Folk-Lore and Legends: North American Indian | Page 4

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with Manabozho he adopted him for his son. The lakes were in those
days peopled by spirits with whom Manabozho and his son went to war.
They destroyed all the spirits in one lake, and then went on hunting.
They were not, however, very successful, for every deer the wolf
chased fled to another of the lakes and escaped from them. It chanced
that one day Manabozho started a deer, and the wolf gave chase. The
animal fled to the lake, which was covered with ice, and the wolf
pursued it. At the moment when the wolf had come up to the prey the
ice broke, and both fell in, when the spirits, catching them, at once
devoured them.
Manabozho went up and down the lake-shore weeping and lamenting.
While he was thus distressed he heard a voice proceeding from the
depths of the lake.
"Manabozho," cried the voice, "why do you weep?"
Manabozho answered--
"Have I not cause to do so? I have lost my son, who has sunk in the
waters of the lake."
"You will never see him more," replied the voice; "the spirits have

eaten him."
Then Manabozho wept the more when he heard this sad news.
"Would," said he, "I might meet those who have thus cruelly treated me
in eating my son. They should feel the power of Manabozho, who
would be revenged."
The voice informed him that he might meet the spirits by repairing to a
certain place, to which the spirits would come to sun themselves.
Manabozho went there accordingly, and, concealing himself, saw the
spirits, who appeared in all manner of forms, as snakes, bears, and
other things. Manabozho, however, did not escape the notice of one of
the two chiefs of the spirits, and one of the band who wore the shape of
a very large snake was sent by them to examine what the strange object
was.
Manabozho saw the spirit coming, and assumed the appearance of a
stump. The snake coming up wrapped itself around the trunk and
squeezed it with all its strength, so that Manabozho was on the point of
crying out when the snake uncoiled itself. The relief was, however,
only for a moment. Again the snake wound itself around him and gave
him this time even a more severe hug than before. Manabozho
restrained himself and did not suffer a cry to escape him, and the snake,
now satisfied that the stump was what it appeared to be, glided off to its
companions. The chiefs of the spirits were not, however, satisfied, so
they sent a bear to try what he could make of the stump. The bear came
up to Manabozho and hugged, and bit, and clawed him till he could
hardly forbear screaming with the pain it caused him. The thought of
his son and of the vengeance he wished to take on the spirits, however,
restrained him, and the bear at last retreated to its fellows.
"It is nothing," it said; "it is really a stump."
Then the spirits were reassured, and, having sunned themselves, lay
down and went to sleep. Seeing this, Manabozho assumed his natural
shape, and stealing upon them with his bow and arrows, slew the chiefs
of the spirits. In doing this he awoke the others, who, seeing their chiefs

dead, turned upon Manabozho, who fled. Then the spirits pursued him
in the shape of a vast flood of water. Hearing it behind him the fugitive
ran as fast as he could to the hills, but each one became gradually
submerged, so that Manabozho was at last driven to the top of the
highest mountain. Here the waters still surrounding him and gathering
in height, Manabozho climbed the highest pine-tree he could find. The
waters still rose. Then Manabozho prayed that the tree would grow, and
it did so. Still the waters rose. Manabozho prayed again that the tree
would grow, and it did so, but not so much as before. Still the waters
rose, and Manabozho was up to his chin in the flood, when he prayed
again, and the tree grew, but less than on either of the former occasions.
Manabozho looked round on the waters, and saw many animals
swimming about seeking land. Amongst them he saw a beaver, an otter,
and a musk-rat. Then he cried to them, saying--
"My brothers, come to me. We must have some earth, or we shall all
die."
So they came to him and consulted as to what had best be done, and it
was agreed that they should dive down and see if they could not bring
up some of the earth from below.
The beaver dived first, but was drowned before he reached the bottom.
Then the otter went. He came within sight of the