“Now see how fast you can go,” said Wisagatcak. Muskrat jumped into the river and swam so rapidly that he broke the grease bladder which he still carried. All the grease and oil came out. That is why Muskrat leaves such a smooth, oily wake when he swims.
WOLVERENE AND BRANT
Eastern Eskimo
Wolverene once called all the birds together. He said, “Do you not know that I am your brother? Come to me and I will dress you in feathers.” So he dressed them all up in feathers, and made wings for himself. He said, “Now, brothers, let us fly.”
Brant said to Wolverene, “You must not look below when we are flying over a point of land, when you hear a noise below. Take a turn when we take a turn.”
The first time they took a turn, Wolverene did not look below, though he heard a noise. At the second turn, when the birds came over a point of land, he heard the shouting of Indians below. At once he looked down. And down he came like a bundle of rags!
All the Indians ran up to him, shouting, “A brant has fallen down.” They found nothing but an old dead wolverene.
WAR OF THE FOUR TRIBES
Shuswap
Once in the ancient time, so the old men say, the Crees from the east, the Thompson River Indians from the south, and the Lillooet Indians from the west, made up their minds to attack the Shuswap of the north. They sent messengers with the war moccasin to each other, and then they met on the east bank of the Fraser River and there joined forces. There were several hundred men in all. Then they went forward to attack the Shuswaps.