He went along, and saw a river with a great gorge. So he went back, and said, "If any one promises me a fine young girl, I'll jump it." The Partridges came, and saw what he was up to: so when he returned a second time, when at the edge, the Partridges sneaked up to him. "If some one would give me Ukimawas, I would jump it." He hesitated until the fourth time, when up rose the Partridges with a "whooo!" and Nänibozhu fell over the edge in fright, but fell in soft sand.

(a) Nänibozhu and the Buzzard.1

Then he looked up, got up, and climbed the hill. Then he turned himself into a dead moose. All the birds came to eat. He opened his eyes from time to time. Finally Buzzard came, and all the birds left. The bird could only find flesh at Moose's anus, but feared it might be Nänibozhu, and held back; then he pecked cautiously, then he got busy; and Nänibozhu caught him and came to life, and walked off with one bird hanging with flapping wings. Nänibozhu had him two days. "Oh, I might kill my brother!" he thought. So he looked at him, and found the hair all worn off his head. "Now I'm even with you!" he cried, and added, "You were the finest bird I ever saw, but now you'll be the most disgusting and evil-smelling bird. There'll be no quills on your head forever, you'll be called 'Wisnä"ge',' and you'll eat carrion." That is the end.

(b) Wenibozo and the Buzzard.

(Collected at Odanah, Wis.)

Wenibozo, having seen all the earth and the water, wished to explore the air: so he begged the Buzzard to take him aloft. Buzzard agreed, on condition that Wenibozo would make himself very small, which was done.

Then Buzzard took his rider so high in the sky, that he felt dizzy and faint, and fell asleep. Buzzard then meanly placed his slumbering friend on the edge of a precipice, so that Wenibozo would fall off the moment he awoke; but somehow Wenibozo saved himself, and was furious when he discovered the trick that had been played on him.

In order to be revenged, Wenibozo turned himself into a dead bull, and lay where Buzzard would see him. Sure enough, Buzzard came and pecked out Wenibozo's eyes; but the hero did not stir until Buzzard thrust his head up Wenibozo's rectum. Thereupon Wenibozo contracted his muscles; and Buzzard, in his struggles to get loose, pulled all the feathers from his head, which has been bare ever since.

1 See Ojibwa (Jones, PAES 7 [pt. 1]: 137).

(5) Nänibozhu and Rabbit.

Nänibozhu was travelling one day, when he grass: so he peeped in, and saw a little rabbit.

saw a tiny tent of "Hau, little rabbit,

I'll kill you now!" said he, and he drew his knife; but the rabbit ran In trying to hit him, Nänibozhu split the end of "Well, well," said he, "all men shall be like

between his legs. his own mentula. this forever."

(6) Nänibozhu and the Wolves.1

Nänibozhu was travelling along, when he came to a family of Wolves, and he decided to live with them. He called the eldest Wolf his younger brother. When it became winter, he suffered very much from the cold: so one night he said to the old Wolf, "My younger brother (nise), I am very cold." They were all sleeping together in a snow-bank: so the old Wolf said to one of his sons, "Throw your tail over your uncle!" The young Wolf obeyed; and Nänibozhu was soon warm enough, and fell asleep. Soon, however. Nänibozhu became too warm, and perspired exceedingly, until he awoke. "That confounded old tail!" he cried, throwing it to one side, "it's too warm for me!" After that he felt more comfortable, and fell asleep once more, only to awake colder than ever. "O my younger brother!" he cried, "I am perishing with the cold." Wolf awoke, and again ordered his son to throw his tail over Nänibozhu. "Oh! I was covering him, but he pushed my tail away," said the young Wolf. "Oh, well! it makes no difference," replied his father, "cover him again." Nänibozhu now felt comfortable once more, and soon fell asleep, only to awake in a little while, all hot and sweaty. "That confounded old tail is too hot for me!" he cried, pushing it away impatiently, and fell asleep again. In a short time he was awake once more, and nearly frozen. "O my younger brother! I am perishing with the cold." So the old Wolf awoke, and ordered his son to cover Nänibozhu with his tail. "Oh! I was covering him," replied the son, "but he thrust my tail away."—"That is of no consequence," retorted his father, "cover him again." So the young Wolf obeyed.

