{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_42390/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_42390","id":"gutenberg_42390","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42390","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: History - American","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Indian mythology -- North America","Indians of North America -- Folklore"],"text":"[Illustration: Cover]\n\n\n\n\n[Frontispiece: S\u00ee\u00f1 takes the Form of a Woodpecker  [_Page_ 316]]\n\n\n\n\n\n  THE MYTHS OF THE\n  NORTH AMERICAN\n  INDIANS\n\n  BY\n\n  LEWIS SPENCE F.R.A.I.\n\n\n  AUTHOR OF \"THE MYTHS OF MEXICO AND PERU\" \"THE\n  CIVILIZATION OF ANCIENT MEXICO\" \"A DICTIONARY\n  OF MYTHOLOGY\" ETC. ETC.\n\n\n\n  WITH THIRTY-TWO PLATES IN COLOUR BY\n  JAMES JACK AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n\n\n  LONDON\n  GEORGE G. HARRAP & COMPANY\n  2 & 3 PORTSMOUTH STREET KINGSWAY W.C.\n  MCMXIV\n\n\n\n\nPRINTED AT THE BALLANTYNE PRESS LONDON ENGLAND\n\n\n\n\nUNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME\n\n_The illustrations, which are a feature of this series, are reproduced\nfor the most part from the finest works of past and living artists_\n\n\nThe Myths of Greece and Rome\n\nBy H. A. GUERBER.  With 64 Full-page Illustrations.  A classic volume.\nAt once a fascinating story-book and a valuable work of reference.\n\n\nMyths of the Norsemen\n\nFrom the Eddas and Sagas.  By H. A. GUERBER.  With 64 Full-page\nIllustrations.\n\n\nMyths and Legends of the Middle Ages\n\nBy H. A. GUERBER.  With 64 Full-page Illustrations.\n\n\nHero Myths and Legends of the British Race\n\nBy M. I. EBBUTT, M.A.  With 64 Original Full-page Illustrations.\n\n\nMyths and Legends of the Celtic Race\n\nBy T. W. ROLLESTON.  With 64 Original Full-page Illustrations.\n\n\nThe Myths and Legends of Japan\n\nBy F. HADLAND DAVIS.  With 32 Plates in Colour by EVELYN PAUL.\n\n\nThe Myths of Mexico and Peru\n\nBy LEWIS SPENCE, F.R.A.I.  With 60 Full-page Plates and other\nIllustrations.\n\n\n\n\n{v}\n\nPREFACE\n\nThe North American Indian has so long been an object of the deepest\ninterest that the neglect of his picturesque and original mythologies\nand the tales to which they have given rise is difficult of\ncomprehension.  In boyhood we are wont to regard him as an instrument\nspecially designed for the execution of tumultuous incident, wherewith\nheart-stirring fiction may be manufactured.  In manhood we are too apt\nto consider him as only fit to be put aside with the matter of Faery\nand such evanescent stuff and relegated to the limbo of imagination.\nSatiated with his constant recurrence in the tales of our youth, we are\nperhaps but too ready to hearken credulously to accounts which picture\nhim as a disreputable vagabond, getting a precarious living by petty\ntheft or the manufacture of bead ornaments.\n\nIt is, indeed, surprising how vague a picture the North American Indian\npresents to the minds of most people in Europe when all that recent\nanthropological research has done on the subject is taken into account.\nAs a matter of fact, few books have been published in England which\nfurnish more than the scantiest details concerning the Red Race, and\nthese are in general scarce, and, when obtained, of doubtful scientific\nvalue.\n\nThe primary object of this volume is to furnish the reader with a\ngeneral view of the mythologies of the Red Man of North America,\naccompanied by such historical and ethnological information as will\nassist him in gauging the real conditions under which this most\ninteresting section of humanity existed.  The basic difference between\nthe Indian and European mental outlook is insisted upon, because it is\nfelt that no proper comprehension of American Indian myth or {vi}\nconditions of life can be attained when such a distinction is not\nrecognized and allowed for.  The difference between the view-point,\nmundane and spiritual, of the Red Man and that of the European is as\nvast as that which separates the conceptions and philosophies of the\nEast and West.  Nevertheless we shall find in the North American\nmythologies much that enters into the composition of the immortal tales\nof the older religions of the Eastern Hemisphere.  All myth, Asiatic,\nEuropean, or American, springs from similar natural conceptions, and if\nwe discover in American mythology peculiarities which we do not observe\nin the systems of Greece, Rome, or Egypt, we may be certain that these\narise from circumstances of environment and racial habit as modified by\nclimate and kindred conditions alone.\n\nIn the last thirty years much has been accomplished in placing the\nstudy of the American aborigines on a sounder basis.  The older school\nof ethnologists were for the most part obsessed with the wildest ideas\nconcerning the origin of the Indians, and many of them believed the Red\nMan to be the degenerate descendant of the lost Ten Tribes of Israel or\nof early Phoenician adventurers.  But these 'antiquaries' had perforce\nto give way to a new school of students well equipped with scientific\nknowledge, whose labours, under the admirable direction of the United\nStates Bureau of Ethnology, have borne rich fruit.  Many treatises of\nthe utmost value on the ethnology, mythology, and tribal customs of the\nNorth American Indians have been issued by this conscientious and\nenterprising State department.  These are written by men who possess\nfirst-hand knowledge of Indian life and languages, many of whom have\nfaced great privations and hardships in order to collect the material\nthey have published.  The series is, indeed, a monument to that nobler\ntype of heroism which science {vii} can kindle in the breast of the\nstudent, and the direct, unembellished verbiage of these volumes\nconceals many a life-story which for quiet, unassuming bravery and\ncontempt for danger will match anything in the records of research and\nhuman endurance.\n\nLEWIS SPENCE\n\nEDINBURGH: _March_ 1914\n\n\n\n\n{ix}\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n  CHAPTER\n\n  I.  Divisions, Customs, and History of the Race\n  II.  The Mythologies of the North American Indians\n  III.  Algonquian Myths and Legends\n  IV.  Iroquois Myths and Legends\n  V.  Sioux Myths and Legends\n  VI.  Myths and Legends of the Pawnees\n  VII.  Myths And Legends of the Northern and North-western Indians\n  Bibliography\n  Glossary and Index\n\n\n\n\n{xi}\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\nS\u00ee\u00f1 takes the Form of a Woodpecker  . . . . . . _Frontispiece_\n\nOn the Lakes\n\nAn Elderly Omaha Beau\n\nAn Earth-lodge\n\nOmaha Woman's Costume\n\nAdventure with a Totem\n\nIndian Picture-writing: A Petroglyph in Nebraska\n\nThe Len\u00e2p\u00e9 come to the Place of Caves\n\n\"Glooskap brought all his magical resources to his aid\"\n\n\"He descried a great _tepee_\"\n\nAlgon carries the Captured Maiden Home to his Lodge\n\nMoowis has melted in the Sun\n\n\"He rode down the wind\"\n\n\"'Will you carry us over the river?' she asked\"\n\n\"He poised his spear and struck the girdle\"\n\n\"Gazing downward, she saw the camp of the Blackfeet\"\n\nThe Pursuing Head\n\n\"He suddenly assumed the shape of a gigantic porcupine\"\n\n\"'I see thee!  I see thee!  Thou shalt die'\"\n\n\"He lit the pipe and placed it in the mouth of the skeleton\"\n\n\"'Grow larger, my kettle!'\"\n\n\"She sang a strange, sweet song\"\n\n\"Soon the dancing commenced\"\n\n\"He jumped so high that every bone in his body was shaken\"\n\nThe War-chief kills the Monster Rattlesnake\n\n\"He leaned his shoulder against the rock\"\n\n\"With one great step he reached the distant headland\"\n\n{xii}\n\n\"They arrived at the abode of the Water-god\"\n\n\"He emerged in his own country\"\n\n\"Everything happened as the Man of Wood had predicted\"\n\n\"Once more the Rabbit entered, disguised as a man\"\n\n\"He seized hold of the hair\"\n\nA Fishing Expedition in Shadowland\n\n\"The mists came down, and with them the Supernatural People\"\n\n\nMAP SHOWING THE LINGUISTIC STOCKS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS\n\n\n\n\n{1}\n\nCHAPTER I: DIVISIONS, CUSTOMS, AND HISTORY OF THE RACE\n\n\nThe First Indians in Europe\n\nAlmost immediately upon the discovery of the New World its inhabitants\nbecame a source of the greatest interest to all ranks and classes among\nthe people of Europe.  That this should have been so is not a little\nsurprising when we remember the ignorance which prevailed regarding the\ndiscovery of the new hemisphere, and that in the popular imagination\nthe people of the new-found lands were considered to be inhabitants of\nthose eastern countries which European navigation had striven so long\nand so fruitlessly to reach.  The very name 'Indian' bestowed upon the\nmen from the islands of the far western ocean proves the ill-founded\nnature and falsity of the new conditions which through the discovery of\nColumbus were imposed upon the science of geography.  Why all this\nintense and vivid interest in the strange beings whom the Genoese\ncommander carried back with him as specimens of the population of the\nnew-found isles?  The Spaniards were accustomed to the presence and\nsight of Orientals.  They had for centuries dwelt side by side with a\nnation of Eastern speech and origin, and the things of the East held\nlittle of novelty for them.  Is it not possible that the people, by\nreason of some natural motive difficult of comprehension, did not\ncredit in their hearts the scientific conclusions of the day?\nSomething deeper and more primitive than science was at work in their\nminds, and some profound human instinct told them that the dusky and\nbefeathered folk they beheld in the triumphal procession of the\nDiscoverer were not the inhabitants of an Orient with which they were\nmore or less familiar, but {2} erstwhile dwellers in a mystic continent\nwhich had been isolated from the rest of mankind for countless\ncenturies.\n\nThere are not wanting circumstances which go far to prove that\ninstinct, brushing aside the conclusions of science, felt that it had\nrightly come upon the truth.  The motto on the arms granted to Columbus\nis eloquent of the popular feeling when it states,\n\n  To Castile and Leon\n  Columbus gave a new world,\n\nand the news was greeted in London with the pronouncement that it\nseemed \"a thing more divine than human\"--a conclusion which could\nscarcely have been arrived at if it was considered that the reaching of\nthe farthest Orient point alone had been achieved.\n\nThe primitive and barbarous appearance of the Indians in the train of\nColumbus deeply impressed the people of Spain.  The savage had before\nthis event been merely \"a legendary and heraldic animal like the\ngriffin and the phoenix.\"  In the person of the Indian he was presented\nfor the first time to the astonished gaze of a European people, who\nwere quick to distinguish the differences in feature and general\nappearance between the Red Man and the civilized Oriental--although his\nresemblance to the Tartar race was insisted upon by some early writers.\n\nPopular interest, instead of abating, grew greater, and with each\nAmerican discovery the 'Indian' became the subject of renewed\ncontroversy.  Works on the origin and customs of the American\naborigines, of ponderous erudition but doubtful conclusions, were\neagerly perused and discussed.  These were not any more extravagant,\nhowever, than, many theories propounded at a much later date.  In the\nearly nineteenth century a school of enthusiastic antiquaries, perhaps\nthe most {3} distinguished of whom was Lord Kingsborough, determined\nupon proving the identity of the American aborigines with the lost Ten\nTribes of Israel, and brought to bear upon the subject a perfect\nbattery of erudition of the most extraordinary kind.  His lordship's\ngreat work on the subject, _The Antiquities of Mexico_, absorbed a\nfortune of some fifty thousand pounds by its publication.  The most\nabsurd philological conclusions were arrived at in the course of these\nresearches, examples of which it would but weary the reader to peruse.\nOnly a shade less ridiculous were the deductions drawn from Indian\ncustoms where these bore a certain surface resemblance to Hebrew rite\nor priestly usage.\n\n\n\nIndians as Jews\n\nAs an example of this species of argument it will be sufficient to\nquote the following passage from a work published in 1879:[1]\n\n\n[1] _The Migration from Shinar_, by Captain G. Palmer (London).\n\n\n\"The Indian high-priest wears a breastplate made of a white\nconch-shell, and around his head either a wreath of swan feathers, or a\nlong piece of swan skin doubled, so as to show only the snowy feathers\non each side.  These remind us of the breastplate and mitre of the\nJewish high-priest.  They have also a magic stone which is transparent,\nand which the medicine-men consult; it is most jealously guarded, even\nfrom their own people, and Adair could never procure one.  Is this an\nimitation of the Urim and Thummim?  Again, they have a feast of\nfirst-fruits, which they celebrate with songs and dances, repeating\n'Halelu-Halelu-Haleluiah' with great earnestness and fervour.  They\ndance in three circles round the fire that cooks these fruits on a kind\nof altar, shouting the praises of {4} Yo-He-Wah (Jehovah?).  These\nwords are only used in their religious festivals.\"\n\nTo what tribe the writer alludes is not manifest from the context.\n\n\n\nWelsh-Speaking Indians\n\nAn ethnological connexion has been traced for the Red Man of North\nAmerica, with equal parade of erudition, to Phoenicians, Hittites, and\nSouth Sea Islanders.  But one of the most amusing of these theories is\nthat which attempts to substantiate his blood-relationship with the\ninhabitants of Wales!  The argument in favour of this theory is so\nquaint, and is such a capital example of the kind of learning under\nwhich American ethnology has groaned for generations, that it may be\nbriefly examined.  In the author's _Myths of Mexico and Peru_ (p. 5) a\nshort account is given of the legend of Madoc, son of Owen Gwyneth, a\nWelsh prince, who quitted his country in disgust at the manner in which\nhis brothers had partitioned their father's territories.  Sailing due\nwest with several vessels, he arrived, says Sir Thomas Herbert in his\n_Travels_ (1634), at the Gulf of Mexico, \"not far from Florida,\" in the\nyear 1170.  After settling there he returned to Wales for\nreinforcements, and once more fared toward the dim West, never to be\nheard of more.  But, says the chronicler, \"though the Cambrian issue in\nthe new found world may seeme extinct, the Language to this day used\namong these Canibals, together with their adoring the crosse, using\nBeades, Reliques of holy men and some other, noted in them of Acusano\nand other places, ... points at our Madoc's former being there.\"  The\nCambrians, continued Sir Thomas, left in their American colony many\nnames of \"Birds, Rivers, Rocks, Beasts and the like, {5} some of which\nwords are these: _Gwrando_, signifying in the Cambrian speech to give\neare unto or hearken.  _Pen-gwyn_, with us a white head, refered by the\nMexicans to a Bird so-called, and Rockes complying with that Idiom.\nSome promontories had like denominations, called so by the people to\nthis day, tho' estranged and concealed by the Spaniard.  Such are the\nIsles _Corroeso_.  The Cape of _Brutaine_ or _Brittaine_.  The floud\n_Gwyndowr_ or white water, _Bara_ bread, _Mam_ mother, _Tate_ father,\n_Dowr_ water, _Bryd_ time, _Bu_ or _Buch_ a Cow, _Clugar_ a Heathcocke,\n_Llwynog_ a Fox, _Wy_ an Egge, _Calaf_ a Quill, _Trwyn_ a Nose, _Nef_\nHeaven; and the like then used; by which, in my conceit, none save\ndetracting Opinionatists can justly oppose such worthy testimonies and\nproofes of what I wish were generally allowed of.\"\n\n\n\nAntiquity of Man in America\n\nTo turn to more substantial conclusions concerning the racial\naffinities of the Red Man, we find that it is only within very recent\ntimes that anything like a reasoned scientific argument has been\narrived at.  Founding upon recently acquired geological,\nanthropological, and linguistic knowledge, inquirers into the deeper\nrealms of American ethnology have solved the question of how the\nWestern Hemisphere was peopled, and the arguments they adduce are so\nconvincing in their nature as to leave no doubt in the minds of\nunbiased persons.\n\nIt is now admitted that the presence of man in the Old World dates from\nan epoch so far distant as to be calculated only by reference to\ngeological periods of which we know the succession but not the\nduration, and research has proved that the same holds good of the\nWestern Hemisphere.  Although man undoubtedly found his way from the\nOld World to the {6} New, the period at which he did so is so remote\nthat for all practical purposes he may be said to have peopled both\nhemispheres simultaneously.  Indeed, \"his relative antiquity in each\nhas no bearing on the history of his advancement.\"\n\nIt is known that the American continent offers no example of the highly\norganized primates--for example, the larger apes--in which the Old\nWorld abounds, save man himself, and this circumstance is sufficient to\nprove that the human species must have reached America as strangers.\nHad man been native to the New World there would have been found side\nby side with him either existing or fossil representatives of the\ngreater apes and other anthropoid animals which illustrate his pedigree\nin the Old World.\n\n\n\nThe Great Miocene Bridge\n\nAgain, many careful observers have noticed the striking resemblance\nbetween the natives of America and Northern Asia.  At Bering Strait the\nOld World and the New are separated by a narrow sea-passage only, and\nan elevation of the sea-bed of less than two hundred feet would provide\na 'land-bridge' at least thirty miles in breadth between the two\ncontinents.  It is a geological fact that Bering Strait has been formed\nsince the Tertiary period, and that such a 'land-bridge' once existed,\nto which American geologists have given the name of 'the Miocene\nbridge.'  By this 'bridge,' it is believed, man crossed from Asia to\nAmerica, and its subsequent disappearance confined him to the Western\nHemisphere.\n\n\n\nAmerican Man in Glacial Times\n\nThat this migration occurred before the Glacial period is proved by the\ncircumstance that chipped {7} flints and other implements have been\ndiscovered in ice-drift at points in Ohio, Indiana, and Minnesota, to\nwhich it is known that the southern margin of the ice-sheet extended.\nThis proves that man was driven southward by the advancing ice, as were\nseveral Old World animal species which had migrated to America.\nHowever, it is difficult in many cases to accept what may seem to be\nevidence of the presence of prehistoric man in North America with any\ndegree of confidence, and it will be well to confine ourselves to the\nmost authentic instances.  In the loess of the Mississippi at Natchez\nDr. Dickson found side by side with the remains of the mylodon and\nmegalonyx human bones blackened by time.  But Sir Charles Lyell pointed\nout that these remains might have been carried by the action of water\nfrom the numerous Indian places of burial in the neighbourhood.  In New\nOrleans, while trenches were being dug for gas-pipes, a skeleton was\ndiscovered sixteen feet from the surface, the skull of which was\nembedded beneath a gigantic cypress-tree.  But the deposit in which the\nremains were found was subsequently stated to be of recent origin.  A\nreed mat was discovered at Petit Anse, Louisiana, at a depth of from\nfifteen to twenty feet, among a deposit of salt near the tusks or bones\nof an elephant.  In the bottom-lands of the Bourbeuse River, in\nMissouri, Dr. Koch discovered the remains of a mastodon.  It had sunk\nin the mud of the marshes, and, borne down by its own ponderous bulk,\nhad been unable to right itself.  Espied by the hunters of that dim\nera, it had been attacked by them, and the signs of their onset--flint\narrow-heads and pieces of rock--were found mingled with its bones.\nUnable to dispatch it with their comparatively puny weapons, they had\nbuilt great fires round it, the cinder-heaps of which remain to the {8}\nheight of six feet, and by this means they had presumably succeeded in\nsuffocating it.\n\nIn Iowa and Nebraska Dr. Aughey found many evidences of the presence of\nearly man in stone weapons mingled with the bones of the mastodon.  In\nCalifornia, Colorado, and Wyoming scores of stone mortars, arrow-heads,\nand lance-points have been discovered in deposits which show no sign of\ndisplacement.  Traces of ancient mining operations are also met with in\nCalifornia and the Lake Superior district, the skeletons of the\nprimitive miners being found, stone hammer in hand, beneath the masses\nof rock which buried them in their fall.  As the object of these\nsearchers was evidently metal of some description, it may reasonably be\ninferred that the remains are of comparatively late date.\n\n\n\nThe Calaveras Skull\n\nIn 1866 Professor J. D. Whitney discovered the famous 'Calaveras' skull\nat a depth of about a hundred and thirty feet in a bed of auriferous\ngravel on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, California.  The\nskull rested on a bed of lava, and was covered by several layers of\nlava and volcanic deposit.  Many other remains were found in similar\ngeological positions, and this was thought to prove that the Calaveras\nskull was not an isolated instance of the presence of man in America in\nTertiary times.  The skull resembles the Eskimo type, and chemical\nanalysis discovered the presence of organic matter.  These\ncircumstances led to the conclusion that the great age claimed by\nWhitney for the relic was by no means proved, and this view was\nstrengthened by the knowledge that displacements of the deposits in\nwhich it had been discovered had frequently been caused by volcanic\nagency.\n\n\n{9}\n\nMore Recent Finds\n\nMore recent finds have been summarized by an eminent authority\nconnected with the United States Bureau of Ethnology as follows: \"In a\npost-Glacial terrace on the south shore of Lake Ontario the remains of\na hearth were discovered at a depth of twenty-two feet by Mr. Tomlinson\nin digging a well, apparently indicating early aboriginal occupancy of\nthe St. Lawrence basin.  From the Glacial or immediately post-Glacial\ndeposits of Ohio a number of articles of human workmanship have been\nreported: a grooved axe from a well twenty-two feet beneath the\nsurface, near New London; a chipped object of waster type at\nNewcomerstown, at a depth of sixteen feet in Glacial gravel; chipped\nstones in gravels, one at Madisonville at a depth of eight feet, and\nanother at Loveland at a depth of thirty feet.  At Little Falls, Minn.,\nflood-plain, deposits of sand and gravel are found to contain many\nartificial objects of quartz.  This flood-plain is believed by some to\nhave been finally abandoned by the Mississippi well back toward the\nclose of the Glacial period in the valley, but that these finds warrant\ndefinite conclusions as to time is seriously questioned by Chamberlain.\nIn a Missouri river-beach near Lansing, Kansas, portions of a human\nskeleton were recently found at a depth of twenty feet, but geologists\nare not agreed as to the age of the formation.  At Clayton, Mo., in a\ndeposit believed to belong to the loess, at a depth of fourteen feet, a\nwell-finished grooved axe was found.  In the Basin Range region,\nbetween the Rocky Mountains and the sierras, two discoveries that seem\nto bear on the antiquity of human occupancy have been reported: in a\nsilt deposit in Walker River Valley, Nevada, believed to be {10} of\nGlacial age, an obsidian implement was obtained at a depth of\ntwenty-five feet; at Nampa, Idaho, a clay image is reported to have\nbeen brought up by a sand-pump from a depth of three hundred and twenty\nfeet in alternating beds of clay and quicksand underlying a lava flow\nof late Tertiary or early Glacial age.  Questions are raised by a\nnumber of geologists respecting the value of these finds.\"\n\n\n\nLater Man in America\n\nWhatever doubt attaches to the presence of man in America during the\nTertiary period--a doubt which is not shared by most American\narch\u00e6ologists--there is none regarding his occupation of the entire\ncontinent in times less remote, yet far distant from the dawn of the\nearliest historical records of Asia or Europe.  In caves and\n'kitchen-middens' or rubbish-heaps over the entire length and breadth\nof the American continent numerous evidences of the presence of\npopulous centres have been discovered.  Mingled with the shells of\nmolluscs and the bones of extinct animals human remains, weapons, and\nimplements are to be found, with traces of fire, which prove that the\nmen of those early days had risen above the merely animal existence led\nby the first-comers to American soil.\n\n\n\nAffinities with Siberian Peoples\n\nAs has already been indicated, careful observers have repeatedly\nremarked upon the strong likeness between the American races and those\nof North-eastern Asia.  