The king heard how they had treated him. He said it was wrong. He who
could do such deeds must be a great man. He sent for Glooskap, who
replied, "I do not want to see your king. I came to this country to
have my mother baptized as a Catholic." They sent boats, they sent a
coach; he was taken to the king, who put many questions to him.
He wished to have his mother christened. It was done. They called her
Molly. [Footnote: The Indians pronounce the word Marie Mahli or Molly.
Mahlinskwess, "Miss Molly," sounds like Mon-in-kwess, a woodchuck.
Hence this very poor pun.] Therefore to this day all woodchucks are
called Molly. They went down to the shore; to please the king Glooskap
drew all the ships into the sea again. So the king gave him what he
wanted, and he returned home. Since that time white men have come to
America.
* * * * *
This is an old Eskimo tale, greatly modernized and altered. The Eskimo
believe in a kind of sorcerers or spirits, who have instruments which
they merely point at people or animals, to kill them. I think that the
Indian who told me this story (P.) was aware of its feebleness, and was
ashamed to attribute such nonsense to Glooskap, and therefore made the
hero an Indian named Woodchuck. But among Mr. Rand's Micmac tales it
figures as a later tribute to the memory of the great hero.
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