M. R. HARRINGTON — SACRED BUNDLES OF THE SAC AND FOX INDIANS. 257

The Flood.
After the departure of Nah-pat-tay’s shade, We-sah-kah prepared himself with the great spear, and went with the speed of an eagle to fight the Ai-yam-woy, the murderers of his brother. He met and slew them; this occasioned a war with the gods which lasted for a long time. The gods of the sea having the great deep at their disposal resolved upon destroying We-sah-kah and his race even at the loss of their own lives. A great council was therefore called for the pur- pose, and all the chiefs were assembled and agreed upon the destruction of the world by flood. We-sah-kah hearing of this fasted again for ten days. At the end of the tenth day his voice reached the Great Spirit, his prayer was heard and answered and mankind, the beasts and birds, etc. were pre- served. Then the waters began to overflow the plains and We-sah-kah fled before them with his family, etc., until he reached a high mountain. But the water soon overtook them and he built a great raft upon which he put all kinds of crea- tures and then let it loose, so it floated upon the surface of the great waters. After a long time We-sah-kah began to be sorry and fasted ten days. At the end of the tenth day he dreamed he saw the dry land. Awaking out of sleep he sent down the tortoise, but he returned without any clay; he then sent down the muskrat, and he brought up clay between his claws, out of which W. formed the dry land. Then mankind and all the creatures which had been preserved were spread abroad upon the face of it. They now lived in peace and happiness because there were no Ai-yam-woy or any spirits of destruction to trouble them, having all been exterminated by the flood.
The End of We-sah-kah.
We-sah-kah was now sole chief of earth and mankind were his children. At length the people became very numerous and unable to remain together. They then separated under
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258 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS VOL. IV.
their fathers San-ke, Mash-qua-ke (Red Fox) and Ash-e-kan. There was also one other but his name was blotted out from amongst men on account of his offending We-sah-kah, because not contented with long life, he asked not to suffer him to die but live forever on the earth. This so incensed W. that he immediately transformed him and his children into stones and they remain so until the present, and their names are forgotten by all the tribes of the earth.
The place was called Mixed Water, the dwelling of We- sah-kah, from which these three fathers commenced their journey towards the South, each tribe under his particular father . 1
Before the division took place We-sah-kah gave to each father a Me-shaum, in which this narration is recorded by songs.
Afterwards the Great Spirit met W. and forgetting that he was a creature of the Great Spirit, told him that he had destroyed the infernal spirits from off the earth and rebuilt this new world by his own power. But the Great Spirit opened his Me-shaum and showed W. the beginning of his existence; at this he was ashamed and sorry and humbled himself for ten days. Notwithstanding the Great Spirit disregarded his invocations, and took him by the heel and cast him to the ends of the earth, and put Po-po-na-te-se, god of winter, betwixt him and the world to prevent his ever coming amongst man- kind again.
Belief Respecting the Future State.
If an Indian fulfils during his lifetime the requirements of the Me-shaum, he believes that at death he shall go to Che-pah-munk or the happy land; but if bad he will not be able to cross the bridge, which is no wider than a man’s foot and leads over the Mah-na-sa-no-ah or river of death. This is a bottomless river and if the man has been wicked he is
1 They can give no account where the place of the Mixed Water is.
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