190 THE MENOMINT INDIANS [eth. ann.14 



when the Mud-turtle, who assumed the voice of the hunter, asked, 

 "Moose, are you cold?" and no response was made. The Moose peo- 

 ple became somewhat alarmed when their diver did not respond, for 

 they believed, and very truly, that he was so benumbed with cold that 

 lie could not speak. Then slowly, and with great effort, the Moose rose 

 to the surface, thinking that surely by this time his rival had been van- 

 quished, but was met with the blows of the Elk people, who began 

 vigorously to ply their sticks and clubs upon every one of their oppo- 

 nents. The Elks' champion, the hunter, was then brought to the sur- 

 face by the Mud-turtle, just in time to see the last of the fleeing Moose 

 people disappearing into their wigwams. 



The hunter then returned to his wife, who met him with joy, saying, 

 "My husband, I am pleased with your success, for before you came 

 among us the Moose people were always successful and punished us." 



Even this defeat of the Moose did not seem to dishearten them, for 

 they immediately began to devise a scheme for a more difficult task 

 with which to challenge the Elk people. It was decided to challenge the 

 latter to a contest on the ice, to see which of the champions could slide 

 most rapidly. The Moose claimed that they were the most expert on 

 smooth ice, and all of them having agreed on this game, they went to 

 the village of the Elks saying they should like another contest. 



The Elk people, having gained confidence since they had three times 

 succeeded in defeating the Moose, were quick in accepting the chal- 

 lenge, and all started out to the lake. 



The lake was very long, and two paths were soon cleared of snow, 

 exposing a perfectly smooth surface. The Moose people arranged them- 

 selves along the right shore of the lake, while the Elk folk occupied 

 the left shore. The hunter was one of those who desired to compete 

 against the Moose, but his wife's young brother came to him and said, 

 "Brother-in-law, you can not slide on this smooth surface, as your feet 

 are not fitted for it. My feet are hard and I can easily defeat them." 



The hunter hesitated a moment, but before he could make a reply, 

 Mikek', the Otter, who was invisible to everybody else, came to him and 

 said, "My brother, you come out on the ice, and when you prepare to 

 slide you must place your feet upon me. My fur is thick and smooth 

 and will skim over the ice without any trouble; but I must tell you 

 that when we reach the goal at the end of the lake, I shall continue 

 through the snowbank which you see there, to insure the defeat of 

 the Moose." 



The hunter expressed his gratitude to the Otter, and said to his 

 brother-in-law, "Brother-in-law, I shall compete in this game, as Otter 

 is going to place himself fiat upon the ice, and I shall succeed." 



The contestants then approached the starting point, and each was 

 eager to begin. No one could perceive the Otter beneath the feet of 

 the hunter, because he was a ma'nido, and had been sent by the Wolf. 



The Moose believed that because the hunter's feet were not hard he 

 would be unable to continue far; and already, before the start was 



