He had won his name by his great feats of bravery; his eyes never grew dim with sickness nor pain; he had never shown fear. When he was taken prisoner by his enemies in war, he had, unarmed, run the gauntlet; he had escaped when all the strong men of his enemies had stood in two lines striking at him as he ran between the lines.
Keneu had run into the wild forest, which he had never crossed before. He made himself a war club of metikomeesh. Its seeds are set in wood cups. The black bear, or Mukwa, feeds on the nuts when they fall. The war club was strong and heavy.
Keneu crossed the wild forest; he found his own village. He sought out the wigwam of the girl with whom he had played when they were children.
When Keneu stood at the doorway of her father’s lodge, her father met him and gave him food. Keneu [[161]]told his story and all believed him, and he asked for the maiden; he had thought of her welcome when he should come to his home.
“Memainggwah the butterfly,—where is she?” asked Keneu.
“She walked the Pathway of the Spirits alone one moon before Keneu came,” said her father; and the mother wailed a mourning cry from the place where she sat.
“Keneu the war eagle will find Memainggwah. His wings are stronger than the wings of the butterfly. Keneu will go back into the wild forest.”
The warrior, who had so bravely fought his way through bands of men and hidden ways of thick trees, gave the war cry like an eagle, then bounded back into the wilderness. No one saw him again as Keneu the warrior.
The father of Memainggwah, when crossing a marsh one night, was followed by a dancing light as large as half the moon when it is overhead in the sky. The dancing light seemed to call out to him. He heard it say: “I am Keneu. The Great Spirit has said that I shall find Memainggwah, but not for many moons. Come to this place and seek for me.”
The father of the maiden went again to the soft marsh land. This time tiny lights flitted all about him. Singing, humming, whirling, they seemed to fill the air. Wawwawtaissa, little fire-birds, the Indians call them. [[162]]