This likeness is not only physical, but extends\nto custom, and to some extent to religious belief.\n\n\"The war-dances and medicine customs of the Ostiaks resemble those of\nthe Kolusches even to the {11} smallest details, and the myth of a\nheaven-climber, who ascends the sky from a lofty tree, lowering himself\nagain to earth by a strip of leather, a rope of grass, a plait of hair,\nor the curling wreath of smoke from a hut, occurs not only among the\nUgrian tribes, but among the Dogrib Indians.  Such myths, it is\ncontended, though insufficient to prove common descent, point to early\ncommunications between these distant stocks.  Superstitious usages, on\nthe other hand, it is argued, are scarcely likely to have been adopted\nin consequence of mere intercourse, and indicate a common origin.\nThus, among the Itelmians of Kamchatka it is forbidden to carry a\nburning brand otherwise than in the fingers; it must on no account be\npierced for that purpose with the point of a knife.  A similar\nsuperstition is cherished by the Dakota.  Again, when the tribes of\nHudson Bay slay a bear they daub the head with gay colours, and sing\naround it hymns having a religious character; it is understood to\nsymbolize the spirit of the deceased animal.  A similar practice, it is\nsaid, prevails throughout Siberia, and is met with among the Gilyaks of\nthe Amur, and the Ainu.  The Ostiaks hang the skin of a bear on a tree,\npay it the profoundest respect, and address it while imploring pardon\nof the spirit of the animal for having put it to death; their usual\noath, moreover, is 'by the bear,' as the polished Athenians habitually\nswore 'by the dog.'  Earthen vessels, it is further urged, were\nmanufactured not only by the Itelmians, but by the Aleutians and the\nKolusches of the New World; whereas the Assiniboins, settled farther to\nthe southward, cooked their flesh in kettles of hide, into which\nred-hot stones were cast to heat the water.\"[2]\n\n\n[2] Payne, _History of the New World_, ii. 87-88, summarizing the\ninvestigations of Peschel and Tylor.\n\n\n{12}\n\nThe Evidence of American Languages\n\nThe structure of the aboriginal languages of America corroborates the\nconclusion that the American race proceeded from one instead of several\nsources, and that it is an ethnological extension of North-eastern\nAsia.  Not only does the 'machinery' of American speech closely\nresemble that of the neighbouring Asiatic races in the possession of a\ncommon basis of phonesis and strenuity, but the rejection of labial\nexplodents, which extends from Northern Asia through the speech of the\nAleutian Islands to North-western America, is good evidence of affinity.\n\n\n\nEvidences of Asiatic Intercourse\n\nEvidences of Asiatic intercourse with America in recent and historical\ntimes are not wanting.  It is a well-authenticated fact that the\nRussians had learned from the native Siberians of the whereabouts of\nAmerica long before the discovery of the contiguity of the continents\nby Bering.  Charlevoix, in his work on the origin of the Indians,\nstates that P\u00e8re Grellon, one of the French Jesuit Fathers, encountered\na Huron woman on the plains of Tartary who had been sold from tribe to\ntribe until she had passed from Bering Strait into Central Asia.\nSlight though such incidents seem, it is by means of them that\nimportant truths may be gleaned.  If one individual was exchanged in\nthis manner, there were probably many similar cases.\n\n[Illustration: On the Lakes]\n\nLater Migrations\n\nThere are theories in existence worthy of respect which would regard\nthe North American Indians as the last and recent wave of many Asiatic\nmigrations to {13} American soil.  If credence can be extended to the\nNorse sagas which describe the visits of tenth-century Scandinavian\nvoyagers to the eastern coasts of America, the accounts given of the\nrace encountered by these early discoverers by no means tally with any\npossible description of the Red Man.  The viking seafarers nicknamed\nthe American natives _Skr\u00e6lingr_, or 'Chips,' because of their puny\nappearance, and the account which they gave of them would seem to class\nthem as a folk possessing Eskimo affinities.  Many remains discovered\nin the eastern States are of the Eskimo type, and when one combines\nwith this the Indian traditions of a great migration--traditions which\ncannot have survived for many generations--it will be seen that the\nexact epoch of the entrance of the Red Man into America is by no means\nfinally settled.\n\n\n\nThe Norsemen in America\n\nAs the visits of the Norsemen to America during the tenth century have\nbeen alluded to, perhaps some further reference to this absorbing\nsubject may be made, as it is undoubtedly germane to the question of\nthe identity of the pre-Indian inhabitants of eastern North America.\nThe Scandinavian colonization of Iceland tempted the intrepid viking\nrace to extend their voyages into still more northerly waters, and this\nresulted in the discovery of Greenland.  Once settled upon those dreary\nbeaches, it was practically inevitable that the hardy seamen would\nspeedily discover American soil.  Biarne Herjulfson, sailing from\nIceland to Greenland without knowledge of the waters he navigated, was\ncaught in dense fog and shifting wind, so that he knew not in what\ndirection he sailed.  \"Witless, methinks, is our forth-faring,\" laughed\nthe stout Norseman, \"seeing that none of us has beheld {14} the\nGreenland sea.\"  Holding doggedly on, however, the adventurers came at\nlast in sight of land.  But this was no country of lofty ice such as\nthey had been told to expect.  A land of gentle undulations covered\nwith timber met their sea-sad eyes.  Bearing away, they came to another\nland like the first.  The wind fell, and the sailors proposed to\ndisembark.  But Biarne refused.  Five days afterward they made\nGreenland.  Biarne had, of course, got into that Arctic current which\nsets southward from the Polar Circle between Iceland and Greenland, and\nhad been carried to the coasts of New England.[3]\n\n\n[3] Rafn, _Antiquitates Americana_, xxix. 17-25.\n\n\n\nLeif the Lucky\n\nBiarne did not care to pursue his discoveries, but at the court of\nEric, Earl of Norway, to which he paid a visit, his neglect in\nfollowing them up was much talked about.  All Greenland, too, was agog\nwith the news.  Leif, surnamed 'the Lucky,' son of Eric the Red, the\nfirst colonizer of Greenland, purchased Biarne's ship, and, hiring a\ncrew of thirty-five men, one of whom was a German named Tyrker (perhaps\nTydsker, the Norse for 'German'), set sail for the land seen by Biarne.\nHe soon espied it, and cast anchor, but it was a barren place; so they\ncalled it Hellu-land, or 'Land of Flat Stones,' and, leaving it, sailed\nsouthward again.  Soon they came to another country, which they called\nMarkland, or 'Wood-land,' for it was low and flat and well covered with\ntrees.  These shores also they left, and again put to sea.\n\n\n\nThe Land of Wine\n\nAfter sailing still farther south they came to a strait lying between\nan island and a promontory.  Here they {15} landed and built huts.  The\nair was warm after the sword-like winds of Greenland, and when the day\nwas shortest the sun was above the horizon from half-past seven in the\nmorning until half-past four in the afternoon.  They divided into two\nbands to explore the land.  One day Tyrker, the German, was missing.\nThey searched for him, and found him at no great distance from the\ncamp, in a state of much excitement.  For he had discovered vines with\ngrapes upon them--a boon to a man coming from a land of vines, who had\nbeheld none for half a lifetime.  They loaded the ship's boat with the\ngrapes and felled timber to freight the ship, and in the spring sailed\naway from the new-found country, which they named 'Wine-land.'\n\nIt would seem that the name Hellu-land was applied to Newfoundland or\nLabrador, Mark-land to Nova Scotia, and Wine-land to New England, and\nthat Leif wintered in some part of the state of Rhode Island.\n\n\n\nThe Skr\u00e6lingr\n\nIn the year 1002 Leif's brother Thorwald sailed to the new land in\nBiarne's ship.  From the place where Leif had landed, which the\nNorsemen named 'Leif's Booths' (or huts), he explored the country\nsouthward and northward.  But at a promontory in the neighbourhood of\nBoston he was attacked and slain by the Skr\u00e6lingr who inhabited the\ncountry.  These men are described as small and dwarfish in appearance\nand as possessing Eskimo characteristics.  In 1007 a bold attempt was\nmade to colonize the country from Greenland.  Three ships, with a\nhundred and sixty men aboard, sailed to Wine-land, where they wintered,\nbut the incessant attacks of the Skr\u00e6lingr rendered colonization\nimpossible, and the Norsemen took their departure.  The extinction of\nthe Scandinavian colonies {16} in Greenland put an end to all\ncommunication with America.  But the last voyage from Greenland to\nAmerican shores took place in 1347, only a hundred and forty-five years\nbefore Columbus discovered the West Indian Islands.  In 1418 the\nSkr\u00e6lingr of Greenland--the Eskimo--attacked and destroyed the Norse\nsettlements there, and carried away the colonists into captivity.  It\nis perhaps the descendants of these Norse folk who dared the world of\nice and the ravening breakers of the Arctic sea who have been\ndiscovered by a recent Arctic explorer![4]\n\n\n[4] See _Eric Rothens Saga_, in Mueller, _Sagenbibliothek_, p. 214.\n\n\nThe authenticity of the Norse discoveries is not to be questioned.  No\nless than seventeen ancient Icelandic documents allude to them, and\nAdam of Bremen mentions the territory discovered by them as if\nreferring to a widely known country.\n\n\n\nThe Dighton Rock\n\nA rock covered with inscriptions, known as the Dighton Writing Rock,\nsituated on the banks of the Taunton River, in Massachusetts, was long\npointed out as of Norse origin, and Rafn, the Danish antiquary,\npronounced the script which it bore to be runic.  With equal\nperspicacity Court de G\u00e9belin and Dr. Styles saw in it a Phoenician\ninscription.  It is, in fact, quite certain that the writing is of\nIndian origin, as similar rock-carvings occur over the length and\nbreadth of the northern sub-continent.  Almost as doubtful are the\ntheories which would make the 'old mill' at Newport a Norse 'biggin.'\nHowever authentic the Norse settlements in America may be, it is\ncertain that the Norsemen left no traces of their occupation in that\ncontinent, and although the building at Newport distinctly resembles\nthe remains of Norse architecture in {17} Greenland, the district in\nwhich it is situated is quite out of the sphere of Norse settlement in\nNorth America.\n\n\n\nThe Mound-Builders\n\nThe question of the antiquity of the Red Race in North America is bound\nup with an arch\u00e6ological problem which bristles with difficulties, but\nis quite as replete with interest.  In the Mississippi basin and the\nGulf States, chiefly from La Crosse, Wisconsin, to Natchez, Miss., and\nin the central and southern districts of Ohio, and in the adjoining\nportion of Indiana and South Wisconsin, are found great earthen mounds,\nthe typical form of which is pyramidal.  Some, however, are circular,\nand a few pentagonal.  Others are terraced, extending outward from one\nor two sides, while some have roadways leading up to the level surface\non the summit.  These are not mere accumulations of _d\u00e9bris_, but works\nconstructed on a definite plan, and obviously requiring a considerable\namount of skill and labour for their accomplishment.  \"The form, except\nwhere worn down by the plough, is usually that of a low, broad,\nround-topped cone, varying in size from a scarcely perceptible swell in\nthe ground to elevations of eighty or even a hundred feet, and from six\nto three hundred feet in diameter.\"[5]\n\n\n[5] _Bulletin 30_, Bureau of American Ethnology.\n\n\n\nMounds in Animal Form\n\nMany of these structures represent animal forms, probably the totem or\neponymous ancestor of the tribe which reared them.  The chief centre\nfor these singular erections seems to have been Wisconsin, where they\nare very numerous.  The eagle, wolf, bear, turtle, and fox are\nrepresented, and even the human form has been {18} attempted.  There\nare birds with outstretched wings, measuring more than thirty-two yards\nfrom tip to tip, and great mammalian forms sixty-five yards long.\nReptilian forms are also numerous.  These chiefly represent huge\nlizards.  At least one mound in the form of a spider, whose body and\nlegs cover an acre of ground, exists in Minnesota.\n\nAccording to the classification of Squier, these structures were\nemployed for burial, sacrifice, and observation, and as temple-sites.\nOther structures often found in connexion with them are obviously\nenclosures, and were probably used for defence.  The conical mounds are\nusually built of earth and stones, and are for the most part places of\nsepulture.  The flat-topped structures were probably employed as sites\nfor buildings, such as temples, council-houses, and chiefs' dwellings.\nBurials were rarely made in the wall-like enclosures or effigy mounds.\nMany of the enclosures are of true geometrical figure, circular,\nsquare, or octagonal, and with few exceptions these are found in Ohio\nand the adjoining portions of Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia.\nThey enclose an expanse varying from one to a hundred acres.\n\n\n\nWhat the Mounds Contain\n\nIn the sepulchral mounds a large number of objects have been found\nwhich throw some light on the habits of the folk who built them.\nCopper plates with stamped designs are frequent, and these are\ndifficult to account for.  In one mound were found no less than six\nhundred stone hatchet-blades, averaging seven inches long by four wide.\nUnder another were exhumed two hundred calcined tobacco-pipes, and\ncopper ornaments with a thin plating of silver; while from others were\ntaken fragments of pottery, obsidian implements, ivory {19} and bone\nneedles, and scroll-work cut out of very thin plates of mica.  In\nseveral it was observed that cremation had been practised, but in\nothers the bodies were found extended horizontally or else doubled up.\nIn some instances the ashes of the dead had been placed carefully in\nskulls, perhaps those of the individuals whose bodies had been given to\nthe flames.  Implements, too, are numerous, and axes, awls, and other\ntools of copper have frequently been discovered.\n\n\n\nThe Tomb of the Black Tortoise\n\nA more detailed description of one of these groups of sepulchral mounds\nmay furnish the reader with a clearer idea of the structures as a\nwhole.  The group in question was discovered in Minnesota, on the\nnorthern bank of St. Peter's River, about sixty miles from its junction\nwith the Mississippi.  It includes twenty-six mounds, placed at regular\ndistances from each other, and forming together a large rectangle.  The\ncentral mound represents a turtle forty feet long by twenty-seven feet\nwide and twelve feet high.  It is almost entirely constructed of yellow\nclay, which is not found in the district, and therefore must have been\nbrought from a distance.  Two mounds of red earth of triangular form\nflank it north and south, and each of these is twenty-seven feet long\nby about six feet wide at one end, the opposite end tapering off until\nit scarcely rises above the level of the soil.  At each corner rises a\ncircular mound twelve feet high by twenty-five feet in diameter.  East\nand west of the structure stand two elongated mounds sixty feet long,\nwith a diameter of twelve feet.  Two smaller mounds on the right and\nleft of the turtle-shaped mound are each twelve feet long by four feet\nhigh, and consist of white sand mixed with numerous fragments of mica,\ncovered with {20} a layer of clay and a second one of vegetable mould.\nLastly, thirteen smaller mounds fill in the intervals in the group.\n\nConant gives an explanation of the whole group as follows: \"The\nprincipal tomb would be the last home of a great chief, the Black\nTortoise.  The four mounds which form the corners of the quadrangle\nwere also erected as a sign of the mourning of the tribe.  The\nsecondary mounds are the tombs of other chiefs, and the little mounds\nerected in the north and south corresponded with the number of bodies\nwhich had been deposited in them.  The two pointed mounds indicate that\nthe Black Tortoise was the last of his race, and the two large mounds\nthe importance of that race and the dignity which had belonged to it.\nLastly, the two mounds to the right and left of the royal tomb mark the\nburial-places of the prophets or soothsayers, who even to our own day\nplay a great part among the Indian tribes.  The fragments of mica found\nin their tombs would indicate their rank.\"[6]\n\n\n[6] _Footprints of Vanished Races_, p. 18.\n\n\n\nWho were the Mound-Builders?\n\nIt is not probable that the reader will agree with all the conclusions\ndrawn in the paragraph quoted above, which would claim for these\nstructures a hieroglyphic as well as a sepulchral significance.  But\nsuch speculations cannot destroy the inherent interest of the subject,\nhowever much they may irritate those who desire to arrive at logical\nconclusions concerning it.  Who then were the folk who raised the\nmounds of Ohio and the Mississippi and spread their culture from the\nGulf states region to the Great Lakes?  Needless to say, the\n'antiquaries' of the last century stoutly maintained that they were\nstrangers from over the sea, {21} sun- and serpent-worshippers who had\nforsaken the cities of Egypt, Persia, and Phoenicia, and had settled in\nthe West in order to pursue their strange religions undisturbed.  But\nsuch a view by no means commends itself to modern science, which sees\nin the architects of these mounds and pyramids the ancestors of the\npresent aborigines of North America.  Many of the objects discovered in\nthe mounds are of European manufacture, or prove contact with\nEuropeans, which shows that the structures containing them are of\ncomparatively modern origin.  The articles discovered and the character\nof the various monuments indicate a culture stage similar to that noted\namong the more advanced tribes inhabiting the regions where the mounds\noccur at the period of the advent of the whites.  Moreover, the\nstatements of early writers on these regions, such as the members of De\nSoto's expedition, prove beyond question that some of the structures\nwere erected by the Indians in post-Columbian times.  \"It is known that\nsome of the tribes inhabiting the Gulf states, when De Soto passed\nthrough their territory in 1540-41, as the Yuchi, Creeks, Chickasaw,\nand Natchez, were still using and probably constructing mounds, and\nthat the Quapaw of Arkansas were also using them.  There is also\ndocumentary evidence that the 'Texas' tribe still used mounds at the\nend of the seventeenth century, when a chief's house is described as\nbeing built on one.  There is also sufficient evidence to justify the\nconclusion that the Cherokee and Shawnee were mound-builders....\nAccording to Miss Fletcher, the Winnebago build miniature mounds in the\nlodge during certain ceremonies.\"[7]\n\n\n[7] _Bulletin 30_, Bureau of American Ethnology.\n\n\nNothing has been found in the mounds to indicate {22} great antiquity,\nand the present tendency among arch\u00e6ologists is to assign to them a\ncomparatively recent origin.\n\n\n\nThe 'Nations' of North America\n\nIn order that the reader may be enabled the better to comprehend the\nhistory and customs of the Red Race in North America, it will be well\nat this juncture to classify the various ethnic stocks of which it is\ncomposed.  Proceeding to do so on a linguistic basis--the only possible\nguide in this instance--we find that students of American languages,\ndespite the diversity of tongues exhibited in North America, have\nreferred all of these to ten or a dozen primitive stems.[8]  Let us\nfirst examine the geographical position of the 'nations' of the\nAmerican aborigines in the sixteenth century, at the period of the\nadvent of the white man, whilst yet they occupied their ancestral\nterritory.\n\n\n[8] See the map, p. 361.\n\n\nThe Athapascan stock extended in a broad band across the continent from\nthe Pacific to Hudson Bay, and almost to the Great Lakes below.  Tribes\ncognate to it wandered far north to the mouth of the Mackenzie River,\nand, southward, skirted the Rockies and the coast of Oregon south of\nthe estuary of the Columbia River, and spreading over the plains of New\nMexico, as Apaches, Navahos, and Lipans, extended almost to the\ntropics.  The Athapascan is the most widely distributed of all the\nIndian linguistic stocks of North America, and covered a territory of\nmore than forty degrees of latitude and seventy-five degrees of\nlongitude.  Its northern division was known as the Tinneh or D\u00e9n\u00e9, and\nconsisted of three groups--eastern, north-western, and south-western,\ndwelling near the Rockies, in the interior of Alaska, and in the\nmountain fastnesses of British America respectively.\n\n{23} The Pacific division occupied many villages in a strip of\nterritory about four hundred miles in length from Oregon to Eel River\nin California.  The southern division occupied a large part of Arizona\nand New Mexico, the southern portion of Utah and Colorado, the western\nborders of Kansas, and the northern part of Mexico to lat. 25\u00b0.  The\nsocial conditions and customs as well as the various dialects spoken by\nthe several branches and offshoots of this great family differed\nconsiderably according to climate and environment.  Extremely\nadaptable, the Athapascan stock appear to have adopted many of the\ncustoms and ceremonies of such tribes as they were brought into contact\nwith, and do not seem to have had any impetus to frame a culture of\ntheir own.  Their tribes had little cohesion, and were subdivided into\nfamily groups or loose bands, which recognized a sort of patriarchal\ngovernment and descent.  Their food-supply was for the most part\nprecarious, as it consisted almost entirely of the proceeds of hunting\nexpeditions, and the desperate and never-ending search for provender\nrendered this people somewhat narrow and material in outlook.\n\n\n\nThe Iroquois\n\nThe Iroquois--Hurons, Tuscaroras, Susquehannocks, Nottoways, and\nothers--occupied much of the country from the St. Lawrence River and\nLake Ontario to the Roanoke.  Several of their tribes banded themselves\ninto a confederacy known as the 'Five Nations,' and these comprised the\nCayugas, Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, and Senecas.  The Cherokees,\ndwelling in the valleys of East Tennessee, appear to have been one of\nthe early offshoots of the Iroquois.  A race of born warriors, they\npursued their craft with an excess of cruelty which made them the\nterror of the white settler.  It was with the {24} Iroquois that most\nof the early colonial wars were waged, and their name, which they\nborrowed from the Algonquins, and which signifies 'Real Adders,' was\nprobably no misnomer.  They possessed chiefs who, strangely enough,\nwere nominated by the matrons of the tribe, whose decision was\nconfirmed by the tribal and federal councils.  The 'Five Nations' of\nthe Iroquois made up the Iroquois Confederacy, which was created about\nthe year 1570, as the last of a series of attempts to unite the tribes\nin question.  The Mohawks, so conspicuous in colonial history, are one\nof their sub-tribes.  Many of the Iroquoian tribes \"have been settled\nby the Canadian Government on a reservation on Grand River, Ontario,\nwhere they still reside....  All the Iroquois [in the United States]\nare in reservations in New York, with the exception of the Oneida, who\nare settled in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  The so-called Seneca, of\nOklahoma, are composed of the remnants of many tribes ... and of\nemigrants from all the tribes of the Iroquoian Confederation.\"  In 1689\nthe Iroquois were estimated to number about twelve thousand, whereas in\n1904 they numbered over sixteen thousand.\n\n\n\nThe Algonquins\n\nThe Algonquian[9] family surrounded the Iroquois on every side, and\nextended westward toward the Rocky Mountains, where one of their famous\noffshoots, the Blackfeet, gained a notoriety which has rendered them\nthe heroes of many a boyish tale.  They were milder than the Iroquois,\nand less Spartan in habits.  Their {25} western division comprised the\nBlackfeet, Arapaho, and Cheyenne, situated near the eastern slope of\nthe Rocky Mountains; the northern division, situated for the most part\nto the north of the St. Lawrence, comprised the Chippeways and Crees;\nthe north-eastern division embraced the tribes inhabiting Quebec, the\nMaritime Provinces, and Maine, including the Montagnais and Micmacs;\nthe central division, dwelling in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana,\nMichigan, and Ohio, included the Foxes, Kickapoos, Menominees, and\nothers; and the eastern division embraced all the Algonquian tribes\nthat dwelt along the Atlantic coast, the Abnaki, Narragansets, Nipmucs,\nMohicans (or Mohegans), Shawnees, Delawares, and Powhatans.