220 THE MENOMINI INDIANS [eth.axn.u 



time before returning to the village, arriving there much later, because 

 he could not travel so fast. Then, when everybody had gone from his 

 camp, some oue approached him and said, "That Turtle- woman who 

 was to become your wife is married to another man." 



•'Is that true?" said the Turtle; "let me see him." 



The Turtle was already on his way to the village, where he arrived 

 at night, and immediately began to search for his promised wife. He 

 was gaily dressed, and his fringe and ornaments rattled as he walked 

 along. The woman for whom he was searching recognized the noise as 

 being made by the oue she had deceived. As he approached her wig- 

 wam he saw evidence of the presence of a man, so he called loud enough 

 for those within to hear, " Now, my friend, I am coming for the woman 

 who promised to be my wife." 



The man whom the woman had married during the. Turtle's absence 

 then said to his wife, "Here comes the Turtle; now what is to be 

 done!" 



" I shall take care of that," replied his wife. 



The Turtle grasped the woman by the side and said, " Come along 

 with me; you belong to me," but she resisted, saying, " You broke your 

 promise." The husband also spoke, saying to the Turtle, "You 

 promised to go to war and bring back some prisoners, which you failed 

 to do." 



" I did go, and returned with a number of them," angrily retorted 

 the Turtle, who drew his knife from its sheath and then said, "I will 

 cut her in two; you take one-half of her while I take the other. Both 

 of us shall then be satisfied." The husband, rather than have his wife 

 harmed, delivered her, wheu she was forcibly taken away by the 

 Turtle, followed by a long line of his people. 



When the Turtle arrived at his own wigwam, the woman began to 

 meditate and to devise a plan by which she could get rid of the Turtle. 

 Eememberiug that one of her friends had a large kettle, she went to 

 borrow it, and when she had brought it back, she filled it with water to 

 boil. When the Turtle saw this, he became mistrustful, and asked her, 

 "What are you doing there?" 



She answered, saying, "I am warming some water; do you know how 

 to swim?" 



The Turtle replied that he knew how to swim, whereupon his wife 

 said: 



"I thought you might want to wash; 1 can get at your back and 

 wash the mud from it." 



The Turtle then said, " I have been in the mud and water so much 

 that I should like to have my back washed." 



Then the woman grasped the Turtle by the shell and carrying him to 

 the kettle of boiling water dropped him in. He died almost instantly 

 and sank to the bottom, with his belly uppermost. The other Turtles, 

 his people, seeing their leader go into the kettle, followed him, and 



