When great Gluskap, lord of men and beasts, had brought order out of the chaos in which the world was at the beginning, he called together the animals and assigned to each the position he should hold in the future. To some he gave the water, to others the land, and to others wings to fly through the air. Over each tribe he appointed a leader called K’chi, the Great One. These could command help or power from others called their poohegans.

In some animals Gluskap found a fierceness, which, when combined with size and strength, would make them dangerous for Indians to encounter. To this class belonged Miko, the Squirrel,—at that time as large as a wolf.

Therefore Gluskap stroked him on the back until he became the size that he now is.

This humbled the proud Miko, who had been so vain of his appearance, and so boastful of his strength, that he would scratch down the trees which happened to be in his way.

But, as a compensation, Gluskap told him that he could now climb higher and travel faster than before, besides which he could at times have wings to suit the situation.

Miko was comforted, and concluded to travel and become acquainted with the world of Nature.

“K’chi Megusawess,” the Martin, taught him the language of other animals, to enable him to keep out of danger, and Muinsq’, Mistress Bear, Gluskap’s adopted grandmother, gave him the Law, with much good advice; for all Bears are wise, and she was wisest of them all. She said:—

“You must never speak in praise of yourself, but pay attention to all that is said to you.

“Always control your temper; and, when enraged, say, chim, chim, chim,[26] over and over, as fast as you can, until your anger is over.

“The Law is: ‘Mind your own business.’

“Do this and you will be wise and wealthy.”

Miko then started out on his travels, but had not gone far when he remembered a bird named “Laffy Latwin,”[27] whose home in a tall birch-tree was his especial envy.

He said to himself: “Now is my chance to try the wings of ‘Set-cato,’ the Flying Squirrel,” and at once he half climbed, half flew, up the tree, where he found Laffy Latwin still at home.

Laffy Latwin was always good-natured; and all the little birds as well as insects visited his abode. The little worms too would crawl up the birch-tree to see their friend. He sang the vesper song every night, as a signal to them all to go to sleep. When he sings:

he shuts his eyes for the night; and all the little birds are silent until his voice is again heard in the morning, when all awake, for they know that another day has dawned.

When Miko, who now styled himself Set-cato, reached the home of Laffy Latwin, he said:—

“How long have you lived in this tree?”

“Ever since your great grandfather, ‘K’chi Musos,’ was born in that hollow cedar-tree which you just left,” replied Laffy Latwin.

“How long do you mean to stay here?”

“As long as this tree lasts. When this one is gone, I will move to another,” replied Laffy Latwin.

But Miko, or Set-cato, as we must now call him, had never before been so high above the ground; and though the home of Laffy Latwin was cold and damp, he was greatly pleased with the situation, and wished to build a house for himself in the very same hole, so he said:

“My friend, you have lived here long enough. You had better move out, and let me move in.”

Laffy Latwin was troubled, yet he answered in his usual good-natured way:—

“M’Quensis [my grandchild], I cannot go. If I were to move away, all my friends would miss me. They could not hear my song as well from any other tree. Besides, you are young, and are nimbler than I; you can build your house almost anywhere.”

This opposition only made Set-cato more desirous of carrying out his purpose. The old spirit of dominion was aroused within him, and though his great strength was gone, his teeth were unchanged. He at once began to gnaw off the limb on which Laffy Latwin’s house stood.

On a neighboring tree lived a tribe of “Am-wessok,” or Hornets, all warriors, male and female alike. They were always in training; and their glittering armor, with its yellow stripes, shone in the sunlight like tiny sparks, as they flew among the leaves.

They had been watching the movements of Set-cato all the morning, and when they saw that he meant mischief, the whole tribe, as one man, darted from their tree, alighting on his back, and stinging him until he fell to the ground almost dead.

The news soon spread throughout the Squirrel tribe; the flying, the gray, the striped, and the red squirrels hastened to his rescue. They held a council, and resolved that Laffy Latwin must be removed, even if they had to kill him.

They all marched to the foot of the birch-tree, but found that the only way to reach him was from the trunk of the tree. Meantime the Hornets had summoned their friends, the Black Flies, the Midges, and Mosquitoes.

