"'We saw many wonders yesterday, great Magician,' said Winter Morning. 'What new wonders will you show us to-day?'
"'I am not a magician,' replied Porcupine Killer, who was an honest young man. 'But the wonder you shall see to-day will be the hunting of the fierce animals that have hunted us since the beginning of time.'
"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. At the far side of the valley they threw together a great heap of dry bushes and moss and fallen logs. To this Porcupine Killer set a flame from the torch in his hand; and in a minute it was crackling and breathing and blazing, and lifting clouds of black smoke into the air. Then each warrior took a blazing stick from the heap, and again Porcupine Killer led them forward. They had not gone far before two wolves sprang from a grove of spruces in front of them and went galloping away. At that, the warriors shouted and laughed, and waved their blazing sticks. It made them feel great and brave to see the very same beasts that were in the habit of hunting them turn tail and run at the sight of them. They went up to the top of the hill and there built another fire in a rocky place. And so they moved forward over hills and hummocks and barrens, and through patches of dark forest, sending all manner of animals fleeing before them. Here and there they built and lit new fires, to protect their homeward trail; but Porcupine Killer chose the places for these fires with great care. 'It does not eat rocks,' he said. So all the fires were made on rocky places, away from trees and bushes. Porcupine Killer had a thought in the back of his head that it would not be wise for all the forests in the country to be devoured by this wonderful new creature.
"At last the warriors came upon old King Walrus himself, lying sound asleep in a narrow valley between two small hills. He was all alone, for his followers had deserted him during the night. Porcupine Killer made a sign to his companions to be very quiet. They hid along the crest of one of the hills, above the great, round back of King Walrus. Then Porcupine Killer gathered a huge armful of dry moss and twigs, set it alight with his torch, and threw it down upon the walrus's back. Then, standing on a high rock and waving his torch so that the smoke and sparks flew thick and fast, he shouted, 'Wake up, old blubbersides, and return to your own country! Wake up and see the Red Spirit sitting on your back!'
"Through his heavy, troubled dreams old King Walrus heard the voice and felt a horrible sting in his fat back. He lifted his huge head and cast one glance at Porcupine Killer and the flaming stick. He felt the teeth of the terrible red creature, and knew that it had caught him in his sleep. With a bellow of terror that nearly deafened the hidden warriors, he floundered out of the valley and travelled seaward as fast as he could go."
Squat-by-the-fire puffed hard at her pipe, and stared into the fire.
"Did he get home?" asked Flying Plover.
"Yes. He reached the sea, and dashed into the deep water, and swam straight home to his lands of ice and snow," replied the old woman.
"And what did Porcupine Killer do?" asked the little boy.
"He went home, too, and cooked a fine caribou steak for his dinner."
"Did all the animals run out of the country?"
"No. In time they lost some of their fear of the fire. But they were always afraid to go very close to it."
"When were the animals made as small as they are now?"
"That belongs to another story. If I tell you any more now, my brain will split and the skin will come off my throat again," replied the old woman.
"A time came when the great animals in Gluskap's own country broke the good rules he had made for them," began old Squat-by-the-fire. "They were so big and strong, and had become so accustomed to seeing Gluskap in the form of a small young man, that they forgot how powerful he was. They were by nature fierce and bloodthirsty, though they had hidden the evil deep in their hearts for many years. The trouble was started by a great wolf. He stuck his head into a man's lodge and glared at the man's children until they all began to cry with fright. Then the man was angry, and struck the wolf on the snout with a club. At that, the wolf caught the man between his cruel jaws and killed him. 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. Then he caught the animals in his great hands, reaching here and there after them, across hills and valleys; and as he returned each animal to the ground it was as small as its kind is to-day. And this he did all over the world; and from that day to this the animals have no more been masters of the wilderness. Then he led the men and women and children of the tribe, who had been in his care for so many years, far away to a country of thick forest and broad rivers—a finer country, I have heard, than even this land of ours. There they built villages and prospered, and for many hundreds of years Gluskap continued to be as a father to them."
"What did his people do, in their fine new country?" asked Flying Plover.
"They did many things," replied the old woman. "I have heard from Micmacs on the coast that in time there came to be many magicians in that country. Some of the magic was good, such as Gluskap himself knew; and some was bad—and that was practiced by his enemies. Yes, he had many enemies—evil people who hated him because he always fought against evil."
"Please tell me something about the magic," begged the little boy.
The old medicine woman thought for a long time, and scratched her head very hard.
"I know only one story about the magic of Gluskap's people—and I am not sure if it is a true story or not, for I heard it from a Micmac fisherman on the coast," she said.
"Long ago, in the country of Gluskap's people—the new country to which he had led them from the barren lands—there lived three boys in one big lodge. They were the sons of the chief of the village. One day, while they were at play in the woods at some distance from their father's lodge, they heard a sudden squeak and a sound of struggling in a nearby thicket. They ran swiftly to the place, and were in time to save a little brown hare from the hunger of a wildcat. They beat the wildcat with sticks until it sprang away. They carried the wounded hare to their lodge, and there washed and dressed its hurts. In a day or two it was able to hop about the lodge. One morning, when the father and mother were fishing in the river, the hare spoke to the children with a human voice. 'My friends,' it said, 'to-day I must journey far to the northward, on Gluskap's business. For your kindness to me each of you shall receive a magic gift. I shall name the gifts, so each can make his choice, and to-night you will find them at the door of your lodge.' The boys were dumb with wonder, for they knew that the little brown hare must be a great magician. 'First,' the hare continued, 'are the moccasins of the wind. With these on his feet a man can run above the tree-tops, on the currents of the air. Second, is the wallet of plenty. With this at his belt, a man will never lack either food or water. The third gift is an arrow of red wood, feathered with red and barbed with yellow metal.'
