day, when Manabush was quite large, it sat up on its haunches andhopped slowly across the floor of the wigwam, and caused the earth totremble. 

"When the bad Windegoos, or evil spirits who dwell underground, felt theearth to thus tremble they said, 'What is the matter? What has happened? Agreat Munedoo (spirit) is born somewhere. ' And at once they began to devisemeans by which they might kill Manabush, or Nanahboozhoo, as he was nowcalled, when they should find him. 

"But Nanahboozhoo did not long continue to look like a rabbit. As he wassuperior to other people he could change himself to any form he liked. Hewas most frequently seen as a fine strong young Indian hunter. He calledthe people his uncles. When he grew up he said to his grandmother, the oldNokomis, that the time had come when he should prepare himself to go andhelp his uncles, the people, to better their condition. This he was able todo, seeing he was more than human, for his father was the West Wind and hismother a great-granddaughter of the moon. Sometimes he was the beautifulwhite rabbit; then he would be a wolf or a wolverine; then he would be alovely bird. He could even change himself to look like a dry old stump or abeautiful tree. Sometimes he would be like a little half-frozen rabbit;then he would be a mighty magician, and often a little snake. He was justas changeable in his disposition as in his outward appearance. Sometimes hewas doing the best things imaginable for his uncles, the Indian people, andat other times he was full of mischief and trickery. But on the whole hewas a friend, and although quick-tempered and fiery yet he did lots of finethings for the people, for he was really one of the best of the Munedoos ofthe early times. 

"When the time came for him to leave his grandmother's wigwam he built onefor himself, and then he asked Nokomis to prepare for him the sacredmagical musical sticks which she alone could make. His grandmother madehim four sticks, and with these he used to beat time when singing his queersongs. Some of them were very queer, and ended up with 'He! he! ho! ho! ha!ha! hi! hi!' Others were in reference to some special benefits he wouldconfer on his uncles. In one of them, referring to his going to steal thefire for them, he sings:

 "'Help to my uncles I'm bringing, Their sorrows I'll change into singing. From their enemies the fire I'll steal, That its warmth the children may feel. 

 "'Disguised will be Nanahboozhoo, That his work may the better be done; But his jolly deeds ever will tell who Has been sporting around in his fun. '

"At first he was a jolly fellow, full of fun, and did lots of good thingsfor his uncles. He showed them the plants and roots good for food, andtaught them the arts of surgery and medicine, but as the years went by hedid some things that caused him to be feared very much. His uncles alwayswent to him when they got into trouble, but whether he would help them ornot depended much on the humor he was in when they came. 

[Illustration: The beautiful reflections in the water. ]

"After he had lived for years in the first wigwam which he had built, andtaught the people of the earth many things, his father, the West Wind, helda council with the North Wind and the South Wind and the East Wind, andas Nanahboozhoo was never married, and was living such a lonely life, theydetermined to restore to life, and give to reside with him, his twinbrother who had died at his birth. The name of this brother was Nahpootee, which means the Skillful Hunter. Nanahboozhoo was very fond of him, andtook great care of him. He grew very rapidly, and he and Nanahboozhoo werevery great friends. Like Nanahboozhoo, Nahpootee could disguise himself inany form he chose. One favorite form he often assumed was that of a wolf, as he was often away on hunting excursions. The evil spirits, or Windegoos, who dwell under the land and sea, had never been able to do much harm toNanahboozhoo, he was too clever for them; and although they often tried hegenerally worsted them. Now they were doubly angry when they heard thatNahpootee had been restored to life and was living with him. Nanahboozhoowarned his brother of their enmity, and of the necessity of being on hisguard against them. 

"These brothers moved far away and built their wigwam in a lonely countryon the shore of a great lake which is now called Mirror Lake, because ofits beautiful reflections. Here, as he was a hunter, Nahpootee was keptbusy supplying the wigwam with food. Once, while he was away hunting, Nanahboozhoo discovered that some of the evil Munedoos dwelt in the bottomof the very lake on the shores of which they had built their wigwam. So hewarned his brother, Nahpootee, never to cross that lake, but always to goaround on the shore, and for some time he remembered this warning and wasnot attacked. But one cold winter day, when he had been out for a long timehunting, he found himself exactly on the opposite side of the lake from thewigwam. The ice seemed strong, and as the distance was shorter he decidedthat, rather than walk around on the shore, he would cross on the ice. Whenabout half-way across the lake the ice broke, he was seized by the evilMunedoos and drowned. 

"When Nahpootee failed to return to the wigwam Nanahboozhoo was filled withalarm and at once began searching everywhere for his loved, lost brother. One day when he was walking under some trees at the lake he beheld, high upamong the branches, Ookiskimunisew, the kingfisher. 

"'What are you doing there?' asked Nanahboozhoo. 

"'The bad Munedoos have killed Nahpootee, ' Ookiskimunisew replied, 'andsoon they are going to throw his body up on the shore and I am going tofeast on it!'

"This answer made Nanahboozhoo very angry, but he concealed his feelings. 

"'Come down here, handsome bird, ' he said, 'and I'll give you this collarto hang on your neck. '

"The kingfisher suspected that the speaker was Nanahboozhoo, the brother ofNahpootee, and he was afraid to descend. 

"'Come down, and have no fear, ' said Nanahboozhoo, in a friendly tone. 'Ionly want to give you this beautiful necklace to wear, with the whiteshell hanging from it. '

"On hearing this the kingfisher came down, but suspecting that Nanahboozhoowould be up to some of his tricks he kept a sharp watch on him. Nanahboozhoo placed the necklace about the neck of the bird so that thebeautiful white shell should be over the breast. Then he pretended to tiethe ends behind, but just as he had made a half knot in the cord, and wasgoing to tighten it and strangle the bird, the latter was too quick for himand suddenly slipped away and escaped. He kept the necklace, however, andthe white spot may be seen on the breast of the kingfisher to this day. 

"Soon after this the shade or ghost of Nahpootee appeared to Nanahboozhooand told him that, as his death was the result of his own carelessness, innot keeping on the land, he would not be restored to live here, but waseven now on his way to the Happy Hunting Grounds, in the Land of theSetting Sun, beyond the Great Mountains. 

"Nanahboozhoo was deeply moved by the loss of his brother, who had beensuch a pleasant companion to him. So great was his grief that at times theearth trembled and the evil spirits dwelling under the land or water weremuch terrified, for they knew they would be terribly punished byNanahboozhoo if he should ever get them in his power. But it was a longtime before he had an opportunity to get his revenge on them for the deathof his brother. How he did it I will tell you at some future time. "

CHAPTER VII. 

The Legend of the Bad Boy--How He was Carried Awayby Annungitee, and How He was Rescued by His Mother. 

"Tell us, Mary, a story about the boys of the old times among the Indians, "said Sagastao. 

"About bad boys, " said Minnehaha with a mischievous look in her eyes; "forthis morning brother and papa had to have a 'settlement, ' and it might doSagastao good to hear about other bad boys and what was done with them. "

These words of Minnehaha made Mary very angry. She thought more of Sagastaothan she did of any other member of the family, and nothing threw her intoa rage quicker than for anyone to cross him or even to question the wisdomof anything he said. Now, indignant that his father had been obliged tocall him into his study for some misdemeanor, Mary was greatly annoyed tohear these words. 

"O, pshaw, Sakehow, " said Sagastao; "do not be so touchy. I deserved thetalking to that papa gave me. It was wrong of me to whack that Indian boywith my bat as I did, and I ought to have been punished; so if you have anyjolly good stories about bad Indian boys, and how they were punished, why, let us have one. "

This confession of her favorite, who, after his temper cooled, was alwaysquick to admit that he had been in the wrong, quite pacified Mary, and shesettled down on the wolfskin rug with the children and began her story. 

"Long ago all the Indians believed in Windegoos and other spirits that weremore or less friendly to good people. Some were man-eaters and, of course, were always to be feared. Some Indians were in such fear of these cannibalsthat they would never leave the wigwam after dark for fear of being gobbledup by some of the monsters that might be skulking about. 

"There was one great creature called Annungitee, or Two Faced. He had agreat habit of looking out for bad boys, very bad boys. It was said that hecould not see really good boys; that they were like glass, and he could notsee them. But when a boy became very bad he was then so black that he waseasily seen, and Annungitee could espy him a long way off and was verylikely to come after him. 

"Fortunately Annungitee always made a noise when he was passing along. Thiswas a good thing for bad boys, for it gave them time to scurry into thewigwams, out of his way. He was so big that when he set one of his feetdown on the ground there would be sounds like the ringing of bells and thehooting of owls. When he put the other foot down the sound was like theroaring of buffalo bulls when they are going to fight each other. Even whenhe tried to move softly there would be sounds like birds and beasts cryingout. All the Indians who had heard this great terrible fellow were afraidof him, and yet no two were able to give the same description of him. Butthey did agree on one thing, and that was that when he caught a very wickedman, which he did sometimes, or very bad boys, which he often did, he justthrew him into one of his big ears and held him there. Indeed, it wasbelieved that he could hold three big men or six bad boys in one of hisears at the same time. Nobody knew where he lived, as no one had been foundbrave enough to follow and see, and no daring hunter had ever found hisabode in any of his hunting expeditions. 

"Now a certain Indian man and his wife who lived in a wigwam quite apartfrom other families had one boy. He was their only child. He had been avery bad, cruel, unkind boy. His father had to work hard as a hunter toobtain sufficient game to keep them from starving. His mother cut the wood, carried up the water from the distant river, dressed the skins of theanimals that were shot by her husband, and did all the work of the wigwam. The boy would not lift a finger to help in any way. One day the mother, whowas quite sick, asked him to go for some water. He refused, and was verysaucy to her. Then she asked him if he would please bring in some wood forher, as she felt cold. No, he would not do anything of the kind. She thenbecame quite angry with him, and said:

"'If you do not be a better boy I will put you out of the wigwam, andAnnungitee will toss you into his ear. '

"All the same, she did not really believe he would, as she had not heard ofAnnungitee or any other kind of ghost being around for a long, long time. She only said what she did to frighten the bad boy into obedience. Indeedshe had often said to him, when she was angry with him, 'I do hope a ghostwill catch you. ' But the more she talked to him the worse he became. So oneday when he had been very lazy and very rude to her she sprang up and, seizing him by the arm, undertook to put him out of the wigwam. He becamemuch frightened at this and began to cry. But she, knowing that he deservedto be punished, pushed him out and securely fastened the doorway, callingout:

"'May Annungitee catch you!'

"She did not really mean it, of course. No mother could wish her boy tohave such a terrible misfortune. The frightened boy then began runninground and round the wigwam, trying to find some place where he could getin, but he could find no opening. After a while his crying and his effortsto get into the wigwam ceased, and all became still and silent. His motherlistened attentively, and every moment expected to hear his voice again, but there was no sound except something like the sound of the singing ofbirds and the rattling of small bells dying away in the distance. At thisshe became very much frightened and began to cry, and to call for her boy. She threw open the door flap and began to search all around her wigwam forher son. But all in vain! He was nowhere to be found. 

"When the father came home from his hunting she told him of the suddendisappearance of their boy, and he, too, was very much alarmed. They setout and visited the lodges of all the people around. But no one had seen orheard anything of the missing boy. They returned to their own silent wigwamvery sorrowful, and for days they mourned over the loss of their son. Onenight, as the mother was weeping on account of her great loss, she heardsome one crying out to her:

"'Hi! Hi!' and at the same time she heard the sounds of bells ringing andowls hooting. This happened several nights, and then one night there was avoice saying:

"'You said, "Ghost, take that boy. " Hi! Hi!'

"Next morning the wife told her husband what she had heard during theprevious night, and she added:

"'I believe the ghost Annungitee has taken our boy. '

"Her husband was very angry when he heard this, and said:

"'Yes, a ghost has taken our boy. You gave him to him, and he has takenyou at your word. So why should you complain? It serves you right. '

[Illustration: "They tumbled the tall ghost over. "]

"At this the mother lifted up her voice and cried out so loud that it couldbe heard a great distance. 

"'Husband, ' she said, 'I deserve what you have said, but I am going to tryand get back our boy, and so to-night I will hide in the pile of wood thatis outside the wigwam, and if the ghost comes along again, as he has beencoming, I will catch him by the leg, and you must rush out and try torescue our son. '

"So that night she hid herself in the wood pile, and, sure enough, after awhile she heard the sound of bells ringing and animals softly crying out, and then a loud 'Hi! Hi!' after which all was still. 

"Then, as she cautiously looked out from her hiding place, there before herwas a great creature standing beside the wigwam. He was so tall that hishead was higher than the smoke hole at the top, and he was peeping downinto the wigwam. But, big as he was, she had a mother's loving heart afterall, and as she thought of her boy fastened up there in one of his big earsshe was determined to rescue him if possible. So she cautiously moved alonguntil she was able to seize one of his legs, which she did with all herstrength, and at the same instant she shouted for her husband to come andhelp. Out he rushed, and between them they tumbled the tall ghost over and, sure enough, in one of his big ears they found their little boy. 

"Poor little fellow. He was half-starved, and so thin and weak that hecould hardly stand. But they helped him into the wigwam and gave him somesoup, made out of some birds that his father had killed that day. 

"The tall ghost was so frightened by the sudden way in which he had beenseized that as soon as he could get up he hurried away, and was never seenin that part of the country again. Some tribes say he went South, andthere, when he was stealing children and carrying them off in his ears, hewas caught by the angry parents and burned to death on a big wood pile. "

"Did the little boy get better?" asked Minnehaha. 

"O yes, he did, after a while; but he was a long time in getting over thefright he had had. It did him good, however, for after that he was neverrude and saucy to his mother and did all he could to help her. "

"Did it do the mother any good?" asked Sagastao, who had not beenaltogether satisfied with her treatment of the boy. 

"Yes, indeed, " said Mary; "for after that terrible fright she was neverknown to shout out at her boy such words as, 'I hope the ghost will catchyou, ' or any other of the unpleasant ones which she sometimes had used whenshe was angry with him. "

"Thank you, Sakehow, " said both the children. "A pretty good story, that. "

Then what a jolly romp they had with Jack and Cuffy! The two splendid dogswere the children's special protectors and companions. 

[Illustration: "Their dog trains were in almost constant demand. "]

CHAPTER VIII. 

Happy Christmas Holidays--Indians Made Glad withPresents--Souwanas Tells How Nanahboozhoo Stole theFire from the Old Magician and Gave It to the Indians. 

The Christmas holidays were times of innocent festivities and gladnessamong the Indians and their white friends, both at the mission and at thetrading post. 

The gifts which it was possible to give to the Indians were not of verygreat value, but they were articles much needed and were always prized bythe recipients even if they were never very profuse in their words ofthanks. Minnehaha and Sagastao were wild with delight at these times, andwere eager to be the almoners of the mission, and carry the gifts to theIndians whom they loved so well. The fact that the temperature of thosebright, cold Northern winters kept steadily many degrees below zero did notchill their ardor nor lessen their enthusiasm. Their dog trains were inalmost constant demand, for they kept flying over the various icy trailsuntil in the different wigwams all had been remembered with some usefulgift. 

Faithful Mary had made for them the warmest of fur and blanket suits. Dressed in these, and tucked in among the robes in the cariole by theircareful driver, they sped along the trails. They made the woods echo withtheir merry shouts and laughter--unless it was so bitterly cold that theyhad to be completely covered up. It is not to be wondered at that therewere times when, on reaching some distant wigwam, there were little hard, white spots on their cheeks or noses which told the watchful Indians thatthe Frost King had been at work and that speedily those frostbites must beremoved. Little cared they for the momentary pain that ensued, when thefrozen parts were being thawed out. They were out for a good time, and theyhad too much grit and courage to let such trifles as a few frostbitesdisturb their happiness. The bright fires burning in the center of thewigwams, or in the fireplaces at the end or side of the little Indianhouses, were of course always welcome after a long run in the bitter cold. 

"Tell us, Souwanas, " said Sagastao one very cold day, as they were gatheredaround his wigwam fire, "how it was that Nanahboozhoo stole the fire fromthose who were guarding it and gave it to the Indians. "

"It must not be too long a story, " said Minnehaha, "as we have yet to go tothe wigwam of Kinnesasis, Little Fish, with his presents, and it would betoo bad to be late when they know we are coming. "

So Souwanas pledged himself to make the story as short as he could withoutspoiling it, and then, after a few more whiffs from his beloved calumet, hebegan:

"It was long ago, when there were fewer people in the forests and on theprairies than now. They did not have as many comforts as they have now, andone of the rarest things among them was fire. Sometimes when thelightning's flash set a tree on fire they would have it for a little while, but they did not seem to be able to keep it going, and they were often verycold and generally had to eat their food without cooking it. 

"Nanahboozhoo was then still living with his grandmother, Nokomis, and wassorry to see that she often suffered from the cold and that the food wasmiserable because it was not cooked. So he set his wits to work and decidedthat something must be done. As he should now have to deal with the MucheMunedoos, evil spirits, he had to be very careful. He put himself invarious disguises and at length he heard all about how the coyote hadstolen some of the fire from the watchers in the underground world, whopossess enormous quantities of it. It frightened him a little when he heardthat there was so much fire in the world under us, but he was not apt to beafraid very long and so as he went on searching, and on the sly listeningto the talks of windegoos and others, he found that the fire for which hehad been so long searching was in the possession of a fierce old medicinewarrior who guarded it with the greatest care. Those who had employed thecoyote to get it had intrusted its keeping to him. In those days they hadan idea that fire was such a dangerous thing that it would be almostcertain destruction to the race if it was given to all. This old warriorhad his two daughters, who were great, fierce women, to assist him inguarding the fire. 

"Several attempts had been made to steal the fire ere Nanahboozhoo resolvedto see what he could do. All of these other efforts had failed, and theparties who tried them were killed. Nokomis heard of these unsuccessfulattempts and tried to dissuade her grandson, Nanahboozhoo, from such adangerous enterprise. 

"Nanahboozhoo, however, was a very skillful fellow, and although this wasone of his first great undertakings, for it was long ago, he was not to bestopped by her fears, and so away he went. As the ice was not yet on thewaters he took his birch canoe and paddled eastward as far as he could. Then he hid his canoe where he could easily find it on his return. 

"The next thing he did was to transform himself into a rabbit, and in thatshape he hurried on until he saw in the distance the sacred wigwam wheredwelt the old guardian of the fire and his two daughters, who were famousfor their height and their strength. To excite the pity of these daughtersNanahboozhoo jumped into some water, and then crawling out, wet and cold, he slowly approached the wigwam. Here the two daughters found him, and helooked so miserable that they took pity on him and at once carried him intothe wigwam and set him down near the sacred fire, that he might soon getwarm and dry. "

[Illustration: "Where the fire was stolen out of the center of the earth. "]

"How very kind that was of the old man's daughters, " said Minnehaha. 

"I don't know about that, " said the more matter-of-fact Sagastao; "folkssometimes get into trouble by taking up everything that comes along. Remember that old rascal that humbugged father. "

But Souwanas, remembering his promise, adroitly shunted off the youngstersand resumed his story. 

"The two girls, after seeing how contented and happy the rabbit seemed tobe as it warmed itself by the fire, again returned to their duties indifferent parts of the large wigwam. The rabbit soon after hopped a littlenearer to the fire, that he might be able to seize hold of a burning stickor brand, but as he moved the ground shook and trembled under him so thatit awoke the old man, who had fallen into a heavy sleep. Thus disturbed, hecalled out to his daughters in alarm:

"'My daughters, what was it that caused the ground to tremble?'

"The girls replied that they did not know. They had done nothing beyondtheir usual work except to bring in to warm a poor little shiveringhalf-frozen rabbit that they had found outside. At first the old man was alittle suspicious and, rolling over, he took a good look at Nanahboozhoo. But he had made himself into such a poor little wretched half-drownedrabbit that the old man's suspicions were completely dispelled, and heturned over again and went to sleep. 

"Nanahboozhoo was pleased to hear the old man snoring again, and he onlywaited now until the two girls should both be busy in the wigwam on theopposite side from the door; then he suddenly changed himself into a fleetyoung Indian runner, and quickly seizing hold of a burning stick he dashedout of the wigwam and away he rushed toward the place where he had left hiscanoe. 

"Of course there was instant pursuit. The two daughters, although they weremagicians, like their father, well knew that they would be punished by thesuperior evil spirits if they allowed any of the sacred fire to be stolen, and they were furious at the cunning and deceitful Nanahboozhoo, whom theynow recognized, for playing such a trick upon them. Shouting to theirfather, to arouse him, they immediately ran after the retreatingNanahboozhoo, who with the burning brand in his hand was speeding rapidlyover the trail. But, fleet as he was, he soon discovered that the twogirls, by their magic, were rapidly gaining upon him. They were thefleetest of runners, even if they were girls, and it was for that reasonthat they and their father were intrusted with the sacred fire. Greathonors were to be theirs if they guarded it to the satisfaction of thosewho had intrusted it to them, while, on the other hand, great would betheir disgrace if they failed in their duty. 

"When they found that they were gaining on Nanahboozhoo, and were likelyto regain possession of the firebrand, with shouts and threats theydeclared that severe indeed would be his punishment, when he fell intotheir hands, for his abuse of their kindness and his trickery. 

"Nanahboozhoo felt that he was indeed in a tight place. He did not, however, intend to be overtaken, and he sped on, if possible faster thanever, until there was only a large dried-up, barren meadow between him andthe spot where he had tied his canoe on the shore of the lake. The girlswere only a few hundred yards behind him, and he resolved to fight themwith this sacred fire. So, as he rapidly continued his flight, he plungedthe now blazing firebrand into the dry grass, here and there, on each sideof the trail. The wind was in his face, and it carried back the fierceblaze and dense black smoke and not only quickly hid him from the sight ofhis pursuers but also made it very dangerous for them to follow him. 

"Nanahboozhoo thus succeeded in reaching his canoe, and fixing the burningbrand in one end of the boat he was soon rapidly paddling over the waterstoward his distant home. The flying sparks of the torch burnt him badly inseveral places, but he did not much mind this, and he dared not stop todress his wounds for fear that his pursuers would yet overtake him. 

"Fortunately he succeeded in reaching his distant home. There at the shoreto welcome his return was Nokomis, who had been full of anxiety about him. She carefully dressed his burnt face and hands and gladly received the giftof the fire, which has been such a blessing to the Indians ever since. 

"At first there was a good deal of trouble among the Indians to keep thefire burning. Sometimes the watchers appointed to look after it, especiallyin the summer months, would forget to add fresh fuel, or would go to sleepand neglect it. Then they would have to send off to some perhaps distantwigwam, where the people had been more careful, and secure some live coalsfrom them. 

"Nanahboozhoo was troubled about this. He feared that if it were allowed todie out at the same time in all of the wigwams he might not be sosuccessful again if he had to try to get a fresh supply from the fierce oldman and his now wrathful daughters. So he went out into the woods and atlength a good spirit came to him in a dream and told him of various ways inwhich the fire could be obtained. He showed him how it could be made, byrapid friction, with dry sticks. Another way he revealed to him was by thestriking together of a flint stone and a piece of iron; sparks of firecould thus be produced which, caught in punk, would soon become a blaze. Sonow the Indians do not have to cover up the fires as they were formerlyobliged to do; thanks to Nanahboozhoo's dreams, they can make it freshwhenever they want it. "

"Hurrah for Nanahboozhoo for his good work this time!" said Sagastao. 

"Well, I think he was a mean fellow, to so fool those two nice girls whotook him in and warmed him when he was a poor little wet shivering rabbit!"said Minnehaha. 

"Took him in?" the lad retorted. "Well, I guess it was well he was able totake them in as he did, by setting fire to that old grass in the meadow, for if he had not done so they would soon have had his scalp. "

But here Minnehaha appealed to Souwanas, and said:

"I have been wondering how it was the old man and his daughters got thefire in the first place from out of the underground. Will you not tell usthat story some time?"

The old man looked grave and was silent for a minute or two, then hereplied:

"I think you had better ask Kinnesasis. He knows the story better than Ido, for in his youth he traveled far West, into the land of the highmountains, where the legend is that the fire was stolen out of the centerof the earth. "

"All right. Thank you, Souwanas. We are going to take Kinnesasis somepresents, and while there we will ask him for the story. "

Here an Indian lad rushed into the wigwam with the word that Kennedy wascoming with their cariole. The children were well wrapped up, and soon withtheir usual happy, "Wat cheer! Wat cheer!" they were speeding homeward. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Kinnesasis--How the Coyote Obtained the Fire from theInterior of the Earth. 

