They invited him to stay with them, which he was inclined to do, for it was a pleasant village, but so small as constantly to embarrass Paup-puk-keewiss. He was in perpetual trouble; whenever he shook hands with a stranger to whom he might be introduced, such was the abundance of his strength, without meaning it, he wrung his arm off at the shoulder. Once or twice, in mere sport, he cuffed the boys about the lodge by the side of the head, and they flew out of sight as though they had been shot from a bow; nor could they ever be found again, though they were searched for in all the country round, far and wide. If Paup-puk-keewiss proposed to himself a short stroll in the morning, he was at once miles out of town. When he entered a lodge, if he happened for a moment to forget himself, he walked straight through the leathern, or wooden, or earthen walls as if he had been merely passing through a bush. At his meals he broke in pieces all the dishes, set them down as lightly as he would; and, putting a leg out of bed when he rose, it was a common thing for him to push off the top of the lodge. He wanted more elbow-room, and after a short stay, in which, by the accidental letting go of his strength, he had nearly laid waste the whole place, and filled it with demolished lodges and broken pottery and one-armed men, he made up his mind to go farther, taking with him a young man who had formed a strong attachment for him, and who might serve him as his pipe-bearer; for Paup-puk-keewiss was a huge smoker, and vast clouds followed him wherever he went, so that people could say, “Paup-puk-keewiss is coming!” by the mighty smoke he raised. They set out together, and when his companion was fatigued with walking, Paup-puk-keewiss would put him forward on his journey a mile or two by giving him a cast in the air and lighting him in a soft place among the trees, or in a cool spot in a water-pond, among the sedges and water-lilies. At other times he would lighten the way by showing off a few tricks, such as leaping over trees, and turning round on one leg till he made the dust fly; at which the pipe-bearer was mightily pleased, although it sometimes happened that the character of these gambols frightened him. For Paup-puk-keewiss would, without the least hint of such an intention, jump into the air far ahead, and it would cost the little pipe-bearer half a day’s hard travel to come up with him; and then the dust Paup-puk-keewiss raised was often so thick and heavy as completely to bury the poor little pipe-bearer, and compel Paup-puk-keewiss to dig diligently and with might and main to get him out alive.