202 EXPLORATIONS IN THE FAR NORTH 



the animals in a great medicine lodge which he shook and 

 pulled down, and in its downfall all animals perished. "Wis- 

 saketchok is then, at once the Noah and the Sampson of the 

 Crees." 



The story of the deluge which here appears is quite different 

 in its details from that given by Petitot, and of the other tales 

 which he mentions, only one, that accounting for the origin of 

 touchwood, was related to me. 



The Beginning of Wisagatchak's Wanderings. 



Wisagatchak's father was very found of roast beaver. Every 

 day he hunted his favorite game and every evening, when he 

 returned, his wife had no wood for the fire. As it is one of the 

 first duties of a good wife to procure firewood, he became 

 suspicious of her conduct and asked his two little sons, "Where 

 does your mother go every day?" "She takes her robe and 

 goes off that way," said they, indicating her course. 



The next day he killed a beaver, as usual, but left it where it 

 lay. In the morning he told the old wife to go after the game, 

 and as soon as she left the camp he hastened away in the 

 direction in which she was accustomed to go in his absence. 

 He followed her track until he came to a hollow stump which 

 was full of snakes. The reptiles hearing his footsteps, and 

 thinking that they were made by the old wife, came rushing 

 out to meet him with a more than cordial greeting. Angered 

 by the perfidy of his spouse, he killed the snakes and took a 

 quantity of their blood back to the camp with which he made a 

 rich soup. The woman, upon returning with the beaver, sud- 

 denly became very industrious and volunteered to go after fire- 

 wood. 



"Eat, before you go," said he, placing the soup before her 

 She ate it greedily and pronounced it very good. 



" That is the blood of your snake lovers." 



" If you have killed them, I will kill you," she cried, running 

 off in a rage. Calling his boys to him, the father gave them a 

 flint, an awl, and a beaver's tooth, saying, " Be off, I am going 

 to kill your mother." 



When she returned, they began a desperate fight. After a 

 long contest he succeeded in cutting off her head which went 

 rolling swiftly away. The headless body continued the struggle 



