isteneau, immediately on its leaving the body, to wear for three
suns and three sleeps the form of fog or mist. It was by this trick
of the wise Makusue's, that the souls of our people were reprieved
from the tortures which the Matchi Manitou was preparing for them. And
still does the same thing continue. When the breath of a Knisteneau
leaves the body, it repairs for the allotted period to the low marshy
grounds, where it becomes fog and vapour. If my brother will go to one
of those spots, upon either of the three days next following the death
of a Knisteneau, he will see that my words are not the words of a
mocking-bird, but of a man who knows that the anger of the Great
Spirit will be upon him, if he does not speak the truth.

THE DEVIL OF CAPE HIGGIN.

A long time ago, before the occupation of the Island of Nope by the
white people, there dwelt, upon the north side, and near its western
end, a spirit or goblin--a very good-natured, peaceable, clever, old
fellow, very fond of laughter and a good joke. The Indians called him
_Moshup_, which signifies a very bad Spirit, but, when the white
people came, they named him with reference to the little elbow, or
promontory of land, where he had his usual residence, the Devil of
Cape Higgin. There is another tradition, in which, it is said, that he
once lived upon the main land, opposite Nope, and near the brook which
was ploughed out by the Great Trout[A]. It was said, that Moshup came
to Nope in search of some children, which had been carried away by a
great bird, and finding the spot pleasant, people clever, and food
abundant, concluded to take up his abode there[B].

[Footnote A: See the "Legend of Coatuit Brook," p. 307 of this vol.]

[Footnote B: See "The Legend of Moshup," v. ii, p. 261.]

Moshup, the Devil of Cape Higgin, was by no means so bad as his title
implies. Faults he had, it is true, but no one is without faults. And
then, compared with the vices of men, the vices of the devil sunk into
mere trifles. He was a little loose in his morals, and withal, rather
cross to his wife, but he made up for the latter fault by his
unwearied attentions to the wives of his neighbours. He gave into very
few indulgences, drank nothing stronger than water, and never ate more
than a small whale, or five or six porpoises, at one meal. His
greatest indulgence was in smoking the Indian weed, which he did to
excess. He was moderate in his exactions from the Indians, requir