Chapter IV: Part 4

Just then a pack of wolves came running along the river. Nanebojo heard them at a distance. He called to them, “Run right along. Don’t look this way.” The wolves said among themselves, “He must have something to eat over there, else he wouldn’t tell us to run straight ahead.” So they went right under his tree. They ate that entire deer.

When they had finished, Nanebojo said, “Now go straight ahead and don’t look at that tree near-by.” In the tree he had hung the deer’s head for his grandmother. So the wolves looked at the tree and at once ate the head. Then they went on.

At once the tree released Nanebojo’s arm, and he climbed down. He could only pick the bare bones of the deer. He went to the head. He turned it round and round. It was entirely bare. He went on and joined his grandmother.

One day when Nanebojo went for a drink, he saw some whitefish in the river. He said to them, “Can’t I go along with you?”

“Oh, no,” said the whitefish. “You wouldn’t last long if you did.”

“Why not?” asked Nanebojo.

“Because the Indians are always looking for us. You would be the first one caught,” they answered.

“I am very timid,” said Nanebojo. “If I go with you, I shall never be caught.” So he turned himself into a whitefish.

Soon after some Indians came along fishing. Nanebojo said, “Now I am going over there to tease them. You all stay here and I will go over there alone. Just before they try to spear me, I will dive to the bottom of the river and rise again a long way off.”

So Nanebojo began teasing the Indians. He kept it up for some time until one of the Indians speared him. The Indian kept his spear in the water until he got to the shore, and then dragged Nanebojo out. The other whitefish remarked, “That is just what he said—that after he dived he would not come up for a long time, and then at some distance.”

The Indians took Nanebojo home with them. He was a very large fish. After a while he began to jump about a little, so the Indians were afraid. They did not cook him at once.

Just about dawn the next morning, Nanebojo came to life again and remembered he was a fish and that the Indians had speared him. So he got up and found everyone sleeping.

“If they wanted to eat me, they should have done so while they had a chance,” he said as he walked away. He was going back to his grandmother.

WISKE-DJAK[7] AND THE GEESE

_Algonquin_

Wiske-djak was always hungry. One time, in the autumn of the year, he stood on the shores of a lake, when clouds of ducks were flying by overhead. Wiske-djak wanted some of those ducks. He thought for a long time. Then he made a small clearing right there on the lake shore, and built quite a large tepee, with a fire in the center. The grassy floor of the tepee was very smooth, so one could dance well there. Wiske-djak made a birch-bark door, with a long center stick to keep the bark spread, and to prevent the door from opening inward. Now everything was ready.

Wiske-djak went out walking and soon met Duck. “I suppose you will soon be going south,” he said. “Yes,” said Duck, “and we’ll be gone all winter. It’s a bit cold up here for us.”

“It would be pleasant,” said Wiske-djak, “if we all had a dance before you went. Invite your friends, all of them, and Geese and any of the others who go south for the winter. We’ll have a dance in my tepee.” Duck thought that would be very pleasant.

Wiske-djak went back to his tepee, and sat down in the sunshine outside. He got his drum and rattle and began to sing a song of invitation. He sang:

You will all be gone for a long time.
You will all be gone until it is warm again.
Let us have a dance before you go.

Thus he sang.

Soon ducks and geese came flying by overhead, and they heard his singing. They alighted on the ground very near the tepee.

Wiske-djak called, “Let us go inside and have a good dance,” and he opened the door. In went all the ducks. Wiske-djak mended the fire so it would give very little light.

“Now,” he said, when he had finished that, “you must all follow the rules of the dance. You must do whatever I call out.” So they all began to dance. Geese were there and ducks and a few loons, and Cyngabis was there also. They danced hard, around and around the tepee.

Then Wiske-djak said, “Now close your eyes. Don’t open them until I give the order. That is one of the rules of the dance.”

The birds all closed their eyes tightly, and as they danced and sang, they made a great deal of noise. Anyone who has seen Indians dance knows that they make much noise. So Wiske-djak caught one fat bird after another, and wrung his neck as he passed him in the dance. No one heard anything at all because of the noise of the dancing.

But after a while Cyngabis thought Wiske-djak was moving around in the dance, so he slipped into a dark corner and opened one eye just a little. At once he saw that Wiske-djak was wringing the neck of the dancers. He called out, “Wiske-djak is killing you! Fly!”

At once the birds all opened their eyes and took wing. They flew very rapidly indeed. But Cyngabis was way over in one corner and he was the very last man to get out. Wiske-djak tried to catch him, but he got away.

Now Wiske-djak began to cook the birds for a feast. He built the fire outside the tepee, after poking the earth loose with a stick. Then he buried his birds in the hot earth, with the hot coals above them. Then he went to sleep.

Now some Indians came around the point in a canoe. They saw the smoke of the fire, and they saw something strange lying beside the fire. Therefore they went nearer.

One Indian said, “Look out, it might be Wiske-djak up to more of his mischief!” But another Indian went ashore, saying, “I’ll see who it is and what he is doing.” When he came close to the fire, there lay Wiske-djak, sure enough, and sound asleep. But the Indian couldn’t see why he should have a big fire on a warm day until he saw ducks’ legs sticking out of the earth under the hot coals. At once he went back to his friends and told them all about it.

