And the old
chief, seeing him beaten, exclaimed, "This time I shall lose my child!"
And yet there was another trial of the young man ere he could win her
whom he wanted. For the chief had a man whom no one could overcome in
swimming and diving, and it was chiefly in this last thing that he
excelled. And the young man must strive with him. And when they met he
asked the man of the village his name, and he replied, "I am an
_Ukchigumooech_" (a Sea Duck, M.); "but who are you?" And he
answered, "I am a _Kweemoo_" (a Loon, M.). So they dived, and
after a time the Sea Duck rose again for breath, but those who waited
waited long indeed ere they saw the Loon. And an hour passed, and he
came not, and yet another ere they beheld him; but when he at last rose
the old chief said, "This is the end of all our weary work, for this
time truly I have lost my child."
Yet it was not the end of the wonderful deeds which were done in that
village by the power of the great Glooskap. For the Mikumwess, at the
great dance which was held that evening at the wedding, astonished all
who beheld him. As he danced around the circle, upon the very hard
beaten floor, they saw his feet sink deeper at every step, and ever
deeper as the dance went on; ploughing the ground up into high, uneven
ridges, forming a trench as he went, until at length only his head was
to be seen.
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