Theodore Goodridge Roberts

“ Then (as he had seen in his dream) the small creature of magic life—the bright, yellow thing that ate the powdered grass and sprang upward for more—flashed into being on the slab of wood between his knees. The squaw uttered a low cry of wonder; but Porcupine Killer said not a word. He fed dry moss and grass to the wonderful thing—and it grew, and flashed with a redder color. Then, doing what he had seen the naked, black man do, he slipped it from the wood to the heap of dry stuff at his side. The bright tongues leapt upward, throwing a beautiful light into every corner of the cave. ”

“ They saw Gluskap walk into his great lodge. Soon he came out with a basket in one hand. He walked among the men and animals, scattering on every side something that looked like sand. The moment those little grains touched the ground, each one became a piece of food. A grain that dropped in front of a beaver became a juicy fragment of pond-lily root. The grains that fell before the caribou turned into bundles of caribou-moss. The grains that fell near the bears and wolves and men became meat and fish of many kinds. Well, it was the most wonderful thing that the white bear had ever dreamed of ”

“ They saw the red and yellow coals all about them, blinking and shining like the eyes of wicked devils—and their hearts melted with fear. Away they ran, howling and roaring, with the flames leaping high on their backs. It was a frightful sight. The animals that saw it, all dashed away to their dens, fearing that the dreadful red creatures might chase them and spring upon their backs as they had sprung upon the backs of the fighting bears. Even old King Walrus went heaving and lumbering away, and hid between two hummocks of rock. ”

“ Gluskap led the way straight up the side of the steep hill. There, on the other side, stood a great lodge of poles and bark, surrounded by several hundred men, thousands of animals, and great flocks of birds settling down and flying up and lighting again. The white bear gazed at the scene in astonishment. There stood wolves and caribou side by side, and hares and wild-cats lay together on the snow. ”

“ It is nothing but some foolish little magic of the miserable two-legged people.'
"Then a wolf said, 'Yes, it may die, but I think it has cubs in every one of the frightened people's dens. And they will grow, quick as water running over a stone, and they, too, may have many cubs.'
"At last the flames ceased to dance at all on the ashes of the dead spruce tree, and the watching animals could see only a few red spots here and there. Hours went by, and still they sat on every hilltop overlooking the valley, howling and snarling and roaring, and staring with their wide, yellow eyes. ”

“ Both of Flying Plover's parents had died when he was a little baby, and ever since—for six long years—he had lived with his grandmother. The old woman's name was Squat-by-the-fire. She was the wisest person in the tribe, in spite of the fact that an old man who lived in another village said that he knew twice as much as anybody else in the whole world. She was deep in medicine and history and story-telling. She could paint fine pictures on bark and cured skins, and was skilful in the carving of wonderful little figures in wood and bone and walrus ivory. ”

“ For a few minutes Porcupine Killer stood just outside the mouth of his cave and gazed at the wonderful sight with awe. The first thin darkness was creeping over the world, and in the gloom the flames and sparks and smoke made a terrible picture for eyes that had never seen such a thing before. ”

“ Six warriors joined Porcupine Killer in front of his cave. They looked at every hill and wood and rock, but could not see one of their enemies. 'We are the masters of the world,' said Porcupine Killer. He took a burning stick in his hand, from his own fire, and led the warriors to the other side of the little valley. They passed the long heap of dead ashes and coals, where the tree had burned the night before. The ashes were still warm, and deep in the middle of the mass a few coals were still alive. ”

“ The taste of the human blood awoke all the evil that had been sleeping for so long in his heart. Then he ran about the country, chasing men and women and every animal smaller or weaker than himself, and killing many of them. At sight of that all the other wolves and fierce animals felt a madness in their brains, and began to hunt and kill. Gluskap left his lodge at the noise and looked about him with eyes that could see for the distance of a four days' journey. At sight of the blood and the hunting beasts he was filled with anger. By his magic he made himself as high as a mountain. ”

“ For a moment King Walrus turned his great head from the direction of the blazing tree and looked at the fox. 'Go down and examine it closely, and see if it has any legs,' he said. For a few seconds the fox did not know what to do or say, and felt very foolish. He was afraid of King Walrus—but he was much more afraid of the awful, new thing down in the valley. ”

“ The Eskimo warriors chased our warriors then, when they saw them, even as the timber wolves chase the young caribou. So it is with men and tribes and nations, little son of a chief. I have seen something of it, even with my own eyes. The Eskimo people were the great people; and next the Mountaineers were mighty in battle; and now both the fat men of the ice and the hunters of the mountains know that the white missionaries and the white traders are their masters."
"That is very strange," remarked Flying Plover. "The white men do not look like great warriors, and they are very few in number." ”

“ This wonderful thing that dances and whispers so peacefully on the floor of our cave is greater than all the fangs and claws and tusks of all the animals in the world. And it is my friend—the friend of the tribe. I shall hunt old King Walrus himself, and cause him to repent of the evil he has done.'
"The woman begged him not to be rash. The giant animals had ruled the country so long, and hunted men as men hunt hares and foxes now, that she could not believe that anything was stronger than the animals. But Porcupine Killer had no fear, since he had seen the power of the fire. ”

“ Or may be an eagle would catch sight of the man, and swoop down and pick him out of the tree with its claws, as if he weighed no more than a little brook trout."
"I am glad I did not live in those days," said Flying Plover. "If all the beasts were too big to kill, and there were no white men to buy blankets from, what did people do for clothes to wear?"
"There were the hares," replied the old woman. "They were six times as large as they are now, but not much more dangerous unless they were cornered. And sometimes the bravest hunters managed to kill a beaver or a musquash. ”

