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