speak first, "turn me into a beaver? I wish to live among you."
"Yes," answered their chief; "lie down." And Grasshopper in a moment
found himself a beaver, and was gliding into the water, when a thought
seemed to strike him, and he paused at the edge of the lake. "I am very
small," he said, to the beaver, in a sorrowful tone. "You must make me
large," he said; for Grasshopper was terribly ambitious, and wanted
always to be the first person in every company. "Larger than any of you;
in my present size it's hardly worth my while to go into the water."
"Yes, yes!" said they. "By and by, when we get into the lodge it shall
be done."
They all dived into the lake, and in passing great heaps of limbs and
logs at the bottom, he asked the use of them; they answered, "It is for
our winter's provisions."
When they all got into the lodge their number was about one hundred. The
lodge was large and warm.
"Now we will make you large," said they. "Will _that_ do?"
"Yes," he answered; for he found that he was ten times the size of the
largest.
"You need not go out," said the others; "we will bring you food into
the lodge, and you will be our chief."
"Very well," Grasshopper answered. He thought, "I will stay here and
grow fat at their expense." But, soon after, one ran into the lodge, out
of breath, crying out, "We are visited by the Indians!"
All huddled together in great fear. The water began to lower, for the
hunters had broken down the dam, and they soon heard them on the roof of
the lodge, breaking it up. Out jumped all the beavers into the water,
and so escaped.
Grasshopper tried to follow them; but, unfortunately, to gratify his
ambition, they had made him so large that he could not creep out at the
hole. He tried to call them back, but either they did not hear or would
not attend to him; he worried himself so much in searching for a door to
let him out, that he looked like a great bladder, swollen and blistering
in the sun, and the sweat stood out upon his forehead in knobs and huge
bubbles.
Although he heard and understood every word that the hunters spoke--and
some of their expressions suggested terrible ideas--he could not turn
himself back into a man. He had chosen to be a beaver, and a beaver he
must be. One of the hunters, a prying little man, with a single lock
dangling over one eye--this inquisitive little fellow put his head in at
the top of the lodge. "_Ty-au!_" cried he. "_Tut ty-au!_
Me-shau-mik--king of beavers is in." Whereupon the whole crowd of
hunters began upon him with their clubs, and knocked his scull about
until it was no harder than a morass in the middle of summer.
Grasshopper thought as well as ever he did, although he was a beaver;
and he felt that he was in a rather foolish scrape, inhabiting the
carcass of a beaver.
Presently seven or eight of the hunters hoisted his body upon long
poles, and marched away home with him. As they went, he reflected in
this manner: "What will become of me? My ghost or shadow will not die
after they get me to their lodges."
Invitations were immediately sent out for a grand feast; but as soon as
his body got cold, his soul being uncomfortable in a house without heat,
flew off.
Having reassumed his mortal shape, Grasshopper found himself standing
near a prairie. After walking a distance, he saw a herd of elk feeding.
He admired their apparent ease and enjoyment of life, and thought there
could be nothing more pleasant than the liberty of running about and
feeding on the prairies. He had been a water animal and now he wished to
become a land animal, to learn what passed in an elk's head as he roved
about. He asked them if they could not turn him into one of themselves.
"Yes," they answered, after a pause. "Get down on your hands and feet."
He obeyed their directions, and forthwith found himself to be an elk.
"I want big horns, big feet," said he; "I wish to be very large;" for
all the conceit and vain-glory had not been knocked out of Grasshopper,
even by the sturdy thwacks of the hunters' clubs.
"Yes, yes," they answered. "There," exerting their power, "are you big
enough?"
"That will do," he replied; for, looking into a lake hard by,
Grasshopper saw that he was very large. They spent their time in grazing
and running to and fro; but what astonished Grasshopper, although he
often lifted up his head and directed his eyes that way, he could never
see the stars, which he had so admired as a human being.
Being rather cold, one day, Grasshopper went into a thick wood for
shelter, whither he was followed by most of the herd. They had not been
long there when some elks from behind passed the others like a strong
wind, calling out:
"The hunters are after us!"
