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wrapped his sword in a blanket, and retired to the woods. He bathed every day; but every time he saw an animal, it fell dead, on account of his being the owner of the supernatural sword. One day he went out to the seashore, and all the seals basking on rocks that he chanced to look at fell dead. So the man went back into the woods once more, and again bathed every day. The next time he set out for the shore, he first hid his sword in the woods. He saw quite a number of hair-seals on the rocks; but this time they did not die, as he had come without his sword. Then only did he venture to return home. The people he saw were entirely unaffected by him.

Once more he returned to the woods. This time he intended to make a sword that would be an exact copy of the magic one. When he had completed it, he came back to the beach, and, drawing near to some hair-seals on rocks, showed it to them, with the immediate result that they all dropped dead. Then he went home and told the people to take home the seals he had found. They set out to do as he said. When they came to the spot he mentioned, they saw how many hairseals had been killed. They built a fire preparatory to cooking some of the meat. "Let that old woman eat first!" he advised. "If she lives, then all is well. If she dies, let no one else eat any, for I killed them with this sword I found. After this we shall go to war again." Then the old woman ate of the hair-seal meat, and, as she showed no ill effects, they took the meat home. The man told them to be sure to get all the meat in before the Ozette came again.

There was a young man in Ozette whose mother was Quileute. He used to warn the Quileutes every time the Ozette were on the warpath. By the time the seals were all put away, the Ozette young man came to inform the people that the Ozette were coming to fight in two days, and that they had better get ready for them. "We intend to go up and attack the Ozette ourselves," the people told him. So he returned with all possible speed, and notified the Ozette that the Quileute were contemplating an attack the very next day. He advised his people to fight on the beach, and let the Quileute fight from their canoes.

On the following morning the Quileute set out. The young man carried his sword under his blanket, so that his people might not see it. He told them that when they saw the Ozette, they should look out for the half-Quileute man who would wear on his head an eagle's tail on a long stick.

The Ozette held a war-dance, and then prepared to receive the Quileute who were watching for the young man with the eagle-feathers. When they saw him enter the house, the Quileute man gave orders to his people to lie down in the canoe and cover their heads, while he alone remained standing. Then only did he show his sword. He

waved it round his head, crying, "This is the sword of Tsikatso, and I am going to use it on you." The Ozette looked and died. The halfQuileute, hearing no more noise outside, looked out and saw the sword, and he, too, died. One slave among the Quileute peeked through a hole in a blanket, and he died as well. Then the young man wrapped his sword in a blanket, and called to his people to get up. All got up save one, this slave. All the Ozette, however, were dead, — all but two old men who had staid in the house. These went up to notify their Neah Bay relatives, the Makah, who were sore afraid. The Quileute now started for home. The man sang of how he had killed all the Ozette, including the young man, his relative. For him he wept.

18. WAR BETWEEN THE QUILEUTE AND OZETTE.

Once again there was a war between the Ozette and the Quileute. The Ozette had killed a chief of the Quileute. There was a Quileute man by the name of Watswad, who had a sister who looked exactly like him in every feature, even to a mole, which each had on the identical spot on the cheek. When they were dressed alike, you could not tell them apart. An Ozette chief, LaLadeyuk, sent word that if Watswad would give him his sister for a wife, the Ozette would stop fighting. "Let me go instead of my sister!" the young man begged. The people consented. So Watswad put on his sister's dress, and they took him to Ozette, while his sister staid at home. At that time the only knives they had were sharpened mussel-shells. Five of these he concealed under his blanket. His dress he fastened firmly around his waist with a leather strap, so that the Ozette man could not possibly tear it off. Just before they reached their destination, Watswad told his people, "If I kill him, I shall be back in four days; if I am not back by the fifth day, you will know that he has killed me. Watch for me at the first point above Quileute at low tide. If I come with the head of the Ozette man, I shall run zigzag toward the bushes; if I do not have it, I shall run straight."

When they arrived at Ozette with the young man, they called the people together, and told them that they had brought the girl for LaLadeyuk. Watswad, they said, was afraid, and had staid at home. The Ozette came down to the beach, and, pulling the canoe up on dry land, said to the Quileute, "Stay here for a few days! Don't be in a hurry to go back!" They brought the girl into the house, and admired her good looks. Watswad managed to escape notice for a moment; so, going out, he took a mussel-shell and cut his skin, to make blood run down from his crotch. When the people saw the blood, they did not doubt that this was surely a girl. Even when an old Quileute woman who was there said, "That girl looks like Watswad

to me, see how big her legs are!" the people only said, "No, that is his sister."

That night they made up a bed for this supposed girl. The man did not want to sleep with her, because he thought she was menstruating; so they slept with their heads toward each other. The old woman slept with her feet toward the girl's feet. In the middle of the night the Ozette man went to sleep with Watswad; but the latter said, "Go back! I am menstruating. You must look out for yourself." He then tried to play with him, but Watswad was too strong. From now on he slept soundly, and Watswad saw that it would be easy to kill him. Next morning he told the Quileute to go back home. The Ozette wanted to keep them, but they insisted they had to go.

The morning after this they cooked a few roots, and pounded them to make them soft. Watswad worked quickly, like a man; and again the old woman thought, "That is surely Watswad, he does not work like a woman."

