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He had with him only his medicine bag; so he entered the brush and hung
it upon a tree, now called "Manabozho tree," and procured a quantity of
bark, which he rolled into a bundle and placing it upon his back, returned
to the shore, where he pretended to pass slowly by in sight of the birds.
Some of the Swans and Ducks, however, recognizing Manabozho and becoming
frightened, moved away from the shore.
One of the Swans called out, "Ho! Manabozho, where are you going_" To this
Manabozho replied, "I am going to have a song. As you may see, I have all
my songs with me." Manabozho then called out to the birds, "Come to me, my
brothers, and let us sing and dance." The birds assented and returned to
the shore, when all retreated a short distance away from the lake to an
open space where they might dance.
Manabozho removed the bundle of bark from his back and placed it on the
ground, got out his singing-sticks, and said to the birds, "Now, all of
you dance around me as I drum; sing as loudly as you can, and keep your
eyes closed. The first one to open his eyes will forever have them red and
sore."
Manabozho began to beat time upon his bundle of bark, while the birds,
with eyes closed, circled around him singing as loudly as they could.
Keeping time with one hand, Manabozho suddenly grhtmled the neck of a Swan,
which he broke; but before he had killed the bird it screamed out,
whereupon Manabozho said, "That's right, brothers, sing as loudly as you
can." Soon another Swan fell a victim; then a Goose, and so on until the
number of birds was greatly reduced.
Then the "Hell-diver," opening his eyes to see why there was less singing
than at first, and beholding Manabozho and the heap of victims, cried out,
"Manabozho is killing us! Manabozho is killing us!" and immediately ran to
the water, followed by the remainder of the birds.
As the "Hell-diver" was a poor runner, Manabozho soon overtook him, and
said, "I won't kill you, but you shall always have red eyes and be the
laughing-stock of all the birds." With this he gave the bird a kick,
sending him far out into the lake and knocking off his tail, so that the
"Hell-diver" is red-eyed and tailless to this day.
Manabozho then gathered up his birds, and taking them out upon the sandbar
buried them--some with their heads protruding, others with the feet
sticking out of the sand. He then built a fire to cook the game, but as
this would require some time, and as Manabozho was tired after his
exertion, he stretched himself on the ground to sleep. In order to be
informed if anyone approached, he slapped his thigh and said to it, "You
watch the birds, and awaken me if anyone should come near them." Then,
with his back to the fire, he fell asleep.
After awhile a party of Indians came along in their canoes, and seeing the
feast in store, went to the sandbar and pulled out every bird which
Manabozho had so carefully placed there, but put back the heads and feet
in such a way that there was no indication that the bodies had been
disturbed. When the Indians had finished eating they departed, taking with
them all the food that remained from the feast.
Some time afterward, Manabozho awoke, and, being very hungry, bethought
himself to enjoy the fruits of his stratagem. In attempting to pull a
baked swan from the sand he found nothing but the head and neck, which he
held in his hand. Then he tried another, and found the body of that bird
also gone. So he tried another, and then another, but each time met with
disappointment. Who could have robbed him_ he thought. He struck his thigh
and asked, "Who has been here to rob me of my feast; did I not command you
to watch while I slept_"
His thigh responded, "I also fell asleep, as I was very tired; but I see
some people moving rapidly away in their canoes; perhaps they were the
thieves. I see also they are very dirty and poorly dressed." Then
Manabozho ran out to the point of the sandbar, and beheld the people in
their canoes, just disappearing around a point of land. Then he called to
them and reviled them, calling them "Winnibe'go! Winnibe'go! " And by this
term the Menomini have ever since designated their thievish neighbors.
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