When the chief of the Squirrels gave orders for the battle to begin, his followers made a rush for the tree, but only a few could go up at once; and the Bees, Flies, and Midges would strike them with sharp spears, forcing the Squirrels to retreat before they were half-way up.

Thus the battle went on until sunset. Up to this time, Laffy Latwin had been absolutely silent; he knew his situation, and saw all that was going on; but he had faith that his little warriors would defend him, so he sang his evening song as usual:—

Instantly both armies obeyed the call, and went to their respective wigwams to rest for the night.

Next day, the leaders decided to fight again. The Squirrel chief said to his men: “We must be more cautious and less fierce. If we can only touch Laffy Latwin before he sings ‘Woffy Latwin,’ we shall win; but if we fail to reach him before then, we may as well yield.”

Both armies fought more desperately than ever. The Flies had to sharpen their spears, and many were killed on both sides; yet the battle went on all that day.

The Squirrels found it impossible to reach the home of Laffy Latwin, and when the evening song:—

was again heard, they agreed to retire and leave him forever in peace.

Miko now had time for reflection; and remembered that he had already broken the Law, as given him by Muinsq’, the old Law Maker. This was a bad beginning for getting wealthy and wise.

When his wounds were healed, he once more set out on his travels, hoping to gain from the experiences he had had as Set-cato.

He met many of his tribe, hard at work, and content with their changed condition; but he could not rest until he reached the Witch Mountain, the home of Mawquejess, the Great Eater, of whom Muinsq’ had told him. On reaching it, he noticed a number of narrow paths, trodden by many feet; yet seeing no one, and night coming on, he crawled into a hollow cedar which stood near a large rock, and soon fell asleep.

He was awakened by a loud purring; and he knew that “Alnuset,” the Black Cat, must be camping close by. At first Miko was frightened; but his fear soon turned to wonder what could bring Alnuset, so near to the home of his greatest enemy; for though Chi-gau-gawk, the Great Crow, steals the game from Black Cat’s “ketignul,” or wooden dead-fall trap, yet Mawquejess is worse, for he watches until the wigwam is empty, then enters and eats all he can find, for his appetite is never satisfied.

Miko’s curiosity was aroused; and, the morning being cloudy, and his lodgings very comfortable, he decided to stay where he was and watch the course of events.

Soon he saw that Alnuset had a friend with him, “Matigwess,” the Rabbit, a hunter of the same metal; and he heard Black Cat say:

“This will be a good day for hunting. Stormy days are best for such work.”

Matigwess replied: “I will set the trap. You can go up the mountain and hunt for big game.”

Miko thought to himself: “I can see them from here, no matter where they go. It is growing too cold to venture out.” He watched their movements, and saw that they must be very hungry, and game scarce.

At last Alnuset came across a big Bear, at which he aimed; but the Frost had got into his bow, it snapped and broke as he bent it.

The Bear was too big for him to attack with his tomahawk, so he returned discouraged to the Big Rock.

This Rock resembled a human face, and the moss which grew on the top looked like long hair, so Miko was not surprised to hear Alnuset address it as: “Mus mi,” my grandfather.

“Mus mi, if you have any pity for your grandchildren, sing one of your magic songs to call the animals together.”

At this the stony old man began to sing, and Birds, Moose, Deer, and Bear, as well as friend Matigwess, came hurrying to hear the song.

Now Matigwess is unlike Alnuset in that he carries two bows and three sets of arrows; and he at once began his deadly work, killing Moose, Deer, and Bear on every hand, Alnuset dragging them to his camp as quickly as he could.

The hungry and mischievous Mawquejess was watching him, and when Alnuset went for a fresh load, he would rush in and eat until he was over-full.

Miko, from his hole in the tree, saw this thief at work; but he dared say nothing, and there were so many dead animals piled together that he thought the two hunters would never miss what Mawquejess ate.

But Mawquejess could not be content to let well enough alone. He went up to the Rock in his turn, and, imitating the voice of Alnuset, said:—

“Mus mi, if you feel a spark of pity for your children, you will sing a song and call your animals together.”

So the old man again broke into song, and all the animals that lay dead, slain by Matigwess, came to life and stood around the Rock, now listening to his weird song. When the song ceased, each went his way once more.

