My aKeiition was iioxt called to where an iiKctl IiKliaii was repeat iiii; the 

 myth stories of his raee to an eajier listenins; audient^e. The story lie was 

 telliiif; was ahout his Rod Manahush and was as follows: 



"In the early days of the earth Manahush was .^..d as hr is now. He 

 lived then in the East at the eoinin.ir of the risini; sun. lie was llic maker, 

 the creator of all things. He nia(h- tlii> trees, the aniuials, the hiids. the 

 land, the water, the clouds, tlie air. the sky. and all thing's we see. He is 

 god. He also made the earth as it is and the sky as it is and prepared 

 places for the living and places of hahitation for the dead i^eoples. The 

 whole universe as he created it is one whole thing. It is as though he had 

 created it as we would make a cheese hox and i)ut shelves in it ; only the 

 universe, as Manahush created it, he made five places, or shelves, of hahita- 

 tion one ahove another, the earth occupying the middle-shelf iM)sition. The 

 gods live in and on the shelf ahove this one and the dead people live in the 

 world just helow the shelf on which we live — the people of the dead live to- 

 ward the south in that world. The gods (manidos) also travel ahout the 

 whole universe at will. They visit all the places of habitation, as they wish. 



"After Manahush had created all things he went to live with his grand- 

 mother in the brilliantly colored regions in the vicinity of the setting sun 

 and he lives there still. He is the guardian for all the Indians and he holds 

 in reserve for them the things of the earth and lets them have them as he 

 thinks they need them. lie is to the Indian in a spiritual way the same as 

 the Honorable Commissioner of Indian Affairs is to them in a material 

 way. He conserves for his peoples the things of earth and allows them to 

 have them as they can show that they need them. When the Indians wish 

 anything tliey ask Manahush for it in dancing, drumming and praying. 

 When they wish to hunt they dance and druni and jnay to him to give them 

 plenty of game to kill. They do the same when they wish a good fishing 

 season, a good crop of berries, and so on. Maii.iliush owns all things and if 

 he is made to know or believe that the one who is praying to him and danc- 

 ing before him (for Manahush is everywhere) really needs the things 

 prayed for, he allows them. But sometimes he can not be induced to allow 

 the things. The man may ask the things hut nniy not be a worthy person. 

 The man may wish much game in the hunt and may dance and drum and 

 pray and may go hunting and get no game at all. But the man may dance 

 and drum and pray again — they always dance and drum and pray four or 

 five days. The man may do this till he wears out the patience of Manahush and 

 Manahush may get angry and give it to him — allow him success in his 

 undertaking." (This accoimts for the reason why an Indian never quits 

 on any proposition. I have known an Indian to ;i^k the government for 

 a certain thing and be told that it could not he allowed and on the very 

 next mail he would demand it again. Fiu'thermore. the Indian will confer 

 charges against employes and insjiectors will come and investigate same and 

 find that the Indian has falsihed in the full of the cloth and dismiss the 

 case. And before the inspector is hardly out of .sight the Indian has recon- 

 ferred the old charges in a new form and denninded a new investigation. 

 He never quits. The same is true with his dealings with the government. 



