Part 2

They called the Mohawk chief to come and all the Mohawks that could come at that time came, and all the Indians came from other places. They all sat down and ate. The girl’s head well cooked was placed before the Mohawk chief. As soon as he saw his daughter’s head he gave a loud yell and fainted. Just at this time the Ojibwa chief rose up and asked his men to start and kill every one of the Mohawks. The Ojibwa chief killed the Mohawk chief himself and his men killed the rest of the Mohawks at this time. After this happened the news spread all over and the two big nations got so mad (angry) that they declared war. The war took place in winter time. They fought on Lake Couchiching and the Lake was full of Indians. When the fight began the Ojibwa in command was a girl who led the warriors. When the Mohawks saw them coming they said “we’ll have fun now.” When the Ojibwas came very close the girl who led gave a big loud yell and all the Mohawks fell down on their hands and knees and tried to crawl away, but the Ojibwa warriors killed every one of them that they could find. Young and old, women as well as men, except two, a boy and a girl, and from this pair came the present Mohawks. This ends this Mohawk story.

Note.—(The girl leader of the Ojibwa was not the sister of the boy that was killed and eaten. She was a different girl, but had a dream that she could do this leading.)

NO. 10.

OJIBWA AND MOHAWK. (NO. 3.)

Told by Peter York.

The Ojibwas were once entering Lake Couchiching by the west side in winter time on the ice. They were going across to fight the Mohawks on the east side, when an old Mohawk woman came down to the ice hole to get some water. She saw the Ojibwas coming and turned her back to them and exposed her anus in contempt and otherwise made fun of them. Then she went and told her people. The opposing warriors fought on the ice and the Mohawks were beaten. After the battle the Ojibwas painted a red woman in just the same position as the Mohawk woman posed, on the rocks on the east shore near where the fight took place (now called McPherson’s Quarry or Geneva Park). This figure now remains and can be seen to day. (It is about 5 or 6 feet above water and is about 1 ft. high.)

NO. 11.

OJIBWA AND MOHAWKS. (NO. 4.)

Told by Peter York.

An Ojibwa man and wife and one child were out hunting away back in the woods and one day the man said to his wife, “We are going to have trouble now. There are some Mohawks about, and they are going to come to-night to kill us. There is no use running away for we are too far from home. If I am killed they will take you away to their home.” The night came and this man and wife watched nearly all night, till about daylight they heard an owl and some other kind of bird. This shows that the Mohawks were near and had surrounded their camp. There were fifteen Mohawks and the one Ojibwa man had to fight them all. Well, he did very well for he killed quite a lot of them, but his wife and child were taken prisoners whilst he was fighting. He was not killed but escaped and ran towards his home. He ran for two days till he reached home and told his friends what had happened. He raised a war party of some forty or fifty men and one old man, a prophet, and started after the Mohawks.

This old man, the Prophet, knew where the Mohawks went and he also knew that the wife was still alive, and that child was killed on the way to the Mohawks’ home, for he had that power. So the Ojibwa war party started for the Mohawk country and while they were going the old man said, “She has made her escape and is coming back.” So they all ran to meet her and they met her. She told a very bad (pitiful) story to the men. She said, “On the way every night I had to keep the fire going all night to keep them warm. Some days they all go out hunting, but one had to stay and watch me. One day they all went out but one bad man who stayed in camp to watch me. This bad man made a big fire and went out and cut a good-sized stick. Then he took my baby and ran the stick into him (through the anus) and roasted him in the big fire. Well, I could not do anything only cry, and this bad man came right in front of me and began to mock and cry, and facing the other way showed his buttocks. I grabbed his privates and pulled all I could, and he fell down and I got up and rolled him to the fire and burnt him. Then I took his gun, I did not run away till I killed every one them. Towards the evening one came when I was inside the camp, when he got near I shot him. He fell dead, and after a while another one came and I also shot him. I took his gun which was loaded. The last time two came together. Well, I thought, if I kill them this time I would be safe, so I made a good aim and fired at the first. He fell and the other tried to run away; before he got away I shot him dead and started to run back towards our country.” One of the Ojibwa war party took her home, and the rest went on their way to the Mohawk village. When they got there they killed some of the children to pay the Mohawks for what they did.

This woman made a good plan to get these Mohawks. She did not run away after she killed the first man for fear the rest would chase her and catch her, so she stayed in camp and killed them as they came in singly from hunting. She would take the gun of the man just killed and would be ready for the next.

The Mohawks in camping at night fixed some poles around the fire about two feet from the ground, and would lay on their backs with their feet on the poles, warming their hind quarters. The Ojibwa woman had to keep the fire going all night. The killing or torturing of children was the worst thing Indians could do. This ends this story.