A great time the children had in the wigwam of Kinnesasis. He was such ajolly little old Indian, and he was specially happy to-day when thechildren opened out the gifts and presented them. He was more thandelighted with a suit of black clothes sent him from a distance by friendswho had heard about him and his needs. He quickly put on the whole suit, which fitted him very nicely, and then much amused the children by saying:

"I am sure the man who made these clothes is in heaven, or, if not yetdead, he will go to heaven when he dies. "

"Why, Kinnesasis, it is the kind friends who sent you these clothes youought to thank, and not make such a fuss over the man who made them; he waspaid for making them, " said Sagastao. But Kinnesasis could only think ofthe man who made the suit of which he was so proud. 

Kinnesasis's old wife was, if possible, still more delighted with herpresents than the old man with his. She and Minnehaha were always the bestof friends, and now as the child handed her gift after gift of warmclothing and food her joy knew no bounds, and, old as she was, when somewarm shoes were given her, she sprang up and began singing an Indian song, while with all the agility of a young maiden she spun around the wigwam inrhythmic measure to her words, which, roughly translated, are as follows:

 "The Good Spirit has pity on me, Though for days I had little to eat, I was wretched and sad in my heart, I was cold, O so cold! in my feet. 

 "But now I have plenty of meat, Clothes for my body, shoes for my feet, I'll not grumble, nor sorrow, but praise The Good Spirit the rest of my days. "

"Well done!" shouted the children when the old woman stopped. They weregreatly delighted with her performance. Kinnesasis, however, who, as wellas his wife, was now a church member, professed to be much shocked atseeing her thus dancing, as though in the wild excitement of the GhostDance. But both Sagastao and Minnehaha stood up for the old wife. They saidthe words she sang were good enough for the church, any day, and they weresure nobody could find fault with her thus showing how glad and thankfulshe was. 

And nobody ever did find fault and soon was the affair almost forgotten, for now the merry jingling of more dog bells was heard, and who should comeinto the wigwam of Kinnesasis but the parents of Sagastao and Minnehaha!

Cordially were they greeted. At first it was difficult for them torecognize the staid little gentleman in his full suit of broadcloth as thelively but generally ill-clothed Kinnesasis. The visitors--who quickly sawand were delighted with the transformation--greeted him as though he weresome distinguished stranger. This vastly amused the children. Screamingwith laughter at Kinnesasis's pretense of keeping up the farce, theyshouted out, "Why, this is only our dear old Kinnesasis. He is no greatstranger. It is only Kinnesasis with his new clothes. "

"Well, " then was asked, "who is that charming old lady over there with sucha fine shawl and brilliant handkerchief on, and such fancy new shoes on herfeet? Surely she is a stranger. "

"No! No!" the children again shouted. "Why, that is Kinnesasis's wife, withher new presents on! My! doesn't she look nice!"

Here the little ones seized hold of the happy old Indian woman and made herget up and show herself off in her new apparel, of which she was just asproud as Kinnesasis. 

"And she gave us such a jolly dance in them, papa! Wouldn't you like to seeher do it again?" cried Minnehaha. 

But here Kinnesasis, pretending to be shocked beyond measure, in a mostdiplomatic manner directed the attention of the parents to some othermatter, and so the mischievous child did not succeed in making a churchscandal by inducing one of the flock to dance before the missionary. 

"Tell us, Kinnesasis, " said Sagastao, "how it was that that old man and hisdaughters first obtained the fire which Nanahboozhoo so cleverly stole fromthem and gave to the Indians long ago. "

At first Kinnesasis hesitated about telling the old legend, saying that hedid not think the father and mother of the children would care for suchstories. 

"Don't they, though!" cried the children. "You don't know them very well, then, if you don't know that they like stories just about as well as wedo. "

And with this they at once appealed to the parents, who of course sidedwith them and expressed their desire to listen to this story that thechildren had told them they were to hear from dear old Kinnesasis. 

Throwing some more logs on the fire, around which the white visitors withthe Indians gathered, Kinnesasis began:

"It was long ago, when I was a young lad, that I heard the story from theold story-tellers of our people. I had traveled with my father for manydays far toward the setting sun. We reached the land of the greatmountains, and there, with our people of those regions, we spent somemoons. It was while we were among them that I heard from the ancientstory-teller the legend of how the fire was stolen from the center of theearth, where it was kept hidden away from the human family. 

"That there was such a thing as fire was well known. It had been seenbursting out of the tops of distant mountains, and there had been times ingreat thunderstorms, when the lightning had set fire to dead trees--andindeed in this latter way the Indians had become acquainted with its valueto the human race. But they had not taken care to keep it burning, and noone had been appointed to specially look after it. 

"The reason why fire had not been from the first given to men was becausewhen the race was created the fire was not much needed. The earth was thenmuch warmer than it is now. There was no snow or ice ever seen except onthe tops of the very highest mountains. Great animals now all dead, andothers that could only live in the hottest countries, lived all over thesegreat lands. Then there was abundance of fruit and nuts and roots that wereall very good for food. Then some great disaster happened to the world andsoon it began to grow colder and many animals, and even families, perished. Snow and ice appeared where they were never seen before. There was greatsuffering from the cold. The hunters began to kill the animals for food. They were now not satisfied with the fruit and roots, they wanted somethingbetter. 

"So the fire was much needed. But where it was, or how to get it, was thequestion. Fortunately an old dreamer dreamed a dream about it. As thecouncil assembled to hear his dream he told them that the fire waspreserved in the heart of the earth by a magician called Sistinakoo, andthat it was kept very carefully surrounded by four walls, one within theother, in each of which was a single door. At the first door a great snakekept guard. At the second door a mountain lion or panther was the guardian. A grizzly bear guarded the third door, and at the fourth and last doorSistinakoo himself kept watchful care over the precious fire that smolderedon a stone altar just inside this last wall. 

"When the council heard all this they were almost discouraged. They thoughtit would be impossible for anyone to get by all of these guards and stealthe fire. 

"They first asked the fox to try, but he only reached the first door whenthe great snake nearly made a meal of him. Thoroughly frightened, he rushedback to the top of the earth and told of his narrow escape. 

"For a time nothing more was done to try and get the fire. The peoplecontinued to suffer, for the earth kept getting colder and colder and iceand snow were now to be found in lands that had previously been comfortablywarm. So the council was called again, and the question again raised as towhat could be done. 

"It happened that there came to the council a very old man who remembered atradition, handed down from his forefathers, which said that part of theearth beneath us was hollow, and that some of the animals, even the greatbuffaloes, had dwelt in those underground regions before they came to dwellon the surface of the earth. He said that the coyote, the prairie wolf, wasthe last one to leave, and that he was sure that he still remembered theroute to the very spot where Sistinakoo, the head chief of the regions, guarded the fire so jealously. "

"Why should they so guard the fire, and be so careful about letting peoplehave it, when we know how good it is?" asked Minnehaha. 

"Because, " replied Kinnesasis, "there was a tradition that at some time orother the fire should get the mastery over men, and the whole world beburned by it, and they thought that they would carefully guard it fromgetting scattered about by careless people who might set the world onfire. "

"Well, go on, Kinnesasis, and tell us the rest of the story, " said theimpatient Sagastao. 

"So when the Indian council heard this story they sent for the king of thecoyotes and told him of their wish that he should return to that underworldand bring up the fire for their use. 

"To their surprise and great delight the coyote said he would go, and heimmediately began his preparations for the journey. So greatly had the coldincreased that he found the dark mouth of the entrance under the mountainsalmost surrounded by snow and ice. After traveling for some time in thedarkness he reached the outer wall, where he waited, a little distance fromthe door, until the snake was taking his usual sleep. Then he quicklystepped past him. Knowing the habits of the other animals, he waited untilthey were asleep and then he noiselessly passed them all. Even Sistinakoohimself was sound asleep. So the coyote crept silently up to the fire andlighted the large brand or torch that was securely fastened to his tail. The instant it began to blaze up, as the coyote rushed out through thefirst door, Sistinakoo shouted, 'Who is there? Some one has been here andhas stolen the fire!'

[Illustration: "The coyote was too quick for them all. "]

"He at once began to make a great row and loudly called to the differentkeepers to close the doors in the walls. But the coyote was too quick forthem all, and ere the sleepers were wide enough awake to do anything he hadpassed through all the doors and was far on his way to the top of theground. The fire was gladly received by the people, but after some time, when some big prairies and forests had been burned up by it, the men gotfearful that the world might be destroyed and so they intrusted it to thecare of the old magician and his two daughters, with orders to be verycareful to whom they gave any. It was from them Nanahboozhoo stole it, toscatter it once more freely among the people as we now have it. 

"But the tradition was still believed in the days of my grandfather that, good as the fire was to warm us, and cook our food, it would yet become ourmaster, and do the world much harm. "

Kinnesasis was thanked by all for his recital of this suggestive legend, especially by his older listeners, who saw much in it that was in harmonywith the earlier beliefs of other nationalities. 

By this time, however, the dogs in their trains were impatiently barking, and longing to get back home for their suppers. So, after farewellgreetings to Kinnesasis and his wife, one cariole after another was loaded, and away the happy ones sped over the icy expanse of the frozen lake. 

CHAPTER X. 

The Christmas Packet--The Distribution of Gifts--A Visitby Dog Train, at Fifty-five Below Zero--Souwanas TellsHow the Indians first Learned to Make Maple Sugar. 

How great the excitement was which attended the arrival of the Christmaspacket can hardly be realized by persons who have never been exposed to theprivations of a land which the mail reaches every six months, and wherethey wait half a year for the daily paper. After this long waiting it is nowonder that a great shout was raised when far away in the distance thelong-expected, heavily-loaded dog-trains were seen that for several hundredmiles had carried the precious messages of love and the tokens of good willfrom dear ones far away. 

This year an extra train well loaded with much-needed supplies for themission was among the arrivals. Its coming was hailed with special delightby the children; for even in that Northland Santa Claus was not unexpected, and it was surmised by some of the wee ones that possibly some of his giftswould arrive about that time. 

And they were not disappointed, for loved ones far away in more favoredlands had remembered these little ones in their Northern home, where theFrost King reigns, and many and varied were the gifts which they nowreceived. 

"I am going to take Souwanas some of my candies, " said Sagastao. 

"And I am going to give him a nice red silk handkerchief, " said Minnehaha. 

The children had by this time pretty well learned his weakness for thesethings, and it was a pleasure now for them to think that they had it intheir power to make him happy. 

The next morning was, as usual, bright and cloudless, but it was bitterlycold. The mercury was frozen in one thermometer, and in the other one thespirit indicated fifty-five below zero. Yet so impatient were thesespirited children to be off with their gifts to Souwanas, and withsomething also for each member of the family, that their pleadingsprevailed. A cariole with plenty of fur robes was soon at the door, andwith old Kennedy as their driver they were soon speeding away behind atrain of dogs. 

Indians are naturally alert and watchful, and so the merry jingle of thesilvery bells was heard while the cariole was still at some distance on thetrail. Cordially were they welcomed, and strong arms speedily carried theminto the cosy wigwam where, in the center, burned a great fire of dryspruce and birch wood. 

As the cold was so intense, and the children had permission to remain fortwo hours, it was decided that Kennedy should return home at once with thedogs, as it would have been cruel to have kept them out in the cold solong. 

The heavy wraps were soon removed and the children were comfortably seatedon the fur rugs provided for them. Then they very proudly opened theirparcels and distributed the contents--their own gifts as well as thosewhich had been sent to Souwanas and his family from the mission. Minnehahareserved her special gift for the last. When all of her others had beenbestowed she unfolded the beautiful red silk handkerchief and, going overto Souwanas, she did her best to tie it nicely around his neck. 

The old man, genuine Indian that he was, was much moved by her winsome waysand handsome gift. 

He said but little, but there was a soft, kindly look in his eyes thatshowed his gratitude more than any words could have done. It meant a gooddeal more than perhaps he would like to admit and those who saw it werethankful that they had observed it, knowing that it meant so much. Sagastao, who had already given him several presents, had held on to hisbox of candies. He had learned that for such things the old man could becoaxed to do almost anything, and now he held them out, and said:

"Now, Souwanas, as all the presents have been passed around, I have gotsome fine sweeties for you, but we must have a first-class Nanahboozhoostory for them. "

"O yes!" said Minnehaha. "And as it is to be for sweeties let us have anice sweet story of Nanahboozhoo this time. "

"A sweet story you want? Well, before I begin let us fix up the fire andall get comfortably seated around it. "

Then, as they usually did, the two white children cuddled as close to theinimitable story-teller as they could. Little cared they for the coldwithout or even for the occasional puffs of smoke which seemed at times toprefer to enter the eyes of the listeners rather than to go out at theorifice at the top of the wigwam. 

"A sweet story, " musingly said the old man, "in this land of fish, andbears, and wolves, and wildcats, and wolverines!" Then he paused longenough to fill his mouth again with the candies which he enjoyed so much. 

"A sweet story. Then it must be of a land, south of this, where for someyears I dwelt, many, many moons ago. A land where the Se-se-pask-wut-a-tik(sugar maple tree) grows and flourishes in all its beauty. 

"There, in those wigwams, long ago lived the people whom we call theHurons, the Dakotahs and the Ojibways. These Ojibways are cousins of my ownpeople, the Saulteaux. Well, the story I want to tell you had its beginninglong, long ago. One day there came a great embassage of Indians from thefar South with words of peace and good will. They said that in theircountry they had no cold weather, and very seldom saw any snow. They saidthat the trees were different, and that many things grew there that theydid not see in our Northern country. They brought with them many presentsand were kindly received by our people, and then, after some weeks offeasting and speech-making, they returned home laden with the best giftsour tribes could bestow. 

"Among the presents which these Southern Indians brought was a largequantity of sugar. This was the first time it was ever seen among theIndians of the North. It was very much prized, and was very carefullydivided among the people so that each one had a small quantity. It did notlast very long, for everybody was fond of it. When it was all gone thepeople were sorry, and the question was asked, 'Why cannot we send acompany of our own people and get more of it?'

"This suggestion met with the favor of the tribes, and a large party of thebest runners was selected, and being well supplied with rich presents andpipes of peace they started off to find the Southland and to obtainabundance of the sugar. Some weeks passed by before word was heard fromthem, and the news was very bad. Fierce wars had broken out among thetribes that lived between ours and those who dwelt in that far South. OurIndians had to fight for their lives. Many of them were killed, others werebadly wounded, and of the large company that started out not more than halfever returned to their homes. The expedition was a complete failure. 

"Still there was the memory of the sugar among them, and it happened thatone day in the council somebody said:

"'Why not send to Nanahboozhoo?'

"Good!" shouted Minnehaha; "that is just what I thought they would do. "

"Well, hold on, " said her more matter-of-fact brother; "just as like as notNanahboozhoo would give them salt instead of sugar, if he were in one ofhis tantrums. "

Souwanas was not displeased at this interruption on the part of thechildren, and gladly availed himself of the opportunity thus offered toonce more help himself to the sweets. 

Earnestly appealing to Souwanas, Minnehaha, who always looked on the brightside of things, and who had a quick intuition quite beyond her years, said:

"It could not be a sweet story if Nanahboozhoo gave them salt instead ofsugar; could it, Souwanas?"

The old man, as soon as his mouth was sufficiently emptied to resume hisstory, amused by the earnestness with which the child appealed to him, replied with the words, "Tapwa, tapwa!" (Verily, verily!)

Sagastao, however, unwilling to give in, retorted, "O 'tapwa, tapwa'doesn't mean anything, anyway. "

Souwanas only laughed at this criticism, and proceeded with his story. 

[Illustration: Across a single log at a dizzy height. ]

"So it was decided to send a deputation to Nanahboozhoo to tell him ofthe wish of the tribes to have Se-se-pask-wut (sugar), as had the tribes ofthe Southland. 

"The deputation who started off to find Nanahboozhoo had a great deal ofdifficulty in finding him. It seems that a great strife had arisen betweenNanahboozhoo and some of the underground Muche Munedoos--bad spirits, sometimes called the Ana-mak-quin--who had determined to kill Nokomis, thegrandmother of Nanahboozhoo, because of their spiteful hatred ofNanahboozhoo, whom they knew they could not kill because he hadsupernatural powers. 

"Nanahboozhoo had, as usual, been playing some of his pranks on them, andthat was why they were determined to kill Nokomis. "

"What were some of the tricks that Nanahboozhoo had been up to this time?"asked Sagastao. 

"It would take me too long to tell you now, " replied Souwanas. 

"Nanahboozhoo dearly loved his grandmother, although he was often givingher great frights, just as other grandsons sometimes do. So when he heardof what the Muche Munedoos were threatening he took up his grandmother onhis strong back and carried her far away and made for her a tent of maplesin a great forest among the mountains. The only access to it was across asingle log at a dizzy height over a wild rushing river. 

"It was now in the fall of the year, and the leaves of these trees were allcrimson and yellow, so brilliant that when seen from a long distance theylooked like a great fire. Thus it happened that when the bad spiritsfollowing after Nanahboozhoo and Nokomis saw the brilliant colors throughthe haze of that Indian Summer day they thought the whole country was onfire, and they turned back and troubled them no more. Nanahboozhoo waspleased that the beautiful maple trees had been of so much assistance tohim. He decided to dwell among them for some time, so he prepared a verycomfortable wigwam for himself and his grandmother. 

"It was in the wigwam among the maples that the deputation foundNanahboozhoo. He received them kindly, and listened to their story andtheir request. 

"At first Nanahboozhoo was perplexed. He was such a great traveler that hehad often been down in the great Southland, and well knew how the sugar wasthere made. He had seen the fields of sugar cane, and knew the wholeprocess by which the juice was squeezed out and then boiled down intosugar. He also knew that it required a lot of hard work before the sugarwas made. 

"When Nokomis heard the request of the deputation to her grandson she wasvery much interested--for had not Nanahboozhoo several times, whenreturning from those trips to the South, brought back to her some of thesugar?--and she had liked it very much; and so now she added her pleadingsto theirs that he would in some way grant them their request. 

"Of course Nanahboozhoo could not refuse now, so he told them that, as thebeautiful maple trees had been so good to him and Nokomis, from this timeforward they should, like the sugar cane of the South, yield the sweet sapthat when boiled down would make the sugar they liked so much. 

"He told them, however, that it was not for the lazy ones to have, but onlyfor those who were industrious and would carry out his commands. ThenNanahboozhoo described to them the whole process of sugar making. He toldthem that only in the spring of the year would the sweet sap flow. Thenthey were to have ready their tapping gouges, their spiles and buckets. Great fireplaces were to be built and here, as fast as the sap was gatheredfrom the trees, it was to be boiled down in their little kettles into thenice molasses; and then a little more, so that when it cooled it wouldharden into sugar. 

"'Now, ' added Nanahboozhoo, 'go back to your people and tell them that itdepends on their industry between now and the spring who shall have themost of the sugar you love so well. ' Then he skillfully modeled out a stonetapping gouge of the shape required to make the incision in the tree fromwhich the sap would flow. With his knife he made a sample spile of cedar, the thin end of which was to be driven into the hole made by the gouge andalong which the sap would flow. Then he told them to make plenty of bucketsof birch bark, and thus be ready when the time came to secure an abundantsupply of sap. Thus the art of making maple sugar first came to be known. Nanahboozhoo gave it to the Indians long ago. Then when the palefaces camethey followed the same process. That is the way Nanahboozhoo showed us howto get the maple sugar. "

But here the sound of the barking of the dogs, and the sweet tones of thesilvery bells on the collars of the dogs that had come for the children, told that the two hours had passed away. 

"Thank you ever so much, " said the grateful Minnehaha, as she rose to haveloving hands carefully wrap her up for the return ride, "for that sweet, sweet story. It was so good of Nanahboozhoo to tell them about the sap inthe maple trees, even if it is only there in the spring time. "

"I think old Nokomis deserves a good deal of the credit, " said Sagastao. "It seems to me that Nanahboozhoo would not have done it if she had notmade him. "

"Well, Nanahboozhoo did it, anyway, and so we and the Indians have ourmaple sugar and molasses, and I am glad. And so, hurrah for Nanahboozhoo!"Thus replied Minnehaha. 

Here Souwanas lifted the well-wrapped-up child, and carried her out to thecariole, where she and her brother were speedily covered and tucked inamong the warm robes. 

"Marche! Marche!" was shouted to the dogs by the driver, and away they spedover the icy trail with such speed that it was not long ere they were againsafe and happy in their own cozy home. 

CHAPTER XI. 

Mary Relates the Legend of the Origin of Disease--TheQueer Councils Held by the Animals Against Their CommonEnemy, Man. 

"Mary, how is it that I get sick sometimes, " said Sagastao the followingsummer, "and have to take medicine that I dislike? Why can't we always bewell?"

For the last week or ten days Mary had been most devoted and faithful inwatchful care over her restless charge, who had been very sick but was nowrapidly recovering. 

"As soon as you are a little stronger I will tell you the legends ofsickness and medicine, as handed down by our Indian forefathers, " saidMary, "but now you must only rest, and eat, and sleep. "

"Well, Sakehow" (beloved), his pet name for his faithful nurse, "I will tryand mind you; don't forget. "

The next week was one of rapid recovery, and very proud, indeed, was Marywhen she led forth the two children, in the bright sunshine of a delightfulsummer day, to a cozy resting place among the rocks where the waves of LakeWinnipeg rippled on the sandy beach at their feet. 

Minnehaha was eager for a story about the sweet birdies or the brilliantflowers, but the young invalid had his way this time, and Mary proceeded totell the story of the Indians' idea as to the origin of sickness anddisease. 

"Long, long ago, " said Mary, "all the animals and birds on this earth livedin peace and harmony with the human family. Then there was food for all inabundance without any shedding of blood. Even the wild animals, that nowlive by killing and devouring each other, found plenty of food in thefruits and vegetables that then were so abundant. 

"Men and women also lived on similar things, and were contented and happy. But as the years went on the people became so numerous, and theirsettlements spread over so much of the earth, that many of the poor animalsbegan to be cramped for room. 

"Even this could have been borne, but by and by men began to make bows andarrows, spears and knives, and other weapons, and began to use them on thedefenseless animals. Then soon they began to eat the flesh of the animals, and presently they found that they preferred the meat thus obtained to thefruits and vegetables of the earth. 

"Formerly they had made their garments out of the fiber of the trees andplants, which the women carefully prepared and wove; but after a while theydiscovered that the skins of the buffalo and deer and other animals, whenwell prepared, made better and more durable garments and wigwams than thematerials they had previously used. As time went on the destruction ofthe larger animals increased, and men became so much more cruel thanformerly that even the frogs and worms, that in the earlier days were neverharmed, were now destroyed without mercy, or by sheer carelessness orcontempt. Thus the animals came to be in such a sad plight that it wasresolved by them to call great councils of their members together toconsult upon what could be done for their common safety. 

"The bears were the first to assemble. They gathered together on the peakof a great smoky mountain, which the white men now call Cathedral mountain, and the great white bear from the Northland was appointed chairman. "

[Illustration: "Which the white men now call Cathedral Mountain. "]

"Well, that was funny, " said Minnehaha. "Just fancy a big white bearsitting up in a chair! Why, he would need a whole sofa to hold him. "

"Don't be silly, child, " said the patronizing brother. "It was a bears'council and, of course, the chairs used were bears' and not men's. "

When Mary was appealed to to settle the question she could only say, "Asthe council was held on the top of a mountain perhaps the bears sat on therocks. But never mind; let me go on with the story. 

"After the white bear had made his speech he took his seat and said he wasnow ready to hear the statements of the different bears who had assembledto lodge their complaints against the way in which men killed theirrelatives, devoured their flesh for food, and made garments and robes outof their skins. 

"Nearly every kind of bear had grievous statements to make, and soblood-curdling were some of their recitals that it was decided to begin warat once against the human race. 

"Then the question was asked, 'What weapons shall we use against them?'After some discussion it was decided to use bows and arrows, the favoriteweapons of their enemies. 

"'And what are they made of?' was the next question. 

"This was soon answered by a bear who had been caught when young and keptcaptive for a couple of years in the wigwam of one of their enemies. He hadoften seen the process of making bows, and he was now able to tell allabout it, and even to do the work himself. It was not long before the firstbow, with some arrows, was manufactured, and there was great excitementwhen the first trial of it was made. A large strong bear was selected toshoot the first arrow. To their great disappointment the trial was not asuccess, for it was found that when the bear let the arrow fly, afterdrawing back the bow, his long claws caught in the string and spoiled theshot. Other bears tried, but they all had long claws, and they all failed. Then some one suggested that this difficulty could be overcome by theircutting off their long claws. But here the chairman, the white bear, interposed, saying that it was very necessary that they should have theirlong claws in order to climb trees, or up steep rocky places. 'It isbetter, ' said he, 'for us to trust to our claws and teeth than to man'sweapons, which certainly were not designed for us. '

"The bears remained in council until they got very hungry, but think asmuch as they might they could not devise any satisfactory plan, for theyare stupid animals after all, and they dispersed to their different homesno better able to fight the human race than before. 