\n\n\n[9] This name has been adopted to distinguish the _family_ from the\ntribal name, 'Algonquin' or 'Algonkin,' but is not employed when\nspeaking of individuals.  Thus we speak of 'the Algonquian race,' but,\non the other hand, of 'an Algonquin Indian.'\n\n\nThe Algonquins were the first Indians to come into contact with the\nwhite man.  As a rule their relations with the French were friendly,\nbut they were frequently at war with the English settlers.  The eastern\nbranch of the race were quickly defeated and scattered, their remnants\nwithdrawing to Canada and the Ohio valley.  Of the smaller tribes of\nNew England, Virginia, and other eastern states there are no living\nrepresentatives, and even their languages are extinct, save for a few\nwords and place-names.  The Ohio valley tribes, with the Wyandots,\nformed themselves into a loose confederacy and attempted to preserve\nthe Ohio as an Indian boundary; but in 1794 they were finally defeated\nand forced to cede their territory.  Tecumseh, an Algonquin chief,\ncarried on a fierce war against the United States for a number of\nyears, but by his defeat and death at Tippecanoe in 1811 the spirit of\nthe Indians was broken, and the year 1815 saw the commencement of a\nseries of Indian migrations westward, and a wholesale cession of Indian\nterritory which continued over a period of about thirty years.\n\n\n\n{26}\n\nA Sedentary People\n\nThe Algonquins had been for generations the victims of the Iroquois\nConfederacy, and only when the French had guaranteed them immunity from\nthe attacks of their hereditary enemies did they set their faces to the\neast once more, to court repulse a second time at the hands of the\nEnglish settlers.  Tall and finely proportioned, the Algonquins were\nmainly a sedentary and agricultural people, growing maize and wild rice\nfor their staple foods.  Indeed, more than once were the colonists of\nNew England saved from famine by these industrious folk.  In 1792\nWayne's army found a continuous plantation along the entire length of\nthe Maumee River from Fort Wayne to Lake Erie, and such evidence\nentirely shatters the popular fallacy that the Indian race were\naltogether lacking in the virtues of industry and domesticity.  They\nemployed fish-shells and ashes as fertilizers, and made use of spades\nand hoes.  And it was the Algonquins who first instilled in the white\nsettlers the knowledge of how to prepare those succulent dainties for\nwhich New England is famous--hominy, succotash, maple-sugar, and\njohnny-cake.  They possessed the art of tanning deerskin to a delicate\nsoftness which rendered it a luxurious and delightful raiment, and,\nlike the Aztecs, they manufactured mantles of feather-work.  They had\nalso elaborated a system of picture-writing.  In short, they were the\nmost intelligent and advanced of the eastern tribes, and had their\ncivilization been permitted to proceed unhindered by white aggression\nand the recurring inroads of their hereditary enemies, the Iroquois, it\nwould probably have evolved into something resembling that of the Nahua\nof Mexico, without, perhaps, exhibiting the sanguinary fanaticism of\nthat people.  The great weakness of the Algonquian {27} stock was a\nlack of solidity of character, which prevented them from achieving a\ndegree of tribal organization and cohesion sufficient to enable them to\nwithstand their foes.\n\n\n\nThe Muskhogean Race\n\nThe Muskhogean race included the Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, and\nSeminoles, who occupied territory in the Gulf states east of the\nMississippi, possessing almost all of Mississippi and Alabama, and\nportions of Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina.  Many\nearly notices of this people are extant.  They were met by Narvaez in\nFlorida in 1528, and De Soto passed through their territory in 1540-41.\nBy 1700 the entire Apalachee tribe had been civilized and\nChristianized, and had settled in seven large and well-built towns.\nBut the tide of white settlement gradually pressed the Muskhogean\ntribes backward from the coast region, and though they fought stoutly\nto retain their patrimony, few of the race remain in their native area,\nthe majority having been removed to the tribal reservation in Oklahoma\nbefore 1840.  They were an agricultural and sedentary people, occupying\nvillages of substantially built dwellings.  A curious diversity, both\nphysical and mental, existed among the several tribes of which the race\nwas composed.  They possessed a general council formed of\nrepresentatives from each town, who met annually or as occasion\nrequired.  Artificial deformation of the skull was practised by nearly\nall of the Muskhogean tribes, chiefly by the Choctaws, who were called\nby the settlers 'Flatheads.'  The Muskhogean population at the period\nof its first contact with the whites has been estimated at some fifty\nthousand souls.  In 1905 they numbered rather more, but this estimate\nincluded about fifteen thousand freedmen of negro blood.\n\n\n\n{28}\n\nThe Sioux\n\nThe Siouan or Dakota stock--Santees, Yanktons, Assiniboins, and\nTetons--inhabited a territory extending from Saskatchewan to Louisiana.\nThey are the highest type, physically, mentally, and morally, of any or\nthe western tribes, and their courage is unquestioned.  They dwelt in\nlarge bands or groups.  \"Personal fitness and popularity determined\nchieftainship....  The authority of the chief was limited by the band\ncouncil, without whose approbation little or nothing could be\naccomplished.  War parties were recruited by individuals who had\nacquired reputation as successful leaders, while the _shamans_\nformulated ceremonials and farewells for them.  Polygamy was common....\nRemains of the dead were usually, though not invariably, placed on\nscaffolds.\"[10]\n\n\n[10] _Bulletin 30_, Bureau of American Ethnology.\n\n\n[Illustration: An Elderly Omaha Beau.  By permission of the Bureau of\nAmerican Ethnology]\n\n\nCaddoan Family\n\nThe Caddoan family comprises three geographic groups, the northern,\nrepresented by the Arikara, the middle, embracing the Pawnee\nConfederacy, once dwelling in Nebraska, and the southern group,\nincluding the Caddo, Kichai, and Wichita.  Once numerous, this division\nof the Red Race is now represented by a few hundreds of individuals\nonly, who are settled in Oklahoma and North Dakota.  The Caddo tribes\nwere cultivators of the soil as well as hunters, and practised the arts\nof pottery-making and tanning.  They lacked political ability and were\nloosely confederated.\n\n\n\nThe Shoshoneans\n\nThe Shoshoneans or 'Snake' family of Nevada, Utah, and Idaho comprise\nthe Root-diggers, Comanches, and {29} other tribes of low culture.\nThese people, it is said, \"are probably nearer the brutes than any\nother portion of the human race on the face of the globe.\"  \"Yet these\ndebased creatures speak a related dialect and partake in some measure\nof the same blood as the famous Aztec race who founded the empire of\nAnahuac, and raised architectural monuments rivalling the most famous\nstructures of the ancient world.\"[11]\n\n\n[11] Brinton, _Myths of the New World_.\n\n\n\nEarly Wars with the Whites\n\nNumerous minor wars between the Indians and the colonists followed upon\nthe settlement of Virginia, but on the whole the relations between them\nwere peaceable until the general massacre of white women and children\non March 22, 1622, while the men of the colony were working in the\nfields.  Three hundred and forty-seven men, women, and children were\nslain in a single day.  This holocaust was the signal for an Indian war\nwhich continued intermittently for many years and cost the colonists\nuntold loss in blood and treasure.  Inability to comprehend each\nother's point of view was of course a fertile source of irritation\nbetween the races, and even colonists who had ample opportunities for\nobserving and studying the Indians during a long course of years appear\nto have been incapable of understanding their outlook and true\ncharacter.  The dishonesty of white traders, on the other hand, aroused\nthe Indian to a frenzy of childish indignation.  It was a native saying\nthat \"One pays for another,\" and when an Indian was slain his nearest\nblood-relation considered that he had consummated a righteous revenge\nby murdering the first white man whom he met or waylaid.  Each race\naccused the other of treachery and unfairness.  Probably the colonists,\ndespite their {30} veneer of civilization, were only a little less\nignorant than, and as vindictively cruel as, the barbarians with whom\nthey strove.  The Indian regarded the colonist as an interloper who had\ncome to despoil him of the land of his fathers, while the Virginian\nPuritan considered himself the salt of the earth and the Indian as a\nheathen or 'Ishmaelite' sent by the Powers of Darkness for his\ndiscomfiture, whom it was an act of both religion and policy to\ndestroy.  Vengeful ferocity was exhibited on both sides.  Another\nhorrible massacre of five hundred whites in 1644 was followed by the\ndefeat of the Indians who had butchered the colonists.  Shortly before\nthat event the Pequot tribe in Connecticut had a feud with the English\ntraders, and tortured such of them as they could lay hands on.  The men\nof Connecticut, headed by John Mason, a military veteran, marched into\nthe Pequot country, surrounded the village of Sassacus, the Pequot\nchief, gave it to the flames, and slaughtered six hundred of its\ninhabitants.  The tribe was broken up, and the example of their fate so\nterrified the other Indian peoples that New England enjoyed peace for\nmany years after.\n\n\n\nKing Philip's War\n\nThe Dutch of New York were at one period almost overwhelmed by the\nIndians in their neighbourhood, and in 1656 the Virginians suffered a\nsevere defeat in a battle with the aborigines at the spot where\nRichmond now stands.  In 1675 there broke out in New England the great\nIndian war known as King Philip's War.  Philip, an Indian chief,\ncomplained bitterly that those of his subjects who had been converted\nto Christianity were withdrawn from his control, and he made vigorous\nwar on the settlers, laying many of their towns in {31} ashes.  But\nvictory was with the colonists at the battle called the 'Swamp Fight,'\nand Philip and his men were scattered.\n\nCaptain Benjamin Church it was who first taught the colonists to fight\nthe Indians in their own manner.  He moved as stealthily as the savages\nthemselves, and, to avoid an alarm, never allowed an Indian to be shot\nwho could be reached with the hatchet.  The Indians who were captured\nwere sold into slavery in the West India Islands, where the hard labour\nand change of climate were usually instrumental in speedily putting an\nend to their servitude.\n\nStep by step the Red Man was driven westward until he vanished from the\nvicinity of the earlier settlements altogether.  From that period the\nhistory of his conflicts with the whites is bound up with the records\nof their western extension.\n\n\n\nThe Reservations\n\nThe necessity of bringing the Indian tribes under the complete control\nof the United States Government and confining them to definite limits\nfor the better preservation of order was responsible for the policy of\nplacing them on tracts of territory of their own called 'reservations.'\nThis step led the natives to realize the benefits of a settled\nexistence and to depend on their own industry for a livelihood rather\nthan upon the more precarious products of the chase.  An Act of\nCongress was passed in 1887 which put a period to the existence of the\nIndian tribes as separate communities, and permitted all tribal lands\nand reservations to be so divided that each individual member of a\ntribe might possess a separate holding.  Many of these holdings are of\nconsiderable value, and the possessors are by no means poorly endowed\nwith this world's {32} goods.  On the whole the policy of the United\nStates toward the Indians has been dictated by justice and humanity,\nbut instances have not been wanting in which arid lands have been\nfoisted upon the Indians, and the pressure of white settlers has\nfrequently forced the Government to dispossess the Red Man of the land\nthat had originally been granted to him.\n\n\n\nThe Story of Pocahontas\n\nMany romantic stories are told concerning the relations of the early\nwhite settlers with the Indians.  Among the most interesting is that of\nPocahontas, the daughter of the renowned Indian chief Powhatan, the\nerstwhile implacable enemy of the whites.  Pocahontas, who as a child\nhad often played with the young colonists, was visiting a certain chief\nnamed Japazaws, when an English captain named Argall bribed him with a\ncopper kettle to betray her into his hands.  Argall took her a captive\nto Jamestown.  Here a white man by the name of John Rolfe married her,\nafter she had received Christian baptism.  This marriage brought about\na peace between Powhatan and the English settlers in Virginia.\n\nWhen Dale went back to England in 1616 he took with him some of the\nIndians.  Pocahontas, who was now called 'the Lady Rebecca,' and her\nhusband accompanied the party.  Pocahontas was called a princess in\nEngland, and received much attention.  But when about to return to the\ncolony she died, leaving a little son.\n\nThe quaint version of Captain Nathaniel Powell, which retains all the\nknown facts of Pocahontas' story, states that \"During this time, the\nLady Rebecca, _alias_ Pocahontas, daughter to Powhatan, by the diligent\ncare of Master John Rolfe her husband, and his friends, was taught to\nspeak such English as might well be {33} understood, well instructed in\nChristianity, and was become very formal and civil after our English\nmanner; she had also by him a child which she loved most dearly, and\nthe Treasurer and Company took order both for the maintenance of her\nand it, besides there were divers persons of great rank and quality had\nbeen kind to her; and before she arrived at London, Captain Smith, to\ndeserve her former courtesies, made her qualities known to the Queen's\nmost excellent Majesty and her Court, and wrote a little book to this\neffect to the Queen: An abstract whereof follows:\n\n  \"'_To the Most High and Virtuous Princess, Queen\n  Anne of Great Britain_\n\n\"'MOST ADMIRED QUEEN,\n\n\"'The love I bear my God, my King and Country, hath so oft emboldened\nme in the worst of extreme dangers, that now honesty doth constrain me\nto presume thus far beyond myself, to present your Majesty this short\ndiscourse: if ingratitude be a deadly poison to all honest virtues, I\nmust be guilty of that crime if I should omit any means to be thankful.\n\n\"'So it is,\n\n\"'That some ten years ago being in Virginia, and taken prisoner by the\npower of Powhatan their chief King, I received from this great savage\nexceeding great courtesy, especially from his son Nantaquaus, the most\nmanliest, comeliest, boldest spirit I ever saw in a savage, and his\nsister Pocahontas, the King's most dear and well-beloved daughter,\nbeing but a child of twelve or thirteen years of age, whose\ncompassionate pitiful heart, of my desperate estate, gave me much cause\nto respect her; I being the first Christian this proud King and his\ngrim attendants ever saw: and thus enthralled in their barbarous power,\nI cannot say I felt the {34} least occasion of want that was in the\npower of these my mortal foes to prevent, notwithstanding all their\nthreats.  After some six weeks fatting among these savage courtiers, at\nthe minute of my execution, she hazarded the beating out of her own\nbrains to save mine; and not only that, but so prevailed with her\nfather, that I was safely conveyed to Jamestown: where I found about\neight and thirty miserable poor and sick creatures, to keep possession\nof all those large territories of Virginia; such was the weakness of\nthis poor Commonwealth, as had the savages not fed us, we directly had\nstarved.  And this relief, most gracious Queen, was commonly brought us\nby this Lady Pocahontas.\n\n\"'Notwithstanding all these passages, when inconstant Fortune turned\nour peace to war, this tender virgin would still not spare to dare to\nvisit us, and by her our jars have been oft appeased, and our wants\nstill supplied.  Were it the policy of her father thus to employ her,\nor the ordinance of God thus to make her His instrument, or her\nextraordinary affection to our nation, I know not; but of this I am\nsure: when her father, with the utmost of his policy and power, sought\nto surprise me, having but eighteen with me, the dark night could not\naffright her from coming through the irksome woods, and with watered\neyes gave me intelligence, with her best advice to escape his fury;\nwhich had he known, he had surely slain her.\n\n\"'Jamestown with her wild train she as freely frequented as her\nfather's habitation; and during the time of two or three years [1608-9]\nshe, next under God, was still the instrument to preserve this Colony\nfrom death, famine and utter confusion; which if in those times it had\nonce been dissolved, Virginia might have lain as it was at our first\narrival to this day.\n\n\"'Since then, this business having been turned and {35} varied by many\naccidents from that I left it at: it is most certain, after a long and\ntroublesome war after my departure, betwixt her father and our Colony,\nall which time she was not heard of;\n\n\"'About two years after she herself was taken prisoner, being so\ndetained near two years longer, the Colony by that means was relieved,\npeace concluded; and at last rejecting her barbarous condition, she was\nmarried to an English gentleman, with whom at this present she is in\nEngland; the first Christian ever of that nation, the first Virginian\never spoke English, or had a child in marriage by an Englishman: a\nmatter surely, if my meaning be truly considered and well understood,\nworthy a prince's understanding.\n\n\"'Thus, most gracious Lady, I have related to your Majesty, what at\nyour best leisure our approved Histories will account you at large, and\ndone in the time of your Majesty's life; and however this might be\npresented you from a more worthy pen, it cannot from a more honest\nheart, as yet I never begged anything of the state, or any: and it is\nmy want of ability and her exceeding desert; your birth, means and\nauthority; her birth, virtue, want and simplicity, doth make me thus\nbold, humbly to beseech your Majesty to take this knowledge of her,\nthough it be from one so unworthy to be the reporter, as myself, her\nhusband's estate not being able to make her fit to attend your Majesty.\nThe most and least I can do is to tell you this, because none so oft\nhas tried it as myself, and the rather being of so great a spirit,\nhowever her stature: if she should not be well received, seeing this\nkingdom may rightly have a kingdom by her means; her present love to us\nand Christianity might turn to such scorn and fury, as to divert all\nthis good to the worst of evil: whereas finding so great a Queen should\ndo her some honour {36} more than she can imagine, for being so kind to\nyour servants and subjects, would so ravish her with content, as endear\nher dearest blood to effect that, your Majesty and all the King's\nhonest subjects most earnestly desire.\n\n\nCaptain Powell continues:\n\n\n\"The small time I staid in London, divers courtiers and others, my\nacquaintances, have gone with me to see her, that generally concluded,\nthey did think God had had a great hand in her conversion, and they\nhave seen many English Ladies worse favoured, proportioned, and\nbehavioured; and as since I have heard, it pleased both the King and\nQueen's Majesty honourably to esteem her, accompanied with that\nhonourable Lady the Lady de la Ware, and that honourable Lord her\nhusband, and divers other persons of good qualities, both publicly at\nthe masques and otherwise, to her great satisfaction and content, which\ndoubtless she would have deserved, had she lived to arrive in Virginia.\n\n\"The Treasurer, Council and Company, having well furnished Captain\nSamuel Argall, the Lady Pocahontas alias Rebecca, with her husband and\nothers, in the good ship called the _George_; it pleased God at\nGravesend to take this young Lady to His mercy, where she made not more\nsorrow for her unexpected death, than joy to the beholders to hear and\nsee her make so religious and godly an end.  Her little child Thomas\nRolfe, therefore, was left at Plymouth with Sir Lewis Stukly, that\ndesired the keeping of it.\"\n\n\n\nIndian Kidnapping\n\nMany are the tales of how Indians raiding a white settlement have\nkidnapped and adopted into their families the children of the slain\nwhites, but none is {37} more enthralling than that of Frances Slocum,\nwho was carried away from home by a party of Delawares when but five\nyears of age, and who lived with them until her death in 1847.  When\ndiscovered by the whites she was an old woman of over seventy years of\nage.  The story is told by the writer of a local history as follows:\n\n\"The Slocums came from Warwick, Rhode Island, and Jonathan Slocum, the\nfather of the far-famed captive girl, emigrated, in 1777, with a wife\nand nine children.  They located near one of the forts, upon a spot of\nground which is at present covered by the city of Wilkes-Barre.\n\n\"The early training of the family had been on principles averse to war,\nand Jonathan was loath to mix with the tumult of the valley.  A son by\nthe name of Giles, of a fiery spirit, could not brook the evident\nintentions of the Torys and British, and consequently he shouldered his\nmusket, and was one to take part in the battle of July 3, 1778.\n\n\"The prowling clans of savages and bushwhacking Torys which continued\nto harass the valley occasioned much mischief in different parts, and\nin the month of November following the battle it was the misfortune of\nthe Slocum family to be visited by a party of these Delawares, who\napproached the cabin, in front of which two Kingsley boys were engaged\nat a grindstone sharpening a knife.  The elder had on a Continental\ncoat, which aroused the ire of the savages, and he was shot down\nwithout warning and scalped by the very knife which he had put edge to.\n\n\"The report roused the inmates of the house, and Mrs. Slocum had\nreached the door in time sufficient to see the boy of her neighbour\nscalped.\n\n\"An elder daughter seized a young child two years old, and flew with\nterror to the woods.  It is said that {38} her impetuosity in escaping\ncaused the Indians to roar with laughter.  They were about to take away\na boy when Mrs. Slocum pointed to a lame foot, exclaiming: 'The child\nis lame; he can do thee no good.'  They dropped the boy and discovered\nlittle Frances hidden away under the staircase.  It was but the act of\na moment to secure her, and when they bore her away the tender child\ncould but look over the Indian's shoulder and scream 'Mamma!'\n\n\"The alarm soon spread, but the elasticity of a Delaware's step had\ncarried the party away into the mountains.\n\n\"Mr. Slocum was absent at the time of the capture, and upon returning\nat night learned the sad news.\n\n\"The family's trials did not end here.  Miner, who is ever in sympathy\nwith the early annals of Wyoming, thus depicts the scenes which\noccurred afterwards:\n\n\"'The cup of vengeance was not yet full.  December 16th, Mr. Slocum and\nIsaac Tripp, his father-in-law, an aged man, with William Slocum, a\nyouth of nineteen or twenty, were feeding cattle from a stack in the\nmeadow, in sight of the fort, when they were fired upon by Indians.\nMr. Slocum was shot dead; Mr. Tripp wounded, speared, and tomahawked;\nboth were scalped.  William, wounded by a spent ball in the heel,\nescaped and gave the alarm, but the alert and wily foe had retreated to\nhis hiding-place in the mountain.  This deed, bold as it was cruel, was\nperpetrated within the town plot, in the centre of which the fortress\nwas located.  Thus, in little more than a month, Mrs. Slocum had lost a\nbeloved child, carried into captivity; the doorway had been drenched in\nblood by the murder of a member of the family; two others of the\nhousehold had been taken away prisoners; and now her husband and father\nwere both stricken down to the {39} grave, murdered and mangled by the\nmerciless Indians.  Verily, the annals of Indian atrocities, written in\nblood, record few instances of desolation and woe equal to this.'\"\n\n\"In 1784, after peace had settled upon the country, two of the Slocum\nbrothers visited Niagara, in hopes of learning something of the\nwhereabouts of the lost sister, but to no purpose.  Large rewards were\noffered, but money will not extract a confession from an Indian.\n\n\"Little Frances all this time was widely known by many tribes of\nIndians, but she had become one of them, hence the mystery which\nshrouded her fate.