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Books by Egerton R» Young.

By Canoe and Dog Train, Among the Cree
and Salteaux Indians. Introduction by Mark Guy
Pearse. Illustrated. Sq. Crown 8vo. $1.25.
Stories from IndianWi^wams and North
ern Camp Kires. Illustrated. Crown 8vo.
$1.25.
Three Boys in tKe "Wild North Land.
Summer. With twenty full-page illustrations by
J. E. Laughlin, and photographs by the author.
Crown 8vo. $1.25.
"Winter Adventures of Three Boys in the
Great Lone Land. With eighteen full-page
illustrations by J. E. Laughlin and from photo
graphs. Crown 8vo. $1.25.
Oo-wiKapum or, How the Gospel Reached the
Nelson River Indians. Illustrated. i2mo. $1.
On the Indian Trail, and Other Stories of Mis
sionary Work Among the Cree and Salteaux In
dians. Illustrated by J. E. Laughlin. i2mo. $1.
The Apostle of the North, James Evans.
Twenty illustrations by J. E. Laughlin. Ktao.
$1.25.
My Dogs in the Northland. With twelve full-
page illustrations and several smaller drawings.
Crown 8vo. Net, $1.25.
Algonquin Indian Tales. With twenty-six
full-page illustrations by J. E. Laughlin and
from photographs. Crown 8vo. $1.25.

The rabbit tells Nanahboozhoo of his troubles.

ALGONQUIN
INDIAN TALES

COLLECTED BY
EGERTON R. YOUNG
Author of " By Canoe and Dog-Train," " The Apostle or the North,'
(( Three Boys in the Wild North Land," Etc.

New York Chicago Toronto
Fleming H. Revell Company
London and Edinburgh

Copyright by
EGERTON R. YOUNG
190.?

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 very much pleased me.
The reading of them brings up the days of long time
ago when I was a boy and heard our old people tell
these tales in the wigwams and 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 monuments and
writings in the Orient. In Egypt, Nineveh, Baby
lon, and other ancient lands he flourished, and in
the homes of the noblest he was ever an honored
guest. The oldest collection of folklore stories or myths
now in existence is of East Indian origin and is pre
served in the Sanskrit. The collection is called
Hitopadesa, and the author was Veshnoo Sarma.
Of this collection, Sir William Jones, the great
Orientalist, wrote, "The fables of Veshnoo are the
most beautiful, if not the most ancient, collection of
apologues in the world." 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 — in
Persia, India, China, and indeed all over that vener-
S

Introductory Note
able East — the man who can recite the ancient apo
logues or legends of the past can always secure an
audience and command the closest attention.
While the general impression is that the recital of
these old myths and legends among Oriental nations
was for the mere pastime of the crowds, it is well to
bear in mind that many of them were used as a
means to convey great truths or to reprove error.
Hence the recital of them was not confined to a
merely inquisitive audience that desired to be
amused. We have a good example of this in
the case of the recital by Jotham, as recorded in
the book of Judges, of the legend of the gathering
of the trees for the purpose of having one of them
anointed king over the rest. Of this legend 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 the people often to use the
fable or myth as an indirect way to reprove or cen
sure when it would not have been safe to have used
a direct form of speech. The result was that it at
tained a higher degree of perfection there than
among any other people. An excellent example is
Nathan's reproof of David by the recital of the fable
of the poor man's ewe lamb.

Introductory Note
The red Indians of America have justly been fa
mous for their myths and legends. 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 sur
prisingly rich in folklore stories. A present of
a knife or some other trifle that he desires will cause
him to talk by the hour to his guest, whether he be
the daring trader or adventurous explorer, on the
traditions that have come down to him. The inter
change of visits between the northern Indians and
the Eskimos has resulted in the discovery that
quite a number of the myths recited in Indian wig
wams are in a measure, if not wholly, of Eskimo
origin. On the other hand, the Eskimo has not
failed to utilize and incorporate into his own 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 some wig
wam — just enough to excite curiosity — then years
would elapse ere the whole story could be secured.
As the tribes had no written language, and the In
dians had to depend entirely upon their memory,
it is not to be wondered at that there were, at times,
great divergences in the recital of even the most
familiar of their stories. We have heard the same
legend given by several story-tellers and no two

Introductory Note
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 natural version and most in
harmony with the instincts and characteristics of the
pure Indian. The close scientific student of Indian
folklore will see that we have softened some expres
sions and eliminated some details that were non
essential. The crude Indian languages, while abso
lutely free from blasphemy, cannot always be
literally translated. Verbum sat sapienti.
The method we have adopted, in the presentation
of these myths and legends in connection with the
chatter and remarks of our little ones, while unusual,
will, we trust, prove attractive and interesting. We
have endeavored to make it a book for all classes.
Here are some old myths in new settings, and here
are some, we venture to think, that have never be
fore been seen in English dress. These will interest
the student of such subjects, while the general style
of the book will, we hope, make it attractive 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
birth who played such prominent parts in Indian
legends. He does not seem to have been claimed by
8

Introductory Note
any one particular tribe. Doubtless legends of him
were transmitted down from the time when the
division of tribes had not so extensively taken place;
when perhaps the Algonquin, now so subdivided,
was one great tribe, speaking one language.
The variety of names by which he is known is ac
counted for by these tribal divisions and the rapid
changes which took place in the language owing to
its 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
and record 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 in this volume the name
of Nanahboozhoo as that was the one most fre
quently used by the Indians among whom we lived
or visited.
There is more unanimity about his origin, among
the tribes, than about his name. The almost univer
sal 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, for assistance or hints received in the
9

Introductory Note
pleasant work of here clustering these Indian folk
lore stories, to many friends, among them such In
dian missionaries as Revs. Peter Jones, John Sun
day, Henry Steinham, Allan Salt, and also to his
Indian friends and comrades at many a camp fire
and in many a wigwam. He also wishes in this
way to express his appreciation of and indebtedness
to the admirable Reports of the Smithsonian Insti
tution. He has there obtained verification of and
fuller information concerning many an almost for
gotten legend.
In regard to a number of the finest of the photo
graphic illustrations in the volume the author grate
fully acknowledges his obligations to the Canada
Pacific Railway Company, without whose assistance
it would have been impossible to reach many of the
sublime and romantic places here portrayed; until
very recently known only to the adventurous red
Indian hunter, but now brought within the reach of
any enterprising tourist.

10

CONTENTS

Introductory Note - Page 5
CHAPTER I.
The Children Carried Off by the Indians — The Feast in
the Wigwam — Souwanas, the Story-teller — Nanahboozhoo,
the Indian Myth — How the Wolves Stole His Dinner, and
Why the Birch Tree Bark is Scarred — Why the Raccoon
has Rings on His Tail Page 17
CHAPTER II.
The Children's Return — Indignation of Mary, the Indian
Nurse — Her Pathetic History — Her Love for the Children —
The Story of Wakonda, and of the Origin of Mosquitoes. Page 31
CHAPTER III.
More about Mary and the Children — Minnehaha Stung by
the Bees — How the Bees Got Their Stings — What Happened
to the Bears that Tried to Steal the Honey Page 41
CHAPTER IV.
The Love Story of Wakontas — His Test of the Two
Maidens — His Choice — The Transformation of Misticoosis. Page 51
CHAPTER V.
The Startling Placard— What Happened to the Little Run
aways — The Rescue — Mary Tells Them the Legend of the
Swallows — How Some Cruel Men were Punished who
Teased an Orphan Boy Page 60

Contents
CHAPTER VI.
Souwanas Tells of the Origin and Queer Doings of
Nanahboozhoo — How He Lost His Brother Nahpootee,
the Wolf— Why the Kingfisher Wears a White Collar. Page 73
CHAPTER VII.
The Legend of the Bad Boy — How He was Carried Away
by Annungitee, and How He was Rescued by His Mother. Page 80
CHAPTER VIII.
Happy Christmas Holidays — Indians Made Glad with
Presents — Souwanas Tells How Nanahboozhoo Stole the
Fire from the Old Magician and Gave It to the Indians. Page 87
CHAPTER IX.
Kinnesasis— How the Coyote Obtained the Fire from the
Interior of the Earth - Page 96
CHAPTER X.
The Christmas Packet — The Distribution of Gifts — A Visit
by Dog Train, at Fifty-five Below Zero — Souwanas Tells
How the Indians First Learned to Make Maple Sugar. Page 105
CHAPTER XL
Mary Relates the Legend of the Origin of Disease— The
Queer Councils Held by the Animals Against Their Common
Enemy, Man - - Page 115
CHAPTER XII.
The Naming of the Baby— A Canoe Trip— The Legend of
the Discovery of Medicine— How the- Chipmunk Carried the
Good News - Page 124
12

Contents
CHAPTER XIII.
In the Wigwam of Souwanas — How Gray Wolf Perse
cuted Waubenoo, and How He was Punished by Nanah
boozhoo - Page 133
CHAPTER XIV.
The Pathetic Love Story of Waubenoo— The Treachery
of Gray Wolf — The Legend of the Whisky Jack - Page 141
CHAPTER XV.
A Novel Race: the Wolverine and the Rock — How the
Wolverine's Legs were Shortened — A Punishment for
Conceit - - - Page 152
CHAPTER XVI.
The Legend of the Twin Children of the Sun — How They
Rid the Earth of Some of the Great Monsters — Their Great
Battle with Nikoochis, the Giant - - Page 159
CHAPTER XVII.
Souwanas Tells of the Queer Way in which Nanahboozhoo
Destroyed Mooshekinnebik, the Last of the Great Monsters. Page 169
CHAPTER XVIII.
Welcome Springtime in the Northland — How Nanah
boozhoo Killed the Great White Sea Lion, the Chief of the
Magicians — The Revenge — The Flood — Escape of Nanah
boozhoo and the Animals on the Raft — The Creation of a
New World - - - - - Page 180
CHAPTER XIX.
Among the Briers and Wild Roses — Why the Roses have
Thorns— Why the Wild Rabbits are White in Winter. Page 190
13

Contents
CHAPTER XX.
Passing Hunters and Their Spoils — The Vain Woman —
Why the Marten has a White Spot on His Breast. Page 203
CHAPTER XXI.
Shooting Loons — Why the Loon has a Flat Back, Red
Eyes, and Such Queer Feet — Nanahboozhoo Loses His
Dinner — Origin of Lichens — Why Some Willows are Red —
The Partridge - Page 211
CHAPTER XXII.
Nanahboozhoo's Ride on the Back of the Buzzard, who
Lets Him Fall — A Short-lived Triumph — Why the Buzzard
has No Feathers on His Head or Neck Page 222
CHAPTER XXIII.
A Moonlight Trip on the Lake — The Legend of the
Orphan Boy — His Appeal to the Man in the Moon — How
He Conquered His Enemies Page 230
CHAPTER XXIV.
Souwanas's Love for Souwanaquenapeke — How Nanah
boozhoo Cured a Little Girl Bitten by a Snake— How the
Rattlesnake got Its Rattle— The Origin of Tobacco — Nanah
boozhoo in Trouble Page 237
CHAPTER XXV.
The Dead Moose— The Rivalry Between the Elk and the
Moose People, and Their Various Contests— The Disaster
that Befell the Latter Tribe— The Haze of the Indian
Summer - page 24S
Glossary page 257
14

ILLUSTRATIONS

The rabbit tells Nanahboozhoo of his troubles Frontispiece FACING PAGE
With the children cuddled around, Souwanas began . 22
The wild and picturesque Ka-ka-be-ka Falls 34
They howled with rage and terror . . 49
The startling placard  53
While her mate stood beside her ... 53
Surrounding them were fierce Indian dogs 62
The beautiful reflections in the water . . 77
They tumbled the tall ghost over . . 85
Where the fire was stolen .... 91
Their dog trains were in constant demand 87
The coyote was too quick for them . . 103
Across a single log at a dizzy height . . 111
Which white men call Cathedral Mountain . 117
Their babies with them ... 124
Gave him such a terrible beating . . 138
The big rock was surely gaining on him 154
Sun dance lodge of the Blood Indians . 160
They both threw their magic sticks . 166
He took a leap into the open mouth . . 176
He ran away west to the great mountains 187
Wigwams and Indians  204
The Indian story-teller .... 222
Nanahboozhoo then mounted on the back of the great
buzzard  226
With Mary and Kennedy in the birch canoe . . 230
Nanahboozhoo gave him a great push 242
They were excited at his coming . . 254

Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER I.

The Children Carried Off by the Indians— The Feast in
the Wigwam— Souwanas, the Story-teller— Nanahboozhoo,
the Indian Myth— How the Wolves Stole His Dinner, and
Why the Birch Tree Bark is Scarred— Why the Raccoon
has Rings on His Tail. TTHOUT even knocking at the
door there noiselessly entered
our northern home two large,
unhandsome Indians. They paid
not the slightest attention to the
grown-up palefaces present, but in
their ghostly way marched across the
room to the corner where the two lit
tle children were playing on the floor.
f Quickly but gently picking them up
they swung them to their shoulders,
and then, without a word of saluta
tion or even a glance at the parents,
they noiselessly passed out of that narrow door and
disappeared in the virgin forest. They were pagan
Saulteaux, by name Souwanas and Jakoos.
The Indian names by which these two children
were called by the natives were "Sagastaookemou,"
17

Algonquin Indian Tales
which means the "Sunrise Gentleman," and "Minne
haha," "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
years old, and his little sister but four. They had
learned to look with laughing eyes even into the
fiercest and ugliest of these red faces and had made
them their friends.
So even now, while being carried away among
the dense trees, they merrily laughed and shouted to
each other. The bright patches of sunshine on the
ground, the singing birds, and the few brilliant-
hued summer flowers, brought forth their exclama
tions of delight, while all the time the grave, silent
Indians hurried them on deeper and deeper into the
forest. Yet carefully they guarded their precious
loads, and as the antlered deer in passing through
the thick woods and under the low branches never
strike trunk or bough, so these sons of the forest
glided swiftly on without allowing any hurt to come
to the children of the paleface, even if at times the
faint trail led them over slippery rocks and under
low intertwining branches.
The wigwam of Souwanas was pitched in a
beautiful spot at the edge of the great forest near the
sandy, rocky eastern shore of Lake Winnipeg. This
great lake is well called The Sea, which is the mean
ing of its Indian name. It is about as long as Lakes
Ontario and Erie combined and in some places is
eighty miles wide. 18

Algonquin Indian Tales
At the entrance of the wigwam, which was made
of a couple of tanned reindeerskins, the children
were carefully lifted down from the men's shoulders
and then taken into this Indian abode. Coming in
suddenly from the bright sunshine it was some time
before they could see distinctly. The door flap of
deerskin had dropped like a curtain behind them.
All the light there was came in through the hole in
the top, where the poles of the wigwam crossed each
other. Presently, however, they were able to see a
circle of Indian children gathered around a small
fire that smoldered on the ground in the center of
the tent. It was now in the pleasant summer time,
but the fire was needed for something else than
warmth, as the little Sagastao and Minnehaha dis
covered before long. They were soon seated in the
circle with the red children, who, young though they
were, were a wee bit startled at seeing these little
palefaces. The white children, however, simply
laughed with glee. This outward demonstration
seemed very improper to the silent red children, who
were taught to refrain from expressions of their
gladness or sorrow.
The Indians had brought the white children for a
characteristic reason. They had said among them
selves, "If the white father and mother love us as
they say they do we will test them by taking away
their children without asking permission." They
also wished to show their own love for the children,
and so had really brought them to a children's feast.
It was perhaps as queer a tea party as you ever
19

Algonquin Indian Tales
heard of. There was no table on which to put the
good things prepared for the feast. No plates, no
cups and saucers, no knives, no spoons, not even a
chair! There were no cakes, 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 to eat !" Not too fast !
There were both of these. There was the lap of
mother earth, and so down on the ground, with bear
skins and deerskins on it for rugs, the children sat.
Then the deerskin door was again opened and in
came Indians with birch-bark dishes, called rogans,
in which were nicely prepared wild ducks, rabbits,
and partridges. But as they were uncooked they
could not yet be eaten by the now expectant, hungry
children. Then began the preparation of the feast. Some of
the Indians added dry wood to the fire until there
was a hot, smokeless blaze. Others took out their
sharp hunting knives and cleverly cut up the ducks,
rabbits, and partridges. Then these pieces were
spitted on the ends of sharp points of hard wood
and skillfully broiled or toasted in the hot flames.
As fast as the dainty bits of meat were cooked and
a little cooled they were given to the children in their
fingers, and in that way the little ones had their
feast. Now, please don't turn up your noses at such a
feast. Think of it : out in a wigwam in the lovely
forest, where the wild birds sing and the squirrels
chatter, where is heard the music of the waves play-
20

Algonquin Indian Tales
ing on the shore but a few yards away, with great
friendly Indians as your waiters! The very air of
that northern summer gives you an appetite ready
for anything.
Those little people, red and white, soon became
the j oiliest of friends, and as the white children could
speak the Indian language as well as their own they
were soon all chattering away most merrily while
they daintily picked 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 — if a first — to any of these things?
After a time this feast, as all feasts must, came to
an end. Then the question was, "What shall we do
next for the children?" for the whole day had been
planned by the grown-up Indians for the entertain
ment of the little people. Canoes had been collected
on the shore of Winnipeg, handy if it should be de
cided that they all should go for an afternoon out
ing on the water. However, Souwanas, who had
gone out to look at the sky and observe the winds
and waves, now came in and reported that he
thought they would better put off the canoe trip to
some time when the lake was more calm. It was
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
21

Algonquin Indian Tales
a few minutes before, Souwanas had seated himself
on a robe and was now enjoying his calumet, or
pipe. Stoical though he was, his dark eyes flashed
with pleasure at the unanimous call of the children,
but, Indianlike, it would have been a great breach
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. The Indian children well
knew this, but who ever heard of white children that
could sit like statues, grave and dignified, while the
story-teller took time to finish smoking a large pipe
of tobacco ?
So it was in this case. In their wild excitement
and eagerness to have the story begin, both Sagas-
tao and Minnehaha sprang up and, rushing toward
Souwanas, vied with each other in seeing which
could first pluck the half-smoked calumet from his
mouth. Such audacity appalled the Indian children
and fairly took the breath away from the older In
dians. For was not Souwanas a chief, and the calu
met almost a sacred thing while between his lips?
Souwanas, however, was greatly delighted. Here
was a new experience, and the very boldness of the
children of the palefaces was an evidence of their
unbounded confidence and love. To little Sagastao
the calumet was surrendered, and, with the children
cuddled around him, Souwanas began his story:
"Now, you must know that Nanahboozhoo was a
queer fellow. He could make himself as tall as a
tree or as small as a turtle or snake. Nothing could
kill him. He could not be drowned even if dropped

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Algonquin Indian Tales
hundreds of feet into the lake, nor burned to death
even if he tumbled into the fire. He often met with
accidents, but he always came up right again and
was ready for some other adventure in some new
shape. He has left his marks on the rocks and trees,
leaves and flowers. Almost anywhere we look we
see signs that Nanahboozhoo has been around. As
his temper was very uncertain he sometimes caused
trouble and injured the appearance of things which
were once more beautiful than they are now. But
in general he was the friend of our race and worked
changes that were for our good.
"One day, as Nanahboozhoo was walking along
on a sandy shore, he felt very hungry. It was now
in the autumn of the year. As he wandered on he
saw an object moving toward him. He had not
long to wait before he saw that this object was a
great black bear. He pulled up a young tree by the
roots and hid himself, preparing to kill the bear
when he should come near. When the bear came
near Nanahboozhoo made a big jump out of his
hiding place and killed the bear with one blow.
Then he built a big fire, and having singed all the
hair off the bear he cut him up and nicely roasted
him. When the meat was cooked Nanahboozhoo
cut it up into fine pieces, for he intended to enjoy
his feast by eating leisurely.
"While he was thus busy preparing his feast he
was annoyed by a strange sound among the tree tops
that rubbed together when the wind blew. Nanah
boozhoo was very quick-tempered, and as the noise
23

Algonquin Indian Tales
continued he determined to stop it. So he left his
feast on the ground and climbed away up one of
those trees to the spot where the other pressed
against it. He was endeavoring to pull the two
great trees apart when one of his hands got caught
between them and was firmly held. While strug
gling to get loose he heard a pack of wolves running
toward his bear meat. This made him struggle the
harder to get his hand free. The fierce wolves soon
scented the food and had a good time devouring it,
in spite of the shoutings of Nanahboozhoo.
"When Nanahboozhoo at length got his hand free
and came down he found nothing left of his feast
but the skull of the bear. He was very angry, not
only at the wolves that had eaten his feast but also
at the trees that had held him, the great Nanah
boozhoo, in so tight a grip. As the wolves had run
away he could not, at present, punish them, but he
resolved that he would so punish these great birch
trees that they would never give him such a squeeze
again. So he prepared a great whip and with it he
severely thrashed the 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 upon it. But ever since the thrashing
Nanahboozhoo gave it it has had to carry the marks
of that terrible whipping ; and that is why the white
birch tree is so covered with scars.
"When Nanahboozhoo had ceased thrashing the
trees he found himself so very hungry that he re
solved to eat the brains that were in the head of the
24

Algonquin Indian Tales
bear, that had been overlooked by the wolves. How
ever, he found the skull very hard. So he trans
formed himself into a little snake, and in this way
got inside of the bear's skull and enjoyed his feast.
In fact he enjoyed it too much, for when he was
through with his eating he could not get out of the
skull, he was so full. However, he was able to roll
along, skull and all, but as he could not see where
he was going he bumped along in a very erratic
manner until at length he tumbled into a big lake
and sank at first deep down under the waves.
"When he came up to the surface he just put a
part of the head of the bear out of the water, as does
the bear when swimming. Then he listened in
tently. 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 Indians came up, in their canoe,
and one of them with his stone ax struck the bear's
head such a blow that he split open the skull.
"This just suited Nanahboozhoo, and instantly
he sprang out and made for the shore.
"Then Nanahboozhoo journeyed on and again he
began to feel very hungry. The brains of the bear
were not much to one who had had his mind set on
eating the whole carcass. It was not long before he
met the raccoon awkwardly carrying a birch rogan
that he had stolen from a couple of blind men. See
ing the merry smile on the raccoon's face, Nanah-
25

Algonquin Indian Tales
boozhoo bade him a good day, and asked him what
was amusing him.
"The raccoon, who did not know that it was
Nanahboozhoo with whom he was talking, told
him how he obtained the dish. When Nanahbooz
hoo heard this he was very angry at the raccoon for
his heartless trick.
"It seems that there was quite a large settlement
of people who had among them a couple of blind
men. As these Indians were hunters they had to be
on the move a good deal of the time following the
game. As the other people were kind-hearted, in
stead of killing these old blind men, now that they
were unable to hunt, they arranged for them a wig
wam in a safe, quiet place, near the lake. Then
they gave them a kettle and bowl and other neces
sary 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 not stumble
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 with abundant supplies of
food and the blind men were able to do their own
work and were happy together. They divided the
day's work so that one day one would be the cook
while the other would bring in the wood and go for
the water. Next day they would change about. It
gave each enough to do, and not too much.
"For a long time the two men lived contented and
26

Algonquin Indian Tales
happy. But it happened that one day the raccoon
was out prowling along the shore, looking for some
thing to eat, when he happened to find the end of the
rope that was tied to the post at the water's edge.
"Now you must know," said Souwanas, "that,
next to the wolverine, the raccoon is the biggest
mischief in the woods. He is full of tricks,
but he is very cunning and suspicious. So be
fore he interfered with the rope he cautiously
followed it up and found that its other end was at
the wigwam of these two old blind men. Hearing
no noise, he cautiously peered into the wigwam and
saw them both sleeping near the fire. There was a
smell of something good to eat, and the raccoon de
cided to wait around to see if he could 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 feel
ing hungry ; let us prepare our dinner.'
" 'Very well,' said the other; 'it is your turn to
go to the lake for water while I make the fire.'
"When the raccoon heard this he ran down to
the lake and quickly untied the rope from the stake
and, drawing it back, tied it to a clump of bushes on
the land. When the old man with the kettle felt his
way along the rope until he reached its end he tried
to dip up the water as usual, but all in vain. There
was nothing but the dry earth and bushes. Not
finding any water he returned to his brother with the
sad news that the lake had dried up, and that already
bushes were growing where yesterday there was
27

Algonquin Indian Tales
plenty of water. When his brother heard this dole
ful story he laughed at it, and said :
" 'Why, that cannot be possible. No bushes could
grow up in such a short time.'
"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 the rope from the bushes
and refastened it to the post near the water. When
the second brother came along he easily found the
water, and filling the kettle he returned to the wig
wam 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, and
that was the raccoon, who had now noiselessly come
into the wigwam and greedily sat watching the prep
arations. This dinner consisted of eight pieces of
meat which, when cooked, were placed in their
rogan, or wooden bowl. When ready they sat
down with this bowl between them and began
to eat. Each took a piece of meat, and they talked
of various things while they ate.
The raccoon now noiselessly took four of the
pieces of meat out of the bowl and began eating
them. Soon one of the men reached into the bowl,
to get another piece of meat, and finding only two
pieces left, he said : 28

Algonquin Indian Tales
" 'My brother, you must be very hungry, to eat
so fast. I have only had one piece of meat, and
there are only two left.'
" 'I have not taken them,' was the reply, 'but I
suspect that you are the greedy 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 Nanahbooz
hoo, some more sport with the old blind fellows,
hit each of them a smart blow on the face. The poor
old men, each believing that the other had struck
him, began to fight; and so they upset the rogan
and lost the rest of their 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 stopped fighting and apolo
gized to each other.
"The raccoon's rascally trick made Nanahboozhoo
very angry. Indeed he had had a good deal of
trouble to keep from letting the raccoon know who
he was. So just as soon as the raccoon had finished
he said :
" 'I am Nanahboozhoo. Those old blind men are
my brothers, and I'll teach you a lesson you will
never forget !'
"So he seized the raccoon and killed him, and
carried his body back to the tent of the blind men

Algonquin Indian Tales
and made out of it a great feast for them, and de
clared that in future the old raccoons should have
to carry as many circles 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 any tricks 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 may begin to think they have
lost their little ones."
"Let us wait until dark," said Sagastao, "and
then Mary won't see our dirty clothes !" For their
greasy fingers had soiled them badly.
The wishes of the little girl, however, prevailed,
and so it was not long ere the Indian salutations,
"Wat cheer! Wat cheer!" were shouted to all,
and once more the two children were hoisted upon
the shoulders of the big Indians, and in the same
manner in which they had been brought to the wig
wam in the forenoon they rode home in the beautiful
gloaming. Very tired were they, yet not so weary but that
they were able with their little hands to rub some
of the paint off the faces of their big stalwart car
riers and daub it on their own. The effect was so
ludicrous that their merry laughter reached the ears
of their expectant parents even before they emerged
from the gloom of the forest. 30

Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER II.
The Children's Return— Indignation of Mary, the Indian
Nurse— Her Pathetic History— Her Love for the Children—
The Story of Wakonda, and of the Origin of Mosquitoes.
N. reaching home the children were
quietly received by their par
ents, who, understanding In
dian ways, had no desire to
lessen their influence by find
ing fault with them for carry
ing off the children. They
treated the matter 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 tired that they
could hardly hold up their little heads, her indigna
tion knew no bounds, and as she was perfectly fear
less she couched her sentiments in the most vigorous
phrases of the expressive Cree language.
The history of Indian Mary was very strange.
Indeed there was an incident in her life so sad that
from the day of her recovery she was considered to
be under the special care of the Good Spirit, so that
even the most influential chiefs or hunters had a
superstitious fear of showing any temper, or making
any bitter retort, no matter what she might say.
31

Algonquin Indian Tales
Years before this time Mary was the wife of a
cruel pagan Indian who bore the English name of
Robinson. Although she was slight of figure, and
never very strong, he exacted from Mary a great
deal of hard work and was vexed and angry if, when
heavily burdened with the game he had shot, she
did not move as rapidly along on the trail as he did,
carrying only his gun and ammunition.
Once, when they were out in the woods some
miles from his wigwam, he shot a full-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,
he soon reached his wigwam. Unfortunately for
him — and, as it turned out, for Mary also — he found
some free-traders* at his abode awaiting his return.
They had few goods for trade in their outfit, but
they had a keg of fire water, which has ever been
the scourge of the Indians.
Robinson informed them of his success in shoot
ing the deer and that it was even now being brought
in. The traders not only purchased what furs Rob
inson had on hand but also the two hind quarters
of the deer which Mary was bringing home. Rob
inson at once began drinking the fire watef which
he had received as part payment.
He was naturally irritable, and short-tempered
even when sober, but he was much more so1 when
under the influence of spirituous liquors. The un-
* Fur buyers who were not agents of the Fur Company.
32

Algonquin Indian Tales
principled traders, knowing this, and wishing to see
him in one of his tantrums, began in a bantering
way to question whether he had really shot a deer,
since his wife was so long in coming with it.
This made him simply furious, and when Mary
did at length arrive, laboring under the two-hun
dred-pound deer, she was met by her husband now
wild with passion and the white man's fire water.
Little suspecting danger she threw the deer from her
shoulders, where it had been supported by the carry
ing strap across her forehead. Weary and panting,
she turned to go into the wigwam for her skinning
knife, but ere she had gone a dozen steps she was
startled by a yell from Robinson which caused her
instantly to turn and face him. The sight that met
her eyes was appalling. Before her stood her hus
band 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 toward
him, hoping thereby to escape the blow. She suc
ceeded in saving her head, but the ax buried itself
in her spine.
Mary's piercing screams speedily brought a num
ber of Indians from neighboring wigwams. When
they found poor Mary lying there in agony, with
the ax still imbedded in the bones of her back, their
indignation knew no bounds.
Indians, as a rule, have great self-control, but this
sight so stirred them that there was very nearly a
lynching. Robinson, now sobered by his fears,
clearly foresaw that terrible would be his punish-
33

Algonquin Indian Tales
ment, and while the Indians and traders turned to
attend to Mary's wounds the wretched husband
stealthily slipped away into the forest and was never
again seen there. Rumors, however, at length
reached Mary that he had fled away to the dis
tant 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 was caught
in some treacherous rapids and carried over the wild
and picturesque Ka-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 back had so curved that
she looked like a hunchback. As she was poor, and
utterly unable either to hunt or to fish, we helped her
in various ways. She was always grateful for kind
ness, and in return was very willing to do what she
could for us. She was exceedingly clever with her
needle, and with a little instruction was soon able
to assist with the sewing required. However, what
especially won her to us and gave her a permanent
place in our home, was her great love and devotion
to our little ones.
Little Sagastao was only a few months old when
she installed herself as his nurse, and for years she
was a most watchful and devoted as well as self-
sacrificing guardian of our children in that Northern
home. She seemed to live and think solely for them.
At times, especially in the matter of parental dis
cipline, there would be collisions between Mary and
the mother of the children ; for the nurse, with her
34

"The wild and picturesque Ka-ka-be-ka Falls.'

