kept a hole open and clear. Down this hole they peered,
and lo! the man had rubbed ashes on his face by the advice of his
Elder Brother, and they both lay silent and motionless on either
side of the fire.

Then the fox barked and the raven cawed his signal to the
wandering tribes, and they all rejoiced and said: "Now they are
both dying or dead, and we shall have no more trouble!" But the
sun appeared, and a warm wind melted the snow-banks, so that the
land was full of water. The young man and his Teacher made a
birch-bark canoe, which floated upon the surface of the flood,
while of the animals there were saved only a few, who had
found a foothold upon the highest peaks.

The youth had now passed triumphantly through the various
ordeals of his manhood. One day his Elder Brother spoke to him and
said: "You have now conquered the animal people, and withstood the
force of the elements. You have subdued the earth to your will,
and still you are alone! It is time to go forth and find a woman
whom you can love, and by whose help you may reproduce your kind."

"But how am I to do this?" replied the first man, who was only
an inexperienced boy. "I am here alone, as you say, and I
know not where to find a woman or a mate!"

"Go forth and seek her," replied the Great Teacher; and
forthwith the youth set out on his wanderings in search of a wife.
He had no idea how to make love, so that the first courtship was
done by the pretty and coquettish maidens of the Bird, Beaver, and
Bear tribes. There are some touching and whimsical love stories