\n\n\"The efforts of the family were untiring.  Several trips were made\nwestward, and each resulted in vain.  A large number of Indians of\ndifferent tribes were convened, in 1789, at Tioga Point, to effect a\ntreaty with Colonel Proctor.  This opportunity seemed to be the fitting\none, for one visit could reach several tribes, but Mrs. Slocum, after\nspending weeks of inquiry among them, was again obliged to return home\nin sorrow, and almost despair.\n\n\"The brothers took a journey in 1797, occupying nearly the whole\nsummer, in traversing the wilderness and Indian settlements of the\nwest, but to no purpose.  Once, indeed, a ray of hope seemed to glimmer\nupon the domestic darkness, for a female captive responded to the many\nand urgent inquiries, but Mrs. Slocum discovered at once that it was\nnot her Frances.  The mother of the lost child went down to the grave,\nhaving never heard from her daughter since she was carried away captive.\n\n\"In 1826, Mr. Joseph Slocum, hearing of a prominent Wyandot chief who\nhad a white woman for a wife, repaired to Sandusky, but was\ndisappointed when he beheld the woman, who he knew to a certainty could\n{40} not be Frances.  Hope had become almost abandoned, and the family\nwas allowing the memory of the lost girl to sink into forgetfulness,\nwhen one of those strange freaks of circumstances which seem so\nmysterious to humanity, but which are the ordinary actions of Infinity,\nbrought to light the history and the person of the captive girl of\nWyoming.\n\n\"Colonel Ewing, who was connected with Indian service, had occasion to\nrest with a tribe on the Wabash, when he discovered a woman whose\noutlines and texture convinced him that she must be a white woman,\nthough her face was as red as any squaw's could be.  He made inquiries,\nand she admitted that she had been taken from her parents when she was\nyoung, that her name was Slocum, and that she was now so old that she\nhad no objections to having her relations know of her whereabouts.\n\n\"The Colonel knew full well how anxious many eastern hearts were to\nhear of the lost one of earlier days, and thinking that he would do a\ncharitable service, he addressed the following letter to the\nPost-master of Lancaster, Pennsylvania:\n\n\n\"'LOGANSPORT, INDIANA: _January_ 20, 1835\n\n\"'DEAR SIR,--\n\n\"'In the hope that some good may result from it, I have taken this\nmeans of giving to your fellow-citizens--say the descendants of the\nearly settlers of Susquehanna--the following information: and if there\nbe any now living whose name is Slocum, to them, I hope, the following\nmay be communicated through the public prints of your place.\n\n\"'There is now living near this place, among the Miami tribe of\nIndians, an aged white woman, who a few days ago told me, while I\nlodged in the camp {41} one night, that she was taken away from her\nfather's house, on or near the Susquehanna River, when she was very\nyoung--say from five to eight years old, as she thinks--by the Delaware\nIndians, who were then hostile toward the whites.  She says her\nfather's name was Slocum; that he was a Quaker, rather small in\nstature, and wore a large-brimmed hat; was of sandy hair and light\ncomplexion, and much freckled; that he lived about a half a mile from a\ntown where there was a fort; that they lived in a wooden house of two\nstories high, and had a spring near the house.  She says three\nDelawares came to the house in the daytime, when all were absent but\nherself, and perhaps two other children: her father and brothers were\nabsent making hay.  The Indians carried her off, and she was adopted\ninto a family of Delawares, who raised her and treated her as their own\nchild.  They died about forty years ago, somewhere in Ohio.  She was\nthen married to a Miami, by whom she had four children; two of them are\nnow living--they are both daughters--and she lives with them.  Her\nhusband is dead; she is old and feeble, and thinks she will not live\nlong.\n\n\"'These considerations induced her to give the present history of\nherself, which she would never do before, fearing that her kindred\nwould come and force her away.  She has lived long and happy as an\nIndian, and, but for her colour, would not be suspected of being\nanything else but such.  She is very respectable and wealthy, sober and\nhonest.  Her name is without reproach.  She says her father had a large\nfamily, say eight children in all--six older than herself, one younger,\nas well as she can recollect; and she doubts not that there are still\nliving many of their descendants, but seems to think that all her\nbrothers and sisters must be dead, as she is very old herself, not far\nfrom {42} the age of eighty.  She thinks she was taken prisoner before\nthe last two wars, which must mean the Revolutionary war, as Wayne's\nwar and the late war have been since that one.  She has entirely lost\nher mother tongue, and speaks only in Indian, which I also understand,\nand she gave me a full history of herself.\n\n\"'Her own Christian name she has forgotten, but says her father's name\nwas Slocum, and he was a Quaker.  She also recollects that it was on\nthe Susquehanna River that they lived.  I have thought that from this\nletter you might cause something to be inserted in the newspapers of\nyour county that might possibly catch the eye of some of the\ndescendants of the Slocum family, who have knowledge of a girl having\nbeen carried off by the Indians some seventy years ago.  This they\nmight know from family tradition.  If so, and they will come here, I\nwill carry them where they may see the object of my letter alive and\nhappy, though old and far advanced in life.\n\n\"'I can form no idea whereabouts on the Susquehanna River this family\ncould have lived at that early period, namely, about the time of the\nRevolutionary war, but perhaps you can ascertain more about it.  If so,\nI hope you will interest yourself, and, if possible, let her brothers\nand sisters, if any be alive--if not, their children--know where they\nmay once more see a relative whose fate has been wrapped in mystery for\nseventy years, and for whom her bereaved and afflicted parents\ndoubtless shed many a bitter tear.  They have long since found their\ngraves, though their lost child they never found.  I have been much\naffected with the disclosure, and hope the surviving friends may\nobtain, through your goodness, the information I desire for them.  If I\ncan be of any service to them, they may command me.  In the meantime, I\nhope you will {43} excuse me for the freedom I have taken with you, a\ntotal stranger, and believe me to be, Sir, with much respect, your\nobedient servant,\n\n\"'GEO. W. EWING.'\n\n\n\"This letter met the fate of many others of importance--it was flung\naway as a wild story.\n\n\"The Postmaster died, and had been in his grave time sufficient to\nallow his wife an opportunity of straightening his affairs.  She was in\nthe act of overhauling a mass of papers belonging to her husband's\nbusiness when she encountered the letter of Colonel Ewing.  A woman's\nperceptions are keen and quick, and the tender emotions which were\nbegotten in her mind were but the responses of her better nature.  Her\nsympathy yearned for one of her own sex, and she could do no more than\nproclaim the story to the world.  Accordingly she sent the letter to\nthe editor of the Lancaster _Intelligence_, and therein it was\npublished.\n\n\"Newspapers of limited circulation may not revolutionize matters of\ngreat importance, but they have their sphere in detail, and when the\naggregate is summed they accomplish more than the mighty engines of\nlarger mediums.\n\n\"It was so in this case--the Lancaster paper was about issuing an extra\nfor temperance purposes, and this letter happened to go into the forme\nto help 'fill up,' as poor printers sometimes express it.  The\nLancaster office was not poor, but the foreman did 'fill up' with the\nEwing letter.  Rev. Samuel Bowman, of Wilkes-Barre, by chance saw a\ncopy.  He knew the Slocums, and the entire history of the valley as it\nwas given by tradition.\n\n\"He was not present in the valley at the time, but {44} his heart\nwarmed for the scenes and associations of early times in Wyoming.  He\nmailed one of the papers to a Slocum, a brother of the captive girl,\nand the effect produced was as if by magic.  Everybody was acquainted\nwith the history of Frances, and all were interested in her fate.\nSixty years had gone by since she was carried away, an innocent girl,\nand now the world had found the lost one.\n\n\"There was one mark which could not be mistaken--little Frances when a\nchild had played with a brother in the blacksmith's shop, and by a\ncareless blow from the latter a finger was crushed in such a manner\nthat it never regained its original form.\n\n\"Mr. Isaac Slocum, accompanied by a sister and brother, sought an\ninterview with the tanned woman, through the aid of an interpreter, and\nthe first question asked, after an examination of the finger, was: 'How\ncame that finger jambed?'  The reply was convincing and conclusive: 'My\nbrother struck it with a hammer in the shop, a long time ago, before I\nwas carried away.'\n\n\"Here then at last, by this unmistakable token, the lost was found.\nHer memory proved to be unerring; the details of events sixty years old\nwere perfect, and given in such a manner as to awaken in the hearts of\nthe Slocum family warm emotions for the withered old woman.  Her life,\nalthough rude, had been a happy one, and no inducements were strong\nenough to persuade her to leave the camp-fires of her adoption.\n\n\"By Act of Congress, Ma-con-a-qua, the Indian title of Frances Slocum,\nwas granted one mile square of the reservation which was appointed to\nthe Indians of Indiana, west of the Mississippi--to be held by herself\nduring her life, and to revert to her heirs forever.  She died March\n9th, 1847, and was given Christian burial {45} in a beautiful spot\nwhere the romantic waters of the Missisinewa and Wabash rivers join\ntheir ripples on the way to the sea.\n\n\"The story of the captive girl of Wyoming has been breathed around the\nhearths of the entire Christian world as one of the most fruitful in\nromance and song.\"\n\n\n\nDwellings\n\nThe habitations of the Indians of North America may be classed as\ncommunity houses (using the term 'community' in the sense of comprising\nmore than one family) and single or family dwellings.  \"The house\narchitecture of the northern tribes is of little importance, in itself\nconsidered; but as an outcome of their social condition, and for\ncomparison with that of the southern village Indians, is highly\nimportant.  The typical community houses, as those of the Iroquois\ntribes, were 50 to 100 feet long by 16 to 18 wide, with frame of poles,\nand with sides and triangular roof covered with bark, usually of the\nelm.  The interior was divided into compartments, and a smoke-hole was\nleft in the roof.  A Mohican house, similar in form, 14 by 60 feet, had\nthe sides and roof made of rushes and chestnut bark, with an opening\nalong the top of the roof from end to end.  The Mandan circular\ncommunity house was usually about 14 feet in diameter.  It was\nsupported by two series of posts and cross-beams, and the wide roof and\nsloping sides were covered with willow or brush matting and earth.  The\nfireplace was in the centre.  Morgan thinks that the oblong, round-roof\nhouses of the Virginia and North Carolina tribes, seen and described by\nCaptain John Smith and drawn by John White, were of the community\norder.  That some of them housed a number of families is distinctly\n{46} stated.  Morgan includes also in the community class the circular,\ndome-shaped earth lodges of Sacramento Valley and the L-form,\ntent-shaped, thatched lodges of the higher areas of California; but the\nleading examples of community houses are the large, sometimes massive,\nmany-celled clusters of stone or adobe in New Mexico and Arizona known\nas _pueblos_.  These dwellings vary in form, some of those built in\nprehistoric times being semicircular, others oblong, around or\nenclosing a court or _plaza_.  These buildings were constructed usually\nin terrace form, the lower having a one-story tier of apartments, the\nnext two stories, and so on to the uppermost tier, which sometimes\nconstituted a seventh story.  The masonry consisted usually of small\nflat stones laid in adobe mortar and chinked with spalls; but sometimes\nlarge balls of adobe were used as building stones, or a double row of\nwattling was erected and filled in with grout, solidly tamped.  By the\nlatter method, known as _pis\u00e9_ construction, walls 5 to 7 feet thick\nwere sometimes built.  The outer walls of the lowest story were pierced\nonly by small openings, access to the interior being gained by means of\nladders, which could be drawn up if necessary, and of a hatchway in the\nroof.  It is possible that some of the elaborate structures of Mexico\nwere developed from such hive-like buildings as those of the typical\n_pueblos_, the cells increasing in size toward the south, as suggested\nby Bandelier.  Chimneys appear to have been unknown in North America\nuntil after contact of the natives with Europeans, the hatchway in the\nroof serving the double purpose of entrance and flue.  Other forms,\nsome 'community' and others not, are the following: The Tlingit, Haida,\nand some other tribes build substantial rectangular houses, with sides\nand ends formed of planks, and with the fronts elaborately carved and\n{47} painted with symbolic figures.  Directly in front of the house a\ntotem pole is placed, and near by a memorial pole is erected.  These\nhouses are sometimes 40 by 100 feet in the Nootka and Salish regions,\nand are occupied by a number of families.  Formerly some of the Haida\nhouses are said to have been built on platforms supported by posts.\nSome of these seen by such early navigators as Vancouver were 25 or 30\nfeet above ground, access being had by notched logs serving as ladders.\nAmong the north-western Indian tribes, as the Nez Perc\u00e9s, the dwelling\nwas a frame of poles covered with rush matting or with buffalo or elk\nskins.  The houses of the Californian tribes were rectangular or\ncircular; of the latter, some were conical, others dome-shaped.  There\nwas also formerly in use in various parts of California, and to some\nextent on the interior plateaus, a semi-subterranean earth-covered\nlodge known amongst the Maidu as _kum_.  The most primitive abodes were\nthose of the Paiute and the Cocopa, consisting simply of brush shelters\nfor summer, and for winter of a framework of poles bent together at the\ntop and covered with brush, bark, and earth.  Somewhat similar\nstructures are erected by the Pueblos as farm shelters, and more\nelaborate houses of the same general type are built by the Apache of\nArizona.  As indicated by arch\u00e6ological researches, the circular\nwigwam, with sides of bark or mats, built over a shallow excavation in\nthe soil, and with earth thrown against the base, appears to have been\nthe usual form of dwelling in the Ohio valley and the immediate valley\nof the Mississippi in prehistoric and early historic times.  Another\nkind of dwelling, in use in Arkansas before the Discovery, was a\nrectangular structure with two rooms in front and one in the rear; the\nwalls were of upright posts thickly plastered with clay on a sort of\n{48} wattle.  With the exception of the _pueblo_ structures, buildings\nof stone or adobe were unknown until recent times.  The dwellings of\nsome of the tribes of the plains, such as the Sioux, Arapaho, Comanche,\nand Kiowa, were generally portable skin tents or _tipis_, but those of\nthe Omaha, Osage, and some others were more substantial.  The dwellings\nof the Omaha, according to Miss Fletcher, 'are built by setting\ncarefully selected and prepared posts together in a circle, and binding\nfirmly with willows, then backing them with dried grass, and covering\nthe entire structure with closely packed sods.  The roof is made in the\nsame manner, having an additional support of an inner circle of posts,\nwith crochets to hold the cross-logs which act as beams to the\ndome-shaped roof.  A circular opening in the centre serves as a\nchimney, and also to give light to the interior of the dwelling; a sort\nof sail is rigged and fastened outside of this opening to guide the\nsmoke and prevent it from annoying the occupants of the lodge.  The\nentrance passage-way, which usually faces eastward, is from 6 to 10\nfeet long, and is built in the same manner as the lodge.'  An important\ntype is the Wichita grass hut, circular dome-shaped with conical top.\nThe frame is built somewhat in panels formed by ribs and cross-bars;\nthese are covered with grass tied on shingle fashion.  These grass\nlodges vary in diameter from 40 to 50 feet.  The early Florida houses,\naccording to Le Moyne's illustrations published by De Bry, were either\ncircular with dome-like roof, or oblong with rounded roof, like those\nof Secotan in North Carolina, as shown in John White's figures.  The\nframe was of poles covered with bark, or the latter was sometimes\nthatched.  The Chippeway usually constructed a conical or hemispherical\nframework of poles, covered with bark.  Formerly caves and\nrock-shelters {49} were used in some sections as abodes, and in the\nPueblo region houses were formerly constructed in natural recesses or\nshelters in the cliffs, whence the designation cliff-dwellings.\nSimilar habitations are still in use to some extent by the Tarahumare\nof Chihuahua, Mexico.  Cavate houses with several rooms were also hewn\nin the sides of soft volcanic cliffs; so numerous are these in Verde\nValley, Arizona, and the Jemez plateau, New Mexico, that for miles the\ncliff-face is honeycombed with them.  As a rule the women were the\nbuilders of the houses where wood was the structural material, but the\nmen assisted with the heavier work.  In the southern states it was a\ncommon custom to erect mounds as foundations for council-houses, for\nthe chief's dwelling, or for structures designed for other official\nuses.  The erection of houses, especially those of a permanent\ncharacter, was usually attended with great ceremony, particularly when\nthe time for dedication came.  The construction of the Navaho _hogan_,\nfor example, was done in accordance with fixed rules, as was the\ncutting and sewing of the _tipi_ among the Plains tribes, while the new\nhouses erected during the year were usually dedicated with ceremony and\nfeasting.  Although the better types of houses were symmetrical and\nwell-proportioned, their builders had not learned the use of the square\nor the plumb-line.  The unit of measure was also apparently unknown,\nand even in the best types of ancient _pueblo_ masonry the joints of\nthe stonework were not 'broken.'  The Indian names for some of their\nstructures, as _tipi, wigwam, wickiup, hogan_, have come into use to a\ngreat extent by English-speaking people.\"[12]\n\n\n[12] _Bulletin 30_, Bureau of American Ethnology.\n\n\n[Illustration: An Earth Lodge.  By permission of the Bureau of American\nEthnology]\n\n{50}\n\nTribal Law and Custom\n\nThere is but little exact data available respecting the social polity\nof the Red Race of North America.  Kinship appears to have been the\nbasis of government among most of the tribes, and descent was traced\nboth through the male and female line, according to locality.  In most\ntribes military and civil functions were carefully distinguished from\neach other, the civil government being lodged in the hands of chiefs of\nvarying grades.  These chiefs were elected by a tribal council, and\nwere not by virtue of their office military leaders.  Every village or\ngroup was represented in the general council by a head-man, who was\nsometimes chosen by the priests.  Secret societies exercised a powerful\nsway.\n\n\n\nHunting\n\nHunting was almost the sole occupation of the males of the Indian\ntribes.  So much were they dependent on the produce of the chase for\ntheir livelihood that they developed the pursuit of game into an art.\nIn commerce they confined themselves to trading in skins and furs; but\nthey disposed of these only when their personal or tribal requirements\nhad been fully satisfied.  When the tribe had returned from its summer\nhunting expedition, and after the spoils of the chase had been\nfaithfully distributed among its members--a tribal custom which was\nrigorously adhered to--ceremonial rites were engaged in and certain\nsacred formul\u00e6 were observed.  In hunting game the Indians usually\nerected pens or enclosures, into which the beasts were driven and\nslaughtered.  Early writers believed that they fired the prairie grass\nand pressed in upon the panic-stricken herd; but this is contradicted\nby the Indians {51} themselves, who assert that fire would be injurious\nto the fur of the animals hunted.  Indeed, such an act, causing a herd\nto scatter, was punishable by death.  In exceptional cases, however,\nthe practice might be resorted to in order to drive the animals into\nthe woods.  In pursuing their prey it was customary for the tribe to\nform a circle, and thus prevent escape.  The most favourable months for\nhunting were June, July, and August, when the animals were fat and the\nfur of rich quality.  To the hunter who had slain the animal the tribe\nawarded the skin and part of the carcass.  The other portions were\nusually divided among the inhabitants of the village.  As a result of\nthis method of sharing there was very little waste.  The flesh, which\nwas cut into thin slices, was hung up to dry in the sun on long poles,\nand rolled up and stored for winter use.  The pelts were used in the\nmaking of clothing, shields, and bags.  Ropes, tents, and other\narticles were also prepared from the skins.  Bowstrings and\nsewing-thread were made from the sinews, and drinking-cups were shaped\nout of the larger bones.\n\nAmong the methods employed in capturing game was the setting of traps,\ninto which the animal was decoyed.  A more primitive method of taking\nanimals by the hand was largely in use.  The hunter would steal upon\nhis prey in the dead of night, using the utmost cunning and agility,\nand seize upon the unwary bird or sleeping animal.  The Indians were\nskilled in climbing and diving, and, employing the art of mimicry, in\nwhich they attained great proficiency, they would surround a herd of\nanimals and drive them into a narrow gorge out of which they could not\nescape.  Their edged weapons, fashioned from stone, bones, and reeds,\nand used with great skill, assisted them {52} effectually when brought\nto close quarters with their prey.  Dogs, although not regularly\ntrained, they found of much value in the hunt, especially for tracking\ndown the more swift and savage beasts.  With the assistance of fire the\nhunter's conquest over the animal became assured.  His prey would be\ndriven out of its hiding-place by smoke, or the torch would dazzle it.\nDrugging animals with poisonous roots and polluting streams to capture\nfish were largely practised.  The use of nets and scoops for taking\nanimals from the water and the fashioning of rakes for securing worms\nfrom the earth were other methods employed to obtain food.  The use of\nthe canoe gave rise to the invention of the harpoon.\n\nThe wandering habits of their game and the construction of fences were\nobstacles which strengthened their perception and gave excellent\ntraining for the hunt.  The variety of circumstances with which they\nhad to meet caused them to prepare or devise the many weapons and\nsnares to which they resorted.  Certain periods or seasons of the year\nwere observed for the hunting of particular animals, each of which\nfigured as a token or heraldic symbol of a tribe or _gens_.\n\nSchoolcraft, in an accurate and entertaining account of Indian hunting\nin his _Historical and Statistical Information respecting the Indian\nTribes_, says:\n\n\"The simplest of all species of hunting is perhaps the art of hunting\nthe deer.  This animal, it is known, is endowed with the fatal\ncuriosity of stopping in its flight to turn round and look at the\nobject that disturbed it; and as this is generally done within\nrifle-range, the habit is indulged at the cost of its life; whereas, if\nit trusted unwaveringly to its heels, it would escape.\n\n\"One of the most ingenious modes of hunting the {53} deer is that of\n_fire-hunting_, which is done by descending a stream in a canoe at\nnight with a flambeau.  In the latter part of spring and summer the\nIndian hunters on the small interior rivers take the bark of the elm or\ncedar, peeling it off whole, for five or six feet in length, and,\nturning it inside out, paint the outer surface black with charcoal.  It\nis then pierced with an orifice to fit it on the bow of the canoe, so\nas to hide the sitter; then a light or torch is made by small rolls,\ntwo or three feet long, of twisted birch bark (which is very\ninflammable), and this is placed on the extreme bow of the boat, a\nlittle in front of the bark screen, in which position it throws its\nrays strongly forward, leaving all behind in darkness.  