A third time Nänibozhu awoke, hot and sweaty. "That confounded old tail is too hot for me!" he cried, shoving it off, and fell asleep, only to awake half dead with cold. "O my younger brother! this cold is making an end of me," he cried; and the old Wolf woke up, and ordered his son to cover Nänibozhu with his tail. "But I have been doing it!" cried the young Wolf, "and he only thrusts it away." "That is a matter of no importance," ordered the elder Wolf, "cover him again." So the younger Wolf obeyed, and they slept in peace till morning.

1 See Ojibwa (Jones, PAES 7 [pt. 1): 73, 235, 373). Wolf-Brother, some say "uncle."

-

In the morning, when they arose, Nänibozhu informed his younger brother the Wolf that he was about to depart. "But you must give me one of your sons for a companion." "Oh, you may have him, do'zim!" So Nänibozhu took the young Wolf with whom he had slept for his chum, and they hunted together.

(7) The Death of the Wolf.2

One night Nänibozhu had a dream. So in the morning he called his nephew, and said to him, "I have had a vision concerning you. You must never try to go across the water. You must not try to cross even a very small brook. Do not even attempt to jump across any water, however narrow and shallow it may be." The young Wolf remembered Nänibozhu's words very well for a time; but one day, when he was pursuing some elk, they bounded across a narrow rivulet, and the young Wolf leaped after them, forgetting his uncle's injunction. Straightway the brook became a broad river; and he fell in the centre, and was dragged down by the Micikenebikuk, the great horned snakes.

In the mean time Nänibozhu waited in his tent for his nephew to return; and when he did not come back, Nänibozhu wondered and wondered what had detained him. "It must be that he has tried to cross a stream," thought Nänibozhu to himself. So at last he went out to search for the young Wolf. He tracked him until he found where the youth had started the elk, and he followed their trail until he came to the great river at last. Then Nänibozhu knew what had happened, and he determined to be revenged.

There was a certain place on the river-bank where the horned snakes were wont to come out and sun themselves. So Nänibozhu went to this spot, and there turned himself into an old dry stump. When the sun came out warm, the big snakes crept out; but one of them saw the stump. "Oh, that must be Nänibozhu!" he whispered to the others; and they all crawled back to their den.

The next day they came out once more, and again they spied the stump. "Oh, Nänibozhu must be there yet!" they cried, and scuttled off to their lair.

On the third day there were some who said, "Pshaw! that stump has been there always, it was there before we came to the place;" but there were others who argued, "No, that stump is Nänibozhu, it has only stood there a few days." - "We can remember it when we first came," said the others. "Well, if it is there to-morrow, we shall believe it was always there," said the rest.

1 Dozim, "nephew;" that is, brother's son.

2 See Ojibwa (Jones, PAES 7 [pt. 1]: 89, 251, 389).

The next day the stump was still there, and some of the snakes came out and saw it. They went back at once and told the others; and so they all squirmed out on the sand-bank, and basked in the sun until they fell asleep. Then Nänibozhu came to life, and, taking his bow, he slipped in among the sleeping snakes and shot the largest three. Then he fled as fast as he could, while the rest of the snakes plunged into the river. The rest of the snakes gathered basswoodbark, and stretched strings all over the world for Nänibozhu to stumble over, and thus warn them of his whereabouts.