Algonquin Indian Tales
disc-Hi ^r^ C°Uld n0t aCcept °f the Position of a
ip ned servant, nor could she quietly witness
the punishment of children whom she thought abso
lutely perfect. Hence, if she could not have things
exactly as she wanted them, Mary would now and
then allow her fiery temper to obtain the mastery,
and springing up in a rage and throwing a shawl
over her head she would fly out of the house and
be gone for days.
Her mistress paid no attention to these outbursts.
She well knew that when Mary had cooled down
she would return, and it was often amusing to see
the way in which she would attract the children's at
tention to her, peering around tree or corner, and
then come meekly walking in with them as though
they had only been for a pleasant outing of an hour
or so.
"Well, Mary," would be the greeting of her mis
tress, while Mary's quiet response would be the In
dian greeting of, "Wat cheer!"
Then things would go on as usual for perhaps an
other six months, when Mary would 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 as soft
as kid, and beautifully embroidered with silk and
bead work. Not a spot could appear upon their gar
ments without Mary's notice, and as she always
kept changes ready she was frequently disrobing and
dressing them up. 35

Algonquin Indian Tales
When Souwanas and Jakoos came that morning
and picked up the children Mary happened to be in
another room. Had she been present she would
doubtless have interfered in their movements. As
it was, when she missed the children her indigna
tion knew no bounds, and only the most emphatic
commands of her mistress restrained her from rush
ing after them. All day long she had to content
herself with muttering her protests while, as usual,
she was busily employed with her needle. When,
however, the two stalwart Indians returned in the
evening with the children on their shoulders the
storm broke, and Mary's murmurings, at first mere
protests, became loud and furious when the happy
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 even annoy
ance under her scathing words, but, with the stoical
nature of their race, they quietly endured her wrath.
This they were much better prepared to do since
neither of the parents of the white children seemed
in the slightest degree disturbed by their long
absence or the tirade of the indignant nurse. With
high-bred courtesy they patiently listened to all that
Mary had to say, and when the storm had spent
itself they turned and noiselessly retired.
The children were worn out with their day's ad
venture, and their mother intimated 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 in the afternoons and keep
36

Algonquin Indian Tales
them appareled in their brightest costumes during
the rest of the day; therefore now the weary chil
dren, after being bathed, were again dressed in their
best and brought out for inspection and a light sup
per before retiring. The bath and the supper had
so refreshed them that when Mary had tucked them
into their beds they were wide awake and asked her
to tell them a story. But sleep was what they
needed now more than anything else, and she tried
to quiet them without any further words, but so
thoroughly aroused were they that they declared
that if she refused they knew somebody who would
be glad to have them visit him again, and that he
would tell them lots of beautiful things.
This hint that they might return to the wigwam
of Souwanas was too much for Mary, who very
freely gave utterance to her sentiments about him.
The children gallantly came to the defense of the
old Indian and also of Nanahboozhoo, of whom
Mary spoke most slightingly, saying that he was a
mean fellow who ought to be ashamed of many of
his tricks.
"Well," replied Sagastao, "if you will tell us bet
ter stories than those Souwanas 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 are many stories better than
those of his old Nanahboozhoo."
"Won't it be fun to see whose stories we like the
37

Algonquin Indian Tales
best, Mary's or Souwanas's !" said Minnehaha, who
foresaw an interesting rivalry.
Mary had now committed herself, and so, almost
without realizing what it would come to, she found
herself pitted against Souwanas, the great story
teller of the tribe. However, being determined that
Souwanas should not rob her of the love of the chil
dren, she was tempted to begin her story-telling even
though the children were exhausted, and so it was
that when the lad asked a question Mary was ready.
"Say, Mary," said Sagastao, "the mosquitoes bit
us badly to-day. Do you know why it is that there
are such troublesome little things? Is there any
story about them?"
"Yes. Wakonda, one of the strange spirits, sent
them," said Mary; "because a woman was lazy and
would not keep the clothes of her husband and
children clean 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 deer
skins, there was a man whose name was Pug-a-
mah-kon. He was an industrious fellow, and had
often to work a good deal in dirty places. The re
sult was that, although he had several suits 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 and resmoke them as often
as they needed it. But she neglected her work and
would go off gossiping among her neighbors. Her
husband was patient with her for a time, but at
38

Algonquin Indian Tales
length, when he heard that Wakonda was coming
to pay a visit to the people, to see how they were get
ting along, he began to bestir himself so as to be
decently attired, in clean, handsome apparel, to meet
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 had gathered on his gar
ments. She was so lazy that it was only from fear
of a beating that she ever did make any attempt to
do as he desired. She took the garments and began
to clean them, but she was in a bad humor and did
her work in such a slovenly and half-hearted way
that there was but very little change for the better
after the pretended cleaning.
"When the news was circulated that Wakonda
was coming, the husband prepared to dress him
self in his best apparel, but great indeed was his
anger and disgust when he found that the garments
which he had hoped to wear were still disgracefully
grimy. "While the angry husband was chiding the wom
an for her indolence Wakonda suddenly appeared.
To him the man appealed, and asked for his advice
in the matter.
"Wakonda quickly responded, and said : 'A lazy,
gossiping wife is not only a disgrace to her husband,
she is annoying to all around her; and so it will be
in this case.'
"Then Wakonda told her husband to take some
39

Algonquin Indian Tales
of the dirt which still clung to his garments, which
she was supposed to have cleansed, and to throw it
at her. This the man did, and the particles of dirt
at once changed into mosquitoes. And so, ever
since, especially in the warm days and nights
of early summer when the mosquitoes with their
singing and stinging come around to trouble us,
we are reminded of this lazy, slovenly woman, who
was not only a trial to her husband, but by her lack
of industry and care brought such a scourge upon
all the people."
"Didn't Wakonda do anything else?" murmured
the little lad; but that blessed thing called sleep
now enfolded both the little ones, and with mutter-
ings of "Nanahboozhoo — Wakonda — Souwanas —
Mary" — they were soon far away in childhood's
happy dreamland.

40

Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER III.

More about Mary and the Chil
dren — Minnehaha Stung by the
"ixNV Bees— How the Bees Got
(ajC Their Stings — What Hap
pened to the Bears that
Tried to Steal the Honey.
!~ HE next morning while Mary was
dressing them the children told her
of their adventures in the wigwam of the In
dians. Mary was really interested, though
she pretended to be disgusted at the whole
thing, and professed, in her Indian way, to be
quite shocked when they both confidentially in
formed her that they had had such a good time
that they were going again even if they had to run
away and be whipped for it.
This was terrible news for Mary, and placed her
in an awkward position. To tell the parents of the
children's resolve was something she would never
do, as it might bring down upon them some of the
punishment which was quite contrary to her prin
ciples. Yet, on the other hand, to let them go and
to give no information might cause more trouble
than she liked to think of.
Neither could she bear the thought of the two chil
dren returning from another day's outing with their
neat clothing and pretty faces soiled and dirty. Do
41

Algonquin Indian Tales
as they might, she had never once informed on them,
and she had no mind to begin now. She earnestly
pleaded with them not to carry out their resolve.
The little ones were shrewd enough to see that they
had thoroughly alarmed her, and they were in no
hurry to surrender the power which they saw they
had over her.
Mary never said a word in English. She under
stood a good deal that others said, but she never
expressed herself in other than the Indian language.
Hence both little Sagastao and Minnehaha always
talked with her in her own tongue.
Minnehaha, seeing Mary's anxiety at their de
termination to run away to the Indians, thought of
compromising the matter by insisting that Mary
should tell them more tales. If she would do this
they "would not run away very soon;" especially
did she emphasize the "very soon." This was hardly
satisfactory to Mary, but as it was the best promise
she could get she was obliged to consent.
Little Sagastao, who was Mary's favorite, once
more unsettled her when he said, "Now, Mary, re
member, we have only promised not to run away
very soon. That means that we intend to do it some
time." It seems that the little conspirators had talked it
all over in the morning in their beds, and had de
cided how they would get stories out of Mary with
out really promising not to run away to the wigwam
of Souwanas.
The children, being dressed, were taken down by
42

Algonquin Indian Tales
Mary to prayers and breakfast, after which an hour
was allowed in summer-time for outdoor amusement
before the lessons began. Little Sagastao gener
ally spent his hour, either with his father or some
trusty Indian, playing with and watching the gam
bols of the great dogs, of which not a few were kept
at that mission home. Minnehaha was with her
mother, and was interested in the bestowal of
gifts to the poor widows and children who gen
erally came at that hour.
Owing to the isolated situation of the mission,
and the fact that there were no organized schools
within hundreds of miles, some hours of the fore
noon were devoted to the education of the children
in the home. The afternoons, according to the sea
son, were devoted to reading and amusement.
Mary, the nurse, while able to read fluently in the
Cree syllabics, had no knowledge of English. As
the children's education progressed they wanted to
teach Mary. She stubbornly resisted, however, de
claring that if they taught her to read English they
would want to make her talk it.
The mother noted the unusual expectancy mani
fested by the children during the day, and on inquir
ing the reason was promptly informed that Mary
had promised 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 the emphasis which they had
placed on the word.
The little mischiefs were cunning enough to see
43

Algonquin Indian Tales
that they had nearly run themselves into trouble,
and were wisely silent. Mary also noticed this, and
at once her great loyalty to the little folk manifested
itself, and quickly turning to her mistress she said,
with an emphasis which was quite unusual :
"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 an inkling of what was in the
minds of the children, yet she had such peculiar
ideas that she would never herself be the one to
convey that information.
During the brief summer months the pleasantest
walks were along the shores of the lake. Many
were the cosy little cave-like retreats where Mary
often led the children. There, with the sunlit waters
before them, and the rippling waves making music
at their feet, the old nurse crooned out many an
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 not select
any story that she thought of sufficient interest to
divert their minds from Souwanas and Nanahbooz
hoo. So for a time they wandered on along the
pleasant shore, or turned aside to gather the brilliant
wild flowers. 44

Algonquin Indian Tales
A scream of pain from Minnehaha interrupted
their pleasure. In gathering some wild lilies she
was stung on both hands by some honey bees that
were in the flowers. Mary quickly made a batter
of clay and bound up the wounded hands in it.
Then she sat down and took the child in her lap.
"Naughty bees to sting me like this," said Min
nehaha, with tears streaming down her cheeks. "I
was not doing them any harm."
"Yes, you were, and so were we all," said the
brother. "We were carrying off the flowers from
which they get their honey, which is their food."
"Well, they might let us have a few flowers with
out stinging us," replied Minnehaha.
The intense pain of the stings rapidly abated un
der Mary's homely but skillful treatment, and as
the child still retained her place in Mary's lap she
said, "Can you tell us why such pretty little things as
bees have such terrible stings? My hands felt as
if they were on fire when I was first stung, and I
could not help crying out with the pain."
"Well," said Mary, "there was a time when the
bees had no stings, and they were as harmless as the
house flies. They were just as industrious as they
are now, but they had any amount of trouble in
keeping their honey from being stolen from them,
for every creature loves it.
"In vain they hid their combs away up in hollow
trees and in the clefts of high rocks. The bears,
which are very fond of honey, were ever on the look-
45

Algonquin Indian Tales
out for it, and were very clever in getting it when
once they found where it was hidden away. Birds
with long beaks would suck it out, and even the lit
tle squirrels were always stealing it. The result was
that whole swarms often starved in the long winters,
because all their honey, which is their winter food,
was stolen from them. The bees were in danger of
being destroyed. They gave up working in great
numbers together, and scattered into little com
panies, and in the most secret places tried to
store away a little honey, just enough to keep them
alive from season to season. But even these little
hives were often discovered and the honey devoured.
"Things had come to such a pass with them that
they had almost given up hope of lasting much
longer. "Fortunately for them, word was circulated that
Wakonda, the strong spirit — the one who sent the
mosquitoes — was coming around on a tour, to see
how everything was progressing. He was greater
than even Nanahboozhoo, and was perhaps a rela
tive of his, but he very seldom appeared, or did any
thing for anyone. However, it happened that he
had this year left his beautiful home at Spirit Lake
and was journeying through the country, and he
was willing to help all who were in real distress.
"So the bees resolved to apply to him for help.
Wakonda received them very graciously, and ate
heartily of the present of beautiful honey which
some of them had made and had succeeded in keep
ing out of the way of bears and their other enemies.
46

Algonquin Indian Tales
"When his feast of honey was over he listened
to their tales of sorrow and woe. He was indig
nant when he heard of the numbers of their enemies,
and of the persistency of their attacks upon such
industrious little creatures.
"For a time Wakortda was uncertain as to the
best method to adopt to help them. He dismissed
them for that day, and told them to come again on
a day he mentioned, saying that by that time he
would know just what to do — for help them he
would. The bees were so delighted with this news
that they could not keep it to themselves but must
go and tell their cousins, the wasps and hornets, and
even bumblebees.
"When the appointed time arrived the bees were
on hand — and so were the wasps, hornets, and
bumblebees. Wakonda welcomed the bees most
kindly, but was a little suspicious about their visitors,
and he asked some sharp questions. But the bees
were in such good humor about the help that was
coming 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 loved them
for their industrious habits, which he wished all
creatures had. He praised 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 had ever since, and as the
wasps and hornets claimed to be their cousins Wa
konda was good-natured enough to give them the
47

Algonquin Indian Tales
same sort of weapons. Some people, especially
boys, think this was a great mistake, and would be
very glad if Wakonda had refused to give stings to
the yellow wasp and the black 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, hol
low tree, and using a big knot hole as the door began
secreting their honey in it. They had made the
combs, and were now filling them, when along came
a couple of bears. These animals, as you have been
told, are great honey thieves, but they always had
hard work to find where the timid bees had cun
ningly hid it away, and now they could hardly be
lieve that right here before them was a great swarm
of bees filling the air with their buzzing as they flew
in and out of the knot hole.
"With saucy assurance they at once began climb
ing the tree, expecting to be able to put their long
paws into that big hole and draw out the combs.
But they never reached that knot hole. The noise
they made in their climbing alarmed the bees. Out
they came in great numbers, and now, instead of
flying around in a panic, like so many house flies,
and seeing their honey devoured, they at once flew
at their enemies, the bears. They stung them on
their noses and about their eyes and lips, and indeed
in every spot where they could possibly reach them
with their terrible new weapons. 48

'They howled with rage and terror.

Algonquin Indian Tales
"The bears could not make out what the trouble
was. They howled with rage and terror, yet they
were resolved to get that honey, and still tried to
crawl up higher on the tree. But at length the bees
mustered in such vast numbers — for those away
gathering honey, as they returned, joined in the at
tack — that the bears became wild with pain and
fear, and had to give up their 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 dark forest for relief.
"Thus it happens now that almost all creatures
that bother the bees are similarly treated."
"Well," said Minnehaha, "they need not have
stung me because I was picking a few flowers ; but,
after all, I am glad they have their stings or I
suppose we should never have any honey."
"They are not big enough to have much sense,"
replied Sagastao, "and so they go for everyone that
gets in their way."
Mary now carefully removed the clay poultices,
which had effectually done their work. A wash
followed, in the waters of the lake which rippled at
their feet, and soon not the slightest trace of the
sting remained. By the time 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 a story
that he had heard from Souwanas about a naughty
fellow, called Maheigan, who tried to capture a
49

Algonquin Indian Tales
beautiful kind-hearted maiden, Waubenoo, and of
how Nanahboozhoo thrashed him, and then after
ward, because of some naughty children not holding
their tongues, Waubenoo was turned into the
Whisky Jack.
What the little children overheard had very much
excited their curiosity, and so when Mary was put
ting them to bed they demanded from her the full
story. As this was one of the Saulteaux Indian legends,
while Mary was a Cree, she was not familiar with it.
She told the children that she knew nothing about
it, but this by no means set their curiosity at rest.

So

Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER IV.
The Love Story of Wakontas— His Test of the Two
Maidens— His Choice— The Transformation of Misticoosis.
FEW days later Mary was annoyed
by having the children tell her
frankly that they did not think she
was a first-class story-teller. For
if she had been she ought to have
been able to answer Minnehaha's
question about what Nanahbooz-
'hoo did to Maheigan when he
tried to catch Waubenoo.
Mary was vexed at herself that
she was unable to answer the ques
tion, for she well knew that the
children would not rest satisfied until they had the
story told them by some one, possibly Souwanas
himself. Indeed, knowing them so well, she had fully
resolved to post herself from one of the noted story
tellers who have all the Indian legends at their
tongue tips. But as yet she was ignorant in this
matter, and therefore fell considerably in the chil
dren's estimation. Mary was somewhat hurt by no
ticing, perhaps for the first time, Sagastao and Min
nehaha whispering confidentially to each other. The
children conversed with Mary only in her own lan-

Algonquin Indian Tales
guage, which at that time they perhaps understood
better than they did English. Now, much to Mary's
annoyance, their confidential whisperings were car
ried on in English. Being sensitive and quick
tempered, when she saw this sudden break in their
affections toward her she was inclined to resent it,
and asked the reason 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 tell us better stories, and
ones which you know all about, we're going to run
away to the wigwam of Souwanas."
This was humiliating and distressing news. Mary
fancied she had told them a good story, and that
with a few others like it she could satisfy their curi
osity and keep them at home until the brief summer
would have passed. Not so, however, thought the
children. They saw their advantage and were re
solved to keep it, and when their lessons were over
and they were left entirely in the charge of Mary
they taxed the little woman in a way that obliged
her to exercise all her gifts as a story-teller, and she
was far from being a poor one.
One day she took them out in a graceful birch
canoe among the picturesque islands. They landed
on one of these islands, and spent some time in ex
ploring its beauties and resting where grew a pro
fusion of the fragrant Indian grass. They were
for a time much interested in the various wild birds
that then were so numerous and fearless. Beautiful
52

The startling placard.

' While her mate, in fearless confidence, stood on
guard beside her."

Algonquin Indian Tales
gulls of different varieties were there nesting, and
by following Mary's directions the children were
delighted to find that they could approach very near
to the nests of some of them without disturbing the
mother bird while her mate, in fearless confidence,
stood on guard beside her.
"Now, Mary, hurrah for a story !" cried the chil
dren, as they sat at lunch.
While Mary was wondering what she would tell
them, Minnehaha, with all the restless, inquisitive
spirit of childhood, noticing the ceaseless rustling
movements of the leaves in the stately northern pop
lar while the leaves of all the other trees were so
still, said:
"Why is it, Mary, that even while the leaves on
the other trees are so quiet those almost round ones
are ever stirring?"
Mary knew the Indian legend, and at once pro
ceeded to narrate it.
"It is believed by our people," said Mary, "that
there are other persons just as clever as Nanah
boozhoo, and as able to do wonderful things, but
they 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 say
it is always sunshine. Many strange things have
been told about them, but everybody says they are
kind-hearted, and never did anything to injure any
of our people unless it was well deserved. The story
is that long ago one of these sons of Wakonda,
whose name was Wakontas, could not find a wife
S3

Algonquin Indian Tales
to suit him in his own beautiful country, and so he
came to the regions where the Indians dwelt.
"For a long time he wandered throughout great
regions of country before he found anyone who in
terested him. However, in his journeyings Wakon
tas went into the wigwam of some Indians where
there were two lovely maidens, so very beautiful
that he fell in love with both of them. He was in
the disguise of a very fine-looking young hunter. So
clever was he in the use of his bow and arrow that
at the end of every hunting excursion he returned
laden with the richest spoils of the chase. He fell
more and more in love with the two girls, and know
ing, of course, that he could only get one of them
he found a great difficulty in making his choice. He
had already gone to the girl's father, and after find
ing out from him the price demanded for his daugh
ter, without mentioning which one, very quickly
by his magic powers he obtained the heavy price
and laid it at the father's feet. Both of the girls
seemed equally pleased with him, and each one se
cretly hoped that she might be the object of his
choice. Still he hesitated, and although he tried
many experiments yet they so nearly equaled each
other in cleverness and beauty that he was still un
decided. However, there was a great difference in
their dispositions. While one was proud and jeal
ous, and had a very bitter tongue, the other was
just the opposite; while one was very selfish, the
other was generous and kindhearted. But Wakon
tas was not able to find this out at first, and after he
54

Algonquin Indian Tales
had considered various plans he decided that he
would put on one of his many disguises and thus
try them.
"So he started off as though going on a hunting
expedition, but soon after he was out of sight he
quickly assumed the form of a poor and aged In
dian, and came to the home of these two beautiful
sisters, and asked for assistance. Wakontas chose
a time when he knew the rest of the family were
away from the wigwam, in order that he might see
how the two sisters would act 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 this rough-
looking old beggar-man in their midst. The selfish,
proud girl, whose name was Misticoosis, at once be
gan assailing him, and cried, 'Auwasta kena!' (Get
out; go away, you!)
"In vain he pleaded that he was aged and hungry.
She would not listen to him.
"Omemee, the other young Indian maiden, who
had not said a word, but had been pitying him from
the first moment she saw how feeble and sad he
looked, now interfered, and remonstrated with her
sister, whose tongue kept up a constant stream of
abuse. Taking the old man to her side of the wig
wam she seated him on a rug of deerskins and
then built up before him a bright fire. Then she
quickly brought in venison, cooked it nicely, and
gave him the broth for drink and the meat for food.
He thanked her gratefully, but she checked his
55

Algonquin Indian Tales
words and said that her greatest joy was in making
others happy. Not satisfied with what she had done,
and noticing that his shoes were old and worn, she
took out of her beaded workbag a pair of splendidly
worked moccasins, and put them on his feet.
"All this time, while this good-hearted, generous
Omemee was treating the poor old man so kindly,
the proud, selfish Misticoosis was talking as hard
and as fast as she could against such deeds of kind
ness to all old people. In her opinion, when they
had got so old and helpless as that old fellow was,
they ought to be killed by their relatives.
"The old man again expressed his thanks to the
kind sister, and then went his way.
"Soon the girls began to think of arraying them
selves for the return of their friend and lover. The
proud, selfish Misticoosis spent all the time in fixing
herself up in the most elaborate manner. She had
lately become quite jealous of her sister, and she was
resolved to so outshine her in appearance that the
handsome young hunter would surely prefer her.
But Omemee (a name which means a dove) thought
to herself:
" 'My father and mother and the rest of the fam
ily will soon be returning to the wigwam, tired and
hungry, and the best thing I can do will be to have
a good dinner ready for them all.' So, only taking
time to comb and brush her luxuriant hair and make
herself neat and tidy for her work, she set about
cooking the meal. She skillfully prepared venison
and bear's meat, and the finest of fish.
56

Algonquin Indian Tales
"Hardly had she finished her work and seen
everything nicely cooked before she heard the happy
shoutings of her younger brothers, and the sweet
birdcalls of her little sisters.
"As Omemee and her sister Misticoosis hurried
out to greet them they were surprised to see the
handsome stranger gliding along in his beautiful
canoe alongside of the larger one of the family. Of
course, the sight of their lover excited the two girls.
Misticoosis, who had spent all the hours in arraying
herself in her finery and adornment, boldly thrust
herself to the front, and crowded out the modest
Omemee, who was flushed by the busy work of cook
ing the dinner, and was wisely dressed in a costume
which harmonized with her face and with the work
in which she had been engaged so industriously.
"The instant the handsome young Indian landed
— fancy the amazement of the two girls to notice
that he had on his feet the same beautiful moccasins
that, 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, and said :
" 'As an old, weary man, I came to your wigwam
a few hours ago. Misticoosis gave me nothing but
abuse, yet my only crime was that I was old. Her
tongue went on and on without stopping, and all of
her words were words of abuse for 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 sit down on a couch of
deerskins, that he might rest his tired limbs. She
57

Algonquin Indian Tales
built a fire and warmed him. She took of the best
of the venison, and made him food and drink, and
then ere he left she put on his feet the most beautiful
of her moccasins. All her gifts to the unknown old
man were the best 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 made my choice. Two
beautiful maidens for a time divided my heart.
There is no division now. By testing them I have
found out that only one is lovely within.
" 'That no man may have to put up through life
with the unceasing clatter of the tongue of Misti
coosis, she will be from this time the unbeautiful
aspen tree, while her tongue shall be the leaves that
will never again be still even 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 restless and unquiet.'
"And even while he was speaking, Misticoosis,
who was amazed and ashamed at the words he
spoke, became rooted to the ground, and gradually
turned into an 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's choice!'
"Saying this, the handsome hunter opened his
arms, and Omemee sprang toward him. For a mo
ment he held her in his arms ; then he said :
58

Algonquin Indian Tales
" 'I am Wakontas, and to the beautiful home of
Wakontas thou shalt be taken.'
"Then there was a wonderful transformation; as
quickly as a butterfly bursts from its chrysalis, so
suddenly was Omemee transformed into a beautiful
dove and the hunter as quickly assumed the same
lovely form. Together they arose into the air, and
flew away to the unknown but beautiful home of
Wakontas, in the land of perpetual sunshine."

59

Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER V.
The Startling Placard— What Happened to the Little Run
aways — The Rescue — Mary Tells Them the Legend of the
Swallows — How Some Cruel Men were Punished
who Teased an Orphan Boy.
HEN Mary entered the children's
bedroom one bright, pleasant
morning she was amazed at find
ing both of the beds empty and
a piece of foolscap paper pinned
to the dressing table. The writ
ing on it was beyond her power
to read. She remembered now
that the children had begged her
not to come very early in the
morning to wake them up, and
as their requests were as a law
she had lingered as long as she dared, and indeed
had only gone to call them when her mistress
had asked the reason for their nonappearance.
Not until 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, she was very much troubled, and yet such
was her loyalty to the children that she hesitated
about letting the parents know what had occurred.
She was fully aware that she could not long keep
60

Algonquin Indian Tales
the startling news from them, and yet she was still
resolved that never should any information be im
parted by her that might bring down upon them any
punishment, no matter how much deserved.
It was a long, rough trail through the primitive
forest to the wigwam of Souwanas. How long the
children had been away she could not tell. Mary,
with Indian shrewdness, had felt their beds, and
had found them both quite cold, so she knew the
little mischiefs had been off at least an hour. She
interrogated not. only the maid in the kitchen but
also Kennedy, the man of all work, outside. Neither
of them had seen or heard anything of the children,
and as they did not share Mary's ideas the escapade
of the children was soon known.
The parents were naturally alarmed when they
heard the news. At once the father, accompanied
by Kennedy and the dogs, Jack and Cuffy, started
off on the trail of the runaways. The intelligent
dogs, having been shown a couple of garments re
cently worn by the missing boy and girl and being
told to find them, at once took up the trail in the
direction of the wigwam of Souwanas, running with
such rapidity that if they had not been restrained by
the voice of their master they would very quickly
have left him and his Indian attendant far behind.
At length, with a sudden start, both dogs, growl
ing ominously, dashed off ahead, utterly regardless
of all efforts made by their master to restrain them.
This suspicious conduct on the part of the dogs of
course alarmed the father and his Indian companion,
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Algonquin Indian Tales
and as rapidly as the rough trail would allow they
hurried on in the direction taken by the dogs. Soon
their ears were greeted by a chorus of loud and
angry yelping. Fear gave speed to both the men,
and soon they dashed out from the forest into the
opening of an Indian's clearing. Here was a sight
that filled them with alarm, and almost terror.
Standing on a pile of logs were little Sagastao and
Minnehaha. Sagastao erect and fearless, with a
club about as large as an ordinary cane,
while behind him, leaning against a high fallen
log, was Minnehaha. Surrounding them were sev
eral fierce, wolfish Indian dogs, among whom Jack
and 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 the children.
"Ha! ha! hurrah for our Jack and Cuffy; aren't
they the boss dogs !" shouted the fearless little run
aways, and now that the victory was won they
nimbly sprang down from their high retreat and,
apparently without the slightest fear, congratulated
both their father and the Indian on the superiority
of their own dogs.
Trembling with anxiety, the anxious father,
thankful at the narrow escape of his children, as he
clasped them in his arms could not but be amazed
at the indifference of the little ones to the great
danger from which they had just escaped. After
petting Jack and Cuffy for their great bravery and
courage the return journey was begun, much to the
62

Algonquin Indian Tales
regret of the children, who pleaded hard to be al
lowed to resume their trip to the wigwam of Sou
wanas to hear the stories of Nanahboozhoo.
The father was perfectly amazed at this request,
and of course it was sternly refused. He had started
off in pursuit of the runaways with a resolve to
punish them for this serious breach of home disci
pline, but his alarm at their danger and his thankful
ness for their escape had so stirred him that he could
not punish them nor even chide them at the time.
All he could do was to bring them safely home again
and, as usual in such emergencies, turn them over
to the tender mercies of their mother.
Sturdily the children marched on ahead for a
while, then Kennedy, the Indian, took Minnehaha
in his arms. He had not carried her many hundred
yards before the weary little one fell fast asleep,
softly muttering as she slipped off into the land of
dreams, "Wanted to hear about Nanahboozhoo."
Great was the excitement at home when the party
returned. Sagastao rushed into the arms of his
mother, and without the slightest idea of having done
anything wrong began most dramatically to describe
how "our Jack and Cuffy thrashed those naughty
Eskimo dogs" that chased Minnehaha and him upon
that great pile of logs. Mary in the meantime had
taken from Kennedy's arms the still sleeping Minne
haha,' and almost smothered her with kisses as she
bore her away to bed.
There was great perplexity on the part of the
parents to know just what to do to impress upon
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Algonquin Indian Tales
the little ones that they had been very naughty in
thus running away, for it was very evident from the
utterances of both that they had not considered the
matter in that light. Now, in view of the weariness
of Minnehaha, it was decided to leave the matter of
discipline in abeyance until a little of the excitement
had passed away.
In the meantime Sagastao was ready to talk with
everybody about the whole affair. It seems that he
and Minnehaha had decided that Mary was "no
good" in telling stories. He said her stories neither.
frightened them nor made them cry, but Souwanas
was the boss man to tell Nanahboozhoo stories. He
said they got up before anybody was stirring, that
morning, and dressed themselves so quietly that no
body heard them. They remembered the trail along
which Souwanas and Jakoos had carried them.
After they had walked for some time they came to
where there was a larger trail, and they turned into
it, and came upon a lot of dogs that had been chasing
some rabbits. Soon the rabbits got away from the
dogs, when they reached those trees that had been
chopped down. Minnehaha was the first to notice
that the dogs had turned 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 I jumped up on the logs,
and we climbed up as high as we could, and I took
up a stick, and then I stood up with Minnehaha be-
64

