Folk-Lore and Legends: North American Indian | Page 6

they all stared at him.
"Do you not wish to wrestle?" they all asked.
"Yes," replied he.
A hideous smile passed over their faces.
"You go," said the others to their eldest brother.
Pauppukkeewis and his antagonist were soon clinched in each other's
arms. He knew the manitoes' object,--they wanted his flesh,--but he
was prepared for them.
"Haw, haw!" they cried, and the dust and dry leaves flew about the
wrestlers as if driven by a strong wind.
The manito was strong, but Pauppukkeewis soon found he could master
him. He tripped him up, and threw him with a giant's force head
foremost on a stone, and he fell insensible.
The brothers stepped up in quick succession, but Pauppukkeewis put
his tricks in full play, and soon all the four lay bleeding on the ground.
The old manito got frightened, and ran for his life. Pauppukkeewis
pursued him for sport. Sometimes he was before him, sometimes over
his head. Now he would give him a kick, now a push, now a trip, till
the manito was quite exhausted. Meanwhile Pauppukkeewis's friend
and the warriors came up, crying--
"Ha, ha, a! Ha, ha, a! Pauppukkeewis is driving him before him."
At length Pauppukkeewis threw the manito to the ground with such
force that he lay senseless, and the warriors, carrying him off, laid him
with the bodies of his sons, and set fire to the whole, consuming them
to ashes.

Around the lodge Pauppukkeewis and his friends saw a large number of
bones, the remains of the warriors whom the manitoes had slain.
Taking three arrows, Pauppukkeewis called upon the Great Spirit, and
then, shooting an arrow in the air, he cried--
"You, who are lying down, rise up, or you will be hit."
The bones at these words all collected in one place. Again
Pauppukkeewis shot another arrow into the air, crying--
"You, who are lying down, rise up, or you will be hit," and each bone
drew towards its fellow.
Then he shot a third arrow, crying--
"You, who are lying down, rise up, or you will be hit," and the bones
immediately came together, flesh came over them, and the warriors,
whose remains they were, stood before Pauppukkeewis alive and well.
He led them to the chief of the village, who had been his friend, and
gave them up to him. Soon after, the chief with his counsellors came to
him, saying--
"Who is more worthy to rule than you? You alone can defend us."
Pauppukkeewis thanked the chief, but told him he must set out again in
search of further adventures. The chief and the counsellors pressed him
to remain, but he was resolved to leave them, and so he told the chief to
make his friend ruler while he himself went on his travels.
"I will come again," said he, "sometime and see you."
"Ho, ho, ho!" they all cried, "come back again and see us."
He promised that he would, and set out alone.
After travelling for some time, he came to a large lake, and on looking
about he saw an enormous otter on an island. He thought to himself--

"His skin will make me a fine pouch," and, drawing near, he drove an
arrow into the otter's side. He waded into the lake, and with some
difficulty dragged the carcass ashore. He took out the entrails, but even
then the carcass was so heavy that it was as much as he could do to
drag it up a hill overlooking the lake. As soon as he got it into the
sunshine, where it was warm, he skinned the otter, and threw the
carcass away, for he said to himself--
"The war-eagle will come, and then I shall have a chance to get his skin
and his feathers to put on my head."
Very soon he heard a noise in the air, but he could see nothing. At
length a large eagle dropped, as if from the sky, on to the otter's carcass.
Pauppukkeewis drew his bow and sent an arrow through the bird's body.
The eagle made a dying effort and lifted the carcass up several feet, but
it could not disengage its claws, and the weight soon brought the bird
down again.
Then Pauppukkeewis skinned the bird, crowned his head with its
feathers, and set out again on his journey.
After walking a while he came to a lake, the water of which came right
up to the trees on its banks. He soon saw that the lake had been made
by beavers. He took his station at a certain spot to see whether any of
the beavers would show themselves. Soon he saw the head of one
peeping out of the water to see who the stranger was.
"My friend," said Pauppukkeewis, "could