Note.—All these fights took place in this locality. The river referred to is the Gull River. The Ojibwa used to come to where Beaverton now is and then across to South Bay, Balsam Lake, by another route south of the Portage Road. (This is borne out by other evidence than York’s.) I spoke of the embankment at South Bay to York, but he had never seen it though he had heard of it, and remarked that it was “one of the fighting grounds.”

NO. 12.

RAMA WITCHES. (NO. 1.)

Told by Peter York.

One time an old witch lived in Rama on the west side of Lake Couchiching. She covered herself with the skin of an owl when she wanted to fly at night for the purpose of taking the first joints off the fingers of children, which she used to string up like old-fashioned, dried apples in her camp. These children would die at once. She had the power to take these joints off.

One day she wanted to go to near where Atherley now is, and compelled two young men to go with her in the canoe, for she had the power to compel young men to go with her, generally the best of them. She wanted to go to a man’s place who had two black dogs. She wanted these dogs. When she arrived there she asked the man for the dogs, but he said “No!” She then asked him for one dog, but still he said “No.” She then took a paddle and shoved the canoe off shore saying to the man, “I shove off with one of your children.” (Meaning that one of his children would die.) The man said, “Maybe you will die yourself before you get home. The bees will have your meat.” She sat in the middle of the canoe with one of the young men paddling at the bow and the other at the stern. When about half way home the young man at the stern heard a bee humming overhead and looking up he saw the bee enter the woman’s ear into her head. In a short time her body was full of bees, eating her up, and she began to twist around and say: “Youh, youh,” and died in the canoe. The young men put her overboard at what is now Ground Hog Point, which took its name from her, for she was called “Kuk-oh-chees,” “The Ground Hog.”

She had forgotten to take her bag (medicine bag) with her and had left it in her camp. The man’s power was stronger than hers, for he killed her and nothing happened to him. He had power over the bees. Sometimes when this witch was looking for children at night she carried a light. The young men went with her because they were afraid she would kill them if they didn’t go.

She said as she died, “Well, anyway I never killed any big people, just children,” but the people found joints of fingers of grown-up persons on the strings as well as those of children in her camp.

Note.—Ground Hog Point is called in Ojibwa Kuk-oh-cheesh, Nāy-ash-sheeng.

NO. 13.

RAMA WITCHES. (NO. 2.)

Told by Peter York.

Another old witch once lived in Rama. She disguised herself in a turkey’s skin when she wished to fly. She caused many people to die. One day when all the people were having a bee to hoe corn she went to the bee, leaving her turkey skin in her bag (medicine bag) at her home. There was a little boy who lived with her and who had often watched her through a hole in his blanket when she was dressing herself in this turkey skin, and thought that he would like to try it himself, so he took the turkey skin out of the bag and put it on. The skin was very much worn by now and had lost lots of feathers and was ragged, but still preserved the power to fly. So the boy flew over to the hoeing bee, and all the people began to say: “Look at the witch, look at the witch,” and the witch herself began to get very mad (angry) and act crazy when she saw the boy in her turkey skin. The boy lit on the ground and the people rushed over and took off the skin and found that it was only a boy. The witch’s son who was also there took an axe and rushed up to his witch mother and said, “You must stop causing people to die, or else I’ll put the axe to your head.” She said, “No! she would not.” Whereupon he struck her on the head with the axe and killed her on the spot.

NO. 14.

THE SOCIAL PROBLEM.

Told by Peter York.

Once a small party left the Rama Reserve for the purpose of going on a hunt up the Gull River waters. Amongst this party was a bad man who had left his wife on the Reserve and had taken another woman with him, which was a very bad thing to do. After being on the hunt for some time this man died and was prepared for burial, and a grave was dug. He was left in a place just outside the camp for three days before burial. One of the children of the camp who happened to go and look at the body, came back and said that clothes were pushed off the body’s face and breast, so the older people went to see. They found this was so and the man coming to life. He came to life and said that he had been in heaven and was sorry for what he had done by leaving his wife on the Reserve, etc., but that he knew he was going to die in exactly a month from that day at midday, and would never see Rama again. After a short while the party moved camp on their homeward journey, and at Balsam Lake when the month was just about to be up the man said that he was going to die and knew he could not stop it. So he made a little camp and went in there. He was all right the night before and also on the morning of the last day, but before noon he said his time was near and began to act terribly crazy-like. His eyes stuck out and he chewed his tongue and rolled around his camp in terrible agony. He acted so strangely and shook his camp so much that he so frightened the others that they were afraid to go near him and so left him alone to die. His actions continued till noon when the man died in horrible pain. Thus was he punished for leaving his wife and taking another woman.

NO. 15.

WINTIGOES (GIANTS).

Told by Peter York.

In olden times people used to believe that if a person fasted for a period of about ten or twelve days he would learn something about bears or lions, or something very strong, and if he dreamed of any of these animals he would be just as strong.

