" And the god sat still: there was
a calm on the water; no leaves moved in the forest; there was no wind
in all the world.
The young man went home; there was not a breeze, the canoe went
smoothly over the sea, the eels could be seen in the depths, the
Indians caught fish by thousands; never before had they caught so many.
And the sagamore of the birds sat still; the Wind-Bird waited to get
well; the young man fed him every day.
There can be too much of what is good; good turns to evil, sweet to
sour. After many days of quiet calm the sea was covered with
_Ogokpegeak_, a scum which is caused by sickness among the fish,
and which is thrown off by them, for they suffer in still water. Then
the fisherman can no longer look down into the sea; then he cannot use
the spear.
Then the young man, examining the wing of the storm-bird, said,
"Grandfather, it is much better; move it but a little now, that I may
see!" So he moved it; he gave a flap, and lo! a slight ripple passed
over the surface of the sleeping sea. And striking lightly with his
wings, again there came a breeze, and the _Ogokpegeak_, or the
scum, was blown away, and the Indians fished again, and all was well.
So they had the Wind-Bird for a friend, and the sea was smooth or
stormy as they willed. But these Indians wished for more than they
could manage. They grew tired of catching small fish; they wanted
whales.
Pages:
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389