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Dang
Dang
As we reached the Wolf River Dells, Dave tells us the story of the Wolf River. The Wolf River is very sacred to the Menominee. There was said to be a battle of good and evil with Thunderbird and Serpent. The battle lasted three days and Thunderbird chased Serpent into the stones of Wolf River Dells. Every first spring Serpent would try to escape, but as the every thunder came Serpent would be forced back into hiding. As we depart from the Wolf River Dells it was nice to step on one of their sacred grounds. As we dropped Dave off at the logging camp museum we wave good-bye and said thank you. As we headed off to the school we saw the sawmill that the Menominee depended on.
We have reached the Tribal school. The grades range from kindergarten through eighth grade. They take attendance like us back at school. Joey or Joe talks about their history of how La Cross was played. Their origin was that the flying animals would face off against the mammals on land. There was the bat that was mammal and had wings, so the bird didn’t want him, but then the mammals took him. The score would be settled when the ball was returned to one end or the other. The games went on for days and all the animals were tired except the tiny little bat. He then took the ball and took it the entire way to the other side that caused the mammals to win. Joe talked how the young girls would mature to young ladies. They couldn’t eat game animals, walk barefooted, and touch the nature around them. As for the boys they were to go into a shack or steam house and smudge. Smudging is when they have tobacco with them and light it while they’re at it they can’t sleep or anything until their spirits or spirit comes to him and guide him through to a good life. I was able to read a book called, “Voices in the Pines”. The book had origins of tales in it. On hunting and it said that when a hunter is getting bad luck he would the kill a wolf then lay his weapon by his forelegs, offer some tobacco to the carcass and soul, so that it would help him hunt, and change his luck, The bear wasn’t killed until there was a special ceremony and apology. When killed the bones are thrown in to the river, so the dogs wouldn’t chew on them, and the skull hung.