The Indians all jumped out of the canoe. They said, “Ha! We will take Wiske-djak’s ducks and geese and eat them ourselves.” With their paddles they dug up all the birds, twisted the legs off, and put the leg bones back in the earth. They looked just as Wiske-djak had placed them. Then the Indians paddled off.

Soon Wiske-djak waked up. He got up and looked all around. No one was there. Everything looked just as it had when he went to sleep. He looked at the dying coals, and said, “I guess those birds are pretty well cooked by this time.” He went all around the coals, pulling out the ducks’ legs. They came out very easily. He was surprised. “They must be very tender,” he thought. He dug around in the earth, but not one thing did he find. Wiske-djak was disgusted.

WISKE-DJAK AND THE PARTRIDGES

_Algonquin_

Wiske-djak wandered over the swamps and mountains feeling all out of sorts with himself. It was just after the Indians had stolen all his ducks and geese as they cooked in the coals. All at once he came upon a little flock of partridges, just newly hatched. Their mother was away.

“_Kwe!_” said Wiske-djak. “What are you doing here?”

“Nothing,” said the partridges. “Just staying here.”

“Where is your mother?” asked Wiske-djak.

“She’s away hunting,” they said.

“What’s your name?” he asked one of them. And then each little partridge had to tell him his name until he came to the very last. “What’s your name?” he demanded.

“Suddenly Frightened,” answered little partridge.

“Oh, you!” said Wiske-djak, “what can you frighten?” And he picked up a big lump of soft mud and threw it all over the clean little partridges. “What can you frighten now?” he said. Then he walked off. He walked for a long time until he came to a high mountain. When he had climbed to the very top he found a nice breeze blowing across it.

“This feels good,” said Wiske-djak. “I think I’ll stay here,” and he searched around until he came to a place clear of trees just on the edge of a great chasm. The rock broke straight away for hundreds of feet, and over the edge of the cliff came a delightful breeze. Wiske-djak lay right down there and went to sleep at once.

By this time Old Partridge had got home, and found them all covered over with mud.

“What has happened to you? Where did you go?” she asked.

“Nowhere,” said the little partridges.

“Who did this?” asked Old Partridge.

“Wiske-djak came along,” said the littlest one. “He asked us a lot of questions, and then he asked us our names. When I told him my name, he said, ‘Well, what could you frighten?’ and threw mud all over us.”

Old Partridge was angry. She cleaned up the children, and washed them and dried them, and gave them their supper. Then she asked them which way Wiske-djak had gone, and she went straight on his trail.

Old Partridge tracked Wiske-djak to the high mountain. Then she kept right on until she reached the high, rocky cliff. There lay Wiske-djak, fast asleep. Old Partridge went close to him, on the upper side of the rock. She spread her wings, went close to his ears, and flapped her wings and gave her warwhoop. Wiske-djak waked up so suddenly he could only see that something terrible was whooping right above him. He moved backward and fell right over the edge of the cliff.

“Well,” said Old Partridge, “now you know what ‘suddenly frightened’ means.”

WISKE-DJAK AND GREAT BEAVER

_Algonquin_

Wiske-djak was traveling about, looking for adventures. He never succeeded in anything he tried to do, and he was always hungry. In his travels he came to Turn-back Lake. White men call it Dumoine Lake. He had no canoe, but he was a good swimmer, yet when he came to Turn-back Lake, he found it too broad to swim. Therefore he started to walk around it.

Wiske-djak wanted to hunt beaver. On one side of the lake he came to a high mountain, very round, which looked just like a beaver lodge. And a little way offshore, in the lake, was a small island, with many grasses. “Hm-m-m!” said Wiske-djak, “This must be the home of Big Beaver.” And so it looked, with the great, round lodge and the island of grasses.

Wiske-djak tried to think how to catch Big Beaver. At last he went to the lower end of the lake and broke down the dam, so the water would run off. He lingered there while the lake drained. He even took a nap. When it was low enough for him to get at Big Beaver, he found that Beaver was gone. But as he looked about, he saw Big Beaver just going over the dam. So he began to chase him.

Wiske-djak followed Big Beaver past Coulonge River and the Pembroke Lakes. But when Big Beaver reached the Calumet Chutes, he was afraid to go through and took to the portage. When Wiske-djak got to the lower end of the portage, however, he had lost sight of Big Beaver and started back up the Ottawa River. When he got to the upper end, he saw fresh tracks.

“Somebody has been here,” he said very quickly. “I wonder if I might be able to trail him? I might get something to eat.”

Wiske-djak followed the tracks to the lower end of the portage, and found they turned toward the upper end, so he raced back there. He did not see any beaver, however, so he turned back again to follow other fresh tracks to the lower end of the portage. Then he saw he had been following his own trail.

Even today one can see Wiske-djak’s footprints in the stone on the Calumet portage.

NENEBUC[8]

_Ojibwa_

Once a girl told her father to put his wooden dish before the fire upside down and look under it every morning for five mornings. Then she went to live in the sun.

The father did as he was told. On the first morning he looked under the upturned dish, and there sat Nenebuc. The next morning he looked under again, and there sat Nenebuc’s brother with him. So he did for the five days. Nenebuc and his four brothers had all come to earth to live. Then the old man picked up the dish and put it away.

Now one brother had horns on his head. Grandfather said to him, “You can’t stay here; you go west!” and he sent him out to the edge of the Darkening Land. Then he sent another brother to the east and one to the north and one to the south. Nenebuc stayed with his grandfather.