Algonquin Indian Tales
hind me, and I shook the stick 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 of the others on the ground
kept barking at us. But I kept shouting back at
them, 'A wus, atimuk!' My! it was great fun.
Then all at once we heard Jack and Cuffy, and, I
tell you ! soon there was more fun, when our big dogs
sprang at them. Every time an Eskimo was tackled
by Jack or Cuffy he went down, and was soon howl
ing from the way in which he was shaken. And
they had nearly thrashed the whole of them when
papa and Kennedy came rushing up. I wished they
had been there sooner, to have seen all the fun."
Thus the lad's tongue rattled on, while it was evi
dent he was utterly unconscious of the danger they
had been in.
After some deliberation it was decided that, in
view of this runaway being the first offense of the
kind, the punishment should be confinement to their
own room the next day, until six o'clock in the even
ing, on a diet of bread 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 and mistress's presence. She managed to
hold her tongue, but her flashing eyes and an occa
sional mutter, which would come out as she went
about her usual duties, showed the smoldering fire
that was burning inside. The children had been
duly lectured for their breach of discipline and then,
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Algonquin Indian Tales
that evening, consigned to their room for their im
prisonment which was to last until the next even
ing. That night Mary took up her mattress and
blankets and went and slept on the floor between
the two beds of the children, and in spite of orders,
so the maid said, she secretly carried up a goodly
sized bundle from the kitchen.
The day was one of unusual quietness, as the
lively pair, who generally kept the house full of
music, were now supposed to be away in humiliation
and disgrace. All regretted that the punishment
had to be inflicted and the children made to realize
their naughtiness in thus running away, and all
were looking forward to the hour of six o'clock
with pleasant anticipation. When it arrived word
was sent to the children that their hours of imprison
ment were over, and that they were to present them
selves in the library. Quick and prompt was the
response, and noisily and hurriedly the two darlings
came rushing down the stairs, followed by Mary.
They were arrayed in their most beautiful apparel,
and were evidently prepared by their nurse to go
with her for a walk.
The father, feeling that it was necessary, began
to make a few remarks expressive of regret that he
had thus been obliged to punish them, when he was
interrupted by little Sagastao with the honest and
candid remark, spoken in a way which, while per
fectly fearless, was yet devoid of all rudeness or
impertinence :
"O, father dear, you needn't feel badly about us

Algonquin Indian Tales
at all, as Mary has been with us all day and has told
us lovely stories."
"And Mary brought us taffy candy," broke in
darling Minnehaha, with equal candor; "and some
currant cakes and other nice things, so we got on
very well after all."
These candid utterances on the part of the two
children not only amazed but amused the parents,
and were another revelation of Mary's wonderful
love for the children and her defiance of disciplinary
measures which she thought might cause the slight
est pain or sorrow. And here she stood in the open
door, and as soon as their father's words and their
own rather startling "confessions" were ended she
called them to her and away they went for a long
walk along the beautiful shore of the lake, leaving
their parents to conjecture whether the punishment
that had been inflicted would produce any very
salutary results.
When the children were gathered that evening in
the study with their parents little Sagastao said :
"Papa, Minnehaha and I have been talking it all
over with Mary and she has shown us that it was
naughty on our parts to run away as we did; and
we are sorry that we did anything that caused you
and mamma sorrow and anxiety about us, and so,
. . . Well, we know you will forgive us." And as
the four little arms went twining around the parents'
necks there was joy and gladness all round, and it
was evident that there was no danger of the
escapade being repeated. 67

Algonquin Indian Tales
The following are a couple of the legends that
Mary told them while they were prisoners in their
own room that day.
THE LEGEND OF THE SWALLOWS.
"Long ago," said Mary, "there were some Indian
families who lived on the top of a very high hill, like
a mountain. They had quite a number of small
children, and I am sorry to say they were very
naughty and would often disobey their parents. One
of their bad deeds was to run away, and thus make
the father and mother very unhappy until they re
turned. Their parents were very much afraid that
some of the Windegoos or wild animals would catch
them when they thus ran away by themselves, with
no strong man to guard 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 and arrows,
and other things, that ought to have amused them
and kept them happy 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 so powerless to prevent it,
that they decided to appeal to the Indian Council for
assistance. For a time the stern commands of the
Chief were listened to and obeyed. Then they
neglected his words, and about as frequently as ever
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Algonquin Indian Tales
they were found playing truant from their homes
and parents.
"At length, on one occasion when they had all
run away and had been off for several days and
could not be found, their fathers and mothers called
upon Wakonda to look for them and to send them
home. Wakonda was very angry when he heard
about these naughty children running away so much,
and so he set off in a hurry to find them. After a
long search he discovered them on the bank of a
muddy river making mud huts and mud animals.
He was so angry at them that he at once turned
them into swallows, and said, 'From this time for
ward you will ever be wanderers and your homes
will always be made of mud,' and so it has been."
"I say, Mary, did you remember that yarn be
cause 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, and she did not answer Sa-
gastao's question, although in her heart she was not
sorry if he saw something in the legend that would
deter him from again running 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 orphan grandson. All of her
other relatives were dead. This boy was a very in
dustrious little fellow, and did all that he could to
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Algonquin Indian Tales
help his grandmother. They both had to work very
hard to have sufficient to keep them from starving.
Together they would go out in their canoe and catch
fish. 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 partly of rabbitskins and
partly of the skins of birds. When he was not busy
helping his grandmother he, like other little boys,
was pleased to go out and play with the other chil
dren of the village. Some of the men of the village
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 would return to the wig
wam of his grandmother crying and weeping be
cause the men of the village had not only teased him
on account of his poor clothing but had almost torn
his coat into pieces. His grandmother entreated
the men to stop teasing the poor boy, who could not
help his poverty. She would patiently mend his
poor torn clothes and try to cheer him up with the
hope that soon these foolish, cruel men would see
how wrong it was to treat him thus.
"But they only seemed to get worse instead of
better, and so the grandmother 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 very busy just then, but he
gave her some of his magical powers and told her
what to do when she reached her home.
"When she arrived there she found her grandson
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Algonquin Indian Tales
almost naked from the abuse of the cruel men, who,
finding that she was absent, had been more cruel
than ever to him. She then informed him that she
was able now to put a stop to all their cruel actions.
So she told him to dive into a pool of water that
was near at hand. He did as she had commanded,
and there he found an underground channel that
led out into the great lake.
"When he came up to the top of the water in the
lake he found himself transformed into a beautiful
seal. He at once begun playing about in the waves
as seals are often seen doing.
"It was not long before he was seen by the people
of the village, and, of course, the men were very
anxious to secure this valuable seal. Canoes were
quickly launched and away the men paddled with
their spears to try and capture it. But the boy, now
transformed into the seal, quickly swam away from
them, as instructed by his grandmother, and so kept
them busy paddling on and on farther from the
shore. When they seemed almost discouraged the
seal would suddenly dive down, and then reappear
in the water just behind them. Then, before the
men could turn around and spear him, he as sud
denly dived under the water again. The pursuit
was so exciting that these cruel men did not notice
how far out from land they had now come. They
did, however, after a time see their danger, for sud
denly a fierce gale sprang up, and the waves rose in
such fury that they upset the canoes and all of the
wicked men were drowned. When the old grand-
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Algonquin Indian Tales
mother saw this she once more exerted the magical
powers with which she had been intrusted by Wa
konda, and calling to her grandson to return home
he instantly complied with her request. He speedily
swam back to her, and she at once transformed him
into his human form.
"Thus freed from his tormentors, he very rapidly
grew up to manhood and became a great hunter, and
was kind to his grandmother as long as she lived."

72

Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER VI.
Souwanas Tells of the Origin and Queer Doings of
Nanahboozhoo — How He Lost His Brother Nahpootee,
the Wolf— Why the Kingfisher Wears a White Collar.
' HO was this Nanahboozhoo that
we are hearing so much about ?"
Thus was the old story-teller
addressed by Sagastao, who
always was anxious to 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 very well. So it is with Nanah
boozhoo. The long years that have
passed since he lived have, like the
fogs and mists, made it less easy to say
exactly who he really was, but I will
try to tell you. Nanahboozhoo was not from one
tribe only, but from all the Indians. Hence it is
that his very name is so different.
"The Ojibway call him Mishawabus — Great Rab
bit; the Menomini call him Manabush. He had
other names also. One tribe called him Jouskeha,
another Messou, another Manabozho, and another
Hiawatha. His father was Mudjekeewis, the West
Wind. There was an old woman named Nokomis,
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Algonquin Indian Tales
the granddaughter of the moon, who had a daughter
whose name was Wenonah. She was the mother of
twin boys, but at their birth she died and so did
one of the boys. Nokomis wrapped the living child
in soft dry grass, laid it on the ground at one end
of her wigwam, and placed over it a great wooden
bowl to 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
her wigwam. When she returned from thus laying
away her dead she sat down in her wigwam, and
for four days mourned her loss. At the end of that
time she heard a slight noise in her wigwam, which
she soon found came from that wooden bowl. Then
as the bowl moved she suddenly remembered the
living child, which she had forgotten in her great
grief at the loss of its mother. When she removed
the bowl from its place, instead of there being the
baby boy she had placed there she beheld a little
white rabbit, and on taking it up she said, 'O my
dear little rabbit, my Manabush!' Nokomis took
great care of it and it grew very rapidly.
"One day, when Manabush was quite large, it sat
up on its haunches and hopped slowly across the
floor of the wigwam, and caused the earth to
tremble. "When the bad Windegoos, or evil spirits who
dwell underground, felt the earth to thus tremble
they said, 'What is the matter? What has hap
pened? A great Munedoo (spirit) is born some
where.' And at once they began to devise means by
74

Algonquin Indian Tales
which they might kill Manabush, or Nanahboozhoo,
as he was now called, when they should find him.
"But Nanahboozhoo did not long continue to look
like a rabbit. As he was superior to other people he
could change himself to any form he liked. He was
most frequently seen as a fine strong young Indian
hunter. He called the people his uncles. When he
grew up he said to his grandmother, the old Noko
mis, that the time had come when he should prepare
himself to go and help his uncles, the people, to bet
ter their condition. This he was able to do, seeing
he was more than human, for his father was the
West Wind and his mother a great-granddaughter
of the moon. Sometimes he was the beautiful white
rabbit; then he would be a wqlf or a wolverine;
then he would be a lovely bird. He could even
change himself to look like a dry old stump or a
beautiful 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 just as
changeable in his disposition as in his outward ap
pearance. Sometimes he was doing the best things
imaginable for his uncles, the Indian people, and at
other times he was full of mischief and trickery.
But on the whole he was a friend, and although
quick-tempered and fiery yet he did lots of fine
things for the people, for he was really one of the
best of the Munedoos of the early times.
"When the time came for him to leave his grand
mother's wigwam he built one for himself, and then
he asked Nokomis to prepare for him the sacred
75

Algonquin Indian Tales
magical musical sticks which she alone could make.
His grandmother made him four sticks, and with
these he used to beat time when singing his queer
songs. 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 would
confer on his uncles. In one of them, referring to
his going to steal the fire 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 things for his uncles. He showed
them the plants and roots good for food, and taught
them the arts of surgery and medicine, but as the
years went by he did some things that caused him to
be feared very much. His uncles always went to
him when they got into trouble, but whether he
would help them or not depended much on the
humor he was in when they came.
"After he had lived for years in the first wigwam
which he had built, and taught the people of the
earth many things, his father, the West Wind, held
a council with the North Wind and the South Wind
76

The beautiful reflections in the water.

Algonquin Indian Tales
and the East Wind, and as Nanahboozhoo was never
married, and was living such a lonely life, they de
termined to restore to life, and give to reside with
him, his twin brother who had died at his birth.
The name of this brother was Nahpootee, which
means the Skillful Hunter. Nanahboozhoo was very
fond of him, and took great care of him. He grew
very rapidly, and he and Nanahboozhoo were very
great friends. Like Nanahboozhoo, Nahpootee
could disguise himself in any 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 to
Nanahboozhoo, he was too clever for them; and
although they often tried he generally worsted
them. Now they were doubly angry when they
heard that Nahpootee had been restored to life and
was living with him. Nanahboozhoo warned his
brother of their enmity, and of the necessity of being
on his guard against them.
"These brothers moved far away and built their
wigwam in a lonely country on the shore of a great
lake which is now called Mirror Lake, because of
its beautiful reflections. Here, as he was a hunter,
Nahpootee was kept busy supplying the wigwam
with food. Once, while he was away hunting, Na
nahboozhoo discovered that some of the evil Mune-
doos dwelt in the bottom of the very lake on the
shores of which they had built their wigwam. So
he warned his brother, Nahpootee, never to cross
77

Algonquin Indian Tales
that lake, but always to go around on the shore, and
for some time he remembered this warning and was
not attacked. But one cold winter day, when he
had been out for a long time hunting, he found him
self exactly on the opposite side of the lake from
the wigwam. The ice seemed strong, and as the
distance was shorter he decided that, rather than
walk around on the shore, he would cross on the ice.
When about half-way across the lake the ice broke,
he was seized by the evil Munedoos and drowned.
"When Nahpootee failed to return to the wigwam
Nanahboozhoo was filled with alarm 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 up among the
branches, Ookiskimunisew, the kingfisher.
" 'What are you doing there ?' asked Nanah
boozhoo. " 'The bad Munedoos have killed Nahpootee,'
Ookiskimunisew replied, 'and soon they are going
to throw his body up on the shore and I am going
to feast 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 collar to hang on your neck.'
"The kingfisher suspected that the speaker was
Nanahboozhoo, the brother of Nahpootee, and he
was afraid to descend.
" 'Come down, and have no fear,' said Nanah
boozhoo, in a friendly tone. T only want to give you
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Algonquin Indian Tales
this beautiful necklace to wear, with the white shell
hanging from it.'
"On hearing this the kingfisher came down, but
suspecting that Nanahboozhoo would be up to some
of his tricks he kept a sharp watch on him. Nanah
boozhoo placed the necklace about the neck of the
bird so that the beautiful white shell should be over
the breast. Then he pretended to tie the ends be
hind, but just as he had made a half knot in the
cord, and was going to tighten it and strangle the
bird, the latter was too quick for him and suddenly
slipped away and escaped. He kept the necklace,
however, and the 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 Nanahboozhoo and told him that, as his
death was the result of his own carelessness, in not
keeping on the land, he would not be restored to live
here, but was even now on his way to the Happy
Hunting Grounds, in the Land of the Setting Sun,
beyond the Great Mountains.
"Nanahboozhoo was deeply moved by the loss of
his brother, who had been such a pleasant companion
to him. So great was his grief that at times the
earth trembled and the evil spirits dwelling under
the land or water were much terrified, for they knew
they would be terribly punished by Nanahboozhoo
if he should ever get them in his power. But it was
a long time before he had an opportunity to get his
revenge on them for the death of his brother. How
he did it I will tell you at some future time."
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Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER VII.
The Legend of the Bad Boy — How He was Carried Away
by Annungitee, and How He was Rescued by His Mother.
ELL 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;
"for this morning brother and papa
had to have a 'settlement,' and it
might do Sagastao 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 Sagastao than she did
of any other member of the family, and nothing
threw her into a rage quicker than for anyone to
cross him or even to question the wisdom of any
thing he said. Now, indignant that his father had
been obliged to call him into his study for some mis
demeanor, Mary was greatly annoyed to hear these
words. "O, pshaw, SakeHow," said Sagastao; "do not
be so touchy. I deserved the talking to that papa
gave me. It was wrong of me to whack that Indian
boy with my bat as I did, and I ought to have been
punished; so if you have any jolly good stories
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Algonquin Indian Tales
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 always quick to admit that he
had been in the wrong, quite pacified Mary, and she
settled down on the wolfskin rug with the children
and began her story.

"Long ago all the Indians believed in Windegoos
and other spirits that were more 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 cannibals that they would never
leave the wigwam after dark for fear of being
gobbled up by some of the monsters that might be
skulking about.
"There was one great creature called Annun-
gitee, or Two Faced. He had a great habit of look
ing out for bad boys, very bad boys. It was said
that he could not see really good boys; that they
were like glass, and he could not see them. But
when a boy became very bad he was then so black
that he was easily seen, and Annungitee could espy
him a long way off and was very likely to come
after him.
"Fortunately Annungitee always made a noise
when he was passing along. This was a good thing
for bad boys, for it gave them time to scurry into
the wigwams, out of his way. He was so big that
when he set one of his feet down on the ground
8;

Algonquin Indian Tales
there would be sounds like the ringing of bells and
the hooting of owls. When he put the other foot
down the sound was like the roaring of buffalo bulls
when they are going to fight each other. Even when
he tried to move softly there would be sounds like
birds and beasts crying out. All the Indians who
had heard this great terrible fellow were afraid of
him, and yet no two were able to give the same de
scription of him. But they did agree on one thing,
and that was that when he caught a very wicked
man, which he did sometimes, or very bad boys,
which he often did, he just threw him into one of
his big ears and held him there. Indeed, it was be
lieved that he could hold three big men or six bad
boys in one of his ears at the same time. Nobody
knew where he lived, as no one had been found
brave enough to follow and see, and no daring hun
ter had ever found his abode in any of his hunting
expeditions. "Now a certain Indian man and his wife who
lived in a wigwam quite apart from other fam
ilies had one boy. He was their only child. He
had been a very bad, cruel, unkind boy. His father
had to work hard as a hunter to obtain sufficient
game to keep them from starving. His mother cut
the wood, carried up the water from the distant
river, dressed the skins of the animals 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, who was quite
sick, asked him to go for some water. He refused,
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Algonquin Indian Tales
and was very saucy to her. Then she asked him if
he would please bring in some wood for her, as she
felt cold. No, he would not do anything of the kind.
She then became quite angry with him, and said :
" 'If you do not be a better boy I will put you
out of the wigwam, and Annungitee will toss you
into his ear.'
"All the same, she did not really believe he would,
as she had not heard of Annungitee 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. Indeed she had
often said to him, when she was angry with
him, T do hope a ghost will catch you.' But
the more she talked to him the worse he be
came. So one day 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 became much frightened at this and began to
cry. But she, knowing that he deserved to be pun
ished, pushed him out and securely fastened the
doorway, calling out :
" 'May Annungitee catch you !'
"She did not really mean it, of course. No
mother could wish her boy to have such a terrible
misfortune. The frightened boy then began run
ning round and round the wigwam, trying to find
some place where he could get in, but he could find
no opening. After a while his crying and his
efforts to get into the wigwam ceased, and all be
came still and silent. His mother listened atten-
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Algonquin Indian Tales
tively, and every moment expected to hear his voice
again, but there was no sound except something like
the sound of the singing of birds and the rattling of
small bells dying away in the distance. At this she
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 for her
son. But all in vain ! He was nowhere to be found.
"When the father came home from his hunting
she told him of the sudden disappearance of their
boy, and he, too, was very much alarmed. They set
out and visited the lodges of all the people around.
But no one had seen or heard anything of the miss
ing boy. They returned to their own silent wig
wam very sorrowful, and for days they mourned
over the loss of their son. One night, as the mother
was weeping on account of her great loss, she heard
some one crying out to her :
" 'Hi ! Hi !' and at the same time she heard the
sounds of bells ringing and owls hooting. This
happened several nights, and then one night there
was a voice saying :
'"You said, "Ghost, take that boy." Hi! Hi!'
"Next morning the wife told her husband what
she had heard during the previous 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
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'They tumbled the tall ghost over.

Algonquin Indian Tales
to him, and he has taken you at your word. So why
should you complain? It serves you right.'
"At this the mother lifted up her voice and cried
out so loud that it could be heard a great distance.
" 'Husband,' she said, 'I deserve what you have
said, but I am going to try and get back our boy,
and so to-night I will hide in the pile of wood that
is outside the wigwam, and if the ghost comes along
again, as he has been coming, I will catch him by
the leg, and you must rush out and try to rescue
our son.'
"So that night she hid herself in the wood pile,
and, sure enough, after a while 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 her was a great creature
standing beside the wigwam. He was so tall that his
head was higher than the smoke hole at the top, and
he was peeping down into the wigwam. But, big
as he was, she had a mother's loving heart after all,
and as she thought of her boy fastened up there in
one of his big ears she was determined to rescue
him if possible. So she cautiously moved along
until she was able to seize one of his legs, which
she did with all her strength, and at the same in
stant she shouted for her husband to come and
help. 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
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Algonquin Indian Tales
thin and weak that he could hardly stand. But they
helped him into the wigwam and gave him some
soup, 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 been seized that as soon as he
could get up he hurried away, and was never seen
in that part of the country again. Some tribes say
he went South, and there, when he was stealing chil
dren and carrying them off in his ears, he was
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 the fright he had had. It did
him good, however, for after that he was never rude
and saucy to his mother and did all he could to
help her."
"Did it do the mother any good?" asked Sagas
tao, who had not been altogether satisfied with her
treatment of the boy.
"Yes, indeed," said Mary ; "for after that terrible
fright she was never known to shout out at her boy
such words as, 'I hope the ghost will catch you,' or
any other of the unpleasant ones which she some
times had used when she 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 dogs were the children's
special protectors and companions. 86

Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER VIII.
Happy Christmas Holidays— In
dians Made Glad with Presents
— Souwanas Tells How Na
nahboozhoo Stole the Fire
from the Old Magician and
Gave It to the Indians.
HE Christmas holidays were times
of innocent festivities and gladness
among the Indians and their white friends,
both at the mission and at the trading post.
The gifts which it was possible to give to
the Indians were not of very great value, but
they were articles much needed and were
always prized by the recipients even if they
were never very profuse in their words of thanks.
Minnehaha and Sagastao were wild with delight
at these times, and were eager to be the almoners
of the mission, and carry the gifts to the Indians
whom they loved so well. The fact that the tem
perature of those bright, cold Northern winters kept
steadily many degrees below zero did not chill their
ardor nor lessen their enthusiasm. Their dog trains
were in almost constant demand, for they kept fly
ing over the various icy trails until in the different
wigwams all had been remembered with some useful
gift. Faithful Mary had made for them the warmest
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Algonquin Indian Tales
of fur and blanket suits. Dressed in these, and
tucked in among the robes in the cariole by their
careful driver, they sped along the trails. They
made the woods echo with their merry shouts and
laughter — unless it was so bitterly cold that they
had to be completely covered up. It is not to be
wondered at that there were times when, on reach
ing some distant wigwam, there were little hard,
white spots on their cheeks or noses which told the
watchful Indians that the Frost King had been at
work and that speedily those frostbites must be re
moved. Little cared they for the momentary pain
that ensued, when the frozen parts were being
thawed out. They were out for a good time, and
they had too much grit and courage to let such trifles
as a few frostbites disturb their happiness. The
bright fires burning in the center of the wigwams,
or in the fireplaces at the end or side of the little
Indian houses, 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 gathered around his wigwam fire,
"how it was that Nanahboozhoo stole the fire from
those who were guarding it and gave it to the
Indians." "It must not be too long a story," said Minne
haha, "as we have yet to go to the wigwam of Kin-
nesasis, Little Fish, with his presents, and it would
be too bad to be late when they know we are
coming." So Souwanas pledged himself to make the story
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as short as he could without spoiling it, and then,
after a few more whiffs from his beloved calumet,
he began :
"It was long ago, when there were fewer people
in the forests and on the prairies than now. They
did not have as many comforts as they have now,
and one of the rarest things among them was fire.
Sometimes when the lightning'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 very cold and generally had to eat their
food without cooking it.
"Nanahboozhoo was then still living with his
grandmother, Nokomis, and was sorry to see that
she often suffered from the cold and that the food
was miserable because it was not cooked. So he
set his wits to work and decided that something
must be done. As he should now have to deal with
the Muche Munedoos, evil spirits, he had to be very
careful. He put himself in various disguises and
at length he heard all about how the coyote had
stolen some of the fire from the watchers in the un
derground world, who possess enormous quantities
of it. It frightened him a little when he heard that
there was so much fire in the world under us, but
he was not apt to be afraid very long and so as he
went on searching, and on the sly listening to the
talks of windegoos and others, he found that the
fire for which he had been so long searching was in
the possession of a fierce old medicine warrior who
guarded it with the greatest care. Those who had
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employed the coyote to get it had intrusted its keep
ing to him. In those days they had an idea that fire
was such a dangerous thing that it would be almost
certain destruction to the race if it was given to all.
This old warrior had his two daughters, who were
great, fierce women, to assist him in guarding the
fire. "Several attempts had been made to steal the fire
ere Nanahboozhoo resolved to see what he could
do. All of these other efforts had failed, and the
parties who tried them were killed. Nokomis heard
of these unsuccessful attempts and tried to dissuade
her grandson, Nanahboozhoo, from such a dangerous
enterprise. "Nanahboozhoo, however, was a very skillful fel
low, and although this was one of his first great
undertakings, for it was long ago, he was not to be
stopped by her fears, and so away he went. As the
ice was not yet on the waters 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 that shape he hurried on until
he saw in the distance the sacred wigwam where
dwelt the old guardian of the fire and his two daugh
ters, who were famous for their height and their
strength. To excite the pity of these daughters
Nanahboozhoo jumped into some water, and then
crawling out, wet and cold, he slowly approached
the wigwam. Here the two daughters found him,
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'Where the fire was stolen out of the center of the earth.

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and he looked so miserable that they took pity on
him and at once carried him into the wigwam and
set him down near the sacred fire, that he might soon
get warm and dry."
"How very kind that was of the old man's daugh
ters," said Minnehaha.
"I don't know about that," said the more matter-
of-fact Sagastao; "folks sometimes get into trouble
by taking up everything that comes along. Remem
ber that old rascal that humbugged father."
But Souwanas, remembering his promise, adroitly
shunted off the youngsters and resumed his story.
"The two girls, after seeing how contented and
happy the rabbit seemed to be as it warmed itself
by the fire, again returned to their duties in different
parts of the large wigwam. The rabbit soon after
hopped a little nearer to the fire, that he might be
able to seize hold of a burning stick or brand, but
as he moved the ground shook and trembled under
him so that it awoke the old man, who had fallen
into a heavy sleep. Thus disturbed, he called 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 beyond their usual work except to
bring in to warm a poor little shivering half-frozen
rabbit that they had found outside. At first the old
man was a little suspicious and, rolling over, he took
a good look at Nanahboozhoo. But he had made
himself into such a poor little wretched half-drowned
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rabbit that the old man's suspicions were completely
dispelled, and he turned over again and went to
sleep. "Nanahboozhoo was pleased to hear the old man
snoring again, and he only waited now until the two
girls should both be busy in the wigwam on the
opposite side from the door; then he suddenly
changed himself into a fleet young Indian runner,
and quickly seizing hold of a burning stick he dashed
out of the wigwam and away he rushed toward the
place where he had left his canoe.
"Of course there was instant pursuit. The two
daughters, although they were magicians, like their
father, well knew that they would be punished by
the superior evil spirits if they allowed any of the
sacred fire to be stolen, and they were furious at the
cunning and deceitful Nanahboozhoo, whom they
now recognized, for playing such a trick upon them.
Shouting to their father, to arouse him, they imme
diately ran after the retreating Nanahboozhoo, who
with the burning brand in his hand was speeding
rapidly over the trail. But, fleet as he was, he soon
discovered that the two girls, by their magic, were
rapidly gaining upon him. They were the fleetest
of runners, even if they were girls, and it was for
that reason that they and their father were intrusted
with the sacred fire. Great honors were to be theirs
if they guarded it to the satisfaction of those who
had intrusted it to them, while, on the other hand,
great would be their disgrace if they failed in their
duty. 92

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"When they found that they were gaining on
Nanahboozhoo, and were likely to regain possession
of the firebrand, with shouts and threats they de
clared that severe indeed would be his punishment,
when he fell into their 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 than ever, until
there was only a large dried-up, barren meadow be
tween him and the spot where he had tied his canoe
on the shore of the lake. The girls were only a few
hundred yards behind him, and he resolved to fight
them with this sacred fire. So, as he rapidly con
tinued his flight, he plunged the now blazing fire
brand into the dry grass, here and there, on each
side of the trail. The wind was in his face, and it
carried back the fierce blaze and dense black smoke
and not only quickly hid him from the sight of his
pursuers but also made it very dangerous for them
to follow him.
"Nanahboozhoo thus succeeded in reaching his
canoe, and fixing the burning brand in one end of
the boat he was soon rapidly paddling over the
waters toward his distant home. The flying sparks
of the torch burnt him badly in several places, but
he did not much mind this, and he dared not stop
to dress his wounds for fear that his pursuers would
yet overtake him.
"Fortunately he succeeded in reaching his distant
home. There at the shore to welcome his return
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was Nokomis, who had been full of anxiety about
him. She carefully dressed his burnt face and hands
and gladly received the gift of 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 the fire burning. Sometimes the
watchers appointed to look after it, especially in the
summer months, would forget to add fresh fuel, or
would go to sleep and neglect it. Then they would
have to send off to some perhaps distant wigwam,
where the people had been more careful, and secure
some live coals from them.
"Nanahboozhoo was troubled about this. He
feared that if it were allowed to die out at' the same
time in all of the wigwams he might not be so suc
cessful again if he had to try to get a fresh supply
from the fierce old man and his now wrathful daugh
ters. So he went out into the woods and at length
a good spirit came to him in a dream and told him
of various ways in which the fire could be obtained.
He showed him how it could be made, by rapid fric
tion, with dry sticks. Another way he revealed to
him was by the striking together of a flint stone and
a piece of iron; sparks of fire could thus be pro
duced which, caught in punk, would soon become a
blaze. So now the Indians do not have to cover up
the fires as they were formerly obliged to do; thanks
to Nanahboozhoo's dreams, they can make it fresh
whenever they want it."
"Hurrah for Nanahboozhoo for his good work
this time!" said Sagastao. 94

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"Well, I think he was a mean fellow, to so fool
those two nice girls who took 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 to take 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 the fire in the first place from
out of the underground. Will you not tell us that
story some time ?"
The old man looked grave and was silent for a
minute or two, then he replied :
"I think you had better ask Kinnesasis. He
knows the story better than I do, for in his youth he
traveled far West, into the land of the high moun
tains, where the legend is that the fire was stolen
out of the center of the earth."
"All right. Thank you, Souwanas. We are go
ing to take Kinnesasis some presents, and while
there we will ask him for the story."
Here an Indian lad rushed into the wigwam with
the word that Kennedy was coming with their
cariole. The children were well wrapped up, and
soon with their usual happy, "Wat cheer! Wat
cheer !" they were speeding homeward.