The deer, whose\neyes are fixed on the light as it floats down, is thus brought within\nrange of the gun.  Swans are hunted in the same way.\n\n\"The mazes of the forest are, however, the Indian hunter's peculiar\nfield of action.  No footprint can be impressed there with which he is\nnot familiar.  In his temporary journeys in the search after game he\ngenerally encamps early, and sallies out at the first peep of day on\nhis hunting tour.  If he is in a forest country he chooses his ambush\nin valleys, for the plain reason that all animals, as night approaches,\ncome into the valleys.  In ascending these he is very careful to take\nthat side of a stream which throws a shadow from it, so that he may\nhave a clear view of all that passes on the opposite side, while he is\nhimself screened by the shadow.  But he is particularly on the alert to\ntake this precaution if he is apprehensive of lurking foes.  The tracks\nof an animal are the subject of the minutest observation; they tell him\nat a glance the species of animal that has passed, the time that has\nelapsed, and the course it has pursued.  If the surface of the earth be\nmoist, the indications are {54} plain; if it be hard or rocky, they are\ndrawn from less palpable but scarcely less unmistakable signs.\n\n\"One of the largest and most varied days' hunt of which we are apprised\nwas by a noted Chippeway hunter, named Nokay, on the upper Mississippi,\nwho, tradition asserts, in one day, near the mouth of the Crow Wing\nRiver, killed sixteen elk, four buffaloes, five deer, three bears, one\nlynx, and a porcupine.  This feat has doubtless been exceeded in the\nbuffalo ranges of the south-west, where the bow and arrow is known to\nhave been so dexterously and rapidly applied in respect to that animal;\nbut it is seldom that the chase in forest districts is as successful as\nin this instance.\n\n\"On one occasion the celebrated chief Wabojeeg went out early in the\nmorning, near the banks of Lake Superior, to set martin-traps.  He had\nset about forty, and was returning to his wigwam, armed with his\nhatchet and knife only, when he encountered a buck moose.  He sheltered\nhimself behind trees, retreating; but as the animal pursued, he picked\nup a pole, and, unfastening his moccasin-strings, tied the knife firmly\nto the pole.  He then took a favourable position behind a tree and\nstabbed the animal several times in the throat and breast.  At length\nit fell, and he cut out and carried home the tongue as a trophy of his\nprowess.\n\n\"In 1808, Gitshe Iawba, of Kewywenon, Lake Superior, killed a\nthree-year-old moose of three hundred pounds weight.  It was in the\nmonth of February, and the snow was so soft, from a partial thaw, that\nthe _agim_, or snow-shoes, sank deep at every step.  After cutting up\nthe animal and drawing out the blood, he wrapped the flesh in the skin,\nand, putting himself under it, rose up erect.  Finding he could bear\nthe weight, he then took a litter of nine pups in a blanket upon his\nright {55} arm, threw his wallet on top of his head, and, putting his\ngun over his left shoulder, walked six miles to his wigwam.  This was\nthe strongest man that has appeared in the Chippeway nation in modern\ntimes.\n\n\"In 1827, Annimikens, of Red River of the North, was one day quite\nengrossed in looking out a path for his camp to pass, when he was\nstartled by the sharp snorting of a grizzly bear.  He immediately\npresented his gun and attempted to fire; but, the priming not igniting,\nhe was knocked by the animal, the next instant, several steps backward,\nand his gun driven full fifteen feet through the air.  The bear then\nstruck him on one cheek and tore away a part of it.  The little\nconsciousness he had left told him to be passive, and manifest no signs\nof life.  Fortunately, the beast had satiated his appetite on the\ncarcass of a buffalo near by.  Having clawed his victim at pleasure, he\nthen took him by the neck, dragged him into the bushes, and there left\nhim.  Yet from such a wound the Indian recovered, though a disfigured\nman, and lived to tell me the story with his own lips.\n\n\"Relations of such hunting exploits and adventures are vividly repeated\nin the Indian country, and constitute a species of renown which is\neagerly sought by the young.\"\n\n\n\nCostume\n\nThe picturesque costume of the Red Man is so original in character as\nto deserve more than passing mention.  An authority on Indian costume,\nwriting in _Bulletin 30_ of the Bureau of American Ethnology, says:\n\n\"The tribes of Northern America belong in general to the wholly clothed\npeoples, the exceptions being those inhabiting the warmer regions of\nthe southern {56} United States and the Pacific coast, who were\nsemi-clothed.  Tanned skin of the deer family was generally the\nmaterial for clothing throughout the greater part of the country.  The\nhide of the buffalo was worn for robes by tribes of the plains, and\neven for dresses and leggings by older people, but the leather was too\nharsh for clothing generally, while elk- or moose-skin, although soft,\nwas too thick.  Fabrics of bark, hair, fur, mountain-sheep wool, and\nfeathers were made in the North Pacific, Pueblo, and southern regions,\nand cotton has been woven by the Hopi from ancient times.  Climate,\nenvironment, elevation, and oceanic currents determined the materials\nused for clothing as well as the demand for clothing.  Sinew from the\ntendons of the larger animals was the usual sewing material, but fibres\nof plants, especially the agave, were also employed.  Bone awls were\nused in sewing; bone needles were rarely employed and were too large\nfor fine work.  The older needlework is of exceptionally good character\nand shows great skill with the awl.  Unlike many other arts, sewing was\npractised by both sexes, and each sex usually made its own clothing.\nThe typical and more familiar costume of the Indian man was of tanned\nbuckskin, and consisted of a shirt, a breech-cloth, leggings tied to a\nbelt or waist-strap, and low moccasins.  The shirt, which hung free\nover the hips, was provided with sleeves and was designed to be drawn\nover the head.  The woman's costume differed from that of the man in\nthe length of the shirt, which had short sleeves hanging loosely over\nthe upper arm, and in the absence of the breech-cloth.  Women also wore\nthe belt to confine the garment at the waist.  Robes of skin, woven\nfabrics, or of feathers were also worn, but blankets were substituted\nfor these later.  The costume presented tribal differences in cut,\ncolour, and ornamentation.  The free edges were {57} generally fringed,\nand quill embroidery and beadwork, painting, scalp-locks, tails of\nanimals, feathers, claws, hoofs, shells, etc., were applied as\nornaments or charms.  The typical dress of the Pueblo Indians is\ngenerally similar to that of the Plains tribes, except that it is made\nlargely of woven fabrics.\n\n\"Among the Pacific coast tribes, and those along the Mexican border,\nthe Gulf, and the Atlantic coast, the customary garment of women was a\nfringe-like skirt of bark, cord, strung seeds, or peltry, worn around\nthe loins.  In certain seasons or during special occupations only the\nloin-band was worn.  For occasional use in cooler weather a skin robe\nor cape was thrown about the shoulders, or, under exceptional\nconditions, a large robe woven of strips of rabbit-skin.  Ceremonial\ncostume was much more elaborate than that for ordinary wear.  Moccasins\nand leggings were worn throughout much of this area, but in the warmer\nparts and in California their use was unusual.  Some tribes near the\nMexican boundary wear sandals, and sandal-wearing tribes once ranged\nwidely in the south-west.  These have also been found in Kentucky\ncaverns.  Hats, usually of basketry, were worn by many Pacific coast\ntribes.  Mittens were used by the Eskimo and other tribes of the far\nnorth.  Belts of various materials and ornamentation not only confined\nthe clothing, but supported pouches, trinket-bags, paint-bags, etc.\nLarger pouches and pipe-bags of fur or deer-skin, beaded or ornamented\nwith quill-work, and of plain skin, netting, or woven stuff, were slung\nfrom the shoulder.  Necklaces, earrings, charms, and bracelets in\ninfinite variety formed a part of the clothing, and the wrist-guard to\nprotect the arm from the recoil of the bowstring was general.\n\n\"Shortly after the advent of whites Indian costume {58} was profoundly\nmodified over a vast area of America by the copying of European dress\nand the use of traders' stuffs.  Knowledge of prehistoric and early\nhistoric primitive textile fabrics has been derived from impressions of\nfabrics on pottery, and from fabrics themselves that have been\npreserved by charring in fire, contact with copper, or protection from\nthe elements in caves.\n\n[Illustration: Omaha Woman's Costume.  By permission of the Bureau of\nAmerican Ethnology]\n\n\"A synopsis of the costumes worn by tribes living in the several\ngeographical regions of northern America follows.  The list is\nnecessarily incomplete, for on account of the abandonment of tribal\ncostumes the data are chiefly historical.\n\n\n\"ATHAPASCAN.  _Mackenzie and Yukon_--Men: Shirt-coat,\nlegging-moccasins, breech-cloth, hat and hood.  Women: Long shirt-coat,\nlegging-moccasins, belt.\n\n\"ALGONQUIAN-IROQUOIS.  _Northern_--Men: Robe, shirt-coat, long-coat,\ntrousers, leggings, moccasins, breech-cloth, turban.  _Virginia_--Men\nand women: Cloak, waist-garment, moccasins, sandals (?), breech-cloth\n(?).  _Western_--Men: Robe, long dress-shirt, long leggings, moccasins,\nbandolier-bag.  Women: Long dress-shirt, short leggings, moccasins,\nbelt.  _Arctic_--Men: Long coat, open in front, short breeches,\nleggings, moccasins, gloves or mittens, cap or headdress.  Women: Robe,\nshirt-dress, leggings, moccasins, belt, cap, and sometimes a\nshoulder-mantle.\n\n\"SOUTHERN or MUSKHOGEAN.  _Seminole_--Men: Shirt, over-shirt, leggings,\nmoccasins, breech-cloth, belt, turban.  Formerly the Gulf tribes wore\nrobe, waist-garment, and occasionally moccasins.\n\n\"PLAINS.  Men: Buffalo robe, shirt to knees or longer, breech-cloth,\nthigh-leggings, moccasins, headdress.  Women: Long shirt-dress with\nshort ample cape sleeves, belt, leggings to the knees, moccasins.\n\n\"NORTH PACIFIC.  _Chilkat_--Men: Blanket or bark mat robe, shirt-coat\n(rare), legging-moccasins, basket hat.  Women: Tanned skin\nshoulder-robe, shirt-dress with sleeves, fringed apron, leggings (?),\nmoccasins, breech-cloth (?).\n\n\"WASHINGTON-COLUMBIA, _Salish_--Men: Robe, head-band, and, rarely,\nshirt-coat, leggings, moccasins, breech-cloth.  Women: Long\nshirt-dress, apron, and, rarely, leggings, breech-cloth, moccasins.\n\n{59}\n\n\"SHOSHONEAN.  Same as the Plains tribes.\n\n\"CALIFORNIA-OREGON.  _Hupa_--Men: Robe, and waist-garment on occasion,\nmoccasins (rarely); men frequently and old men generally went entirely\nnaked.  Women: Waist-garment and narrow aprons; occasionally robe-cape,\nlike Pueblo, over shoulders or under arms, over breast; basket cap;\nsometimes moccasins.  _Central California_--Men: Usually naked; robe,\nnetwork cap, moccasins, and breech-cloth occasionally.  Women:\nWaist-skirt of vegetal fibre or buckskin, and basketry cap; robe and\nmoccasins on occasion.\n\n\"SOUTH-WESTERN.  _Pueblo_--Men: Blanket or rabbit-skin or feather robe,\nshirt with sleeves, short breeches partly open on outer sides,\nbreech-cloth, leggings to knees, moccasins, hair-tape, and head-band.\nWomen: Blanket fastened over one shoulder, extending to knees; small\ncalico shawl over blanket thrown over shoulders; legging-moccasins,\nbelt.  Sandals formerly worn in this area.  Snow-moccasins of fur\nsometimes worn in winter.  _Apache_--Men: Same as on plains.  Women:\nSame, except legging-moccasins with shield toe.  _Navaho_--Now like\nPueblo; formerly like Plains tribes.\n\n\"GILA-SONORA.  _Cocopa and Mohave_--Men: Breech-cloth, sandals,\nsometimes head-band.  Women: Waist-garments, usually of fringed bark,\nfront and rear.  _Pima_--Same as Plains; formerly cotton robe,\nwaist-cloth and sandals.\"\n\n\n\nFace-Painting\n\nA first-hand account of how the Indian brave decorated his face cannot\nbut prove of interest.  Says a writer who dwelt for some time among the\nSioux:[13]\n\n\n[13] J. G. Kohl, _Kitchi-gami_ (1860).\n\n\n\"Daily, when I had the opportunity, I drew the patterns their faces\ndisplayed, and at length obtained a collection, whose variety even\nastonished myself.  The strange combinations produced in the\nkaleidoscope may be termed weak when compared to what an Indian's\nimagination produces on his forehead, nose, and cheek.  I will try to\ngive some account of them as far as words will reach.  Two things\nstruck me most in their arrangement of colour.  First, the fact that\nthey did not trouble themselves at all about the natural divisions {60}\nof the face; and, secondly, the extraordinary mixture of the graceful\nand the grotesque.  At times, it is true, they did observe those\nnatural divisions produced by nose, eyes, mouth, etc.  The eyes were\nsurrounded with regular coloured circles; yellow or black stripes\nissued harmoniously and equidistant from the mouth; over the cheeks ran\na semicircle of green dots, the ears forming the centre.  At times,\ntoo, the forehead was traversed by lines running parallel to the\nnatural contour of that feature; this always looked somewhat human, so\nto speak, because the fundamental character of the face was unaltered.\nUsually, however, these regular patterns do not suit the taste of the\nIndians.  They like contrasts, and frequently divide the face into two\nhalves, which undergo different treatment; one will be dark--say black\nor blue--but the other quite light, yellow, bright red, or white: one\nwill be crossed by thick lines made by the forefingers, while the other\nis arabesque, with extremely fine lines, produced by the aid of a brush.\n\n\"This division is produced in two different ways.  The line of\ndemarcation sometimes runs down the nose, so that the right cheek and\nside are buried in gloom, while the left looks like a flower-bed in the\nsunshine.  At times, though, they draw the line across the nose, so\nthat the eyes glisten out of the dark colour, while all beneath the\nnose is bright and lustrous.  It seems as if they wished to represent\non their faces the different phases of the moon.  I frequently inquired\nwhether there was any significance in these various patterns, but was\nassured it was a mere matter of taste.  They were simple arabesques,\nlike their squaws' work on the moccasins, girdles, tobacco-pouches, etc.\n\n\"Still there is a certain symbolism in the use of the colours.  Thus,\nred generally typifies joy and festivity; {61} and black mourning.\nWhen any very melancholy death takes place, they rub a handful of\ncharcoal over the entire face.  If the deceased is only a distant\nrelative, a mere trellis-work of black lines is painted on the face;\nthey have also a half-mourning, and only paint half the face black.\nRed is not only their joy, but also their favourite colour.  They\ngenerally cover their face with a coating of bright red, on which the\nother colours are laid; for this purpose they employ vermilion, which\ncomes from China, and is brought them by the Indian traders.  However,\nthis red is by no means _de rigueur_.  Frequently the ground colour is\na bright yellow, for which they employ chrome-yellow, obtained from the\ntrader.\n\n\"They are also very partial to Prussian blue, and employ this colour\nnot only on their faces, but as a type of peace on their pipes; and as\nthe hue of the sky, on their graves.  It is a very curious fact, by the\nway, that hardly any Indian can distinguish blue from green.  I have\nseen the sky which they represent on their graves by a round arch, as\nfrequently of one colour as the other.  In the Sioux language _toya_\nsignifies both green and blue; and a much-travelled Jesuit Father told\nme that among many Indian tribes the same confusion prevails.  I have\nalso been told that tribes have their favourite colours, and I am\ninclined to believe it, although I was not able to recognize any such\nrule.  Generally all Indians seem to hold their own native copper skin\nin special affection, and heighten it with vermilion when it does not\nseem to them sufficiently red.\n\n\"I discovered during a journey I took among the Sioux that there is a\ncertain national style in this face-painting.  They were talking of a\npoor Indian who had gone mad, and when I asked some of his {62}\ncountrymen present in what way he displayed his insanity, they said,\n'Oh, he dresses himself up so funnily with feathers and shells; he\npaints his face so comically that it is enough to make one die of\nlaughing.'  This was said to me by persons so overladen with feathers,\nshells, green and vermilion, Prussian blue, and chrome-yellow, that I\ncould hardly refrain from smiling.  Still, I drew the conclusion from\nit that there must be something conventional and typical in their\nvariegated style which might be easily infringed.\"\n\n\n\nIndian Art\n\nIf the Red Race of North America did not produce artistic work of an\nexalted order it at least evolved a distinctive and peculiar type of\nart.  Some of the drawings and paintings on the walls of the brick\nerections of the southern tribes and the heraldic and religious symbols\npainted on the skin-covered lodges of the Plains people are intricate\nand rhythmic in plan and brilliant in colouring.  The houses of the\nnorth-west coast tribes, built entirely of wood, are supported by\npillars elaborately carved and embellished to represent the totem or\ntribal symbol of the owner.  On both the interior and exterior walls\nbrilliantly coloured designs, usually scenes from Indian mythology, are\nfound.\n\nThe decoration of earthenware was and is common to most of the tribes\nof North America, and is effected both by carving and stamping.  It is\nin the art of carving that the Indian race appears to have achieved its\ngreatest \u00e6sthetic triumph.  Many carved objects are exceedingly\nelaborate and intricate in design, and some of the work on stone pipes,\nmasks, and household utensils and ornaments has won the highest\nadmiration of European masters of the art.  Indeed, {63} many of the\npipes and claystone carvings of the Chimpseyans and Clallams of\nVancouver, and the Chippeways and Babeens, are by no means inferior to\nthe best specimens of European medi\u00e6val carved work.\n\nIn the potter's art the Indian people often exhibit great taste, and\nthe tribes of the Mississippi valley and the Pueblo Indians had made\nexceptional progress in plaster design.  As has already been mentioned,\nthe mound-builders displayed considerable skill in metalwork, and the\nstamped plates of copper taken from the earthen pyramids which they\nraised strikingly illustrate the fact that Indian art is the growth and\noutcome of centuries of native effort and by no means a thing of\nyesterday.\n\nIn weaving, needlework of all kinds, bead-work, and feather-work the\nIndians show great taste.  Most of the designs they employ are\ngeometric in plan.  In feather-work especially the aboriginal peoples\nof the whole American continent excel.  Rank was indicated among the\nPlains tribes either by the variety and number of feathers worn or by\nthe manner of mounting or notching them.\n\nThe aboriginal art of North America is in the highest degree symbolic\nand mythologic.  It is thus entirely removed from any taint of\nmaterialism, and had it been permitted to evolve upon its own peculiar\nlines it might have developed a great measure of idealistic excellence.\n\n\n\nWarfare\n\nIn the art of guerrilla warfare the Indians have always shown\nexceptional skill.  Armed with bow and arrow, a war-club, or a\ntomahawk, they carried on a fierce resistance to the incursions of the\nwhite man.  These weapons were artistically shaped and moulded, and\n{64} were eminently suited to their owner's mode of fighting.  But as\nthey came more into contact with the whites the natives displayed a\nparticular keenness to obtain firearms and gunpowder, steel knives and\nhatchets.  They dispensed with their own rude if effective implements\nof war, and, obtaining the coveted weapons by making successful raids\nupon the camps of their enemies, they set themselves to learn how to\nuse them.  So mysterious did gunpowder appear to them that they\nbelieved it to possess the property of reproduction, and planted it in\nthe earth in the hope that it would yield a supply for their future\nneeds.  In attacking the settlers they used many ingenious artifices to\nentrap or ambuscade them.  These methods, naturally, proved successful\nagainst the whites, who had yet to learn Indian war-craft, but soon the\nsettlers learned to adopt the same devices.  The Indian would imitate\nthe cry of the wild goose to attract the white hunter into the woods,\nwhere he would spring upon him.  He would also reverse his snow-shoes\nin winter, to make it appear to the settler that he was retreating.\nCovering themselves with twigs to look like a bush was another method\nadopted by Indian spies.  Occasionally they would approach the white\nman apparently in a spirit of friendliness, only to commit some act of\ntreachery.  Block-houses were built by the settlers as a means of\ndefence against Indian nocturnal surprises, and into these the women\nand children were hurried for safety.  But the perseverance of the\nwhite man and the declining birth-rate of the Indian tribes began to\ncreate a new situation.  Driven repeatedly from one part of the country\nto another, and confined to a limited territory in which to live, hunt,\nand cultivate the soil, the Indians finally adopted a less aggressive\nattitude to those whom they at first, and {65} for some time after\ntheir settlement, regarded with suspicion and resentment.\n\nAlthough the methods of warfare differed with the various tribes, the\ngeneral scheme of operations was usually dictated by the council of\nchiefs, in whose hands the making of peace and war also lay.  The\ncampaign was generally prefaced by many eloquent harangues from the\nleaders, who gradually wrought the braves into a fury of resentment\nagainst their enemies.  The ceremony of the war-dance was then\nproceeded with.  Ranged in a circle, the warriors executed a kind of\nshuffle, occasionally slowly gyrating, with gestures and movements\nobviously intended to imitate those of some bird or beast,[14] and\ngrunting, clucking, and snarling the while.  This ceremony was always\nundertaken in full panoply of war-paint and feathers.  Subsequently the\nbraves betook themselves to the 'war-path.'  If the campaign was\nundertaken in wooded country, they marched in single file.[15]  The\nmost minute attention was paid to their surroundings to prevent\nambuscade.  The slightest sound, even the snapping of a twig, was\nsufficient to arrest their attention and cause them to halt.  Alert,\nsuspicious, and with every nerve strung to the highest point of\ntension, they proceeded with such exceeding caution that to surprise\nthem was almost impossible.  Should a warrior become isolated from the\nmain body and be attacked and fatally wounded, he regarded it as\nessential to the safety of his comrades to utter a piercing shriek,\nwhich reverberated far through the forest ways and placed the rest of\nthe band on their guard.  This was known as the 'death-whoop.'\n\n\n[14] Perhaps their personal or tribal totems.  See \"Totemism,\" pp.\n80-86.\n\n[15] Hence the expression 'Indian file.'\n\n\nWhen the campaign was undertaken in prairie or open {66} country, the\nmethod usually employed was that of night attack; but if for any reason\nthis could not be successfully made, a large circle was drawn round the\nplace to be assailed, and gradually narrowed, the warriors who composed\nit creeping and wriggling through the grass, and when sufficiently near\nrising and rushing the camp or fort with wild war-cries.  If a stout\ndefence with firearms was anticipated, the warriors would surround the\nobjective of attack on horseback, and ride round and round the fated\nposition, gradually picking off the defenders with their rifles or\narrows as the opportunity presented itself.  Once the place was stormed\nthe Indian brave neither asked nor gave quarter, at least so far as its\nmale defenders were concerned.  These were at once slain and scalped,\nthe latter sanguinary process being effected by the brave placing his\nknees on his enemy's shoulders, describing a rapid circle with his\nknife in the centre of the victim's head, seizing the portion of the\nscalp thus loosened, and quickly detaching it.\n\nSchoolcraft, dealing with the subject of Indian warfare, a matter upon\nwhich he was well qualified to speak, writes:[16]\n\n\n[16] _Historical and Statistical Information respecting the Indian\nTribes_.\n\n\n\"Success in war is to the Indian the acme of glory, and to learn its\narts the object of his highest attainment.  