"Then the deer next held a council. Representatives of all the differentkinds of deer, from the great elk and moose down to the smallest species inexistence, assembled in a beautiful forest glade. The moose was selected aschief. After a long discussion it was resolved that in revenge for man'styranny they would inflict rheumatism, lumbago, and similar diseases uponevery hunter who should kill one of their number unless he took great careto ask pardon for the offense. That is the reason why so many hunters say, just before they shoot, 'I beg your pardon, Mr. Deer, but shoot you I must, for I want your flesh for food. ' They know that if they do this they aresafe. 

"The Cree legend is that it is the bear that has to be propitiated bygentlemanly expressions when he is being approached to be killed. I wellremember being with a couple of hunters closely following up a bear, andjust before they fired they kept saying, 'Excuse us for shooting you, Brother Bear, but we must do it. We want your warm fur robe, our familieswant your meat, our girls want your grease to put on their heads, so youmust excuse us, Brother Bear. Please do, Brother Bear; please do. ' Thusthey went on at a great rate until he was killed. 

"But many forget it, and the spirit of their chief knows it and is angry, and he strikes those hunters, or their relatives, down with rheumatism orsome other painful disease. 

"Next the fishes and snakes and other reptiles held their council, and theydecided that as the human race had now become such enemies to them theywould trouble them with 'fearful dreams' of snakes twining about them, andblowing their poisonous breath in their faces, by which they would losetheir appetites and die, while others of them would seek opportunity tomake the water they drank, or even the air they breathed, unwholesome. Thepoisonous ones were also directed to use every opportunity to kill withtheir deadly bites whenever possible. 

"The birds also held a council, over which the crow was appointed chairman. The eagle objected, and wanted the place, but he was voted down becausethere were so few of his kind, and these were only hunted for theirfeathers to adorn the war bonnets of the great chiefs and warriors. Thecrow was appointed because he was always with the human race and knew thevarious schemes and tricks they were inventing to injure the birds andanimals of various kinds. After much deliberation the birds decided to givecolds, and coughs, and throat diseases, and consumption, to the humanrace, and to thus lessen their numbers that there might be room for allcreatures. 

"The insects and smaller animals then held their council, and the grubwormwas appointed to preside over the gathering. He was so elated over hiselection, and that they had arranged a scheme which should be fatalespecially to women, that he fell over backward and could not get on hisfeet again. So from that time the grubworm has only been able to wiggle inthat way. There was any amount of talking and buzzing among the crowd. Thefrog was especially noisy and angry in his remarks. 

"'It is high time, ' said he, 'that we began to do something against thiscruel human race, or we will soon be swept off the earth. See how my backis ugly with lumps and sores because men have so kicked and knocked meabout!'

"Others followed in the same strain of indignant protest against man'scruelty. Even the flies and mosquitoes had something to complain of. 

"Well, after the buzzing, and the croakings, and the hummings and angrytalkings were over, they settled down to business. 

"Some were appointed to poison the waters so that malarias and feversshould attack the now hated race. Others, such as the flies and mosquitoes, were to carry in their bites and stings many diseases. Thus it has come topass that there is more damage done to the hated human beings by thesebites and stings than the mere smarting pain caused at the time of thebite. Thus, because the human race changed from being all kindness to therest of the creatures, both great and small, into being cruel and savage, all these various creatures have combined to bring dreadful diseases amongmen in revenge for their own wrongs. "

"That is too bad, " said Minnehaha. "Why could they not have kept on lovingeach other all the time, instead of things being as they are now?"

Sagastao, who had laughed at the idea of the mosquitoes coming to acouncil, and of their having anything to complain of, said, "I would liketo know what mosquitoes lived on in those good old days you speak about. Now they are after me lively enough. " And he slowly lifted up his hand, onthe back of which a couple were rapidly filling themselves with his blood. 

But Mary, who, Indian like, was wise and observant, only said, "Wait aminute or two and I will show you. " Then she quickly hurried back into aswampy place and soon returned with a thick juicy leaf, to the under sideof which several mosquitoes were still clinging, with their bodiesdistended with its juice. 

"There, " she said, as she carefully held the leaf sideways, "that is whatmost of the mosquitoes still live on. They attack our race in revenge forour being so cruel as to kill so many of the animals, large and small, butthis, as you can easily see, is their natural food. "

This appeal to the eye quite silenced the children, who had considered thewhole story as only an Indian legend to be amused with. 

Mary, who had often been worsted by the sharp criticisms and inquiries withwhich they were apt to receive her pet Indian legends, was quite delightedat her apparent triumph, so she hastily sprang up, saying:

"It is time we were going home. Some other day I will tell you the story ofhow the medicines came. "

CHAPTER XII. 

The Naming of the Baby--A Canoe Trip--The Legend ofthe Discovery of Medicine--How the Chipmunk Carried theGood News. 

There was great excitement among a number of Indian men and women who hadgathered on the shore in front of the mission one pleasant summer morning. Grave Indians, with Souwanas in their midst, were calmly discussing someobject of interest, while Mary and a party of women, some of whom had theirbabies with them, were much more noisy, talking rapidly about somethingwhich was evidently a matter of exciting interest. Even Sagastao andMinnehaha were rushing in and out of the house and running from one groupof Indians to the other, full of eager inquiries and pleasantanticipations. What could it all be about?

Let us ask the children, for such little people often know more than we arelikely to give them credit for. Here comes Minnehaha, and we ask her thecause of such an early gathering of the Indians, and the reason why theyare so unusually interested in some matter unknown to us. 

[Illustration: "Their babies with them. "]

"Why, don't you know?" the bright little girl promptly replies. "They havecome to form a Naming Council, to give my little baby sister an Indianname. You see, " she added, "Sagastao and I were born among the CreeIndians, but baby was born here among the Saulteaux. Just think: the firstlittle white baby born among them! And they want to give her a niceSaulteaux name. The reason why they are talking so much now, before theyform the council, is that lots of them have pet names they want to give ourbaby, but of course she can only have one. "

"Yes, " said Sagastao, "and our old Mary is trying to get the women tooppose the name that Souwanas will offer, just because she is down on him. But I'll bet he will beat her yet. "

"You should not say, 'I'll bet. ' Mother has often told you that it was veryrude, " reprovingly said little Minnehaha. "You never learned it from fatheror mother. You must have picked that up from some rough trader. "

"Well, all right, I'll not say it again, but I'll bet--no, I mean--hurrah!for Souwanas and his side, anyway, " and off he ran. 

"Dear me!" said the little sister. "I do have so much trouble with thatboy!"

Soon the council assembled. The men and women arranged themselves in a bigcircle and spent some time in drinking some strong, well-sweetened tea thathad been prepared for them. They had been desirous of having their usualpagan ceremonies, but of course this could not be allowed, so theceremonies of tea drinking and their usual smoking were substituted. Thenthe little baby was brought in by her nurse and handed to one of the oldestwomen. She took the child, and after kissing her and uttering some words ofendearment passed her on to the woman on her left. She in her turn kissedher, uttered some kindly words, and passed her on to the next. So baby wentfrom hand to hand until she had made the complete circle of women and men. This was the ceremony of adopting the child into the tribe. 

Mary, the nurse of the older children, was excluded from this circle as shewas of another tribe. After some more tea had been drunk the child wasagain sent on her rounds. This time each person, as he or she held thechild, pronounced some Indian name that he or she wished the babe to becalled. Mary, who had now crowded herself into the circle, persisted inhaving a voice in the matter. She wanted the child to be calledPapewpenases (Laughing Bird), but she was voted down by the crowd, whosaid:

"No, that is Cree; we must have Saulteaux. "

With a certain amount of decorum each name suggested was discussed, only tobe rejected. 

For a time there was quite a deadlock, as no name could be decided upon. 

"Now that you have all spoken, " said Souwanas, "and cannot come to anyagreement, I, as chief, will make the final decision. This is the firstwhite child born among us, as Sagastao and Minnehaha, whom we all love, were born at Norway House, among the Crees. Most of the names which youhave suggested have some reference to birds and their sweet songs. Acompound name, which will include these ideas and mine, Souwanas (SouthWind), can surely be found. "

This suggestion was well received, as Florence was born in the spring ofthe year, when the birds, returning from the South, filled the air withmelody after the long stillness of that almost Arctic winter. 

So busy brains and wagging tongues were at work, and the result was theformation of the following expressive name, which was quickly bestowed uponthe child. It was first loudly announced by Souwanas himself:Souwanaquenapeke; which in English is, "The Voice of the South Wind Birds. "

At once all the Indians took it up and uttered it over and over again, sothat it would not be forgotten. Even Sagastao and Minnehaha, who could talkas well in the Indian language as in English, took up the word and shoutedout, Souwanaquenapeke, until they had it as thoroughly as their own. 

Mary alone was vexed, and so annoyed that she could not conceal herdisappointment. This was particularly noticed by Sagastao, and as soon asMinnehaha joined them they slipped quietly away together. Having obtainedpermission they took a canoe and went for a paddle on the quiet lake. Mary, like all other Indians, was passionately fond of the water, and in spite ofher crooked back was a strong and skillful paddler. 

The children were placed in the center of the canoe, on a fur rug, whileMary seated herself in the stern and paddled them over the beautiful sunlitwaves. 

For a time but little was heard, for the children were absorbed in thescenes of rarest beauty or watched some fish, principally the active goldeyes, sporting in the water around them. 

After a while the children began to clamor for a story, but Mary would notspeak a word. Sagastao suspected the cause of Mary's unusual silence. 

"What is the use, sakehou, " he protested, "of your being in a pet becausebaby was not named Papewpenases? The name they gave her pleased everybodyelse; you must be pleased too. "

"If you are cross and won't speak to us we will go and run away toSouwanas; won't we?" said Minnehaha. 

This was too much for Mary, and she quickly surrendered and made an excuseabout thinking of some beautiful story to tell them when they should landon that little rocky island just ahead of them. 

"Very well, " said Sagastao, "let us have the one about how medicines werediscovered and given to the Indians to cure diseases. "

"Just the one I was thinking about, " said Mary; "and while we rest on thelovely white sand I will tell you the story. "

A few vigorous strokes of the paddle sent the canoe well up on the sandyshore, and soon they all landed. A good romp relieved them of the stiffnesscaused by the cramped position in the canoe. Then as they cuddled down inthe warm sand Mary began her story. 

"You remember, little sweethearts, how the animals of various kinds heldcouncils and decided to be revenged on the human family for their crueltyby sending diseases among them. Well, these creatures did as they said theywould and the result was that lots of men died, and also the women andchildren, that did the creatures no harm, were getting different kinds ofsicknesses and many of them were dying. 

"Were there no diseases among them before these times?" inquired Minnehaha. 

"No; not what you might call diseases, " replied Mary. "The people livedsuch simple lives that, with the exception of accident, such as beingdrowned in great storms or killed by falling trees, or something that way, nearly all the people died of old age. "

"Then they had no doctors in those days?" asked Sagastao. 

"No; there were no medicine men in those times. Although there were thoseskillful to set broken limbs or attend to any who happened to beaccidentally wounded, but that was nearly all. Then all at once thesediseases sent by the angry animals began to appear among them, and, ofcourse, there was much alarm. The people did not know what had broughtthem, nor how to get rid of them. Many people were sick and numbers of themdied. 

"You see, the animals held their councils in secret, and away from thepresence of men, and so it would never have been known if the groundsquirrel, called by some the chipmunk, had not gone and told all about thecouncils to the men. He had always been friendly to the human race. He hadattended a number of the councils and was the only animal that had venturedto say anything in the favor of man. By doing this he so enraged the otheranimals that some of them fell upon him with great fury, and would havetorn him in pieces if he had not been able to escape into his hole in theground. As it was, they so tore and wounded him with their teeth and clawsthat the stripes remain in his back to this day. 

"Well, when he was healed enough to get around again he visited the abodesof the human race and was very sorry to find that the diseases sent by theother angry animals were causing much suffering and many deaths, so herevealed the whole thing to a number of men and told them to be on theirguard. But even this was not sufficient. It was felt that, now that thesediseases were spreading among them, they must have some remedies for thecure of them or they would all soon be destroyed. 

"While thus wondering what they should do their little friend the groundsquirrel came to their help again. He went about among the trees andplants, who were always friendly to man, and he told them of the sadcalamities that had come to the human race. 

"When the trees and plants heard what had been done by the animals toinjure and destroy their friends they speedily held councils amongthemselves and resolved that they would do all they could to overcome theevil. 

"First the great trees held their councils, talked over the matter, anddecided what they could do in the way of furnishing remedies to cure thesediseases that were doing so much injury. The pine and the spruce and thebalsam trees said, 'We will give of our gums and balsams. ' The slippery elmsaid it would give of its bark to make the soothing healing drink. Thesassafras said it would give of its roots to make the healthful tea thatwill bring back health again. The prickly ash and the sumach and othersvolunteered their help, and spoke of the wonderful healing power there wasin them, if rightly used. 

"When the plants came to their council the numbers that wanted to help werevery great. No one was able to keep a record of them and of the healingpowers they professed to have. There was the mandrake, with its May apples, and the wintergreen, with its pretty red berries; the catnip and thebone-set, which are so good for colds; the lobelia, which is such a quickemetic; the spikenard, the peppermint, the snakeroot, sarsaparilla, gentian, wild ginger, raspberry, and scores of others. All cheerfullyoffered assistance. 

"When the ground squirrel, who had for days been attending the council ofthe trees and plants, had made out his list of what remedies each tree andplant could furnish he was very much delighted, and then, thanking them fortheir offered assistance, he rapidly returned to the abodes of mankind andinformed them of his great success. 

"Of course they were very much pleased, and very grateful to the groundsquirrel for his kindness and his interest in their happiness. This is thereason why the chipmunk, or ground squirrel, lives near the homes of men. You never see an Indian shoot them or the boys or girls try to snare them. They are always welcome among the trees and the wigwams. The Indians lovethem because they spoke up for man when the other animals turned againsthim, and because it was one of their ancestors that made the trees andplants reveal their good medicines for the cure of the sick. "

"Now I know why it was, when I was out with the Indian boys, that theynever would shoot an arrow at a chipmunk, even when I asked them to, " saidSagastao. 

"Yes, " said Mary, "all of the Indians have heard their fathers tell of thekindness of the old father chipmunk in the days when the animals knew somuch and could talk, and so they warn the children against injuring thesepretty little creatures. "

But it was now time they were returning. The light canoe was once morepushed down into the lake, and soon they were merrily gliding along overthe clear, transparent waters to their cozy home. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

In the Wigwam of Souwanas--How Gray Wolf PersecutedWaubenoo, and How He was Punished by Nanahboozhoo. 

"We have come to-day for a nice story about Nanahboozhoo, " said Minnehaha, as she and Sagastao lifted the deerskin door at the wigwam of Souwanas, andentered with all the assurance of children who knew they were welcome. 

"Did he ever do anything to punish bad fellows who were cruel to theirwives and children?" asked Sagastao. "Because, if he did, I wish he wouldcome and thrash old Wakoo, that bad fellow who has been thrashing his wifeagain because he said she did not snare enough rabbits to suit him. "

Souwanas, who was one of the kind-hearted Indians, never cruel to any ofhis family, was much amused at the fire and indignation with which theyoung lad spoke. So after he had had comfortable seats arranged for thechildren among the robes and blankets he endeavored to satisfy theirdemands. "Nanahboozhoo, " he said, "did such things long ago, but once, when he was giving a good thrashing to a man who had been very cruel to hiswife, the wife, as soon as she was able, sprang up from the place where herhusband had knocked her to, seized a paddle and attacked Nanahboozhoo withsuch fury that he resolved never to interfere again, if he could help it, in a quarrel between man and wife. And, " added the old man, with a merrytwinkle in his eye, "it is best for everybody, if possible, to keep out ofsuch quarrels. "

"Yes, but, mismis" (grandfather, Minnehaha's pet name for Souwanas), "yousurely know a nice story in which Nanahboozhoo helped some one withoutgetting into trouble himself. "

"Of course I do, my grandchild, " said the old man, "and I know you will bepleased with it. 

"My story is about a lovely Indian maiden who was bothered by a cruelhunter. He was determined that she should marry him, although she did notlike him, and Nanahboozhoo came to her rescue. 

"The maiden's name was Waubenoo. She had the misfortune to lose both herfather and mother when she was about eighteen years old. There were fourchildren, all much younger than she, left in her sole care. They had nouncles or aunts, or other relatives, near, to take care of them, and soWaubenoo had to hunt and fish to get food for her little brothers andsisters. Fortunately her father had left a number of good traps and nets, and plenty of twine for snares, and so the industrious girl got on fairlywell. The great lake near her wigwam was well supplied with fish, and theforests all round had in them many rabbits and partridges and other smallgame. When great storms arose on the big lake, and Waubenoo could not goout alone in her birch bark canoe to visit her nets, some of the Indians, who were pleased to see how kind and industrious she was, would overhaulher nets and bring in what fish were caught. Thus she toiled on, and withthe assistance of these kind Indians she did very nicely. Her littlebrothers and sisters loved her dearly, and did what they could to help inthe simpler and easier part of the work. Every decent person among theIndians was pleased with her industrious habits, and often, in their quietway, had some cheery words of encouragement for her. 

"But there was one exception, and this was a selfish Indian hunter who, seeing what a fine-looking, strong woman she had become, and so clever inher work with both nets and traps, resolved that she should be his wife, towork for him and do his bidding. This man had been married before and, ifthe reports were true which had been told, it was likely that his wife haddied because of his cruelties to her. So he resolved, in his selfishness, to take Waubenoo from caring for her brothers and sisters to be his wife, and to hunt and fish for him, that he might live a life of idleness. 

"Her parents being dead this selfish young Indian did not have to go to herfather to buy her to be his wife. All he thought he had to do was to go andtell her she had to be his wife and come and do as he commanded her. Soharsh and cold were his words, and so very rough and forbidding his looks, that, while Waubenoo was frightened, she was grave and high spirited enoughto indignantly refuse his request, and to order him never to trouble heragain. 

"This, of course, made him very angry. He refused to go, and continued toinsist on her going with him. 

"Fearing that he might revenge himself upon her by doing her or thechildren some harm, she told him that it was her duty to stay with thelittle ones whom the death of the parents had left in her care; that theymight perish if she now left them. 

"But nothing would turn away his anger, and if it had not happened justthen that some friendly Indians came along he would have cruelly beatenher. Before them he durst not strike her, and so, muttering some threats, he sulkily strode away into the forest. 

"Poor Waubenoo was now sadly troubled. Lighthearted and free, she hadcheerfully worked and toiled for her loved ones, but now here comes thiscruel, fierce-looking man, whom she could only look on with fear and dread, and threatens to drag her away from them all. Gray Wolf, for that was hisname, had a bad reputation among the Indians. The young men shunned him andthe maidens took good care to be out of the way when he was around. That hewould persist in his attempts to get Waubenoo all were convinced, but thathe should succeed no one desired. Still, while Indian ideas on some ofthese things are so peculiar that no one seemed disposed to interfere, atthe same time some of them were generally on the lookout for herprotection. As for brave Waubenoo, while certain that he would stilltrouble her, she was resolved never to submit to him. 

"Thus the weeks rolled on, with Gray Wolf looking for some opportunity tocarry her off, and making several attempts to do so, which Waubenoo, everalert and watchful, succeeded in preventing. 

"At length his persistent attempts became so annoying that she was obligedto neglect much of her work in order to keep on her guard. Food was gettingscarce because she dared not now go far from her wigwam to hunt for thepartridges and rabbits and other small creatures she was so clever insnaring. 

"At length she resolved to go to Nanahboozhoo and seek his aid in gettingrid of this troublesome fellow. When Nanahboozhoo heard her sad story hebecame very angry. He was indignant that such a commendable maiden, one whohad been so kind to her little brothers and sisters, should be bothered bya big, selfish, lazy fellow who only wanted her because she was soindustrious and so clever at her work. 

"Nanahboozhoo had heard much about her kindly treatment of the children, and of her skill in providing for their wants, so he lost no time in goingback with her to her wigwam. At first the younger children were much afraidof him, as they, like all other Indian children, had heard such wonderfultales about him. But he was in such a jolly good humor that day, and was sodelighted with everything he saw about Waubenoo's wigwam and with theproofs of her industry that he soon made friends with all the children. Howto go to work to give Gray Wolf such a lesson that he would never troublethem any more he hardly knew at first. However, he had not been there manyhours before he had to come to a decision, for one of the little childrencame rushing into the wigwam with the terrible news that Gray Wolf, carrying a big dog whip and looking very angry, was coming along the trail. Nanahboozhoo only laughed when he heard this, and he very quickly decidedwhat to do. 'Sit down there, ' he said to Waubenoo, 'in that dark side ofthe wigwam, with a blanket over your head, and keep perfectly still until Icall you; and you, children, must keep quiet. Do not be frightened or say aword, no matter what happens. '

"Then Nanahboozhoo, who, as you know, could change himself into any form heliked, suddenly transformed himself so as to look exactly like Waubenoo. Soperfect was his resemblance to her, even to his dress, that her brothersand sisters could not have detected the disguise. Indeed, the young onescould not help looking over to the spot where the real Waubenoo sat in thegloom with the blanket drawn over her head. But they were Indian children, early trained to be quiet and do as they were told, and so they fullyobeyed his commands. 

"Of course, when Gray Wolf came into the wigwam he was completelydeceived, and now, thinking that he had caught Waubenoo when there were nofriendly Indians around, he at once began speaking very fiercely to her:

"'I have asked you for the last time, ' he said, 'and now I have come withmy dog whip and I intend giving you a good thrashing and then driving youto my wigwam. I intend to call you Atim, my dog, and like a dog I am goingto thrash you. '

[Illustration: "Gave him such a terrible beating. "]

"He then savagely raised the whip to strike, as he thought Waubenoo, butthe blow never reached its victim, or even Nanahboozhoo in his disguise, atwhom it was aimed, for Nanahboozhoo was so enraged that anybody in theshape of a man could be so cruel and selfish as to come and threaten a kindyoung woman like Waubenoo that he suddenly sprang at Gray Wolf, and seizinghim by his scalp lock he dragged him out of the wigwam, and then wrenchingthe heavy whip out of his hand gave him such a terrible beating that heremembered it as long as he lived. Then roughly throwing him to the ground, Nanahboozhoo, still in the disguise of Waubenoo, hurried into the wigwamand said to the real Waubenoo:

"'Now, while he is weak and cowed, go out and talk sternly to him, and tellhim that if he ever troubles you again it will be worse for him than thishas been. '

"When Waubenoo came out her appearance so terrified Gray Wolf that he triedto get up and skulk away, weak as he was. Waubenoo, glad that her enemywas so conquered that he would not be likely to trouble her much more, didas Nanahboozhoo requested her. 

"Nanahboozhoo was heartily thanked by Waubenoo and the children for thusridding them of this bad Indian, who had for so long made their livesmiserable. Ere he left Nanahboozhoo warned the children to say nothingabout his coming, 'for, ' said he, 'if Gray Wolf finds out who it was thatthrashed him he may yet be troublesome. '

"Well would it have been for all if the children had remembered thisadvice, " added Souwanas. 

"O tell us what they did, and what happened, " shouted Sagastao. 

"Not to-day, " said the old man; "it is time you both were back at yourlessons, and as I am going that way with some whitefish I will take youwith me in my canoe. "

"But is that all about the story of Waubenoo and the children?" saidMinnehaha. 

"Yes, " said Souwanas, "until we come to the next. For a long time afterGray Wolf received the beating he kept away from them, although his heartwas full of anger and revenge. Although he was a big fellow he feared toagain threaten her who, although she seemed but an ordinary-sized Indianmaiden, possessed the strength that had enabled her to give him such athrashing. "

CHAPTER XIV. 

The Pathetic Love Story of Waubenoo--The Treacheryof Gray Wolf--The Legend of the Whisky Jack. 

"It came about in this way, " said Souwanas, "and it is such a sad storyabout beautiful Waubenoo. "

"Will it make me cry?" said the tender-hearted Minnehaha. "If so, I do notthink I want to hear it. "

"Stay and hear it, you little pussy, " said Sagastao. "I am sure it is notworse than the Babes in the Wood. "

"Well, you always cry first, when we read that story together, " saidMinnehaha. 

At this the lad had nothing to say, for in spite of his apparentbrusqueness his heart melted more quickly, and his eyes filled easier withtears, at a pathetic story, than did his sister's. 

"Well, go ahead, Souwanas, " said Sagastao. "We each have a pockethandkerchief, and when they are used up you can lend us a blanket. "

At this quaint speech everybody laughed, and then the old man began hissecond story about Waubenoo. "It all came about because little childrenhave long tongues, and this story should warn little children that, whilethey have two eyes and two ears, they have but one tongue, and that theyshould not at any time talk about or repeat half of what they have seen andheard. 

