THE LEGEND OF ASHKE-MUK.

Bush Advocate, Volume IX, Issue 668, 27 August 1892, Page 4

THE LEGEND OF ASH-KE-MUK.

During the summer vacation of 1878, 1 devoted my leisure time to trout-fishing, and for this purpose pushed away up into the wild, rocky region of north-eastern Muskoka, Canada, far beyond the limit of any of my former explorations, In the vicinity of Bracebridge, I engaged,' as ' guide, philosopher and friend,' an old Iroquois Indian, who knew every inch of the territory, over which, if his own account was to be believed, he had roamed for nearly eighty years. One day, as we sat smoking, on the bank of a river which my guide said was the Ash-ke-Muk, tho old Indian pointed to a spot about twenty feet up the face of the precipice, and said : , 'You see that cave? Wonderful thing happen there once ; ine tell you about it.' ' I looked closely at the place indicated, and saw, through a tangled maze of wild creepers, what appeared to be a dark hole, some three feet wide and five feet high. John said this was the entrance to a large , cavern, the existence of which had been quite unknown to bis tribe, formerly inhabiting the fertile plain, uutil revealed to them by the occurrence of e' r onts which he proceeded to relate. I will not attempt to follow the old man's vernacular, but give the legend in his own simple words as nearly as I can. • A long, long time ago,' said he, ' when I was a very sm&ll boy, rny people, a large band of the great Iroquois tribe, dwelt upon the good land, where we stopped last night. Game was plentiful in those days, both winter and summer. The river, then much bigger than now, was full of fish. My people raised much corn, and were contented and happj. Where are they now? Gone.! Gone ! All gone but poor John ! The white man's rum and smallpox, the white man's ways, have swept them from the earth. "Our head chief, Matchcdash was a great warrior, and ruled his people wisely and well. He had no sons, and bub one daughter, Minnekoma, beautiful as the morniug sun, fleet as a wild deer, with eyes like stars, and hair glossy as the raven's wing.' . All the young men of the. tribe laid their gifts at hei feet, only to be rejected. But one brave, Ojetka, would not be repulsed. Far aud near he sought for the choicest spoils of the chase and brought them to her wigwam, yet still she turned coldly away. 'Ojetka was a crafty cunning warrior, and with rich presents bought the old chief over to espouse his cause. All was in vain. Minnekoma's tace was hard toward him and she would not listen. Matchcdash was much angered : but •he was his only child, and had great miluence in the tribe, and he would not givo her away against her will. None could tell why the maiden refuse! to marry, unless it might be that she had given her heart to a Huron lover ; for some time before, Thyendaga, a noted warrior of that tribe, with which tho Iroquois wero then at peace, had asked her in marriage, and had offered herfathor great wealth in gifts. But the old chief spurned him away, saying that his daughter must wed only an Iroquois ; and none of our tribe had seen the Huron since ' Ojetka hid his grief and put on a careless air to throw Minnekama off her guard, but all the time he was on the watch and one evening, when the sun was low, he saw her leave the lodge and wander slowly away into the forest. (To h* continued.)