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CHAPTER IX.
Kinnesasis — How the Coyote Obtained the Fire from the
Interior of the Earth. GREAT time the children had in
the wigwam of Kinnesasis. He
was such a jolly little old Indian,
and he was specially happy to-day
when the children opened out the
gifts and presented them. He was
more than delighted with a suit
of black clothes sent him from a
distance by friends who 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 yet dead, he will go to heaven
when he dies."
"Why, Kinnesasis, it is the kind friends who sent
you these clothes you ought to thank, and not make
such a fuss over the man who made them; he was
paid for making them," said Sagastao. But Kinne
sasis could only think of the man who made the suit
of which he was so proud.
Kinnesasis's old wife was, if possible, still more
delighted with her presents than the old man with
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his. She and Minnehaha were always the best of
friends, and now as the child handed her gift after
gift of warm clothing and food her joy knew no
bounds, and, old as she was, when some warm shoes
were given her, she prang up and began singing
an Indian song, while with all the agility of a young
maiden she spun around the wigwam in rhythmic
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 were greatly delighted with
her performance. Kinnesasis, however, who, as well
as his wife, was now a church member, professed to
be much shocked at seeing her thus dancing, as
though in the wild excitement of th,e Ghost Dance.
But both Sagastao and Minnehaha stood up for the
old wife. They said the words she sang were good
enough for the church, any day, and they were sure
nobody could find fault with her thus showing how
glad and thankful she was.
And nobody ever did find fault and soon was the
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affair almost forgotten, for now the merry jingling
of more dog bells was heard, and who should come
into the wigwam of Kinnesasis but the parents of
Sagastao and Minnehaha!
Cordially were they greeted. At first it was diffi
cult for them to recognize the staid little gentleman
in his full suit of broadcloth as the lively but gener
ally ill-clothed Kinnesasis. The visitors — who
quickly saw and were delighted with the trans
formation — greeted him as though he were some
distinguished stranger. This vastly amused the
children. Screaming with laughter at Kinnesasis's
pretense of keeping up the farce, they shouted out,
"Why, this is only our dear old Kinnesasis. He is
no great stranger. It is only Kinnesasis with his
new clothes."
"Well," then was asked, "who is that charming
old lady over there with such a fine shawl and bril
liant handkerchief on, and such fancy new shoes on
her feet? Surely she is a stranger."
"No ! No !" the children again shouted. "Why,
that is Kinnesasis's wife, with her new presents on !
My ! doesn't she look nice !"
Here the little ones seized hold of the happy old
Indian woman and made her get up and show her
self off in her new apparel, of which she was just
as proud as Kinnesasis.
"And she gave us such a jolly dance in them,
papa ! Wouldn't you like to see her do it again ?"
cried Minnehaha.
But here Kinnesasis, pretending to be shocked
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beyond measure, in a most diplomatic manner
directed the attention of the parents to some other
matter, and so the mischievous child did not succeed
in making a church scandal by inducing one of the
flock to dance before the missionary.
"Tell us, Kinnesasis," said Sagastao, "how it was
that that old man and his daughters first obtained
the fire which Nanahboozhoo so cleverly stole from
them and gave to the Indians long ago."
At first Kinnesasis hesitated about telling the old
legend, saying that he did not think the father and
mother of the children would care for such stories.
"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 we do."
And with this they at once appealed to the parents,
who of course sided with them and expressed their
desire to listen to this story that the children
had told them they were to hear from dear old
Kinnesasis. Throwing some more logs on the fire, around
which the white visitors with the Indians gathered,
Kinnesasis began:
"It was long ago, when I was a young lad, that I
heard the story from the old story-tellers of our
people. I had traveled with my father for many
days far toward the setting sun. We reached the
land of the great mountains, and there, with our
people of those regions, we spent some moons. It
was while we were among them that I heard from
the ancient story-teller the legend of how the fire
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was stolen from the center of the earth, where it was
kept hidden away from the human family.
"That there was such a thing as fire was well
known. It had been seen bursting out of the tops
of distant mountains, and there had been times in
great thunderstorms, when the lightning had set fire
to dead trees — and indeed in this latter way the In
dians had become acquainted with its value to the
human race. But they had not taken care to keep it
burning, and no one had been appointed to specially
look after it.
"The reason why fire had not been from the first
given to men was because when the race was created
the fire was not much needed. The earth was then
much warmer than it is now. There was no snow
or ice ever seen except on the tops of the very
highest mountains. Great animals now all dead,
and others that could only live in the hottest coun
tries, lived all over these great lands. Then there
was abundance of fruit and nuts and roots that were
all very good for food. Then some great disaster
happened to the world and soon it began to grow
colder and many animals, and even families, per
ished. Snow and ice appeared where they were
never seen before. There was great suffering from
the cold. The hunters began to kill the animals for
food. They were now not satisfied with the fruit
and roots, they wanted something better.
"So the fire was much needed. But where it was,
or how to get it, was the question. Fortunately an
old dreamer dreamed a dream about it.
ioo

Algonquin Indian Tales
"As the council assembled to hear his dream he
told them that the fire was preserved in the heart
of the earth by a magician called Sistinakoo, and
that it was kept very carefully surrounded by four
walls, one within the other, in each of which was a
single door. At the first door a great snake kept
guard. At the second door a mountain lion or pan
ther was the guardian. A grizzly bear guarded the
third door, and at the fourth and last door Sistina
koo himself kept watchful care over the precious
fire that smoldered on a stone altar just inside this
last wall.
"When the council heard all this they were almost
discouraged. They thought it would be impossible
for anyone to get by all of these guards and steal
the fire.
"They first asked the fox to try, but he only
reached the first door when the great snake nearly
made a meal of him. Thoroughly frightened, he
rushed back 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 people continued to suffer, for the
earth kept getting colder and colder and ice and
snow were now to be found in lands that had pre
viously been comfortably warm. So the council
was called again, and the question again raised as to
what could be done.
"It happened that there came to the council a
very old man who remembered a tradition, handed
down from his forefathers, which said that part of

Algonquin Indian Tales
the earth beneath us was hollow, and that some of
the animals, even the great buffaloes, had dwelt in
those underground regions before they came to
dwell on the surface of the earth. He said that the
coyote, the prairie wolf, was the last one to leave,
and that he was sure that he still remembered the
route 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 people have it, when we know
how good it is?" asked Minnehaha.
"Because," replied Kinnesasis, "there was a tradi
tion that at some time or other the fire should get
the mastery over men, and the whole world be
burned by it, and they thought that they would care
fully guard it from getting scattered about by care
less people who might set the world on fire."
"Well, go on, Kinnesasis, and tell us the rest of
the story," said the impatient Sagastao.
"So when the Indian council heard this story
they sent for the king of the coyotes and told him
of their wish that he should return to that under
world and bring up the fire for their use.
"To their surprise and great delight the coyote
said he would go, and he immediately began his
preparations for the journey. So greatly had the
cold increased that he found the dark mouth of the
entrance under the mountains almost surrounded
by snow and ice. After traveling for some time in
the darkness he reached the outer wall, where he
waited, a little distance from the door, until the
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'The coyote was too quick for them all."

Algonquin Indian Tales
snake was taking his usual sleep. Then he quickly
stepped past him. Knowing the habits of the other
animals, he waited until they were asleep and then
he noiselessly passed them all. Even Sistinakoo him
self was sound asleep. So the coyote crept silently
up to the fire and lighted 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
the first door, Sistinakoo shouted, 'Who is there?
Some one has been here and has stolen the fire !'
"He at once began to make a great row and loudly
called to the different keepers to close the doors in
the walls. But the coyote was too quick for them
all, and ere the sleepers were wide enough awake to
do anything he had passed through all the doors and
was far on his way to the top of the ground. 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 got fearful that the world
might be destroyed and so they intrusted it to the
care of the old magician and his two daughters, with
orders to be very careful to whom they gave any. It
was from them Nanahboozhoo stole it, to scatter
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
our master, and do the world much harm."
Kinnesasis was thanked by all for his recital of
this suggestive legend, especially by his older listen-
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Algonquin Indian Tales
ers, who saw much in it that was in harmony with
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 farewell greetings
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.

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CHAPTER X.
The Christmas Packet— The Distribution of Gifts— A Visit
by Dog Train, at Fifty-five Below Zero
—Souwanas Tells How the Indians first
Learned to Make Maple Sugar.
OW great the excitement was which
attended the arrival of the Christ
mas packet can hardly be realized by
persons who have never been exposed
to the privations of a land which the
mail reaches every six months, and where
they wait half a year for the daily paper.
After this long waiting it is no wonder that
a great shout was raised when far away in
the distance the long-expected, heavily-loaded dog-
trains were seen that for several hundred miles
had carried the precious messages of love and the
tokens of good will from dear ones far away.
This year an extra train well loaded with much-
needed supplies for the mission was among the arri
vals. Its coming was hailed with special delight by
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 gifts
would arrive about that time.
And they were not disappointed, for loved ones
far away in more favored lands had remembered
these little ones in their Northern home, where the
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Algonquin Indian Tales
Frost King reigns, and many and varied were the
gifts which they now received.
"I am going to take Souwanas some of my can
dies," said Sagastao.
"And I am going to give him a nice red silk hand
kerchief," said Minnehaha.
The children had by this time pretty well learned
his weakness for these things, and it was a pleasure
now for them to think that they had it in their power
to make him happy.
The next morning was, as usual, bright and cloud
less, but it was bitterly cold. The mercury was
frozen in one thermometer, and in the other one
the spirit indicated fifty-five below zero. Yet so
impatient were these spirited children to be off with
their gifts to Souwanas, and with something also
for each member of the family, that their pleadings
prevailed. A cariole with plenty of fur robes was
soon at the door, and with old Kennedy as their
driver they were soon speeding away behind a train
of dogs.
Indians are naturally alert and watchful, and so
the merry jingle of the silvery bells was heard while
the cariole was still at some distance on the trail.
Cordially were they welcomed, and strong arms
speedily carried them into the cosy wigwam where,
in the center, burned a great fire of dry spruce and
birch wood.
As the cold was so intense, and the children had
permission to remain for two hours, it was decided
that Kennedy should return home at once with the
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Algonquin Indian Tales
dogs, as it would have been cruel to have kept them
out in the cold so long.
The heavy wraps were soon removed and the chil
dren were comfortably seated on the fur rugs pro
vided for them. Then they very proudly opened
their parcels and distributed the contents — their
own gifts as well as those which had been sent to
Souwanas and his family from the mission. Minne
haha reserved her special gift for the last. When
all of her others had been bestowed she unfolded the
beautiful red silk handkerchief and, going over to
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 ways and handsome
gift. He said but little, but there was a soft, kindly
look in his eyes that showed his gratitude more than
any words could have done. It meant a good deal
more than perhaps he would like to admit and those
who saw it were thankful that they had observed if,
knowing that it meant so much. Sagastao, who had
already given him several presents, had held on to
his box of candies. He had learned that for such
things the old man could be coaxed to do almost
anything, and now he held them out, and said :
"Now, Souwanas, as all the presents have been
passed around, I have got some fine sweeties for
you, but we must have a first-class Nanahboozhoo
story for them."
"O yes!" said Minnehaha. "And as it is to be
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Algonquin Indian Tales
for sweeties let us have a nice sweet story of Nanah
boozhoo this time."
"A sweet story you want? Well, before I begin
let us fix up the fire and all get comfortably seated
around it."
Then, as they usually did, the two white children
cuddled as close to the inimitable story-teller as they
could. Little cared they for the cold without or even
for the occasional puffs of smoke which seemed at
times to prefer to enter the eyes of the listeners
rather than to go out at the orifice at the top of the
wigwam. "A sweet story," musingly said the old man, "in
this land of fish, and bears, and wolves, and wild
cats, and wolverines !" Then he paused long enough
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 some years 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 the Hurons, the Dakotahs and
the Ojibways. These O jib ways are cousins of my
own people, the Saulteaux. Well, the story I want
to tell you had its beginning long, long ago. One
day there came a great embassage of Indians from
the far South with words of peace and good will.
They said that in their country they had no cold
weather, and very seldom saw any snow. They said
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Algonquin Indian Tales
that the trees were different, and that many things
grew there that they did not see in our Northern
country. They brought with them many presents
and were kindly received by our people, and then,
after some weeks of feasting and speech-making,
they returned home laden with the best gifts our
tribes could bestow.
"Among the presents which these Southern In
dians brought was a large quantity of sugar. This
was the first time it was ever seen among the Indians
of the North. It was very much prized, and was
very carefully divided among the people so that each
one had a small quantity. It did not last very long,
for everybody was fond of it. When it was all gone
the people were sorry, and the question was asked,
'Why cannot we send a company of our own people
and get more of it?'
"This suggestion met with the favor of the tribes,
and a large party of the best runners was selected,
and being well supplied with rich presents and pipes
of peace they started off to find the Southland and
to obtain abundance of the sugar. Some weeks
passed by before word was heard from them, and
the news was very bad. Fierce wars had broken
out among the tribes that lived between ours and
those who dwelt in that far South. Our Indians
had to fight for their lives. Many of them were
killed, others were badly wounded, and of the large
company that started out not more than half ever
returned to their homes. The expedition was a
complete failure. 109

Algonquin Indian Tales
"Still there was the memory of the sugar among
them, and it happened that one 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 not Nanahboozhoo would
give them salt instead of sugar, if he were in one
of his tantrums."
Souwanas was not displeased at this interruption
on the part of the children, and gladly availed him
self of the opportunity thus offered to once more
help himself to the sweets.
Earnestly appealing to Souwanas, Minnehaha,
who always looked on the bright side of things, and
who had a quick intuition quite beyond her years,
said: "It could not be a sweet story if Nanahbooz
hoo gave them salt instead of sugar; could it,
Souwanas ?"
The old man, as soon as his mouth was sufficiently
emptied to resume his story, amused by the ear
nestness 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 pro
ceeded with his story.
"So it was decided to send a deputation to Nanah-

"Across a single log at a dizzy height.

Algonquin Indian Tales
boozhoo to tell him of the wish of the tribes to have
Se-se-pask-wut (sugar), as had the tribes of the
Southland. "The deputation who started off to find Nanah
boozhoo had a great deal of difficulty in finding him.
It seems that a great strife had arisen between Na
nahboozhoo and some of the underground Muche
Munedoos — bad spirits, sometimes called the Ana-
mak-quin — who had determined to kill Nokomis,
the grandmother of Nanahboozhoo, because of their
spiteful hatred of Nanahboozhoo, whom they knew
they could not kill because he had supernatural
powers. "Nanahboozhoo had, as usual, been playing some
of his pranks on them, and that was why they were
determined to kill Nokomis."
"What were some of the tricks that Nanahbooz
hoo 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 giving her great frights, just
as other grandsons sometimes do. So when he
heard of what the Muche Munedoos were threaten
ing he took up his grandmother on his strong back
and carried her far away and made for her a tent
of maples in a great forest among the mountains.
The only access to it was across a single 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 all crimson and yellow, so bril-
iii

Algonquin Indian Tales
liant that when seen from a long distance they looked
like a great fire. Thus it happened that when the
bad spirits following after Nanahboozhoo and No
komis saw the brilliant colors through the haze of
that Indian Summer day they thought the whole
country was on fire, and they turned back and
troubled them no more. Nanahboozhoo was pleased
that the beautiful maple trees had been of so much
assistance to him. He decided to dwell among
them for some time, so he prepared a very com
fortable wigwam for himself and his grandmother.
"It was in the wigwam among the maples that
the deputation found Nanahboozhoo. He received
them kindly, and listened to their story and their
request. "At first Nanahboozhoo was perplexed. He was
such a great traveler that he had often been down
in the great Southland, and well knew how the
sugar was there made. He had seen the fields of
sugar cane, and knew the whole process by which
the juice was squeezed out and then boiled down
into sugar. He also knew that it required a lot of
hard work before the sugar was made.
"When Nokomis heard the request of the deputa
tion to her grandson she was very much interested —
for had not Nanahboozhoo several times, when re
turning from those trips to the South, brought back
to her some of the sugar? — and she had liked it
very much ; and so now she added her pleadings to
theirs that he would in some way grant them their
request. 112

Algonquin Indian Tales
"Of course Nanahboozhoo could not refuse now,
so he told them that, as the beautiful maple trees had
been so good to him and Nokomis, from this time
forward they should, like the sugar cane of the
South, yield the sweet sap that 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 only for those who were in
dustrious and would carry out his commands. Then
Nanahboozhoo described to them the whole process
of sugar making. He told them that only in the
spring of the year would the sweet sap flow. Then
they 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 gathered from the
trees, it was to be boiled down in their little kettles
into the nice molasses; and then a little more, so
that when it cooled it would harden into sugar.
" 'Now,' added Nanahboozhoo, 'go back to your
people and tell them that it depends on their industry
between now and the spring who shall have the most
of the sugar you love so well/ Then he skillfully
modeled out a stone tapping gouge of the shape re
quired to make the incision in the tree from which
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 and along
which the sap would flow. Then he told them to
make plenty of buckets of birch bark, and thus be
ready when the time came to secure an abundant
supply of sap. Thus the art of making maple sugar
"3

Algonquin Indian Tales
first came to be known. Nanahboozhoo gave it to
the Indians long ago. Then when the palefaces
came they followed the same process. That is the
way Nanahboozhoo showed us how to get the maple
sugar." But here the sound of the barking of the dogs,
and the sweet tones of the silvery bells on the col
lars 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 have loving hands care
fully wrap her up for the return ride, "for that
sweet, sweet story. It was so good of Nanahbooz
hoo to tell them about the sap in the 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 Nanah
boozhoo would not have done it if she had not made
him." "Well, Nanahboozhoo did it, anyway, and so we
and the Indians have our maple 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 the cariole, where she and her
brother were speedily covered and tucked in among
the warm robes.
"Marche ! Marche !" was shouted to the dogs by
the driver, and away they sped over the icy trail
with such speed that it was not long ere they were
again safe and happy in their own cozy home.
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Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER XI.
Mary Relates the Legend of the Origin of Disease — The
Queer Councils Held by the Animals
Against Their Common Enemy, Man.

£

ARY, how is it that I get sick some
times," said Sagastao the following
summer, "and have to take medicine
that I dislike? Why can't we always
be well?"
For the last week or ten days Mary had
been most devoted and faithful in watch
ful care over her restless charge, who had
been very sick but was now rapidly
recovering. "As soon as you are a little stronger
I will tell you the legends of sickness and
medicine, as handed down by our Indian fore
fathers," said Mary, "but now you must only
rest, and eat, and sleep."
"Well, Sakehow" (beloved), his pet name for
his faithful nurse, "I will try and mind you; don't
forget." The next week was one of rapid recovery, and
very proud, indeed, was Mary when she led forth
the two children, in the bright sunshine of a de
lightful summer day, to a cozy resting place among
the rocks where the waves of Lake Winnipeg rippled
on the sandy beach at their feet.
"5

Algonquin Indian Tales
Minnehaha was eager for a story about the sweet
birdies or the brilliant flowers, but the young invalid
had his way this time, and Mary proceeded to tell
the story of the Indians' idea as to the origin of
sickness and disease.
"Long, long ago," said Mary, "all the animals
and birds on this earth lived in peace and harmony
with the human family. Then there was food for
all in abundance without any shedding of blood.
Even the wild animals, that now live by killing and
devouring each other, found plenty of food in the
fruits 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 their
settlements spread over so much of the earth, that
many of the poor animals began to be cramped for
room. "Even this could have been borne, but by and by
men began to make bows and arrows, spears and
knives, and other weapons, and began to use them
on the defenseless animals. Then soon they began
to eat the flesh of the animals, and presently they
found that they preferred the meat thus obtained to
the fruits and vegetables of the earth.
"Formerly they had made their garments out of
the fiber of the trees and plants, which the women
carefully prepared and wove ; but after a while they
discovered that the skins of the buffalo and deer
and other animals, when well prepared, made better
and more durable garments and wigwams than the
116

'Which the white men now call Cathedral Mountain.

Algonquin Indian Tales
materials they had previously used. As time went
on the destruction of the larger animals increased,
and men became so much more cruel than formerly
that even the frogs and worms, that in the earlier
days were never harmed, were now destroyed with
out mercy, or by sheer carelessness or contempt.
Thus the animals came to be in such a sad plight
that it was resolved by them to call great councils
of their members together to consult upon what
could be done for their common safety.
"The bears were the first to assemble. They
gathered together on the peak of a great smoky
mountain, which the white men now call Cathedral
mountain, and the great white bear from the North
land was appointed chairman."
"Well, that was funny," said Minnehaha. "Just
fancy a big white bear sitting 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 ques
tion she could only say, "As the council was held
on the top of a mountain perhaps the bears sat on
the rocks. 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 was now ready to hear the
statements of the different bears who had assembled
to lodge their complaints against the way in which
men killed their relatives, devoured their flesh for
117

Algonquin Indian Tales
food, and made garments and robes out of their
skins. "Nearly every kind of bear had grievous state
ments to make, and so blood-curdling were some of
their recitals that it was decided to begin war at 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 favorite
weapons 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 kept captive for a couple
of years in the wigwam of one of their enemies. He
had often seen the process of making bows, and he
was now able to tell all about it, and even to do the
work himself. It was not long before the first bow,
with some arrows, was manufactured, and there was
great excitement when the first trial of it was made.
A large strong bear was selected to shoot the first
arrow. To their great disappointment the trial was
not a success, for it was found that when the bear
let the arrow fly, after drawing back the bow, his
long claws caught in the string and spoiled the shot.
Other bears tried, but they all had long claws,
and they all failed. Then some one suggested that
this difficulty could be overcome by their cutting off
their long claws. But here the chairman, the white
bear, interposed, saying that it was very necessary
that they should have their long claws in order to
118

Algonquin Indian Tales
climb trees, or up steep rocky places. 'It is better,'
said he, 'for us to trust to our claws and teeth than
to man's weapons, which certainly were not de
signed for us.'
"The bears remained in council until they got very
hungry, but think as much as they might they could
not devise any satisfactory plan, for they are stupid
animals after all, and they dispersed to their differ
ent homes no better able to fight the human race
than before.
"Then the deer next held a council. Representa
tives of all the different kinds of deer, from the great
elk and moose down to the smallest species in ex
istence, assembled in a beautiful forest glade. The
moose was selected as chief. After a long discus
sion it was resolved that in revenge for man's
tyranny they would inflict rheumatism, lumbago,
and similar diseases upon every hunter who should
kill one of their number unless he took great care to
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 are safe.
"The Cree legend is that it is the bear that has to
be propitiated by gentlemanly expressions when he
is being approached to be killed. I well remember
being with a couple of hunters closely following up
a bear, and just 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
119

Algonquin Indian Tales
families want your meat, our girls want your grease
to put on their heads, so you must excuse us, Brother
Bear. Please do, Brother Bear; please do.' Thus
they 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 or some
other painful disease.
"Next the fishes and snakes and other reptiles
held their council, and they decided that as the hu
man race had now become such enemies to them
they would trouble them with 'fearful dreams' of
snakes twining about them, and blowing their pois
onous breath in their faces, by which they would
lose their appetites and die, while others of them
would seek opportunity to make the water they
drank, or even the air they breathed, unwholesome.
The poisonous ones were also directed to use every
opportunity to kill with their 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 be
cause there were so few of his kind, and these were
only hunted for their feathers to adorn the war bon
nets of the great chiefs and warriors. The crow
was appointed because he was always with the hu
man race and knew the various schemes and tricks
they were inventing to injure the birds and animals
of various kinds. After much deliberation the birds
decided to give colds, and coughs, and throat dis-
120

Algonquin Indian Tales
eases, and consumption, to the human race, and to
thus lessen their numbers that there might be room
for all creatures.
"The insects and smaller animals then held their
council, and the grubworm was appointed to preside
over the gathering. He was so elated over his elec
tion, and that they had arranged a scheme which
should be fatal especially to women, that he fell
over backward and could not get on his feet again.
So from that time the grubworm has only been able
to wiggle in that way. There was any amount of
talking and buzzing among the crowd. The frog
was especially noisy and angry in his remarks.
" 'It is high time,' said he, 'that we began to do
something against this cruel human race, or we will
soon be swept off the earth. See how my back is
ugly with lumps and sores because men have so
kicked and knocked me about !'
"Others followed in the same strain of indignant
protest against man's cruelty. Even the flies and
mosquitoes had something to complain of.
"Well, after the buzzing, and the croakings, and
the hummings and angry talkings were over, they
settled down to business.
"Some were appointed to poison the waters so
that malarias and fevers should 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 to pass that there is more damage
done to the hated human beings by these bites and
stings than the mere smarting pain caused at the
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Algonquin Indian Tales
time of the bite. Thus, because the human race
changed from being all kindness to the rest of the
creatures, both great and small, into being cruel and
savage, all these various creatures have combined
to bring dreadful diseases among men in revenge
for their own wrongs."
"That is too bad," said Minnehaha. "Why could
they not have kept on loving each other all the time,
instead of things being as they are now ?"
Sagastao, who had laughed at the idea of the mos
quitoes coming to a council, and of their having any
thing to complain of, said, "I would like to 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, on the
back of which a couple were rapidly filling them
selves with his blood.
But Mary, who, Indian like, was wise and ob
servant, only said, "Wait a minute or two and I will
show you." Then she quickly hurried back into a
swampy place and soon returned with a thick juicy
leaf, to the under side of which several mosquitoes
were still clinging, with their bodies distended with
its juice.
"There," she said, as she carefully held the leaf
sideways, "that is what most of the mosquitoes still
live on. They attack our race in revenge for our
being so cruel as to kill so many of the animals,
large and small, but this, as you can easily see, is
their natural food."
This appeal to the eye quite silenced the children,

Algonquin Indian Tales
who had considered the whole story as only an In
dian legend to be amused with.
Mary, who had often been worsted by the sharp
criticisms and inquiries with which they were apt
to receive her pet Indian legends, was quite de
lighted at 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 of how the medicines came."

123

Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER XII.
The Naming of the Baby — A Canoe Trip — The Legend of
the Discovery of Medicine — How the Chipmunk Carried the
Good News.

HERE was great excitement among
a number of Indian men and women
who had gathered on the shore in
front of the mission one pleasant
summer morning. Grave Indians,
with Souwanas in their midst, were
calmly discussing some object of in
terest, while Mary and a party of women, some of
whom had their babies with them, were much
more noisy, talking rapidly about something which
was evidently a matter of exciting interest. Even
Sagastao and Minnehaha were rushing in and out
of the house and running from one group of Indians
to the other, full of eager inquiries and pleasant
anticipations. What could it all be about ?
Let us ask the children, for such little people often
know more than we are likely to give them credit
for. Here comes Minnehaha, and we ask her the
cause of such an early gathering of the Indians, and
the reason why they are so unusually interested in
some matter unknown to us.
"Why, don't you know?" the bright little girl
promptly replies. "They have come to form a
124

'Their babies with them.

Algonquin Indian Tales
Naming Council, to give my little baby sister an
Indian name. You see," she added, "Sagastao and
I were born among the Cree Indians, but baby was
born here among the Saulteaux. Just think: the
first little white baby born among them ! And they
want to give her a nice Saulteaux name. The rea
son why they are talking so much now, before they
form the council, is that lots of them have pet names
they want to give our baby, but of course she can
only have one."
"Yes," said Sagastao, "and our old Mary is try
ing to get the women to oppose the name that Sou
wanas 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 very rude," reprovingly said
little Minnehaha. "You never learned it from
father or 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 that boy !"
Soon the council assembled. The men and wom
en arranged themselves in a big circle and spent
some time in drinking some strong, well-sweetened
tea that had been prepared for them. They had been
desirous of having their usual pagan ceremonies,
but of course this could not be allowed, so the cere
monies of tea drinking and their usual smoking were
125

Algonquin Indian Tales
substituted. Then the little baby was brought in
by her nurse and handed to one of the oldest women.
She took the child, and after kissing her and utter
ing some words of endearment passed her on to the
woman on her left. She in her turn kissed her,
uttered some kindly words, and passed her on to
the next. So baby went from 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 ex
cluded from this circle as she was of another tribe.
After some more tea had been drunk the child was
again sent on her rounds. This time each person,
as he or she held the child, pronounced some Indian
name that he or she wished the babe to be called.
Mary, who had now crowded herself into the circle,
persisted in having a voice in the matter. She
wanted the child to be called Papewpenases (Laugh
ing Bird), but she was voted down by the crowd,
who said :
"No, that is Cree; we must have Saulteaux."
With a certain amount of decorum each name
suggested was discussed, only to be 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 any agreement, I, as chief, will
make the final decision. This is the first white child
born among us, as Sagastao and Minnehaha, whom
we all love, were born at Norway House, among the
126

Algonquin Indian Tales
Crees. Most of the names which you have sug
gested have some reference to birds and their sweet
songs. A compound name, which will include these
ideas and mine, Souwanas (South Wind), can
surely be found."
This suggestion was well received, as Florence
was born in the spring of the year, when the birds,
returning from the South, filled the air with melody
after the long stillness of that almost Arctic winter.
So busy brains and wagging tongues were at
work, and the result was the formation of the fol
lowing expressive name, which was quickly be
stowed upon the child. It was first loudly an
nounced 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, so that it would not be forgot
ten. Even Sagastao and Minnehaha, who could
talk as well in the Indian language as in English,
took up the word and shouted out, Souwanaquena
peke, until they had it as thoroughly as their own.
Mary alone was vexed, and so annoyed that she
could not conceal her disappointment. This was
particularly noticed by Sagastao, and as soon as
Minnehaha joined them they slipped quietly away
together. Having obtained permission 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 of her crooked back was
a strong and skillful paddler. *I27

Algonquin Indian Tales
The children were placed in the center of the
canoe, on a fur rug, while Mary seated herself in
the stern and paddled them over the beautiful sunlit
waves. For a time but little was heard, for the children
were absorbed in the scenes of rarest beauty or
watched some fish, principally the active gold eyes,
sporting in the water around them.
After a while the children began to clamor for a
story, but Mary would not speak a word. Sagastao
suspected the cause of Mary's unusual silence.
"What is the use, sakehou," he protested, "of your
being in a pet because baby was not named Papew-
penases? The name they gave her pleased every
body else; you must be pleased too."
"If you are cross and won't speak to us we will
go and run away to Souwanas; won't we?" said
Minnehaha. This was too much for Mary, and she quickly
surrendered and made an excuse about thinking of
some beautiful story to tell them when they should
land on that little rocky island just ahead of them.
"Very well," said Sagastao, "let us have the one
about how medicines were discovered and given to
the Indians to cure diseases."
"Just the one I was thinking about," said Mary;
"and while we rest on the lovely white sand I will"
tell you the story."
A few vigorous strokes of the paddle sent the
canoe well up on the sandy shore, and soon they all
landed. A good romp relieved them of the stiffness
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Algonquin Indian Tales
caused by the cramped position in the canoe. Then
as they cuddled down in the warm sand Mary began
her story.
"You remember, little sweethearts, how the ani
mals of various kinds held councils and decided to
be revenged on the human family for their cruelty
by sending diseases among them. Well, these
creatures did as they said they would and the result
was that lots of men died, and also the women and
children, that did the creatures no harm, were get
ting different kinds of sicknesses 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 lived such simple lives that,
with the exception of accident, such as being
drowned 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 those skillful to set broken
limbs or attend to any who happened to be accident
ally wounded, but that was nearly all. Then all at
once these diseases sent by the angry animals began
to appear among them, and, of course, there was
much alarm. The people did not know what had
brought them, nor how to get rid of them. Many
people were sick and numbers of them died.
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Algonquin Indian Tales
"You see, the animals held their councils in secret,
and away from the presence of men, and so it would
never have been known if the ground squirrel, called
by some the chipmunk, had not gone and told all
about the councils to the men. He had always been
friendly to the human race. He had attended a
number of the councils and was the only animal that
had ventured to say anything in the favor of man.
By doing this he so enraged the other animals that
some of them fell upon him with great fury, and
would have torn him in pieces if he had not been
able to escape into his hole in the ground. As it
was, they so tore and wounded him with their teeth
and claws that the stripes remain in his back to
this day.
"Well, when he was healed enough to get around
again he visited the abodes of the human race and
was very sorry to find that the diseases sent by the
other angry animals were causing much suffering
and many deaths, so he revealed the whole thing to
a number of men and told them to be on their guard.
But even this was not sufficient. It was felt that,
now that these diseases were spreading among them,
they must have some remedies for the cure of them
or they would all soon be destroyed.
"While thus wondering what they should do their
little friend the ground squirrel came to their help
again. He went about among the trees and plants,
who were always friendly to man, and he told them
of the sad calamities that had come to the human
race. 130

Algonquin Indian Tales
"When the trees and plants heard what had been
done by the animals to injure and destroy their
friends they speedily held councils among them
selves and resolved that they would do all they could
to overcome the evil.
"First the great trees held their councils, talked
over the matter, and decided what they could do in
the way of furnishing remedies to cure these dis
eases that were doing so much injury. The pine
and the spruce and the balsam trees said, 'We will
give of our gums and balsams.' The slippery elm
said it would give of its bark to make the soothing
healing drink. The sassafras said it would give of
its roots to make the healthful tea that will bring
back health again. The prickly ash and the sumach
and others volunteered their help, and spoke of the
wonderful healing power there was in them, if
rightly used.
"When the plants came to their council the num
bers that wanted to help were very great. No one
was able to keep a record of them and of the healing
powers they professed to have. There was the man
drake, with its May apples, and the wintergreen,
with its pretty red berries ; the catnip and the bone-
set, which are so good for colds ; the lobelia, which
is such a quick emetic; the spikenard, the pepper
mint, the snakeroot, sarsaparilla, gentian, wild
ginger, raspberry, and scores of others. All cheer
fully offered assistance.
"When the ground squirrel, who had for days
been attending the council of the trees and plants,
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Algonquin Indian Tales
had made out his list of what remedies each tree and
plant could furnish he was very much delighted, and
then, thanking them for their offered assistance, he
rapidly returned to the abodes of mankind and in
formed them of his great success.
"Of course they were very much pleased, and
very grateful to the ground squirrel for his kindness
and his interest in their happiness. This is the rea
son 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 love them because they
spoke up for man when the other animals turned
against him, and because it was one of their ances
tors that made the trees and plants 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 they never would shoot an
arrow at a chipmunk, even when I asked them to,"
said Sagastao.
"Yes," said Mary, "all of the Indians have heard
their fathers tell of the kindness of the old father
chipmunk in the days when the animals knew so
much and could talk, and so they warn the children
against injuring these pretty little creatures."
But it was now time they were returning. The
light canoe was once more pushed down into the
lake, and soon they were merrily gliding along over
the clear, transparent waters to their cozy home.