"The little brothers and sisters of Waubenoo had been warned that theyshould say nothing about the visit of Nanahboozhoo to their wigwam. Infact, Nanahboozhoo was such a queer fellow that he did not at any time wantpeople to be gossiping about him, and, if he had done any good deed foranyone, he did not wish them to be ever speaking about it. Then anotherreason why Nanahboozhoo did not want them to talk about his visit and helpwas the fear that Gray Wolf, finding out how it was that he had receivedsuch a beating, would be more bitter and revengeful against Waubenoo andwould again try to get her in his power. The little children were, ofcourse, delighted that their wigwam was no longer visited by Gray Wolf, whose coming had always filled them with terror, while Waubenoo was sopleased at having thus got rid of him that she was happier and brighterthan she had been for a long time. It was not long before some of the otherIndians noticed the change. They were surprised that Gray Wolf had sosuddenly stopped his visits, and that he seemed so dejected and sullen. Naturally their curiosity was excited, and they were anxious to find outwhat had happened. "

"Better to have been minding their own business, " broke in young Sagastao, who seemed to see the drift of the story. 

"Be quiet, and do not interrupt Souwanas, " said Minnehaha, who often feltcalled upon to restrain her brother's impulsiveness. 

"Of course, " Souwanas continued, "Gray Wolf had so suffered that he hadvery little to say, and if ever teased about Waubenoo he fell into a greatpassion. 

"Waubenoo herself was too sensible to gratify their idle curiosity, but thevery return of her brightness, and her unwillingness to talk about thematter, only added to the foolish desires of outsiders to find out what hadreally occurred. So some of these naughty busybodies began questioning thechildren when they could get them away from Waubenoo, for in her presencethey were as mute as she was. They pestered and bothered the children andtried in various ways before they succeeded. But one day, while Waubenoowas away overhauling her traps, some of those wicked meddlers visited herwigwam and succeeded in getting one of the smallest ones--I just forget nowwhether it was a boy or a girl. "

"A girl, of course, " shouted Sagastao. 

"No, indeed; I am sure it was a naughty boy, " said Minnehaha. 

"Well, no matter which; but one of them said: 'Nanahboozhoo!'

"This one word, Nanahboozhoo, was quite enough to startle and alarm them, for Nanahboozhoo was also much feared, as he sometimes did dreadful things. 

"The fact that Nanahboozhoo had been in their very midst, although theywere a long time in hearing anything more than the one word from the nowfrightened children, was quite enough to excite the whole village, for thenews was soon spread abroad by the tattlers. 

"Such busybodies could not be satisfied with only hearing that Nanahboozhoohad visited the wigwam of Waubenoo. Of course they wanted to hear aboutwhat he said and did, and I am sorry to have to say that after a while, with coaxing and presents, they managed to get from the children the wholedelightfully exciting story. 

"When Gray Wolf, who was so jeered and laughed at by all who dare, heardfrom the gossipers how it had happened that he had received such athrashing he was doubly wild and furious. 

"When Waubenoo found out that all was known about how Nanahboozhoo hadhelped her she was very sorry that her little brothers and sisters had beenso naughty and disobedient. She also knew that now she would have to bemore careful than ever against the movements of Gray Wolf. But the fact wasthat he had been so cowed by his beating that he was afraid to openlyattack her, lest she should get Nanahboozhoo to help her again and it mightbe worse for him than it was at his first meeting. But he treasured uprevengeful feelings in his heart and resolved that at some time or other hewould dreadfully punish her. 

"Some years passed by, and the older children, next to Waubenoo, were ableto do most of the hunting and fishing as well as to be on guard againstany of the evil doings of Gray Wolf. Thus they were able, in a measure, torepay their sister, whom they dearly loved, although they were sothoughtless, for all her great kindness to them. 

"One fall there came to the village a splendid Indian hunter. He was of thesame tribe, but lived with his people, most of the time, at a distant partof the country. He was so pleased with this village, where dwelt Waubenoo, that he decided to remain for the winter and hunt. He was such a verypleasant fellow and such a great hunter that he soon made many friends. Gray Wolf was the only man who seemed to hate him, and he was even so rashas to insult him openly in an Indian gathering. 

"Soquaatum, for this was the young warrior's name, stood the insults ofGray Wolf for some time, then, when he saw that some of the young huntersbegan to think he was afraid of Gray Wolf, he suddenly sprang at him andknocked him down, and then seizing him by his belt, he shook him as easilyand thoroughly as a wildcat would a rabbit. Then he threw him from him andsat down among the people as though nothing had happened. 

"That evening, when he and the relatives with whom he lived were seatedaround the fire in the wigwam, he heard for the first time the story ofWaubenoo: of her great industry, her love for her little brothers andsisters, and how she had been threatened by Gray Wolf and then befriendedby Nanahboozhoo. 

"This story very much interested Soquaatum, and especially as in hishunting he had met her younger brother, now a fine strapping hunter, andhad become very fond of him, although he was much younger. So he resolvedthat as soon as he could he would visit her wigwam and seek heracquaintance. "

"Ho! Ho! So this is to be a love story, " said Sagastao. 

"Be quiet, do, " said his sister. "All love stories do not end well. Remember, there was Gray Wolf!"

Souwanas profited by the interruption, for it gave him an opportunity tolight his pipe with flint and steel, and he then resumed the story. 

"Soon after Soquaatum arrayed himself in his most attractive costume andcalled at the tent of Waubenoo. His excuse was that he wanted to see herbrother and arrange some hunting excursion. 

"Waubenoo, who had often heard her brother speak of his great skill as ahunter, and had also heard how easily and thoroughly he had handled GrayWolf, received him most kindly and at once made him welcome. 

"Well, it is not surprising that he should soon fall in love with Waubenoo, and so pleased was she with his manner, as well as his attractiveappearance, that she became very fond of him, and it was not many daysafter their first meeting before it was noised abroad that Soquaatum andWaubenoo were lovers. 

"Soquaatum remained until about the middle of the winter. Then he returnedto his distant home to make all preparations for receiving his wife, forwhom he was to come in the spring. 

"Gray Wolf was, of course, furious when he heard that Waubenoo was to bemarried, and to the man who had humiliated him in the presence of so manypeople. Though angry and revengeful, he was at heart a cowardly fellow, andnow that Waubenoo's brother was full-grown he was afraid of him, as well asof Soquaatum while he was in the neighborhood. But his fears did notprevent him from thinking of schemes for revenge which, however, came tonothing, because the friends of Waubenoo were so vigilant and wellprepared. 

"At length one of his plans succeeded, and this is how it happened:

"Gray Wolf enlisted a young Indian who was equally bad with himself to helphim. As Soquaatum had now been gone for some weeks to his home, which wasfar east from that region, Gray Wolf and his wicked companion went a goodlong distance--many miles--in that direction. There they made a huntinglodge and laid their plans to capture Waubenoo. Then Gray Wolf's companionwent back and remained secreted near the wigwam of Waubenoo. One night hesaw her two brothers leave, about midnight, for some distant traps thatwould take them all day to reach. 

"As soon as this bad fellow was satisfied that they were well out of sightand hearing he rushed up to the tent of Waubenoo and hastily aroused herfrom her sleep. He had arrayed himself as though he was gaining on her, she began calling: 'Soquaatum! Soquaatum!' Alas! he was far away, but therewas another who, fortunately, was near. Nanahboozhoo had been out huntingand he had a sled which he was dragging, loaded with game. He was surprisedas he heard this calling, 'Soquaatum! Soquaatum!' and as he continuedlistening it became hoarse and then only like a whisper. He could stand itno longer; he rushed through the woods and there he saw Waubenoo, dashingalong on snow-shoes, calling in a low whisper: 'Soquaatum! Soquaatum!'while not a hundred feet behind her was Gray Wolf, yelling in triumph thathe would soon capture her. Unfortunately Nanahboozhoo was not in a verygood humor that day. He had heard of some little children that had beentattling about him, and he had heard that the children in the tent ofWaubenoo had told about his visit. 

"However, when he saw who it was that was in danger, and heard her cry tohim for help when she saw him, and especially when he saw who it was thatwas after her, he quickly turned Waubenoo into a bird and without anytrouble she quickly flew up into a tree out of the reach of danger. 

"Ever since that Waubenoo has been the Whisky Jack, and if you will listento Whisky Jack when he is not scolding or clamoring at your camp for foodhis voice is like that of the lost Indian maiden, with a bad cold, callingfor her lover. "

"What did Nanahboozhoo do to Gray Wolf?" said Sagastao. 

"Hush, " said Minnehaha. "Don't you know Nanahboozhoo doesn't like to havechildren talk about him?"

This excessive caution on the part of the little girl vastly amusedSouwanas. Then he told them that Nanahboozhoo turned Gray Wolf into a dogand made him draw home his heavy load of meat. 

CHAPTER XV. 

A Novel Race: the Wolverine and the Rock--How theWolverine's Legs were Shortened--A Punishment forConceit. 

There was great excitement one morning among the children in the schoolroomwhen Mary came in with the word that some hunters with their dog sleds hadcalled, and that they had with them a great wolverine which had been killedin the woods not very far away. The children ran out to look at it. 

Now the wolverine is known to be such a cunning, clever animal that thekilling of one is quite an event among the Indians, and the lucky hunterwho succeeds in destroying one is the hero of the hour. A man may on onehunting trip kill several bears or wolves, or many other animals, and thereis not much said about it, but to kill a wolverine, that pest and scourgeof the hunters, is indeed a feat that any man is proud of. 

"Why is it called a wolverine?" asked Sagastao. 

"Because it was once like a wolf, and had small feet and long legs, but nowits legs are short and its feet are very large. "

"What shortened its legs and made its feet become so large?" askedSagastao. 

It was too cold a day to remain any longer outside looking at thewolverine, or to learn more about it, so the children were obliged toreturn to their warm schoolroom, where their lessons were resumed. 

It was evident, however, that both Sagastao and Minnehaha were ready with acouple of questions for Mary, and it was not long after school hours thatthey sought her and asked:

"Mary, what was it that shortened the legs of the wolverine? and what madehis feet so big?"

"The wolverine, " replied Mary, "was once the finest of all the differentkinds of wolves. He had the softest and nicest of fur. His legs were long, and his feet were firm and handsome, but he was an awfully conceitedfellow. He fancied he was the handsomest creature in existence and lookeddown with contempt on all the other kinds of wolves. He used to go to theside of the clear transparent lake, where he could see his shadow reflectedin the water, and he would strut up and down and say: 'O dear, what alovely creature I am!'

"It is true he was very clever in many ways. He was so swift that he couldrun down even the antelope and the elk, and at all the great animalgatherings, where the different creatures met in council, he was theswiftest there, and easily won the chief prizes at the great races whichthe animals used to hold. Indeed, he won so many races that at length hecould get no animal to compete with him. He even tried to get up races withthe birds, but they laughed at him for his conceit. 

"One day he happened to be hunting among the mountains. Near the top ofone he saw a large ball-like rock, standing there apart from the other bigrocks. Coming up close to this great round rock he said to it:

"'Was that you I saw walking just now?'

"'No; I cannot walk, I have lain here for a long time, ' said the rock. 

"The wolverine retorted that he was sure he had seen the rock walking. 

"This made the rock angry and he told the wolverine that he was telling afalsehood. Then the saucy wolverine replied:

"'You need not speak to me in that way, for I have seen you walking. '

"Then the wolverine ran off a little distance and challenged the rock tocatch him. But the rock did not reply to this and the bold wolverine cameclose up to the rock, struck it with his paw, and said:

"'Come, now, see if you can catch me!'

"'I cannot run, ' said the rock, 'but I can roll. '

"At this the conceited wolverine began to laugh. 'That will do! All I wantis a race. You can run or roll, just as you like. '

"Then the race began; the wolverine started down the mountain side at agreat rate, and the rock came rolling behind him. At first the big rock didnot move very fast, and the wolverine laughed as he looked back and saw therock was so far behind. But the rock came on faster and faster, and now itmade the wolverine do his very best to keep ahead of it. On they rushed, over the sticks and stones and rough places, down--down that great, longmountain side. At length, swift and strong as he was, the wolverine beganto get tired, and although he was running as he never did before in hislife the big rock was surely gaining on him. By and by he was so frightenedthat in looking behind at the rock, now close at his heels, he tripped overa stick and down he fell. The rock rolled over him and, just as it hadcompletely crushed him down to the earth, there it stopped. 

"Then the wolverine, whose head was not crushed under the rock, cried out:

"'Get off! go away! you are hurting me. You are crushing my bones. '

"But the rock replied:

"'You tormented me and told me I was telling a falsehood, and youchallenged me to a race with you; and now that I have caught you I will notstir until some one stronger comes and takes me off. '

"Then the wolverine lifted up his voice and cried to his relatives, thewolves and foxes, to come and remove the rock. 

"When these animals came and saw him in such a plight, they asked him:

"'How came you to get under the rock?'

"The wolverine replied:

"'I challenged the rock to catch me, and it rolled on me. '

"When the wolves and the foxes heard this they were not very sorry. Theyknew how conceited the wolverine had been about his speed, indeed theywere all smarting because of the ease with which he had beaten them, andso, instead of helping him at once, they said he deserved his punishment. 

"After a time, however, they began to be sorry for the poor wolverine, whowas crying out piteously for help, but they found they were not able toremove the rock. They could not even stir it in the least. 

"'Get out of the way, ' said the wolverine, 'and I will call my otherfriends, the thunder and the lightning. '

"In a few minutes a great black cloud was seen rapidly coming out of thewest. As it came rushing along the foxes and the wolves were very muchfrightened by the great noise it made. However, they had courage enough toask the lightning to take off the fine coat of the wolverine but not tokill him. Then they ran back and watched to see the lightning do its work. The lightning promised to do what had been asked of him; for he had heardof this proud, conceited wolverine, who had boasted that he could run likelightning, and now he was just going to teach him a lesson. So he dartedback a distance to gather force, and then he came on with a rush and struckthe rock and knocked it into small pieces. He also completely stripped theskin from the back of the wolverine but did not kill him. When thewolverine got up and stood there naked, with all his beauty gone, he wasvery angry at the lightning. 

"'You are like other so-called friends I have heard about, ' he said; 'youcannot do a thing but you must overdo it and spoil all. You had no need totear my beautiful fur coat from my back when you knew I only asked you tocome and strike the rock. '

"Then the poor, shivering wolverine gathered the pieces of his coat andcarried them to his sister the frog, who dwelt in a marsh, and he asked herto sew them together. The frog had sore eyes, and when she sewed themtogether she did not do it properly. Hence the wolverine was very angry, and he hit her a crack on the head and knocked her into the water. Then hetook up the coat and went and found his youngest sister, the mouse. He toldher of his troubles, and how the frog had so badly done her work. Then heshowed the mouse how he wanted the coat to be sewed. His little sister feltbadly for her big brother, and so she set to work and with great care sewedall the pieces together in their right places. When the wolverine saw hownicely she had done her work he was much pleased. 

"'You mice may live everywhere, ' he said, in real gratitude, 'and in spiteof all your enemies you will never be destroyed. '

"Then the wolverine tried to put on his coat, but, alas! he found his legshad been shortened and his feet very much flattened out by the terriblecrushing he had had under that big stone which he had been so foolish as tochallenge to a race. "

"Guess he didn't run many more races, " said Sagastao. 

"No, indeed, " was the reply; "he was so mortified and angry that from thatday to this the wolverine has always been a sulking, solitary animal, andplaying all the mean tricks he can on all kinds of animals as though he hada spite against them. He now has not one friend who ever cares for him, unless it is his little sister the mouse. "

CHAPTER XVI. 

The Legend of the Twin Children of the Sun--How TheyRid the Earth of Some of the Great Monsters--Their GreatBattle with Nikoochis, the Giant. 

One pleasant summer day, when the children had the pleasure of a canoeouting with Mary and Kennedy, they decided to visit the wigwam of their oldfriends, Kinnesasis and his wife. They had not seen them for some time, andas Souwanas was away on a long hunting excursion they could not expect anyNanahboozhoo stories until his return. Kinnesasis was a capitalstory-teller, and they were eager to reach his wigwam. There, after makingboth him and his wife happy with some gifts, they knew they could get someinteresting stories in return. 

They met with a hearty welcome and spent a happy day there. Among thestories Kinnesasis told them, as handed down by his forefathers, thefollowing is perhaps the most interesting:

"Long ago there were great monsters on this earth. Some of them wereenormous animals and fiercer than any that now exist. Then there weremagicians, and other evil spirits, like windegoos, some of whom were tall, giant cannibals, that filled the people with terror. They lay in wait andcaught the children, and even the grown-up people, as the wild beasts nowcatch their prey. Then they kindled up great fires and roasted them and atethem. 

"Often, when the parents went to look for their children, they also werecaught and eaten. 

"The people were rendered very miserable not only by these great monstersin human form, but also by the attacks of the enormous animals that thenlived. Indeed they began to fear that they would all soon be killed, unlesshelp came to them. 

"These people were worshipers of the sun, whom they called the great SunFather, and some tribes still have their sun dances in his honor. When hesaw that the people were in such great trouble and were likely to be allkilled by their cruel enemies he resolved to deliver them from their foes. So he disguised himself and came down to the earth and married a beautifulwoman of the Northland. They had lovely twin boys, whose names wereSesigizit, the older, and Ooseemeeid, the younger. They grew so rapidlythat they were able to walk when only a few days old. Their sun fatherdisappeared as soon as they were born, going to the far Eastland. 

"Strange to say, although these two boys grew so rapidly at first, they assuddenly ceased growing, and so remained quite small. But they were veryintelligent, and were ever asking questions. 

"'Who is our father?'" they inquired of their mother one day. 

[Illustration: Sun dance lodge of the Blood Indians. ]

But she ignored the question, and although they kept bothering her it wasa long time before she would give them any information at all, and that wasvery little. However, she did tell them that they were more than ordinarychildren and finer than other boys, but then there are lots of mothers whosay such things to their own little ones. 

"As they were now big enough, she brought out of hiding a couple of bows, and quivers full of arrows, and some magic rabbit sticks, and gave them tothe boys. 

"'These were left for you by your father, ' said the mother, ere he wentaway, and he gave commands that they were to be given to you as soon as youwere able to use them. '

"The children were, of course, anxious to try their bows and arrows andthese magic sticks. So very soon after they had received them they resolvedto go off on a hunting expedition. 

"The mother, who was anxious about them, warned them of the variousmonsters in human shape, great windegoos and cannibals, that were everlying in wait to catch and roast and eat little boys. She also told them ofthe animals that were so enormously large that they could catch them up andswallow them as easily as a turkey does a grasshopper. 

"Thus she tried to put them on their guard against the terrible foes thathad devoured so many of their people. The boys, however, were not muchfrightened, and they eagerly set off on their journey. 

"They were especially warned by their anxious mother not to go to theeast, as there was a narrow lake there to which many of these evilcreatures came for water, especially a great monster wolf that had devouredmany people. Yet they immediately started off in that direction, for, likesome other boys, they did not obey even their mother. It was noon beforethey reached the lake. At first, as they examined it, everything seemedvery quiet and still. 

"'Mother must have been mistaken, ' said Sesigizit; 'I do not see any livingthing here. '

"But as they wandered farther along the shore, suddenly Ooseemeeid criedout:

"'O see that great wolf on the other side!'

"They dropped down as quickly as they could, but the fierce brute hadalready caught sight of them. He was very much larger than any of thewolves that now howl in the dark forests. He not only destroyed many of thepeople, but when he came to springs, or small streams, he either drank upall the water or so spoiled it that it was unfit for use. 

"The boys shot their arrows at him, but his sides were so tough, for he hadbones like jointed armor upon them, that he was only slightly wounded. Hewas, however, made very angry by their attacks, and he picked up a magicstick and threw it at them. They would have fared badly if they had not sosuddenly thrown themselves upon the ground that it passed over them. 

"When the boys saw that their arrows were not swift enough to kill such agreat animal they decided to use the magic rabbit sticks which theirfather, the sun, had given them, with orders that they were only to be usedwhen the arrows failed. 

"The wolf, when he saw that one of his magic sticks had missed its aim, wasmore savage than ever, and he seized his remaining one, for he only hadtwo, and he threw it with all his power at the boys. This time they bothjumped high up from the ground and the stick passed under them. 

"It was their turn now, and so they both threw their magic sticks with suchforce that the great bony armor of the wolf was crushed in and he waskilled. 

"Sesigizit quickly ran around the lake to the spot where the great body layand cut out the heart of the wolf, while Ooseemeeid secured the two magicsticks that the wolf had thrown at them, as well as their own weapons, andthen with these trophies they returned to their own home. 

"'Where have you been?' asked the anxious mother when they appeared. 

"'We have been to the lake, ' they replied. 

"She could hardly believe it. 

"'My boys, ' she said, 'you surely are mistaken, for no one who goes therereturns. The great monsters that devour our people live there, and they letno one escape. '

"Then they told her of their battle with the great wolf, and how they hadkilled him. They also showed her his heart, which they had brought homewith them. 

"She was very much excited. She called the people together, and there wasgreat rejoicing at the death of this terrible wolf which had been such ascourge to them. 

"Some time after Sesigizit and Ooseemeeid asked their mother if she knewwhere grew any good tough wood suitable for making bows and arrows. Heranswer was:

"'Far away in the foothills is a canyon, or ravine, where a forest of justsuch wood as you need is growing, but the path that leads to it is narrow, and there sits guard a great monster giant who kills and throws into theravine everyone who has attempted to get any of that wood. And in additionthere is a fierce mountain lioness prowling around somewhere on the route, and she has already killed many people and carried them off to her den. '

"Ooseemeeid at once desired to set off and get a supply of this wood, butSesigizit, when he found out how fearful their mother was that they wouldboth be killed if they made the attempt, at first refused to go. Hisobjection, however, vanished when he saw his brother making ready to start, and in spite of their mother's fears they started off. 

"They had not gone very far when they met the great mountain lioness. Shewas out hunting food for her cubs. These she had hidden in a den which wasaway up on a precipitous mountain side. 

"Ooseemeeid asked her if she knew the way to the canyon where grew the goodwood. 

"'Yes, ' she replied. 'I am just going that way, and I will show you theroute. ' She said this because she wished in this way to allure the two boysto walk near to her den, and there she would kill them for food for hercubs. 

"So she led them until they came to a place where the path was verydangerous, because it was on a narrow, shelving rock around the mountainside. Here the monster lioness asked the boys to walk on ahead of her, butthey refused, saying that they had been taught never to walk in front oftheir elders. The lioness urged, but the boys were firm, and so she had toyield and let them have their way. 

"When in the most dangerous part of the pass the boys pretended to be verymuch alarmed, and asked to be permitted to walk between her and themountain side. At first she was suspicious, but they seemed now to be socowardly and afraid that she thought they were not able to do her any harm, so she walked on the outer edge of the pass and let them have the inside, and also allowed them to put their hands on her as though to steadythemselves. When they came to the most dangerous spot, where it was sonarrow that even a mountain lion had to be careful, they both suddenly drewtheir magic sticks and, giving her a great shove, sent her over the side ofthe narrow rocky ledge and down she fell--to be dashed to pieces thousandsof feet below. 

"With a shout of triumph the two boys carefully pushed on and, finding theden, quickly killed the cubs and cut off the right forepaw from each one tocarry home. 

"From this high pass they could now see the canyon where grew the goodwood for which they were seeking. They also saw the lodge of the monstergiant who guarded the narrow path that led to it. They saw by its size thathe must be an enormous creature, and so they looked to see that theirarrows and magic sticks were all in good order and handy for use. 

"The great giant had heard their shout of triumph when they had destroyedthe mountain lioness and it made him very angry, for he hated any noise ordisturbance; his name, Nikoochis, which means solitude, indicated this. 

"When he saw the small boys he was at first inclined to laugh in derisionat them, but when they had come near enough to shoot their magic arrows athim he soon began to roar with the stinging pain they gave him. 

"In vain he tried to catch the active little fellows; he was so big andclumsy, and they were so quick in their movements, that it was an utterimpossibility for him to get his hands upon them. 

"Then he began tearing up great rocks and stones and tried to crush them byhurling these at them. Here the boys' father, the sun, came to their help, and he shone so fiercely into the eyes of the great monster that he wasunable to see very well, and the boys easily kept out of the way of therocks thrown at them. 

[Illustration: "They both threw their magic sticks. "]

"The monster was big and fat and unaccustomed to exertion, and he was soontired out. Indeed he was so big that the arrows of the boys seemed onlylike pins and needles sticking into him, and the boys began to fear thattheir quivers would be emptied before they had conquered him. Just thenthey met an old witch with a bundle of sticks which she was carrying to herwigwam. She was very angry with Nikoochis, for he would not allow her evento gather the dry sticks that fell to the ground in the forest he wasguarding. The result was that she had to wander far away to get the littlefuel she needed in her wigwam. 

