The question of who (or what) could set off the chain reaction of spirits wsa still fresh in my mind on my drive to Bowler. The stew of old legends, fear of government conspiracies, and concern over technology run amok and degradation of the environment left a puzzle of enormous proportions. But encounters left me feeling woozy with the contradictions between many of the stories. Not only did I feel inadequate as a detective of the paranormal, I also started to lose my optimism about finding the unifying mythic and folkloric themes behind Northwoods stories.

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My Menominee source sent me to the Stockbridge-Munsee Reservation with a benediction and an admonition. He told me I would find some comfort at Bowler. But he also gave me very precise instructions on how to approach my next location without ever identifying a contact. "Empty your mind," he said. "Put aside everything you have heard. Don't ask questions. Just listen and watch. Open your mind and heart to the possibility of more than one truth."

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Even my drive was to be a ritual: Offer tobacco at Lower Red Lake, offer sage at the old Gresham mission, and offer cedar on the North Branch of the Embarrass River. Then I was to wait by the water. The wait turned into a long fast. A long, dizzying internal grappling with a lifetime of doubts and fears. One by one, the concerns were disolved by my hunger and fatigue. When finally I felt like I was going to lose consciousness, Nassahegon stepped out of the hazelnut bushes with a cackle.

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Hey white man, I thought you would never get tired. We were testing you. And you were entertaining for awhile--as long as you were picking your nose and scratching your butt. We watched and made bets on when you would leave. But then you went prayerful on us and we had to wait until your collapse.

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You are probably too tired to know who we are. I am Chief to the Ohdoh Tribe, and these are my brothers. We deal with one of the Stockbridge ghost tribes. You probably know that the Stockbridge-Munsee are an eastern remnant tribe. And you probably know the connection to the "Last of the Mohicans" story. But you probably did not know that they brought many other small bands with them, like those from Brothertons, Delawares, and Narrangansets.

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I am certain you did not know that the Stockbridge tribe brought the spirit tribes with them too. Yes, you heard me correctly, they brough ghosts such as us from the east coast. Wiped out and extinct tribes like the Congestoga. Tribes that whites never heard of, like the Wanaque, Pohatcong, and Mahantan.

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These and dozens more that are not remembered, except here. Tribes that existed for thousands of years and then disappeared in a few seasons. Victims of small pox, cholera, and Iroquois aggression. Their spirits rest here now to await the earth cleansing time.

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Two of the ghost tribes are different. Our Ohdoh have been a ghost tribe for ten thousand years. The Nagumwasug at Red Lake have always been a spirit tribe. When the other tribes moved south, we became spirits. It was then our job to fight evil in the underworld and to deal with spirits hostile to Algonquin people.

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The Nagumwasug are a tribe of dwarf spirits. They fight evil spirits of the sky and the waters. They possess very old magic. Together the Ohdoh and the Nagumwasug guard both the living Stockbridge-Munsee and the many ghost tribes and the thousands of natural spirits that fled the eastern cities.

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We have three main enemies. Two are Iroquois. One is Chippewa and Menominee cross. All three could harm the Stockbridge-Munsee if we dropped our vigil.

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The most numerous are the Chenoo. The Chenoo are Iroquois stone giants who can hide as boulders. They often stalk Indian people who fish near waterfalls. They are the ones who destroyed the old canoes on the rough rivers. The most horrible-looking are the Akaree. They are Iroquois female skeleton spirits. They visit Algonquin men at night and, through magic, seduce them. When morning comes and the men see what is in their beds, they go insane.

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The most dangerous are the Chippewa and Menominee Bekuch. it is an extremely strong night spirit. It is probably something their medicine men conjured to fight Windigos and Wenebojo. But it got out of their control. Much evil in the area between the two big lakes comes from these Bekuch when they move into white men's souls.

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The Ohdoh and the Nagumwasug have them under control in Stockbridge country. But it is a constant struggle. And it is made harder by the white men's inventions that disturb nature in ways that make spirits unpredictable, even creating new powers. In our thousands of years dealing with spirits--fighting the evil ones and protecting the good ones--we have come to understand many things about spirits. Each spirit is a slightly different reality. Each one is a testimony to the Creator's love of diversity.

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The spirit has in its energy the code for its life essence. Almost like your white man's science can find in living things in the body's invisible small parts. That essence from the spirit can move into another type of living thing without that creature being haunted.

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Look at that eagle above us. In the eagle there is the spirit of a long-ago chief from the ocean where the sun rises. He is here because he is a grandfather to you and the Stockbridge-Munsee. Yes, that is true. Although they will not admit it, many white people with deep roots in this country share Algonquin blood.

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When you understand how much we share, you will be able to look at spirits and nature differently. You will hear the birds singing and finally hear the sacred songs of our ancestors. The wind in the pines will reveal itself as the wisdom of the grandfathers.

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So take heart. Let these spirits and your guardian spirit--yes, I see him at your side--lend you their courage. By the end of your journey you will have knowledge of hundreds of evil spirits. But remember that the good spirits are as plentiful as the stars in the night sky.