Hoffman] ADVENTURES OF MA'NABUSH 173 



she was dancing, and continued around toward the side where Ma'na- 

 bush sat singing. 



"Now, grandmother," said he, "come close to the kettle so that the 

 soup will be good." 



While Ma'nabush was occupied in singing, and his grandmother in 

 dancing, the ma'nidos became very much excited and made prepara- 

 tions to drive both of them away. On the opposite side of the stream, 

 Ma'niibush saw the Owl and the Wildcat talking to each other. 

 Suddenly the Owl said, " Hu-hu-hu-hu, hii-hii-hii-hii; see how I shall 

 strike him; I shall drive him off easily enough." Then Ma'nabush 

 became alarmed, and said to his grandmother, " Grandmother, they 

 are going to attack us; let us fly!" 



" But I can not run ; I am too old and feeble to run fast," replied she. 

 " Take me on your back and carry me with you." " Well," said Ma'nii- 

 bush, " catch hold of my back and I will bear you off, for they are 

 coming at us now." 



So the grandmother of Ma'nabush grasped him by the shoulders, he 

 helping her to get upon his back, when he ran away just in time to 

 escape the attack of the ma'nidos, who were ana'maqki'u. 



When Ma'nabush had gone far enough for safety, he threw his 

 grandmother from his back upon the ground and hurt her consider- 

 ably. She was then told to gather together some birchbark and other 

 materials to make a wigwam, which they soon erected and made 

 habitable. 



One day Ma'nabush went off into the woods to hunt, and when he 

 returned he found that his grandmother was awaiting him to prepare 

 their meal, but he had not succeeded in procuring any game. . 



THE ORIGIN OF MAPLE SUGAR AND OF MENSTRUATION 



The decrepit condition of Noko'mis is lost sight of in the following 

 myth, which pretends to account for the origin of maple sugar. When 

 Ma'nabush returned empty-handed from his hunting trip, as related 

 above, he and his grandmother, Noko'mis, gathered together all their 

 effects, moved away from the place where they had dwelt, and built a 

 new wigwam among the trees in the new locality. 



These trees were maples, and the grandmother of Ma'nabush said to 

 him, "Now, my grandson, you go into the woods and gather for me 

 some pieces of birchbark; 1 am going to make sugar." So Ma'nabush 

 went into the woods and gathered some strips of birchbark, which he 

 took back to the wigwam, where his grandmother had cut some pieces 

 of bark to make thread for sewing together pieces of birchbark to 

 make vessels to contain the sugar. 



The grandmother of Ma'nabush then went from tree to tree, cutting 

 a small hole into the bark of each and inserting into each cut a small 

 piece of wood over which the sap ran into the vessels placed beneath. 

 Ma'niibush -followed his grandmother from tree to tree, watching her 