"The boys told her of their battle with this selfish old monster, and thateven now he was badly wounded by their arrows, which, however, did not seemto reach any vital spot. She told them that the only place where theirweapons could be effectual in killing him was in the top of his skull. Thatthey must first in some way crack it with their magic rabbit sticks, andthen they could shoot their arrows into his brain. Hearing this theyquickly resumed their attack upon him. In vain he tore up great rocks andhurled them with all his force at them. They either cleverly jumped on oneside or sprang up into the air out of the way. 

"Then, watching for their opportunity, they waited until he stooped down, and when he was struggling to loosen from the earth a great rock as big asa house Sesigizit threw, with all his power, his magic rabbit stick. Itstruck the giant fair on the top of his head with such force that it brokeoff a piece of his skull. The next instant Ooseemeeid fired one of hisarrows so accurately that it pierced into the brain through the spot thusleft exposed. 

"With a roar of rage and pain the great monster fell, rolled down into thedeep canyon, and died. 

"After securing his big flint knife, which dropped from his belt, the boyshurried into the canyon and gathered a lot of fine wood for arrow shaftsand returned to their mother. When she asked them where they had been theyreplied that they had been to the canyon, and that they had killed both themountain lioness and the great giant. 

"At first she could hardly believe this, but as they had brought the pawsof the cubs and the flint knife of the great giant, why, she just had tobelieve it. Great indeed were the rejoicings of the people at being thusrid of these creatures. "

CHAPTER XVII. 

Souwanas Tells of the Queer Way in which NanahboozhooDestroyed Mooshekinnebik, the Last of the Great Monsters. 

One cold day Souwanas, who had not been seen by the children for sometime--he had been away on a long hunting excursion--quite unexpectedlywalked into the mission house during the school hours of Sagastao andMinnehaha. The news of his coming was hailed with delight by the children, and it required a certain amount of firmness on the part of the heads ofthe household to keep them at their studies. They were, however, quicklypacified, and returned with diligence to their lessons, when informed thattheir old friend had been invited to stay all day and doubtless would havea story of some kind for them when their studies were all over. 

The venison and bear's meat which he had brought were quickly purchased ata price that well pleased him. Then he sat down for a rest and a smoke inthe kitchen. Of course he had his usual tiff with Mary, the nurse, who wasvery jealous of him because he had so won the love and confidence of thechildren. Souwanas was greatly amused at her jealousy of him, especiallysince he was told by one of the Indian maids that the children had beenoverheard gravely debating between themselves which was the betterstory-teller, Mary or Souwanas. 

When peace again reigned some illustrated volumes from the library weregiven to Souwanas for his inspection. He was not able to read English, buthe was very fond of looking at pictures. 

There was one book that had a special fascination for him, in fact when hefirst examined it, and had had some of its illustrations explained to him, it gave this superstitious Indian about the biggest fright he had everreceived. It was a book in which were pictured and described many of thegreat extinct monsters of the old times. These enormous hideous creatures, whose bones and fossil remains are still occasionally to be found, quitealarmed him. Yet the book was generally about the first one he desired tosee. 

On this present visit, however, Souwanas, while as usual eager again toinspect this book, was observed to look at it in a very different spirit. The explanation came out later, when he had the children around him--indeedalmost the whole household--listening to a new Nanahboozhoo story which hehad secured from some famous old Indian whom he had met while far away onhis long hunting excursion. 

"Yes, it is true, " he began, "that there did once live on this earth, bothin the land and in the water, great animals like those here shown in thisbook. I have been to the wigwam of the great Shuniou and from him I havelearned much about them, as handed down in the tradition of ourforefathers. Great and terrible were they, and the people of those timeslived in great terror of them, for the bows and arrows and even the stonewar clubs of the strongest warriors were powerless to kill or evendangerously wound such monsters. It was well for the inhabitants of theearth in those days that these great monsters were few in number and thatthey were constantly fighting among themselves, for so large and terriblewere they that only animals as big and fierce of other kinds could battlewith them. 

"But there was one great monster that lived in the water, and as he had noenemies big enough to attack him he lived on, even long after the othergreat animals were all killed off. 

"Shuniou said that the tradition was that a great rush of waters causedmany of the last of the great monsters that had tusks of ivory to becarried to the far Northland, and there, as the terribly cold winter setin, they were all frozen to death. 

"This must be true, " added Souwanas, "for it was not many years ago thatthe Hudson Bay Company sent their men there to get this ivory, which theyintended to ship to England. They came back with word that some of the deadbodies had been seen where the ice broke up. But this great monster in thewater, as I have said, lived on after the rest were all supposed to havedied off or been killed. He was a terrible scourge to those Indians whosewigwams were on the shores of the great sea in which he lived. They werein mortal terror when they ventured out in their canoes to fish. This theyhad to do, as they depended almost entirely on fish for their living, andthere were times when the fish left the shallow waters near the shore andwent out far from land. There the Indians had to follow and catch them orthey and their families would starve. 

"Happily for them, sometimes for months together no one would hear or seeanything of this great sea monster. Then, perhaps, suddenly he would riseup right under a canoe in which were several Indians, whom he would easilycatch and swallow one by one. He would sometimes rush after a herd of deerthat had gone out swimming in the waters. He would catch and easily swallowseveral of them. "

"Well, I should think that the big horns of a moose or reindeer would givehim some trouble to swallow, " said Sagastao. 

"He was so large, " said Souwanas, "that the horns or body of the largestdeer did not seem to bother him in the least degree. "

"I wonder if it were not one of his great grandfathers that swallowedJonah, " said the observant Minnehaha. 

"The Indians at length came to be so much distressed by the loss of so manyof their number, and by their inability to slay the monster, that theyresolved to ask Nanahboozhoo to come and help them if he possibly could. 

"I ought to have told you, " said Souwanas, "that this great monster wascalled by the Indians Mooshekinnebik. 

"Nanahboozhoo at once responded to their request, for he was very angrywhen he heard how many industrious fishermen had been swallowed by thiscreature. He was doubly angry when he returned with the deputation who hadgone for him and further learned that, only the day before, Mooshekinnebikhad been mean enough to come near to the shore and catch and swallow someboys and girls who had been out swimming that warm summer day. 

"When Nanahboozhoo informed Nokomis of the request of the people for hishelp to deliver them from the long hated Mooshekinnebik she was very muchfrightened, and more so when he told her of the strange and dangerous planhe was going to adopt to carry out his purpose. It was this: he was goingto allow himself to be swallowed by this monster who had already destroyedso many people. "

"O how dreadful!" said Minnehaha. "We will never hear any more nice storiesabout Nanahboozhoo. "

"All a pack of lies; there never were any such monsters, " snapped out oldMary, who could not longer conceal her jealousy at seeing how interestedthe children were in the story. 

"Hold on, Mary; not so fast, " cried Sagastao, taking the book from Souwanasand showing the pictures to Mary. 

"There, Sakehow, " he said, using his favorite term of endearment, "lookfor yourself and see those lovely creatures--some of them quite big enoughto swallow us all without winking. "

But Mary was stubborn, as well as jealous, and would not give in, even whenKennedy, the favorite dog driver, who was present, told her that even nowthere were some of the great tusks and bones of animals that the officerscalled mammoths over at the Hudson Bay Company's fort ready to be shippedto England next summer. She was, however, quickly silenced when Sagastaosat down beside her and throwing his head into her lap said, verycoaxingly:

"Now, Mary, just be quiet and let us hear Souwanas tell the rest of thestory of what Nanahboozhoo did to Mooshekinnebik. "

Peace being thus restored, Souwanas, who had been much amused by Mary'sire, resumed his story:

"When Nokomis heard her grandson describe how he was going to let themonster swallow him she resolved to come and pitch her tent on theseashore, among the people who had been so troubled, and there to await thereturn of her grandson, if he should ever come back from such a perilousadventure. 

"Nanahboozhoo asked his mother for some magic singing sticks, and also fora very sharp knife. Then he made for himself a small raft of logs and, bidding her good-bye for a short time, he sprang on it and was soonfloating out, in search of the dreaded creature, over the great waters. 

"When well out from the shore he began to make music with his magic sticksand to sing a defiant song:

 "'Ho, ho! great fish down in the sea, Come, if you dare, and swallow me. My brothers all you're fond of eating, 'Tis time some one gave you a beating. He, he! Hi, hi! Ho, ho! Ho, ho!

 "'You see I am not far away, So come and taste me while you may; Yet not afraid am I, no, no! So hurry up, old fish. Ho, ho! He, he! Hi, hi! Ho, ho! Ho, ho!'

"Nanahboozhoo sang this brave song over and over, to the weird harmony ofhis magic music sticks, until he reached the place where the great fish wasresting. 

"When the great monster Mooshekinnebik heard the voice of Nanahboozhoo hecame up to the surface of the water to find out who was making all thatmusic and shouting out such defiant words. 

"When he saw that it was only one young man on a raft of dry logs, heordered one of his children to go and knock the raft to pieces and swallowthat noisy fellow. But this was not what Nanahboozhoo wanted, and so heshouted out:

"'I want the old father fish to eat me. '

"This made old Mooshekinnebik very angry, and so, open mouthed, he rushedfuriously at Nanahboozhoo who, when the great monster was close enough, took a leap into the open mouth and was immediately swallowed up. 

"For a short time after being swallowed Nanahboozhoo was unconscious, buthe soon recovered himself and was able to look around and see the queerprison in which he was now confined. It was fortunate for him that he hadeyes like a cat, and so could see as well in the dark as in the light. Hefound that he was not the only inmate of this queer prison; there were alot of creatures whom he called his brothers--the bear, the deer, the fox, the beaver and even the squirrel. Nanahboozhoo inquired of them and theytold him how they had been captured and the length of time they had been inthat horrid place. They also informed him that many others who had beencaptured were now dead. Nanahboozhoo found that they were quite hopeless, and looked forward to nothing but death. However he called them around himand informed them that he had willingly come among them for the purpose ofaffording a speedy deliverance. 

"This was indeed good news. Then he explained to them the plan he had inhis mind, and said that it was necessary for them to kick up a rumpus inthe interior of this monster, that they would thus make him so very sickthat he would have to go near to land, and when they should have him therehe thought he had another plan that would enable them all to escape. 

[Illustration: "He took a leap into the open mouth. "]

"They all agreed to do anything they could to help on his plans, soNanahboozhoo took out his magic singing sticks and began to play and sing. 

"At once the bear, the deer, the fox, the beaver, and indeed all of thecreatures that were still alive, caught up the lively tune, and such adancing and jumping and flying around was hardly ever seen before. 

"This internal commotion very much disturbed Mooshekinnebik. He could notmake out what was the matter. He shook himself thoroughly, but that did nogood; then he darted off through the water at a great rate, but this alsowas of no use. Then he rolled over and over and over in the water. This ofcourse stopped the dancing and hubbub inside for a time, but as the wallsof the prison were soft, also the floor and ceiling, nobody was hurt, andso the instant it ceased they were up and at it again, harder than ever. Mooshekinnebik never had such a turn in his life. He did not know what todo. Still Nanahboozhoo kept singing louder and louder, while the dancerskept up their wild antics around him. 

"At length Nanahboozhoo decided that the monster was about enoughfrightened for him to do something else, and so he drew out his sharp knifeand gave Mooshekinnebik a good stab near his heart. 

"This threw him into convulsions and added to his terror, and he beganswimming toward the shore. When Nanahboozhoo knew this he kept stabbing himmore and more, until at length his body was heard to scrape on the shallowsandy ground. At this Nanahboozhoo with a mighty effort plunged his knifewith all his power deep into the monster's heart. 

"The instant he did this Mooshekinnebik was thrown into a number of mightyconvulsions, and in one of them, with one tremendous effort, he fairlythrew himself out of the water on the shore, and there he died. 

"So great and terrible had been these dying convulsions that all thecreatures inside, and even Nanahboozhoo himself, had become unconsciousfrom being so knocked about. 

"How long they remained so they did not know. Nanahboozhoo was the first toregain his senses, and he was indeed very sorry to see that all of hiscomrades were still unconscious. He had some difficulty in getting out fromunder the bodies of his comrades, who were piled up on him. He was gladthat the monster was dead, but he was uncertain whether they were on theshore or at the bottom of the water. So he speedily determined to find out. He climbed up over the bodies of his comrades to the place that he thoughtwas the thinnest, and there, with his keen knife, he began cutting throughthe roof of this queer prison. 

"To his great delight he was soon able to see the sunshine coming through. When he had cut a hole big enough to let in some air and sunshine he tookup his magic singing sticks and began singing, for the purpose of revivingall those imprisoned with him. His song was not much to us, but it was agreat deal to those shut up in such a prison. It was:

 "'Kesik-in-na-win, Kesik-in-na-win. ' (I see the sky, I see the sky. )

"As Nanahboozhoo continued to sing this over and over, one after anotherhis brothers sneezed and opened their eyes. They were indeed a happy lot atthe prospect of deliverance. 

"When Nanahboozhoo saw that they were all now recovered he again set towork with his knife, and it was not long before he had a hole large enoughto permit all of the imprisoned creatures to make their escape. 

"The news soon spread, and it was not long before Nokomis, with others, came to see the huge dead monster, and there were great rejoicings. "

"And this, " added Souwanas, "is the tradition, as told by Shuniou, of howNanahboozhoo destroyed Mooshekinnebik. "

"What became of the little monsters?" asked Minnehaha. 

"The Indians, " replied Souwanas, "under the leadership of Nanahboozhoo madesuch a war upon them that they were soon annihilated. "

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Welcome Springtime in the Northland--How NanahboozhooKilled the Great White Sea Lion, the Chief of theMagicians--The Revenge--The Flood--Escape of Nanahboozhooand the Animals on the Raft--The Creation of a New World. 

The coming of the pleasant springtime was hailed with great delight. Sevenor eight months were found to be a very long spell of cold winter weather, and so when with a rapidity unknown in more Southern climates the winterbroke up, and the welcome warm weather made its appearance, everybodyseemed to feel its genial influence. 

The first little wild flowers were looked for with intense interest, andgreat indeed was the joy of the children when some were found. The sweetsinging birds that in the previous autumn, on the first signs of the comingdown from the colder North of the Frost King, had flitted away to thesummer Southland were now returning in multitudes. The air was full oftheir melody, and as scores of them, fearless and trustful, made themselvesat home in the bird resorts around Wahkiegum, great indeed was thechildren's delight as they welcomed them back to their haunts in the North. 

And really it did seem as though the birds were glad to be there again, for it is only in the North that these birds sing their sweet love songs toeach other and build their nests and hatch out their little broods. 

The Whisky Jacks, that had been croaking out their hoarse cries all winter, seemed to get sulky and vexed that they were now so little admired, and sothey flitted away farther north and buried themselves in the interior ofthe deepest forests. 

In the joyousness of those happy days up in those high latitudes, when thechanges of every twenty-four hours can easily be noticed, Sagastao andMinnehaha for a time troubled neither Souwanas nor Mary for Indian legendsor stories. There was in the rapid melting of the snow, the breaking up ofthe immense ice fields on the lake, the appearance of the land, and thenthe grass and flowers, and the planting of seeds in their little gardens, enough to keep them busy and happy. 

But even all these things at length lost their interest. The flights of thewild geese, swans, and ducks had all ceased. They, with many other kinds ofmigrating birds, were busy nesting. The sweet songsters around the homewere everyday companions, and, while the children loved them as much asever, the excitement of their coming had died away. So when one day theysaw Souwanas coming over the now sparkling waters in his canoe they weredelighted to welcome him. As usual, when he reached the shore the contentsof his canoe were examined speedily. There the children found a couple ofbeavers that had but lately been trapped, and a dozen or more muskrats thatSouwanas had speared in the marshes. These animals were the result of onenight's hunting, and now Souwanas was on his way home to have them skinnedand the pelts prepared for sale to the fur traders. 

The children's curiosity was much aroused by the sight of the beavers andmuskrats, and they questioned the old man about them. The queer, broad, scaly tail of the beavers much interested them, and drew from Souwanas aninteresting account of the various purposes for which the clever, industrious beavers use this apparently awkward appendage. 

"Do you know any Nanahboozhoo stories in which he tells anything aboutbeavers or muskrats?" asked Sagastao. 

"Yes, indeed, " replied Souwanas; "in nearly all the stories that are toldabout the forming of the new land after the great flood both the beaver andthe muskrat are mentioned, as well as the other animals. "

"Tell us one of the stories, " urged little Minnehaha. 

The arrival of some other canoes at this point interrupted theconversation. The newcomers were on their way to the wigwam of Souwanas, who was their chief. He was about to go on with them, but when he saw thelook of disappointment on the faces of the children he, with his usualthoughtful kindness, transferred the two beavers and the muskrats from hisown canoe to one of the late arrivals. Then telling the people to give themto his wife, to have them all cooked and ready for dinner, by which time hewould join them, he sent the people on their way. Having lighted hiscalumet, with the children seated near him, he began:

"Nanahboozhoo's life commenced long before the great flood of waters thatcovered the earth, about which all of our tribes have heard something. Hehad his own wigwam and furnished it with everything he wanted. One day whenwalking on the shore of a great river he saw some sea lions lying on thesandy beach, basking in the sun. These animals, like the beaver, could liveas well in the water as on the land. As he closely watched them from adistance, and saw the rich, shiny skins, he thought what a nice tobaccopouch could be made out of one of them. When Nanahboozhoo once set hisheart on anything he at once began to work hard to secure it. He triedvarious plans to capture one of these sea-lions, but none of themsucceeded. They were too clever to be caught as other animals are, and hesaw that he would have to adopt some unusual method. He decided that hewould go down very early to the spot on the bank of the river where theywere in the habit of sunning themselves and disguise himself as an oldstump of a tree, then, when they came out and were enjoying the sunshine, he would shoot the fine old white one with the beautiful glossy skin thathe had so much admired. As on other days the lions came, and when they sawthis stump the white lion, which was a kind of king among them, said:

"'I never saw that big stump before. I think it must be Nanahboozhoo. '

"Another one said he thought the same thing. 

"Others only laughed, and said, 'It is only an old pine stump. '

"However, as a number of them were suspicious, it was decided to go up andshake it and see if it would move, and thus really find out. They went toit, and three of them together used their greatest efforts to move it. 

"Nanahboozhoo had to make one of the hardest efforts of his life to holdfirm. However, he succeeded, and so the lions only said:

"'It really is a stump of a tree, but it is very strange we did not noticeit before. ' Then they rolled about on the warm sand in the sunshine untilone after another fell asleep. 

"Nanahboozhoo now noiselessly and quickly turned himself into a younghunter, then taking up his bow and arrow he shot the white lion. His arrowstuck fast in his body and badly wounded him, but did not kill him. At oncethe lions all plunged into the river and disappeared. Nanahboozhoo wassorry that he did not get the lion's skin, indeed he was greatly vexed andannoyed to have to return to his wigwam without it. A day or two after, ashe was walking in the woods, he met with a very old woman. She had a bundleof slippery elm bark, out of which poultices were made by the Indians forwounds and bruises, and also some roots for medicine. 

"'Where are you going, nookoom (grandmother), and what are you going to dowith the bark and roots?'

"'O' said she, 'you cannot imagine what trouble we are in, for Nanahboozhoohas shot and badly wounded one of our chiefs, and great efforts are goingto be made to catch and kill him. '

"She also told him that she had been honored in being sent for to come anduse all of her healing arts to try and restore the wounded chief to healthagain, and that now she was on her way to his abode to poultice him withthe slippery elm bark, and to give him medicine, made by boiling the roots, to allay the great fever from which he was suffering. 

"Nanahboozhoo thus discovered that these lions, as he had supposed them tobe, were wicked magicians who had been doing a great deal of harm, and whowhen they chose to do so could change themselves into the form of lions andlive either under the water or on land, as best suited them, to escape frombeing killed by those whom they had injured. As the old woman was verytalkative, Nanahboozhoo soon obtained from her all the information hedesired. Among other things she told him that sometimes people came to herfor bad medicines, to give to persons with whom they had quarreled, and inthis way they would kill them with the poisons which she made out oftoadstools and other deadly things. 

"Hearing these dreadful facts from her own lips Nanahboozhoo resolved tokill her, but first he had her tell him where the wounded chief's abodewas, and all about what was expected of her when she arrived there. He thenspeedily tomahawked her, and clothing himself in her garments he madehimself look exactly like her, after which he took up her bundle of barkand roots and went to the dwelling of the chiefs. 

"There he found quite a crowd assembled, but all were in confusion andexcitement on account of the wounded chief. When they saw, as they thought, the old woman coming, whom they were eagerly expecting, they made way forher. Nanahboozhoo went straight to the place where the wounded chief lay. 

"He was surprised to see that the arrow which he had shot was stillsticking in his side. He made a great ado about preparing the poultices andmedicine, and set everybody around him doing something to help carry outhis plans. Then when all were hurrying, and none looking at him, Nanahboozhoo pushed the arrow with such force into the body of the chiefthat it killed him instantly. Then with a shout of triumph he made hisescape. 

[Illustration: "He ran away west, to the great mountains. "]

"There was, of course, great excitement among the people. They at oncecalled a council and consulted what they should do to destroy Nanahboozhoo. They were, as I have told you, magicians, and had power to raise thewaters, and so they resolved to drown him. They accordingly called on thewaters to rise and rush over the plains and forests in the direction inwhich he lived. Nanahboozhoo had traveled with great speed back to hiswigwam, but hardly had he reached it ere he heard the roar of the floods ofwater that were coming to overwhelm him. He saw his great danger and he ranaway west, to the great mountains; but the floods of water continued risingand drove him up higher and higher. When he saw that he was nearing thehighest peak he began to think what he must do next. Around him in theraging waters were quantities of logs and trees, and among them, or on thenow small peak of land, were numbers of various animals. 

"With all his powers he set to work and it was not very long ere he had alarge raft made out of the floating logs. As the last spot of land was nowbeing overwhelmed by the flood, and he pitied the animals that wereswimming about, he took them on the raft with him. As Nanahboozhoo knew allthe animals and their languages he held a council on the raft. He told themthat if he could get even a very little of the old world that was drownedhe could make a new world for them all. He first asked the otter if hewould try, and see if he could dive down and bring up a little portion ofthe earth. The otter at once made the attempt, but after a while he came upto the surface apparently quite dead. Nanahboozhoo reached out and liftedhim in and placed him in a sunny spot on the raft. Then the beaver tried. He took a great header and down he dived, resolved to succeed if possible, but after a time even he came up apparently as lifeless as the otter. Nanahboozhoo lifted his body up out of the water and laid it in the sun bythe side of the otter. The muskrat next volunteered to try what he coulddo, so down he dived and, after a much longer time than the others had beendown, he too floated up senseless and cold. Nanahboozhoo took him up, andas he did so he noticed that there was earth in his mouth and on his paws. He carefully collected this in his hand, and then placed the body of themuskrat beside the otter and the beaver. He then blew upon the earth andthus made it dry and porous, so that when it was placed in the water itwould not sink but float. He then put a lively little mouse upon it, whichby running round and round upon the earth made it grow larger and larger. Nanahboozhoo then put a squirrel upon it for the same object. Then themarten and mink--for the new earth was now so extended that it could holdup these light animals. 

"For a time Nanahboozhoo had to guard the now rapidly growing young worldfrom the larger animals with a stick, for fear they would sink it. Theywere all very tired of having to remain huddled together so long on theraft, and were eager to follow the smaller creatures that seemed so happyon the new earth, even if it were not very large as yet. As there was muchto be done to fit this new world up for them to dwell upon, everyone had todo what he could. The birds were sent to fly over the water to pick upbranches and seeds. 

"By and by Nanahboozhoo decided that the earth, which had now grown beyondthe reach of his eyes, was large enough, and so he revived the otter, thebeaver and the muskrat, and with them and all the other animals around himhe took possession of the new world. 

"In order to ascertain the size of the world he sent a wolf to run to theend of it and then to return at once to him. The wolf easily made thejourney in one day. Nanahboozhoo then kept him with him for some time, andagain sent him off. The second journey took him five days, the third ten, the fourth a month, then he was gone a year and then five years. Thus itwent on, until at length Nanahboozhoo started off a young wolf just able torun on the long journey. This one died of old age ere he had completed thetrip. Nanahboozhoo then said that the world was large enough, and commandedit to cease from growing. "

CHAPTER XIX. 

Among the Briers and Wild Roses--Why the Roses haveThorns--Why the Wild Rabbits are White in Winter. 

One day as the children were out in the clearings back of their home, gathering some of the wild strawberries that grew there and also some ofthe wildflowers that bloomed during the short brilliant summer, they weredelighted to see Souwanas coming along the road with his gun on hisshoulder and some ducks and rabbits in his hand. 

Very cordial were their greetings, but soon the quick eyes of the kindlyIndian noticed that there were several long red scratches and even somedrops of partly dried blood on the hands of his little friends. It washardly necessary for him to ask the cause of the wounds, as the bunches ofsweet briers and wild roses, with their sharp needle-like thorns, in thehappy children's hands told the tale. 