132

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CHAPTER XIII.
In the Wigwam of Souwanas — How Gray Wolf Perse
cuted Waubenoo, and How He was Punished by
Nanahboozhoo. E have come to-day for a nice
story about Nanahboozhoo,"
said Minnehaha, as she and Sa
gastao lifted the deerskin door
at the wigwam of Souwanas,
and entered with all the assur
ance of children who knew they
were welcome.
"Did he ever do anything to
punish bad fellows who were
cruel to their wives and chil
dren?" asked Sagastao. "Be
cause, if he did, I wish he would come and thrash
old Wakoo, that bad fellow who has been thrashing
his wife again because he said she did not snare
enough rabbits to suit him."
Souwanas, who was one of the kind-hearted In
dians, never cruel to any of his family, was much
amused at the fire and indignation with which the
young lad spoke. So after he had had comfortable
seats arranged for the children among the robes and
blankets he endeavored to satisfy their demands.
"Nanahboozhoo," he said, "did such things long
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Algonquin Indian Tales
ago, but once, when he was giving a good thrashing
to a man who had been very cruel to his wife, the
wife, as soon as she was able, sprang up from the
place where her husband had knocked her to, seized
a paddle and attacked Nanahboozhoo with such 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 merry twinkle in his eye,
"it is best for everybody, if possible, to keep out of
such quarrels."
"Yes, but, mismis" (grandfather, Minnehaha's
pet name for Souwanas), "you surely know a nice
story in which Nanahboozhoo helped some one with
out getting into trouble himself."
"Of course I do, my grandchild," said the old
man, "and I know you will be pleased with it.
"My story is about a lovely Indian maiden who
was bothered by a cruel hunter. He was determined
that she should marry him, although she did not like
him, and Nanahboozhoo came to her rescue.
"The maiden's name was Waubenoo. She had
the misfortune to lose both her father and mother
when she was about eighteen years old. There were
four children, all much younger than she, left in her
sole care. They had no uncles or aunts, or other
relatives, near, to take care of them, and so Waube
noo had to hunt and fish to get food for her little
brothers and sisters. 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
fairly well. The great lake near her wigwam was
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Algonquin Indian Tales
well supplied with fish, and the forests all round had
in them many rabbits and partridges and other small
game. When great storms arose on the big lake,
and Waubenoo could not go out 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 overhaul her nets and bring in what
fish were caught. Thus she toiled on, and with the
assistance of these kind Indians she did very nicely.
Her little brothers and sisters loved her dearly, and
did what they could to help in the simpler and easier
part of the work. Every decent person among the
Indians was pleased with her industrious habits, and
often, in their quiet way, 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-look
ing, strong woman she had become, and so clever
in her work with both nets and traps, resolved that
she should be his wife, to work for him and do his
bidding. This man had been married before and, if
the reports were true which had been told, it was
likely that his wife had died 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 her father to buy her to be
his wife. All he thought he had to do was to go
and tell her she had to be his wife and come and do
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Algonquin Indian Tales
as he commanded her. So harsh and cold were his
words, and so very rough and forbidding his looks,
that, while Waubenoo was frightened, she was grave
and high spirited enough to indignantly refuse his
request, and to order him never to trouble her again.
"This, of course, made him very angry. He re
fused to go, and continued to insist on her going
with him.
"Fearing that he might revenge himself upon her
by doing her or the children some harm, she told him
that it was her duty to stay with the little ones whom
the death of the parents had left in her care; that
they might perish if she now left them.
"But nothing would turn away his anger, and if
it had not happened just then that some friendly
Indians came along he would have cruelly beaten
her. 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 had cheerfully worked
and toiled for her loved ones, but now here comes
this cruel, 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
his name, had a bad reputation among the Indians.
The young men shunned him and the maidens took
good care to be out of the way when he was around.
That he would persist in his attempts to get Waube
noo all were convinced, but that he should succeed
no one desired. Still, while Indian ideas on some
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Algonquin Indian Tales
of these things are so peculiar that no one seemed
disposed to interfere, at the same time some of them
were generally on the lookout for her protection.
As for brave Waubenoo, while certain that he would
still trouble her, she was resolved never to submit
to him.
"Thus the weeks rolled on, with Gray Wolf look
ing for some opportunity to carry her off, and
making several attempts to do so, which Waubenoo,
ever alert and watchful, succeeded in preventing.
"At length his persistent attempts became so an
noying that she was obliged to neglect much of her
work in order to keep on her guard. Food was
getting scarce because she dared not now go far
from her wigwam to hunt for the partridges and
rabbits and other small creatures she was so clever
in snaring.
"At length she resolved to go to Nanahboozhoo
and seek his aid in getting rid of this troublesome
fellow. When Nanahboozhoo heard her sad story
he became very angry. He was indignant that such
a commendable maiden, one who had been so kind
to her little brothers and sisters, should be bothered
by a big, selfish, lazy fellow who only wanted her
because she was so industrious and so clever at her
work. "Nanahboozhoo had heard much about her kindly
treatment of the children, and of her skill in pro
viding for their wants, so he lost no time in going
back with her to her wigwam. At first the younger
children were much afraid of him, as they, like all
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Algonquin Indian Tales
other Indian children, had heard such wonderful
tales about him. But he was in such a jolly good
humor that day, and was so delighted with every
thing he saw about Waubenoo's wigwam and with'
the proofs of her industry that he soon made friends
with all the children. How to go to work to give
Gray Wolf such a lesson that he would never trouble
them any more he hardly knew at first. However,
he had not been there many hours before he had to
come to a decision, for one of the little children came
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. Nanah
boozhoo only laughed when he heard this, and he
very quickly decided what to do. "Sit down there,"
he said to Waubenoo, "in that dark side of the wig
wam, with a blanket over your head, and keep per
fectly still until I call you ; and you, children, must
keep quiet. Do not be frightened or say a word, no
matter what happens."
"Then Nanahboozhoo, who, as you know, could
change himself into any form he liked, suddenly
transformed himself so as to look exactly like Wau
benoo. So perfect was his resemblance to her, even
to his dress, that her brothers and sisters could not
have detected the disguise. Indeed, the young ones
could not help looking over to the spot where the
real Waubenoo sat in the gloom 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 fully obeyed his commands.
138

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"Gave him such a terrible beating.'
Algonquin Indian Tales
"Of course, when Gray Wolf came into the wig
wam he was completely deceived, and now, thinking
that he had caught Waubenoo when there were no
friendly Indians around, he at once began speaking
very fiercely to her:
" 'I have asked you for the last time,' he said,
'and now 1 have come with my dog whip and I in
tend giving you a good thrashing and then driving
you to my wigwam. I intend to call you Atim, my
dog, and like a dog I am going to thrash you.'
"He then savagely raised the whip to strike, as he
thought Waubenoo, but the blow never reached its
victim, or even Nanahboozhoo in his disguise, at
whom it was aimed, for Nanahboozhoo was so en
raged that anybody in the shape of a man could be
so cruel and selfish as to come and threaten a kind
young woman like Waubenoo that he suddenly
sprang at Gray Wolf, and seizing him by his
scalp lock he dragged him out of the wigwam, and
then wrenching the heavy whip out of his hand gave
him such a terrible beating that he remembered it
as long as he lived. Then roughly throwing him to
the ground, Nanahboozhoo, still in the disguise of
Waubenoo, hurried into the wigwam and said to
the real Waubenoo:
" 'Now, while he is weak and cowed, go out and
talk sternly to him, and tell him that if he ever
troubles you again it will be worse for him than
this has been.'
"When Waubenoo came out her appearance so
terrified Gray Wolf that he tried to get up and skulk
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Algonquin Indian Tales
away, weak as he was. Waubenoo, glad that her
enemy was so conquered that he would not be likely
to trouble her much more, did as Nanahboozhoo re
quested her.
"Nanahboozhoo was heartily thanked by Wau
benoo and the children for thus ridding them of this
bad Indian, who had for so long made their lives
miserable. Ere he left Nanahboozhoo warned the
children to say nothing about his coming, 'for,'
said he, 'if Gray Wolf finds out who it was that
thrashed him he may yet be troublesome.'
"Well would it have been for all if the children
had remembered this advice," 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 your lessons, and as I am going
that way with some whitefish I will take you with
me in my canoe."
"But is that all about the story of Waubenoo and
the children?" said Minnehaha.
"Yes," said Souwanas, "until we come to the
next. For a long time after Gray Wolf received the
beating he kept away from them, although his heart
was full of anger and revenge. Although he was a
big fellow he feared to again threaten her who,
although she seemed but an ordinary-sized Indian
maiden, possessed the strength that had enabled her
to give him such a thrashing."

140

Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER XIV.
The Pathetic Love Story of Waubenoo — The
Treachery of Gray Wolf— The Legend of
the Whisky Jack.
T came about in this way," said Sou
wanas, "and it is such a sad story
about beautiful Waubenoo."
"Will it make me cry?" said the
tender-hearted Minnehaha. "If so, I
do not think I want to hear it."
"Stay and hear it, you little pussy,"
said Sagastao. "I am sure it is not worse than
the Babes in the Wood."
"Well, you always cry first, when we read that
story together," said Minnehaha.
At this the lad had nothing to say, for in spite of
his apparent brusqueness his heart melted more
quickly, and his eyes filled easier with tears, at a
pathetic story, than did his sister's.
"Well, go ahead, Souwanas," said Sagastao.
"We each have a pocket handkerchief, and when
they are used up you can lend us a blanket."
At this quaint speech everybody laughed, and then
the old man began his second story about Waubenoo.
"It all came about because little children have
long tongues, and this story should warn little chil
dren that, while they have two eyes and two ears,
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Algonquin Indian Tales
they have but one tongue, and that they should not
at any time talk about or repeat half of what they
have seen and heard.
"The little brothers and sisters of Waubenoo had
been warned that they should say nothing about the
visit of Nanahboozhoo to their wigwam. In fact,
Nanahboozhoo was such a queer fellow that he did
not at any time want people to be gossiping about
him, and, if he had done any good deed for any
one, he did not wish them to be ever speaking about
it. Then another reason why Nanahboozhoo did
not want them to talk about his visit and help was
the fear that Gray Wolf, finding out how it was that
he had received such a beating, would be more bit
ter and revengeful against Waubenoo and would
again try to get her in his power. The little chil
dren were, of course, delighted that their wigwam
was no longer visited by Gray Wolf, whose coming
had always filled them with terror, while Waube
noo was so pleased at having thus got rid of him
that she was happier and brighter than she had been
for a long time. It was not long before some of the
other Indians noticed the change. They were sur
prised that Gray Wolf had so suddenly stopped his
visits, and that he seemed so dejected and sullen.
Naturally their curiosity was excited, and they were
anxious to find out what 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
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Algonquin Indian Tales
Minnehaha, who often felt called upon to restrain
her brother's impulsiveness.
"Of course," Souwanas continued, "Gray Wolf
had so suffered that he had very little to say, and
if ever teased about Waubenoo he fell into a great
passion. "Waubenoo herself was too sensible to gratify
their idle curiosity, but the very return of her bright
ness, and her unwillingness to talk about the matter,*
only added to the foolish desires of outsiders to find
out what had really occurred. So some of these
naughty busybodies began questioning the children
when they could get them away from Waubenoo,
for in her presence they were as mute as she was.
They pestered and bothered the children and tried
in various ways before they succeeded. But one
day, while Waubenoo was away overhauling her
traps, some of those wicked meddlers visited her
wigwam and succeeded in getting one of the small
est ones — I just forget now whether 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 Nanah
boozhoo was also much feared, as he sometimes
did dreadful things.
"The fact that Nanahboozhoo had been in their
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Algonquin Indian Tales
very midst, although they were a long time in hear
ing anything more than the one word from the now
frightened children, was quite enough to excite the
whole village, for the news was soon spread abroad
by the tattlers.
"Such busybodies could not be satisfied with only
hearing that Nanahboozhoo had visited the wig
wam of Waubenoo. Of course they wanted to hear
about what 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 whole delightfully exciting story.
"When Gray Wolf, who was so jeered and
laughed at by all who dare, heard from the gossipers
how it had happened that he had received such a
thrashing he was doubly wild and furious.
"When Waubenoo found out that all was known
about how Nanahboozhoo had helped her she was
very sorry that her little brothers and sisters had
been so naughty and disobedient. She also knew
that now she would have to be more careful than
ever against the movements of Gray Wolf. But the
fact was that he had been so cowed by his beating
that he was afraid to openly attack her, lest she
should get Nanahboozhoo to help her again and it
might be worse for him than it was at his first
meeting. But he treasured up revengeful feelings
in his heart and resolved that at some time or other
he would dreadfully punish her.
"Some years passed by, and the older children,
next to Waubenoo, were able to do most of the hunt-
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Algonquin Indian Tales
ing and fishing as well as to be on guard against
any of the evil doings of Gray Wolf. Thus
they were able, in a measure, to repay their sister,
whom they dearly loved, although they were so
thoughtless, for all her great kindness to them.
"One fall there came to the village a splendid
Indian hunter. He was of the same tribe, but lived
with his people, most of the time, at a distant part
of 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 very pleas
ant 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 rash
as to insult him openly in an Indian gathering.
"Soquaatum, for this was the young warrior's
name, stood the insults of Gray Wolf for some time,
then, when he saw that some of the young hunters
began to think he was afraid of Gray Wolf, he
suddenly sprang at him and knocked him down, and
then seizing him by his belt, he shook him as easily
and thoroughly as a wildcat would a rabbit. Then
he threw him from him and sat down among the
people as though nothing had happened.
"That evening, when he and the relatives with
whom he lived were seated around the fire in the
wigwam, he heard for the first time the story of
Waubenoo : of her great industry, her love for her
little brothers and sisters, and how she had been
threatened by Gray Wolf and then befriended by
Nanahboozhoo. i45.

Algonquin Indian Tales
"This story very much interested Soquaatum, and
especially as in his hunting he had met her younger
brother, now a fine strapping hunter, and had be
come very fond of him, although he was much
younger. So he resolved that as soon as he
could he would visit her wigwam and seek her
acquaintance." "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 to light his pipe with flint and
steel, and he then resumed the story.
"Soon after Soquaatum arrayed himself in his
most attractive costume and called at the tent of
Waubenoo. His excuse was that he wanted to see
her brother and arrange some hunting excursion.
"Waubenoo, who had often heard her brother
speak of his great skill as a hunter, and had also
heard how easily and thoroughly he had handled
Gray Wolf, 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 attractive appearance, that
she became very fond of him, and it was not many
days after their first meeting before it was noised
abroad that Soquaatum and Waubenoo were lovers.
"Soquaatum remained until about the middle of
the winter. Then he returned to his distant home to
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Algonquin Indian Tales
make all preparations for receiving his wife, for
whom he was to come in the spring.
"Gray Wolf was, of course, furious when he heard
that Waubenoo was to be married, and to the man
who had humiliated him in the presence of so many
people. Though angry and revengeful, he was at
heart a cowardly fellow, and now that Waubenoo's
brother was full-grown he was afraid of him, as
well as of Soquaatum while he was in the neighbor
hood. But his fears did not prevent him from think
ing of schemes for revenge which, however, came to
nothing, because the friends of Waubenoo were so
vigilant and well prepared.
"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 help him. As Soqua
atum had now been gone for some weeks to his
home, which was far east from that region, Gray
Wolf and his wicked companion went a good long
distance — many miles — in that direction. There
they made a hunting lodge and laid their plans to
capture Waubenoo. Then Gray Wolf's companion
went back and remained secreted near the wigwam
of Waubenoo. One night he saw her two brothers
leave, about midnight, for some distant traps that
would take them all day to reach.
"As soon as this bad fellow was satisfied that they
were well out of sight and hearing he rushed up to
the tent of Waubenoo and hastily aroused her from
her sleep. He had arrayed himself as though he
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Algonquin Indian Tales
had come a long journey. She did not know him,
and so believed what he said. He told her he had
just arrived from the wigwam where was her lover,
Soquaatum, who had started to come to see her but
had become very sick, and was now lying in a wig
wam about a day's journey distant. He said that
Soquaatum was very ill, but that he felt sure that
if she could come and nurse him he would soon be
very much better.
"Waubenoo was very much alarmed, and so were
her sisters. They were all perplexed and did not
know what to do. The sisters wanted to call in
some men friends, but the stranger said that that
was not at all necessary, that he himself was a great
friend of Soquaatum and would safely guide her
to him. Waubenoo's great love for her lover caused
her to forget her usual caution, and so, although her
sisters protested against her going with this entire
stranger, love conquered, and she hastily prepared
herself for the long journey. She put a blanket and
some food in a sack, strapped it on her back, and
then tying her snowshoes on her moccasined feet she
told the stranger to go on as fast as he could and
she would keep up with him. Little did she imag
ine, as they so rapidly sped on, that she was being
led right into the clutches of Gray Wolf. Ignorant
of this, however, and alarmed at the news of the
sickness of her lover, she pushed this false Indian
on with such rapidity that he, who was naturally a
lazy fellow as well as wicked, never had to travel
faster in his life. Only at sunrise, and then about
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Algonquin Indian Tales
noon, did Waubenoo allow any stopping for some
thing to eat. She was angry at the fellow who could
tell her so little about her lover and his sickness. He,
on his part, was cunning enough to say very little,
for fear he would excite her suspicion and cause
her to turn back. Thus on and on they went until
they had traveled for about twelve hours ; when all
at once the man gave a horrid laugh of triumph and
threw himself down, tired out, at the door of the
hunting lodge of Gray Wolf.
"That laugh was enough for Waubenoo. She felt
that she had been betrayed and soon she was doubly
convinced of it, for who should come out of the
tent but Gray Wolf himself. Instantly she turned
and began the desperate race for home.
"Gray Wolf, who had been sleeping when he was
aroused, lost a little time in getting on his leather
coat and snowshoes, but he was fresh for the race,
while poor Waubenoo was nearly tired out with
the long journey that she had already made. Fear
gave additional strength to her, and she had gone
quite a distance ere she heard the yells of triumph
of her bitter enemy. Terrified by these sounds, she
sped on with a swiftness that made it necessary for
her merciless pursuer to make the most desperate
efforts to keep her in sight.
"What made it worse, in her terror she lost the
homeward trail, and really did not know where she
was going. All she seemed to desire was to get
away from this terrible man who was on her trail.
As her strength began to fail and she felt that he
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Algonquin Indian Tales
was gaining on her, she began calling: 'Soqua
atum! Soquaatum!' Alas! he was far away, but
there was another who, fortunately, was near. Na
nahboozhoo had been out hunting and he had a sled
which he was dragging, loaded with game. He
was surprised as he heard this calling, 'Soquaatum !
Soquaatum!' and as he continued listening it be
came hoarse and then only like a whisper. He could
stand it no longer; he rushed through the woods
and there he saw Waubenoo, dashing along on snow-
shoes, calling in a low whisper : 'Soquaatum ! So
quaatum !' while not a hundred feet behind her was
Gray Wolf, yelling in triumph that he would soon
capture her. Unfortunately Nanahboozhoo was not
in a very good humor that day. He had heard of
some little children that had been tattling about him,
and he had heard that the children in the tent of
Waubenoo had told about his visit.
"However, when he saw who it was that was in
danger, and heard her cry to him for help when she
saw him, and especially when he saw who it was
that was after her, he quickly turned Waubenoo in
to a bird and without any trouble 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 listen to Whisky Jack when he
is not scolding or clamoring at your camp for food
his voice is like that of the lost Indian maiden, with
a bad cold, calling for her lover."
"What did Nanahboozhoo do to Gray Wolf?"
said Sagastao. 150

Algonquin Indian Tales
"Hush," said Minnehaha. "Don't you know Na
nahboozhoo doesn't like to have children talk about
him?" This excessive caution on the part of the little girl
vastly amused Souwanas. Then he told them that
Nanahboozhoo turned Gray Wolf into a dog and
made him draw home his heavy load of meat.

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CHAPTER XV.
A Novel Race: the Wolverine
and the Rock — How the
'jSyVC Wolverine's Legs were
V"\ Shortened — A Punishment
for Conceit.
S HERE was great excitement one morn
ing among the children in the school
room when Mary came in with the word that
some hunters with their dog sleds had called,
and that they had with them a great wolverine
which had been killed in 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 the killing of one is quite
an event among the Indians, and the lucky hunter
who succeeds in destroying one is the hero of the
hour. A man may on one hunting trip kill several
bears or wolves, or many other animals, and there
is not much said about it, but to kill a wolverine,
that pest and scourge of 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 now its legs are short and its
feet are very large."
"What shortened its legs and made its feet become
so large?" asked Sagastao. 152

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It was too cold a day to remain any longer out
side looking at the wolverine, or to learn more about
it, so the children were obliged to return to their
warm schoolroom, where their lessons were resumed.
It was evident, however, that both Sagastao and
Minnehaha were ready with a couple of questions
for Mary, and it was not long after school hours
that they sought her and asked :
"Mary, what was it that shortened the legs of
the wolverine? and what made his feet so big?"
"The wolverine," replied Mary, "was once the
finest of all the different kinds 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 conceited fellow. He fancied he was the
handsomest creature in existence and looked down
with contempt on all the other kinds of wolves. He
used to go to the side of the clear transparent lake,
where he could see his shadow reflected in the water,
and he would strut up and down and say : 'O dear,
what a lovely creature I am !'
"It is true he was very clever in many ways. He
was so swift that he could run down even the ante
lope and the elk, and at all the great animal gather
ings, where the different creatures met in council,
he was the swiftest there, and easily won the chief
prizes at the great races which the animals used to
hold. Indeed, he won so many races that at length
he could get no animal to compete with him. He
even tried to get up races with the birds, but they
laughed at him for his conceit. 153

Algonquin Indian Tales
"One day he happened to be hunting among the
mountains. Near the top of one he saw a large
ball-like rock, standing there apart from the other
big rocks. 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 a falsehood. 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 to catch him. But the rock did
not reply to this and the bold wolverine came close
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 want is a race. You can run
or roll, just as you like.'
"Then the race began; the wolverine started
down the mountain side at a great rate, and the
rock came rolling behind him. At first the big rock
did not move very fast, and the wolverine laughed
as he looked back and saw the rock was so far be
hind. But the rock came on faster and faster, and
now it made the wolverine do his very best to keep
154

The big rock was surely gaining on him.

Algonquin Indian Tales
ahead of it. On they rushed, over the sticks and
stones and rough places, down — down that great,
long mountain side. At length, swift and strong
as he was, the wolverine began to get tired, and
although he was running as he never did before in
his life the big rock was surely gaining on him. By
and by he was so frightened that in looking behind
at the rock, now close at his heels, he tripped over
a stick and down he fell. The rock rolled over him
and, just as it had completely 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 you challenged me to a race with
you; and now that I have caught you I will not
stir until some one stronger comes and takes me off.'
"Then the wolverine lifted up his voice and cried
to his relatives, the wolves 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 :
" T challenged the rock to catch me, and it rolled
on me.'
"When the wolves and the foxes heard this they
were not very sorry. They knew how conceited the
155

Algonquin Indian Tales
wolverine had been about his speed, indeed they
were all smarting because of the ease with which
he had beaten them, and so, 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, who was crying out piteously for
help, but they found they were not able to remove
the rock. They could not even stir it in the least.
" 'Get out of the way,' said the wolverine, 'and
I will call my other friends, the thunder and. the
lightning.' "In a few minutes a great black cloud was seen
rapidly coming out of the west. As it came rush
ing along the foxes and the wolves were very much
frightened by the great noise it made. However,
they had courage enough to ask the lightning to
take off the fine coat of the wolverine but not to kill
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 heard
of this proud, conceited wolverine, who had boasted
that he could run like lightning, and now he was
just going to teach him a lesson. So he darted back
a distance to gather force, and then he came on with
a rush and struck the rock and knocked it into small
pieces. He also completely stripped the skin from
the back of the wolverine but did not kill him.
When the wolverine got up and stood there naked,
with all his beauty gone, he was very angry at the
lightning. " 'You are like other so-called friends I have heard
156

Algonquin Indian Tales
about,' he said; 'you cannot do a thing but you must
overdo it and spoil all. You had no need to tear
my beautiful fur coat from my back when you knew
I only asked you to come and strike the rock.'
"Then the poor, shivering wolverine gathered the
pieces of his coat and carried them to his sister the
frog, who dwelt in a marsh, and he asked her to sew
them together. The frog had sore eyes, and when
she sewed them together 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 he took up the coat and went and found his
youngest sister, the mouse. He told her of his
troubles, and how the frog had so badly done her
work. Then he showed the mouse how he wanted
the coat to be sewed. His little sister felt badly for
her big brother, and so she set to work and with
great care sewed all the pieces together in their right
places. When the wolverine saw how nicely she had
done her work he was much pleased.
" 'You mice may live everywhere,' he said, in real
gratitude, 'and in spite of all your enemies you will
never be destroyed.'
"Then the wolverine tried to put on his coat, but,
alas! he found his legs had been shortened and his
feet very much flattened out by the terrible crushing
he had had under that big stone which he had been
so foolish as to challenge to a race."
"Guess he didn't run many more races/' said
Sagastao. "No, indeed," was the reply; "he was so morti-
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Algonquin Indian Tales
fied and angry that from that day to this the wolver
ine has always been a sulking, solitary animal, and
playing all the mean tricks he can on all kinds of
animals as though he had a spite against them. He
now has not one friend who ever cares for him,
unless it is his little sister the mouse."

158

Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER XVI.
The Legend of the Twin Children of the Sun — How They
Rid the Earth of Some of the Great Monsters — Their Great
Battle with Nikoochis, the Giant.
NE pleasant summer day, when the children
had the pleasure of a canoe outing with
Mary and Kennedy, they decided to
visit the wigwam of their old friends,
Kinnesasis and his wife. They had not
seen them for some time, and as Sou
wanas was away on a long hunting ex
cursion they could not expect any Na
nahboozhoo stories until his return. Kinne
sasis was a capital story-teller, and they were
eager to reach his wigwam. There, after
making both him and his wife happy with
some gifts, they knew they could get some
interesting stories in return.
They met with a hearty welcome and spent a
happy day there. Among the stories Kinnesasis
told them, as handed down by his forefathers, the
following is perhaps the most interesting :
"Long ago there were great monsters on this
earth. Some of them were enormous animals and
fiercer than any that now exist. Then there were
magicians, and other evil spirits, like windegoos,
some of whom were tall, giant cannibals, that filled
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Algonquin Indian Tales
the people with terror. They lay in wait and caught
the children, and even the grown-up people, as the
wild beasts now catch their prey. Then they
kindled up great fires and roasted them and ' ate
them. "Often, when the parents went to look for their
children, they also were caught and eaten.
"The people were rendered very miserable not
only by these great monsters in human form, but
also by the attacks of the enormous animals that
then lived. Indeed they began to fear that they
would all soon be killed, unless help came to them.
"These people were worshipers of the sun, whom
they called the great Sun Father, and some tribes
still have their sun dances in his honor. When he
saw that the people were in such great trouble and
were likely to be all killed by their cruel enemies he
resolved to deliver them from their foes. So he dis
guised himself and came down to the earth and mar
ried a beautiful woman of the Northland. They
had lovely twin boys, whose names were Sesigizit,
the older, and Ooseemeeid, the younger. They grew
so rapidly that they were able to walk when only a
few days old. Their sun father disappeared as soon
as they were born, going to the far Eastland.
"Strange to say, although these two boys grew so
rapidly at first, they as suddenly ceased growing,
and so remained quite small. But they- were very
intelligent, and were ever asking questions.
"'Who is our father?' they inquired of their
mother one day. 160

'«&.•

r lias . w^.^ . ^w*^

»

Sun dance lodge of the Blood Indians.