All took the alarm, and off they ran, Grasshopper with the rest.
"Keep out on the plains," they said. But it was too late to profit by
this advice, for they had already got entangled in the thick woods.
Grasshopper soon scented the hunters, who were closely following his
trail for they had left all the others and were making after him in
full cry. He jumped furiously, dashed through the underwood, and broke
down whole groves of saplings in his flight. But this only made it the
harder for him to get on, such a huge and lusty elk was he by his own
request.
Presently, as he dashed past an open space, he felt an arrow in his
side. They could not well miss it, he presented so wide a mark to the
shot. He bounded over trees under the smart, but the shafts clattered
thicker and thicker at his ribs, and at last one entered his heart. He
fell to the ground, and heard the whoop of triumph sounded by the
hunters. On coming up, they looked on the carcass with astonishment, and
with their hands up to their mouths, exclaimed: "_Ty-au! ty-au!_"
There were about sixty in the party, who had come out on a special hunt,
as one of their number had, the day before, observed his large tracks on
the plains. When they had skinned him his flesh grew cold, and his
spirit took its flight from the dead body, and Grasshopper found himself
in human shape, with a bow and arrows.
But his passion for adventure was not yet cooled; for on coming to a
large lake with a sandy beach, he saw a large flock of brant, and
speaking to them in the brant language, he requested them to make a
brant of him.
"Yes," they replied, at once; for the brant is a bird of a very obliging
disposition.
"But I want to be very large," he said. There was no end to the ambition
of little Grasshopper.
"Very well," they answered; and he soon found himself a large brant, all
the others standing gazing in astonishment at his great size.
"You must fly as leader," they said.
"No," answered Grasshopper; "I will fly behind."
"Very well," rejoined the brant; "one thing more we have to say to you,
brother Grasshopper" (for he had told them his name). "You must be
careful, in flying, not to look down, for something may happen to you."
"Well, it is so," said he; and soon the flock rose up into the air, for
they were bound north. They flew very fast--he behind. One day, while
going with a strong wind, and as swift as their wings could flap, as
they passed over a large village the Indians raised a great shout on
seeing them, particularly on Grasshopper's account, for his wings were
broader than two large mats. The village people made such a frightful
noise that he forgot what had been told him about looking down. They
were now scudding along as swift as arrows; and as soon as he brought
his neck in and stretched it down to look at the shouters, his huge tail
was caught by the wind, and over and over he was blown. He tried to
right himself, but without success, for he had no sooner got out of one
heavy air-current than he fell into another, which treated him even more
rudely than that he had escaped from. Down, down he went, making more
turns than he wished for, from a height of several miles.
The first moment he had to look about him, Grasshopper, in the shape of
a big brant, was aware that he was jammed into a large hollow tree. To
get backward or forward was out of the question, and there, in spite of
himself, was Grasshopper forced to tarry till his brant life was ended
by starvation, when, his spirit being at liberty, he was once more a
human being.
As he journeyed on in search of further adventures, Grasshopper came to
a lodge in which were two old men, with heads white from extreme age.
They were very fine old men to look at. There was such sweetness and
innocence in their features that Grasshopper would have enjoyed himself
very much at their lodge, if he had had no other entertainment than such
as the gazing upon the serene and happy faces of the two innocent old
men with heads white from extreme age afforded.
They treated him well, and he made known to them that he was going back
to his village, his friends and people, whereupon the two white-headed
old men very heartily wished him a good journey and abundance of
comfort in seeing his friends once more. They even arose, old and infirm
as they were, and tottering with exceeding difficulty to the door, were
at great pains to point out to him the exact course he should take; and
they called his attention to the circumstance that it was much shorter
and more direct than he would have taken himself. Ah! what merry
deceivers were these two old men with very white heads.
Grasshopper, with blessings showered on him until he was fairly out of
sight, set forth with good heart. He thought he heard loud laughter
resounding after him in the direction of the lodge of the two old men;
but it could not have been the two old men, for they were, certainly,
too old to laugh.
He walked briskly all day, and at night he had the satisfaction of
reaching a lodge in all respects like that which he had left in the
morning. There were two fine old men, and his treatment was in every
particular the same, even down to the parting blessing and the laughter
that followed him as he went his way.