Putting down his gun and game, Souwanas quickly gathered some of the sweetfragrant grass which is there so abundant, and skillfully twisting it intolittle coils he wound one around each of the bunches of flowers which thechildren had gathered, and which they were still having trouble to hold onaccount of the thorns. 

The bouquets thus arranged could now be carried without inflicting anymore wounds or pain. Amid their chat and laughter, for these white childrenwere taught, like Indian children, not to be afraid of a few scratches or alittle pain, Minnehaha, who was industriously wiping the blood from somewounds on her little white hands with her apron, said:

"How is it, Souwanas, that all these rosebushes and briers have such sharpthorns on them?"

"I suppose Mary would say that Nanahboozhoo, the rascal, had something todo with it, " put in Sagastao. 

At this reference to Mary there was a mischievous twinkle in the eyes ofthe old Indian. 

"Yes, " he replied, "Nanahboozhoo had lots to do with it, and yet when youhear the story you will see that he was not such a rascal at the time hedid it as Mary would make out, but almost as good as her pet, Wakonda, whogave the bees their stings. "

"O tell us all about it now, " said Minnehaha. "We have this forenoon as ahalf holiday, and papa is to join us in about an hour for a walk in thewoods. "

The kind-hearted old Indian had been pleased with the plucky way in whichthe children had slighted their wounded hands, and before he began hisstory he acted the part of the skillful physician. He found some soft juicyleaves which he crushed and spread on the ugly red scratches. The effectwas magical, and the children who had so bravely treated their wounds withindifference gratefully acknowledged the sudden cessation of the smart. 

Selecting a pretty spot under a clump of balsam trees, where someboulder-like stones afforded them comfortable seats, the children cuddleddown with their old friend, to hear how the roses got their thorns. 

"Long ago the roses were the most abundant of flowers, but they grew onbushes that were smooth and fragrant, and such delicious eating that allthe animals that eat grass or browse were constantly seeking for anddevouring not only the rose flowers but also the bushes on which they grew. The result was that the roses of all kinds were in danger of beingexterminated. In those days trees and flowers and other things had greaterpowers of thinking and acting than they have now, and so the roses ofdifferent kinds met in council to decide what could be done to preservethose of them that were still left in existence. It was decided that adeputation of them should be sent to Nanahboozhoo to implore hisassistance. 

"He is such an eccentric fellow, and assumes so many disguises, that theyhad a good deal of difficulty in finding him. They traveled long distances, and inquired of the various wild animals they met and even consulted thetrees and hills. At length they were informed that he was now living in avalley among the mountains and experimenting as a gardener. They hurriedaway as fast as the fierce wind which they had hired to carry them couldblow them along. At first when they reached his abode they were very muchfrightened, as it was easy to observe from the loud angry tones in whichNanahboozhoo, although afar off, was speaking, that he was in a great rage. However, they had come too far to be easily discouraged. They quietly drewnear, and hiding behind some dense balsam trees they carefully listened tofind out the cause of his anger. Fortunately, they could not have come at abetter time for themselves, for it seems that Nanahboozhoo had become verymuch interested in his work as a gardener. All the things he had plantedhad grown so well that in order to protect them from prowling wild animalshe had set all around the garden a fine hedge of rosebushes. So many wererequired that Nanahboozhoo had been obliged to transplant bushes from agreat distance around, for they did not grow so abundantly as formerly. 

"The morning of the very day on which the deputation of the rosebushesarrived Nanahboozhoo had returned from one of his short adventures. Fancyhis indignation at finding that in his absence all sorts of animals, fromthe rabbit to the mountain elk, had visited his abode, and had not onlycompletely eaten that lovely hedge of rosebushes, but had also greatlyinjured the beautiful garden, of which he was so proud!

"When the deputation of roses understood the cause of his wrath they atonce left their hiding places and, aided by a sudden puff of wind, camebefore Nanahboozhoo. The sight of them excited his curiosity, as it hadseemed to him that every rosebush had been destroyed. Before he could say aword, however, the rosebushes, who were then able to talk, at oncepresented their petition and pleaded for his powerful assistance to savethem from being exterminated by their enemies. 

"Nanahboozhoo listened to their petition, and after some consultation withthe rose bushes it was decided to cover the stocks and branches, up to thevery beautiful flowers, with small thorn-like prickles, so that everyanimal henceforth would be afraid to either devour or closely approachthem, as they had been accustomed to do in the past. With this protectiongranted them they were more than pleased, and so it now happens that rosesof many kinds still exist in various parts of the world. "

"Thank you very much for that story, " said Minnehaha. "Even if Nanahboozhoodid put prickles on the rosebushes he was not a rascal, for we would nothave had any roses at all but for what he did. "

For a wonder, Sagastao was silent for a time; but at length he foundsomething to say, and his words were a bit of a confession and promise ofamendment:

"Now that I know why it is that the prickles are on the wild roses I'll notget mad even if my fingers bleed when I am gathering a bouquet for mother. "

At this moment the two favorite dogs, Jack and Cuffy, came bounding up. Bythis the children knew that their father was not far behind, and they werenot disappointed. At first he looked anxious when he saw the little handswrapped up in green leaves, but as with merry laughs they told him what theleaves were for everything was bright again. 

Souwanas was greeted very cordially, as usual, and assured that at themission house he would find in the mistress a willing purchaser of hisducks and rabbits. The children were always interested in the game, although Minnehaha strongly declared that it was a pity to kill the prettycreatures. Souwanas and their father were chatting together while thechildren were turning the ducks and rabbits over. 

"See what red eyes some of the ducks have, " said Sagastao. "They look asthough they had been crying. "

"Guess you would have cried too, " rather indignantly replied Minnehaha, "ifyou had been shot as they were. "

"Huh!" he replied with a tinge of contempt, "how could they cry after beingshot? I don't believe that is it at all. And, look here, Minnehaha, I amgoing also to ask why it is that, while all the rabbits were so white inwinter, they are all now so brown in summer. "

Quickly the resolve was carried out, and so, while Minnehaha was tellingher father what a beautiful story they had heard about the roses, Sagastao, with his hand on the shoulder of the old Indian, who was seated on a rock, was eagerly firing at him his double-barreled question: "Why have someducks such red eyes, and why are the rabbits white in winter and brown insummer?"

"Both done by Nanahboozhoo, " said the old man with a smile, as he took hispipe out of his mouth. 

"Hurrah for Nanahboozhoo!" shouted the lad. 

This outburst on the part of Sagastao at once attracted the attention ofthe others to him and Minnehaha wanted to know what was the matter now. 

"Why, did you not hear? Souwanas says that Nanahboozhoo gave the ducks thered eyes and makes the rabbits to be white in winter and brown in summer. "Then turning to Souwanas he asked, "How does Nanahboozhoo do it?"

Here the father, while amused at the lad's enthusiasm, interposed, andsaid:

"You have already kept Souwanas a long time, and perhaps he is busy. "

"Busy!" said the irrepressible Sagastao, who was shrewd beyond his years. "Busy! Why Souwanas would rather tell stories than do anything else--unlessto smoke his pipe. "

Then he glibly told Souwanas in Saulteaux what had passed between him andhis father in English, and added, "Is that not so, Souwanas?"

The old Indian smiled, and said kindly:

"How can I help enjoying telling stories when I have such good littlelisteners?"

"But what about his dinner?" asked the kind-hearted Minnehaha. "If we keephim here telling stories he will be too late to get back to his wigwam forhis dinner. I think we had better take him home with us. "

This was quickly decided upon, and that there might be no mistake a pieceof bark was quickly cut from a birch tree and a few lines written upon ittelling the good mother in the home that they had met Souwanas, and that hewas entertaining the children with Nanahboozhoo stories and would be withthem to dinner. Then Jack, the great dog, was called and sent back with themissive, with orders to give it to his mistress. 

As the dog dashed away homeward the mischievous Sagastao said:

"My! don't I wish I was in the kitchen when Mary hears that we are out herewith Souwanas listening to stories about Nanahboozhoo! Won't she be hoppingmad!"

"It will be better, " said his father, "for Souwanas to tell his story thanfor you to make any further remarks of that kind. "

At first Souwanas seemed to show some hesitancy in beginning his story inthe presence of his missionary, and he whispered to Sagastao his fears thatperhaps his father would not care for such trifles as Indian legends andstories. 

With his usual bluntness, the lad declared:

"O, you don't know our father if you think that way about him. He lovesnice stories as well as we do, and tells us lots of them; so go ahead, foryou are going home to dinner with us. "

Thus assured, the old man began:

"I will tell you to-day about how it is that the rabbits are white inwinter. 

"Long ago they were always brown, just like those that are lying therewith the ducks. It is true that they increase very fast, but then it isvery true that they have many enemies. They have not many ways to defendthemselves against their foes, who are of so many kinds. Almost all theanimals that live on flesh are always hunting for rabbits, and so are thefoxes of all kinds, the wild cats, wolves, and wolverines, and even thelittle weasels and ermine. Then there are fierce birds--the eagle, thehawks of all kinds and the owls--that are always on the lookout forrabbits, young or old. 

"The result was that with this war continually being waged against them thepoor rabbits had a hard time of it, and especially in winter; for theyfound it very difficult to hide themselves when the leaves were off thetrees and the ground covered with snow. In those days in the long ago theanimals used to have a great council. There the great fathers or heads ofeach kind of animal and bird used to meet together and talk about theirwelfare and the welfare of each other. Then there was peace and friendshipamong them while at the council. 

"They appointed a king, and he presided as a great head chief. All theanimals that had troubles or grievances had a right to come and speak aboutthem and, if possible, have them remedied. 

"Some queer things were said sometimes. At one council the bear found greatfault with the fox, who had deceived him, and had caused him to lose hisbeautiful tail by telling him to go and catch fish in a big crack in theice. He sat there so long that the crack froze up solidly and to save hislife he had to break off his tail. 

"But all the things they talked about were not so funny as that. They hadtheir troubles and dangers, and they discussed various plans for improvingtheir condition and considered how they could best defeat the skill andcleverness of the human hunters. 

"When the rabbit's turn came to be heard he had indeed a sorrowful tale totell. He said that his people were nearly all destroyed. The rest of theworld seemed combined against his race, and they were killing them by dayand night, in summer and winter, and they had but little power to fightagainst their many enemies. They were almost discouraged, but had come tothe council to see if their brethren could suggest any remedy or plan tosave them from complete destruction. While the rabbit was speaking thewolverine winked at the wildcat, while the fox, although he tried to looksolemn, could not keep his mouth from watering at the thought of the manyrabbits he intended yet to eat. 

"Thus it can be seen that the poor, harmless rabbit did not get muchsympathy from that part of the crowd that killed his race all the rest ofthe year. 

"Still there were some animals, like the moose, and the reindeer, and themountain goat, that stood up in the council and spoke out bravely for therabbit. Indeed they told the animals that had only laughed at the rabbit'ssad story that, if nothing was done for the little rabbit and they went onkilling as they were doing, they would soon be the greatest sufferers, forif the rabbits were all gone there was nothing else that they could get insufficient numbers to keep them alive. This, which is a fact, rathersobered some of them at first; but they soon resumed their mocking at thepoor little rabbit and his story, and, as they were in the majority, thecouncil refused to do anything in the matter. 

"When the moose heard the decision of the council he was very sorry for hispoor little brother the rabbit, so after thinking it over he told therabbit to jump up on one of his flat horns while he was holding them down. Then the moose carried him out some distance from the council meeting, andsaid:

"There is no hope for you here. The most of the animals live on you, and sothey will not do anything that will make it more difficult for you to becaught than it is now. Your only chance is to go to Nanahboozhoo, and seewhat he can do for you. "

"Hurrah!" shouted Sagastao. "I thought it would be to Nanahboozhoo afterall. "

Continuing, Souwanas said:

"The moose encouraged the rabbit by saying, 'Nanahboozhoo's name was onceManabush, or Keche-Wapoose, Great Rabbit, and so I am sure he will be yourfriend, as I think he is a distant relation. '

"Not waiting for the council to close, away sped the rabbit along the routedescribed by the moose, who had lately found out where Nanahboozhoo wasstopping. The rabbit was such a timid creature that when he came near toNanahboozhoo he was much afraid that he would not be welcomed. However, his case was desperate, and although his heart was thumping within himwith fear he hurried along to have the thing over as soon as possible. Tohis great joy he found Nanahboozhoo in the best of humor and he wasreceived most kindly. 

"Nanahboozhoo saw how wearied and tired the rabbit was after the longjourney, and so he made him rest on some fragrant grass in the sunshinewhile he went out and brought in for him to eat some of the choicest thingsfrom his garden. Then afterward he had the rabbit tell of all his troublesand of how he was treated at the council. 

"This part of the story, of how they acted at the council, madeNanahboozhoo very angry. 

"'And that's the way they treated this little brother at the council wehave given them, where it is expected that the smallest and the weakestshall have the same right to have his case heard and attended to as thebiggest and strongest! It is high time that somebody was coming to me withcouncil news if things are like this. Look out, Mister Fox, and Wolverine, and Wild Cat, for if I get after you I will so straighten you out that youwill be sorry that the rabbit had to go to Nanahboozhoo for the help youought to have given him!'

"Nanahboozhoo had worked himself up into such a furious temper that therabbit was almost frightened to death. But when he saw this Nanahboozhooonly laughed at him, and said he was sorry to have scared him. 

"'I was so angry, ' said Nanahboozhoo, 'at those animals for ill-treatingyou that I forgot myself; and now, little brother, what do you want me todo for you?'

"They had a long talk about the matter and the decision was that thereshould be two great changes. The first was that the eyes of the rabbit wereto be so increased in power that they should in future be able to see bynight as well as by day, and the second was that in all Northlands wheremuch snow falls during many months of the year rabbits shall change into abeautiful white color, like the snow, and thus continue as long as thewinter lasts. And the rabbits now have a much better time than they hadformerly. They can glide away in the darkness from their enemies when inthe woods, and when out in the snow they are not easily seen and oftenescape notice by remaining perfectly still. "

But long ere Souwanas had ended Jack had returned from the home with a noteto say that dinner would soon be ready, and that no one could be morewelcome than Souwanas. 

"But what about the red eyes of the ducks?" said the two children, whoseappetites for stories were simply--well, like those of other boys andgirls. 

Here the father had to interfere and say that there had been quite enoughfor one day. However, before the walk homeward began, Souwanas was pledgedto tell the other story at the first convenient opportunity. 

CHAPTER XX. 

Passing Hunters and Their Spoils--The Vain Woman--Whythe Marten has a White Spot on His Breast. 

As the home where Sagastao and Minnehaha lived was near a trail along whichnumbers of Indian hunters were accustomed to travel when on their way tothe trading post with their furs, they frequently called in to see theirloved friends the palefaces. These hunters were always welcome, and as theywere very seldom in a hurry the children drew from them many a quaintIndian legend or story of animal life. 

It was also a great pleasure for the children to have the hunters, returning from a successful trip, open their fur packs and spread outbefore them the rich furs and tell them stories about these animals--thesilver fox, the otter, beavers, minks, martens, ermines, and sometimes evenabout great bears and wolves, whose skin they had often had. These valuablefurs were generally well dressed and prepared for shipment by theindustrious women before they were taken to the trading post. Sometimes, however, a hunter when on the trail to the trading post would find in oneof his traps an animal just caught, and not having time to return to hiswigwam and have the skin dressed and dried he would carry the animal justas it was and sell it to the fur traders. 

One day there called a number of Indians, and among them was a hunter witha couple of martens which he had caught in his trap that very morning. Sagastao and Minnehaha had never seen these little animals before, and theyhandled them with much interest and asked several questions about them. 

"Why has the marten that queer white spot on its throat?" asked Minnehaha. 

The Indians looked at each other and a grim smile flitted over theirbronzed faces when they heard this question. 

Their conduct only the more excited the curiosity of the children and theyboth clamored for the answer. Then one of the Indians said:

"Ask Mary; she knows all about the story, and as a woman was in the affairshe can tell it better than we can. "

With this answer the children had to be content, for the hunters, havingdrank their cups of tea, soon took their departure. 

When the children found Mary they at once demanded the story. 

"What story?" said Mary. 

"O, you know what we want, for you were in the kitchen and heard what wassaid. "

[Illustration: Wigwams and Indians. ]

But Mary still protested her ignorance, and declared that she had been sobusy caring for Souwanaquenapeke that she had not listened to half thechatter that had passed between them and the Indians. 

"O, I know you, sakehow Mary, " said Sagastao. "You don't want to tell usbecause there was a woman like yourself mixed up in it. "

Mary bridled up with indignation, but before she could utter a word thearms of Sagastao were around her neck, and he cried:

"Forgive me, sakehou! for speaking so foolishly. I do remember now that youhad left the kitchen with baby before Minnehaha asked the question. "

This prompt apology and the sweet word "sakehow" restored harmony, and Marywas now anxious to please them. 

"What was the question which interested you?" asked Mary. 

"Why has the marten that queer white spot on its throat?" asked Minnehaha. 

"And the men told us to go to you because there was a woman in it, " addedSagastao. 

Mary smiled when she heard this. 

"Yes, " she said, "there was a foolish woman mixed up in the story. It waslike this, as far as I can remember, and it is a story from the Northpeople. Long ago a man had a wife who was a very proud, vain woman. She wasnot contented with having her husband and her own people saying nice thingsabout her, but she wanted to be flattered and admired by every creature. You know that I have told you that, in old times, animals could talk anddo many things. Well, this conceited woman, with her silly foolish way, began attracting the different animals around her. Almost everybody waslaughing at her, but she seemed to think it great fun to have so manyadmirers. She got a lesson one day when flirting with the bear. They werewalking along together and she let him put his arm around her, but he gaveher such a hug that he broke two of her ribs. She was a long time gettingwell and then her husband gave her a great lecturing. You would havethought that this would have cured her, but not a bit of it. When she waswell again she was just as silly as ever, though she took good care not toflirt with any animal that could hug like a bear. She next bewitched theskunk with her foolishness. But one day, as they walked together, a dogsuddenly attacked the skunk and in his anger and excitement he so perfumedthe woman, instead of the dog, with his odor that her husband found her outand gave her a beating. 

"Everybody was now laughing at her on account of her silly ways, and as herhusband had persons employed to see what creatures she went out walkingwith she had to remain at home in her wigwam. But when a woman gets proudand conceited and carries on like this one did she is hard to cure. Thefact was, her husband was too kind to her. He did not give her plenty ofwork to keep her busy and out of mischief. Instead of making her chop thewood and carry the water, and do other hard things, he did it for her, forhe was very proud of her and she was indeed a beautiful woman. He did, however, make her stay in their wigwam instead of allowing her to go aboutwherever she liked. 

"She spent most of her time in fixing herself up in her beautiful clothesand thinking what a lovely creature she was. But she soon missed theflattery of her admirers and resolved that, in spite of her husband, shewould try to hear it again. So vigilant, however, were her husband and hisfriends that they were too clever for her. 

"One day her husband returned from hunting and visiting his traps andsnares. Among other animals that he had trapped was a beautiful marten. Hehad caught it in what is called a dead-fall; that is, where a log is soarranged that when the animal reaches the bait he is directly under thelog, which falls upon him the instant he pulls the bait. 

"When the woman took up the marten which her husband had thrown at her feetshe noticed that it was still quite warm, but she said nothing about it toher husband, who, picking up an ax and blanket, said that he was going offto visit his more distant traps and would not be back for some days. Beforehe left he made her promise that she would not leave the wigwam until hisreturn. 

"The woman, as soon as she was sure that her husband was really gone, picked up the marten. On examining it she was convinced that it was notdead, only knocked senseless by the falling log, so she rubbed it, andbreathed into its nostrils, and then with a reed blew air into its lungs. 

"Sure enough, the life was in it, and the first sign it gave was a bigsneeze or two. At this the woman wrapped it up in a warm covering and heldit until it was well again. The marten, of course, was very much frightenedwhen it found itself in the hands of a woman. It was about to struggle toget free, when the woman spoke to it in its own language. At this it wasvery much surprised, and more so when the woman told it how she had givenit back its life, and that now in return it must do what she desired. 

"Any animal or human being would be willing to promise as much when itslife had been thus restored to it. 

"'I will do anything I can for you, ' said the marten. 

"'I want you to go to your king marten, ' said the woman, 'and tell him thata beautiful lady has heard so many wonderful things about him that she isvery anxious to have a visit from him. '

"This the marten promised to do, and it was not very long before the kingmarten came. Of course he had to be very cautious, as he had been warned ofthe many who were watching the silly woman. 

"Hardly, however, had he time to say much to her before the footsteps ofher husband were heard outside. The instant he opened the door of thewigwam the king marten ran out, and disappeared in the forest. 

"'What was that?' asked the husband. 

"'O, dear, that was the marten you trapped. It must have come to life andescaped, ' said the woman, who thus cleverly saved herself and the kingmarten. 

"The man was suspicious, but as the marten which he had trapped was not tobe found he could not find fault with her, except to say that she ought tohave skinned the marten soon after he had brought it in. 

"The king marten, who was a very conceited fellow, had been quite struckwith the beauty of the woman, and so, in spite of his narrow escape, heresolved to go and see her again. By watching her husband's departure hemanaged to have several brief visits, and at length became so infatuatedwith her that he tried to coax her to run away with him. 

"When she heard this she was very angry, for, with all her foolishness, shehad only acted as she did because of her vanity and love of flattery. Nowthat the marten had dared make such a request she resolved that he shouldbe punished; so one day, when he was sitting beside her and saying a lot offoolish flattery, she heard the footsteps of her husband approaching, butdid not warn the king marten. 

"So the man thus caught the old marten sitting by the side of his wife. Atthis he was much annoyed, and as the marten suddenly ran out the man askedthe woman what it meant. So she told him all that the marten had said, andof his impertinence in asking her to leave him and become the marten'swife. At this the man was very indignant, and so they arranged to punishthe marten. 

"The next time the man went off he told his wife to fill the kettle withwater and put it on the fire to boil. Then the man took his traps andstarted off as though he were going on a long journey. But he only went alittle way, just far enough to throw the marten off his guard, and, sureenough, while he was watching he saw the marten go into the wigwam. 

"Then the man came quietly to the door and listened. He heard the martenurging his wife to leave and run away with him. Then he suddenly spranginto the tent and shouted out:

"'Old king marten, what are you doing here? How dare you talk to my wife?'

"So saying, the man seized the kettle of boiling water and threw itscontents at the marten, severely scalding him. The marten tore at hisburning breast as he dashed away into the woods. And from that day to thisall martens have that whitish spot on their chests caused by that burn. "

"What became of the woman?" said Sagastao. 

"Never mind now. We have wasted too much time already on such agood-for-nothing conceited flirt, " said Mary. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Shooting Loons--Why the Loon has a Flat Back, RedEyes, and Such Queer Feet--Nanahboozhoo Loses HisDinner--Origin of Lichens--Why Some Willows areRed--The Partridge. 

Nothing gave the children greater pleasure than to have the Indians takethem in their canoes for a couple of hours' trip on the bright waters ofthe beautiful lake that spread out before their home. 

These pleasant outings were sometimes rendered exciting and doublyinteresting by the sight of a black bear or a deer wandering on the shoreor swimming from some point on the island. At other times there would benumbers of loons, or great Northern divers, as they are generally called. Their wonderful quickness in diving, then the length of time that theycould remain under the water and the great distance they would swim beforecoming to the surface were watched with great interest by both Sagastao andMinnehaha. 

The Indians did not often hunt loons. In fact they found it so difficult toshoot one that more than its value in ammunition was generally expended inthe attempt. The Indians always declared that these clever birds could seethe flash of their guns and dive down out of danger before the shot reachedthem. 

However, as some of them were desired for their beautiful feather-coveredskins, which make most valuable and beautiful caps and muffs, it wasdecided that Souwanas and Kennedy should take the missionary'sbreech-loading rifle, in addition to their own guns, and try to secure afew. 

The children begged to be allowed to accompany them, and as the day wasunusually fine and the lake almost without a ripple they were given aholiday and allowed the privilege of an all-day outing with these twotrusty and experienced men. 

A generous lunch, with the indispensable tea kettle, was placed in thecanoe by careful Mary, who, as usual, was angry that the children were tobe so long under the witchery of old Souwanas. 

With the merry shouts of laughter from the children as their accompanimentthe two Indians skillfully plied their paddles, and it was not long beforethey were some miles distant and on the lookout for loons. It often happensthat the things desired are the last to come. So it was this day. Wildducks in goodly numbers, and even geese and some swans and pelicans werefrequently seen. At length, however, strange, mournful sounds far aheadwere heard, and the experienced Indians knew that the birds for which theywere looking were not far away. Still it was some time before the firstlong white neck and black head were seen in the distance, for the cry ofthe loon not only differs from that of any other bird, but is veryfar-reaching. 