Algonquin Indian Tales
But she ignored the question, and although they
kept bothering her it was a long time before she
would give them any information at all, and that
was very little. However, she did tell them that
they were more than ordinary children and finer
than other boys, but then there are lots of mothers
who say 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 ar
rows, and some magic rabbit sticks, and gave them
to the boys.
" 'These were left for you by your father,' said
the mother, ere he went away, and he gave com
mands that they were to be given to you as soon
as you were able to use them.'
"The children were, of course, anxious to try their
bows and arrows and these magic sticks. So very
soon after they had received them they resolved to
go off on a hunting expedition.
"The mother, who was anxious about them,
warned them of the various monsters in human
shape, great windegoos and cannibals, that were
ever lying in wait to catch and roast and eat little
boys. She also told them of the animals that were
so enormously large that they could catch them up
and swallow them as easily as a turkey does a
grasshopper. "Thus she tried to put them on their guard
against the terrible foes that had devoured so many
of their people. The boys, however, were not much
frightened, and they eagerly set off on their journey.
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Algonquin Indian Tales
"They were especially warned by their anxious
mother not to go to the east, as there was a narrow
lake there to which many of these evil creatures
came for water, especially a great monster wolf that
had devoured many people. Yet they immediately
started off in that direction, for, like some other
boys, they did not obey even their mother. It was
noon before they reached the lake. At first, as they
examined it, everything seemed very quiet and still.
" 'Mother must have been mistaken,' said Sesigi-
zit ; T do not see any living thing here.'
"But as they wandered farther along the shore,
suddenly Ooseemeeid cried out:
" 'O see that great wolf on the other side !'
"They dropped down as quickly as they could, but
the fierce brute had already caught sight of them.
He was very much larger than any of the wolves
that now howl in the dark forests. He not only de
stroyed many of the people, but when he came to
springs, or small streams, he either drank up all 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 had bones like jointed armor
upon them, that he was only slightly wounded. He
was, however, made very angry by their attacks, and
he picked up a magic stick and threw it at them.
They would have fared badly if they had not so
suddenly thrown themselves upon the ground that
it passed over them.
"When the boys saw that their arrows were not
swift enough to kill such a great animal they decided
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Algonquin Indian Tales
to use the magic rabbit sticks which their father, the
sun, had given them, with orders that they were only
to be used when the arrows failed.
"The wolf, when he saw that one of his magic
sticks had missed its aim, was more savage than
ever, and he seized his remaining one, for he only
had two, and he threw it with all his power at the
boys. This time they both jumped 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 such force that the great
bony armor of the wolf was crushed in and he was
killed. "Sesigizit quickly ran around the lake to the spot
where the great body lay and cut out the heart of
the wolf, while Ooseemeeid secured the two magic
sticks that the wolf had thrown at them, as well as
their own weapons, and then 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 there returns. The great mon
sters that devour our people live there, and they let
no one escape.'
"Then they told her of their battle with the great
wolf, and how they had killed him. They also
showed her his heart, which they had brought home
with them. 163

Algonquin Indian Tales
"She was very much excited. She called the peo
ple together, and there was great rejoicing at the
death of this terrible wolf which had been such a
scourge to them.
"Some time after Sesigizit and Ooseemeeid
asked their mother if she knew where grew any
good tough wood suitable for making bows and
arrows. Her answer was:
" 'Far away in the foothills is a canyon, or ravine,
where a forest of just such 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 the ravine everyone who has at
tempted to get any of that wood. And in addition
there 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, but Sesigizit, when he found
out how fearful their mother was that they would
both be killed if they made the attempt, at first re
fused to go. His objection, 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. She was out hunting food
for her cubs. These she had hidden in a den which
was away up on a precipitous mountain side.
"Ooseemeeid asked her if she knew the way to
the canyon where grew the good wood.
" 'Yes,' she replied. 'I am just going that way,
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Algonquin Indian Tales
and I will show you the route.' She said this be
cause she wished in this way to allure the two boys
to walk near to her den, and there she would kill
them for food for her cubs.
"So she led them until they came to a place where
the path was very dangerous, because it was on a
narrow, shelving rock around the mountain side.
Here the monster lioness asked the boys to walk on
ahead of her, but they refused, saying that they had
been taught never to walk in front of their elders.
The lioness urged, but the boys were firm, and so
she had to yield and let them have their way.
"When in the most dangerous part of the pass
the boys pretended to be very much alarmed, and
asked to be permitted to walk between her and the
mountain side. At first she was suspicious, but they
seemed now to be so cowardly 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 steady themselves.
When they came to the most dangerous spot, where
it was so narrow that even a mountain lion had to
be careful, they both suddenly drew their magic
sticks and, giving her a great shove, sent her over
the side of the narrow rocky ledge and down she
fell — to be dashed to pieces thousands of feet below.
"With a shout of triumph the two boys carefully
pushed on and, finding the den, quickly killed the
cubs and cut off the right forepaw from each one to
carry home. 16s

Algonquin Indian Tales
"From this high pass they could now see the can
yon where grew the good wood for which they were
seeking. They also saw the lodge of the monster
giant who guarded the narrow path that led to it.
They saw by its size that he must be an enormous
creature, and so they looked to see that their arrows
and magic sticks were all in good order and handy
for use.
"The great giant had heard their shout of triumph
when they had destroyed the mountain lioness and
it made him very angry, for he hated any noise or
disturbance; his name, Nikoochis, which means
solitude, indicated this.
"When he saw the small boys he was at first in
clined to laugh in derision at them, but when they
had come near enough to shoot their magic arrows
at him 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 and clumsy, and they were so quick
in their movements, that it was an utter impossi
bility for him to get his hands upon them.
"Then he began tearing up great rocks and stones
and tried to crush them by hurling 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 was unable to see very well, and
the boys easily kept out of the way of the rocks
thrown at them.
"The monster was big and fat and unaccustomed
to exertion, and he was soon tired out. Indeed he
166

" They both threw their magic sticks.

Algonquin Indian Tales
was so big that the arrows of the boys seemed only
like pins and needles sticking into him, and the boys
began to fear that their quivers would be emptied
before they had conquered him. Just then they met
an old witch with a bundle of sticks which she was
carrying to her wigwam. She was very angry with
Nikoochis, for he would not allow her even to gather
the dry sticks that fell to the ground in the forest
he was guarding. The result was that she had to
wander far away to get the little fuel she needed in
her wigwam.
"The boys told her of their battle with this selfish
old monster, and that even now he was badly
wounded by their arrows, which, however, did not
seem to reach any vital spot. She told them that the
only place where their weapons could be effectual
in killing him was in the top of his skull. That they
must first in some way crack it with their magic
rabbit sticks, and then they could shoot their arrows
into his brain. Hearing this they quickly resumed
their attack upon him. In vain he tore up great
rocks and hurled them with all his force at them.
They either cleverly jumped on one side 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 as a house Sesigizit threw, with all his power,
his magic rabbit stick. It struck the giant fair on
the top of his head with such force that it broke off
a piece of his skull. The next instant Ooseemeeid
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Algonquin Indian Tales
fired one of his arrows so accurately that it pierced
into the brain through the spot thus left exposed.
"With a roar of rage and pain the great monster
fell, rolled down into the deep canyon, and died.
"After securing his big flint knife, which dropped
from his belt, the boys hurried into the canyon and
gathered a lot of fine wood for arrow shafts and
returned to their mother. When she asked them
where they had been they replied that they had been
to the canyon, and that they had killed both the
mountain lioness and the great giant.
"At first she could hardly believe this, but as they
had brought the paws of the cubs and the flint knife
of the great giant, why, she just had to believe it.
Great indeed were the rejoicings of the people at
being thus rid of these creatures."

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CHAPTER XVII.
Souwanas Tells of the Queer Way in which Nanahboozhoo
Destroyed Mooshekinnebik, the Last of the Great Monsters.
NE cold day Souwanas, who had not been
seen by the children for some time —
he had been away on a long hunting
excursion — quite unexpectedly walked
into the mission house during the school
hours of Sagastao and Minnehaha. 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 of the household to keep them at
their studies. They were, however, quickly
pacified, and returned with diligence to their
lessons, when informed that their old friend
had been invited to stay all day and doubtless would
have a story of some kind for them when their
studies were all over. 4
The venison and bear's meat which he had
brought were quickly purchased at a price that well
pleased him. Then he sat down for a rest and a
smoke in the kitchen. Of course he had his usual
tiff with Mary, the nurse, who was very jealous of
him because he had so won the love and confidence
of the children. Souwanas was greatly amused at
her jealousy of him, especially since he Was told by
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Algonquin Indian Tales
one of the Indian maids that the children had been
overheard gravely debating between themselves
which was the better story-teller, Mary or Souwanas.
When peace again reigned some illustrated vol
umes from the library were given to Souwanas for
his inspection. He was not able to read English,
but he was very fond of looking at pictures.
There was one book that had a special fascination
for him, in fact when he first examined it, and had
had some of its illustrations explained to him, it
gave this superstitious Indian about the biggest
fright he had ever received. It was a book in which
were pictured and described many of the great ex
tinct monsters of the old times. These enormous
hideous creatures, whose bones and fossil remains
are still occasionally to be found, quite alarmed him.
Yet the book was generally about the first one he
desired to see.
On this present visit, however, Souwanas, while
as usual eager again to inspect this book, was ob
served to look at it in a very different spirit. The
explanation came out later, when he had the children
around him — indeed almost the whole household —
listening to a new Nanahboozhoo story which he
had secured from some famous old Indian whom he
had met while far away on his long hunting
excursion. "Yes, it is true," he began, "that there did once
live on this earth, both in the land and in the water,
great animals like those here shown in this book. I
have been to the wigwam of the great Shuniou and
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Algonquin Indian Tales
from him I have learned much about them, as
handed down in the tradition of our forefathers.
Great and terrible were they, and the people of those
times lived in great terror of them, for the bows and
arrows and even the stone war clubs of the strongest
warriors were powerless to kill or even dangerously
wound such monsters. It was well for the inhabit
ants of the earth in those days that these great mon
sters were few in number and that they were con
stantly fighting among themselves, for so large and
terrible were they that only animals as big and fierce
of other kinds could battle with them.
"But there was one great monster that lived in
the water, and as he had no enemies big enough to
attack him he lived on, even long after the other
great animals were all killed off.
"Shuniou said that the tradition was that a great
rush of waters caused many of the last of the great
monsters that had tusks of ivory to be carried to
the far Northland, and there, as the terribly cold
winter set in, they were all frozen to death.
"This must be true," added Souwanas, "for it
was not many years ago that the Hudson Bay Com
pany sent their men there to get this ivory, which
they intended to ship to England. They came back
with word that some of the dead bodies had been
seen where the ice broke up. But this great mon
ster in the water, as I have said, lived on after the
rest were all supposed to have died off or been killed.
He was a terrible scourge to those Indians whose
wigwams were on the shores of the great sea in
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Algonquin Indian Tales
which he lived. They were in mortal terror when
they ventured out in their canoes to fish. This they
had to do, as they depended almost entirely on fish
for their living, and there were times when the fish
left the shallow waters near the shore and went out
far from land. There the Indians had to follow and
catch them or they and their families would starve.
"Happily for them, sometimes for months to
gether no one would hear or see anything of this
great sea monster. Then, perhaps, suddenly he
would rise up right under a canoe in which were
several Indians, whom he would easily catch and
swallow one by one. He would sometimes rush
after a herd of deer that had gone out swimming in
the waters. He would catch and easily swallow
several of them."
"Well, I should think that the big horns of a
moose or reindeer would give him some trouble to
swallow," said Sagastao.
"He was so large," said Souwanas, "that the
horns or body of the largest deer did not seem to
bother him in the least degree."
"I wonder if it were not one of his great grand
fathers that swallowed Jonah," said the observant
Minnehaha. "The Indians at length came to be so much dis
tressed by the loss of so many of their number, and
by their inability to slay the monster, that they re
solved to ask Nanahboozhoo to come and help them
if he possibly could.
"I ought to have told you," said Souwanas,
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Algonquin Indian Tales
"that this great monster was called by the Indians
Mooshekinnebik. "Nanahboozhoo at once responded to their re
quest, for he was very angry when he heard how
many industrious fishermen had been swallowed
by this creature. He was doubly angry when he
returned with the deputation who had gone for him
and further learned that, only the day before, Moo
shekinnebik had been mean enough to come near
to the shore and catch and swallow some boys and
girls who had been out swimming that warm sum
mer day.
"When Nanahboozhoo informed Nokomis of the
request of the people for his help to deliver them
from the long hated Mooshekinnebik she was very
much frightened, and more so when he told her of
the strange and dangerous plan he was going to
adopt to carry out his purpose. It was this : he was
going to allow himself to be swallowed by this mon
ster who had already destroyed so many people."
"O how dreadful!" said Minnehaha. "We will
never hear any more nice stories about Nanah
boozhoo." "All a pack of lies; there never were any such
monsters," snapped out old Mary, who could not
longer conceal her jealousy at seeing how interested
the children were in the story.
"Hold on, Mary; not so fast," cried Sagastao,
taking the book from Souwanas and showing the
pictures to Mary.
"There, Sakehow," he said, using his favorite
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term of endearment, "look for yourself and see those
lovely creatures — some of them quite big enough
to swallow us all without winking."
But Mary was stubborn, as well as jealous, and
would not give in, even when Kennedy, the favorite
dog driver, who was present, told her that even now
there were some of the great tusks and bones of
animals that the officers called mammoths over at
the Hudson Bay Company's fort ready to be shipped
to England next summer. She was, however,
quickly silenced when Sagastao sat down beside her
and throwing his head into her lap said, very coax-
ingly: "Now, Mary, just be quiet and let us hear Sou
wanas tell the rest of the story of what Nanah
boozhoo did to Mooshekinnebik."
Peace being thus restored, Souwanas, who had
been much amused by Mary's ire, resumed his story :
"When Nokomis heard her grandson describe
how he was going to let the monster swallow him
she resolved to come and pitch her tent on the sea
shore, among the people who had been so troubled,
and there to await the return of her grandson, if he
should ever come back from such a perilous
adventure. "Nanahboozhoo asked his mother for some magic
singing sticks, and also for a 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 soon floating out, in search of the
dreaded creature, over the great waters.
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"When well out from the shore he began to make
music with his magic sticks and 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 of his magic music
sticks, until he reached the place where the great
fish was resting.
"When the great monster Mooshekinnebik heard
the voice of Nanahboozhoo he came up to the sur
face of the water to find out who was making all
that music and shouting out such defiant words.
"When he saw that it was only one young man
on a raft of dry logs, he ordered one of his children
to go and knock the raft to pieces and swallow that
noisy fellow. But this was not what Nanahboozhoo
wanted, and so he shouted out :
" 'I want the old father fish to eat me.'
"This made old Mooshekinnebik very angry, and
so, open mouthed, he rushed furiously at Nanah-
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boozhoo 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 Nanah
boozhoo was unconscious, but he soon recovered
himself and was able to look around and see the
queer prison in which he was now confined. It was
fortunate for him that he had eyes like a cat, and
so could see as well in the dark as in the light. He
found that he was not the only inmate of this queer
prison ; there were a lot of creatures whom he called
his brothers — the bear, the deer, the fox, the beaver
and even the squirrel. Nanahboozhoo inquired of
them and they told him how they had been captured
and the length of time they had been in that horrid
place. They also informed him that many others
who had been captured were now dead. Nanah
boozhoo found that they were quite hopeless, and
looked forward to nothing but death. However
he called them around him and informed them that
he had willingly come among them for the purpose
of affording a speedy deliverance.
"This was indeed good news. Then he explained
to them the plan he had in his rnind, and said that
it was necessary for them to kick up a rumpus in
the interior of this monster, that they would thus
make him so very sick that he would have to go near
to land, and when they should have him there he
thought he had another plan that would enable them
all to escape.
"They all agreed to do anything they could to
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' He took a leap into the open mouth.

Algonquin Indian Tales
help on his plans, so Nanahboozhoo 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 the creatures that were still alive,
caught up the lively tune, and such a dancing and
jumping and flying around was hardly ever seen
before. "This internal commotion very much disturbed
Mooshekinnebik. He could not make out what was
the matter. He shook himself thoroughly, but that
did no good; then he darted off through the water
at a great rate, but this also was of no use. Then
he rolled over and over and over in the water. This
of course stopped the dancing and hubbub inside for
a time, but as the walls of the prison were soft, also
the floor and ceiling, nobody was hurt, and so 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 to do. Still
Nanahboozhoo kept singing louder and louder,
while the dancers kept up their wild antics around
him. "At length Nanahboozhoo decided that the mon
ster was about enough frightened for him to do
something else, and so he drew out his sharp knife
and gave Mooshekinnebik a good stab near his
heart. "This threw him into convulsions and added to
his terror, and he began swimming toward the
shore. When Nanahboozhoo knew this he kept
stabbing him more and more, until at length his
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body was heard to scrape on the shallow sandy
ground. At this Nanahboozhoo with a mighty
effort plunged his knife with all his power deep into
the monster's heart.
"The instant he did this Mooshekinnebik was
thrown into a number of mighty convulsions, and
in one of them, with one tremendous effort, he fairly
threw himself out of the water on the shore, and
there he died.
"So great and terrible had been these dying con
vulsions that all the creatures inside, and even Na
nahboozhoo himself, had become unconscious from
being so knocked about.
"How long they remained so they did not know.
Nanahboozhoo was the first to regain his senses, and
he was indeed very sorry to see that all of his com
rades were still unconscious. He had some difficulty
in getting out from under the bodies of his com
rades, who were piled up on him. He was glad that
the monster was dead, but he was uncertain whether
they were on the shore 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 thought was the thinnest, and there,
with his keen knife, he began cutting through the
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 took
up his magic singing sticks and began singing, for
the purpose of reviving all those imprisoned with
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Algonquin Indian Tales
him. His song was not much to us, but it was a
great deal to those shut up in such a prison. It was :
" 'Kesik-in-na-win, Kesik-in-na-win. '
(I seethe sky,
I see the sky.)
"As Nanahboozhoo continued to sing this over
and over, one after another his brothers sneezed and
opened their eyes. They were indeed a happy lot at
the prospect of deliverance.
"When Nanahboozhoo saw that they were all now
recovered he again set to work with his knife, and
it was not long before he had a hole large enough to
permit all of the imprisoned creatures to make their
escape. "The news soon spread, and it was not long be
fore 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 how Nanahboozhoo destroyed
Mooshekinnebik." "What became of the little monsters?" asked
Minnehaha. "The Indians," replied Souwanas, "under the
leadership of Nanahboozhoo made such a war upon
them that they were soon annihilated."

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CHAPTER XVIII.
Welcome Springtime in the Northland — How Nanah
boozhoo Killed the Great White Sea Lion, the Chief of the
Magicians — The Revenge — The Flood — Escape of Nanah
boozhoo and the Animals on the Raft — The Creation of a
New World.

HE coming of the pleasant spring
time was hailed with great delight.
Seven or 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 winter broke up, and the welcome warm weather
made its appearance, everybody seemed to feel its
genial influence.
The first little wild flowers were looked for with
intense interest, and great indeed was the joy of the
children when some were found. The sweet singing
birds that in the previous autumn, on the first signs
of the coming down from the colder North of the
Frost King, had flitted away to the summer South
land were now returning in multitudes. The air
was full of their melody, and as scores of them,
fearless and trustful, made themselves at home in
the bird resorts around Wahkiegum, great indeed
was the children's delight as they welcomed them
back to their haunts in the North.
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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 to each
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 so
they flitted away farther north and buried them
selves in the interior of the deepest forests.
In the joyousness of those happy days up in those
high latitudes, when the changes of every twenty-
four hours can easily be noticed, Sagastao and Min
nehaha for a time troubled neither Souwanas nor
Mary for Indian legends or stories. There was in
the rapid melting of the snow, the breaking up of
the immense ice fields on the lake, the appearance
of the land, and then the 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 in
terest. The flights of the wild geese, swans, and
ducks had all ceased. They, with many other kinds
of migrating birds, were busy nesting. The sweet
songsters around the home were everyday compan
ions, and, while the children loved them as much as
ever, the excitement of their coming had died away.
So when one day they saw Souwanas coming over
the now sparkling waters in his canoe they were de
lighted to welcome him. As usual, when he reached
the shore the contents of his canoe were examined
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Algonquin Indian Tales
speedily. There the children found a couple of
beavers that had but lately been trapped, and a dozen
or more muskrats that Souwanas had speared in the
marshes. These animals were the result of one
night's hunting, and now Souwanas was on his way
home to have them skinned and the pelts prepared
for sale to the fur traders.
The children's curiosity was much aroused by the
sight of the beavers and muskrats, and they ques
tioned the old man about them. The queer, broad,
scaly tail of the beavers much interested them, and
drew from Souwanas an interesting 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 about beavers or muskrats ?"
asked Sagastao.
"Yes, indeed," replied Souwanas; "in nearly all
the stories that are told about the forming of the
new land after the great flood both the beaver and
the 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 in
terrupted the conversation. 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 the look of disappointment on the faces
of the children he, with his usual thoughtful kind
ness, transferred the two beavers and the muskrats
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Algonquin Indian Tales
from his own canoe to one of the late arrivals. Then
telling the people to give them to his wife, to have
them all cooked and ready for dinner, by which time
he would join them, he sent the people on their way.
Having lighted his calumet, with the children seated
near him, he began :
"Nanahboozhoo's life commenced long before the
great flood of waters that covered the earth, about
which all of our tribes have heard something. He
had his own wigwam and furnished it with every
thing he wanted. One day when walking on the
shore of a great river he saw some sea lions lying
on the sandy beach, basking in the sun. These ani
mals, like the beaver, could live as well in the water
as on the land. As he closely watched them from a
distance, and saw the rich, shiny skins, he thought
what a nice tobacco pouch could be made out of one
of them. When Nanahboozhoo once set his heart
on anything he at once began to work hard to secure
it. He tried various plans to capture one of these
sea-lions, but none of them succeeded. They were
too clever to be caught as other animals are, and he
saw that he would have to adopt some unusual
method. He decided that he would go down very
early to the spot on the bank of the river where they
were in the habit of sunning themselves and disguise
himself as an old stump 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 that he had so much admired. As on other
days the lions came, and when they saw this stump
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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 and shake it and see if it
would move, and thus really find out. They went
to it, 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 hold firm. However, he suc
ceeded, and so the lions only said :
" 'It really is a stump of a tree, but it is very-
strange we did not notice it before.' Then they
rolled about on the warm sand in the sunshine until
one after another fell asleep.
"Nanahboozhoo now noiselessly and quickly
turned himself into a young hunter, then taking up
his bow and arrow he shot the white lion. His
arrow stuck fast in his body and badly wounded
him, but did not kill him. At once the lions all
plunged into the river and disappeared. Nanah
boozhoo was sorry that he did not get the lion's skin,
indeed he was greatly vexed and annoyed to have
to return to his wigwam without it. A day or two
after, as he was walking in the woods, he met with
a very old woman. She had a bundle of slippery
elm bark, out of which poultices were made by the
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Algonquin Indian Tales
Indians for wounds and bruises, and also some roots
for medicine.
" 'Where are you going, nookoom (grand
mother), and what are you going to do with the
bark and roots ?'
" 'O,' said she, 'you cannot imagine what trouble
we are in, for Nanahboozhoo has shot and badly
wounded one of our chiefs, and great efforts are
going to be made to catch and kill him.'
"She also told him that she had been honored in
being sent for to come and use all of her healing
arts to try and restore the wounded chief to health
again, and that now she was on her way to his abode
to poultice him with the 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 hons,
as he had supposed them to be, were wicked magi
cians who had been doing a great deal of harm, and
who when they chose to do so could change them
selves into the form of lions and live either under
the water or on land, as best suited them, to escape
from being killed by those whom they had injured.
As the old woman was very talkative, Nanahbooz
hoo soon obtained from her all the information he
desired. Among other things she told him that
sometimes people came to her for bad medicines, to
give to persons with whom they had quarreled, and
in this way they would kill them with the poisons
which she made out of toadstools and other deadly
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Algonquin Indian Tales
"Hearing these dreadful facts from her own lips
Nanahboozhoo resolved to kill her, but first he had
her tell him where the wounded chief's abode was,
and all about what was expected of her when she
arrived there. He then speedily tomahawked her,
and clothing himself in her garments he made him
self look exactly like her, after which he took up
her bundle of bark and roots and went to the dwell
ing of the chiefs.
"There he found quite a crowd assembled, but all
were in confusion and excitement on account of the
wounded chief. When they saw, as they thought,
the old woman coming, whom they were eagerly
expecting, they made way for her. Nanahboozhoo
went straight to the place where the wounded
chief lay.
"He was surprised to see that the arrow which
he had shot was still sticking in his side. He made
a great ado about preparing the poultices and medi
cine, and set everybody around him doing some
thing to help carry out his plans. Then when all
were hurrying, and none looking at him, Nanah
boozhoo pushed the arrow with such force into the
body of the chief that it killed him instantly. Then
with a shout of triumph he made his escape.
"There was, of course, great excitement among
the people. They at once called a council and con
sulted what they should do to destroy Nanahbooz
hoo. They were, as I have told you, magicians, and
had power to raise the waters, and so they resolved
to drown him. They accordingly called on the
186

1 He ran away west, to the great mountains.

Algonquin Indian Tales.
waters to rise and rush over the plains and forests
in the direction in which he lived. Nanahboozhoo
had traveled with great speed back to his wigwam,
but hardly had he reached it ere he heard the roar of
the floods of water that were coming to overwhelm
him. He saw his great danger and he ran away
west, to the great mountains; but the floods of
water continued rising and drove him up higher and
higher. When he saw that he was nearing the
highest peak he began to think what he must do
next. Around him in the raging waters were quan
tities of logs and trees, and among them, or on the
now 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 a large raft made out of
the floating logs. As the last spot of land was now
being overwhelmed by the flood, and he pitied the
animals that were swimming about, he took them on
the raft with him. As Nanahboozhoo knew all the
animals and their languages he held a council on
the raft. He told them that if he could get even
a very little of the old world that was drowned he
could make a new world for them all. He first
asked the otter if he would try, and see if he could
dive down and bring up a little portion of the earth.
The otter at once made the attempt, but after a while
he came up to the surface apparently quite dead.
Nanahboozhoo reached out and lifted him in and
placed him in a sunny spot on the raft. Then the
beaver tried. He took a great header and down he
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Algonquin Indian Tales.
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 by the side of the otter.
The muskrat next volunteered to try what he could
do, so down he dived and, after a much longer time
than the others had been down, he too floated up
senseless and cold. Nanahboozhoo took him up,
and as 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 the
muskrat beside the otter and the beaver. He then
blew upon the earth and thus made it dry and porous,
so that when it was placed in the water it would
not sink but float. He then put a lively little mouse
upon it, which by running round and round upon
the earth made it grow larger and larger. Nanah
boozhoo then put a squirrel upon it for the same
object. Then the marten and mink — for the new
earth was now so extended that it could hold up
these light animals.
"For a time Nanahboozhoo had to guard
the now rapidly growing young world from
the larger animals with a stick, for fear
they would sink it. They were all very
tired of having to remain huddled together
so long on the raft, and were eager to follow the
smaller creatures that seemed so happy on the new
earth, even if it were not very large as yet. As
there was much to be done to fit this new world up
for them to dwell upon, everyone had to do what he
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Algonquin Indian Tales
could. The birds were sent to fly over the water
to pick up branches and seeds.
"By and by Nanahboozhoo decided that the earth,
which had now grown beyond the reach of his eyes,
was large enough, and so he revived the otter, the
beaver and the muskrat, and with them and all the
other animals around him he took possession of the
new world.
"In order to ascertain the size of the world he
sent a wolf to run to the end of it and then to re
turn at once to him. The wolf easily made the
journey in one day. Nanahboozhoo then kept him
with him for some time, and again 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 it went on, until at length
Nanahboozhoo started off a young wolf just able to
run on the long journey. This one died of old age
ere he had completed the trip. Nanahboozhoo then
said that the world was large enough, and com
manded it to cease from growing.