The boys and youths acquire\nthe accomplishment at an early period of dancing the war-dance; and\nalthough they are not permitted to join its fascinating circle till\nthey assume the envied rank of actual warriors, still their early\nsports and mimic pastimes are imitations of its various movements and\npostures.  The envied eagle's feather is the prize.  For this the\nIndian's talent, subtlety, endurance, bravery, persevering fasts, and\nwhat may be called religious penances and observances are made.\n\n\n{67}\n\n\"The war-path is taken by youths at an early age.  That age may be\nstated, for general comparison, to be sixteen; but, without respect to\nexact time, it is always after the primary fast, during which the youth\nchooses his personal guardian or _monedo_--an age when he first assumes\nthe duties of manhood.  It is the period of the assumption of the\nthree-pointed blanket, the true toga of the North American Indian.\n\n\"The whole force of public opinion, in our Indian communities, is\nconcentrated on this point; its early lodge teachings (such as the\nrecital of adventures of bravery), its dances, its religious rites, the\nharangues of prominent actors, made at public assemblages (such as is\ncalled 'striking the post'), all, in fact, that serves to awaken and\nfire ambition in the mind of the savage, is clustered about the idea of\nfuture distinction in war.\n\n\"... The Indian has but one prime honour to grasp; it is triumph in the\nwar-path; it is rushing upon his enemy, tearing the scalp reeking from\nhis head, and then uttering his terrific _sa-sa-kuon_ (death-whoop).\nFor this crowning act he is permitted to mount the honoured feather of\nthe war-eagle--the king of carnivorous birds.  By this mark he is\npublicly known, and his honours recognized by all his tribe, and by the\nsurrounding tribes whose customs assimilate.\n\n\"When the scalp of an enemy has been won, very great pains are taken to\nexhibit it.  For this purpose it is stretched on a hoop and mounted on\na pole.  The inner part is painted red, and the hair adjusted to hang\nin its natural manner.  If it be the scalp of a male, eagle's feathers\nare attached to denote _that_ fact.  If a female, a comb or scissors is\nhung on the frame.  In this condition it is placed in the hands of an\nold woman, who bears it about in the scalp-dance, while opprobrious\nepithets are uttered against the tribe from which it was {68} taken.\nAmidst these wild rejoicings the war-cry is vociferated, and the\ngeneral sentiment with old and young is: 'Thus shall it be done to our\nenemies.'\n\n\"The feather of the eagle is the highest honour that a warrior can\nwear, and a very extravagant sum is sometimes given to procure one.\nThe value of a horse has been known to be paid.  The mode in which a\nfeather is to be cut and worn is important to be noticed.\n\n\"The scale of honour with the several tribes may vary, but the\nessential features are the same.  Among the Dakota tribes an eagle's\nfeather with a red spot denotes that the wearer has killed an enemy, a\nnotch cut in it and edges of the feather painted red indicates that the\nthroat of an enemy has been cut.  Small consecutive notches on the\nfront side of the feather, without paint, denote that the wearer is the\nthird person that has touched the dead body; both edges notched, that\nhe is the fourth person who has touched it; and the feather partly\ndenuded that he is the fifth person that has touched the slain.\n\n\"On the blanket or buffalo robe worn by the Dakota Indian a red or\nblack hand is often seen painted.  The red hand indicates that the\nwearer has been wounded by his enemy, the black hand that he has slain\nhis enemy.\n\n\"The warlike tribe of the Chippeways, on the sources of the\nMississippi, who, from a national act in their history, bear the\ndistinctive name of Pillagers, award a successful warrior who shoots\ndown and scalps his enemy three feathers; and for the still more\ndangerous act of taking a wounded prisoner on the field, five--for they\nconceive that a wounded enemy is desperate, and will generally reserve\nhis fire for a last act of vengeance, if he die the moment after.\nThose of the war-party who come up immediately and strike the {69}\nenemy, so as to get marks of blood on their weapons, receive two\nfeathers; for it is customary for as many as can to perform this\nact....  Those who have been of the war-party, and merely _see_ the\nfight, although they may have no blood-marks of which to boast as\nhonours, and may even have lacked promptness in following the leader\nclosely, are yet allowed to mount one feather.  These honours are\npublicly awarded; no one dares to assume them without authority, and\nthere are instances where the feathers falsely assumed have been pulled\nviolently from their heads in a public assemblage of the Indians.  They\nnever, however, blame each other for personal acts denoting cowardice\nor any species of timidity while on the war-path, hoping by this\nelevated course to encourage the young men to do better on another\noccasion.\n\n\"All war-parties consist of volunteers.  The leader, or war-captain,\nwho attempts to raise one must have some reputation to start on.  His\nappeals, at the assemblages for dancing the preliminary war-dance, are\nto the principles of bravery and nationality.  They are brief and to\nthe point.  He is careful to be thought to act under the guidance of\nthe Great Spirit, of whose secret will he affects to be apprised in\ndreams, or by some rites.\n\n\"The principle of enlistment is sufficiently well preserved.  For this\npurpose, the leader who proposes to raise the war-party takes the\nwar-club in his hands, smeared with vermilion, to symbolize blood, and\nbegins his war-song.  I have witnessed several such scenes.  The songs\nare brief, wild repetitions of sentiments of heroic deeds, or\nincitements to patriotic or military ardour.  They are accompanied by\nthe drum and rattle, and by the voice of one or more choristers.  They\nare repeated slowly, sententiously, and with a measured {70} cadence,\nto which the most exact time is kept.  The warrior stamps the ground as\nif he could shake the universe.  His language is often highly\nfigurative, and he deals with the machinery of the clouds, the flight\nof carnivorous birds, and the influence of spiritual agencies, as if\nthe region of space were at his command.  He imagines his voice to be\nheard in the clouds; and while he stamps the ground with well-feigned\nfury, he fancies himself to take hold of the 'circle of the sky' with\nhis hands.  Every few moments he stops abruptly in his circular path,\nand utters the piercing war-cry.\n\n\"He must be a cold listener who can sit unmoved by these appeals.  The\nideas thrown out succeed each other with the impetuosity of a torrent.\nThey are suggestive of heroic frames of mind, of strong will, of\nburning sentiment.\n\n  \"'Hear my voice, ye warlike birds!\n  I prepare a feast for you to batten on;\n  I see you cross the enemy's lines;\n  Like you I shall go.\n  I wish the swiftness of your wings;\n  I wish the vengeance of your claws;\n  I muster my friends;\n  I follow your flight.\n  Ho, ye young men that are warriors,\n  Look with wrath on the battlefield!'\n\n\n\"Each warrior that rises and joins the war-dance thereby becomes a\nvolunteer for the trip.  He arms and equips himself; he provides his\nown sustenance; and when he steps out into the ring and dances, he\nchants his own song, and is greeted with redoubling yells.  These\nceremonies are tantamount to 'enlistment,' and no young man who thus\ncomes forward can honourably withdraw.\n\n\"The sentiments of the following song were uttered by the celebrated\nWabojeeg, as the leader of the {71} Chippeways, after a victory over\nthe combined Sioux and Sauks and Foxes, at the Falls of St. Croix,\nduring the latter part of the seventeenth century:\n\n  I\n\n  \"'Hear my voice, ye heroes!\n  On that day when our warriors sprang\n  With shouts on the dastardly foe,\n  Just vengeance my heart burned to take\n  On the cruel and treacherous breed,\n      The Bwoin--the Fox--the Sauk.\n\n  II\n\n  \"'And here, on my breast, have I bled!\n  See--see! my battle scars!\n  Ye mountains, tremble at my yell!\n      I strike for life.\n\n  III\n\n  \"'But who are my foes?  They shall die,\n  They shall fly o'er the plains like a fox;\n  They shall shake like a leaf in the storm.\n  Perfidious dogs! they roast our sons with fire!\n\n  IV\n\n  \"'Five winters in hunting we'll spend,\n  While mourning our warriors slain,\n  Till our youth grown to men\n  For the battle-path trained,\n  Our days like our fathers we'll end.\n\n  V\n\n  \"'Ye are dead, noble men! ye are gone,\n  My brother--my fellow--my friend!\n  On the death-path where brave men must go\n  But we live to revenge you!  We haste\n  To die as our forefathers died.'\n\n\n\"In 1824, Bwoinais, a Chippeway warrior of Lake Superior, repeated to\nme, with the appropriate tunes, the following war-songs, which had been\nuttered {72} during the existing war between that nation and the\nDakotas:\n\n  I\n\n  \"'Oshawanung undossewug\n  Penasewug ka baimwaidungig.'\n  [From the south--they come, the warlike birds--\n  Hark! to their passing screams.]\n\n  II\n\n  \"'Todotobi penaise\n  Ka dow Wiawwiaun.'\n  [I wish to have the body of the fiercest bird,\n  As swift--as cruel--as strong.]\n\n  III\n\n  \"'Ne wawaibena, neowai\n  Kagait ne minwaindum\n  Nebunaikumig tshebaibewishenaun.'\n  [I cast my body to the chance of battle.\n  Full happy am I, to lie on the field--\n  On the field over the enemy's line.]\"\n\n\n\nThe Indian Wife and Mother\n\nThe position of women among the North American Indians is distinctly\nfavourable, when the general circumstances of their environment are\nconsidered.  As with most barbarian people, the main burden of the work\nof the community falls upon them.  But in most cases the bulk of the\nfood-supply is provided by the men, who have often to face long and\narduous hunting expeditions in the search for provender.  The labour of\nplanting and digging seed, of hoeing, harvesting, and storing crops, is\ninvariably borne by the women.  In the more accessible Indian territory\nof North America, however, the practice of agriculture is falling into\ndesuetude, and the aborigines are becoming accustomed {73} to rely to a\ngreat extent on a supply of cereals from outside sources.\n\nIn the art of weaving Indian women were and are extremely skilful.  In\nthe southern regions the Hopi women have woven cotton garments from\ntime immemorial.\n\nAmong the various tribes the institution of marriage greatly depends\nfor its circumstances upon the system of totemism, a custom which will\nbe found fully described in the chapter which deals with the mythology\nof the Red Race.  This system places a taboo upon marriages between\nmembers of the same clan or other division of a tribe.  The nature of\nthe ceremony itself differs with locality and race.  Among the Plains\nIndians polygamy was common, and the essential feature of the ceremony\nwas the presentation of gifts to the bride's father.  In some tribes\nthe husband had absolute power, and separation and divorce were common.\nBut other Plains people were free from the purchase system, and the\nwishes of their women were consulted.  East of the Mississippi the\nIroquoian, Algonquian (except in the north and west), and Muskhogean\ntribes retained descent of name and property in the female line.\nExchange of gifts preceded marriage with these peoples.  Among the\nHurons a council of mothers arranged the unions of the members of the\ntribe.  Monogamy, on the whole, prevailed throughout the continent;\nand, generally speaking, the marriage bond was regarded rather loosely.\n\n\n\nIndian Child-Life\n\nOne of the most pleasing features in Indian life is the great affection\nand solicitude bestowed by the parents upon their children.  As a close\nstudent of Indian custom and habit avers, \"The relation of {74} parent\nto child brings out all the highest traits of Indian character.\"\nWithal, infant mortality is extraordinarily high, owing to the lack of\nsanitary measures.  The father prepares the wooden cradle which is to\nbe the infant's portable bed until it is able to walk.  The _papoose_\nhas first a child-name, which later gives place to the appellation\nwhich it will use through life.  Children of both sexes have toys and\ngames, the boys amusing themselves with riding and marksmanship, while\nthe girls play with dolls and imitate their mothers 'keeping wigwam.'\nIn warm weather a great deal of the children's time is spent in\nswimming and paddling.  They are exceedingly fond of pets, particularly\npuppies, which they frequently dress and carry upon their backs like\nbabies.  Among some of the southern peoples small figures representing\nthe various tribal deities are distributed as dolls to the children at\ncertain ceremonies, and the sacred traditions of the race are thus\nimpressed upon them in tangible form.  It is a mistake to think that\nthe Indian child receives no higher instruction.  This, however, is\neffected by moral suasion alone, and physical punishment is extremely\nrare.  Great good-humour prevails among the children, and fighting and\nquarrelling are practically unknown.\n\nAt about fifteen years of age the Indian boy undertakes a solitary fast\nand vigil, during which his totem or medicine spirit is supposed to\ninstruct him regarding his future career.  At about thirteen years of\nage the girl undergoes a like test, which signalizes her entrance into\nwomanhood.\n\n[Illustration: Adventure with a Totem]\n\nAdventure with a Totem\n\nAn account of the manner in which a young Indian beheld his totem\nstates that the lad's father sent him to a mountain-top to look for\nUtonagan, the female {75} guardian spirit of his ancestors.  At noon,\non his arrival at the mountain, he heard the howls of the totem spirit,\nand commenced to ascend the slope, chilled by fear as the yells grew\nlouder.  He climbed a tree, and still heard the cries, and the rustle\nof the spirit in the branches below.  Then terror overcame him, and he\nfled.  Utonagan pursued him.  She gained upon him, howling so that his\nknees gave way beneath him and he might not turn.  Then he bethought\nhim of one of his guardian spirits, and, with a fresh access of\ncourage, he left his pursuer far behind.  He cast away his blanket;\nUtonagan reached it, and, after snuffing at it, took up the chase once\nmore.  Then he thought of his guardian spirit the wolf, and again new\nstrength came to him.  Still in great terror, he looked back.  Utonagan\nfollowed with a wolf-like lope.  Then he thought of his guardian spirit\nthe bitch, and once more he gained ground.  At length, exhausted by his\nexertions, he sank to the earth in a fainting condition, and fell\nasleep.  Through the eyes of sleep he saw the spirit as a wolf.  She\nsaid to him: \"I am she whom your family and the Indians call Utonagan.\nYou are dear to me.  Look at me, Indian.\"  He looked, and lost his\nsense of fear.  When he awoke the sun was high in the sky.  He bathed\nin the creek and returned home.\n\n\n\nAn Indian Girl's Vigil\n\nAnother story is told of an Indian girl's vigil.  Catherine Wabose,\nwhen about thirteen years of age, left her mother's lodge and built a\nsmall one for herself.  After a fast of four days she was visited by\nher mother, who gave her a little snow-water to drink.  On the eve of\nthe sixth day, while still fasting, she was conscious of a superhuman\nvoice, which invited {76} her to walk along a shining path, which led\nforward and upward.  There she first met the 'Everlasting Standing\nWoman,' who gave her her 'supernatural' name.  She next met the 'Little\nMan Spirit,' who told her that his name would be the name of her first\nson.  She was next addressed by the 'Bright Blue Sky,' who endowed her\nwith the gift of life.  She was then encircled by bright points of\nlight and by sharp, painless instruments, but, mounting upon a\nfish-like animal, she swam through the air back to her lodge.  On the\nsixth day she experienced a repetition of the vision.  On the seventh\nday she was fed with a little pounded corn in snow-water.  After the\nseventh day she beheld a large round object like a stone descend from\nthe sky and enter the lodge.  It conferred upon her the gift of\nprophecy, and by virtue of this she assumed the rank of a prophetess\nupon her return to the tribe.\n\nIt is not difficult to suppose that the minds of these unfortunate\nchildren were temporarily deranged by the sustained fasts they had been\nforced to undertake.\n\n\n\nPicture-Writing\n\nMost of the tribes of North America had evolved a rude system of\npicture-writing.  This consisted, for the most part, of figures of\nnatural objects connected by symbols having arbitrary or fixed\nmeanings.  Thus the system was both ideographic and pictographic; that\nis, it represented to some extent abstract ideas as well as concrete\nobjects.  These scripts possessed so many arbitrary characters, and\nagain so many symbols which possessed different meanings under varying\ncircumstances, that to interpret them is a task of the greatest\ncomplexity.  They were usually employed in the compilation of the\nseasonal calendars, and {77} sometimes the records of the tribe were\npreserved by their means.\n\n[Illustration: Indian Picture Writing: A Petroglyph in Nebraska.  By\npermission of the Bureau of American Ethnology]\n\nPerhaps the best known specimen of Indian script is the Dakota\n'Lone-dog Winter-count,' supposed to have been painted originally on a\nbuffalo-robe.  It is said to be a chronicle covering a period of\nseventy-one years from the beginning of the nineteenth century.\nSimilar chronicles are the _Wallum-Olum_, which are painted records of\nthe Leni-Len\u00e2p\u00e9, an Algonquian people, and the calendar history of the\nKiowa.  The former consists of several series, one of which records the\ndoings of the tribes down to the time of the arrival of the European\ncolonists at the beginning of the seventeenth century.  We append an\nextract from the _Wallum-Olum_ as a specimen of genuine aboriginal\ncomposition.  The translation is that made by the late Professor\nBrinton.\n\nAfter the rushing waters had subsided, the Len\u00e2p\u00e9 of the Turtle were\nclose together, in hollow houses, living together there.\n\nIt freezes where they abode: it snows where they abode: it storms where\nthey abode: it is cold where they abode.\n\nAt this northern place, they speak favourably of mild, cool lands, with\nmany deer and buffaloes.\n\nAs they journeyed, some being strong, some rich, they separated into\nhouse-builders and hunters:\n\nThe strongest, the most united, the purest were the hunters.\n\nThe hunters showed themselves at the north, at the east, at the south,\nat the west.\n\nIn that ancient country, in that northern country, in that Turtle\ncountry, the best of Len\u00e2p\u00e9 were the Turtle-men.  [That is, probably,\nmen of the Turtle totem.]\n\nAll the cabin fires of that land were disquieted, and all said to their\npriest: \"Let us go.\"\n\n{78}\n\nTo the Snake land, to the east, they went forth, going away, earnestly\ngrieving.\n\nSplit asunder, weak, trembling, their land burned: they went, torn and\nbroken, to the Snake Island.\n\nThose from the north being free, without care, went forth from the land\nof snow, in different directions.\n\nThe fathers of the Bald Eagle and the White Wolf remain along the sea,\nrich in fish and strength.\n\nFloating up the streams in their canoes, our fathers were rich, they\nwere in the light, when they were at those islands.\n\nHead Beaver and Big Bird said: \"Let us go to Snake Island,\" they said.\n\nAll say they will go along to destroy all the land.\n\n  Those of the north agreed,\n  Those of the east agreed.\n  Over the water, the frozen sea,\n  They went to enjoy it.\n\n  On the wonderful slippery water,\n  On the stone-hard water all went,\n  On the great tidal sea, the muscle-bearing sea.\n\n  Ten thousand at night,\n  All in one night,\n  To the Snake Island, to the east, at night,\n  They walk and walk, all of them.\n\n  The men from the north, the east, the south:\n  The Eagle clan, the Beaver clan, the Wolf clan,\n  The best men, the rich men, the head men,\n  Those with wives, those with daughters, those with dogs.\n\n  They all come, they tarry at the land of the spruce-pines:\n  Those from the west come with hesitation,\n  Esteeming highly their old home at the Turtle land.\n\nThere was no rain, and no corn, so they moved farther seaward.\n\nAt the place of caves, in the Buffalo land, they at last had food, on a\npleasant plain.\n\n[Illustration: The Len\u00e2p\u00e9 come to the Place of Caves]\n\n\n{79}\n\nModern Education and Culture\n\nAfter the establishment of the United States Government a number of\nChristian and lay bodies undertook the education and enlightenment of\nthe aborigines.  Until 1870 all Government aid for this object passed\nthrough the hands of missionaries, but in 1775 [Transcriber's note:\n1875?] a committee on Indian affairs had been appointed by Congress,\nwhich voted funds to support Indian students at Dartmouth and Princeton\nColleges.  Many day-schools were provided for the Indians, and these\naimed at fitting them for citizenship by inculcating in them the social\nmanners and ethical ideas of the whites.  The school established by\nCaptain R. H. Pratt at Carlisle, Pa., for the purpose of educating\nIndian boys and girls has turned out many useful members of society.\nAbout 100 students receive higher instruction in Hampton Institute.\nThere are now 253 Government schools for the education of Indian youth,\ninvolving an annual expenditure of five million dollars, and the\npatient efforts of the United States Government may be said to be\ncrowned with triumph and success when the list of cultured Indian men\nand women who have attended these seminaries is perused.  Many of these\nhave achieved conspicuous success in industrial pursuits and in the\nhigher walks of life.\n\n\n\n\n{80}\n\nCHAPTER II: THE MYTHOLOGIES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS\n\n\nAnimism\n\nAll mythological systems spring from the same fundamental basis.  The\ngods are the children of reverence and necessity.  But their genealogy\nstretches still farther back.  Savage man, unable to distinguish\nbetween the animate and inanimate, imagines every surrounding object to\nbe, like himself, instinct with life.  Trees, the winds, the river\n(which he names \"the Long Person\"), all possess life and consciousness\nin his eyes.  The trees moan and rustle, therefore they speak, or are,\nperchance, the dwelling-place of powerful spirits.  The winds are full\nof words, sighings, warnings, threats, the noises, without doubt, of\nwandering powers, friendly or unfriendly beings.  The water moves,\narticulates, prophesies, as, for example, did the Peruvian Rimac and\nIpurimac--'the Oracles,' 'the Prophesiers.' Even abstract qualities\nwere supposed to possess the attributes of living things.  Light and\ndarkness, heat and cold, were regarded as active and alert agencies.\nThe sky was looked upon as the All-Father from whose co-operation with\nthe Mother Earth all living things had sprung.  This condition of\nbelief is known as 'animism.'\n\n\n\nTotemism\n\nIf inanimate objects and natural phenomena were endowed by savage\nimagination with the qualities of life and thought, the creatures of\nthe animal world were placed upon a still higher level.  The Indian,\nbrought into contact with the denizens of the forest and prairie,\nconceived a high opinion of their qualities and instinctive abilities.\nHe observed that they {81} possessed greater cunning in forest-craft\nthan himself, that their hunting instinct was much more sure, that they\nseldom suffered from lack of provisions, that they were more swift of\nfoot.  In short, he considered them to be his superiors in those\nfaculties which he most coveted and admired.  Various human attributes\nand characteristics became personified and even exaggerated in some of\nhis neighbours of wood and plain.  The fox was proverbial for craft,\nthe wild cat for stealth, the bear for a wrong-headed stupidity, the\nowl for a cryptic wisdom, the deer for swiftness.  In each of these\nattributes the several animals to whom they belonged appeared to the\nsavage as more gifted than himself, and so deeply was he influenced by\nthis seeming superiority that if he coveted a certain quality he would\nplace himself under the protection of the animal or bird which\nsymbolized it.  Again, if a tribe or clan possessed any special\ncharacteristic, such as fierceness or cunning, it was usually called by\nits neighbours after the bird or beast which symbolized its character.\nA tribe would learn its nickname from captives taken in war; or it\nmight even bestow such an appellation upon itself.  After the lapse of\na few generations the members of a tribe would regard the animal whose\nqualities they were supposed to possess as their direct ancestor, and\nwould consider that all the members of his species were their\nblood-relations.  