226 My Dogs in the Northland 



he replied that for some mornings past when 

 he went to visit it, he found, entangled in 

 the meshes, several heads of white-fish. Yet 

 the net was always in its right position in 

 the water. On my suggestion that perhaps 

 otters, fishers, minks or other fish-eating 

 animals might have done the work, he most 

 emphatically declared that he knew the 

 habits of all these and all other animals liv- 

 ing on fish, and it was utterly impossible for 

 any of them to have thus done this work. 

 The mystery continuing for several morn- 

 ings, Papanekis became frightened and 

 asked me to get some other fisherman in his 

 place, as he was afraid longer to visit the 

 net, He had talked the matter over with 

 other Indians, and they had come to the 

 conclusion that either a " windegoo " was 

 at the bottom of it or the " meechee mun- 

 edoo " ( the devil ) . I laughed at his fears, 

 and told him I would help him to try and 

 find out who or what it was that was giving 

 us this trouble. I went with him to the 

 place, where we carefully examined both 

 sides of the stream for evidences of the 

 clever thief. The only tracks visible were his 

 own and those of the many dogs that followed 

 him to be fed each morning. About two or 



