MYTHS OF THE WOOD CREES 20 g 



A third time they set out together, intending to procure some 

 quills for the arrows obtained upon the preceding trip. They 

 came at last to an island upon which lived an enormous eagle, 



"I will give this man to you to eat" said Waimesosoo, desert- 

 ing him as before. 



" Oh, I know you from long ago, we are old friends," said 

 Wisagatchak, and he flattered the eagle until he was allowed 

 to escape in the form of a gull. On reaching home Waimeso- 

 soo boasted to his grandson. 



"You will not see your father any more, for I have given 

 him to the great eagle." 



"See the quills he has just brought me," replied the boy. 



On the following day Waimesosoo said, " Let us go and have 

 a swing." The swing was upon the verge of a precipice and 

 had frequently been used by the old man to destroy his victims. 

 Wisagatchak knew that he would be hurled out of the swing by 

 a jerk of the rope, and just as the act of treachery was performed 

 he transformed himself into a crane, so that instead of falling 

 headlong upon the rocks below he flew gently down in safety. 



" Now, it is your turn." said Wisagatchak, and he swung the 

 old man long and high, finally tripping him at the right moment. 

 Waimesosoo assumed the form of a whiskey jack to escape be- 

 ing dashed to pieces. Wisagatchak blew so hard upon the 

 little bird that it was killed by the violence of the gale and the 

 long contest was ended. 



Wisagatchak returned to his home alone, but not to stay, as he 

 was destined thenceforth to be a wanderer upon the face of the 

 earth. He met with many strange adventures, and could talk 

 with all the animals, and trees, and stones ; all spoke the language 

 of the Wood Crees. It seems probable that the point of this 

 myth has been forgotten, and the one which accounted for the 

 origin of the sturgeon has been lost by interpretation into Eng- 

 lish ; the mischievous whiskey jack (Perisoreus Canadensis) ought 

 to have originated in this way instead of being destroyed. 



The Creation of the World. 



Nearly every people has its own legend to account for the 

 creation of the world, and among the Wood Crees this is not 

 wanting. It is a combination of a creation myth and the equally 

 universal tradition of a flood. 