Now one summer Nenebuc could not fish during the whole summer because of the high winds. The people almost starved and Nenebuc became very angry. His anger was against West Wind for blowing so much. West Wind blew all the time—blew hard.

Nenebuc said to his grandfather, “I am going west. I’ll make West Wind cease blowing in this way.”

Grandfather said, “But don’t kill him. Tell him to let the wind blow awhile, and then stop. Then everything will be all right.”

“I’ll be back soon,” said Nenebuc. “And I’ll end this constant wind.”

So Nenebuc went away. He went toward the Darkening Land, and there he found his brother. Now this was the brother with the two horns, and he was not friendly toward Nenebuc. He refused to stop the blowing of West Wind, and at last they fought about it. Nenebuc hammered his brother hard with a club and at last broke one of his horns. Then he said, “Don’t blow so hard any more. Grandfather and all the people will starve if the wind always blows so hard.” Then he went home.

So things went much better. Nenebuc went fishing and found it was very calm, with only a little puff of wind now and then. All the winds stopped blowing, because West Wind had warned the other brothers that Nenebuc would come and fight with them if they did not.

After a while things went badly again. There was no wind at all and the water became ill-smelling, and bad-tasting. People could not drink it. Fish could not live in it. Grandfather said, “We must have some wind or the people will die. Did you kill West Wind?”

“Oh, no,” said Nenebuc. “But I’ll have to go and see him again.” So he went again toward that Darkening Land where West Wind dwelt.

“I came to tell you,” he said to his brother, “that we must have some wind once in a while. It must not be a dead calm like this, but we don’t want too much wind. It spoils the fishing.”

So now the winds blow as they should, because West Wind told the other three brothers. Sometimes it is calm, and people go fishing; and sometimes it is windy.

NENEBUC AND BIG BEAR

_Ojibwa_

Once when Nenebuc was traveling, he met Big Bear. Now Big Bear ate people, and he had eaten many Indians. They were all very much afraid of him. Nenebuc went to Bear and said, “If you eat so many Indians, they will soon all be gone. I shall make you very small and harmless.”

Then Nenebuc turned Bear into Squirrel and Squirrel into Bear. Squirrel did not care at all, because he was fond of eating berries and roots anyway. He did not care to eat Indians.

But Big Bear felt very badly. He wept so much at being Squirrel that his eyebrows turned gray, and his eyes are all white and shiny. Nenebuc said to Bear, “Now what are you going to eat?” and Bear said, “I shall go right on eating people.” But he was so small, now that he was Squirrel, he couldn’t eat them at all.

Nenebuc said, “You are too small to eat people. Run up that black spruce there, and taste the seeds in the cones. Then see whether you want to eat Indians any more.”

And Squirrel did that. He tasted the sweet seeds in the spruce cones and was so well pleased he said he really did not want to eat Indians any more.

COYOTE AND FOX

_Shuswap_

Coyote, while traveling about, came to an underground house in which lived very small, short people. They were the Rock Rabbit People. Coyote said, “They are far too short for people. I will just eat them up.” He killed every one of the Rabbit people, tied them all on a string, and carried them off on his shoulder.

Now the weather was clear and hot, so Coyote carried them to the shade of a large yellow-pine tree. He made a big fire, and heated stones red hot; then he dug a hole in the earth and put in the hot stones. Then he put in the rock rabbits and covered them with leaves and then with earth. Then Coyote went to sleep in the shade of the big yellow pine.

Now along came Fox, and seeing Coyote asleep, he spied the earth oven. Then he at once began to dig out the rabbits and eat them. He had eaten half of them when Coyote awoke. Coyote was very lazy and sleepy. He said to Fox, “Spare me ten.” Fox kept right on eating. Then Coyote said, “Well, spare me nine.” Fox still went on eating. Coyote was very lazy. He saw Fox eating the rabbits, and he kept talking about them. He kept asking Fox to spare some for him. At last he said, “Spare me half a rabbit, anyway.” But Fox ate every scrap.

Fox could hardly move when he had eaten all those rabbits. Coyote was very hungry, and he suddenly became very wide awake. Coyote said, “I will settle with that fellow,” and he followed Fox’s trail. Soon he came upon Fox sleeping in the shade of a thick fir tree. Coyote, by his magic, made that tree fall on Fox. “Now I guess we are square,” said Coyote.

But the tree was so branchy that the trunk never came anywhere near Fox. He crawled out from among the branches and walked away. Coyote followed close after him.

Soon Fox reached a place where the rye grass, or wild redtop, was very thick and tall. He crept into the middle of it and went to sleep. Coyote set fire to the grass, but Fox waked up and set back fires, so Coyote’s fire did not reach him.

Then Fox went on again until he came to a reedy place, where hares were many. Coyote set fire to the reeds, saying, “Fox will burst in the fire.” But when the fire spread, the hares ran out and Coyote was so busy clubbing some of them that Fox ran out also, and Coyote never saw him until he was far off. Then he called, “Fox, you may go.”

Now Coyote traveled on until he came to a place where magpies were many. He set snares and caught many, and then made a robe for himself of the skins. He put on his robe and was well pleased. He kept singing,

What a beautiful robe I have!
How the feathers shine!

He sang that over and over.

