Then Raccoon takes the dead black-cats and sets them up in the road-way
from where the big black-cat will pass and they are seen by her. She
thinks: "at my coming the children are joyful;" then she hurries; "they
are so glad to see me." She comes; no one moves. This she thinks is
strange; something is wrong. Very quickly she turns her thought to
sorrow. Then (the baby) hears its mother; he crawls out of a hole. He is
still too young to tell, but he is very clever. He picks up charcoal; he
draws (lines) on his cheek and around his mouth: "ha-ha," said the
father, "this one I know, as if he were alive; this is Raccoon." Then he
starts in pursuit. By and bye, he (the raccoon) sees Black-Cat furiously
angry, brandishing a club, as if he were an Indian.
Raccoon looks at him: "Ah, no club can kill me. A bulrush indeed will
kill me." Black-Cat knows where to go; he goes where there is a swamp;
he fetches one; then he strikes Raccoon where he can do it. But it
bursts; it spreads over Raccoon's head and it sticks to him being wet;
Black-Cat thinks this is Raccoon's brain all coming out. So then he goes
on. Then Raccoon lies quiet until Black-Cat goes on. He then goes on
(himself).
Great magic things he does, but little does he benefit others. Then he
goes on; he comes to where many women are suckling their children. He
says to them: "this is very slow, how you bring up children; in our
country (it is otherwise)." These good women say to him: "How then
should we rear them?" "Now you shall understand how we do it; when we
want them to grow fast, we dip them in water when it is cold; however,
do you lend me one; you shall understand how we do it, when we wish to
rear quickly." One (woman) gives him one. He takes it to the river; he
lifts the ice and drowns the child; in the morning he fetches it taking
it out a grown man. The women marvel. As he does it so wonderfully, then
all the women, as many as there are, put their children into the river
in the evening. Then Raccoon hurries away from those other children. All
those treated badly die.
Again to another wigwam he comes; a number of women are making bags of
properly cured skins. He says to them: "Very slow it seems for you, how
you make these; in our country we cook them in the ashes; give me what
you are using; you shall learn;" they
* * * * *