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My attention was next called to where an aged Indian was repeating the 
myth stories of his race to an eager listening audience. The story he was 
telling was about his god Manabush and was as follows: 
“In the early days of the earth Manabush was god as he is now. He 
lived then in the East at the coming of the rising sun. He was the maker, 
the creator of all things. He made the trees, the animals, the birds, the 
land, the water, the clouds, the air, the sky, and all things 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 habitation for the dead peoples. 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 box and put shelves in it; only the 
universe, as Manabush created it, he made five places, or shelves, of habita- 
tion one above another, the earth occupying the middle-shelf position. The 
gods live in and on the shelf above this one and the dead people live in the 
“world just below the shelf on which we live—the people of the dead live to- 
ward the south in that world. The gods (manidos) also travel about the 
whole universe at will. They visit all the places of habitation, as they wish. 
“After Manabush 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. He 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 they ask Manabush for it in dancing, drumming and praying. 
When they wish to hunt they dance and drum and pray 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. Manabush 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 Manabush 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 but may 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 Manabush and 
Manabush may get angry and give it to him—allow him success in his 
undertaking.” (This accounts for the reason why an Indian never quits 
on any proposition. I have known an Indian to ask the government for 
a certain thing and be told that it could not be allowed and on the very 
next mail he would demand it again. Furthermore, the Indian will confer 
charges against employes and inspectors will come and investigate same and 
find that the Indian has falsified 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 demanded a new investigation. 
He neyer quits. The same is true with his dealings with the government. 