Soon afterward Coyote met Fox who was wearing a robe of silver-fox skins, gleaming in the sun, and thickly covered with tail feathers of the golden eagle. Coyote said, “His robe looks better than mine, and is much more valuable.” So he offered to exchange robes.

Fox said, “How can you expect me to exchange my fine robe with eagle feathers for your robe of magpie skins?” So Coyote made believe to turn away; but the moment they separated, he seized Fox’s robe and made off with it.

Coyote ran on until he came to a lake. He took off his robe of magpie skins and tore it to bits. Then he threw the pieces into the water. Coyote then put on the eagle-feather robe and strutted about in it, admiring himself. He kept saying, “If only a wind would come, then I could see and admire these feathers as they fluttered.”

Now Fox had watched Coyote until he was out of sight. Fox was thinking. Then by his magic he made a great wind to blow. The wind blew the robe off Coyote’s back and carried it back to Fox.

Now Coyote went back to the lake, to see if he could find his old magpie robe. The wind had scattered all the pieces and the feathers. Only here and there on the lake could a feather be seen.

Fox was wearing that robe afterward, when he became just an ordinary fox. Therefore he still wears silver-fox skins, the most valuable of all furs.

THE VENTURESOME HARE

_Eastern Eskimo_

A long time ago, Hare lived with his grandmother. They were poor, and Hare was hungry. One day he said, “Grandmother, I shall set a trap and catch fish.” The old woman laughed. She said, “_If_ you can! Go set the net, grandson. But even if you should catch one, we have no fire.”

“I’ll see to that,” said Hare.

Off went Hare with the net, and he set it. The next morning in every mesh of the net was a fish, caught by its fins. Hare said, “Oh, _my_!” He could not even pull up the net, so he shook out some of the fish and pulled the rest in. Many of these he buried. The rest he took home, and dropped them outside the lodge while he went in.

“Grandmother,” said Hare, “Here are the fish. You clean them. The Indians across the river have fire, and I shall go over and steal some.”

Grandmother was frightened. She said, “Oh, no!” But Hare had now dried his net, so he folded it up and put it under his arm.

Then Hare went to the river, but the river was wide. Hare could not possibly jump across, so he sat down and thought. Then he called to the whales to help him. Many whales at once came up the river, and side by side they lay across the river. Hare jumped from one to the other. Thus he crossed. Then Hare jumped into the water to wet his fur.

Now Hare laid himself down in the sand along the shore, for he had seen some Indian children. Then the children came to where Hare lay. They saw him there. At once a boy picked him up and carried him home. Someone said, “Well, put him in the pot.” And a pot stood ready there, near a bright, crackling fire. So the boy put down Hare. An old man said, “You must kill him first.”

Hare was greatly frightened. He opened one eye just a little to see if there was any way of escape beside the door. In the top of the tepee was a large round smoke hole. Hare said, “I wish a spark of fire would fall on my net.” Instantly the brands burned through and rolled apart and a great spark fell on the net and began to burn it.

Hare, in a flash, sprang out of the smoke hole—sprang out through the top of the tepee. The Indians saw him leap, and they ran after Hare shouting. Now when Hare came to the river bank he had not time to call his friends, the whales, to help him. Hare was running very fast, and he gave one great leap across the river and landed on the other side.

“Did I not tell you, Grandmother, that I would get fire?” said Hare when he reached home.

“How did you get across the river, Grandson?” asked Grandmother.

“Oh, I just jumped across,” said Hare indifferently.

RABBIT AND FROG

_Eastern Eskimo_

One day Rabbit wandered over the hillside, and came near an Indian wigwam. Now Rabbit was very timid. He crept close to the lodge and peered through a small hole. There was Frog, sitting near the fire.

“Brother,” said Rabbit, “what are you doing?”

“I am playing with the ashes,” said Frog.

“Come live with me,” said Rabbit.

Frog said, “I have a lame leg. That is why I am sitting here while my brothers are out hunting.”

Rabbit went into the lodge and tossed Frog on his back. “This is the way I will carry you,” he said.

When Rabbit reached home, he went out to hunt for food. Suddenly he spied smoke curling up from among the willows along the river bank. Rabbit became frightened, and started home, exclaiming, “I have forgotten my crooked knife! I must go quickly and get it.” Rabbit rushed home and dashed excitedly into his lodge. He exclaimed, “I have forgotten my crooked knife! I came home to get it.”

Frog said calmly, “Brother, why are you frightened?”

Rabbit said, “I saw a large smoke.”

“Where was it?” asked Frog.

“Among the willows by the river,” said Rabbit.

“Pooh!” said Frog. “The smoke came from Beaver’s lodge. He lives down there. You’re very brave to be so afraid of Beaver! _I_ can hunt _him_.”

Rabbit felt better. He said, “I’ll carry you to Beaver’s lodge. We’ll break it in and catch him.” So he carried Frog to Beaver’s lodge down among the willows by the river.

Rabbit built a dam of stakes across the stream, and told Frog to watch, while he broke in the top of Beaver’s lodge. While Rabbit was doing this, Frog pulled up some stakes, and therefore Beaver escaped. When Rabbit saw this, he shook Frog roughly and pushed him into the water under the ice.

And this was just what Frog wanted.

BIG TURTLE

_Wyandot_

An old man lived with his nephew. Every day the nephew went somewhere. Every day the uncle asked, “Well, where have you been today? What did you see today?”

