Ne-naw-bo-zhoo Battles His Brother

Killarney

History

This story was related by Andrew J. Blackbird or Mack-aw-de-be-nessy (Black Hawk) of the Odawa Nation, in his 1897 book Indians of Michigan: The Ottawa and Chippewa.

From Chapter IX

Some of the legends of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians Respecting the Great Flood of the World -- A Person Swallowed Up Alive Like a Prophet Jonah.

When Ne-naw-bo-zhoo became a man he was a great prophet for his nephews and an expert hunter. His hunting dog was a great black wolf. When he learned from his grandmother that his mother was dead and that his brother was a monster with a body like flint stone which caused her death, Ne-naw-bo-zhoo was in a great rage after hearing the story and he determined to seek for this evil being and slay him. Then he immediately prepared for a long journey, and trimmed his ponderous war club nicely and prepared to be in a great battle. So off he went with his great black wolf on the war path. As he passed through the forest, for a trial of his strength and the strength of his war club, he simply made motions with it towards one of the tallest pines of the forest and the gigantic tree came down all into slivers. "Ah", said Ne-naw-bo-zhoo, "who could stand against my strength and the strength of my war club." After many days journey going into every nook and loop hole of the earth, he succeeded at last in having a glimpse of the object of his search. Ne-naw-bo-zhoo ran to overtake him, and chased him all over the world; and every now and then he would be close enough to reach him with his war club and to strike at him, but he would only break a piece of the monster's stony body, which was like a mountain of hard flint-sone. So the legend says that whenever find (sic) a pile of hard flints lying on the face of the earth, there is where Ne-naw-bo-zhoo overtook his brother monster and struck him with his tremendous war club. As last he vanquished him on the east shore of Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan, near the place called Antrim City, but formerly by the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, it was called "Pe-wa-na-go-ing", meaning "Flinty Point", so called because there were great rocks of flint lying near the edge of the lake shore. And so the Ottawas and Chippewas say it is there where the old carcass of the monster is now lying -- the brother of the great Ne-naw-bo-zhoo.

After that he traveled over almost every part of this continent sometimes in the shape of an animal and then again in human shape. There is an impression of human foot tracks on a very smooth rock some where along the Ottawa River in Canada, and also a round hole about as large and deep as a common brass kettle on this flat rock near where the track is and every Ottawa and Chippewa calls these "Ne-naw-bo-zhoo's track" and "Ne-naw-bo-zhoo's kettle where he dropped it when chasing his brother", and then they would drop a piece of tobacco in the kettle as a sacrifice, at the same time praying for luck and a prosperous journey to Montreal and back to Michigan, their native home, when passing this place."

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				Ne-naw-bo-zhoo Battles His Brother


	This story was related by Andrew J. Blackbird or Mack-aw-de-be-nessy (Black Hawk) of the Odawa Nation, in his 1897 book Indians of Michigan: The Ottawa and Chippewa.

		From Chapter IX Some of the legends of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians Respecting the Great Flood of the World -- A Person Swallowed Up Alive Like a Prophet Jonah.

	When Ne-naw-bo-zhoo became a man he was a great prophet for his nephews and an expert hunter. His hunting dog was a great black wolf. When he learned from his grandmother that his mother was dead and that his brother was a monster with a body like flint stone which caused her death, Ne-naw-bo-zhoo was in a great rage after hearing the story and he determined to seek for this evil being and slay him. Then he immediately prepared for a long journey, and trimmed his ponderous war club nicely and prepared to be in a great battle. So off he went with his great black wolf on the war path. As he passed through the forest, for a trial of his strength and the strength of his war club, he simply made motions with it towards one of the tallest pines of the forest and the gigantic tree came down all into slivers. "Ah", said Ne-naw-bo-zhoo, "who could stand against my strength and the strength of my war club." After many days journey going into every nook and loop hole of the earth, he succeeded at last in having a glimpse of the object of his search. Ne-naw-bo-zhoo ran to overtake him, and chased him all over the world; and every now and then he would be close enough to reach him with his war club and to strike at him, but he would only break a piece of the monster's stony body, which was like a mountain of hard flint-sone. So the legend says that whenever find (sic) a pile of hard flints lying on the face of the earth, there is where Ne-naw-bo-zhoo overtook his brother monster and struck him with his tremendous war club. As last he vanquished him on the east shore of Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan, near the place called Antrim City, but formerly by the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, it was called "Pe-wa-na-go-ing", meaning "Flinty Point", so called because there were great rocks of flint lying near the edge of the lake shore. And so the Ottawas and Chippewas say it is there where the old carcass of the monster is now lying -- the brother of the great Ne-naw-bo-zhoo. After that he traveled over almost every part of this continent sometimes in the shape of an animal and then again in human shape. There is an impression of human foot tracks on a very smooth rock some where along the Ottawa River in Canada, and also a round hole about as large and deep as a common brass kettle on this flat rock near where the track is and every Ottawa and Chippewa calls these "Ne-naw-bo-zhoo's track" and "Ne-naw-bo-zhoo's kettle where he dropped it when chasing his brother", and then they would drop a piece of tobacco in the kettle as a sacrifice, at the same time praying for luck and a prosperous journey to Montreal and back to Michigan, their native home, when passing this place."

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