After walking the third day, and coming to a lodge the same as before,
he was satisfied from the bearings of the course he had taken that he
had been journeying in a circle, and by a notch which he had cut in the
door-post that these were the same two old men, all along; and that,
despite their innocent faces and their very white heads, they had been
playing him a sorry trick.
"Who are you," said Grasshopper, "to treat me so? Come forth, I say."
They were compelled to obey his summons, lest, in his anger, he should
take their lives; and they appeared on the outside of the lodge.
"We must have a little trial of speed, now," said Grasshopper.
"A race?" they asked. "We are very old; we can not run."
"We will see," said Grasshopper; whereupon he set them out upon the
road, and then he gave them a gentle push, which put them in motion.
Then he pushed them again--harder--harder--until they got under fine
headway, when he gave each of them an astounding shock with his foot,
and off they flew at a great rate, round and round the course; and such
was the magic virtue of the foot of Grasshopper, that no object once set
agoing by it could by any possibility stop; so that, for aught we know
to the contrary, the two innocent, white-headed, merry old men, are
trotting with all their might and main around the circle in which they
beguiled Grasshopper, to this day.
Continuing his journey, Grasshopper, although his head was warm and
buzzing with all sorts of schemes, did not know exactly what to do until
he came to a big lake. He mounted a high hill to try and see to the
other side, but he could not. He then made a canoe, and sailed forth.
The water was very clear--a transparent blue--and he saw that it
abounded with fish of a rare and delicate complexion. This circumstance
inspired him with a wish to return to his village, and to bring his
people to live near this beautiful lake.
Toward evening, coming to a woody island, he encamped and ate the fish
he had speared, and they proved to be as comforting to the stomach as
they were pleasing to the eye. The next day Grasshopper returned to the
main land, and as he wandered along the shore he espied at a distance
the celebrated giant, Manabozho, who is a bitter enemy of Grasshopper,
and loses no opportunity to stop him on his journeyings and to thwart
his plans.
At first it occurred to Grasshopper to have a trial of wits with the
giant, but, on second thoughts, he said to himself, "I am in a hurry
now; I will see him another time."
With no further mischief than raising a great whirlwind of dust, which
caused Manabozho to rub his eyes severely, Grasshopper quietly slipped
out of the way; and he made good speed withal, for in much less time
than you could count half the stars in the sky of a winter night, he had
reached home.
His return was welcomed with a great hubbub of feasting and songs; and
he had scarcely set foot in the village before he had invitations to
take pot-luck at different lodges, which would have lasted him the rest
of his natural life. Pipe-bearer, who had some time before given up the
cares of a ruler, and fallen back upon his native place, fairly danced
with joy at the sight of Grasshopper, who, not to be outdone, dandled
him affectionately in his arms, by casting him up and down in the air
half a mile or so, till little Pipe-bearer had no breath left in his
body to say that he was happy to see Grasshopper home again.
Grasshopper gave the village folks a lively account of his adventures,
and when he came to the blue lake and the abundant fish, he dwelt upon
their charms with such effect that they agreed, with one voice, that it
must be a glorious place to live in, and if he would show them the way
they would shift camp and settle there at once.
He not only showed them the way, but bringing his wonderful strength and
speed of foot to bear, in less than half a day he had transported the
whole village, with its children, women, tents, and implements of war,
to the new water-side.
Here, for a time, Grasshopper appeared to be content, until one day a
message came for him in the shape of a bear, who said that their king
wished to see him immediately at his village. Grasshopper was ready in
an instant; and mounting upon the messenger's back, off he ran. Toward
evening they climbed a high mountain, and came to a cave where the
bear-king lived. He was a very large person; and puffing with fat and a
sense of his own importance, he made Grasshopper welcome by inviting him
in to his lodge.
As soon as it was proper, he spoke, and said that he had sent for him on
hearing that he was the chief who was moving a large party toward his
hunting-grounds.
"You must know," said the bear-king with a terrible growl, "that you
have no right there, and I wish you would leave the country with your
party, or else the strongest force will take possession. Take notice."