One day the nephew said, “I have pulled off Eagle’s feather.” And in truth he had Eagle’s tail feather. His uncle at once exclaimed, “Danger! We are in danger!”

Then he hung the eagle feather in the smoke hole of his house. Soon Eagle came and stood for a while over the smoke hole. The uncle exclaimed, “Danger! We are in danger! We must have a council at once!”

So they called a council of all the animals. The young man sent around saying, “Come, for there is danger!” They all came at once. The old man stood at the door of his house. Some of the animals he would not allow to enter. He said to Deer, to Bear, and to Wolf, “I do not want you at this council. You can run too fast.” Only the animals that could not run fast were allowed to form a council. Turtle came, and Otter and Skunk and Porcupine and others.

Then they held their council. Each said what he would do in case of danger. Porcupine said, “I will shoot my quills through them when they come near me.” They all said things like that.

Then the people from the council all ran away to where a big tree stood, for fear Eagle would come. For safety they all climbed the tree. Then Eagle came and stood over the smoke hole for the second time, but the feather was not there. Turtle had carried it away.

Now the tree that all the people had climbed was very rotten. A strong wind came and blew it down, so the animal people were scattered all about. Porcupine had been covered with bits of rotten wood. Therefore Porcupine climbed up on Turtle’s back, to hide him, and they went away. Turtle carried the Eagle’s feather. Now all along the way Porcupine kept scattering ashes on Turtle’s trail so Eagle would not see him. But Eagle followed the trail of ashes. Then, just as he got to the bank of the river, Eagle’s friends caught Turtle.

They said, “We will throw Turtle into the fire.” Turtle pretended to enjoy it very much. Then they struck him, but they hit Turtle on his shell. They could not see that he minded it. Then someone said, “Let us drown Turtle.” Turtle began to cry, “Oh, no! I am afraid of the water!” Then they dragged him toward the water. Turtle pushed back—he pushed back, and he cried. That is why someone said, “Let us drop him to the bottom of the water. That is the place for him.” So it was done. They threw him in. They could see Turtle lying on his back on the bottom of the water. Then they left him.

At once Turtle turned over and swam to a log near the opposite shore. Turtle climbed on that log, and waved Eagle’s feather high in the air. He shouted, “Ki-he.” Truly, that is the cry of one who has overpowered his enemy.

Now Eagle’s friends heard it. They gathered on the shore. They said, “Who will bring back Eagle’s feather?” They held a council. One said, “No, I cannot go there.” Another said, “No, I would be drowned if I went there.” At last Otter said, “I will try it.” So he did.

Now Turtle sat on that log waving the feather. Otter darted across the river and reached that log where Turtle was sitting. Turtle dropped off the back side into the water. Soon Otter began to yell, “Oh-oh! He is hurting me so badly!” Turtle was pinching him all over. Otter yelled, “Oh, he is pinching me all over!”

Therefore Turtle kept that feather of Eagle’s. Turtle cannot be overpowered by anyone—so the Wyandots say.

WOLVERENE AND ROCK

_Eastern Eskimo_

Wolverene was out walking one day, out on a hillside, when he came to a large rock. Wolverene asked, “Was it you who was out walking just now?”

“No,” said Rock, “I cannot walk.”

“Well, I’ve seen you walking,” said Wolverene sharply.

“That isn’t true,” said Rock. But Wolverene insisted that it was. He said, “You are the very Rock I have seen out walking.”

Wolverene then ran off a little way and jeered at Rock. He shouted, “Catch me if you can!” Then Wolverene went close to Rock and hit him with his paw. He shouted, “See if you can catch me.”

“I can’t walk, but I can roll,” said Rock, who was very indignant.

“That’s just what I wanted,” said Wolverene, and he began to run.

But Rock began to roll. Wolverene raced away and Rock tore after him, close to his heels, all down that hillside. Then Wolverene began to jump and leap and Rock rolled faster and faster, touching his heels. Then Wolverene tripped over a stick and fell. Rock rolled right on top of him and stopped there. He stopped rolling.

Wolverene yelled, “Get off of me. You are breaking my bones!” Rock stayed right there. Then Wolverene yelled to the Wolves and Foxes to come and save him. They all gathered around Rock and Wolverene.

“How did you get under Rock?” they asked. Wolverene was not a favorite. Wolverene said, “I dared Rock to run after me, and he rolled.” Then they all said, “It served you right.”

But yet they tried to push Rock away. Rock stayed right there. The animals pushed and pushed. Rock did not roll.

Then Wolverene began to shout to his other brother, Thunder and Lightning. In a few minutes a dark cloud rushed up from the southwest. It made so much noise and was so black that all the Wolves and Foxes ran away. Lightning suddenly drew back and then rushed forward and hit Rock, while Thunder crashed. Lightning knocked Rock into tiny small pieces, but he also tore Wolverene’s coat all to pieces.

Wolverene picked himself up and saw that he had no fur at all. He could find only a few bits of his coat so he said sharply to Lightning, “You needn’t have torn my coat all to pieces when I only asked you to strike Rock!”

RAVEN’S CANOE MEN

_Haida_

Crow made a great feast. He invited all the people, and he invited Raven. But Raven refused. Raven wanted all the feast of hemlock-bark cakes and cranberries.

