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The Ice Man

The old people tells us that once when the people were burning the woods in the fall, the blaze set fire to a poplar tree, which continued to burn until the fire went down into the roots and burned a great hole in the ground. It burned and burned, and the hole grew constantly larger, until the people became frightened and were afraid it would burn the whole world. They tried to put out the fire, but it had gone too deep, and they did not know what to do.

At last, someone said there was a man living in a house of ice far in the north who could put out the fire, so the messengers were sent out, and so after traveling a long distance they came to the ice house and found the ice man at home, he was a little fellow with long hair hanging down to the ground in two plaits. The messengers told him their errand and he at once said, “oh yes I can help you,” and began to unbraid his hair. When it was all unbraided, he took it up in one hand and struck it once across the other, and the messengers felt a wind blow against their cheeks. A second time he struck his hair across his hand a light rain fell. The third time he struck his hair across his open hand there was sleet mixed with rain drops and when he struck the fourth time great hail stones fell upon the ground, as if they came from the ends of his hair. “Go back now,” said the ice man and I shall be there tomorrow.” So the messengers returned to their people, whom they found still gathered helplessly about the great pit.

The Next day while they were all watching about the fire there came a wind from the north and they were afraid, for they knew that it came from the Ice Man. But the wind only made the fire blaze up higher. Then a light rain began to fall, but the drops seemed only to make the fire hotter, then the shower turned to heavy rain, with sleet and hail that killed the blaze and made clouds of smoke and steam rise from the coals. The people fled to their homes for shelter, and the storm rose to a whirlwind that drove the rain into every burning crevice and piled great hailstones over the embers, until the fire was dead and even the smoke ceased. When at last it was all over and the people returned they found a lake where the burning pit had been, and from below the water came the sound as of embers crackling. ~ from Mike Dumond Sr.