"Very well," replied Grasshopper, going toward the door, for he
suspected that the king of the bears was preparing to give him a hug.
"So be it."
He wished to gain time, and to consult his people; for he had seen as he
came along that the bears were gathering in great force on the side of
the mountain. He also made known to the bear-king that he would go back
that night that his people might be put in immediate possession of his
royal behest.
The bear-king replied that Grasshopper might do as he pleased, but that
one of his young men was at his command; and, jumping nimbly on his
back, Grasshopper rode home.
He assembled the people, and ordered the bear's head off, to be hung
outside of the village, that the bear-spies, who were lurking in the
neighborhood, might see it and carry the news to their chief.
The next morning, by break of day, Grasshopper had all of his young
warriors under arms and ready for a fight. About the middle of the
afternoon the bear war-party came in sight, led on by the pursy king,
and making a tremendous noise. They advanced on their hind-legs, and
made a very imposing display of their teeth and eyeballs.
The bear-chief himself came forward, and with a majestic wave of his
right hand, said that he did not wish to shed the blood of the young
warriors; but that if Grasshopper, who appeared to be the head of the
war-party, consented, they two would have a race, and the winner should
kill the losing chief, and all his young men should be servants to the
other.
Grasshopper agreed, of course--how little Pipe-bearer, who stood by,
grinned as they came to terms!--and they started to run before the whole
company of warriors who stood in a circle looking on.
At first there was a prospect that Grasshopper would be badly beaten;
for although he kept crowding the great fat bear-king till the sweat
trickled from his shaggy ears, he never seemed to be able to push past
him. By and by, Grasshopper, going through a number of the most
extraordinary maneuvers in the world, raised about the great fat
bear-king such eddies and whirlwinds with the sand, and so danced about,
before and after him, that he at last got fairly bewildered, and cried
out for them to come and take him off. Out of sight before him in
reaching the goal, Grasshopper only waited for the bear-king to come up,
when he drove an arrow straight through him, and ordered them to take
the body away and make it ready for supper; as he was getting hungry.
He then directed all of the other bears to fall to and help prepare the
feast; for in fulfillment of the agreement they had become servants.
With many wry faces the bears, although bound to act becomingly in their
new character, according to the forfeit, served up the body of their
late royal master; and in doing this they fell, either by accident or
design, into many curious mistakes.
[Illustration: THE BEAR SERVANTS. Page 59.]
When the feast came to be served up, and they were summoned to be in
attendance, one of them, a sprightly young fellow of an inquisitive turn
of mind, was found upon the roof of the lodge, with his head half way
down the smoke-hole, with a view to learn what they were to have for
dinner. Another, a middle-aged bear with very long arms, who was put in
charge of the children in the character of nurse, squeezed three or four
of the most promising young papooses to death, while the mothers were
outside to look after the preparations; and another, when he should
have been waiting at the back of his master, had climbed a shady tree
and was indulging in his afternoon nap. And when, at last, the dinner
was ready to be served, they came tumbling in with the dishes, heels
over head, one after the other, so that one half of the feast was spread
upon the ground, and the other half deposited out of doors, on the other
side of the lodge.
After a while, however, by strict discipline, and threatening to cut off
their provisions, the bear-servants were brought into tolerable control.
Yet Grasshopper, with his ever restless disposition, was uneasy; and,
having done so many wonderful things, he resolved upon a strict and
thorough reform in all the affairs of the village. To prevent future
difficulty, he determined to adopt new regulations between the bears and
their masters.
With this view, he issued an edict that henceforward the bears should
eat at the first table, and that the Indians were to wait upon them;
that in all public processions of an honorable character the bears
should go first; and that when any fighting was to be done, the Indians
should have the privilege reserved of receiving the first shots. A
special exemption was made in behalf of Grasshopper's favorite and
confidential adviser, the Pipe-bearer (who had been very busy in
private, recommending the new order of things), who was to be allowed to
sit at the head of the feast, and to stay at home with the old women in
the event of battle.