Before they began eating, Raven ran into the woods. He made rotten trees into ten canoes. Then he put in spruce cones, standing them up along the middle of the canoes. Raven put grass tops into their hands for spears. Raven walked near them, with his blanket wrapped tightly around him. The canoes came around the point, terrible to behold! Men were standing in lines along the middle of the canoes. The people fled at once. They left their feast. Then Raven went into the house and ate the cakes of hemlock bark and cranberries. He ate and he ate! When the canoes landed they were washed about by the waves.

RAVEN AND PITCHMAN

_Haida_

Raven came to a town. Now the Pitch People lived at that town. Therefore Raven said to Pitchman, “Let us go fishing.” While it was dark, they went fishing. Then only Pitchman killed halibut; Raven could not kill any. Pitchman wanted to go home before the sun rose because he was afraid of being melted.

Then they went fishing again in the morning. And again only Pitchman killed halibut, and Raven caught nothing at all; and again Pitchman wanted to go home early before the sun rose. But Raven did not want to go home. He said, “Oh, no.”

When the sun rose, Pitchman wanted to go home very much. Raven said, “Wait until I kill a halibut.” Then the sun got higher. Pitchman began to say “A-a-a-a-a,” rather weakly, because he was getting warm. Pitchman wanted to go home very much.

“Put the blanket over you,” said Raven to Pitchman. When the sun got too hot, Pitchman said, “Ummmm!” He kept saying it. Then Pitchman began to melt. At last he melted completely.

WHEN RAVEN MARRIED OFF HIS SISTER

_Haida_

Raven wanted to find a good husband for his sister. He went out one day and cried, “Who will marry my sister?”

“I,” “I,” “I,” “I,” said all the animals. So Raven began to question them.

“What can you do?” he asked Grizzly Bear.

“When I see people, I will roar,” said Grizzly.

“You are too bad-tempered,” said Raven. He refused him.

Wolf offered. “What can you do?” asked Raven.

“I snap at people if I am alone. When the pack is with me, I devour them,” said Wolf.

“You are too bad-tempered,” said Raven.

Then Elk offered. “I can crash through the forests,” said Elk. Raven refused him.

“What can you do?” asked Raven of Deer and Porpoise. They were cousins.

“I can pull out any skunk cabbage with my teeth,” said Deer. Porpoise said, “I will always eat clean things. I always eat herring.” That is why, when Deer swims to an island, Porpoise always swims with him.

So Raven consented. He let Porpoise marry his sister.

BEAVER AND PORCUPINE

_Haida_

Beaver’s store of food was plentiful. While he was away hunting one day, Porcupine stole that food. Then he remained sitting there. When Beaver returned he asked, “Did you eat my food?”

Porcupine said, “No, indeed. How can the food of supernatural beings be taken? You have supernatural power and I have supernatural power.”

Then they started to fight. Beaver tried to seize Porcupine with his teeth, but when he threw himself at his face, the sharp spines struck him. After they had fought for a while, Beaver went to the place where his parents lived. He was all covered with spines.

Then his father called the people together, and the Beaver people came in a crowd. They all went along to fight Porcupine. Porcupine used angry words to them. Then they pushed down his house upon him. They seized him. They took him to an island lying out at sea, upon which two trees stood.

When Porcupine was almost starved, he called upon the animals of his clan. He called upon his father. He called upon all of his friends. They did not answer him.

By and by Something said to him, “Call upon Cold-weather, call upon North wind.” Porcupine did not understand. Then the Voice said, “Sing North songs. Then you will be saved.”

So Porcupine began singing,

Xune qa-sa zune,
Let the sky clear altogether;
Hu-n, hu-n, hun, hun.

After that he sat on a rock and sang,

Xunisa,
Let it be cold weather;
Gai-ya-li-sa,
Let it be smooth on the water.

Then North sent cold weather. The wind became strong. Then Porcupine began to sing for smooth water. When it became smooth, the surface of the sea froze. When the ice became thick, his friends came and got Porcupine; but he was not able to walk.

Now after Porcupine reached his father’s house, his father called all the Forest People. He gave them all food. Then they asked Porcupine why the Beaver people did this to him. He said it was because he had eaten Beaver’s food.

Then the Porcupine people went to war with the Beaver people. But they did not defeat the Beaver people. After they had fought for a while, they stopped.

After that, when they were gathering food, they seized Beaver. The Porcupines did this. They were always plotting against Beaver. They took Beaver up a tall tree. After he had been there awhile, he began eating the tree from the top. He finally got down and went away. Beavers cannot climb trees.

BEAVER AND PORCUPINE

_Shuswap_

Beaver and Porcupine lived together. They used to eat together, but their food was different and Porcupine was always eating Beaver’s food. He would leave his own food and eat Beaver’s.

One day Beaver said, “Hereafter we shall eat apart.” So he took his own food and went some distance away, leaving Porcupine to eat his own. But even so, Porcupine left his own food, and came around to Beaver, and ate his.

One day Beaver said to Porcupine, “Tomorrow we will travel into the mountains where there is much food.” They packed their blankets and boxes and all their things and traveled into the mountains, where they camped. The next morning Beaver said, “There is much food here in the mountains. I am going hunting.”

When Beaver had gone some distance, he stopped and called to Porcupine far, far away:

“Hereafter you shall be a common porcupine. You shall always live in the mountains. You shall never again live with Beaver nor eat his food. Neither shall you ever live in a good country.”

That is why porcupines live in the mountains, while beavers live in low, flat lands, where there is plenty of water. Because when Beaver left Porcupine, he traveled on to a flat country, with many lakes and streams.