(8) Nänibozhu slays Toad-Woman.1

By and by Nänibozhu, finding that he was not pursued, came sneaking back. As he drew near the place where he shot the snakes, he met an old woman carrying a load of basswood (wikop) bark on her back. She was singing to herself,

"Nänäbuc 2 okípimaun"

("Nänäbuc fired [at the snakes]")

"Grandma (noko), what are you carrying on your back?" asked Nänibozhu. "Oh!" cried the old lady in terror, "you must be Nänibozhu!"-"Oh, no! grandma, I am not Nänibozhu," the hero replied. "If Nänibozhu were here, he would kill you. What is that you have on your back for?" - "Oh," replied the old crone, "they're going to stretch this basswood all over the world to try to find Nänibozhu."

"Why are you singing?" asked Nänibozhu. "Why, this Nänibozhu has shot some manitous with his arrows," the old woman replied, "and they want me to try to cure them; that's why I'm singing 'Nänäbuc' okítcimaun!' When I've done that, I'll take a hold of the ends of the arrows with my teeth and pull them out." So Nänibozhu began to repeat the song,

"Nänäbuc' okítcimaun!"—

until he had learned it well. Then he killed the old lady and skinned her, and crawled into her skin himself. Then he made his way directly to the snake village, and went in, all doubled up and tottering. There were some children playing there; and as soon as they saw him, they began to shout, "O granny, granny! they've been waiting, waiting, waiting, here for you."

"O my little grandchildren! lead me there," begged Nänibozhu. "I am so old, and my eyes are so sore, I cannot see very well." So the

1 See Ojibwa (Jones, PAES 7 [pt. 1]: 145, 261, 399).

Observe the similarity of the abbreviation Nänäbuc' to the Menominee regular form of the name of the culture-hero, Mä'näbus.

little boys took him by the hand and led him to a seat where a very, very old hag was staying; and she was none other than Omuhaki, the toad.

Nänibozhu stumbled by her. "Oh, where are you going? that is the wrong way," she cried. So a young man was called. "Grandma, I've come for you," he said. "Oh, then you lead me!" said Nänibozhu. "I can't see, I've cried so much." So the youth took him by the hand, and conducted him to a great tent.

When they got there, he saw his nephew's skin stretched for the door-covering, and he burst into tears. Then, when he got inside, they offered him food; and what they gave him to eat was his son's legs and feet, so he wept the more. When the meal was over, Nänibozhu prepared to make his medicine. He informed all those who had gathered there that it was necessary for him to be all alone with the patients while he attempted their cure. So the other snakes went out.

Then Nänibozhu began to sing,

"Nänäbuc' okípimaun!"

He pretended to pull the arrows out, but he really went up to each of the chiefs, and shoved the arrows in until he died.

Then he got up and went back to old lady Toad's tent. “Nih e'! all of our chiefs are dead!" he cried. The old woman stared at Nänibozhu as he entered. "Why do you do that?" he asked. "Oh, I really believe you are Nänibozhu!" she exclaimed. "Oh, for that matter, I think you are right!" replied Nänibozhu; and he stripped off his disguise, and killed the old lady then and there. Then he snatched up his nephew's skin and fled at top speed, jumping over the basswood strings that had been spread to betray him. Of each one he inquired, "Are there any more of you ahead?" and each would reply, "Yes," until he came to the last one, which answered, "No." Then Nänibozhu took hold of the last string and pulled it.

"Oh! the'! Nänibozhu is pulling our string!" cried all the manitous, and they sent the water rising after him. In the mean time Nänibozhu fled at top speed, but the flood gained upon him at every stride. As he fled, he saw a large old woodchuck digging away in the side of a hill.

"O my younger brother! our lives are in danger, unless you save me," he cried. So Woodchuck began to tunnel into the hill, with the hero at his heels. But Woodchuck sent the earth flying out behind, and filled the eyes of Nänibozhu.

"Oh, hold on, my little brother!" cried he, "you are blinding me." "What did you say?" asked Woodchuck without stopping. "You are blinding me!" cried Nänibozhu. "Eh, what?" asked Woodchuck without turning or pausing. "I say, you are throwing