Having seen his orders strictly enforced, and the rights of the bears
over the Indians fairly established, Grasshopper fixed his mind upon
further adventures. He determined to go abroad for a time, and having an
old score to settle with Manabozho, he set out with a hope of soon
falling in with that famous giant. Grasshopper was a blood relation of
Dais Imid, or He of the Little Shell, and had heard of what had passed
between that giant and his kinsman.
After wandering a long time he came to the lodge of Manabozho, who was
absent. He thought he must play him a trick; and so he turned every
thing in the lodge upside down, and killed his birds, of which there was
an extraordinary attendance, for Manabozho is master of the fowls of the
air, and this was the appointed morning for them to call and pay their
court to him. Among the number was a raven, accounted the meanest of
birds, which Grasshopper killed and hung up by the neck, to insult him.
He then went on till he came to a very high point of rocks running out
into the lake, from the top of which he could see the country, back as
far as the eye could reach. While sitting there, Manabozho's mountain
chickens flew around and past him in great numbers. Out of mere spite to
their master, Grasshopper shot them by the score, for his arrows were
very sure and the birds very plenty, and he amused himself by throwing
the birds down the rocks. At length a wary bird cried out:
"Grasshopper is killing us; go and tell our father."
Away sped a delegation of the birds which were the quickest of wing, and
Manabozho soon made his appearance on the plain below. Grasshopper, who,
when he is in the wrong, is no match for Manabozho, made his escape on
the other side. Manabozho, who had in two or three strides reached the
top of the mountain, cried out:
"You are a rogue. The earth is not so large but I can get up to you."
Off ran Grasshopper and Manabozho after him. The race was sharp; and
such leaps and strides as they made! Over hills and prairies, with all
his speed, went Grasshopper, and Manabozho hard upon him. Grasshopper
had some mischievous notions still left in his head which he thought
might befriend him. He knew that Manabozho was under a spell to restore
whatever he, Grasshopper, destroyed. Forthwith he stopped and climbed a
large pine-tree, stripped off its beautiful green foliage, threw it to
the winds, and then went on.
When Manabozho reached the spot, the tree addressed him: "Great chief,"
said the tree, "will you give my life again? Grasshopper has killed
me."
"Yes," replied Manabozho, who, as quickly as he could, gathered the
scattered leaves and branches, renewed its beauty with his breath, and
set off. Although Grasshopper in the same way compelled Manabozho to
lose time in repairing the hemlock, the sycamore, cedar, and many other
trees, the giant did not falter, but pushing briskly forward, was fast
overtaking him, when Grasshopper happened to see an elk. And asking him,
for old acquaintance' sake, to take him on his back, the elk did so, and
for some time he made good headway, but still Manabozho was in sight.
He was fast gaining upon him, when Grasshopper threw himself off the
elk's back; and striking a great sandstone rock near the path, he broke
it into pieces, and scattered the grains in a thousand directions; for
this was nearly his last hope of escape. Manabozho was so close upon him
at this place that he had almost caught him; but the foundation of the
rock cried out,
"Haye! Ne-me-sho, Grasshopper has spoiled me. Will you not restore me to
life?"
"Yes," replied Manabozho. He re-established the rock in all its
strength.
He then pushed on in pursuit, and had got so near to Grasshopper as to
put out his arm to seize him; but Grasshopper dodged him, and, as his
last chance, he immediately raised such a dust and commotion by
whirlwinds, as made the trees break and the sand and leaves dance in the
air. Again and again Manabozho stretched his arm, but he escaped him at
every turn, and kept up such a tumult of dust that he dashed into a
hollow tree which had been blown down, changed himself into a snake, and
crept out at the roots just in time to save his life; for at that moment
Manabozho, who had the power of lightning, struck it, and it was strewn
about in little pieces.
Again Grasshopper was in human shape, and Manabozho was pressing him
hard. At a distance he saw a very high bluff of rocks jutting out into a
lake, and he ran for the foot of the precipice which was abrupt and
elevated. As he came near, to his surprise and great relief, the Manito
of the rock opened his door and told Grasshopper to come in. The door
was no sooner closed than Manabozho knocked.