BEAVER AND DEER

_Haida_

Deer lived near Taku. The skunk cabbage he ate was like a garden. Beaver came also to this place and he gnawed down the forest trees growing around there. So there came to be many trees on top of the garden. Then Beaver went away.

Deer went to see his property. Then he saw that trees were piled upon it and he knew that Beaver had done this.

Now Beaver lived under an island in a lake in the woods. One morning he felt the water was going down. Beaver went out. Deer was standing there, and Deer had dug a trench from the lake. But Deer could not get at Beaver.

Therefore Deer called to Beaver, “Come, go with me.” So Beaver went with him. Then they came to the shore of the sea. Beaver had never been in the sea, but Deer said, “Let us swim out to that island.”

“I have never been in the sea,” said Beaver.

“You shall sit on my back,” said Deer. “There are many things to eat over there.” So Beaver got on Deer’s back, and they went there. When he got off, Deer went with him up to the woods. Then they came up under the trees.

Deer said, “Go up, and I will sit down here and wait for you.” So Beaver went up into the woods. When Beaver was a long way off, Deer ran away quickly and swam off.

Beaver came back quickly, but Deer was nowhere to be seen. Beaver sat down on the beach. He could see no way to get off the island, because he was not used to swimming in the ocean. After he had sat there awhile, evening came upon him. Then, in the middle of the night, he called to the different animals.

First he called to Black Bear, then he called to Wolf. “Save me!” he called. Then he called to Grizzly Bear, and he called to all the smaller animals. None of them heard him. Beaver had been upon the island ten nights. He called every day, wailing. When he was unsuccessful, his heart was tired. So he sat still.

After a while, Beaver began to call to North: “North, save me! North, save me! North, save me!” And as he sang this every day, he continued to wail.

After ten days had passed, a black wind came toward him along the surface of the sea, as he sat near the shore. North had heard his voice. The wind blew hard from the north. At midnight Beaver felt of the sea. After he had sat awhile longer, he felt of it again. After he had done so for a while, he felt that it was frozen over. He sat still. Then he perceived it was strong enough.

Then Beaver stepped upon it. And he went ashore upon it. He escaped to land. Then he went to his home. He stopped up that trench. After he finished stopping it up, he went into his house. This is the end.

EAGLE’S FEAST[9]

_Kwakiutl_

Eagle gave a feast. He invited all of the myth people. Eagle told his servants to get the four cooking boxes and to put stones into the fire and to get the tongs. When this was done, Eagle put on his eagle mask and seated himself on the seashore.

As soon as Eagle was seated, he saw a porpoise coming up. Eagle flew down and grasped it and brought it to the beach. When he had been sitting there a long time, he saw another porpoise come up. Eagle grasped it at once and carried it up to the beach. Thus he did four times. Then as soon as he had caught four porpoises, he took off his eagle mask and hung it up. Then he cut up the porpoises. When they were cut up, water was poured into the cooking boxes. Then Eagle put the porpoises in, and put red hot stones into the boxes also. Soon they were cooked. Then they were taken out. Eagle had invited all his friends for a feast, so they ate all the porpoises. Then they went out.

WHEN CHICKADEE CLIMBED A TREE

_Shuswap_

Once Grizzly Bear told her grandson that if ever any of his arrows should catch in a tree, and beyond his reach, not to climb the tree. At first the boy did just as Grandmother said; but he lost many arrows. Now one day he shot his best arrow at a bird that was sitting in a tree. The bird flew away and the arrow stuck in a branch just beyond his reach. It was his very best arrow.

Then the boy forgot and climbed that tree to get the arrow. Just as he came near it, the tree suddenly grew and the arrow was far out of his reach. The boy climbed again, but just as he reached out his hand to take it, the tree shot up and again it was far out of his reach. This happened many times. So the boy kept on climbing.

Now as the boy looked down, he saw that the earth was far below him, and there were no branches at all on the tree trunk. He could not climb down, so he began to climb from branch to branch after his arrow, and the tree grew higher and higher until it broke through the floor of the Sky Land. Its lower branches were just level with the floor. And only then was the boy able to reach his arrow. Then he pulled it out, and climbed off the branch into the Sky Country.

Now the Sky Country was a great plain, covered lightly with snow. There were no signs of people. He said to himself, “There is no use in wandering aimlessly around in this way. I will set my arrow on end, and follow whichever way it falls.”

Then he did so. He traveled the way the arrow fell and came to some chips which showed him that some people had been there felling a tree. Then he came to some fresher chips. Then he traveled on until he came to a lodge, with a mat door.

Then someone opened the door and he went in. Afterward he became the chickadee.

REDBIRD AND BLACKBIRD

_Ojibwa_

Once there were two men named Redbird and Blackbird. They had a house on the shore of the lake, and they lived on wild potatoes. They spent all their time digging for wild potatoes, and that was all the food they ever had.

One day Blackbird said to Redbird, “There are great fields of wild rice across the lake. We ought to go and gather it.” So the very next day they crossed the lake and found themselves among large fields of wild rice. They began gathering the rice, then they saw people near by. They went to the people and said, “How do you do?”

The people said, “We have never seen you before.” Blackbird said, “No. We live on the other side of the lake. We live on the wild potatoes we find there.” The people said, “Well, you did right in coming over here. You ought to have good food.”