When Alnuset and Matigwess reached the wigwam, they found all their game gone, and saw nothing but tracks and prints of large moccasins. By this they knew that this was one of the tricks of Mawquejess.

They were disgusted and depressed; but they cooked and ate what bones and bits were left from the previous day. Night coming on, they did not hear the songs of the goblins as usual, nothing but the howl of wolves following the bloody tracks.

Next morning Matigwess, who was the more powerful in magic of the two, said to Alnuset: “I had a dream last night, and our Grandfather of the Mountain[29] told me that Mawquejess had tricked him into singing, and also said: ‘Mawquejess will visit your camp to-day while you are away!’”

“Very well,” said Alnuset, “then he will not go away. We will fight, and kill him if we can.”

“No, do you go down the river and look to the trap,” said Matigwess. “If there should be any danger, you will hear from me.”

So Alnuset set out at once; and Matigwess cut down a hollow tree, the very one in which Miko lay, and placed it on the fire for a backlog. He then put out the fire, so that there should be no smoke from the wigwam, and it might seem deserted. He also set a snare for Mawquejess, by bending down two large tree forks and fastening them in place with a twisted birch withe.

This done, he crawled into the hollow log to await the coming of Mawquejess. Poor Miko, meantime, had taken refuge under some old roots.

They had not long to wait for Mawquejess, who was soon heard stealing cautiously along, examining everything suspiciously. He spied Miko, and asked him where the two hunters were; but Miko replied: “I saw them early this morning going towards the mountain.”

He did not add, as he might truthfully have done: “One of them came back, hoping to catch you.”

Mawquejess directed Miko to keep watch, and warn him if he saw them returning. He then put his head into the wigwam, saw that the fire had gone out, and that there was only some dried meat hanging on poles; but this gave him courage to enter, for his appetite was keen this cold morning.

He found that his body was too big to go through the small door of the wigwam, so he took the hatchet which he always carries and began to chop a larger entrance. In cutting away the sticks, he cut the withes that fastened the snare, thus making it useless.

This alarmed Matigwess, who had hoped to see him caught in the snare, and then kill him with his bow and arrow.

After working for several hours, Mawquejess got into the wigwam, seized the fattest piece of venison, and making a fire, began to cook it.

Matigwess in the hollow log could bear the heat no longer. When his long tail began to scorch, he sprang out. Mawquejess caught him by the tail, and strove to hold him in the fire; but the tail broke off close to the body,[30] and Matigwess escaped.

He found Miko, and sent him to tell Alnuset that Mawquejess was in the wigwam devouring everything. He was nearly maddened by the loss of his dear tail, and he sang a magic song with great energy:—

This song caused a sudden snow squall, and the woods were filled with the flakes. Each flake concealed a tiny Rabbit, to whom their chief cried out:—

“Yoat elguen” (Come this way).

All the snowflakes came toward Matigwess, and by the time Alnuset reached the wigwam, the little Rabbits were stabbing and choking Mawquejess, who began to beg for his life, when he felt them cut off his feet.

The Rabbit chief said: “Yes, he is harmless now; we will spare his life,” and turning to Alnuset, he asked what should be done with him.

Alnuset advised them to bind him with strong withes, and tie him to the corner of the wigwam, adding, loud enough for Mawquejess to hear:

“He will make good bait for our traps when we need to use him;” and Alnuset purred, with long purrs, and swinging his tail from side to side, looked out of the corners of his eyes, expecting the others to enjoy what he thought a very good joke; but Matigwess, with the loss of his tail, was in no humor for joking.

He sang his song for the snowflakes to disappear, and the snow at once ceased to fall.

The game had all been frightened away, and nothing was to be heard but the howl of wolves.

Matigwess was very hungry, and the young tender leaf shoots, offered by Miko from his storehouse, did not satisfy him.

The weather had grown very cold; all the brooks were frozen over, and as the Beaver, Muskrat, and other water animals could not come out to feed, their traps were useless, therefore Alnuset’s joke fell short of the mark.

Miko did not care for meat himself; but he suggested to the friends: “You might kill Mawquejess and catch a Wolf, with his carcass for bait.”

Matigwess raised his tomahawk to strike; but Mawquejess cried out:—

“Don’t kill me! Take me to the lake, and cut six big holes in the ice. I may help you yet.”

