Once on Mackinac Island there lived
a little Indian boy and his sister. They saw
only the birds and animals, for no human beings were
there but themselves. The little boy, instead
of playing with his sister, used to go into the forest
and think. So she thought that he would grow
up to be a very wise man and do some wonderful deeds.
She called him Onwe Bahmondoong, which means, the
boy that carries a ball on his back.
As he grew up, he was very anxious
to know where the people lived. His sister told
him that many miles away there was a village, where
hundreds of warriors and hunters lived. He asked
her to make him six pairs of moccasins, so that he
could go and find the village. He then put some
food in a bag, took his war-club, and, when the moccasins
were finished, set out on his journey. As he
was saying good-bye to his sister, she told him that
one pair of the moccasins was enchanted.
On he went quickly, over miles of
prairie, across little streams, and through the bush.
When he grew tired, he would lie down and sleep.
When he was rested, he would get up and go on.
So he travelled many days, and when one pair of moccasins
wore out, he put on another pair.
At last he came to a wigwam, in which
sat an old woman. When she saw him, she called,
“Come in, my grandchild.”
He entered, and sat down at her feet.
“Where are you going?” she asked him.
“I am going to find the village of the hunters,”
he answered.
“Oh, beware, my child,”
she cried. “Many a brave one of your tribe
has tried to find that village, and none has ever
come back. Take care they do not kill you, also.”
“I am not afraid,” the boy replied, his
eyes shining.
“Well, listen to me,”
she said in a low voice. “I shall give
you two bones which the medicine men use. They
will help you very much.” Then she told
him many things which he was to do when the time came.
When she had finished, he thanked her, and went his
way.
He travelled for two days more, and
at last came in sight of the hunters’ village.
It looked as the old woman told him it would.
In the centre of the village stood a lodge, where
the chief, lived. In front of this lodge, a
tall tree grew. This tree was stripped of its
bark and branches, and hanging from it, about halfway
up, was a small lodge, wherein lived the chief’s
two daughters. It was in this small lodge that
all the Indians had been killed, after they had found
the village.
The boy remembered what the old woman
had told him, so he changed himself into a squirrel.
He ran up the smooth side of the tree. But
when he had nearly reached the lodge, the tree shot
quickly up into the air, carrying the little house
with it. The boy climbed up higher. Again
the tree shot up in the air. And the higher he
climbed, the higher the tree went, until at last it
stopped. It could go no farther, for it had
reached the arch of heaven.
When the boy saw this, he changed
himself from the squirrel back into a boy, and entered
the lodge. The two sisters were squatted on the
floor. He asked them their names. The one
on the left said hers was Azhabee, which means, one
who sits behind. The girl on the right said
hers was Negahnahbee, which means, one who sits before.
When he spoke to the girl on the left, the tree began
to sink down. Then when he spoke to the other
sister, it began to shoot up into the air again.
When he noticed this, he continued talking to the girl
on the left, and the tree kept on sinking lower, until
at last it was down as it had been at first.
Then the boy drew out his war-club.
“I am going to kill you,”
he said to the sisters, “for you have been so
cruel to all my relatives.” Swinging his
club, he brought it down on their heads and killed
them both. Then he jumped from the lodge to the
ground.
As he stood there, he remembered that
these two sisters had a brother and a father, who
would be sure to kill him, when they found what he
had done. So he turned, and ran very quickly.
He had not gone far, when the father and brother
returned. When they saw the dead girls, they
were very angry. The father told the brother
to follow the boy.
“It must be that boy who killed
them,” he said, “for he is the only stranger
here. Follow him, and do not eat until you have
killed him. If you eat, your power is gone.”
The brother started off, running even
faster than the boy. When the boy heard him
coming, and knew that he would be caught, he climbed
a tree. Then he began to shoot magic arrows
back at the brother. But this did not seem to
hurt him. So the boy got down from the tree,
and ran on again. Now he could tell that the
brother was very close to him. So he changed
himself into a dead moose, and lay down on the grass.
He drew out the enchanted moccasins, and whispered
to them, “Travel on and on till you come to
the end of the earth.” Away they went,
because they were enchanted, leaving their marks behind
them.
When the brother came up he saw only
a dead moose, with footmarks leading away from him.
He followed on, until he came to the end of the earth.
Then he saw that he had been fooled, that he had been
following only a pair of moccasins. He was so
very angry that he did not know what to do.
And he felt tired and hungry. He thought surely
he must eat now. Then he remembered his dead
sisters, and said, “No, I shall find that boy
yet, and kill him.” So he turned back till
he came to the spot where the dead moose had been.
To his surprise it was gone, and footsteps led away
in the opposite direction.
He followed them until he came to
a beautiful, old garden, with fruit trees and flowers
in it. In the garden stood an old house covered
with vines, where a very old man lived. He was
so very old that his two daughters did everything
for him. Now this old man was really the boy,
who had changed himself this way. The daughters
saw the brother coming.
“Father,” they said, “there
is such a tired-looking traveller coming up the road.
May we ask him in?”
“Yes, invite him to enter,”
answered the father, “and give him something
to eat.”
The daughters called to the brother,
and invited him in. He was glad to enter the
cool, shady garden. They cooked him some hot
food and other nice things, and when he smelt the
meal, he could not refuse to eat, for he had been
without food for such a long time, and had travelled
so many miles. He ate of the food, and as he
did so, he forgot all about his dead sisters, forgot
even his home. A strange, sleepy feeling came
over him, and he fell into a sound sleep.
When the old man saw this, he changed
himself back into a boy, and the garden, house, and
daughters disappeared. Only the sleeping brother
lay there. The boy quickly drew the ball around
from his back, which turned out to be a magic war-club.
With this he put an end to the brother. As
he journeyed homewards through the forest he heard
the sound of footsteps behind him. Turning,
he saw nothing; but the sound was coming nearer.
In a moment a pair of moccasins appeared on the path.
It was the enchanted moccasins returning from the
ends of the earth. The boy quickly picked them
up and put them in his bag. Then he continued
gladly on his way and soon reached the lodge, where
his sister came forth to meet him. She was very
proud of his brave deed, and she and the boy always
treasured the enchanted moccasins.