The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1895-03-09
MANITOU NA-MEK.
Tho Peculiar Indian Legend Of
This Beautiful Lake.

During the preliminary surveys for
the Canadian Pacific railway our party
camped on 'the shore Of large lake
northeast Of Long labe lake Superior
section). Our guide, old Antoine La
garde, half-breed, gave it the above
name, the meaning of which is Tho
Spirit Sturgeon"
One night, rs we sat around the
campfire, l got him to give me the
legend Of the lolxe, for was convinced
that there was some tradition connect
ed with tbs name, which had been
handed down from former generations
of Indians. Lagarde's story was as
follows:
MANY years ago latter the spring
trading was over), eight OF nine fami-
lies of Indians came down here from
Long lake to fish for their living and
build their canoes for the fall hunt.
ARRIVING here, they campcd, SO the
story goes, on this very point, and
built a Sha-bon-ta-wan large enough
for the whole band. Staging was put
up on which to dry their fish and place
their belongings out of reach of the
dogs. In fact, everything was done
toward camp of some permanence.
Each head of family went to some
part of the lake before shutdown aud
set his net. Regularly each morning
were the nets visited, and were always
full of whitefish, trout and sturgeon.
THE sturgeon of this lake were
noted for their rich, juicy flesh, rather
than for their size; and when any Of
the band was fortunate enough to get
one in his net, feast was made and a
portion given to each party.
among the Ojibbewas of Lake SUI
perior and the country to the north,
the same veneration Is shown for the
sturgeon of the fish family as for the
bear among the animal. You could
hardly give an Indian greater offense
than by throwing bears bone on the
ground after eating the meat thereof.
The skull ard other principal bones
are rigidly collected after the feast
and hung on pole near the camp In
the same way, the bones of sturgeon
are carefully carried to the edge of the
water and returned to the element
from which che fish were taken.
Another anwritten law among the
Indians is: When young girl of the
band attnins the age of fifteen years
she is compelled to camp apart from
the tribe for the space of three days,
and live on the coarsest food.
Her retreat must be one hundred
PAGES from the band, and ont of sight.
This probation marks the turning
point in her life between childhood and
womanhood.
"At the end Of the three days her
mother, or, II her mother is dead, her
nearest female relative, takes her a
change of clothing. She has a bath,
most probably the first and only one
she ever has, her hair is done up for
the first time, and she returns to the
encampment, q maiden of an age rec
ognized as rendering her eligible for
marriage proposals.
"Now it happened, three days after
the Indians arrived there, that the
chief of the band, on looking ut his net,
found entangled in the meshes stur-
geon of immense size. This fish was
over n fathom long, and, although n
sturgeon, was different in shape to all
Others they had caught. This one, in
stead of having its head and back al
most in a straight line, rs would an or
binary fish, had n decided hump or cut
down from the upper part of the body
TO the head, and the same peculiar
formation where the tail joined the
last fin.
There was great rejoicing among
the Indians, for they considered this
the king of surgeons, the 'Manitou
Na-mels,' and they decided on having
grand feast and drum beat that
night.
THE same day that this fish was
caught, daughter of the chief reached
the prescribed time of her three-days'
retreat, and her mother made bark
shelter n short distance from the camp,
and conducting her child to it gave
her some food and left her with the
command that for three days and
nights (under no consideration was she
to leave the place of her temporary
confinement.
ANY girl attempting to break this
law Of the tribe was taught that the
'Win-di-go' would carry her off; but II
she kept perfectly quiet and obcycd the
injunction of her mother, no harm
would overtake her.
This girls name was Ne-nah, and, as
she promised TO be a most beautiful
woman, several OF the young braves
were already calculating their chances
of obtaining her hand from the chief,
her father.
THAT night, from her retreat, Ne
nah heard the beat Of tho tom-tom and
the loud laughter Of the band, us they
Toasted on tho Manitou Na-mck and
danced TO the drum-beat.
when sleep came to Ne-nah II was