One time a man had a dream that he could fight with the Wintigoes any time. He could be just as big and just as strong, and during one winter time he knew that the Wintigo was coming to eat them (i.e. his family). He said to his wife “The Wintigo is coming to-night, and is going to eat us, and if my dream fails we shall be eaten by the Wintigo.” The night came and the man went out to meet the Wintigo a little way off. The wife listened for a little while, then she heard trees flying all over and she saw two great, big men biting each other and hitting each other with great, big trees, and also with their hands. This kept on for a long time, till all at once it went past, and she watched if her man would come home. After a while he came out of the woods just as small as he was when he went out to fight. He said, “I won the battle for the first time since I had my dream. You come over with me and I will show you where I finished the Wintigo.” They both went out till they came to the place where they saw, as if somebody had been underbrushing, so fierce was the battle that all the underbrush and small trees were knocked or trampled down. At the far end of this place they saw a great big man lying down dead, with his big kettle and a great big knife, for the Wintigo was going to kill and eat these people. So the man and wife went to work and gathered up wood and made a big fire and burned the Wintigo to ashes.

NO. 16.

LITTLE LYNX STORY.

Told by Peter York.

Black Bear had a very good winter one time. It was a very hard winter for the smaller animals on account of the snow and frost and storms. This big Black Bear used to go on the deer runways and catch a deer and eat him up, and the Lynx used to watch the Black Bear climb up in a tree and jump on the deer as they passed along the runways, which they had in the winter months, and which was an easy thing for a big black bear to do. Once when the Lynx was very hungry he could not catch anything as there was too much snow. Well, he thought that he would try and kill a deer, so he went out on one of their runways and watched for a deer to come along. Soon he saw one coming and he climbed up a tree and when the deer came under the tree the Lynx jumped on his back. The Deer started off wild and went all over the woods, but the Lynx still held on having a good hold and the Deer could not shake him off. The Deer knew that there was a leaning tree in the bush so he made for that, knowing that he could knock the Lynx off as he ran under the tree. The Deer ran very fast and as he ran under the tree there happened to be a knot on the under side of the tree where the Deer went, so the Lynx got his back skinned from his head to his tail. It also just happened that an Indian was out hunting that way and tracking deer. He saw a deer track which was a very bad one with blood all over. So he followed it up till he came to the Lynx lying dead and a little farther on he found the Big Buck dead too. The Deer had got so tired that he lay down and died. So the Indian had good luck finding them both.

NO. 17.

NANABUSH AND THE FOUR MEN. (NO. 4.)

Told by Peter York.

A good many years ago four Indians wanted to know something about “how to be a man that would know how to fight and never get hurt.” Well, they talked about it and decided to go and see Nanabush and ask these things. They made the journey, which took them two long years to get to his place. On the way up they could hear Nanabush beating his drum and saying to them, “Come on, my children.” Well, one day they heard him saying, “You will get to my place in the morning.” The morning came and they saw a clean place; everything looked to be good. They saw a big camp here and went to the door and rapped. Nanabush said, “Come in, my children,” and shook hands with them. They talked a little while when Nanabush said something to his daughter, who was a very nice-looking girl, and she started to cook something which was bear meat, and took some blueberries and cooked them (both) in a very little pot (about the size of a cup). While those men were watching the girl one of them thought, “I could eat all that in the pot with one spoonful.” Nanabush knew what this fellow was thinking about and said, “You will see if you can eat that much.” They all sat down and started to eat out of the little pot. They ate all that they wanted and the pot was still full. Nanabush said, “You men can’t eat it all.” After the meal Nanabush said, “Now you must tell me what you want to know. You have walked for a long time.” The first man said to Nanabush, “I would like to know if there is a battle in our country, and I would like to know that if I was shot at I would like the ball not to hit me.” Nanabush said, “This will happen so, you just think about me when going to fight.”

The next man came before Nanabush and said, “I am a hunter and I would like to call the game to me when I want them, some wild beasts.” Nanabush said, “This will be so, when you go hunting you call just what you want and they will come.”

The third man came before Nanabush. “Well,” he said, “I would like to get myself a wife, nobody likes me.” Nanabush said, “You see my daughter, you take her and she will be your wife.”

The fourth man came before Nanabush and said, “I would like to live forever.” Nanabush said (in reproach), “We all know that every man has got to die, and you would like to live forever.” He reached out his hand and took the fourth man and placed him on his side, when the man became a granite stone, and there were only three men that came back home. Everything that Nanabush said was so.

Nanabush said to the one that wanted a wife, that he must not speak to her till they got home, and they all started home happy. On the last day before reaching home the man who had Nanabush’s daughter wanted to talk to her, so he spoke to her, but before he had finished his words the girl was missing and could not be found, so he got home without a wife. This ends this story.

NO. 18.

NANABUSH AND THE YOUNG MAN AND WIFE. (NO. 5.)

Told by John York.