The excited children were now told to be very still and keep quiet, usingtheir eyes alone, and witness the contest between man's skill and thebirds' cleverness. 

So accustomed have some old loons become to being fired at and missed byIndians using the old-fashioned flintlock shotgun, which makes such a flashwhen fired, that they just barely keep out of range. The instant they seethe fire flash--down they go, and then as the shot or bullet strikes theplace where they were they bob up again serenely in the same spot, or inone not very far distant. This risky sport some of them will keep up forhours, or until the disheartened hunters have wasted nearly all theirammunition. 

To-day, however, there was to be a new weapon tried against them, and, alasfor them, they were sadly worsted. Kennedy first loaded his old flintlockshotgun and blazed away, but, as usual, they were out of sight under thewater before the shot struck the place where the loons had been. 

For a time the loons were shy, and swam quite a distance away. But after awhile, as they found that Kennedy's gunshots could be dodged, they did notbother to swim very far away. This was just what Souwanas was waiting for. He now took up the rifle, and as soon as a loon came to the surface hefired from this new weapon, that gave no flash to warn the poor bird of thedeadly bullet that was so rapidly speeding on its way. Thus it happenedthat loon after loon was struck and several beautiful birds weresecured--greatly to the sorrow of the children, who delighted in watchingtheir clever diving and sudden reappearance after Kennedy discharged hisold gun. Out of deference to their feelings the Indians soon ceasedshooting, although with this new rifle they could easily have secured manymore. 

"Let us now go ashore, on one of these islands, " said Sagastao, "and haveour lunch. "

"And a Nanahboozhoo story after, " put in Minnehaha. 

This plan was just what the Indians were thinking about, and so in a shorttime they were all on the shore. Dry wood was abundant and a bright firewas soon burning, and then, when the water was boiled and the tea made, thelunch basket was opened and the meal was much enjoyed by all. 

"Now, Souwanas, " said Minnehaha, "we are all ready for the story at thesame time, and if your pipe goes out I'll hand you a burning stick withwhich you can light it again. "

"Maybe I will keep you very busy, " remarked the old man, much amused at theoffer--and so it proved, for his pipe to-day persisted in going out. 

"One day, " began Souwanas, "as Nanahboozhoo was walking along the shore ofa lake he became hungry. He considered what it would be best for him to doin order to procure something to eat. He decided to deceive the waterfowls. He saw a duck swimming along near the shore and spoke to the bird in thisfashion:

"'Come here, my brother. '

"'What is it?' said the duck, as it approached Nanahboozhoo. 

"'Kesha Munedoo (Gracious Spirit) has revealed words to me to tell to allthe waterfowl some very important things. Go and tell all sorts ofwaterfowl to come, and when they are all together I will inform you whathas been revealed to me. '

"The duck obeyed Nanahboozhoo, who in the meantime made a very bare wigwamof green boughs, or rather caused it to appear that he did, for he did notexert much labor upon it. All sorts of waterfowl came to Nanahboozhoo andthey seemed anxious to hear what had been revealed. Nanahboozhoo receivedthem with great apparent friendliness and invited them to come into thewigwam. When they had all entered, he said:

"'You must all dance, first, before I tell you what has been revealed tome. All of you must stand close together around inside of the wigwam andput your necks close together while dancing, and all of you must flap yourwings at the same time. '

"Then Nanahboozhoo commenced singing:

 "'Pau-zau-gwa-be-she-moog, Ke-ku-ma-mis-kwa-she-gun. '

 ("'Shut your eyes, And I'll make you wise. ')

"These words Nanahboozhoo repeated three times. 

"All the fowl kept time to the music and words of the song, and danced, shutting their eyes. Nanahboozhoo continued singing, changing to thefollowing words:

 "'Au-yun-ze-kwa-gau. '

"All the time such was Nanahboozhoo's power over the birds that they keptsinging and dancing and at the same time holding their heads closetogether. Nanahboozhoo's voice was singing in the center of the tent, hisdrum beating at the same time, while he in person went around in the wigwamor lodge wringing the necks of the waterfowl and throwing them on the sideof the lodge. The loon, the great diver bird, was dancing on the open doorside of the lodge. He suspected that Nanahboozhoo was up to some of histricks, doing something bad, so he opened his eyes and saw. At once he gavethe alarm, and shouted:

"'Nanahboozhoo is killing us!'

"All the fowl that were still alive when they heard these words at onceflew out at the top opening of the lodge, except the loon, or diver, and hebeing at the door turned and ran out of the lodge as fast as he couldtoward the shore of the lake. 

"Nanahboozhoo was so angry at him for daring to open his eyes, and then forwarning the others, enabling many of them to get away, that he ran afterhim and stamped upon him as he had just reached the shore. Hence it is, because of Nanahboozhoo's cruelty, that the loon has had a flat back andred eyes, and its feet are so unlike those of any other waterfowl. 

"When Nanahboozhoo had made a large fire he took the waterfowls he hadkilled before the diver gave the alarm, and covered them under the ashes, leaving only their feet sticking out. While he was waiting for them to cookhe felt very sleepy, so he lay down to rest. 

"But before he went to sleep he said, 'My face side has always done all thewatching. This is not fair. I will make my back do its share of thewatching. '

"So, as he cuddled down to have a sleep before the fire, he said to hisback:

"'Now, you do the watching, you lazy, broad back, while I am sleeping. 'Then, being very tired, he fell into a heavy sleep. 

"After a time the watcher called out:

"'Nanahboozhoo! Indians are coming!'

"Nanahboozhoo slightly raised himself, but he saw no Indians, so he laydown to sleep again. 

"But again and yet again, for three times, did his faithful watcher calland warn him against his approaching enemies. Nanahboozhoo was now sostupid with sleep that he only aroused himself a little, not enough toenable him to detect the lurking enemy. So he became very angry with hiswatcher, his broad back, and gave it a great thrashing, saying:

"'There! take that, you great stupid watcher, for so disturbing me withyour false reports!'

"Then Nanahboozhoo fell asleep again. The broad back was very muchoffended at the treatment he had received, for he knew he was right, andnow, though the Indians were close at hand, he did not again warnNanahboozhoo, so the enemies came and stole all of his cooked fowls. TheIndians carefully lifted out the fowls by their legs, which Nanahboozhooleft sticking up. When they had eaten the bodies of the fowls they stuckback the legs in the ashes, as Nanahboozhoo had left them. 

"When at last his sleep was ended Nanahboozhoo arose ready for his meal ofnicely cooked fowl. Great, indeed, were his surprise and indignation whenhe pulled out the feet from the ashes and found that the bodies of thefowls were not there. 

"He flew into a passion and resolved to punish his back. So he made a fireof big trees and stood with his back very close to it. When his flesh beganto be badly burned it blistered, and made a noise like the roasting ofmeat. Nanahboozhoo did not at first seem to mind the pain, and only said:

"'You may well say 'Zeeng, Zeeng, ' in your burning. I will teach you alesson you will remember for not telling me that the Indians were stealingmy roasted waterfowl. '

"Nanahboozhoo then went on his way, but in spite of his magic powers hefelt a sort of a soreness in his back. He twisted his head around and sawthe blisters that had been made by the fierce fire. So he thought how hemust get rid of them, for they bothered him, although nothing could injurehim for very long. While walking on the edge of a precipice heslipped--and away he slid, far down the rocky side. When he reached thebottom, he looked back, and there, on the rock, on which he had slid down, he saw things which he had never seen before. 

"'My nephews, ' said Nanahboozhoo, 'when they see these things on the rocks, will call them Wau-konug (lichen), and although they are poor food theywill keep them from starving when they have nothing better. '

"This is the Indian tradition of the origin of the patches of lichenattached to the bare rocks. The Indians still call them 'no-scabs, ' andwhen boiled they make a kind of jelly food which is a little better thanstarvation. 

"Then Nanahboozhoo, although his back was bleeding from his sliding downthe rough rocks, continued walking, sometimes along the shore and sometimesin the thick bush. In one place where the thicket was very dense such washis magic power that he pulled a lot of the thickets together and walkedover on their tops. When he looked back he saw that the blood from thewounds in his back had given a red color to the bushes over which he hadwalked. Then said Nanahboozhoo:

"'My nephews will call these bushes "Me-squah-be-me-sheen" (red willows). They will use them to stop bleeding when they meet with any severeaccidents;' and such the Indians still do when they live among them. 

"This is the tradition as to the origin of the red willow, once so commonin many of the Indian haunts. 

"The reason why the partridge is called Kosh-ko-e-wa-soo (one thatstartles) is because one made even Nanahboozhoo give a big jump. Ithappened in this way:

"As Nanahboozhoo was walking along one day in the woods he saw a smallcreature. This little thing thought it would be best for him to be brave inthe presence of Nanahboozhoo, and so when he was asked who he was heanswered:

"'I am one who startles. '

"'You cannot startle me, ' said Nanahboozhoo. 

"The little creature suddenly flew away and Nanahboozhoo resumed hisjourney. By and by he reached a dangerous rocky point on the shore. Just ashe was at the worst point the partridge suddenly flew almost from under hisfeet with a rumbling noise, and so startled him that he jumped up, sprangquickly aside, fell into the water, and got a great wetting. So evenNanahboozhoo had to confirm the name of the little partridge. "

The return trip was not much enjoyed by the children. The dead loons in thecanoe did not look as attractive as they had appeared when swimming anddiving so gracefully in the lake. Souwanas was quick to notice theirdepression of spirits, and he there and then resolved that he would neveragain shoot any living thing in their presence, and he faithfully kept hisresolve. 

Mary met them as they landed and her quick eyes detected the change intheir spirits, and as they wore their hearts on their sleeves for her shequickly found out the cause of their sorrow. She was not slow in availingherself of the opportunity afforded of giving Souwanas and Kennedy avigorous scolding for nearly breaking the hearts of her precious darlings, by killing in their presence some of the birds whose play they had oftenwatched for hours together. 

The two men took her scolding in their usual silent way, and then had aquiet laugh together when her wrath had exhausted itself and she hadindignantly walked off with the children. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Nanahboozhoo's Ride on the Back of the Buzzard, whoLets Him Fall--A Short-lived Triumph--Why the Buzzardhas No Feathers on His Head or Neck. 

One beautiful warm day, when the leaves of the trees were all bright andgolden with their autumnal tints, the children were visiting at the tent ofSouwanas. 

The old man was making a beautiful little bow and a quiver full of arrowsfor Sagastao while the old wife was manufacturing an elaborate baby cradle, of the Indian pattern, for Minnehaha, in which she could carry her favoritedoll in the style popular among the Indian girls. 

The children were much interested in watching these highly-prized giftsbeing prepared for them, and of course had much to say in the way of thanksto those who were doing so much to add to their happiness. 

While they were thus busy several canoes were seen coming from the south. As the wind was favorable sails had been improvised out of blankets, eachfastened to a couple of oars, and with these simple appliances they spedrapidly along. Seeing Souwanas's wigwam on the point of land the Indianscame to the shore and smoked and chatted for a short time ere theyresumed their journey toward the north. 

[Illustration: The Indian story-teller. ]

They had in their canoes quite a variety of game, and among them a largeill-smelling bird called a turkey-buzzard. It was said that the youngIndian hunter who had shot it thought at first that it really was a turkey, but he found out his mistake when he went to lift it from the ground whereit had fallen. The odor was so offensive that at first he thought he wouldleave it behind, but when he remembered that often some of the largefeathers were used in ornamental work he decided to bring it along. 

The children were interested in its appearance, as this was the first deadturkey-buzzard they had ever seen. 

"Look, Souwanas, " said Minnehaha, "the poor birdie has no feathers on itsneck or head. It must be very cold there when the winter comes. "

"Well, I think that, as likely as not, it was its own fault that it lostits feathers, " said Sagastao, and then he added as he poked the rank birdover with a stick:

"I would not be surprised to hear that Nanahboozhoo had something to dowith it. "

"Nanahboozhoo had, " said Souwanas, "and it was because of a mean trick thatthe buzzard played upon him. And now that these Indians are off, who are ina hurry to reach Poplar Point, if you will sit down on the rocks in thewarm sunshine I will tell you the story. "

No second invitation was necessary, so while the children seatedthemselves near him on the; smooth granite rock the old man continued hisarrow making and told them the following story:

"One day when Nanahboozhoo was walking through the country he saw thebuzzard soaring up high in the air. Like an eagle, he was making gracefulcircles round and round with very little effort. After a time the buzzardflew down to the earth, and there he stood on a rock with his great wingsoutstretched. Nanahboozhoo quietly approached and entered into conversationwith him. 

"'Brother Buzzard, ' he said, 'you must be very happy when sailing around upthere in the blue sky where you can so easily see everything that is goingon down here on the world below you. I wish you would take me up there onyour back and let me see how this world looks from that high place in theblue sky, where you live so much. '

"The buzzard on hearing this request at once flew down to the side ofNanahboozhoo and said:

"'I will with pleasure take you up on my back and let you see, as youdesire, how the world looks from that high place. '

"Then Nanahboozhoo, seeing how smooth was the back of the great bird, said:

"'Brother Buzzard, your back is so smooth that I am afraid I will slip off, so you must be careful not to sweep round too rapidly in your circles inthe sky. '

"The buzzard told Nanahboozhoo that he would be very careful although atthe same time he was resolved, if it were possible, to play a trick on him;for he had a grudge of some long standing against him which Nanahboozhooseemed to have forgotten. 

"Nanahboozhoo then mounted on the back of the great buzzard and held by hisfeathers as well as he possibly could. The buzzard then took a short run, sprang from the ground, and spreading his great strong wings speedily roseup higher and higher in the sky. 

"Nanahboozhoo at first felt rather timid as he found himself thus rapidlysoaring through the air, especially as it was so difficult for him to keephis seat. When the buzzard began circling round and round it was even moredifficult, for the body of the bird leaned over more and more as his speedincreased. But Nanahboozhoo was very clever, and after a while he becamemore accustomed to his queer position and was very much interested in thesplendid sights of the great world beneath him, over which he could now seefor such a great distance. Lakes and rivers, forests and mountains, allgave delight to Nanahboozhoo, who had wonderful powers of vision. 

"At length, as they rose up higher and higher in the blue sky, Nanahboozhooshouted out in his delight as far away in the distance he recognized thewigwam of his grandmother, Nokomis. Indeed so delighted was he that for amoment he let go his hold on the buzzard and swung up his arms in hisexcitement. The treacherous buzzard noticed this, saw it was theopportunity for which he had been watching, and circled round so suddenlythat his body was tilted over, and before Nanahboozhoo could regain hisgrip he slipped off the smooth back and fell like a stone to the ground. Soterrible was the force with which he struck the earth that he was knockedsenseless, and lay there for a long time like one dead. 

"But, as I have told you, Nanahboozhoo was more than human and nothingcould really kill him. So it happened that after a while he recovered hissenses, but he was annoyed, disgusted, that he had allowed the buzzard toplay such a mean trick on him. 

"Then he prepared to resume his journey, and of course he looked up to seeif there were any sign of the buzzard. He had not far to look, for there, up in the sky, not far off, was the old buzzard laughing at the trick hehad played upon Nanahboozhoo, and much pleased with his own cleverness indeceiving one known to be so crafty. 

"'Laugh away, old buzzard, ' said Nanahboozhoo. 'You have had the best of methis time, but look out! For I will put a mark upon you for this trick ofyours that will enable your friends and your enemies to recognize you bothby day and by night. '

"But the buzzard, from his high safe place in the sky, only laughed back inderision, and said:

"'No, indeed, Nanahboozhoo, you will do nothing of the kind. You have beendeceiving the other creatures, but in me you have found your match. Youcannot deceive me. And now, especially as you have threatened me, I willalways be on the watch for you. '

[Illustration: "Nanahboozhoo then mounted on the back of the greatbuzzard. "]

"Nanahboozhoo made no reply to this boastful speech, but he did a lot ofthinking, and he soon had his plans laid to teach Mr. Buzzard a lesson hewould never forget. 

"Resuming his journey he pushed on as though nothing had happened. 

"The buzzard was at first suspicious and watched him for some time. Thenseeing nothing unusual in his movements he flew away into the distant sky. 

"Nanahboozhoo, in order to carry out his plan to punish the buzzard, resolved to turn himself into a dead deer. He knew that the buzzard livedon dead animals of all kinds. He chose a high spot, visible from a greatdistance, and there he laid himself down and changed himself into the bodyof a great deer. It was not long before the various animals and birds thatsubsist on such things began to gather round this dead body. 

"The buzzard, that has such wonderful eyes, to see great distances, sawfrom afar this gathering of the birds and animals, and as he was ever onthe lookout for such things he soon joined the rest of the creatures aroundthe deer. He flew round and round it several times, for he was at firstsomewhat suspicious. The closest inspection, however, showed him that itwas only a dead deer, and that was the unanimous opinion of all the otheranimals and birds that gathered there. There could be no doubt in anycreature's mind but that it was a deer and that it was quite dead. 

"The buzzard, now that all his suspicions were gone, in his great greed toget the best he could savagely began, with his powerful beak, tearing ahole in the side of the body that he might get down to the rich fat that isaround the kidneys. This is what those fierce, greedy birds always try toget first. Deeper and deeper into the flesh he tore, until at length he wasable to crowd in his head and neck to reach the dainty morsels he so muchprized. 

"This was just what Nanahboozhoo was waiting for, and when the head andneck of the buzzard were completely hidden in the body up jumped the deer, and as he did so the flesh closed up so tightly around the head and neck ofthe buzzard that the greedy bird was there securely held. 

"'Ha, ha, old buzzard! I did catch you after all, as I said I would, ' saidNanahboozhoo. 'Now pull out your neck and head. '

"The buzzard with very great difficulty at length succeeded in drawing hishead out of the side of the deer. The effort to do so, however, was sogreat that he lost all of the beautiful feathers that once adorned his headand neck. From that day they have never grown on him again, and there isnothing there to be seen but the red rough-looking skin. 

"'Never again, ' said Nanahboozhoo, 'will feathers cover your neck or head, and so your friends and enemies, as they see you, will be reminded of howNanahboozhoo punished you for playing one of your tricks on him. And alsofrom this time forward your food will only be of the rankest kind, and thedisagreeable odor will so cling to you that even in the darkest nights yourhateful presence will be detected and shunned. '

"Thus, " added Souwanas, "the buzzard is the most despised of birds, becausehe is such an ugly fellow, with his featherless head and neck, and becausehis disagreeable odor taints the sweet air wherever he goes. "

CHAPTER XXIII. 

A Moonlight Trip on the Lake--The Legend of theOrphan Boy--His Appeal to the Man in the Moon--HowHe Conquered His Enemies. 

Moonlight nights in the Northland are often very beautiful. There in thesummer time the gloaming continues until nearly midnight. Then nothing canbe more glorious than to glide along amid the beautiful fir-clad rockyislands in a birch canoe over the still transparent waters. So large andluminous are the full moons of July and August that, with the west aglowand with the wondrous aurora flashing and blazing in the north, there ispractically little night and no darkness at all. 

Nothing gave the children greater pleasure than to have permission to gowith Mary and Kennedy in a large roomy birch canoe for a moonlightexcursion during one of those warm, brilliant nights. With plenty of rugsor cushions, to make the coziest of seats in the center of the canoe, theyfairly reveled in the beauties of the romantic surroundings while theyfloated on the moonlit lake. Often in some place of more than ordinarybeauty Kennedy would cease paddling, and then their very quietness addedto the charms of those happy outings. 

[Illustration: With Mary and Kennedy in the birch canoe. ]

"Say, Mary, " said Sagastao, "I was reading in one of my books about the'man in the moon. ' Do you know anything about him?"

"He is looking at us very kindly to-night, " said Minnehaha. "I reallybelieve I saw him laughing, he is so pleased we have come out to see himthis lovely night. "

These remarks of the children caused all in the canoe to more closely scanthe great round moon that was shining with silvery whiteness straight infront of them. 

"There are lots of stories about the moon among our people, " said Mary, "but not a great many about the man in the moon. There is, however, a queerone about how he came down and helped a poor orphan boy. "

"O, tell it to us just now, " said Minnehaha, "while he is watching andlistening. "

"Do, Mary, " said Sagastao, "and Minnehaha and I will watch the old fellowand see how he likes to be talked about. "

"Well, " said Minnehaha, "Mary will be talking to him to his face, and notbehind his back, as people sometimes do when talking about others. "

Thus the children ran on with their prattle. Mary and Kennedy were muchamused. 

"Come, Mary, hurry up! Father said the gloaming would end about eleven, andwe must be at the shore by that time. "

"Pretty late hours for little children, " said Kennedy. 

"Never mind that, " said Sagastao; "we will make up for it in winter time, when it gets dark at four o'clock. "

With Sagastao on one side of her in the big canoe and Minnehaha on theother--their favorite positions when listening to her fascinating storiesas she crooned them out in her soft, musical Cree--Mary told them thestory. 

"Long ago, " she began, "there was a poor orphan boy who had neither fathernor mother, uncle, aunt, nor any living relative that he knew of. He had avery hard time of it, as the people did not seem to take kindly to him. Sohe had to live just where he could. He managed to get along all rightduring the pleasant summer time, but when the long cold winters began hesuffered very much. One winter some selfish people let him live with thembecause he was willing to work hard for what little they did for him. Theytreated him badly in many ways. They made him go out into the woods and cutfirewood, but when he brought it home they would only allow him to stay inthe cold entry-way which they had built to their winter dwelling. 

"They made him go and hunt different animals for food, and then when hebrought, them home they cooked and ate the best themselves, and just threwthe fragments and bones to him as they would to a dog. Every member of thehousehold treated him very cruelly, except a nice little girl, the youngestdaughter of the family. She felt very sorry for him. She would secretlytake him better food, and she furnished him with a knife with which hecould cut the tough pieces of meat. She had to be very careful not to bediscovered, for if found out she would have been severely punished. So herpity had to show itself on the sly, and the few words she was able to tellhim of her sympathy had to be whispered as she passed him, when nobody waslooking or listening. The poor boy up to this time had no ambition tobetter himself, but her kind words and deeds made him resolve that he mustbegin and do something for himself. But what could he do? Everybody seemedagainst him but this little girl, and she could do nothing in the way ofhelping him to escape from these people, who, now that he was becoming souseful to them, would not let him go. What, really, could he do?

"Thus the days and weeks and months passed on and there seemed no chance ofescape. He had tried to run away, but had been caught and brought back andbeaten. 

"One night when it was not very cold he went outside of the narrow entrywhere he generally had to sleep and threw himself on the ground and criedin his sorrow and despair. He seemed to be utterly unable to betterhimself. As he lay there he began looking up at the great bright moon that, now so large and round, was, he thought, looking earnestly at him. Soon hewas able to see that there was a great man in the moon. As he watched himhe was glad to notice that he was not looking crossly at him, but kindly, and so he began crying to the man in the moon to come and help him toescape from the miserable life he was leading. Sure enough, as the boy kepton crying and pleading he saw the man in the moon beginning to come down tothis world. He came to the very spot where the unhappy boy was lying, butinstead of helping him he made him stand up and then he gave him a goodsound thrashing, making the boy, however, strike back at him as vigorouslyas he could. The beating he got very much disheartened and discouraged theboy, for it was not what he had expected. On the following night, when hehad recovered a little, he began reproaching the man in the moon. 

"'I called for you, ' he said, 'to come and help me against my enemies, andnow you have come and thrashed me. '

"But these words, instead of softening the man in the moon, caused him tocome down again and give the poor boy a far worse thrashing than before, but for every blow he made the boy return one as good as he had received. 

"Now for the first time the boy began to notice that the more he was beatenthe stronger he grew. Still he could not understand what the man in themoon meant. So he came again, and they had another regular set-to, and theboy had another good sound thrashing. He asked him what was the meaning ofhis beating him thus. The man in the moon now spoke to him, but his wordswere so much like a puzzle that at first the boy did not understand them. This is what the man in the moon said:

 "'Would you triumph o'er the strong? Be strong. Would you let them no more conquer? Conquer. '

"For a time the boy repeated them over and over. He used to say that as theresult of these meetings with the man in the moon he had grown so strongthat he was nearly able to hold his own against his antagonist. Then oneday, when the man in the moon was puffing from the encounter, the lattersaid:

"'Now by hard knocks and exercise I have put you on the way of ending yourtroubles. Be strong, and conquer. Farewell! I am not coming again, as youdo not need me any more. '

"Then away he flew back to his place in the moon. 

"The boy seemed now to know that he was to use his strength for his owndeliverance. To test himself he began tossing up the stones that were sonumerous on the shore of the lake. First he began with quite small ones, but soon he found that he could pick up and throw about great big ones, that were like rocks. When he returned from this last contest with the manin the moon it was nearly daylight. 

"At first the people began ordering him about as usual. But they soon hadreason to be sorry for their cruelty and abuse, for the boy seized oneafter another of them and flung them with such violence against the rocksthat their brains were dashed out and their blood ran in streams down thesides of the rocks--where it turned into seams in the rocks which can beseen to this day. 

