crown of his head
within good range, Manabozho sent in his third arrow, which laid the
Manito out upon the ground, stark dead.

Manabozho lifted up a huge war-cry, beat his drum, took the scalp of the
Manito as his trophy, and calling the woodpecker to come and receive a
reward for the timely hint he had given him, he rubbed the blood of the
Shining Manito on the woodpecker's head, the feathers of which are red
to this day. Full of his victory, Manabozho returned home, beating his
war-drum furiously, and shouting aloud his songs of triumph. His
grandmother was on the shore ready to welcome him with the war-dance,
which she performed with wonderful skill for one so far advanced in
years.

The heart of Manabozho swelled within him. He was fairly on fire, and an
unconquerable desire for further adventures seized upon him. He had
destroyed the powerful Pearl Feather, killed his serpents, and escaped
all his wiles and charms. He had prevailed in a great land fight, his
next trophy should be from the water.

He tried his prowess as a fisherman, and with such success that he
captured a fish so monstrous in size and so rich in fat that with the
oil Manabozho was able to form a small lake. To this, being generously
disposed, and having a cunning purpose of his own to answer, he invited
all the birds and beasts of his acquaintance; and he made the order in
which they partook of the banquet the measure of their fatness for all
time to come. As fast as they arrived he told them to plunge in and help
themselves.

The first to make his appearance was the bear, who took a long and
steady draught; then came the deer, the opossum, and such others of the
family as are noted for their comfortable case. The moose and bison
were slack in their cups, and the partridge, always lean in flesh,
looked on till the supply was nearly gone. There was not a drop left by
the time the hare and the martin appeared on the shore of the lake, and
they are, in consequence, the slenderest of all creatures.

When this ceremony was over, Manabozho suggested to his friends, the
assembled birds and animals, that the occasion was proper for a little
merrymaking; and taking up his drum, he cried out:

"New songs from the South, come, brothers, dance!"

He directed them, to make the sport more mirthful, that they should shut
their eyes and pass around him in a circle. Again he beat his drum and
cried out:

"New songs from the South, come, brothers, dance!