"Father Mit-Chee," said little Luke one day as the two were sitting
together on the drumming log, "can't you tell me a story?"
"Why, yes," said Father Mit-chee, "I suppose I might, I might tell you
the story of the first partridge."
Long, long ago an Indian was hunting in the woods. As he went along, he
heard a noise as of people jumping and dancing on hard ground. "That is
queer," said he to himself. "I will go and see what is going on."
So he turned his steps in the direction of the sound, and went on
through the forest swiftly but silently. Though at the first the noise
had seemed to come from a place near at hand, it was a long time before
he came in sight of the dancers. They were a man and a woman, and they
were jumping and dancing about a tree, in the top of which was Hes-puns
the Raccoon.
Now all three of them, the raccoon as well as the man and woman, were
magicians. The man and the woman were enemies to the other, and as their
magic was stronger than his, he had turned himself into a raccoon to
escape them.
[Illustration]
The hunter did not know this. He went toward them, and as he drew near,
he saw that the dancers had worn a ditch waist-deep about the tree.
He went up to them and asked them why they did this strange thing.
Now the man and the woman did not want the hunter to know the truth of
the matter. So they said, "We are trying to wear away the earth from the
root of this tree, so that we can get it down and catch Hes-puns, We are
hungry and we have no tomahawk."
"Well," said the hunter, "I have a good tomahawk and I will cut down the
tree for you. But you must give me the skin of Hes-puns."
They agreed to this, and the hunter soon brought the tree to the ground.
They caught the raccoon and killed and skinned him. Then they gave the
skin to the hunter, who went home.
A few days after this, the hunter saw a stranger coming toward his
lodge. On his head he wore a strange kind of cap which looked like a
small wigwam. When the hunter went out to meet him, the stranger took
off his cap and set it upon the ground. At once it grew larger and
larger until it became a beautiful lodge with several fine rooms in it.
The hunter was greatly amazed, but invited the stranger into his own
lodge and set food before him. While eating, the visitor chanced to see
the pelt of Hes-puns hanging on one of the lodge poles.
Now he was a magician and the brother of the one who had turned himself
into a raccoon. As soon as he saw the skin, he knew it by certain marks
to be the skin of his brother, and supposed that the hunter had killed
him. So he thought, how he might be revenged upon him.
"That is a fine pelt you have there," said he to the hunter. "I should
like to buy it."
"Yes," replied the hunter, "it is a fine one, but I do not care to sell
it."
"I will give you more than it is worth," said the magician. And he
offered everything that he had except his magic wigwam.
"No, I do not care to sell it," answered the hunter to each new offer.
But finally, he said, "If you will give me that fine lodge of yours, you
may have the skin."
"It's a bargain," said the magician; "the lodge is yours. But you must
keep me overnight. We will sleep in your new lodge, which is much finer
and better furnished than this."
"Very well," replied the hunter, "but you must show me how to carry my
new lodge upon my head as you did."
"Oh, that is easy," returned the magician, "you just pick it up and put
it on your head. Come out and try it now."
The hunter went out and picked up the lodge and put it upon his head. He
found he could carry it easily, for it was as light as a wicker basket.
When he put it upon the ground, it at once grew as large as before. So
the hunter and his wife and the stranger went into the lodge. Its new
owner was greatly pleased with it. It contained several large rooms, in
one of which was a very fine bed covered with a white bear skin. On that
bed the hunter and his wife lay down to sleep, while the stranger found
a bed in another room.
In the morning when the hunter and his wife awoke, they were more
delighted than ever with their new lodge. It seemed large and airy, and
from the beams high above their heads hung all kinds of things good to
eat. There were ducks and geese, rabbits and venison, ears of corn, and
bags of maple sugar.
In their joy, the man and his wife sprang out of bed and made a jump
toward the dainties. At once the white bear skin melted and ran away,
for it was nothing but the snow of winter. At the same time, their arms
spread out into wings, and they flew up to the food, which was only the
early buds of the birch tree on which they hung. For the magician had
cast a spell upon the man and the woman and they had become partridges
and had been sheltering themselves from the storms of winter under a
snowdrift, after the manner of their kind, and now came forth to greet
the pleasant spring.
And these two were the first partridges, the foreparents of all the
partridges that are now in the world.
"That is a strange story," said the little boy. "I thank you for telling
it. But now I must go home. Good-bye for to-day."