The third night, when they all went to bed, Watswad arranged the pillow carefully for the man. After a while he spoke out loud; but, as the Ozette did not hear him, he knew he was asleep. Then Watswad opened the door softly. He cut off his dress and went back to bed again. When he saw that the man was still sleeping soundly, he took a mussel-shell and cut his throat. His throat made a noise as it was cut; and the old woman, who was not asleep, heard it, and said, "I hear a noise. I told you that was Watswad." He used up four mussel-shells in cutting off the head. As he was about to carry the head away, his wife kicked the Ozette man, saying, "Your boy is urinating in the bed." The man, of course, did not move. The old woman said, "I think so too." She told the Ozette man to get up; and when he did not answer, she got up and touched him. When she found his head gone, she cried out and aroused everybody.1

In the confusion, Watswad had run off. He was a very fast runner. The Ozette sent their fastest runner after him; but they soon found that the chase was hopeless, and gave up. They fought no more, either, for their strong man had been killed.

When, early the next morning, the Quileute saw a young man coming toward them on a zigzag run, they cried, "Here comes Watswad with the head of the Ozette chief!" and all rejoiced and were glad. In those days the Quileute who lived on James Island could see a long ways off. Watswad came singing, "I am the fastest runner of all, and Wolf comes next."

NEW YORK, N.Y.

1 Compare Boas, RBAE 31: 847.

PLAINS OJIBWA TALES.

BY ALANSON SKINNER.

INTRODUCTION.

THE accompanying tales were collected from the Plains Ojibwa (Bûngi) Indians residing on the Long Plains Reserve, Manitoba, during June and July, 1913. They were obtained from Dauphin Myran, Joe Countois, Piziki, Joe Pasoin, and, above all, from Ogimáuwinini. They represent the folk-lore of one of the Western bands of Ojibwa in contact with the Plains peoples, and themselves in a transitional stage between plains and forest culture.1 One of the tales was collected at Odanah, Wis.; another one at Manitowoc, Wis.; and the provenience of these tales is indicated in the text.

The stories are published by permission of the American Museum of Natural History, under whose auspices the expedition was made.

I. TALES OF THE CULTURE-HERO.

(1) Nänibozhu and the Shut-Eyed Dance.2

Once Nänibozhu was travelling, and he thought he would try to fool the birds that fly. He met a goose: "Nicim, I've brought a fine dance to you. It's called Shut-Eye Dancing." All the birds came to his call, and during the dance he sang, "Let the fat ones all come together! Whoever opens his eyes, or even winks, will have red eyes, and he'll never be able to shut them again."

When they danced by, he grabbed them and wrung their necks. When he killed one, he would shove it under the ashes. Meantime some one was stealing his birds, breaking off their legs, and putting them back. There was one bird that peeped and saw; and when he heard the noise, he cried, "Nänibozhu is killing us!" and all fled, but only a few were left to flee. After this, Nänibozhu lay down to sleep, and told his anus to warn him if any one came. In the morning he looked, and found that the geese were all gone. He was angry at his anus, so he burned it to punish it; and it cried, "Tciii, t-c-i!” — "Oh, now you're squealing! Why didn't you tell me when some one was stealing my birds?" He started off then, but the bushes scratched his anus till it itched. He found some meat on the bushes when he

1 See "The Cultural Position of the Plains Ojibway," by Alanson Skinner (AA 16: 314-318).

2 See Ojibwa (Jones, PAES 7 [pt. 1]: 101, 169, 409).

turned around, and he ate this. The birds laughed, "Oh, Nänibozhu is eating his scabs!"

(2) Nänibozhu and the Cranberries.'

He went on to the river. He saw some berries: so he dived with his mouth open, but only got a mouthful of mud. He looked again, and tried, and this time he got another bite of mud. He thought a while, looked up, and saw some berries hanging on the top of the bank. He reached up and plucked some, and they tasted fine: so he said, "The Indians shall call you cranberry, and they will all always like you."

(a) Nänibozhu as Duped Diver.2

Nänibozhu was travelling along, when he came to a large river: When he arrived at the brink, he saw that the water looked very beautiful and red: so he thought he would plunge in. The water, however, was very shallow: so when he dived, he scraped his face on the sharp stones at the bottom. He got up stunned and bleeding, holding his head with his hands, and trying to see out of his swollen eyes. As he looked up on the bank, he saw bushes filled with red cranberries hanging over the edge, and it was the reflection of this fruit that made the water so red and tempting. So he came out, and started out again.

(3) Nänibozhu and the Winged Startlers.3

He went on. Soon he saw some partridges, and he asked them (they were little ones on their nest), "What's your name?"—"Pinä.” -"What is your other name? Every one has two names.' "Kuskungese (startling), that's my name.' Nänibozhu didn't believe him. "You're not that kind." He turned about and defecated upon them.

saw.

(4) Nänibozhu and the Buzzard.^

He saw a fine bird as he walked; it was Wina"ge' the buzzard he "Brother, can't you take me way up there?" "Yes, I can." So he took Nänibozhu up. Finally the bird got tired, but Nänibozhu wanted to go on up. Then the bird turned, and down Nänibozhu fell. Nänibozhu wished he might fall in a soft place, saying, "I made the world." He did fall in a soft place.

1 See Ojibwa (Jones, PAES 7 [pt. 1]: 117, 179); for other references, see Boas, BBAE 59: 306).

* See BBAE 59: 306 (note 1).

See Ojibwa (Jones, PAES 7 (pt. 1): 41, 187); for other references, see Boas, BBAE 59 293 (note 2).

See Ojibwa (Jones, PAES 7 [pt. 1]: 133).

VOL. 32. NO. 124.—19.

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