"One person only, of all who lived in that dwelling, did the now strong boyleave alive, and that was, of course, the good-hearted little girl who usedto speak kind words to him and befriend him when she could. 

"They grew to be very fond of each other, and were afterward married andlived in full possession of all the things that once belonged to the cruelpeople for whom the little orphan boy had worked so long. "

"Well, sakehou, " said Sagastao, "I have been watching the man in the moonwhile you have been telling the story about his queer way of helping theboy to help himself, and he was looking pleased all the time. So I am surehe is well satisfied with the way you have told the story. "

Old Mary was delighted with these words from the lips of the lad she lovedwith such a passionate devotion. 

"But what do you think about it, little sister?" said the lad, calling toMinnehaha, who was cuddled down on the other side of Mary. 

But the darling gave no answer, for she had long ago slipped off intoDreamland, and there she remained until the strong arms of Kennedy liftedher up from the canoe and carried her home. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Souwanas's Love for Souwanaquenapeke--How NanahboozhooCured a Little Girl Bitten by a Snake--How theRattlesnake got Its Rattle--The Origin of Tobacco--Nanahboozhooin Trouble. 

Wahkiegun, as Souwanas named the home of his white friends, always had awarm welcome for Souwanas. Little Souwanaquenapeke had learned to love himand nothing gave the grave old man greater pleasure than to have charge ofher for hours at a time. He often carried her away to his wigwam and withgreat delight explained to visiting Indians how his name was woven intothat of the first little paleface born among his people. 

Sagastao and Minnehaha, while of course pleased to see the love of the oldchief for their sweet little sister, were sometimes a little impatient whenthey found that he would have his hour with her before they could draw aNanahboozhoo story out of him. 

"You are all right, " he would say in his dry, humorous way, "as far as yougo; you are only Crees, " he would add with a smile, referring to the factthat they had been born among the Cree Indians farther north; "butSouwanaquenapeke is better, as she is a pure Saulteaux. "

This of course would put Sagastao and Minnehaha on the defensive, for inthose days their own pride of birth was that they were Cree Indians. Faithful old Mary, herself a Cree, would of course take their part, and itwas very amusing--laughable at times--to listen to the wordy strife. Inthese discussions Mary was always the one to first lose her temper. Whenthis happened the penalty was to have the children throw a shawl over herhead and thus silence her. From their loving hands she quietly took herpunishment and was soon restored to good nature. Good-hearted Souwanas thenspeedily responded to the call for a story. But the little Souwanaquenapekemust be, if awake, in his arms, or, if asleep, in a little hammock ornative cradle beside him. 

"What is it to be about to-day?" asked the old man, as the children, fullof eager anticipation, drew a couple of chairs up before him. 

After some discussion Souwanas decided to tell them the Nanahboozhoo storyof how he lessened the power of the rattlesnakes to do harm. 

"Nanahboozhoo, in starting off one day from his grandmother's wigwam, hadput on the disguise of a fine young hunter. He had not gone many miles onhis journey before he came to a little tent on the edge of the forest wherehe found a young Indian mother full of grief over her sick child. Nanahboozhoo could not but feel very sorry for her, especially when heheard her story that a snake had crawled noiselessly into her tent and hadbitten her little girl while she slept. Nanahboozhoo felt such pity, bothfor the weeping mother and the bitten child, that at once he set to work tocounteract the sad doings of the snake. He hurriedly went into the forest, and there finding a certain plant he said, 'From this day forward the rootof this plant shall be a remedy for all people against the bites ofsnakes. '

"Then Nanahboozhoo showed the mother that the roots were to be pounded andmade into a drink and a poultice. The glad mother quickly carried out hisinstructions and the little girl was soon well again. The Indians have eversince been very thankful to Nanahboozhoo for letting them know of thisplant, which they still use for such purposes and which they callsnakeroot. Nanahboozhoo remained until he saw that the little girl wasquite recovered. Then he said:

"'Now I will fix that snake so that he will not be able to do so much harmin the future. '

"Then going out he caught the king of the snakes and gave him a greatscolding for the meanness of that one of his family which had crawled intothe tent of the Indian mother and so cruelly bitten that little girl whileshe slept. Then getting very angry, for Nanahboozhoo was veryquick-tempered, he said:

"'Snakes, like other things, have the right to live. They are given theirplace in the world, and their work. They are to keep down the mice, rats, frogs, toads, and other things that might become too numerous. They havetheir poisons given them to defend themselves if attacked. But they have noright to go and kill or injure anyone doing them no harm. I'll teach yousnakes that in future you cannot quietly crawl about and bite innocentpeople thus. '

"So he took a piece of the wampum from one of the strings with which he haddecorated himself, and having carefully carved the hard shells of whichwampum is made, Nanahboozhoo firmly fastened them to the snake's tail, andsaid:

"'From this day forward may all snakes like you have those noisy rattlesupon them, so that all people will call you rattlesnakes. And may it bethat you can never move without making a noise with those rattles, so thatpeople will always be able to hear them and thus get ready to fight you, orto get out of your way before you can do any harm. '"

"Well done, Nanahboozhoo!" shouted little Sagastao. "He's the one for me. But why did he not kill all the rattlesnakes at once?"

Souwanas was, however, too clever to be caught trying to answer a questionthat, although asked by a child, was beyond his knowledge, so he resortedto his calumet, and as the smoke of it began to taint the air Sagastaosaid, "Well, Souwanas, can you tell us where you Indians first got yourtobacco?"

This question was more to the taste of the old Indian, so while he smokedhe related the tradition of the introduction of tobacco among his people. 

"Very many winters ago, " said he, "as Nanahboozhoo was traveling on one ofhis long journeys he visited a land of great high mountains. One day as hewas passing a great chasm in the mountains he saw some blue smoke slowlycoming up out of it. This excited his curiosity and he went to see whatcaused it. As he drew near to it he was very much pleased with its odor. Onfurther investigation he found that the great cave from which the smokearose was inhabited by a giant who was the keeper of tobacco. 

"Nanahboozhoo, on searching, found him half asleep in this cave among greatbales and bags of tobacco. 

"The smell of the smoke of the tobacco had so pleased Nanahboozhoo that heasked the giant to give him some. The giant refused in a very surlyfashion, saying that he only gave portions of it away to his friends theMunedoos, who came once a year to smoke with him. 

"Nanahboozhoo, seeing that he was not going to be able to get any by thuspleading for it, snatched up one of the well-filled tobacco bags, dashedout with it, and fled away as rapidly as possible. The great giant wasfearfully enraged, and at once began the pursuit of this rash fellow whohad thus stolen his tobacco from under his very nose. 

"It was a fearful race. Nanahboozhoo had to jump from one mountain top tothe next, and so on and on from peak to peak. Closely behind him followedthe giant, and Nanahboozhoo had all he could do to keep from beingcaptured. Fortunately for him he now knew the mountains well, and heremembered one ahead of him the opposite side of which was very steep. Whenhe reached this top he suddenly threw himself down upon the very edge, andas the giant passed over him Nanahboozhoo suddenly sprang up and gave himsuch a push that he tumbled down into the fearful chasm. He was so bruisedand wounded that, as he got up and hobbled away down the far-off valley, Nanahboozhoo watching him saw that he looked just like a great grasshopper. He burst out laughing, and then shouted to the giant:

"'For your meanness and selfishness I change you into a grasshopper;Pukaneh shall be your name and you will always have a dirty mouth. '

"And so it is to this day, for every little boy who has caught grasshoppersknows that their saliva is as though they had been chewing tobacco. 

"When Nanahboozhoo had rested himself a little he returned to the cave ofthe giant and took possession of the great quantities of tobacco he foundthere. He divided it among the Indian tribes, and from that time those wholive where it will grow have cultivated it and have supplied all theothers. "

"I wish, " said Minnehaha, "that Nanahboozhoo had left Pukaneh and histobacco in the cave, for I don't think tobacco smoke is very nice in thehouse. "

[Illustration: Nanahboozhoo gave him a great push. ]

Souwanas was amused with the little girl's opposition to his beloved weed, and while she was talking took the opportunity to refill his calumet. Whenit was in good smoking order he, urgently requested by Sagastao, resumedhis story-telling. 

"Sometimes it did not fare so well with Nanahboozhoo. There were times whenhis cleverness seemed to forsake him, and he got into trouble' that atother times he would easily have avoided. For example, one day in thesummer time as he was hurrying along he became very thirsty. Soon, however, he came to a river which has many trees on its banks. He pushed his waythrough them until he came to the bank. Just as he was stooping down todrink he saw some nice ripe fruit in the water. Without seeming to think ofwhat he was doing he dived into the quite shallow water to get the fruit, hit his head against the rocky bottom and was pretty badly hurt. He wasvexed and angry as well as disappointed, but he took a good drink of thewater and then he lay down on the grass in the shade of the trees to rest. As he lay there on his back he saw above him on the branches of the treesthe fruit which he had at first thought was in the water. 

"Laughing at his own stupidity and climbing up into the trees he soon hadall the ripe fruit he could eat. 

"Then on he went, and as his head was quite sore from the bump he had gotwhen he dived into the shallow river he determined to visit some wigwamswhich he saw not far off. 

"The people received him very kindly, with the exception of one surly, cross old man. They quickly prepared some balsam and put it on his woundedhead. 

"Nanahboozhoo was well pleased with this kindness, and said that he wouldbe glad to perform for them some kindly act in return. 

"Before anyone else, however, could speak the cross old man sneered out:

"'O, if you think you are clever enough to do anything, grant that I maylive forever!'

"This request and the sneering way in which it was made caused thequick-tempered Nanahboozhoo to become very angry, and he suddenly sprang upand caught the Indian by the shoulders and violently throwing him on theground said:

"'From this time you shall be a stone, and so your request is granted. '"

CHAPTER XXV. 

The Dead Moose--The Rivalry Between the Elk and theMoose People, and Their Various Contests--The Disasterthat Befell the Latter Tribe--The Haze of the IndianSummer. 

The sight of four stalwart Indians dragging on a dog sled the body of anenormous moose on the ice in front of their home very much interested thechildren. 

Nothing would do but they must be wrapped up and allowed to go out andexamine it while the men rested and had a smoke. Its great horns, itsenormous ugly head, and then its coarse, bristle-like hair, had all to beexamined and commented upon. The opportune arrival of Souwanas, who hadbeen attracted by the sight of the moose, much pleased the children, andjust as soon as the investigation of the moose was over and the hunters hadproceeded on their journey the children insisted on Souwanas going home toWahkiegun with them and telling them something about the moose. They alsowanted to hear a wonderful story, which he knew, telling how Nanahboozhoohelped the elks to conquer the moose. 

When there is a disposition to surrender we are easily conquered. So it waswith Souwanas on this occasion. The children in their love for their friendpleaded so importunately that a good cup of tea was prepared for and muchenjoyed by him before he began his story, his interested auditors as closeas possible around him. 

"Once when Nanahboozhoo was journeying through the country, " said Souwanas, "he found a village of Indians who were very poor. They were calledOomaskos, Elk people. They had nothing but the poorest of robes on theirbacks, and they were nearly destitute of everything in the shape of traps, weapons, and canoes. The village was strangely silent, for even the dogs, that generally are around in such numbers, had disappeared. WhenNanahboozhoo saw this destitution and poverty he at once inquired thereason, and was surprised and very angry to hear that they were greatgamblers. 

"Not far off from them was another village whose people were called Mooswa, or Moose people, and Nanahboozhoo soon found out that, while theinhabitants of these two villages were antagonistic to each other, theyfrequently met to gamble, and that the Moose people were nearly alwayssuccessful and had won from the Elk people nearly everything theypossessed. The latter were very much humiliated at Nanahboozhoo's findingthem in such a wretched condition, but they told him they were convincedthat some trickery had been practiced upon them by their opponents. Theyalso informed Nanahboozhoo that they would be glad if he would help them toget back their much needed possessions. 

"Nanahboozhoo promised that he would assist them on condition that aftertheir possessions were regained they should give up the pernicious habit ofgambling. This they unanimously promised to do. The first thingNanahboozhoo did was to disguise himself as a whisky-jack and fly over tothe village of the Moose people and try to discover how it was that theyhad been so invariably successful when they gambled with the Elk people. Itwas as he suspected. His old enemies the Anamakquis, the evil spirits thathad destroyed his brother Nahpootee, the wolf, had sent one of their numberamong the Moose people, and he had enabled them to win nearly all of thedogs, as well as other things, from the Elk people. Indeed, he himself hadgenerally been the one who had tossed the plum stones with which theygambled, and they had won by his magic powers. 

"When Nanahboozhoo heard this he knew that his first work must be to securethe magic muskamoot (medicine bag). So he flew round and round, and peeringin through the top of the wigwam, where the poles crossed each other, hewas fortunate enough to see the magic bag hanging up on a cross pole overthe place where the Anamakqui slept. He noticed also that it was wellguarded and that it would require some cleverness on his part to get it. 

"Nanahboozhoo was, as you know, a very clever fellow. He quickly flew backto the village of the Elk people and ordered the most industrious of thewomen, who were skillful in making fire bags, to make one exactly as hedescribed. This was, of course, similar to the magic muskamoot he had seenhanging up in the tent. 

"Nanahboozhoo then put into it things that would have just the oppositeeffect to those which were in the bag of the Anamakqui. He waited until itwas dark, and then, noiselessly flying back to the village of the Moosepeople, he silently entered the wigwam at the top, where there was now awide opening, as it was in the warm summer time, very quickly exchanged thebag he had with him for the magic muskamoot, and returned to the village ofthe Elk people. It did not take him long to arrange his plans. The chief ofthe Elks had a beautiful daughter, and it was given out that a fine youngchief from a far-away tribe had come to ask for her in marriage. The fatherhad welcomed this young chief--who was, of course, Nanahboozhoo--and as hehad brought costly gifts he was at once acknowledged as the acceptedson-in-law. 

"The news spread rapidly and it soon reached the Moose village. When theyheard of the many gifts which this rich young stranger had brought with himthey, of course, were greedy to win them, as they had won the rest of theElks' property. It was not many days before a company of them came over tothe Elks, and meeting the beautiful daughter of the chief they said:

"'We have come over to have a game of plum stones with your lover, to seeif he is a better player than we are. '

"The girl went at once into the wigwam and informed her intended husband, Nanahboozhoo, of the challenge of these people. She also told him that theywere very clever but that they had no idea of him being anything else thanwhat he appeared to be. Then she added:

"'Be sure to win; if you do not they will beat us with clubs and sticks. For the custom is that the side that is defeated in the gambling mustsubmit to a beating by the conquerors. '

"Then Nanahboozhoo and the champion for the Moose people sat down onopposite sides of the bowl in which were the plum stones, while the peopleof each of the two villages ranged themselves behind their own champion. When Nanahboozhoo shook the bowl, and then let the plum stones ceaserolling, it was seen that he had won every point. At this the Elks set up agreat shout of triumph. The Moose people shouted back:

"'Don't be so fast; the game is to be the best three out of five; just waituntil our man has played. '

"The plum stones were then handed to him and patting his medicine bag heconfidently shook them up, but when they had ceased rolling it was seenthat he had lost every point. 

"The victory was now so nearly won that the Elks began to say:

"'Get your clubs ready to thrash the Moose people, for we are surely goingto be winners this day. '

"The Moose people were, however, not yet quite discouraged. 'There arethree tries yet, ' they said, 'and our man may yet win. ' But their hopeswere soon gone, for when Nanahboozhoo threw the plum stones the third timehe was as successful as at the first. 

"This decided the game in favor of the Elks, who now rushed upon the Moosepeople and thrashed them all the way back to their own village. 

"The Moose were very much humiliated at this defeat. They had not only hada good beating but, according to the custom of the tribes, they wereobliged to restore much of the property which they had won from the Elks intheir previous contests. A council was called not long after and there wasquite a discussion among them as to the best plan to be adopted to defeatthe Elks and regain supremacy. They decided on a trial of strength, for insuch encounters they had generally been victorious. They had two high poleserected with a crossbar on the top, and the contest was to see which sidecould produce the man who should throw the heaviest stone over that bar. They sent their challenge to the Elks to meet them if they dare. 

"The Elks quickly responded and were soon at the place where the Moosepeople, who were awaiting them, had erected the high poles with thecrossbar. When everything had been arranged their strongest man took up aheavy stone and, with a tremendous effort, succeeded in barely throwing it, so that it struck the crossbar and carried it down to the ground. When thecrossbar had been replaced a son of the chief of the Elks went forward, asthough he would be the competitor on the side of the Elks. He pretended asthough he could not even lift the heavy stone which the Moose champion hadthrown. When the Moose people saw this they shouted out in triumph, andbegan to get ready to give the Elks as good a beating as they had receivedfrom them on a former occasion. 

"Seeing them thus coming, Nanahboozhoo rushed forward, seized the heavystone, and sent it high up and far over the tops of the poles--thus winningthe victory again for the Elks. With a shout of triumph the Elks againattacked the Moose and drove them in disgrace back to their own village. The Moose people were now more humiliated than ever, but they determined totry another plan; for they were resolved not to give up to the Elks, whomthey had so often defeated. After much consultation they said:

"'Let us have a contest at diving in the lake, that we may see if ourchampion cannot remain longer under the water than any one of the Elks. '

"So they went over to the village of the Elks and told them they had cometo have another contest with them. To the proposal of the Moose the Elksall agreed, and both parties proceeded to the lake. Here a large hole wascut in the ice and the champion of the Moose prepared to go down into thewater. One of the brothers of the beautiful Indian girl who had beenselected as Nanahboozhoo's bride said to Nanahboozhoo:

"'As our bodies are tougher than yours you must let me compete this time. '

"Nanahboozhoo would not let him do this. He said:

"'I am not afraid of the cold water, and besides I have plenty of friendsdown there. '

"And, sure enough, the mud turtle came up and said, in words that onlyNanahboozhoo could understand:

"'My brother, I have come up at the request of your brother, the wolf, toaid you. Trust yourself in my care and no harm will come to you. '

"Nanahboozhoo was well pleased to hear this, for he knew that his spiritbrother had sent his friend the mud turtle to help him in this trial. 

"The competitors now stripped themselves, and when the signal was giventhey both dived into the water and disappeared. The Moose people had suchconfidence in their champion that they had all brought with them very heavysticks with which they intended giving the Elks a great beating in returnfor the two previous defeats. 

"The Elks, however, were not dismayed. They only said:

"'Just wait until the contest is decided. '

"In the meantime the competitors under the water were so near together atfirst that the people on the land heard the Moose say, 'Elk, are you cold?'To which the mud turtle, who had covered the Elk competitor over with hisshell, replied:

"'No, Moose; but are you cold?'

"As the people on the shore could not hear any answer to this question itgave some alarm to the Moose people about their champion, who they fearedmust be benumbed with the cold. This was really the case, for in a shorttime he came to the surface of the water so nearly frozen to death that hehad to be helped out of the water. 

"When the mud turtle and Nanahboozhoo heard the shoutings of triumph of theElks they knew that the Moose champion had failed, and so they came up tothe surface. Nanahboozhoo swam ashore and joined in the pursuit of thedisheartened Moose people, who had again so signally failed. 

"These repeated defeats very much angered and humiliated the Moose people. They almost quarreled among themselves in their vexation as they talkedthem over at their councils. Still they were in no humor to give up. Theyhad two very swift runners among them, and they decided to challenge theElks to a foot race. So they again sent a number of their party over to thetent of the Elk people and said:

"'We are not at all satisfied yet, and we wish to know if the son of thechief and his brother-in-law, the young stranger who has come into yourmidst, will run a foot race against two of our young people. '

"This challenge was at once accepted and soon all preparations were madefor the great race. It was decided that it should be run on the ice of thefrozen lake, which was several miles round. Much snow had fallen, but thepeople of both sides turned out for days and cleared out a good track. Theymade it near the shore, and so that the finishing spot would be near wherewas the starting point. 

"The Moose felt quite certain of winning this time, because by their magictheir runners were to be turned into real Moose, with four legs, and theyargued that runners with four feet could surely beat those who had onlytwo. But there were others who had heard about this great race, and amongthem was the wolf, the spirit brother of Nanahboozhoo, and so he came tohim the night before the race. 

"'My brother, ' he said, 'I will come and help you in this race. You are theonly one that can see me, so I will be on the track, about half way round, and when you come there you can get on my back and I will carry you at agreater speed. But you must keep your legs moving as if rapidly running, orthe people will suspect something unusual. '

"There was a great crowd to witness this race between the two great Moose, to represent the Moose people, and the son of the chief and his unknownbrother-in-law to represent the Elks. When the signal was given away theystarted over the icy trail. The Moose soon were at the front, with thechief's son not far behind. Nanahboozhoo was purposely a little in therear, and so was able to spring upon the wolf's back without attractingattention. 

[Illustration: They were excited at his coming. ]

"With this steed under him he sped along with marvelous rapidity. At thehalf-way point of the race he overtook his brother-in-law, and giving himhis hand, they were soon far in front. When they rushed in ahead therewas great excitement. The Moose people were soon running back to theirvillage with the Elks whipping them to the very doors of their wigwams. 

"After this the Moose dare not challenge the Elks to any further contest, but they were so furious that they meditated murder in their hearts towardthe young stranger, who had, they now saw, been the cause of their manydefeats. Nanahboozhoo, however, easily thwarted their evil schemes, but atlength some of them were so bad that his anger was aroused and he exertedall his magic power. 

"'Moose you are by name, ' he said to them, 'and for your bad deeds I changeyou into the animals after whom you are named. Hereafter you will live inthe swamps, among the willows and young birch. On them you will have tobrowse for a living. For a little variety in your food you may, in thesummer time, go out into the shallow waters and paw up and eat the greatroots of the water-lilies. '

"Thus the Elks again had peace and quietness. Gambling was never againallowed among them, and Nanahboozhoo, after receiving their gratefulthanks, returned to his own country. "

"What did he do after that?" asked Sagastao. 

"Not much, for a while; but after a time he decided to go away up North. Each fall, however, he comes and looks around to see how everything isgoing on. Then he rests on some of the mountains and has a big smoke, whichsettles down on the hillsides and valleys and makes the beautiful hazytime which we all call the Indian Summer. "

"Well, " said Minnehaha, "if the smoke of Nanahboozhoo's big pipe of peacemakes the beautiful haze of the lovely Indian Summer, it is about the bestthing I have heard yet of tobacco smoke doing. "

And so say we all. 

GLOSSARY

 * * * * *

Ana-mak-qui, _Evil spirits or magicians_. 

An-nun-gi-tee, _The ghost with big ears_. 

Ja-koos, _Strong-armed_. 

Keche-Wapoose, _Great Rabbit_. 

Kin-ne-sa-sis, _Little Fish_. 

Kosh-ke-e-wa-see, _Partridge_. 

Ma-hei-gan, _Wolf_. 

Mani-boos or Manitoos or Munedoos, _Spirits_. 

Me-squah-be-me-sheen, _Red Willows_. 

Minne-ha-ha, _Laughing Waters_. 

Mis-ta-coo-sis, _Aspen Tree_. 

Mis-mis, _Grandfather_. 

Moos-wa, _Moose_. 

Moo-she-kin-ne-bik, _Sea Monster_. 

Musk-a-moot, _Medicine Bag_. 

Mud-je-kee-wis, _West Wind_. 

Na-nah-booz-hoo, _Son of Mud-je-kee-wis--West Wind_. 

Nah-poo-tee, _Wolf_. 

Ni-koo-chis, _Solitude--name of a giant_. 

Nokomis, _Grandmother_. 

Ome-mee, _Pigeon or Dove_. 

Oo-kis-ki-mu-ni-sew, _Kingfisher_. 

Oo-see-mee-id, _The Younger_. 

Se-si-giz-it, _The Older_. 

Pa-peu-pe-na-ses, _Laughing Bird_. 

Pug-a-mah-kon, _A hammer_. 

Puk-an-eh, _Grasshopper_. 

Sa-gas-ta-oo-ke-mou, shortened to Sagastao, _The Sunrise Gentleman_. 

Sa-ke-how, _Beloved_. 

Se-se-pask-wut, _Sugar_. 

Sis-tin-a-koo, _The magician who guarded the fire in the interior of theearth_. 

Shu-ni-ou, _Money_. 

So-qua-a-tum, _Steadfast_. 

Sou-wa-nas, _South Wind, The great Story-teller_. 

Sou-wa-na-que-na-peke, _The Voice of the South Wind Birds_. 

Wah-ki-e-gun, _The House_. 

Wau-be-noo, _The East_. 

Wakonda, _A supernatural Person_. 

Wakontas, _Son of Wakonda_. 

Wau-konug, _Lichen_. 

Wenonah, _Daughter of Nokomis and mother of Nanahboozhoo_.