Then Blackbird and Redbird shook hands all around and went home.

Now these people talked about the wild potatoes. Just about that time, Redbird said to Blackbird, “Those people are planning to attack us, for our wild potatoes. What shall you do?” Blackbird said at once what he would do. Then Redbird said what he would do. The very next day those people came. Redbird heard their voices. At once he began to grow smaller and smaller until he was only a single feather lying on the ground. When Blackbird heard their voices, he hit himself against the house, and soon there was only an awl standing there.

The people came and searched everywhere. They said, “No, we can’t find those men,” so they went home.

Blackbird and Redbird were a little afraid they would come back. So they changed themselves into birds. Redbird flew to the woods, but Blackbird went over the lake to live.

LITTLE GRAY WOODPECKER

_Wyandot_

Once a beautiful Indian maiden used to go often to dances. When she was dressing for the dance, Gray Woodpecker would come to help her. He helped her put the many colors on her face.

Now Little Gray Woodpecker was gray all over. He had only a few small white spots. Now one day the maiden left some red paint on the bit of wood she used for a brush. Woodpecker saw this, and he said, “I will make myself beautiful with this.” So Gray Woodpecker took the brush and rubbed it just over his ears, on each side of his head. He did this many times. That is why he has two tiny red stripes on the sides of his head.

OWL

_Eastern Eskimo_

Sometimes Owl greatly disturbs a camp of Indians. Short-eared Owl will come to a camp just at the dimming of the twilight, and when the Indians hear his quiet flitting through the trees they are on the alert. Immediately they hang up some robe or leggings which they have not worn, which is just a silent way of saying, “We are not so poor as you think.” Owl annoys only poor people.

Owl also likes the lower levels, so the Indians camp often on the higher lands where he does not come.

CHIPMUNK

_Thompson River_

One day, as Grizzly Bear came along the trail, Chipmunk called her names and mocked her. Grizzly Bear rushed at Chipmunk. Chipmunk ran under a log. Grizzly Bear rushed at her again. Chipmunk did the same thing. Grizzly Bear shouted, “I’ll get you!” and the fourth time almost caught her. Her claws scratched Chipmunk’s back. Therefore the chipmunk has stripes on his back even today, because Grizzly scratched her in that way.

Later, Marmot met Grizzly Bear. He teased her in the same way that Chipmunk had, and the very fourth time that Grizzly rushed at him, she almost caught him, and scratched him, too. So Marmot also has stripes, even today.

MUSKRAT’S TAIL

_Cree_

Once Wisagatcak killed a bear; then he skinned it, and cut it in pieces, and cooked all of them. While he was cooking, he looked up and saw Muskrat in the river. Now the bear’s grease would not harden, so Wisagatcak told Muskrat to swim through the water with it. Muskrat did so, and when he returned Wisagatcak made his tail much thinner and smaller. Muskrat formerly had a broad, fleshy tail like Beaver’s, and it was a great annoyance to him.

“Now see how fast you can go,” said Wisagatcak. Muskrat jumped into the river and swam so rapidly that he broke the grease bladder which he still carried. All the grease and oil came out. That is why Muskrat leaves such a smooth, oily wake when he swims.

WOLVERENE AND BRANT

_Eastern Eskimo_

Wolverene once called all the birds together. He said, “Do you not know that I am your brother? Come to me and I will dress you in feathers.” So he dressed them all up in feathers, and made wings for himself. He said, “Now, brothers, let us fly.”

Brant said to Wolverene, “You must not look below when we are flying over a point of land, when you hear a noise below. Take a turn when we take a turn.”

The first time they took a turn, Wolverene did not look below, though he heard a noise. At the second turn, when the birds came over a point of land, he heard the shouting of Indians below. At once he looked down. And down he came like a bundle of rags!

All the Indians ran up to him, shouting, “A brant has fallen down.” They found nothing but an old dead wolverene.

WAR OF THE FOUR TRIBES

_Shuswap_

Once in the ancient time, so the old men say, the Crees from the east, the Thompson River Indians from the south, and the Lillooet Indians from the west, made up their minds to attack the Shuswap of the north. They sent messengers with the war moccasin to each other, and then they met on the east bank of the Fraser River and there joined forces. There were several hundred men in all. Then they went forward to attack the Shuswaps.

Now when they were nearly opposite the mouth of Lone Cabin Creek, and still some distance from Canoe Creek, they were met by Coyote, who changed them all into pillars of clay. You may see them there today. The tall Crees are on the right, the shorter Thompsons in the center, and the short Lillooets on the left.

TRADITION OF IROQUOIS FALLS[10]

_Eastern Cree_

At Iroquois Falls, a war party of Iroquois attacked and killed a Cree party. They took the plunder of the camp, and saved one woman alive for a guide. They asked her if she could run a rapid, and she said, “Yes.”

Now when the party came to a point above the Iroquois Falls, the woman guide told them it was possible to shoot the rapids there if the women and goods were taken out of the canoes to lighten them. The Iroquois let her out, as well, and she went by the portage. When the Iroquois saw her there, they put out from shore, though the waters were very swift. As they neared the falls, they saw how high they were. Then the Cree woman saw them try to escape, but they could not. The current of the water was too swift. So they headed their canoes for the falls and sang their war song. All went crashing over the falls and were drowned.

THE GIANTESS AND THE INDIAN

_Wyandot_