This belief is known as totemism, and its adoption\nwas the means of laying the foundation of a widespread system of tribal\nrule and custom, by which marriage and many of the affairs of life were\nand are wholly governed.  Probably all European and Asiatic peoples\nhave passed through this stage, and its remains are to be found deeply\nembedded in our present social system.\n\n{82}\n\nTotemic Law and Custom\n\nFew generations would elapse before the sense of ancestral devotion to\nthe totem or eponymous forefather of the tribe would become so strong\nas to be exalted into a fully developed system of worship of him as a\ndeity.  That the totem develops into the god is proved by the animal\nlikeness and attributes of many deities in lands widely separate.  It\naccounts for the jackal- and ibis-headed gods of Egypt, the bull-like\ndeities of Assyria, the bestial gods of Hindustan--possibly even for\nthe owl which accompanied the Grecian Pallas, for does not Homer speak\nof her as 'owl-eyed'?  May not this goddess have developed from an owl\ntotem, and may not the attendant bird of night which perches on her\nshoulder have been permitted to remain as a sop to her devotees in her\nmore ancient form, who objected to her portrayal as a human being, and\ndesired that some reminder of her former shape might be preserved?\nThat our British ancestors possessed a totemic system is undoubted.\nWere not the clan Chattan of the Scottish Highlands the \"sons of the\ncat\"?  In the _Dean of Lismores Book_ we read of a tribe included under\nthe \"sons to the king of Rualay\" one battalion of whom was\n'cat-headed,' or wore the totem crest of the cat.  The swine-gods and\nother animal deities possessed by the British Celts assist this theory,\nas do the remains of many folk-customs in England and Scotland.  Our\ncrests are but so many family symbols which have come down to us from\nthe distant days when our forefathers painted them upon their shields\nor wore them upon their helmets as the badge of their tribe, and thus\nof its supposed beast-progenitor or protector.\n\nAs has been said, a vast and intricate system of tribal {83} law and\ncustom arose from the adoption of totemism.  The animal from which the\ntribe took its name might not be killed or eaten, because of its\nblood-kinship with the clan.  Descent from this ancestor postulated\nkinship between the various members of the tribe, male and female;\ntherefore the female members were not eligible for marriage with the\nmales, who had perforce to seek for wives elsewhere.  This often led to\nthe partial adoption of another tribe or family in the vicinity, and of\nits totem, in order that a suitable exchange of women might be made as\noccasion required, and thus to the inclusion of two _gentes_ or\ndivisions within the tribe, each with its different totem-name, yet\neach regarding itself as a division of the tribal family.  Thus a\nmember of the 'Fox' _gens_ might not marry a woman of his own division,\nbut must seek a bride from the 'Bears,' and similarly a 'Bear'\ntribesman must find a wife from among the 'Foxes.'\n\n\n\nSeverity of Totemic Rule\n\nThe utmost severity attached to the observation of totemic law and\ncustom, to break which was regarded as a serious crime.  Indeed, no one\never thought of infringing it, so powerful are habit and the force of\nassociation.  It is not necessary to specify here the numerous customs\nwhich may be regarded as the outcome of the totemic system, for many of\nthese have little in common with mythology proper.  It will suffice to\nsay that they were observed with a rigour beside which the rules of the\nreligions of civilized peoples appear lax and indulgent.  As this\nsystem exercised such a powerful influence on Indian life and thought,\nthe following passage from the pen of a high authority on Indian\ntotemism may be quoted with advantage:[1]\n\n\n[1] J. R. Swanton, in _Handbook of the North American Indians_.\n\n\n{84}\n\n\"The native American Indian, holding peculiar self-centred views as to\nthe unity and continuity of all life and the consequent inevitable\ninterrelations of the several bodies and beings in nature, especially\nof man to the beings and bodies of his experience and environment, to\nwhom were imputed by him various anthropomorphic attributes and\nfunctions in addition to those naturally inherent in them, has\ndeveloped certain fundamentally important cults, based on those views,\nthat deeply affect his social, religious, and civil institutions.  One\nof these doctrines is that persons and organizations of persons are one\nand all under the protecting and fostering tutelage of some imaginary\nbeing or spirit.  These tutelary or patron beings may be grouped, by\nthe mode and motive of their acquirement and their functions, into two\nfairly well defined groups or classes: (1) those which protect\nindividuals only, and (2) those which protect organizations of persons.\nBut with these two classes of tutelary beings is not infrequently\nconfounded another class of protective imaginary beings, commonly\ncalled fetishes, which are regarded as powerful spiritual allies of\ntheir possessors.  Each of these several classes of guardian beings has\nits own peculiar traditions, beliefs, and appropriate cult.  The modes\nof the acquirement and the motives for the acquisition of these several\nclasses of guardian beings differ in some fundamental and essential\nrespects.  The exact method of acquiring the clan or gentile group\npatrons or tutelaries is still an unsolved problem, although several\nplausible theories have been advanced by astute students to explain the\nprobable mode of obtaining them.  With respect to the personal tutelary\nand the fetish, the data are sufficiently clear and full to permit a\nsatisfactory description and definition of these two classes of\ntutelary and auxiliary beings.  From the available data bearing {85} on\nthis subject, it would seem that much confusion regarding the use and\nacquirement of personal and communal tutelaries or patron beings has\narisen by regarding certain social, political, and religious activities\nas due primarily to the influence of these guardian deities, when in\nfact those features were factors in the social organization on which\nhas been later imposed the cult of the patron or guardian spirit.\nExogamy, names and class names, and various taboos exist where 'totems'\nand 'totemism,' the cults of the guardian spirits, do not exist.\n\n\"Some profess to regard the clan or gentile group patron or tutelary as\na mere development of the personal guardian, but from the available but\ninsufficient data bearing on the question it appears to be, in some of\nits aspects, more closely connected in origin, or rather in the method\nof its acquisition, with the fetish, the Iroquois _otchina ken'da_, 'an\neffective agency of sorcery,' than with any form of the personal\ntutelary.  This patron spirit of course concerns the group regarded as\na body, for with regard to each person of the group, the clan or\ngentile guardian is inherited, or rather acquired by birth, and it may\nnot be changed at will.  On the other hand, the personal tutelary is\nobtained through the rite of vision in a dream or a trance, and it must\nbe preserved at all hazards as one of the most precious possessions.\nThe fetish is acquired by personal choice, by purchase, or by\ninheritance, or from some chance circumstance or emergency, and it can\nbe sold or discarded at the will of the possessor in most cases; the\nexception is where a person has entered into a compact with some evil\nspirit or being that, in consideration of human or other sacrifices in\nits honour at stated periods, the said spirit undertakes to perform\ncertain obligations to this man or woman, and in default of which the\nperson forfeits his right to live.\n\n{86}\n\n\"'Totemism' is a purely philosophical term which modern anthropological\nliterature has burdened with a great mass of needless controversial\nspeculation and opinion.  The doctrine and use of tutelary or patron\nguardian spirits by individuals and by organized bodies of persons are\ndefined by Powell as 'a method of naming,' and as 'the doctrine and\nsystem of naming.'  But the motive underlying the acquisition and use\nof guardian or tutelary spirits, whether by an individual or by an\norganized body of persons, is always the same--namely, to obtain\nwelfare and to avoid ill-fare.  So it appears to be erroneous to define\nthis cult as 'the doctrine and system of naming.'  It is rather the\nrecognition, exploitation, and adjustment of the imaginary mystic\nrelation of the individual or of the body of organized persons to the\npostulated _orendas_, mystic powers, surrounding each of these units of\nnative society.  With but few exceptions, the recognized relation\nbetween the clan or _gens_ and its patron deity is not one of descent\nor source, but rather that of protection, guardianship, and support.\nThe relationship as to source between these two classes of superior\nbeings is not yet determined; so to avoid confusion in concepts, it is\nbetter to use distinctive names for them, until their connexion, if\nany, has been definitely ascertained: this question must not be\nprejudged.  The hypothetic inclusion of these several classes in a\ngeneral one, branded with the rubric 'totem' or its equivalent, has led\nto needless confusion.  The native tongues have separate names for\nthese objects, and until the native classification can be truthfully\nshown to be erroneous it would seem to be advisable to designate them\nby distinctive names.  Notwithstanding the great amount of study of the\nliterature of the social features of aboriginal American society, there\nare many data {87} relative to this subject that have been overlooked\nor disregarded.\"\n\n\n\nFetishism\n\nSide by side with animism and totemism flourishes a third type of\nprimitive belief, known as 'fetishism.'  This word is derived from the\nPortuguese _feiti\u00e7o_, 'a charm,' 'something made by art,' and is\napplied to any object, large or small, natural or artificial, regarded\nas possessing consciousness, volition, and supernatural qualities, and\nespecially _orenda_, or magic power.\n\nAs has been said, the Indian intelligence regards all things, animals,\nwater, the earth, trees, stones, the heavenly bodies, even night and\nday, and such properties as light and darkness, as possessing animation\nand the power of volition.  It is, however, the general Indian belief\nthat many of these are under some spell or potent enchantment.  The\nrocks and trees are confidently believed by the Indian to be the living\ntombs of imprisoned spirits, resembling the dryads of Greek folk-lore,\nso that it is not difficult for him to conceive an intelligence, more\nor less potent, in any object, no matter how uncommon--indeed, the more\nuncommon the greater the probability of its being the abode of some\npowerful intelligence, incarcerated for revenge or some similar motive\nby the spell of a mighty enchanter.\n\nThe fetish is, in short, a mascot--a luck-bringer.  The civilized\nperson who attaches a swastika or small charm to his watch-chain or her\nbangle is unconsciously following in the footsteps of many pagan\nancestors; but with this difference, that the idea that 'luck' resides\nin the trinket is weak in the civilized mind, whereas in the savage\nbelief the 'luck' resident in the fetish is a powerful and living\nthing--an intelligence {88} which must be placated with prayer, feast,\nand sacrifice.  Fetishes which lose their reputations as bringers of\ngood-fortune usually degenerate into mere amulets or talismanic\nornaments, and their places are taken by others.  The fetish differs\nfrom the class of tutelary or 'household' gods in that it may be sold\nor bartered, whereas tutelary or domestic deities are never to be\npurchased, or even loaned.\n\n\n\nFetish Objects\n\nNearly all the belongings of a _shaman_, or medicine-man, are classed\nas fetishes by the North American Indians.  These usually consist of\nthe skins of beasts, birds, and serpents, roots, bark, powder, and\nnumberless other objects.  But the fetish must be altogether divorced\nfrom the idea of religion proper, with which it has little or no\nconnexion, being found side by side with religious phases of many\ntypes.  The fetish may be a bone, a feather, an arrow-head, a stick,\ncarved or painted, a fossil, a tuft of hair, a necklace of fingers, a\nstuffed skin, the hand of an enemy, anything which might be suggested\nto the original possessor in a dream or a flight of imagination.  It is\nsometimes fastened to the scalp-lock, to the dress, to the bridle,\nconcealed between the layers of a shield, or specially deposited in a\nshrine in the wigwam.  The idea in the mind of the original maker is\nusually symbolic, and is revealed only to one formally chosen as heir\nto the magical possession, and pledged in his turn to a similar secrecy.\n\nNotwithstanding that the cult of fetishism is not, strictly speaking, a\ndepartment of religious activity, a point exists at which the fetish\nbegins to evolve into a god.  This happens when the object survives the\ntest of experience and achieves a more than personal or {89} tribal\npopularity.  Nevertheless the fetish partakes more of the nature of\nthose spirits which are subservient to man (for example, the Arabian\n_jinn_) than of gods proper, and if it is prayed and sacrificed to on\noccasion, the 'prayers' are rather of the nature of a magical\ninvocation, and the 'sacrifices' no more than would be accorded to any\nother assisting agent.  Thus sharply must we differentiate between a\nfetish or captive spirit and a god.  But it must be further borne in\nmind that a fetish is not necessarily a piece of personal property.  It\nmay belong collectively to an entire community.  It is not necessarily\na small article, but may possess all the appearances of a full-blown\nidol.  An idol, however, is the abode of a god--the image into which a\ndeity may materialize.  A fetish, on the other hand, is _the place of\nimprisonment of a subservient spirit_, which cannot escape, and, if it\nwould gain the rank of godhead, must do so by a long series of\nluck-bringing, or at least by the performance of a number of marvels of\na protective or fortune-making nature.  It is not unlikely that a\nbelief exists in the Indian mind that there are many wandering spirits\nwho, in return for food and other comforts, are willing to materialize\nin the shape the savage provides for them, and to assist him in the\nchase and other pursuits of life.\n\n\n\nApache Fetishes\n\nAmong the Athapascan Indians the Apaches, both male and female, wear\nfetishes which they call _tzi-daltai_, manufactured from\nlightning-riven wood, generally pine or cedar, or fir from the\nmountains.  These are highly valued, and are never sold.  They are\nshaved very thin, rudely carved in the semblance of the human form, and\ndecorated with incised lines representing the lightning.  They are\nsmall in size, and few of them are painted.  {90} Bourke describes one\nthat an Apache chief carried about with him, which was made of a piece\nof lath, unpainted, having a figure in yellow drawn upon it, with a\nnarrow black band and three snake's heads with white eyes.  It was\nfurther decorated with pearl buttons and small eagle-down feathers.\nThe reverse and obverse were identical.\n\nMany of the Apaches attached a piece of malachite to their guns and\nbows to make them shoot accurately.  Bourke mentions a class of\nfetishes which he terms 'phylacteries.'  These are pieces of buckskin\nor other material upon which are inscribed certain characters or\nsymbols of a religious or 'medicine' nature, and they are worn attached\nto the person who seeks benefit from them.  They differ from the\nordinary fetish in that they are concealed from the public gaze.  These\n'phylacteries,' Bourke says, \"themselves medicine,\" may be employed to\nenwrap other 'medicine,' and \"thus augment their own potentialities.\"\nHe describes several of these objects.  One worn by an Indian named\nTa-ul-tzu-je \"was tightly rolled in at least half a mile of saddler's\nsilk, and when brought to light was found to consist of a small piece\nof buckskin two inches square, upon which were drawn red and yellow\ncrooked lines, which represented the red and yellow snake.  Inside were\na piece of malachite and a small cross of lightning-riven pine, and two\nvery small perforated shells.  The cross they designated 'the black\nmind.'\"  Another 'phylactery' consisted of a tiny bag of hoddentin,\nholding a small quartz crystal and four feathers of eagle-down.  This\ncharm, it was explained by an Indian, contained not merely the\n'medicine' of the crystal and the eagle, but also that of the black\nbear, the white lion, and the yellow snake.\n\n\n{91}\n\nIroquoian Fetishes\n\nThings that seem at all unusual are accepted by the Hurons, a tribe of\nthe Iroquois, as _oky_, or supernatural, and therefore it is accounted\nlucky to find them.  In hunting, if they find a stone or other object\nin the entrails of an animal they at once make a fetish of it.  Any\nobject of a peculiar shape they treasure for the same reason.  They\ngreatly fear that demons or evil spirits will purloin their fetishes,\nwhich they esteem so highly as to propitiate them in feasts and invoke\nthem in song.  The highest type of fetish obtainable by a Huron was a\npiece of the onniont, or great armoured serpent, a mythological animal\nrevered by many North American tribes.\n\n\n\nFetishism among the Algonquins\n\nHoffmann states that at the 'medicine' lodges of some Algonquian tribes\nthere are preserved fetishes or amulets worn above the elbows,\nconsisting of strands of bead-work, metal bands, or skunk skins, while\nbracelets of shells, buckskin, or metal are also worn.  A great tribal\nfetish of the Cheyenne was their 'medicine' arrow, which was taken from\nthem by the Pawnees in battle.  The head of this arrow projects from\nthe bag which contains it, and it is covered with delicate waved or\nspiral lines, which denote its sacred character.  It was, indeed, the\npalladium of the tribe.  A peculiar type of fetish consisted of a\nmantle made from the skin of a deer and covered with feathers mixed\nwith headings.  It was made and used by the medicine-men as a mantle of\ninvisibility, or charmed covering to enable spies to traverse an\nenemy's country in security.  In this instance the fetishistic power\ndepended upon the devices drawn upon the article.  The principal\nfetishes among {92} the Hidatsa tribe of the Sioux are the skins of\nfoxes and wolves, the favourite worn fetish being the stripe from the\nback of a wolf-skin with the tail hanging down the shoulders.  A slit\nis made in the skin, through which the warrior puts his head, so that\nthe skin of the wolf's head hangs down upon his breast.  The most\ncommon tribal fetishes of the Sioux are, or were, buffalo heads, the\nneck-bones of which they preserve in the belief that the buffalo herds\nwill thereby be prevented from removing to too great a distance.  At\ncertain periods they perform a ceremony with these bones, which\nconsists in taking a potsherd filled with embers, throwing\nsweet-smelling grease upon it, and fumigating the bones with the smoke.\nThere are certain trees and stones which are regarded as fetishes.  To\nthese offerings of red cloth, red paint, and other articles are made.\nEach individual has his personal fetish, and it is carried in all\nhunting and warlike excursions.  It usually consists of a head, claws,\nstuffed skin, or other representative feature of the fetish animal.\nEven the horses are provided with fetishes, in the shape of a deer's\nhorn, to ensure their swiftness.  The rodent teeth of the beaver are\nregarded as potent charms, and are worn by little girls round their\nnecks to make them industrious.\n\nAt Sikyatki, in Arizona, a territorial nucleus of the Hopi Indians, Mr.\nFewkes had opportunities of inspecting many interesting fetish forms.\nA number of these discovered in native graves were pebbles with a\npolished surface, or having a fancied resemblance to some animal shape.\nMany of the personal fetishes of the Hopi consist of fossils, some of\nwhich attain the rank of tribal fetishes and are wrapped up in sacred\nbundles, which are highly venerated.  In one grave was found a single\nlarge fetish in the shape of a mountain {93} lion, made of sandstone,\nin which legs, ears, tail, and eyes are represented, the mouth still\nshowing the red pigment with which it had been coloured.  This is\nalmost identical with some fetishes used by the Hopi at the present day.\n\n\n\nTotemism and Fetishism Meet\n\nFetishism among the Zu\u00f1i Indians of the south arose from an idea they\nentertained that they were kin with animals; in other words, their\nfetishes were totemistic.  Totemism and fetishism were by no means\nincompatible with one another, but often flourished side by side.\nFetishism of the Zu\u00f1i description is, indeed, the natural concomitant\nof a totemic system.  Zu\u00f1i fetishes are usually concretions of lime or\nobjects in which a natural resemblance to animals has been heightened\nby artificial means.  Ancient fetishes are much valued by these people,\nand are often found by them in the vicinity of villages inhabited by\ntheir ancestors, and as tribal possessions are handed down from one\ngeneration to another.  The medicine-men believe them to be the actual\npetrifactions of the animals they represent.\n\n\n\nThe Sun-Children\n\nThe Zu\u00f1i philosophy of the fetish is given in the \"Tale of the Two\nSun-Children\" as follows: \"Now that the surface of the earth was\nhardened even the animals of prey, powerful and like the fathers [gods]\nthemselves, would have devoured the children of men, and the two\nthought it was not well that they should all be permitted to live, for,\nsaid they, 'Alike the children of men and the children of the animals\nof prey multiply themselves.  The animals of prey are provided with\ntalons and teeth; men are but poor, the finished beings of earth,\ntherefore the weaker.' {94} Whenever they came across the pathway of\none of these animals, were he a great mountain lion or but a mere mole,\nthey struck him with the fire of lightning which they carried on their\nmagic shields.  _Thlu!_ and instantly he was shrivelled and turned into\nstone.  Then said they to the animals that they had changed into stone,\n'That ye may not be evil unto man, but that ye may be a great good unto\nthem, have we changed you into rock everlasting.  By the magic breath\nof prey, by the heart that shall endure for ever within you, shall ye\nbe made to serve instead of to devour mankind.'  Thus was the surface\nof the earth hardened and scorched, and many of all kinds of beings\nchanged to stone.  Thus, too, it happens that we find here and there\nthroughout the world their forms, sometimes large, like the beings\nthemselves, sometimes shrivelled and distorted, and we often see among\nthe rocks the forms of many beings that live no longer, which shows us\nthat all was different in the 'days of the new.'  Of these\npetrifactions, which are, of course, mere concretions or strangely\nshaped rock-forms, the Zu\u00f1i say: 'Whomsoever of us may be met with the\nlight of such great good-fortune may see them, and should treasure them\nfor the sake of the sacred [magic] power which was given them in the\ndays of the new.'\"[2]\n\n\n[2] Cushing's _Zu\u00f1i Fetiches_ (1883).\n\n\n\nThe Prey-Gods\n\nThis tradition furnishes additional evidence relative to the preceding\nstatement, and is supposed to enlighten the Zu\u00f1i Indian as to wherein\nlies the power of fetishes.  It is thought that the hearts of the great\nanimals of prey are infused with a 'medicinal' or magic influence over\nthe hearts of the animals they prey upon, and {95} that they overcome\nthem with their breath, piercing their hearts and quite numbing them.\nMoreover, their roar is fatal to the senses of the lower beasts.  The\nmountain lion absorbs the blood of the game animals, therefore he\npossesses their acute senses.  Again, those powers, as derived from his\nheart, are preserved in his fetish, since his heart still lives, even\nalthough his body be changed to stone.  It happens, therefore, that the\nuse of these fetishes is chiefly connected with the chase.  But there\nare exceptions.  The great animals of the chase, although fetishistic,\nare also regarded as supernatural beings, the mythological position of\nwhich is absolutely defined.  In the City of the Mists lives\nPo-shai-an-K'ia, father of the 'medicine' societies, a culture-hero\ndeity, whose abode is guarded by six beings known as the 'Prey-Gods,'\nand it is their counterfeit presentments that are made use of as\nfetishes.  To the north of the City of the Mists dwells the Mountain\nLion prey-god, to the west the Bear, to the south the Badger, to the\neast the Wolf, above the Eagle, below the Mole.  These animals possess\nnot only the guardianship of the six regions, but also the mastership\nof the 'medicine' or magic powers which emanate from them.  