His enemies thought that he might be a good fisherman; and as they knew nothing about such work, they decided to try his plan.

They put him on a toboggan, hauled him to the lake, and cut the six holes, as he ordered. Then Mawquejess began to whistle and call. Foam and bubbles could be seen through the holes in the ice, and soon Kiunik, the Otters, poked out their heads, holding fish in their mouths.

Alnuset and Matigwess now thought better of their foe, and when they had enough fish, they loaded the toboggan and hauled it back to the wigwam, with Mawquejess on top. They all spent a very happy evening together, and became good friends, although Matigwess could never again have a long tail. When the weather grew warmer, Miko grew tired of hearing them tell of their hair-breadth adventures, and escapes from witches and goblins.

He left them, congratulating himself that this time he had broken no law, quite forgetting that he had failed to “mind his own business” and had incurred the ill-will of Mawquejess.

The trees were putting forth buds, the young roots of the seedlings were sweet and tender, and Miko, having laid off his heaviest fur coat, looked often in little pools of water left by the spring rains.

He never felt better in his life; and when he came upon a council held by m’tÉulins, or animals having magic powers, he entered the circle unnoticed, feeling himself the equal of any of them.

The council had met to consider how they might destroy “K’chi Molsom,” the Great Wolf, who lived with the Great Bat, “K’chi Medsk’weges,” on a large island which none dared visit for fear of the Great Wolf. Miko remembered the Wolf as an old enemy, and hoped to see him slain. He chattered approval to all that was said. On one occasion, all the witches met in council to see what they could do to conquer the Wolf; how they might contrive to kill him.

K’chi Quenocktsh, the Big Turtle, made the first speech. Said he: “The only way we can kill K’chi Molsom is to dig a passage under the water to the island, then dig a big hole right under his wigwam, fill the hole with sharp sticks and stones; then we will dig out the rest of the ground. The wigwam will fall, and the Great Wolf will be dashed in pieces on the sticks and stones.”

The witches thought this idea a good one, but felt that the Wolf had such power that whoever stepped upon the island would perish.

K’chi Atosis, the Great Snake, spoke next: “My opinion,” said he, “is that all the witches who can fly should go there some dark night, fly down the smokehole, bind him with strong withes before he can fight, and bring him out where all may enjoy seeing him put to death.”

Next spoke the Alligator: “The only way to kill the Great Wolf is to lie in wait for him on the other island. When he is hungry, he will go there to catch seals; and we will send our best warriors and capture him alive.”

Now the Wolf knew that they had evil designs upon him, and sent the Bat to watch, and to listen to what they had to say, and so was prepared for them.

The chief of the witches, a hairless bear, then said: “I have listened to all your plans, and think all good; but the first one suits me best. We will get ‘K’chi Pa-pa-ka-qua-ha,’ the Great Woodpecker, and Moskwe, the Wood Worm, to do the work.”

So all the woodpeckers and all the worms set to work to dig the passage.

The Great Wolf knew all that was going on, and sent the Bat every night to see what progress they made.

He ordered his troops, the Ants, to prepare flint and punk, Chu-ga-ga-siq’,—yellow rotten wood found in hollow trees.[32]

The Ants went to work and filled the wigwam with punk, the Bat, meantime, going every few moments to watch the enemy’s progress. At last he said that they had landed on the island.

The Wolf ordered everything to be removed from the wigwam,—his bows, arrows, stone axes, spears, pipes, and the paddles of his great stone canoe,—then he took the flint and set fire to the punk inside the wigwam.

The Ants had also filled the mouth of the passage on the mainland with punk, so that all the witches who went to see the killing of K’chi Molsom might not escape but perish.

When all was ready, Woodpecker gave the signal, and the wigwam fell into the hole, to be sure; but the blaze soon filled the passage and all their hiding-places with fire and smoke.

The witches, vainly hoping to escape, ran to the mouth of the passage on the mainland, but found it also stopped with fire; and they were all burned to death.[33]

K’chi Molsom took all his men and his goods in his stone canoe, and went to the next island, where they built a strong wigwam and thenceforth lived, more powerful and more to be dreaded than before, fighting many battles with the spirits of the water.