|A LONG, long time ago, a little boy was living with his sister entirely
alone in an uninhabited country far out in the north-west. He was
called the Boy That Carries the Ball on his Back, from an idea that he
possessed magical powers. This boy was in the habit of meditating alone
and asking within himself whether there were other beings similar to
himself and his sister on the earth.
When he grew up to manhood, he inquired of his sister whether she knew
of any human beings besides themselves. She replied that she did; and
that there was, at a great distance, a large village.
As soon as he heard this, he said to his sister:
"I am now a young man and very much in want of a companion."
He asked his sister to make him several pairs of moccasins. She complied
with his request; and as soon as he received the moccasins, he took up
his war-club and set out in quest of the distant village.
He traveled on till he came to a small wigwam, in which he discovered
a very old woman sitting alone by the fire. As soon as she saw the
stranger, she invited him in, and thus addressed him:
"My poor grandchild, I suppose you are one of those who seek for the
distant village, from which no person has ever yet returned. Unless
your guardian is more powerful than the guardians of those who have
gone before you, you will share a similar fate to theirs. Be careful
to provide yourself with the invisible bones those people use in the
medicine-dance, for without these you cannot succeed." After she had
thus spoken, she gave him the following directions for his journey:
"When you come near to the village which you seek, you will see in the
center a large lodge, in which the chief of the village, who has two
daughters, resides. Before the door there is a great tree, which is
smooth and without bark. On this tree, about the height of a man from
the ground, is hung a small lodge, in which these two false daughters
dwell. It is here that so many have been destroyed, and among them your
two elder brothers. Be wise, my grandchild, and abide strictly by my
directions."
The old woman then gave to the young man the bones which were to secure
his success; and she informed him with great care how he was to proceed.
Placing them in his bosom, Onwee Bahmondang, or The Wearer of the
Ball, continued his journey and kept eagerly on until he arrived at the
village of which he was in search. Here, on gazing around, he saw both
the tree and the lodge which the old woman had mentioned.
He at once bent his steps toward the tree, and approaching, endeavored
to reach the suspended lodge. But all his efforts were in vain; for as
often as he attempted to reach it, the tree began to tremble, and it
soon shot up so that the lodge could hardly be perceived.
He bethought him of his guardian spirit, so invoking his aid and
changing himself into a squirrel, he mounted nimbly up again, in the
hope that the lodge would not now escape him. But to his disappointment
away shot the lodge, climb as briskly as he might.
Panting and out of breath, he at last remembered the instructions of the
old woman. Drawing from his bosom one of the bones, he thrust it into
the trunk of the tree and rested himself upon it to be ready to start
again.
As often as he wearied of climbing, for even a squirrel cannot climb
forever, he repeated the little ceremony of the bones; but whenever he
came near the lodge and put forth his hand to touch it, the tree would
shoot up as before and carry the lodge up far beyond his reach.
At length the bones being all gone, and the lodge well-nigh out of
sight, he began to despair, for the earth, too, had long since vanished
entirely from his view.
Summoning his whole heart, he resolved to try once more. On and up he
went, but as soon as he put forth his hand to touch it, the tree again
shook, and away went the lodge.
One more endeavor, brave Onwee, and in he goes; for having now reached
the arch of heaven, the flyaway lodge could go no higher.
Onwee entered with a fearless step and beheld the two wicked sisters
sitting opposite each other. He asked their names. The one on his left
hand called herself Azhabee, and the one on the right, Negahna-bee.
After talking with them a little while, he discovered that whenever he
addressed the one on his left hand, the tree would tremble as before and
settle down to its former place; but when he addressed the one on his
right hand, it would again shoot upward.
When he thus perceived that by addressing the one on his left hand the
tree would descend, he continued to do so until it had again settled
down to its place near the earth. Then seizing his war-club, he said to
the sisters:
"You who have caused the death of so many of my brethren I will now put
an end to, and thus have revenge for those you have destroyed."
As he spoke this he raised the club and with one blow laid the two
wicked women dead at his feet.
