it until it so expanded, that it became a
little earth. He then set it afloat upon the waters, where it
continued increasing in magnitude, until it was large enough to
sustain, without sinking, the child which the wife of the great chief,
after bearing about her for forty seasons, brought forth to the light
of day. This child, upon being born, had the form of a man, and was
placed upon the earth thus created. He was the first being which had
ever borne the form of a man, and the first occupier of the earth.
They gave him the name of Atoacan, which signifies the "great father,
or beginner of a race." When he was born, he was larger in stature
than any man that has been born since, and he increased in size, until
his head towered above the tallest woods.

But Atoacan was alone, and life soon became a burthen to him. He was
solitary and sad, and found no pleasure in the beautiful things which
were daily, hourly, springing up on the earth. He saw the flowers
bloom, and scent the air, but they afforded no pleasure to his eyes,
no refreshment to his soul. Sweet fruits were bending the bushes to
the earth, or clustering on the boughs, but they were tasteless;
for it was in his nature to enjoy nothing, prize nothing, unless
participated in by another--the counterpart of himself. So he put
clay upon his head, and cried loud to his father, the Great Hare,
for a companion. Michabou, perceiving that he and his strange-shaped
creatures would be supplanted in power by the son whom he had begotten,
the new creature _man_, had ascended to the heavens: he heard the prayer
of his son, and listened to it.

There was among the people of the skies a beautiful maiden, whose name
was Atahensic. She was fairest of all the daughters of the air,
beautiful as the sun, mild as the moon, and sportive as the stars.
Michabou asked her if she would descend to the earth, and become the
companion and wife of his son; and she, delighted as women always are,
at the prospect of a journey, no matter whither, consented. So
Michabou made a long string of the sinews and tendons of the various
land animals, and by this string he lowered Atahensic into the arms of
his delighted son.

The man, no longer solitary, but furnished with the being, intended
by the constitution of nature and the Great Master of all for the
companion and comfort of his life, set about appropriating to his use
the various things he saw. He was no longer solitary, but met the
difficult