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CHAPTER XIX.
Among the Briers and Wild Roses— Why the Roses have
Thorns— Why the Wild Rabbits are White in Winter.
NE day as the children were out in the clear
ings back of their home, gathering some
of the wild strawberries that grew there
and also some of the wildflowers that
bloomed during the short brilliant sum
mer, they were delighted to see Sou
wanas coming along the road with his
gun on his shoulder and some ducks
and rabbits in his hand.
Very cordial were their greetings, but
soon the quick eyes of the kindly Indian no
ticed that there were several long red
scratches and even some drops of partly
dried blood on the hands of his little friends.
It was hardly necessary for him to ask the cause of
the wounds, as the bunches of sweet briers and wild
roses, with their sharp needle-like thorns, in the
happy children's hands told the tale.
Putting down his gun and game, Souwanas
quickly gathered some of the sweet fragrant grass
which is there so abundant, and skillfully twisting
it into little coils he wound one around each of the
bunches of flowers which the children had gathered,
and which they were still having trouble to hold
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Algonquin Indian Tales
The bouquets thus arranged could now be car
ried without inflicting any more wounds or pain.
Amid their chat and laughter, for these white chil
dren were taught, like Indian children, not to be
afraid of a few scratches or a little pain, Minnehaha,
who was industriously wiping the blood from some
wounds on her little white hands with her apron,
said: "How is it, Souwanas, that all these rosebushes
and briers have such sharp thorns on them?"
"I suppose Mary would say that Nanahboozhoo,
the rascal, had something to do with it," put in
Sagastao. At this reference to Mary there was a mischievous
twinkle in the eyes of the old Indian.
"Yes," he replied, "Nanahboozhoo had lots to do
with it, and yet when you hear the story you will
see that he was not such a rascal at the time he did
it as Mary would make out, but almost as good as
her pet, Wakonda, who gave the bees their stings."
"O tell us all about it now," said Minnehaha.
"We have this forenoon as a half holiday, and papa
is to join us in about an hour for a walk in the
woods." The kind-hearted old Indian had been pleased
with the plucky way in which the children had
slighted their wounded hands, and before he began
his story he acted the part of the skillful physician.
He found some soft juicy leaves which he crushed
and spread on the ugly red scratches. The effect
was magical, and the children who had so bravely
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Algonquin Indian Tales
treated their wounds with indifference gratefully
acknowledged the sudden cessation of the smart.
Selecting a pretty spot under a clump of balsam
trees, where some boulder-like stones afforded them
comfortable seats, the children cuddled down 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 on bushes that were smooth
and fragrant, and such delicious eating that all the
animals that eat grass or browse were constantly
seeking for and devouring 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
being exterminated. In those days trees and flowers
and other things had greater powers of thinking and
acting than they have now, and so the roses of differ
ent kinds met in council to decide what could be
done to preserve those of them that were still left
in existence. It was decided that a deputation of
them should be sent to Nanahboozhoo to implore
his assistance.
"He is such an eccentric fellow, and assumes so
many disguises, that they had a good deal of diffi
culty in finding him. They traveled long distances,
and inquired of the various wild animals they met
and even consulted the trees and hills. At length
they were informed that he was now living in a
valley among the mountains and experimenting as
a gardener. They hurried away as fast as the fierce
wind which they had hired to carry them could blow
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Algonquin Indian Tales
them along. At first when they reached his abode
they were very much frightened, as it was easy to
observe from the loud angry tones in which Nanah
boozhoo, although afar off, was speaking, that he
was in a great rage. However, they had come too
far to be easily discouraged. They quietly drew
near, and hiding behind some dense balsam trees
they carefully listened to find out the cause of his
anger. Fortunately, they could not have come at a
better time for themselves, for it seems that Nanah
boozhoo had become very much interested in his
work as a gardener. All the things he had planted
had grown so well that in order to protect them from
prowling wild animals he had set all around the
garden a fine hedge of rosebushes. So many were
required that Nanahboozhoo had been obliged to
transplant bushes from a great distance around, for
they did not grow so abundantly as formerly.
"The morning of the very day on which the depu
tation of the rosebushes arrived Nanahboozhoo had
returned from one of his short adventures. Fancy
his indignation at finding that in his absence all
sorts of animals, from the rabbit to the mountain
elk, had visited his abode, and had not only com
pletely eaten that lovely hedge of rosebushes, but
had also greatly injured the beautiful garden, of
which he was so proud !
"When the deputation of roses understood the
cause of his wrath they at once left their hiding
places and, aided by a sudden puff of wind, came
before Nanahboozhoo. The sight of them excited
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Algonquin Indian Tales
his curiosity, as it had seemed to him that every rose
bush had been destroyed. Before he could say a
word, however, the rosebushes, who were then able
to talk, at once presented their petition and pleaded
for his powerful assistance to save them from being
exterminated by their enemies.
"Nanahboozhoo listened to their petition, and
after some consultation with the rose bushes it was
decided to cover the stocks and branches, up to the
very beautiful flowers, with small thorn-like prickles,
so that every animal henceforth would be afraid to
either devour or closely approach them, as they had
been accustomed to do in the past. With this pro
tection granted them they were more than pleased,
and so it now happens that roses of many kinds still
exist in various parts of the world."
"Thank you very much for that story," said Min
nehaha. "Even if Nanahboozhoo did put prickles
on the rosebushes he was not a rascal, for we would
not have had any roses at all but for what he did."
For a wonder, Sagastao was silent for a time;
but at length he found something to say, and his
words were a bit of a confession and promise of
amendment :
"Now that I know why it is that the prickles are
on the wild roses I'll not get 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. By this the children
knew that their father was not far behind, and they
were not disappointed. At first he looked anxious
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Algonquin Indian Tales
when he saw the little hands wrapped up in green
leaves, but as with merry laughs they told him what
the leaves were for everything was bright again.
Souwanas was greeted very cordially, as usual,
and assured that at the mission house he would find
in the mistress a willing purchaser of his ducks and
rabbits. The children were always interested in the
game, although Minnehaha strongly declared that it
was a pity to kill the pretty creatures. Souwanas
and their father were chatting together while the
children were turning the ducks and rabbits over.
"See what red eyes some of the ducks have," said
Sagastao. "They look as though they had been
crying." "Guess you would have cried too," rather indig
nantly replied Minnehaha, "if you had been shot as
they were."
"Huh!" he replied with a tinge of contempt,
"how could they cry after being shot? I don't be
lieve that is it at all. And, look here, Minnehaha,
I am going also to ask why it is that, while all the
rabbits were so white in winter, they are all now so
brown in summer."
Quickly the resolve was carried out, and so, while
Minnehaha was telling her 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 some ducks
such red eyes, and why are the rabbits white in win
ter and brown in summer?" i95

Algonquin Indian Tales
"Both done by Nanahboozhoo," said the old man
with a smile, as he took his pipe out of his mouth.
"Hurrah for Nanahboozhoo !" shouted the lad.
This outburst on the part of Sagastao at once
attracted the attention of the others to him and Min
nehaha wanted to know what was the matter now.
"Why, did you not hear? Souwanas says that
Nanahboozhoo gave the ducks the red 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 enthu
siasm, interposed, and said:
"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 —
unless to smoke his pipe."
Then he glibly told Souwanas in Saulteaux what
had passed between him and his 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 little listeners?"
"But what about his dinner?" asked the kind-
hearted Minnehaha. "If we keep him here telling
stories he will be too late to get back to his wigwam
for his dinner. I think we had better take him home
with us."
This was quickly decided upon, and that there
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Algonquin Indian Tales
might be no mistake a piece of bark was quickly cut
from a birch tree and a few lines written upon it
telling the good mother in the home that they had
met Souwanas, and that he was entertaining the
children with Nanahboozhoo stories and would be
with them to dinner. Then Jack, the great dog, was
called and sent back with the missive, with orders
to give it to his mistress.
As the dog dashed away homeward the mischiev
ous Sagastao said :
"My! don't I wish I was in the kitchen when
Mary hears that we are out here with Souwanas
listening to stories about Nanahboozhoo! Won't
she be hopping mad !"
"It will be better," said his father, "for Souwanas
to tell his story than for you to make any further
remarks of that kind."
At first Souwanas seemed to show some hesitancy
in beginning his story in the presence of his mis
sionary, and he whispered to Sagastao his fears that
perhaps his father would not care for such trifles as
Indian legends and stories.
With his usual bluntness, the lad declared :
"O, you don't know our father if you think that
way about him. He loves nice stories as well as we
do, and tells us lots of them ; so go ahead, for you
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 in winter.
"Long ago they were always brown, just like
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Algonquin Indian Tales
those that are lying there with the ducks. It is true
that they increase very fast, but then it is very true
that they have many enemies. They have not many
ways to defend themselves against their foes, who
are of so many kinds. Almost all the animals that
live on flesh are always hunting for rabbits, and so
are the foxes of all kinds, the wild cats, wolves, and
wolverines, and even the little weasels and ermine.
Then there are fierce birds — the eagle, the hawks of
all kinds and the owls — that are always on the look
out for rabbits, young or old.
"The result was that with this war continually
being waged against them the poor rabbits had a
hard time of it, and especially in winter; for they
found it very difficult to hide themselves when the
leaves were off the trees and the ground covered
with snow. In those days in the long ago the ani
mals used to have a great council. There the great
fathers or heads of each kind of animal and bird
used to meet together and talk about their welfare
and the welfare of each other. Then there was peace
and friendship among them while at the council.
"They appointed a king, and he presided as a
great head chief. All the animals that had troubles
or grievances had a right to come and speak about
them and, if possible, have them remedied.
"Some queer things were said sometimes. At one
council the bear found great fault with the fox, who
had deceived him, and had caused him to lose his
beautiful tail by telling him to go and catch fish in
a big crack in the ice. He sat there so long that the
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Algonquin Indian Tales
crack froze up solidly and to save his life he had to
break off his tail.
"But all the things they talked about were not so
funny as that. They had their troubles and dangers,
and they discussed various plans for improving their
condition and considered how they could best defeat
the skill and cleverness of the human hunters.
"When the rabbit's turn came to be heard he had
indeed a sorrowful tale to tell. He said that his peo
ple were nearly all destroyed. The rest of the world
seemed combined against his race, and they were
killing them by day and night, in summer and win
ter, and they had but little power to fight against
their many enemies. They were almost discouraged,
but had come to the council to see if their brethren
could suggest any remedy or plan to save them from
complete destruction. While the rabbit was speak
ing the wolverine winked at the wildcat, while the
fox, although he tried to look solemn, could not keep
his mouth from watering at the thought of the many
rabbits he intended yet to eat.
"Thus it can be seen that the poor, harmless rab
bit did not get much sympathy from that part of the
crowd that killed his race all the rest of the year.
"Still there were some animals, like the moose,
and the reindeer, and the mountain goat, that stood
up in the council and spoke out bravely for the rab
bit. Indeed they told the animals that had only
laughed at the rabbit's sad story that, if nothing was
done for the little rabbit and they went on killing as
they were doing, they would soon be the greatest
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Algonquin Indian Tales
sufferers, for if the rabbits were all gone there was
nothing else that they could get in sufficient numbers
to keep them alive. This, which is a fact, rather
sobered some of them at first; but they soon re
sumed their mocking at the poor little rabbit and his
story, and, as they were in the majority, the council
refused to do anything in the matter.
"When the moose heard the decision of the coun
cil he was very sorry for his poor little brother the
rabbit, so after thinking it over he told the rabbit to
jump up on one of his flat horns while he was hold
ing them down. Then the moose carried him out
some distance from the council meeting, and said :
"There is no hope for you here. The most of the
animals live on you, and so they will not do anything
that will make it more difficult for you to be caught
than it is now. Your only chance is to go to Nanah
boozhoo, and see what he can do for you."
"Hurrah!" shouted Sagastao. "I thought it
would be to Nanahboozhoo after all."
Continuing, Souwanas said :
"The moose encouraged the rabbit by saying,
'Nanahboozhoo's name was once Manabush, or
Ketche-Wapoose, Great Rabbit, and so I am sure he
will be your friend, as I think he is a distant relation.
"Not waiting for the council to close, away sped
the rabbit along the route described by the moose,
who had lately found out where Nanahboozhoo was
stopping. The rabbit was such a timid creature that
when he came near to Nanahboozhoo he was much
afraid that he would not be welcomed. However,
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Algonquin Indian Tales
his case was desperate, and although his heart was
thumping within him with fear he hurried along to
have the thing over as soon as possible. To his great
joy he found Nanahboozhoo in the best of humor
and he was received most kindly.
"Nanahboozhoo saw how wearied and tired the
rabbit was after the long journey, and so he made
him rest on some fragrant grass in the sunshine
while he went out and brought in for him to eat
some of the choicest things from his garden. Then
afterward he had the rabbit tell of all his troubles
and of how he was treated at the council.
"This part of the story, of how they acted at the
council, made Nanahboozhoo very angry.
" 'And that's the way they treated this little
brother at the council we have given them, where
it is expected that the smallest and the weakest shall
have the same right to have his case heard and at
tended to as the biggest and strongest! It is high
time that somebody was coming to me with council
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 you will be sorry
that the rabbit had to go to Nanahboozhoo for the
help you ought to have given him !'
"Nanahboozhoo had worked himself up into such
a furious temper that the rabbit was almost fright
ened to death. But when he saw this Nanahboozhoo
only laughed at him, and said he was sorry to have
scared him.
" 'I was so angry,' said Nanahboozhoo, 'at those

Algonquin Indian Tales
animals for ill-treating you that I forgot myself;
and now, little brother, what do you want me to do
for you ?'
"They had a long talk about the matter and the
decision was that there should be two great changes.
The first was that the eyes of the rabbit were to be
so increased in power that they should in future be
able to see by night as well as by day, and the sec
ond was that in all Northlands where much snow
falls during many months of the year rabbits shall
change into a beautiful white color, like the snow,
and thus continue as long as the winter lasts. And
the rabbits now have a much better time than they
had formerly. They can glide away in the darkness
from their enemies when in the woods, and when
out in the snow they are not easily seen and often
escape notice by remaining perfectly still."
But long ere Souwanas had ended Jack had re
turned from the home with a note to say that dinner
would soon be ready, and that no one could be more
welcome than Souwanas.
"But what about the red eyes of the ducks ?" said
the two children, whose appetites for stories were
simply — well, like those of other boys and girls.
Here the father had to interfere and say that
there had been quite enough for one day. However,
before the walk homeward began, Souwanas was
pledged to tell the other story at the first convenient
opportunity.

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Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER XX.
Passing Hunters and Their Spoils— The Vain Woman—
Why- the Marten has a White Spot on His Breast.
,S the home where Sagastao and
Minnehaha lived was near a trail
along which numbers of Indian
hunters were accustomed to travel
when on their way to the trading
post with their furs, they fre
quently called in to see their
loved friends the palefaces.
These hunters were always wel
come, and as they were very
seldom in a hurry the children
drew from them many a quaint
Indian 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 out before them the
rich furs and tell them stories about these animals —
the silver fox, the otter, beavers, minks, martens,
ermines, and sometimes even about great bears and
wolves, whose skin they had often had. These valu
able furs were generally well dressed and prepared
for shipment by the industrious women before they
were taken to the trading post. Sometimes, how
ever, a hunter when on the trail to the trading post
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Algonquin Indian Tales
would find in one of his traps an animal just caught,
and not having time to return to his wigwam and
have the skin dressed and dried he would carry the
animal just as it was and sell it to the fur traders.
One day there called a number of Indians, and
among them was a hunter with a couple of martens
which he had caught in his trap that very morning.
Sagastao and Minnehaha had never seen these little
animals before, and they handled 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 their bronzed faces when they heard this
question. Their conduct only the more excited the curiosity
of the children and they both clamored for the an
swer. Then one of the Indians said :
"Ask Mary; she knows all about the story, and
as a woman was in the affair she can tell it better
than we can."
With this answer the children had to be content,
for the hunters, having drank their cups of tea,
soon took their departure.
When the children found Mary they at once de
manded the story.
"What story?" said Mary.
"O, you know what we want, for you were in the
kitchen and heard what was said."
But Mary still protested her ignorance, and de
clared that she had been so busy caring for Souwa-
204

Wigwams and Indians.

Algonquin Indian Tales
naquenapeke that she had not listened to half the
chatter that had passed between them and the:
Indians. "O, I know you, sakehow Mary," said Sagastao.
"You don't want to tell us because there was a wom
an like yourself mixed up in it."
Mary bridled up with indignation, but before she
could utter a word the arms of Sagastao were around
her neck, and he cried :
"Forgive me, sakehou ! for speaking so foolishly.
I do remember now that you had left the kitchen
with baby before Minnehaha asked the question."
This prompt apology and the sweet word "sake-
how" restored harmony, and Mary was 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," added Sagastao.
Mary smiled when she heard this.
"Yes," she said, "there was a foolish woman
mixed up in the story. It was like this, as far as I
can remember, and it is a story from the North peo
ple. Long ago a man had a wife who was a very
proud, vain woman. She was not contented with
having her husband and her own people saying nice
things about 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 and
20s

Algonquin Indian Tales
do many things. Well, this conceited woman, with
her silly foolish way, began attracting the different
animals around her. Almost everybody was laugh
ing at her, but she seemed to think it great fun to
have so many admirers. She got a lesson one day
when flirting with the bear. They were walking
along together and she let him put his arm around
her, but he gave her such a hug that he broke two
of her ribs. She was a long time getting well and
then her husband gave her a great lecturing. You
would have thought that this would have cured her,
but not a bit of it. When she was well again she
was just as silly as ever, though she took good care
not to flirt with any animal that could hug like a
bear. She next bewitched the skunk with her fool
ishness. But one day, as they walked together, a
dog suddenly attacked the skunk and in his anger
and excitement he so perfumed the woman, instead
of the dog, with his odor that her husband found her
out and gave her a beating.
"Everybody was now laughing at her on account
of her silly ways, and as her husband had persons
employed to see what creatures she went out walking
with she had to remain at home in her wigwam. But
when a woman gets proud and conceited and carries
on like this one did she is hard to cure. The fact
was, her husband was too kind to her. He did not
give her plenty of work to keep her busy and out of
mischief. Instead of making her chop the wood and
carry the water, and do other hard things, he did it
for her, for he was very proud of her and she was
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Algonquin Indian Tales
indeed a beautiful woman. He did, however, make
her stay in their wigwam instead of allowing her to
go about wherever she liked.
"She spent most of her time in fixing herself up
in her beautiful clothes and thinking what a lovely
creature she was. But she soon missed the flattery
of her admirers and resolved that, in spite of her
husband, she would try to hear it again. So vig
ilant, however, were her husband and his friends
that they were too clever for her.
"One day her husband returned from hunting and
visiting his traps and snares. Among other animals
that he had trapped was a beautiful marten. He
had caught it in what is called a dead-fall; that is,
where a log is so arranged that when the animal
reaches the bait he is directly under the log, which
falls upon him the instant he pulls the bait.
"When the woman took up the marten which her
husband had thrown at her feet she noticed that it
was still quite warm, but she said nothing about it
to her husband, who, picking up an ax and blanket,
said that he was going off to visit his more distant
traps and would not be back for some days. Before
he left he made her promise that she would not leave
the wigwam until his return.
"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 not dead,
only knocked senseless by the falling log, so she
rubbed it, and breathed into its nostrils, and then
with a reed blew air into its lungs.
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Algonquin Indian Tales
"Sure enough, the life was in it, and the first sign
it gave was a big sneeze or two. At this the woman
wrapped it up in a warm covering and held it until
it was well again. The marten, of course, was very
much frightened when it found itself in the hands
of a woman. It was about to struggle to get free,
when the woman spoke to it in its own language.
At this it was very much surprised, and more so
when the woman told it how she had given it 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 its life 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 that a beautiful lady has
heard so many wonderful things about him that she
is very anxious to have a visit from him.'
"This the marten promised to do, and it was not
very long before the king marten came. Of course
he had to be very cautious, as he had been warned
of the many who were watching the silly woman.
"Hardly, however, had he time to say much to
her before .the footsteps of her husband were heard
outside. The instant he opened the door of the wig
wam 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
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Algonquin Indian Tales
must have come to life and escaped,' said trie wom
an, who thus cleverly saved herself and thg king
marten. "The man was suspicious, but as the marten which
he had trapped was not to be found he could not
find fault with her, except to say that she ought to
have skinned the marten soon after he had brought
it in.
"The king marten, who was a very conceited fel
low, had been quite struck with the beauty of the
woman, and so, in spite of his narrow escape, he
resolved to go and see her again. By watching her
husband's departure he managed to have several
brief visits, and at length became so infatuated with
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, she had only acted as she
did because of her vanity and love of flattery. Now
that the marten had dared make such a request she
resolved that he should be punished; so one day,
when he was sitting beside her and saying a lot of
foolish flattery, she heard the footsteps of her hus
band approaching, but did not warn the king marten.
"So the man thus caught the old marten sitting
by the side of his wife. At this he was much an
noyed, and as the marten suddenly ran out the man
asked the woman what it meant. So she told him
all that the marten had said, and of his impertinence
in asking her to leave him and become the marten's
wife. At this the man was very indignant, and so
they arranged to punish the marten.
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Algonquin Indian Tales
"The next time the man went off he told his wife
to fill the kettle with water and put it on the fire
to boil. Then the man took his traps and started
off as though he were going on a long journey. But
he only went a little way, just far enough to throw
the marten off his guard, and, sure enough, 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 marten urging his wife to
leave and run away with him. Then he suddenly
sprang into 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 its contents at the marten, severely
scalding him. The marten tore at his burning breast
as he dashed away into the woods. And from that
day to this all 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 a good-for-nothing conceited
flirt," said Mary.

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Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER XXI.
Shooting Loons — Why the Loon has a Flat Back, Red
Eyes, and Such Queer Feet — Nanahboozhoo Loses His
Dinner — Origin of Lichens — Why Some
Willows are Red — The Partridge.
j OTHING gave the children greater
pleasure than to have the Indians
take them in their canoes for a
couple of hours' trip on the bright
waters of the beautiful lake that
spread out before their home.
These pleasant outings were
sometimes rendered exciting and doubly interesting
by the sight of a black bear or a deer wandering on
the shore or swimming from some point on the
island. At other times there would be numbers of
loons, or great Northern divers, as they are gener
ally called. Their wonderful quickness in diving,
then the length of time that they could remain under
the water and the great distance they would swim
before coming to the surface were watched with
great interest by both Sagastao and Minnehaha.
The Indians did not often hunt loons. In fact
they found it so difficult to shoot one that more
than its value in ammunition was generally ex
pended in the attempt. The Indians always de-
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Algonquin Indian Tales
clared that these clever birds could see the flash of
their guns and dive down out of danger before the
shot reached them.
However, as some of them were desired for their
beautiful feather-covered skins, which make most
valuable and beautiful caps and muffs, it was de
cided that Souwanas and Kennedy should take the
missionary's breech-loading rifle, in addition to their
own guns, and try to secure a few.
The children begged to be allowed to accompany
them, and as the day was unusually fine and the
lake almost without a ripple they were given a holi
day and allowed the privilege of an all-day outing
with these two trusty and experienced men.
A generous lunch, with the indispensable tea ket
tle, was placed in the canoe by careful Mary, who, as
usual, was angry that the children were to be so
long under the witchery of old Souwanas.
With the merry shouts of laughter from the chil
dren as their accompaniment the two Indians skill
fully plied their paddles, and it was not long before
they were some miles distant and on the lookout for
loons. It often happens that the things desired are
the last to come. So it was this day. Wild ducks
in goodly numbers, and even geese and some swans
and pelicans were frequently seen. At length, how
ever, strange, mournful sounds far ahead were
heard, and the experienced Indians knew that the
birds for which they were looking were not far
away. Still it was some time before the first long
white neck and black head were seen in the distance,
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Algonquin Indian Tales
for the cry of the loon not only differs from that
of any other bird, but is very far-reaching.
The excited children were now told to be very
still and keep quiet, using their eyes alone, and wit
ness the contest between man's skill and the birds'
cleverness. So accustomed have some old loons become to
being fired at and missed by Indians using the old-
fashioned flintlock shotgun, which makes such a
flash when fired, that they just barely keep out of
range. The instant they see the fire flash — down
they go, and then as the shot or bullet strikes the
place where they were*they bob up again serenely in
the same spot, or in one not very far distant. This
risky sport some of them will keep up for hours, or
until the disheartened hunters have wasted nearly
all their ammunition.
To-day, however, there was to be a new weapon
tried against them, and, alas for them, they were
sadly worsted. Kennedy first loaded his old flint
lock shotgun and blazed away, but, as usual, they
were out of sight under the water 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 a while, as they found that
Kennedy's gunshots could be dodged, they did not
bother 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 he
fired from this new weapon, that gave no flash to
warn the poor bird of the deadly bullet that was so
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Algonquin Indian Tales
rapidly speeding on its way. Thus it happened that
loon after loon was struck and several beautiful
birds were secured — greatly to the sorrow of the
children, who delighted in watching their clever
diving and sudden reappearance after Kennedy dis
charged his old gun. Out of deference to their feel
ings the Indians soon ceased shooting, although with
this new rifle they could easily have secured many
more. "Let us now go ashore, on one of these islands,"
said Sagastao, "and have our lunch."
"And a Nanahboozhoo story after," put in
Minnehaha. This plan was just what the Indians were think
ing about, and so in a short time they were all on
the shore. Dry wood was abundant and a bright fire
was soon burning, and then, when the water was
boiled and the tea made, the lunch basket was
opened and the meal was much enjoyed by all.
"Now, Souwanas," said Minnehaha, "we are all
ready for the story at the same time, and if your
pipe goes out I'll hand you a burning stick with
which you can light it again."
"Maybe I will keep you very busy," remarked the
old man, much amused at the offer — and so it
proved, for his pipe to-day persisted in going out.
"One day," began Souwanas, "as Nanahboozhoo
was walking along the shore of a lake he became
hungry. He considered what it would be best for
him to do in order to procure something to eat. He
decided to deceive the waterfowls. He saw a duck
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Algonquin Indian Tales
swimming along near the shore and spoke to the
bird in this fashion :
" 'Come here, my brother.'
" 'What is it ?' said the duck, as it approached
Nanahboozhoo. " 'Kesha Munedoo (Gracious Spirit) has re
vealed words to me to tell to all the waterfowl some
very important things. Go and tell all sorts of
waterfowl to come, and when they are all together
I will inform you what has been revealed to me.'
"The duck obeyed Nanahboozhoo, who in the
meantime made a very bare wigwam of green
boughs, or rather caused it to appear that he did,
for he did not exert much labor upon it. All sorts
of waterfowl came to Nanahboozhoo and they
seemed anxious to hear what had been revealed.
Nanahboozhoo received them with great apparent
friendliness and invited them to come into the wig
wam. When they had all entered, he said :
" 'You must all dance, first, before I tell you what
has been revealed to me. All of you must stand
close together around inside of the wigwam and put
your necks close together while dancing, and all of
you must flap your wings 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.
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Algonquin Indian Tales
All the fowl kept time to the music and words of the
song, and danced, shutting their eyes. Nanahbooz
hoo continued singing, changing to the following
words : " 'Au-yun-ze-kwa-gau.'
"All the time such was Nanahboozhoo's power
over the birds that they kept singing and dancing
and at the same time holding their heads close to
gether. Nanahboozhoo's voice was singing in the
center of the tent, his drum beating at the same
time, while he in person went around in the wigwam
or lodge wringing the necks of the waterfowl and
throwing them on the side of the lodge. The loon,
the great diver bird, was dancing on the open door
side of the lodge. He suspected that Nanahboozhoo
was up to some of his tricks, doing something bad,
so he opened his eyes and saw. At once, he gave
the alarm, and shouted:
" 'Nanahboozhoo is killing us !'
"All the fowl that were still alive when they heard
these words at once flew out at the top opening
of the lodge, except the loon, or diver, and he being
at the door turned and ran out of the lodge as fast
as he could toward the shore of the lake.
"Nanahboozhoo was so angry at him for daring
to open his eyes, and then for warning the others,
enabling many of them to get away, that he
ran after him and stamped upon him as he had just
reached the shore. Hence it is, because of Nanah
boozhoo's cruelty, that the loon has had a. flat back
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Algonquin Indian Tales
and red eyes, and its feet are so unlike those of any
other waterfowl.
"When Nanahboozhoo had made a large fire he
took the waterfowls he had killed 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 cook he felt very sleepy, so he
lay down to rest.
"But before he went to sleep he said, 'My face
side has always done all the watching. This is not
fair. I will make my back do its share of the
watching.' "So, as he cuddled down to have a sleep before
the fire, he said to his back :
" '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 lay down to sleep again.
"But again and yet again, for three times, did his
faithful watcher call and warn him against his ap
proaching enemies. Nanahboozhoo was now so
stupid with sleep that he only aroused himself a lit
tle, not enough to enable him to detect the lurking
enemy. So he became very angry with his watcher,
his broad back, and gave it a great thrashing,
saying :
" 'There ! take that, you great stupid watcher, for
so disturbing me with your false reports !'
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Algonquin Indian Tales
"Then Nanahboozhoo fell asleep again. The
broad back was very much offended at the treatment
he had received, for he knew he was right, and now,
though the Indians were close at hand, he did not
again warn Nanahboozhoo, so the enemies came and
stole all of his cooked fowls. The Indians carefully
lifted out the fowls by their legs, which Nanahbooz
hoo left sticking up. When they had eaten the
bodies of the fowls they stuck back the legs in the
ashes, as Nanahboozhoo had left them.
"When at last his sleep was ended Nanahboozhoo
arose ready for his meal of nicely cooked fowl.
Great, indeed, were his surprise and indignation
when he pulled out the feet from the ashes and found
that the bodies of the fowls were not there.
"He flew into a passion and resolved to punish his
back. So he made a fire of big trees and stood with
his back very close to it. When his flesh began to
be badly burned it blistered, and made a noise like
the roasting of meat. Nanahboozhoo did not at first
seem to mind the pain, and only said :
" 'You may well say 'Zeeng, Zeeng,' in your burn
ing. I will teach you a lesson you will remember
for not telling me that the Indians were stealing my
roasted waterfowl.'
"Nanahboozhoo then went on his way, but in spite
of his magic powers he felt a sort of a soreness in
his back. He twisted his head around and saw the
blisters that had been made by the fierce fire. So he
thought how he must get rid of them, for they both
ered him, although nothing could injure him for
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Algonquin Indian Tales
very long. While walking on the edge of a precipice
he slipped — and away he slid, far down the rocky
side. When he reached the bottom, 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 Wauko-
nug (lichen), and although they are poor food they
will keep them from starving when they have noth
ing better.'
"This is the Indian tradition of the origin of the
patches of lichen attached to the bare rocks. The
Indians still call them 'no-scabs,' and when boiled
they make a kind of jelly food which is a little bet
ter than starvation.
"Then Nanahboozhoo, although his back was
bleeding from his sliding down the rough rocks,
continued walking, sometimes along the shore and
sometimes in the thick bush. In one place where the
thicket was very dense such was his magic power
that he pulled a lot of the thickets together and
walked over on their tops. When he looked back he
saw that the blood from the wounds in his back had
given a red color to the bushes over which he had
walked. 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 severe acci
dents ;' and such the Indians still do when they live
among them.
"This is the tradition as to the origin of the red
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Algonquin Indian Tales
willow, once so comman in many of the Indian
haunts. "The reason why the partridge is called Kosh-ko-
e-wa-soo (one that startles) is because one made
even Nanahboozhoo give a big jump. It happened
in this way :
"As Nanahboozhoo was walking along one day
in the woods he saw a small creature. This little
thing thought it would be best for him to be brave
in the presence of Nanahboozhoo, and so when he
was asked who he was he answered :
" 'I am one who startles.'
" 'You cannot startle me,' said Nanahboozhoo.
"The little creature suddenly flew away and Na
nahboozhoo resumed his journey. By and by he
reached a dangerous rocky point on the shore. Just
as he was at the worst point the partridge suddenly
flew almost from under his feet with a rumbling
noise, and so startled him that he jumped up, sprang
quickly aside, fell into the water, and got a great
wetting. So even Nanahboozhoo had to confirm the
name of the little partridge."
The return trip was not much enjoyed by the chil
dren. The dead loons in the canoe did not look as
attractive as they had appeared when swimming and
diving so gracefully in the lake. Souwanas was
quick to notice their depression of spirits, and he
there and then resolved that he would never again
shoot any living thing in their presence, and he faith
fully kept his resolve.
Mary met them as they landed and her quick

Algonquin Indian Tales
eyes detected the change in their spirits, and as they
wore their hearts on their sleeves for her she quickly
found out the cause of their sorrow. She was not
slow in availing herself of the opportunity afforded
of giving Souwanas and Kennedy a vigorous scold
ing for nearly breaking the hearts of her precious
darlings, by killing in their presence some of the
birds whose play they had often watched for hours
together. The two men took her scolding in their usual
silent way, and then had a quiet laugh together when
her wrath had exhausted itself and she had indig
nantly walked off with the children.

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Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER XXIt
Nanahboozhoo's Ride on the Back of the Buzzard, who
Lets Him Fall— A Short-lived Triumph— Why the Buzzard
has No Feathers on His Head or Neck.
NE beautiful warm day, when the leaves of
the trees were all bright and golden
with their autumnal tints, the children
were visiting at the tent of Souwanas.
The old man was making a beautiful
little bow and a quiver full of arrows
for Sagastao while the old wife was
manufacturing an elaborate baby cradle,
of the Indian pattern, for Minnehaha, in
which she could carry her favorite doll in
==~ the style popular among the Indian girls.
The children were much interested in
watching these highly-prized gifts being pre
pared for them, and of course had much to
say in the way of thanks to 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,
each fastened to a couple of oars, and with these
simple appliances they sped rapidly along. Seeing
Souwanas's wigwam on the point of land the In
dians came to the shore and smoked and chatted for
22J

The Indian story-teller.

