dian serpents, and eluded all his charms. He did not long
remain inactive. His next adventure was upon the water, and proved him
the prince of fishermen. He captured a fish of such monstrous size, that
the fat and oil he obtained from it formed a small lake. He therefore
invited all the animals and fowls to a banquet, and he made the order in
which they partook of this repast the measure of their fatness. As fast
as they arrived, he told them to plunge in. The bear came first, and was
followed by the deer, opossum, and such other animals as are noted for
their peculiar fatness at certain seasons. The moose and bison came
tardily. The partridge looked on till the reservoir was nearly
exhausted. The hare and marten came last, and these animals have,
consequently, no fat. When this ceremony was over, he told the assembled
animals and birds to dance, taking up his drum and crying, "New songs
from the south, come, brothers, dance." He directed them to pass in a
circle around him, and to shut their eyes. They did so. When he saw a
fat fowl pass by him, he adroitly wrung off its head, at the same time
beating his drum and singing with greater vehemence, to drown the noise
of the fluttering, and crying out, in a tone of admiration, "That's the
way, my brothers, _that's_ the way." At last a small duck (the diver),
thinking there was something wrong, opened one eye and saw what he was
doing. Giving a spring, and crying "Ha-ha-a! Manabozho is killing us,"
he made for the water. Manabozho followed him, and, just as the duck was
getting into the water, gave him a kick, which is the cause of his back
being flattened and his legs being straightened out backward, so that
when he gets on land he cannot walk, and his tail feathers are few.
Meantime the other birds flew off, and the animals ran into the woods.

After this Manabozho set out to travel. He wished to outdo all others,
and to see new countries. But after walking over America and
encountering many adventures, he became satisfied as well as fatigued.
He had heard of great feats in hunting, and felt a desire to try his
power in that way. One evening, as he was walking along the shores of a
great lake, weary and hungry, he encountered a great magician in the
form of an old wolf, with six young ones, coming towards him. The wolf,
as soon as he saw him, told his whelps to keep out of the way of
Manabozho, "for I know," continued he, "that it is him that we see
yonder." The young wolv