236 THE MENOMINI INDIANS [eth.aks.14 



learn the cause, the chief followed the party very cautiously one morning 

 to observe their movements, and seeing them all enter the large wig- 

 wam, he followed. Seeing them advance to the Bed-bird, and, one by 

 one, shake it by the foot, he approached and did the same. They then 

 all partook of the food and returned to their own wigwam, where the 

 chief began to exhibit symptoms of sickness. 



But this illness of the chief was in reality merely affected, as he 

 wanted an excuse for obtaining the bird to eat. Ball Carrier's family 

 was very much distressed at the chief's illness and asked him what they 

 could do to aid his recovery. He told his wife that he would not recover 

 unless she killed the Bed-bird and cooked it for him to eat. This dis- 

 tressed the family very much, and Ball Carrier's two boys became very 

 angry at such a request. The women were in doubt, not knowing what 

 was best to be done; meanwhile the chief pretended to be getting worse, 

 which alarmed them very much, but the boys remained firm, not wanting 

 to see the Bed-bird sacrificed to gratify the chief. 



One morning after the boys went to hunt, the wife of Ball Carrier 

 went to the large wigwam, caught the Bed-bird, and killed him. She 

 then brought the body back to be cooked, when the boys appeared. 

 One of them cut off the bird's head and ate it, while the other cut out 

 and ate the. heart. The boys, in anger, then left the wigwam and went 

 away never to return. 



The first night out they reached a hut, which they approached very 

 cautiously, and seeing no one about but an old woman, they entered. 

 She asked them to remain over night, and showed them where they 

 might sleep. Being tired from their long day's journey, they soon fell 

 asleep. In the morning, before the old woman was awake, they arose 

 quietly and left, so that she did not learn who they were or whither 

 they were going. On going to the place where the elder of the two 

 young men had slept, she observed that the ground was covered by a 

 thin coating of dust resembling gold, then turning to where the younger 

 one had slept, she there saw the ground similarly covered with stains 

 of gold; but when the old woman attempted to gather the yellow sub- 

 stance it vanished. This gold came from the two sous of Ball Carrier, 

 because they had eaten the head and heart of the Bed-bird, which was 

 the shade of him who bad secured the treasures of the Bad One and 

 who still carried them in his armpits when he was killed by the Water 

 Monster. 



Meanwhile the wife of Ball Carrier took the reinaiuder of the bird, 

 from which her two sons had cut and eaten the head and heart, and 

 put it into the kettle to prepare for the chief. When it was cooked 

 and given to him, he seemed to recover from his illness, because he had 

 gained his wish; but, perceiving that the head was gone, he angrily 

 said to his wife, " Who has cut off the head of the bird?" To this she 

 replied that her elder son had eaten it. Then picking up the body he 

 said, "I see that the heart also is gone — who has taken that?" The 



