214 



EXPLORATIONS IN THE FAR NORTH 



" My little brother, give me my fire bag," he again entreated. 

 The beaver threw out the bag which lodged in a branch above 

 his head. Wisagatchak saw the image of the fire bag reflected 

 from the surface of the water and, mistaking it for the object, 

 reached toward it, not finding it he plunged to the bottom in 

 search of it; as he turned he caught sight of it in the tree. 

 Angered by his mishap and planning vengeance upon the beaver 

 he hastened to its lodge to await its return. After waiting a 

 long time he fell asleep, in which condition he was discovered 

 by the whole beaver family which covered him with mud and 

 sticks up to his neck so that he was quite helpless. 



"Now, we will waken him by scratching his face," said his tor- 

 mentors, who eluded his pursuit, when he had worked himself 

 free, by dashing away into the muddy waters of the lake. 



The Magic Arrows. 



As Wisagatchak was going along, he came upon a lodge 

 whose only occupant was an old wife who informed him that 

 she lived with her four sons, who were then away hunting. 

 They returned in the evening, carrying their arrows with their 

 points uppermost. The young men said nothing, but left the 

 camp next morning again in search of deer. Wisagatchak's 

 curiosity was aroused by their conduct so that he stayed until 

 evening, when the}' returned, carrying their arrows in their 

 hands and having each a deer's heart upon his back. 



" My sister, I should like to have arrows like those," said the 

 manito; at the request of their mother the hunters gave Wisa- 

 gatchak a handful of the magic arrows and allowed him to 

 accompany them upon their hunting trip the next day. They 

 instructed him in the manner of holding the arrows, that when 

 the heads were pointed upward the person holding them was 

 borne swiftly through the air; when they were pointed toward 

 a deer, both arrow and hunter passed through the body of the 

 animal. Wisagatchak was so successful with his first attempt 

 that he declared, " I will go hunting alone, now." 



" You will kill yourself if you miss the ribs," said the others, 

 as he left them. 



He soon discovered a large moose and, not heeding the warn- 

 ing, pointed his arrows at its head against which he crashed 

 killing the moose and stunning himself. When Wisagatchak 