Algonquin Indian Tales
a short time ere they resumed their journey toward
the north.
They had in their canoes quite a variety of game,
and among them a large ill-smelling bird called a
turkey-buzzard. It was said that the young Indian
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 where it had fallen.
The odor was so offensive that at first he thought he
would leave it behind, but when he remembered that
often some of the large feathers were used in orna
mental work he decided to bring it along.
The children were interested in its appearance, as
this was the first dead turkey-buzzard they had ever
seen. "Look, Souwanas," said Minnehaha, "the poor
birdie has no feathers on its neck 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 lost its feathers," said Sagastao,
and then he added as he poked the rank bird over
with a stick:
"I would not be surprised to hear that Nanah
boozhoo had something to do with it."
"Nanahboozhoo had," said Souwanas, "and it
was because of a mean trick that the buzzard played
upon him. And now that these Indians are off,
who are in a hurry to reach Poplar Point, if you will
sit down on the rocks in the warm sunshine I will
tell you the story."
No second invitation was necessary, so while the
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Algonquin Indian Tales
children seated themselves near him on the smooth
granite rock the old man continued his arrow
making and told them the following story :
"One day when Nanahboozhoo was walking
through the country he saw the buzzard soaring up
high in the air. Like an eagle, he was making
graceful circles round and round with very little
effort. After a time the buzzard flew down to the
earth, and there he stood on a rock with his great
wings outstretched. Nanahboozhoo quietly ap
proached and entered into conversation with him.
" 'Brother Buzzard,' he said, 'you must be very
happy when sailing around up there in the blue sky
where you can so easily see everything that is going
on down here on the world below you. I wish you
would take me up there on your back and let me see
how this world looks from that high place in the
blue sky, where you live so much.'
"The buzzard on hearing this request at once flew
down to the side of Nanahboozhoo and said :
" 'I will with pleasure take you up on my back
and let you see, as you desire, 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 in
the sky.'
"The buzzard told Nanahboozhoo that he would
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Algonquin Indian Tales
be very careful, although at the 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 Nanahboozhoo seemed to have forgotten.
"Nanahboozhoo then mounted on the back of the
great buzzard and held by his feathers as well as he
possibly could. The buzzard then took a short run,
sprang from the ground, and spreading his great
strong wings speedily rose up higher and higher in
the sky.
"Nanahboozhoo at first felt rather timid as he
found himself thus rapidly soaring through the air,
especially as it was so difficult for him to keep his
seat. When the buzzard began circling round and
round it was even more difficult, for the body of the
bird leaned over more and more as his speed in
creased. But Nanahboozhoo was very clever, and
after a while he became more accustomed to his
queer position and was very much interested in the
splendid sights of the great world beneath him, over
which he could now see for such a great distance.
Lakes and rivers, forests and mountains, all gave
delight to Nanahboozhoo, who had wonderful pow
ers of vision.
"At length, as they rose up higher and higher in
the blue sky, Nanahboozhoo shouted out in his de
light as far away in the distance he recognized the
wigwam of his grandmother, Nokomis. Indeed so
delighted was he that for a moment he let go his
hold on the buzzard and swung up his arms in his
excitement. The treacherous buzzard noticed this,
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Algonquin Indian Tales
saw it was the opportunity for which he had been
watching, and circled round so suddenly that his
body was tilted over, and before Nanahboozhoo
could regain his grip he slipped off the smooth back
and fell like a stone to the ground. So terrible was
the force with which he struck the earth that he was
knocked senseless, and lay there for a long time like
one dead.
"But, as I have told you, Nanahboozhoo was more
than human and nothing could really kill him. So
it happened that after a while he recovered his
senses, but he was annoyed, disgusted, that he had
allowed the buzzard to play such a mean trick on
him. "Then he prepared to resume his journey, and of
course he looked up to see if 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 he had played upon Nanahboozhoo, and
much pleased with his own cleverness in deceiving
one known to be so crafty.
" 'Laugh away, old buzzard,' said Nanahboozhoo.
'You have had the best of me this time, but look
out ! For I will put a mark upon you for this trick
of yours that will enable your friends and your ene
mies to recognize you both by day and by night.'
"But the buzzard, from his high safe place in the
sky, only laughed back in derision, and said :
" 'No, indeed, Nanahboozhoo, you will do noth
ing of the kind. You have been deceiving the other
creatures, but in me you have found your match.
226

' Nanahboozhoo then mounted on the back of the great buzzard."

Algonquin Indian Tales
You cannot deceive me. And now, especially as you
have threatened me, I will always be on the watch
for you.'
"Nanahboozhoo made no reply to this boastful
speech, but he did a lot of thinking, and he soon had
his plans laid to teach Mr. Buzzard a lesson he
would 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. Then seeing 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 lived on dead
animals of all kinds. He chose a high spot, visible
from a great distance, and there he laid himself
down and changed himself into the body of a great
deer. It was not long before the various animals
and birds that subsist on such things began to gather
round this dead body.
"The buzzard, that has such wonderful eyes, to
see great distances, saw from afar this gathering of
the birds and animals, and as he was ever on the
lookout for such things he soon joined the rest of
the creatures around the deer. He flew round and
round it several times, for he was at first somewhat
suspicious. The closest inspection, however, showed
him that it was only a dead deer, and that was the
unanimous opinion of all the other animals and birds
that gathered there. There could be no doubt in
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Algonquin Indian Tales
any creature'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 to get the best he could
savagely began, with his powerful beak, tearing a
hole in the side of the body that he might get down
to the rich fat that is around the kidneys. This is
what those fierce, greedy birds always try to get
first. Deeper and deeper into the flesh he tore, until
at length he was able to crowd in his head and neck
to reach the dainty morsels he so much prized.
"This was just what Nanahboozhoo was waiting
for, and when the head and neck 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 of the buzzard that the
greedy bird was there securely held.
" 'Ha, ha, old buzzard ! I did catch you after all,
as I said I would,' said Nanahboozhoo. 'Now pull
out your neck and head.'
"The buzzard with very great difficulty at length
succeeded in drawing his head out of the side of the
deer. The effort to do so, however, was so great
that he lost all of the beautiful feathers that once
adorned his head and neck. From that day they
have never grown on him again, and there is noth
ing 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 how
Nanahboozhoo punished you for playing one of your
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Algonquin Indian Tales
tricks on him. And also from this time forward
your food will only be of the rankest kind, and the
disagreeable odor will so cling to you that even in
the darkest nights your hateful presence will be
detected and shunned.'
"Thus," added Souwanas, "the buzzard is the
most despised of birds, because he is such an ugly
fellow, with his featherless head and neck, and be
cause his disagreeable odor taints the sweet air
wherever he goes."

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Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER XXIII.
A Moonlight Trip on the Lake— The Legend of the
Orphan Boy— His Appeal to the Man in the Moon— How
He Conquered His Enemies.
OONLIGHT nights in the Northland
are often very beautiful.
There in the summer time
^"fhe gloaming continues until
nearly midnight. Then noth
ing can be more glorious
than to glide along amid the beautiful fir-clad
rocky islands in a birch canoe over the still trans
parent waters. So large and luminous are the full
moons of July and August that, with the west aglow
and with the wondrous aurora flashing and blazing
in the north, there is practically little night and no
darkness at all.
Nothing gave the children greater pleasure than
to have permission to go with Mary and Kennedy
in a large roomy birch canoe for a moonlight excur
sion during one of those warm, brilliant nights.
With plenty of rugs or cushions, to make the coziest
of seats in the center of the canoe, they fairly reveled
in the beauties of the romantic surroundings while
they floated on the moonlit lake. Often in some
place of more than ordinary beauty Kennedy would
230

With Mary and Kennedy in the birch canoe.

Algonquin Indian Tales
cease paddling, and then their very quietness added
to the charms of those happy outings.
"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 really believe I saw him laughing,
he is so pleased we have come out to see him this
lovely night."
These remarks of the children caused all in the
canoe to more closely scan the great round moon
that was shining with silvery whiteness straight
in front 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 queer
one about how he came down and helped a poor
orphan boy."
"O, tell it to us just now," said Minnehaha,
"while he is watching and listening."
"Do, Mary," said Sagastao, "and Minnehaha and
I will watch the old fellow and see how he likes to
be talked about."
"Well," said Minnehaha, "Mary will be talking
to him to his face, and not behind his back, as peo
ple sometimes do when talking about others."
Thus the children ran on with their prattle. Mary
and Kennedy were much amused.
"Come, Mary, hurry up ! Father said the gloam
ing would end about eleven, and we must be at the
shore by that time." 231

Algonquin Indian Tales
"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 the other — their favorite posi
tions when listening to her fascinating stories as she
crooned them out in her soft, musical Cree — Mary
told them the story.
"Long ago," she began, "there was a poor orphan
boy who had neither father nor mother, uncle, aunt,
nor any living relative that he knew of. He had a
very hard time of it, as the people did not seem to
take kindly to him. So he had to live just where
he could. He managed to get along all right during
the pleasant summer time, but when the long cold
winters began he suffered very much. One winter
some selfish people let him live with them because
he was willing to work hard for what little they did
for him. They treated him badly in many ways.
They made him go out into the woods and cut fire
wood, but when he brought it home they would
only allow him to stay in the cold entry-way which
they had built to their winter dwelling.
"They made him go and hunt different animals
for food, and then when he brought them home they
cooked and ate the best themselves, and just threw
the fragments and bones to him as they would to a
dog. Every member of the household treated him
very cruelly, except a nice little girl, the youngest
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Algonquin Indian Tales
daughter of the family. She felt very sorry for
him. She would secretly take him better food, and
she furnished him with a knife with which he could
cut the tough pieces of meat. She had to be very-
careful not to be discovered, for if found out she
would have been severely punished. So her pity had
to show itself on the sly, and the few words she
was able to tell him of her sympathy had to be whis
pered as she passed him, when nobody was looking
or listening. The poor boy up to this time had no
ambition to better himself, but her kind words and
deeds made him resolve that he must begin and do
something for himself. But what could he do?
Everybody seemed against him but this little girl,
and she could do nothing in the way of helping him
to escape from these people, who, now that he was
becoming so useful 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 of escape. He had tried
to run away, but had been caught and brought back
and beaten.
"One night when it was not very cold he went
outside of the narrow entry where he generally had
to sleep and threw himself on the ground and cried
in his sorrow and despair. He seemed to be utterly
unable to better himself. 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 he was able to see that there was a
great man in the moon. As he watched him he was
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Algonquin Indian Tales
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 to escape from
the miserable life he was leading. Sure enough, as
the boy kept on crying and pleading he saw the man
in the moon beginning to come down to this world.
He came to the very spot where the unhappy boy
was lying, but instead of helping him he made him
stand up and then he gave him a good sound thrash
ing, making the boy, however, strike back at him as
vigorously as he could. The beating he got very
much disheartened and discouraged the boy, for it
was not what he had expected. On the following
night, when he had recovered a little, he began re
proaching the man in the moon.
" 'I called for you,' he said, 'to come and help me
against my enemies, and now you have come and
thrashed me.'
"But these words, instead of softening the man in
the moon, caused him to come 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 beaten the stronger he grew.
Still he could not understand what the man in the
moon meant. So he came again, and they had an
other regular set-to, and the boy had another good
sound thrashing. He asked him what was the mean
ing of his beating him thus. The man in the moon
now spoke to him, but his words were so much like
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Algonquin Indian Tales
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 the result of these meetings
with the man in the moon he had grown so strong
that he was nearly able to hold his own against his
antagonist. Then one day, when the man in the
moon was puffing from the encounter, the latter
said: " 'Now by hard knocks and exercise I have put
you on the way of ending your troubles. Be strong,
and conquer. Farewell! I am not coming again,
as you do 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 own deliverance. To test
himself he began tossing up the stones that were so
numerous 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 man in the moon it was nearly
daylight. "At first the people began ordering him about as
usual. But they soon had reason to be sorry for
their cruelty and abuse, for the boy seized one after
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Algonquin Indian Tales
another of them and flung them with such violence
against the rocks that their brains were dashed out
and their blood ran in streams down the sides of the
rocks — where it turned into seams in the rocks
which can be seen to this day.
"One person only, of all who lived in that dwell
ing, did the now strong boy leave alive, and that
was, of course, the good-hearted little girl who used
to speak kind words to him and befriend him when
she could.
"They grew to be very fond of each other, and
were afterward married and lived in full possession
of all the things that once belonged to the cruel
people for whom the little orphan boy had worked
so long."
"Well, sakehou," said Sagastao, "I have been
watching the man in the moon while you have been
telling the story about his queer way of helping the
boy to help himself, and he was looking pleased all
the time. So I am sure he 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 loved with such a passionate
devotion. "But what do you think about it, little sister?"
said the lad, calling to Minnehaha, who was cuddled
down on the other side of Mary.
But the darling gave no answer, for she had long
ago slipped off into Dreamland, and there she re
mained until the strong arms of Kennedy lifted her
up from the canoe and carried her home.
236

Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER XXIV.
Souwanas's Love for Souwanaquenapeke — How Nanah
boozhoo Cured a Little Girl Bitten by a Snake — How the
Rattlesnake got Its Rattle — The Origin of Tobacco
— Nanahboozhoo in Trouble.
AHKIEGUN, as Souwanas
named the home of his white
friends, always had a warm wel
come for Souwanas. Little Sou
wanaquenapeke had learned to
love him and nothing gave the
grave old man greater pleasure
than to have charge of her for
hours at a time. He often car
ried her away to his wigwam
and with great delight explained
to visiting Indians how his name
was woven into that of the first little paleface born
among his people.
Sagastao and Minnehaha, while of course pleased
to see the love of the old chief for their sweet little
sister, were sometimes a little impatient when they
found that he would have his hour with her before
they could draw a Nanahboozhoo story out of him.
"You are all right," he would say in his dry,
humorous way, "as far as you go; you are only
Crees," he would add with a smile, referring to the
237

Algonquin Indian Tales
fact that they had been born among the Cree Indians
farther north ; "but Souwanaquenapeke is better, as
she is a pure Saulteaux."
This of course would put Sagastao and Minne
haha on the defensive, for in those 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 it was very amusing — laughable
at times — to listen to the wordy strife. In these dis
cussions Mary was always the one to first lose her
temper. When this happened the penalty was to
have the children throw a shawl over her head and
thus silence her. From their loving hands she
quietly took her punishment and was soon restored
to good nature. Good-hearted Souwanas then
speedily responded to the call for a story. But
the little Souwanaquenapeke must be, if awake, in
his arms, or, if asleep, in a little hammock or native
cradle beside him.
"What is it to be about to-day?" asked the old
man, as the children, full of eager anticipation, drew
a couple of chairs up before him.
After some discussion Souwanas decided to tell
them the Nanahboozhoo story of how he lessened
the power of the rattlesnakes to do harm.
"Nanahboozhoo, in starting off one day from his
grandmother's wigwam, had put on the disguise of
a fine young hunter. He had not gone nlany miles
on his journey before he came to a little tent on the
edge of the forest where he found a young Indian
mother full of grief over her sick child. Nanah-
238

Algonquin Indian Tales
boozhoo could not but feel very sorry for her, espe
cially when he heard her story that a snake had
crawled noiselessly into her tent and had bitten her
little girl while she slept. Nanahboozhoo felt such
pity, both for the weeping mother and the bitten
child, that at once he set to work to counteract 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 root of this plant shall
be a remedy for all people against the bites of
snakes.' "Then Nanahboozhoo showed the mother that the
roots were to be pounded and made into a drink and
a poultice. The glad mother quickly carried out his
instructions and the little girl was soon well again.
The Indians have ever since been very thankful to
Nanahboozhoo for letting them know of this plant,
which they still use for such purposes and which they
call snakeroot. Nanahboozhoo remained until he
saw that the little girl was quite recovered. Then
he said:
" 'Now I will fix that snake so that he will not be
able to do so much harm in the future.'
"Then going out he caught the king of the snakes
and gave him a great scolding for the meanness of
that one of his family which had crawled into the
tent of the Indian mother and so cruelly bitten that
little girl while she slept. Then getting very angry,
for Nanahboozhoo was very quick-tempered, he
said: " 'Snakes, like other things, have the right to live.
239

Algonquin Indian Tales
They are given their place in the world, and their
work. They are to keep down the mice, rats, frogs,
toads, and other things that might become too nu
merous. They have their poisons given them to
defend themselves if attacked. But they have no
right to go and kill or injure anyone doing them no
harm. I'll teach you snakes that in future you can
not quietly crawl about and bite innocent people
thus.' "So he took a piece of the wampum from one of
the strings with which he had decorated himself, and
having carefully carved the hard shells of which
wampum is made, Nanahboozhoo firmly fastened
them to the snake's tail, and said :
" 'From this day forward may all snakes like
you have those noisy rattles upon them, so that all
people will call you rattlesnakes. And may it be
that you can never move without making a noise
with those rattles, so that people will always be able
to hear them and thus get ready to fight you, or to
get out of your way before you can do any harm.' "
"Well done, Nanahboozhoo!" shouted little Sa
gastao. "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 question that, although asked by
a child, was beyond his knowledge, so he resorted
to his calumet, and as the smoke of it began to taint
the air Sagastao said, "Well, Souwanas, can you tell
us where you Indians first got your tobacco?"
This question was more £o the taste of the old
240

Algonquin Indian Tales
Indian, so while he smoked he related the tradition
of the introduction of tobacco among his people.
"Very many winters ago," said he, "as Nanah
boozhoo was traveling on one of his long journeys
he visited a land of great high mountains. One day
as he was passing a great chasm in the mountains he
saw some blue smoke slowly coming up out of it.
This excited his curiosity and he went to see what
caused it. As he drew near to it he was very much
pleased with its odor. On further investigation he
found that the great cave from which the smoke
arose was inhabited by a giant who was the keeper
of tobacco.
"Nanahboozhoo, on searching, found him half
asleep in this cave among great bales and bags of
tobacco. "The smell of the smoke of the tobacco had so
pleased Nanahboozhoo that he asked the giant to
give him some. The giant refused in a very surly
fashion, saying that he only gave portions of it away
to his friends the Munedoos, who came once a year
to smoke with him.
"Nanahboozhoo, seeing that he was not going to
be able to get any by thus pleading for it, snatched
up one of the well-filled tobacco bags, dashed out
with it, and fled away as rapidly as possible. The
great giant was fearfully enraged, and at once began
the pursuit of this rash fellow who had thus stolen
his tobacco from under his very nose.
"It was a fearful race. Nanahboozhoo had to
jump from one mountain top to the next, and so
241

Algonquin Indian Tales
on and on from peak to peak. Closely behind him
followed the giant, and Nanahboozhoo had all he
could do to keep from being captured. Fortunately
for him he now knew the mountains well, and he
remembered one ahead of him the opposite side of
which was very steep. When he reached this top
he suddenly threw himself down upon the very edge,
and as the giant passed over him Nanahboozhoo
suddenly sprang up and gave him such a push that
he tumbled down into the fearful chasm. He was so
bruised and wounded that, as he got up and hobbled
away down the far-off valley, Nanahboozhoo watch
ing him saw that he looked just like a great grass
hopper. 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 grasshoppers knows that their saliva is
as though they had been chewing tobacco.
"When Nanahboozhoo had rested himself a little
he returned to the cave of the giant and took pos
session of the great quantities of tobacco he found
there. He divided it among the Indian tribes, and
from that time those who live where it will grow
have cultivated it and have supplied all the others."
"I wish," said Minnehaha, "that Nanahboozhoo
had left Pukaneh and his tobacco in the cave,
for I don't think tobacco smoke is very nice in the
house." 242

Nanahboozhoo gave him a great push.

Algonquin Indian Tales
Souwanas was amused with the little girl's oppo
sition to his beloved weed, and while she was talking
took the opportunity to refill his calumet. When it
was in good smoking order he, urgently requested
by Sagastao, resumed his story-telling.
"Sometimes it did not fare so well with Nanah
boozhoo. There were times when his cleverness
seemed to forsake him, and he got into trouble that
at other times he would easily have avoided. For
example, one day in the summer time as he was
hurrying along he became very thirsty. Soon, how
ever, he came to a river which has many trees on its
banks. He pushed his way through them until he
came to the bank. Just as he was stooping down to
drink he saw some nice ripe fruit in the water.
Without seeming to think of what 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 was vexed and angry as well as dis
appointed, but he took a good drink of the water
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 trees the fruit
which he had at first thought was in the water.
"Laughing at his own stupidity and climbing up
into the trees he soon had all the ripe fruit he could
eat. "Then on he went, and as his head was quite sore
from the bump he had got when he dived into the
shallow river he determined to visit some wigwams
which he saw not far off. 243

Algonquin Indian Tales
"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 wounded
head. "Nanahboozhoo was well pleased with this kind
ness, and said that he would be 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 may live forever !'
"This request and the sneering way in which it
was made caused the quick-tempered Nanahboozhoo
to become very angry, and he suddenly sprang up
and caught the Indian by the shoulders and vio
lently throwing him on the ground said :
" 'From this time you shall be a stone, and so your
request is granted.' "

244

Algonquin Indian Tales

CHAPTER XXV.
The Dead Moose — The Rivalry Between the Elk and the
Moose People, and Their Va
rious Contests — The Disas-
jN^ ter that Befell the Latter
1 \ Tribe — The Haze of the
Indian Summer.
HE sight of four stalwart Indians drag
ging on a dog sled the body of an enor
mous moose on the ice in front of their home
very much interested the children.
Nothing would do but they must be wrapped
up and allowed to go out and examine it while
the men rested and had a smoke. Its great
horns, its enormous ugly head, and then its
coarse, bristle-like hair, had all to be examined and
commented upon. The opportune arrival of Sou
wanas, who had been attracted by the sight of the
moose, much pleased the children, and just as soon
as the investigation of the moose was over and the
hunters had proceeded on their journey the children
insisted on Souwanas going home to Wahkiegun
with them and telling them something about the
moose. They also wanted to hear a wonderful story,
which he knew, telling how Nanahboozhoo helped
the elks to conquer the moose.
When there is a disposition to surrender we are
easily conquered. So it was with Souwanas on this
occasion. The children in their love for their friend
245

Algonquin Indian Tales
pleaded so importunately that a good cup of tea was
prepared for and much enjoyed by him before he
began his story, his interested auditors as close as
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 called Oomaskos, Elk people. They had noth
ing but the poorest of robes on their backs, 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.
When Nanahboozhoo saw this destitution and pov
erty he at once inquired the reason, and was sur
prised and very angry to hear that they were great
gamblers. "Not far off from them was another village whose
people were called Mooswa, or Moose people,
and Nanahboozhoo soon found out that, while the
inhabitants of these two villages were antagonistic
to each other, they frequently met to gamble, and
that the Moose people were nearly always successful
and had won from the Elk people nearly everything
they possessed. The latter were very much humil
iated at Nanahboozhoo's finding them in such a
wretched condition, but they told him they were
convinced that some trickery had been practiced up
on them by their opponents. They also informed
Nanahboozhoo that they would be glad if he would
help them to get back their much needed possessions.
246

Algonquin Indian Tales
"Nanahboozhoo promised that he would assist
them on condition that after their possessions were
regained they should give up the pernicious habit
of gambling. This they unanimously promised to
do. The first thing Nanahboozhoo did was to dis
guise himself as a whisky-jack and fly over to the
village of the Moose people and try to discover how
it was that they had been so invariably successful
when they gambled with the Elk people. It was as
he suspected. His old enemies the Anamakquis, the
evil spirits that had destroyed his brother Nahpoo
tee, the wolf, had sent one of their number among
the Moose people, and he had enabled them to
win nearly all of the dogs, as well as other things,
from the Elk people. Indeed, he himself had gener
ally been the one who had tossed the plum stones
with which they gambled, and they had won by his
magic powers.
"When Nanahboozhoo heard this he knew that
his first work must be to secure the magic muska-
moot (medicine bag) . So he flew round and round,
and peering in through the top of the wigwam,
where the poles crossed each other, he was fortunate
enough to see the magic bag hanging up on a cross
pole over the place where the Anamakqui slept. He
noticed also that it was well guarded 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 back to the village of the
Elk people and ordered the most industrious of the
women, who were skillful in making fire bags, to
247

Algonquin Indian Tales
make one exactly as he described. This was, of
course, similar to the magic muskamoot he had seen
hanging up in the tent.
"Nanahboozhoo then put into it things that would
have just the opposite effect to those which were in
the bag of the Anamakqui. He waited until it was
dark, and then, noiselessly flying back to the village
of the Moose people, he silently entered the wigwam
at the top, where there was now a wide opening, as
it was in the warm summer time, very quickly ex
changed the bag he had with him for the magic
muskamoot, and returned to the village of the Elk
people. It did not take him long to arrange his
plans. The chief of the Elks had a beautiful daugh
ter, and it was given out that a fine young chief from
a far-away tribe had come to ask for her in mar
riage. The father had welcomed this young chief
— who was, of course, Nanahboozhoo — and as he
had brought costly gifts he was at once acknowl
edged as the accepted son-in-law.
"The news spread rapidly and it soon reached the
Moose village. When they heard of the many gifts
which this rich young stranger had brought with
him they, of course, were greedy to win them, as
they had won the rest of the Elks' property. It was
not many days before a company of them came over
to the 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 see if he is a better player
than we are.' 248

Algonquin Indian Tales
"The girl went at once into the wigwam and in
formed her intended husband, Nanahboozhoo, of the
challenge of these people. She also told him that
they were very clever but that they had no idea of
him being anything else than what 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 must submit
to a beating by the conquerors.'
"Then Nanahboozhoo and the champion for the
Moose people sat down on opposite sides of the bowl
in which were the plum stones, while the people of
each of the two villages ranged themselves behind
their own champion. When Nanahboozhoo shook
the bowl, and then let the plum stones cease rolling,
it was seen that he had won every point. At this
the Elks set up a great 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 wait until our man has
played.' "The plum stones were then handed to him and
patting his medicine bag he confidently shook them
up, but when they had ceased rolling it was seen that
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 peo
ple, for we are surely going to be winners this day.'
"The Moose people were, however, not yet quite
249

Algonquin Indian Tales
discouraged. 'There are three tries yet,' they said,
'and our man may yet win.' But their hopes were
soon gone, for when Nanahboozhoo threw the plum
stones the third time he was as successful as at the
first." "This decided the game in favor of the Elks,
who now rushed upon the Moose people and
thrashed them all the way back to their own village.
"The Moose were very much humiliated at this
defeat. They had not only had a good beating but,
according to the custom of the tribes, they were
obliged to restore much of the property which they
had won from the Elks in their previous contests. A
council was called not long after and there was quite
a discussion among them as to the best plan to be
adopted to defeat the Elks and regain supremacy.
They decided on a trial of strength, for in such en
counters they had generally been victorious. They
had two high poles erected with a crossbar on the
top, and the contest was to see which side could pro
duce 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 Moose people, who were awaiting
them, had erected the high poles with the crossbar.
When everything had been arranged their strongest'
man took up a heavy 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 the crossbar had been replaced a
250

Algonquin Indian Tales
son of the chief of the Elks went forward, as though
he would be the competitor on the side of the Elks.
He pretended as though he could not even lift the
heavy stone which the Moose champion had thrown.
When the Moose people saw this they shouted out in
triumph, and began to get ready to give the Elks as
good a beating as they had received from them on
a former occasion.
"Seeing them thus coming, Nanahboozhoo rushed
forward, seized the heavy stone, and sent it high up
and far over the tops of the poles — thus winning
the victory again for the Elks. With a shout of tri
umph the Elks again attacked the Moose and drove
them in disgrace back to their own village. The
Moose people were now more humiliated than ever,
but they determined to try another plan; for they
were resolved not to give up to the Elks, whom they
had so often defeated. After much consultation
they said :
" 'Let us have a contest at diving in the lake, that
we may see if our champion 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 come to have another contest
with them. To the proposal of the Moose the Elks
all agreed, and both parties proceeded to the lake.
Here a large hole was cut in the ice and the cham
pion of the Moose prepared to go down into the
water. One of the brothers of the beautiful Indian
girl who had been selected as Nanahboozhoo's bride
said to Nanahboozhoo : 251

Algonquin Indian Tales
" '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 friends down there.'
"And, sure enough, the mud turtle came up and
said, in words that only Nanahboozhoo could
understand :
" 'My brother, I have come up at the request of
your brother, the wolf, to aid 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 spirit brother had sent his friend
the mud turtle to help him in this trial.
"The competitors now stripped themselves, and
when the signal was given they both dived into the
water and disappeared. The Moose people had such
confidence in their champion that they had all
brought with them very heavy sticks with which"
they intended giving the Elks a great beating in re
turn for 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 at first that the people on the
land heard the Moose say, 'Elk, are you cold?' To
which the mud turtle, who had covered the Elk com
petitor over with his shell, replied :
" 'No, Moose ; but are you cold ?'
252

Algonquin Indian Tales
"As the people on the shore could not hear any
answer to this question it gave some alarm to the
Moose people about their champion, who they feared
must be benumbed with the cold. This was really
the case, for in a short time he came to the surface
of the water so nearly frozen to death that he had
to be helped out of the water.
"When the mud turtle and Nanahboozhoo heard
the shoutings of triumph of the Elks they knew that
the Moose champion had failed, and so they came
up to the surface. Nanahboozhoo swam ashore and
joined in the pursuit of the disheartened Moose
people, who had again so signally failed.
"These repeated defeats very much angered and
humiliated the Moose people. They almost quar
reled among themselves in their vexation as they
talked them over at their councils. Still they were
in no humor to give up. They had two very swift
runners among them, and they decided to challenge
the Elks to a foot race. So they again sent a num
ber of their party over to the tent of the Elk people
and said:
" 'We are not at all satisfied yet, and we wish to
know if the son of the chief and his brother-in-law,
the young stranger who has come into your midst,
will run a foot race against two of our young
people.' "This challenge was at once accepted and soon all
preparations were made for the great race. It was
decided that it should be run on the ice of the frozen
lake, which was several miles round. Much snow
253

Algonquin Indian Tales
had fallen, but the people of both sides turned out
for days and cleared out a good track. They made
it near the shore, and so that the finishing spot would
be near where was the starting point.
"The Moose felt quite certain of winning this
time, because by their magic their runners were to
be turned into real Moose, with four legs, and they
argued that runners with four feet could surely beat
those who had only two. But there were others who
had heard about this great race, and among them
was the wolf, the spirit brother of Nanahboozhoo,
and so he came to him the night before the race.
" 'My brother,' he said, 'I will come and help you
in this race. You are the only 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 a greater speed. But you must
keep your legs moving as if rapidly running, or
the people will suspect something unusual."
"There was a great crowd to witness this race be
tween the two great Moose, to represent the Moose
people, and the son of the chief and his unknown
brother-in-law to represent the Elks. When the sig
nal was given away they started over the icy trail.
The Moose soon were at the front, with the chief's
son not far behind. Nanahboozhoo was purposely
a little in the rear, and so was able to spring upon
the wolf's back without attracting attention.
"With this steed under him he sped along with
marvelous rapidity. At the half-way point of the
race he overtook his brother-in-law, and giving him
254

They were excited at his coming.

Algonquin Indian Tales
his hand, they were soon far in front. When they
rushed in ahead there was great excitement. The
Moose people were soon running back to their vil
lage 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 toward the
young stranger, who had, they now saw, been the
cause of their many defeats. Nanahboozhoo, how
ever, easily thwarted their evil schemes, but at length
some of them were so bad that his anger was aroused
and he exerted all his magic power.
" 'Moose you are by name,' he said to them, 'and
for your bad deeds I change you into the animals
after whom you are named. Hereafter you will live
in the swamps, among the willows and young birch.
On them you will have to browse for a living. For
a little variety in your food you may, in the summer
time, go out into the shallow waters and paw up and
eat the great roots of the water-lilies.'
"Thus the Elks again had peace and quietness.
Gambling was never again allowed among them, and
Nanahboozhoo, after receiving their grateful thanks,
returned to his own country."
"What did he do after that ?" asked Sagastao.
"Not much, for a while; but after a time he de
cided to go away up North. Each fall, however, he
comes and looks around to see how everything is
going on. Then he rests on some of the mountains
and has a big smoke, which settles down on the hill-
255

Algonquin Indian Tales
sides and valleys and makes the beautiful hazy time
which we all call the Indian Summer."
"Well," said Minnehaha, "if the smoke of Nanah
boozhoo's big pipe of peace makes the beautiful haze
of the lovely Indian Summer, it is about the best
thing I have heard yet of tobacco smoke doing."
And so say we all.

256

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. 257

Glossary
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 the earth.
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 Nanah
boozhoo.

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