“ Flying Plover waited for a minute, and then asked, "Are animals afraid of fire now?"
His grandmother nodded her head.
"But dogs are not afraid of it. Dogs like to lie by the fire, all day and all night," said the boy.
"Dogs were not always fond of fire. When they were wild—before they had been tamed by man—they did not like it at all," replied the old woman.
She puffed very fiercely at her pipe. "But you must not ask me any more questions now," she said. "I must boil the medicine for Red Cloud's baby again. ”

“ When she saw the young man she swerved in her course and ran to him, crying out that a terrible wizard followed her in the form of a great bear. The youth set an arrow to the string of his bow; and, as he waited for the bear to appear, the girl told him that he who hunted her was the most powerful of all the evil wizards, and that he could take upon himself at pleasure the form of any bird or animal. ”

“ Then the white bear followed him, wondering to find himself so mild and obedient. The other animals followed, too, and the crow flew on ahead. One of the wolves walked beside the white bear.
"'The crow told me that this country was without a king,' said the bear. 'But that man is your king, surely!'
"'Oh, now, he is one of the gods,' said the wolf. 'He feeds us, and keeps our enemies from harming us. ”

“ But I like battles best, except when I am an Eskimo. Do the Eskimos always get beaten in the real battles?"
"Our people have not been at war with the fat blubber-eaters for a long, long time," replied the old woman. "We used to battle with them every summer; but it was a foolish thing to do, and brought a great deal of sorrow and suffering to both peoples. When my father was a young man, our warriors used to chase the Eskimo warriors as the timber wolves chase the young caribou. ”

“ He was closely followed by Winter Morning, the chief. Porcupine Killer told them in a few words of his dream and how he had made the fire in his cave; of its comforting warmth; of its sting; and how the animals feared the sight of it. Soon a dozen men and boys stood near the blazing tree.
"'Now is the time to hunt for food,' said Porcupine Killer. 'Do not go beyond the edge of the red light.'
"They found the body of a huge caribou, freshly killed by the wolves and but half eaten. They cut the flesh from it with their stone knives and axes, and carried it to their caves. ”

“ One day in early autumn the young man with the red arrow left the village of his people. Something had spoken to him in his sleep, and had told him that a great adventure awaited him in a far country. ”

“ I thought myself the very equal of Gluskap. But the moccasins flew away from me, and in the next hunt I was stricken to the earth by a wounded moose—for I was no stronger than the youngest warrior and no swifter than the oldest chief.'
"The new-comer produced the moccasins of the wind from the bag at his side, and gave them into the hands of the fallen chieftain. At that moment a tall stranger entered the wigwam and took the moccasins from his hands. Then, turning to the other, he took the red arrow from the quiver. Already the wallet of plenty hung at his belt of blue wampum. ”

“ That is why they are now the great people."
"They feed their brains with fine sweet puddings. I think that is why they are able to talk to our people so big and make the little Eskimo boys go to school," said Flying Plover.
The old woman laughed; but it was not at her grandson's remark. She was thinking of the oldest story she had ever heard.
"There was a time, more than ten thousand summers ago, I should think, when men were such weak, dull-witted creatures that they had no mastery over anything but the smallest animals and birds," she said. ”

“ The animals were the masters, in those days, and it is a wonder that the poor, frightened creatures that ran on two legs, and hid in caves and holes, kept alive at all. Then, the wolves were as big as black bears, and the bears stood as high as caribou, and the foxes were as big as timber wolves. When a hunter saw a fox, in those days, he was glad to climb a tree ”

“ Then the youth understood that to endure the tremendous flight of the moccasins one must also be possessed of their strength. For hours they wandered about in search of shelter and food. In unhurried motion the young man's feet experienced none of the magic. He was thankful for that. At last the girl sank on the ice, faint for want of food and drink. Then the man bethought him of the red arrow, and, fitting it to his bow, fired it at a distance. ”

“ But as there seemed to be no chance of finding the bear, he continued to live quietly in the distant forest. For exercise, he knocked the great pine trees over with his horns. None of the other animals were big enough for him to fight with—and King Walrus was too big.
"The walrus did not stay in this country very long; but while he was here, men suffered even more than they had suffered before. The reason for this was that a great many fierce animals from the north had followed their king into this country. The whole land was full of bears and wolves and giant foxes ”

“ As the winter is a much longer season than the summer, in that country, these people spent the greater part of every year in the mountain forests—and so they are called the Mountaineer Indians, or the Mountaineers. ”

“ With so many great animals killing and feeding on all sides there would surely be plenty of fresh bones lying around. He had seen a pack of great wolves chasing a giant caribou along the valley below his cave early that morning. ”

“ He knew that men were there, beyond the hill, and moose, caribou, bears, wolves, foxes, otters, wild-cats, mink, porcupine, red deer, woodchucks, hares, mice, beaver, muskrats, badgers, and all kinds of birds.
"'Hah, that smells good,' he said, and sniffed very hard. 'That certainly smells like a fine dinner. I'll be puzzled to know what to eat first. A fat beaver would not be bad to start with, as there does not seem to be any kind of fresh fish.'
"'You are all wrong. You will not be allowed to eat any of those animals. They are waiting for their dinners just as hungrily as you are ”