55 
woman and invites him to remain there a night (i.e. a year) . In the morn- 
ing, after it has granted him a blessing, its wigwam disappears, and the 
hunter returns to his people. 
Right across the prairies into British Columbia we find this same 
belief, which is by no means easy to explain. If the Indians would accept 
that only the soul absented itself, while the body remained behind in the 
hut, we might understand that the lad had suffered from some mental 
disorder brought on by the strain of his solitary fast. But they assert that 
the boy himself disappears for a period. Again, if strangers carried off a 
youth during his vigil, and later permitted him to return to his home, it is 
conceivable that he might capitalize the experience by attributing his 
absence to a manido who wished to confer upon him extraordinary powers. 
But this, too, seems a far-fetched explanation. The true origin and inter- 
pretation of the belief must remain for the present obscure. 
Modern conditions have not only changed the outward lives of the 
Parry Islanders, but affected also the character of their dreams and visions, 
to which they still attach the greatest significance. Thus when Pegahmag- 
abow was about twelve years of age, living in a lumber camp, he dreamed 
that a white woman approached him at great speed, walking about 2 feet 
above the ground. In her hand she held a green branch, but before she 
could touch him he started up and awakened the entire camp. His grand- 
father told him that she would have blessed him had he not awakened too 
soon. There can be little doubt that this dream, like a later dream of the 
same man, 1 was inspired by a picture, in this case perhaps a coloured print 
of an angel carrying an olive branch. 
Mary Sugedub gave a circumstantial account of a most remarkable 
vision ascribed to a warrior named Ogauns, who is reputed to have lived 
three generations ago. As recorded from her by Pegahmagabow (with 
some minor changes in the English), it reads like a paraphrase of some 
passages from the Divina Commedia. 
VISION OF OGAUNS 
“ I found myself alone between the upper and lower worlds, and became so 
fascinated by its wonders and interested in my explorations that I prolonged my 
journey for several years. I ascended daily into the glorious galleries of a land new 
to me in its nature and art. Prosperity shone everywhere above the clouds, causing 
me to go all the faster, and the atmosphere tasted strangely sweet. I travelled with 
an anxious, thoughtful expression on my face, feeling quite unlike my usual frank 
and cheerful self. Although I had obtained no results at my various stopping places 
yet happy thoughts occupied my mind, for I did not know what next I should behold. 
Then, to my great surprise, I saw smoke issuing from a forest of enormous trees, 
and I wondered whether there could be any human beings in this beautiful land. A 
narrow trail led up towards the smoke, and I followed it, though not intending to 
rest in this place. Suddenly I heard the voice of a manido saying ‘Ogauns, where 
are you going?’ An old man, tall and great, stood near me. I answered him, ‘ I 
am ascending to heaven.’ Thus I passed the first stage of my journey, passed the 
first guard on the road to heaven, and continued on my way with redoubled courage. 
The air seemed pure, obscured by neither mist nor cloud, so that I could see 
far into the distance. I skirted a very beautiful natural lane that seemed as though 
it might once have been a highway, although it bore no signs of human workmanship. 
It led to a high mountain, which I climbed. On its summit was a white musk-eagle 
lying like a wounded bird, but to my amazement merely waiting for me to mount 
1 See p. 48. 