"The oldest boy chose the moccasins of the wind. The second in age said that the wallet of plenty seemed a fine thing to him. So the youngest got the red arrow. Then the hare hopped away into the bushes; and at night the three gifts lay by the door of the lodge. The seasons passed. The boy who possessed the moccasins of the wind became a great hunter and warrior.
"When he was twenty years of age he was made chief of the village. His lodge was spread deep with the pelts of wolves and bears and foxes. He was a great man—and all owing to the virtue of the magic moccasins. But he did not always remember that. He was full of pride. The second brother grew sleek, and slow of wit. Cooked food and fresh water were always at his side, so he was content to sit still. But the youngest of the brothers was neither famous nor lazy. He was a brave fighter, but he led no war parties. He was a good hunter and worked hard for his living. He could find no magic in the red arrow, though he had put it to many tests. It shot no straighter and flew no farther than the other shafts in his quiver. But he always kept it near him, ready for whatever might happen, for his faith in its virtue was strong.
"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. So he journeyed northward and westward, by whatever trails came most readily to his feet. Game was plenty, so he did not want for food. On the evening of the third day of his journey he came to the edge of a great barren. It spread before him, treeless from horizon to horizon. But a little voice in his brain told him that his way led straight on.
"After he had traveled over that great barren for more than two days he saw a line of blue hills far to the north. While he was still many miles distant from them he caught sight of something running swiftly toward him. As it drew near him he saw, greatly to his wonder, that it was a young woman. Her eyes were bright with terror, and she ran unsteadily over the rough ground. 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.
Suddenly the great bear appeared, galloping heavily
Suddenly the great bear appeared, galloping heavily
"Suddenly the great bear appeared, galloping heavily but swiftly. Its small eyes burned with ferocity. Its narrow, scarlet tongue hung from its jaws. As the youth drew his bow he noticed that the red arrow was the one he had chanced to draw from his belt. He loosed it straight at the shoulder of the advancing beast. It flashed from the string and vanished. The bear advanced. The young brave trembled, and the girl cried out in dismay. But in a second the red arrow fell at its master's feet, and across its haft hung the moccasins of the wind. In a flash the young man understood. He tore his own moccasins from his feet and replaced them with the magic pair. Then he returned the red arrow to his quiver and caught the girl in his arms. She felt no heavier than a young fox, so great was the magic of the moccasins.
"'Have no fear,' he said, and sprang away. Under his speeding feet the earth swam back and melted behind them, and the gray, brown, blue, and red of its tinted surface mixed like colored waters. For a thousand miles the wizard followed, now with the stride of a moose, now with the wings of an eagle; but he was left so far behind in the first half-second that he lost both scent and sight of them before the magic moccasins had made a dozen strides. So you may believe that at the end of his thousand miles he was very far on the wrong trail. When the young man paused to take breath he found that floors and heaps of ice stretched away on all sides. The air was bitterly cold. Overhead the dome of heaven was alive with the magnificent, drifting radiance of the Northern Lights. The girl lay weakly against his arm, for the speed of their flight had held her breath in her nostrils. Presently she opened her eyes and looked about her fearfully.
"'How came we to this place?' she asked.
"'By the magic of the moccasins of the wind,' he told her, pointing down at the gaily beaded shoes on his feet.
"She trembled and hid her face. 'It was like death,' she said.
"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.
"'Its virtue is so great,' he thought, 'that it may bring a fowl or a fish to me, to keep this woman from death.' In a second the arrow was at his feet, and midway on the red shaft hung the wallet of plenty. Thankfully they ate and drank, and hearts and bodies recovered strength.
"Many moons later the possessor of the red arrow, accompanied by the beautiful young woman, approached the lodges of his own people. At his belt, securely wrapped in water-tight skins, he carried the moccasins of the wind and the wallet of plenty. He was an honest man, and wished to return them to the rightful owners uninjured. A mile from the village they met the second brother—the man who had chosen the wallet of plenty from among the three gifts. Upon his shoulders he carried a great stick of maple-wood. In appearance he had changed surprisingly since the other's departure. The muscles stood out on his lean arms and legs, and his eyes were merry; whereas of old his limbs had been heavy with fat and his eyes dull.
"'Why do you carry that great log?' asked the wanderer, after they had exchanged brotherly greetings.
"'To split and store away, for the making of paddles and arrow-shafts in the stormy days of winter,' replied the other.
"The wanderer handed him the wallet of plenty—but, upon opening it, they found that it was empty.
"''Tis better so,' remarked the maker of paddles, as he hoisted the stick of maple back to his shoulders.
"At the outskirts of the village, in a modest wigwam, the young couple found the eldest of the three brothers, the man who had chosen the moccasins of the wind. He was lying on a couch of skins, and his children played about the door. His greeting was modest and kindly. But he could not rise from his couch to welcome them.
"'In my pride,' he said, 'I forgot that my prowess in the chase and the battle was all of the magic moccasins. 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.
"'The three gifts were equal in the sight of Gluskap,' he said, 'but you see how you have driven their magic to the desires of your own hearts. Only the red arrow worked to its full power, and in doing so it has doubled its magic. Now Gluskap has need of it, and takes it back as a gift from this young man.' He turned, and glided from the lodge."
"Who was it?" asked Flying Plover.
"I don't know; but perhaps it was Gluskap himself," replied the old woman.
"Do you know any more stories about the red arrow?" asked the boy.
"Perhaps I do," said the old woman. "But I'll not tell you any more to-night."
THE END