Onwee then descended, and learned that these sisters had a brother
living with their father, who had shared in the spoils of all such as
the wicked sisters had betrayed. This youth would now pursue him for
having put an end to their wicked profits, so Onwee set off at random,
not knowing whither he went.
The father, coming in the evening to visit the lodge of his daughters,
discovered what had happened. He immediately sent word to his son that
the sisters had been slain, and that there were no more spoils to be
had. Now this news greatly inflamed the brother's temper, especially the
woful announcement at the end. He was chafing and half beside himself
with rage.
"Oh," he cried. "The person who has done this must be that Boy That
Carries the Ball on his Back. I know his mode of going about his
business, and since he would not allow himself to be killed by my
sisters, he shall have the honor of dying by my hand. I will pursue him
and have revenge."
"It is well, my son," replied the father; "the spirit of your life
grant you success. But I counsel you to be wary in the pursuit. Onwee
Bahmondang is a cunning youth. It is a strong spirit who has put him on
to do this injury to us, and he will try to deceive you in every way.
Above all, avoid tasting food till you succeed; for if you break your
fast before you see his blood, your power will be destroyed."
The son took this fatherly advice all in good part, except that portion
which enjoined upon him to abstain from staying his stomach; over that
command he made a number of wry faces, for the brother of the two
wicked sisters had, among numerous noble gifts, a very noble appetite.
Nevertheless, he took up his weapons and departed at the top of his
speed in pursuit of Onwee Bahmondang.
Onwee, finding that he was closely followed, climbed up into one of the
tallest sycamore-trees and shot forth the magic arrows with which he had
provided himself.
Seeing that his pursuer was not turned back by his arrows, Onwee renewed
his flight; and when he found himself hard pressed and his enemy close
behind him, he transformed himself into the skeleton of a moose that had
been killed many moons before. He then remembered the moccasins which
his sister had given him, and taking a pair of them, he placed them near
the skeleton.
"Go," said he to them, "to the end of the earth."
The moccasins then left him, and their tracks remained.
The angry brother at length came to the skeleton of the moose. When he
perceived that the track he had been long pursuing did not stop there,
he continued to follow it up till he arrived at the end of the earth,
where, for all his trouble, he found only a pair of moccasins.
Vexed that he had been outwitted by following a pair of moccasins
instead of their owner, he complained bitterly, resolving not to give up
his revenge and to be more wary in the future.
He then called to mind the skeleton he had met with on his way, and
concluded that it must be the object of his search.
So the brother retraced his steps toward the skeleton, but to his
surprise it had disappeared, and the tracks of the Wearer of the Ball
were in another direction. He now became faint with hunger, and lost
heart; but when he remembered the blood of his sisters, and that he
should not be allowed to enjoy a meal, or so much as a mouthful, until
he had put an end to Onwee Bahmondang, he plucked up his spirits and
determined again to pursue.
Onwee, finding that he was closely followed and that the hungry brother
was approaching very fast, changed himself into a very old man, with
two daughters. They lived in a large lodge in the center of a beautiful
garden, which was filled with everything that could delight the eye or
was pleasant to the taste. He made himself appear so very old as to be
unable to leave his lodge and to require his daughters to bring him food
and wait on him, as though he had been a mere child. The garden also had
the appearance of old age, with its ancient bushes and hanging branches
and decrepit vines loitering lazily about in the sun.
Meanwhile the brother kept on until he was nearly starved and ready to
sink to the earth. He exclaimed, with a long-drawn and most mournful
sigh:
"Oh! I will forget the blood of my sisters, for I am starving. Oh! oh!"
But again he thought of the blood of his sisters, and what a fine
appetite he would have if he should ever be allowed to eat anything
again, and once more he resolved to pursue and to be content with
nothing short of the amplest revenge.
He pushed on till he came to the beautiful garden. He advanced toward
the lodge.
As soon as the fairy daughters perceived him, they ran and told their
father that a stranger approached.