They are\nthe mediators between Po-shai-an-K'ia and man.  The prey-gods, as\n'Makers of the Path of Life,' are given high rank among the gods, but\nnotwithstanding this their fetishes are \"held as in captivity\" by the\npriests of the various 'medicine' orders, and greatly venerated by them\nas mediators between themselves and the animals they represent.  In\nthis character they are exhorted with elaborate prayers, rituals, and\nceremonials, and sometimes placated with sacrifices of the prey-gods of\nthe hunt (_we-ma-a-ha-i_).  Their special priests are the members of\nthe Great Coyote {96} People--that is, they consist of eleven members\nof the Eagle and Coyote clans and of the Prey Brothers priesthood.\nThese prey-gods appear to be almost unique, and may be indicated as an\ninstance of fetishism becoming allied with religious belief.  They\ndepict, with two exceptions, the same species of prey animals as those\nsupposed to guard the six regions, the exceptions being the coyote and\nthe wild cat.  These six prey animals are subdivided into six\nvarieties.  They are, strictly speaking, the property of the priests,\nand members and priests of the sacred societies are required to deposit\ntheir fetishes, when not in use, with the Keeper of the Medicine of the\nDeer.  These 'medicines' or memberships alone can perfect the shape of\nthe fetishes and worship them.\n\n\n\nThe Council of Fetishes\n\nThe Day of the Council of the Fetishes takes place a little before or\nafter the winter solstice or national New Year.  The fetishes are taken\nfrom their places of deposit, and arranged according to species and\ncolour in the form of a symbolic altar, quadrupeds being placed upright\nand birds suspended from the roof.  The fetishes are prayed to, and\nprayer-meal is scattered over them.  Chants are intoned, and a dance\nperformed in which the cries of the fetish beasts are imitated.  A\nprayer with responses follows.  Finally all assemble round the altar\nand repeat the great invocation.\n\n\n\nThe Fetish in Hunting\n\nThe use of fetishes in hunting among the Zu\u00f1i is extremely curious and\ninvolved in its nature.  The hunter goes to the house of the Deer\nMedicine, where the vessel containing the fetish is brought out and\nplaced before him.  He sprinkles meal over the sacred {97} vessel in\nthe direction in which he intends to hunt, chooses a fetish from it,\nand presses it to his lips with an inspiration.  He then places the\nfetish in a buckskin bag over his heart.  Proceeding to the hunt, he\ndeposits a spider-knot of yucca leaves where an animal has rested,\nimitates its cry, and is supposed by this means to confine its\nmovements within a narrow circle.  He then inspires deeply from the\nnostrils of the fetish, as though inhaling the magic breath of the god\nof prey, and then puffs the breath long and loudly in the direction\nwhence the beast's tracks trend, in the belief that the breath he has\nborrowed from the prey-god will stiffen the limbs of the animal he\nhunts.  When the beast is caught and killed he inhales its suspiring\nbreath, which he breathes into the nostrils of the fetish.  He then\ndips the fetish in the blood of the slain quarry, sips the blood\nhimself, and devours the liver, in order that he may partake of the\nanimal's qualities.  The fetish is then placed in the sun to dry, and\nlastly replaced in the buckskin pouch with a blessing, afterward being\nduly returned to the Keeper of the Deer Medicine.\n\n\n\nIndian Theology\n\nThe late Professor Brinton, writing on the Indian attitude toward the\neternal verities, says:[3]\n\n\n[3] _Myths of the New World_.\n\n\n\"Nature, to the heathen, is no harmonious whole swayed by eternal\nprinciples, but a chaos of causeless effects, the meaningless play of\ncapricious ghosts.  He investigates not, because he doubts not.  All\nevents are to him miracles.  Therefore his faith knows no bounds, and\nthose who teach him that doubt is sinful must contemplate him with\nadmiration....\n\n\"Natural religions rarely offer more than this negative opposition to\nreason.  They are tolerant to {98} a degree.  The savage, void of any\nclear conception of a supreme deity, sets up no claim that his is the\nonly true church.  If he is conquered in battle he imagines that it is\nowing to the inferiority of his own gods to those of his victor, and he\nrarely, therefore, requires any other reasons to make him a convert.\n\n\"In this view of the relative powers of deities lay a potent corrective\nto the doctrine that the fate of man was dependent on the caprices of\nthe gods.  For no belief was more universal than that which assigned to\neach individual a guardian spirit.  This invisible monitor was an\never-present help in trouble.  He suggested expedients, gave advice and\nwarning in dreams, protected in danger, and stood ready to foil the\nmachinations of enemies, divine or human.\n\n\"With unlimited faith in this protector, attributing to him the devices\nsuggested by his own quick wits and the fortunate chances of life, the\nsavage escaped the oppressive thought that he was the slave of demoniac\nforces, and dared the dangers of the forest and the war-path without\nanxiety.\n\n\"By far the darkest side of such a religion is that which it presents\nto morality.  The religious sense is by no means the voice of\nconscience.  The Takahli Indian when sick makes a full and free\nconfession of sins, but a murder, however unnatural and unprovoked, he\ndoes not mention, not counting it a crime.  Scenes of licentiousness\nwere approved and sustained throughout the continent as acts of\nworship; maidenhood was in many parts freely offered up or claimed by\nthe priests as a right; in Central America twins were slain for\nreligious motives; human sacrifice was common throughout the tropics,\nand was not unusual in higher latitudes; cannibalism was often\nenjoined; and in Peru, Florida, and Central America it was not {99}\nuncommon for parents to slay their own children at the behest of a\npriest.\n\n\"The philosophical moralist contemplating such spectacles has thought\nto recognize in them one consoling trait.  All history, it has been\nsaid, shows man living under an irritated God, and seeking to appease\nhim by sacrifice of blood; the essence of all religion, it has been\nadded, lies in that of which sacrifice is the symbol--namely, in the\noffering up of self, in the rendering up of our will to the will of God.\n\n\"But sacrifice, when not a token of gratitude, cannot be thus\nexplained.  It is not a rendering up, but a _substitution_ of our will\nfor God's will.  A deity is angered by neglect of his dues; he will\nrevenge, certainly, terribly, we know not how or when.  But as\npunishment is all he desires, if we punish ourselves he will be\nsatisfied; and far better is such self-inflicted torture than a fearful\nlooking-for of judgment to come.  Craven fear, not without some dim\nsense of the implacability of nature's laws, is at its roots.\n\n\"Looking only at this side of religion, the ancient philosopher averred\nthat the gods existed solely in the apprehensions of their votaries,\nand the moderns have asserted that 'fear is the father of religion,\nlove her late-born daughter'; that 'the first form of religious belief\nis nothing else but a horror of the unknown,' and that 'no natural\nreligion appears to have been able to develop from a germ within itself\nanything whatever of real advantage to civilization.'\n\n\"Looking around for other standards wherewith to measure the progress\nof the knowledge of divinity in the New World, _prayer_ suggests itself\nas one of the least deceptive.  'Prayer,' to quote the words of\nNovalis, 'is in religion what thought is in philosophy.  The religious\nsense prays, as the reason thinks.'  Guizot, {100} carrying the\nanalysis farther, thinks that it is prompted by a painful conviction of\nthe inability of our will to conform to the dictates of reason.\n\n\"Originally it was connected with the belief that divine caprice, not\ndivine law, governs the universe, and that material benefits rather\nthan spiritual gifts are to be desired.  The gradual recognition of its\nlimitations and proper objects marks religious advancement.  The Lord's\nPrayer contains seven petitions, only one of which is for a temporal\nadvantage, and it the least that can be asked for.\n\n\"What immeasurable interval between it and the prayer of the Nootka\nIndian preparing for war:\n\n\"'Great Quahootze, let me live, not be sick, find the enemy, not fear\nhim, find him asleep, and kill a great many of him.'\n\n\"Or, again, between it and a petition of a Huron to a local god, heard\nby Father Br\u00e9beuf:\n\n\"'Oki, thou who liveth in this spot, I offer thee tobacco.  Help us,\nsave us from shipwreck, defend us from our enemies, give us a good\ntrade and bring us back safe and sound to our villages.'\n\n\"This is a fair specimen of the supplications of the lowest religions.\nAnother equally authentic is given by Father Allouez.  In 1670 he\npenetrated to an outlying Algonkin village, never before visited by a\nwhite man.  The inhabitants, startled by his pale face and long black\ngown, took him for a divinity.  They invited him to the council lodge,\na circle of old men gathered round him, and one of them, approaching\nhim with a double handful of tobacco, thus addressed him, the others\ngrunting approval:\n\n\"'This indeed is well, Blackrobe, that thou dost visit us.  Have mercy\nupon us.  Thou art a Manito.  We give thee to smoke.\n\n{101}\n\n\"'The Naudowessies and Iroquois are devouring us.  Have mercy upon us.\n\n\"'We are often sick; our children die; we are hungry.  Have mercy upon\nus.  Hear me, O Manito, I give thee to smoke.\n\n\"'Let the earth yield us corn; the rivers give us fish; sickness not\nslay us; nor hunger so torment us.  Hear us, O Manito, we give thee to\nsmoke.'\n\n\"In this rude but touching petition, wrung from the heart of a\nmiserable people, nothing but their wretchedness is visible.  Not the\nfaintest trace of an aspiration for spiritual enlightenment cheers the\neye of the philanthropist, not the remotest conception that through\nsuffering we are purified can be detected.\"\n\n\n\nThe Indian Idea of God\n\nThe mythologies of the several stocks of the Red Race differ widely in\nconception and detail, and this has led many hasty investigators to\nform the conclusion that they were therefore of separate origin.  But\ncareful study has proved that they accord with all great mythological\nsystems in their fundamental principles, and therefore with each other.\nThe idea of God, often strange and grotesque perhaps, was nevertheless\npowerfully expressed in the Indian mythologies.  Each division of the\nrace possessed its own word to signify 'spirit.'  Some of these words\nmeant 'that which is above,' 'the higher one,' 'the invisible,' and\nthese attributes accorded to deity show that the original Indian\nconception of it was practically the same as those which obtained among\nthe primitive peoples of Europe and Asia.  The idea of God was that of\na great prevailing force who resided \"in the sky.\"  Savage or primitive\nman observes that all brightness emanates from the firmament above him.\nHis eyes are dazzled by its splendour.  Therefore he {102} concludes\nthat it must be the abode of the source of all life, of all spiritual\nexcellence.\n\n\n\n'Good' and 'Bad'\n\nBefore man has discovered the uses of that higher machinery of reason,\nphilosophy, and has learned to marshal his theological ideas by its\nlight, such deities as he worships conform very much to his own ethical\nstandard.  They mirror his morality, or lack of it.  They are, like\nhimself, savage, cruel, insatiable in their appetites.  Very likely,\ntoo, the bestial attributes of the totemic gods cling to those deities\nwho have been evolved out of that system.  Among savage people ideas of\ngood and evil as we conceive them are non-existent.  To them 'good'\nmerely implies everything which is to their advantage, 'evil' that\nwhich injures or distresses them.  It is only when such a system as\ntotemism, with its intricate taboos and stringent laws bearing on the\nvarious relationships of life, comes to be adopted that a 'moral' order\narises.  Slaughter of the totem animal becomes a 'crime'--sacrilege.\nSlaughter of a member of the totem clan, of a blood-brother, must be\natoned for because he is of the totem blood.  Marriage with a woman of\nthe same totem blood becomes an offence.  Neglect to pay fitting homage\nand sacrifice to the gods or totem is regarded with severity,\nespecially when the evolution of a priestly caste has been achieved.\nAs the totem is an ancestor, so all ancestors are looked upon with\nreverence, and deference to living progenitors becomes a virtue.  In\nsuch ways a code of 'morality' is slowly but certainly produced.\n\n\n\nNo 'Good' or 'Bad' Gods\n\nBut, oddly enough, the gods are usually exempt from these laws by which\ntheir worshippers are bound.  {103} We find them murderous, unfilial,\nimmoral, polygamous, and often irreverent.  This may be accounted for\nby the circumstance that their general outlines were filled in before\ntotemism had become a fully developed system, or it may mean that the\nsavage did not believe that divine beings could be fettered by such\nlaws as he felt himself bound to obey.  However that may be, we find\nthe American gods neither better nor worse than those of other\nmythological systems.  Some of them are prone to a sort of Puckish\ntrickery and are fond of practical joking: they had not reached the\nexalted nobility of the pantheon of Olympus.  But what is more\nremarkable--and this applies to the deities of all primitive races--we\nfind that they possess no ideas of good and evil.  We find them\noccasionally worshipping gods of their own--usually the creative\ndeities--and that may perhaps be accounted unto them for righteousness.\nBut they are only 'good' to their worshippers inasmuch as they ensure\nthem abundant crops or game, and only 'bad' when they cease to do so.\nThey are not worshipped because they are the founts of truth and\njustice, but for the more immediately cogent reason that, unless\nplacated by the steam of sacrifice, they will cease to provide an\nadequate food-supply to man, and may malevolently send destruction upon\ntheir neglectful worshippers.  In the relations between god and man\namong early peoples a specific contract is implied: \"Sacrifice unto us,\nprovide us with those offerings the steam of which is our food,\ncontinue to do so, and we will see to it that you do not lack crops and\ngame and the essentials of life.  Fail to observe these customs and you\nperish.\"  Under such a system it will readily be granted that such\nhorrors as human sacrifice were only undertaken because they were\nthought to be absolutely necessary to the existence {104} of the race\nas a whole, and were not prompted by any mere wanton delight in\nbloodshed.\n\nDealing with this point, the late Professor Brinton says in his _Myths\nof the New World_:\n\n\"The confusion of these distinct ideas [monotheism and polytheism] has\nled to much misconception of the native creeds.  But another and more\nfatal error was that which distorted them into a dualistic form,\nranging on one hand the good spirit with his legion of angels, on the\nother the evil one with his swarm of fiends, representing the world as\nthe scene of their unending conflict, man as the unlucky football who\ngets all the blows.\n\n\"This notion, which has its historical origin among the Parsees of\nancient Iran, is unknown to savage nations.  'The Hidatsa,' says Dr.\nMatthews, 'believe neither in a hell nor a devil.'  'The idea of the\ndevil,' justly observes Jacob Grimm, 'is foreign to all primitive\nreligions.'  Yet Professor Mueller, in his voluminous work on those of\nAmerica, after approvingly quoting this saying, complacently proceeds\nto classify the deities as good or bad spirits!\n\n\"This view, which has obtained without question in earlier works on the\nnative religions of America, has arisen partly from habits of thought\ndifficult to break, partly from mistranslations of native words, partly\nfrom the foolish axiom of the early missionaries, 'The gods of the\nGentiles are devils.'  Yet their own writings furnish conclusive proof\nthat no such distinction existed out of their own fancies.  The same\nword(_otkon_) which Father Bruyas employs to translate into Iroquois\nthe term 'devil,' in the passage 'The devil took upon himself the\nfigure of a serpent,' he is obliged to use for 'spirit' in the phrase,\n'At the resurrection we shall be spirits,' which is a rather amusing\nillustration how {105} impossible it was by any native word to convey\nthe idea of the spirit of evil.\n\n\"When, in 1570, Father Rogel commenced his labours among the tribes\nnear the Savannah River, he told them that the deity they adored was a\ndemon who loved all evil things, and they must hate him; whereas his\nauditors replied, that so far from this being the case, he whom he\ncalled a wicked being was the power that sent them all good things, and\nindignantly left the missionary to preach to the winds.\n\n\"A passage often quoted in support of this mistaken view is one in\nWinslow's _Good News from New England_, written in 1622.  The author\nsays that the Indians worship a good power called Kiehtan, and another\n'who, as farre as wee can conceive, is the Devill,' named Hobbamock, or\nHobbamoqui.  The former of these names is merely the word 'great,' in\ntheir dialect of Algonkin, with a final _N_, and is probably an\nabbreviation of Kittanitowit, the great Manitou, a vague term mentioned\nby Roger Williams and other early writers, manufactured probably by\nthem and not the appellation of any personified deity.  The latter, so\nfar from corresponding to the power of evil, was, according to\nWinslow's own statement, the kindly god who cured diseases, aided them\nin the chase, and appeared to them in dreams as their protector.\nTherefore, with great justice, Dr. Jarvis has explained it to mean 'the\n_oke_ or tutelary deity which each Indian worships,' as the word itself\nsignifies.\n\n\"So in many instances it turns out that what has been reported to be\nthe evil divinity of a nation, to whom they pray to the neglect of a\nbetter one, is in reality the highest power they recognize.\"\n\n\n\n{106}\n\nCreation-Myths\n\nThe mythologies of the Red Man are infinitely more rich in creative and\ndeluge myths than those of any other race in the two hemispheres.\nTales which deal with the origin of man are exceedingly frequent, and\nexhibit every phase of the type of creative story.  Although many of\nthese are similar to European and Asiatic myths of the same class,\nothers show great originality, and strikingly present to our minds the\ncharacteristics of American aboriginal thought.\n\nThe creation-myths of the various Indian tribes differ as much from one\nanother as do those of Europe and Asia.  In some we find the great gods\nmoulding the universe, in others we find them merely discovering it.\nStill others lead their people from subterranean depths to the upper\nearth.  In many Indian myths we find the world produced by the\nAll-Father sun, who thickens the clouds into water, which becomes the\nsea.  In the Zu\u00f1i record of creation Awonawilona, the creator,\nfecundates the sea with his own flesh, and hatches it with his own\nheat.  From this green scums are formed, which become the fourfold\nmother Earth and the all-covering father Sky, from whom sprang all\ncreatures.  \"Then from the nethermost of the four caves of the world\nthe seed of men and the creatures took form and grew; even as with eggs\nin warm places worms quickly form and appear, and, growing, soon burst\ntheir shells and there emerge, as may happen, birds, tadpoles, or\nserpents: so man and all creatures grew manifoldly and multiplied in\nmany kinds.  Thus did the lowermost world-cave become overfilled with\nliving things, full of unfinished creatures, crawling like reptiles\nover one another in black darkness, thickly crowding together and\ntreading one on another, one {107} spitting on another and doing other\nindecency, in such manner that the murmurings and lamentations became\nloud, and many amidst the growing confusion sought to escape, growing\nwiser and more manlike.  Then Po-shai-an-K'ia, the foremost and the\nwisest of men, arising from the nethermost sea, came among men and the\nliving things, and pitying them, obtained egress from that first\nworld-cave through such a dark and narrow path that some seeing\nsomewhat, crowding after, could not follow him, so eager mightily did\nthey strive one with another.  Alone then did Po-shai-an-K'ia come from\none cave to another into this world, then island-like, lying amidst the\nworld-waters, vast, wet, and unstable.  He sought and found the\nSun-Father, and besought him to deliver the men and the creatures from\nthat nethermost world.\"[4]\n\n\n[4] Cushing, _13th Report_, Bureau of American Ethnology.\n\n\n\nAlgonquian Creation-Myth\n\nIn many other Indian mythologies we find the wind brooding over the\nprimeval ocean in the form of a bird.  In some creation-myths\namphibious animals dive into the waters and bring up sufficient mud\nwith them to form a beginning of the new earth.  In a number of these\ntales no actual act of creation is recorded, but a reconstruction of\nmatter only.  The Algonquins relate that their great god Michabo, when\nhunting one day with wolves for dogs, was surprised to see the animals\nenter a great lake and disappear.  He followed them into the waters\nwith the object of rescuing them, but as he did so the lake suddenly\noverflowed and submerged the entire earth.  Michabo despatched a raven\nwith directions to find a piece of earth which might serve as a nucleus\nfor a new world, but the bird returned from its quest unsuccessful.\nThen the god sent an {108} otter on a like errand, but it too failed to\nbring back the needful terrestrial germ.  At last a musk-rat was sent\non the same mission, and it returned with sufficient earth to enable\nMichabo to recreate the solid land.  The trees had become denuded of\ntheir branches, so the god discharged arrows at them, which provided\nthem with new boughs.  After this Michabo married the musk-rat, and\nfrom their union sprang the human race.\n\n\n\nThe Muskhogean Creation-Story\n\nThe Muskhogean Indians believe that in the beginning the primeval waste\nof waters alone was visible.  Over the dreary expanse two pigeons or\ndoves flew hither and thither, and in course of time observed a single\nblade of grass spring above the surface.  The solid earth followed\ngradually, and the terrestrial sphere took its present shape.  A great\nhill, Nunne Chaha, rose in the midst, and in the centre of this was the\nhouse of the deity Esaugetuh Emissee, the 'Master of Breath.'  He took\nthe clay which surrounded his abode, and from it moulded the first men,\nand as the waters still covered the earth he was compelled to build a\ngreat wall upon which to dry the folk he had made.  Gradually the soft\nmud became transformed into bone and flesh, and Esaugetuh was\nsuccessful in directing the waters into their proper channels,\nreserving the dry land for the men he had created.\n\nThis myth closely resembles the story in the Book of Genesis.  The\npigeons appear analogous to the brooding creative Spirit, and the\nmanufacture of the men out of mud is also striking.  So far is the\nresemblance carried that we are almost forced to conclude that this is\none of the instances in which Gospel conceptions have been engrafted on\na native legend.\n\n\n\n{109}\n\nSiouan Cosmology\n\nThe Mandan tribes of the Sioux possess a type of creation-myth which is\ncommon to several American peoples.  They suppose that their nation\nlived in a subterranean village near a vast lake.  Hard by the roots of\na great grape-vine penetrated from the earth above, and, clambering up\nthese, several of them got a sight of the upper world, which they found\nto be rich and well stocked with both animal and vegetable food.  Those\nof them who had seen the new-found world above returned to their home\nbringing such glowing accounts of its wealth and pleasantness that the\nothers resolved to forsake their dreary underground dwelling for the\ndelights of the sunny sphere above.  The entire population set out, and\nstarted to climb up the roots of the vine, but no more than half the\ntribe had ascended when the plant broke owing to the weight of a\ncorpulent woman.  The Mandans imagine that after death they will return\nto the underground world in which they originally dwelt, the worthy\nreaching the village by way of the lake, the bad having to abandon the\npassage by reason of the weight of their sins.\n\nThe Minnetarees believed that their original ancestor emerged from the\nwaters of a lake bearing in his hand an ear of corn, and the Mandans\npossessed a myth very similar to that of the Muskhogees concerning the\norigin of the world.\n\n\n\nBird- and Serpent-Worship and Symbols\n\nThe serpent and the bird appear sometimes separately, sometimes in\nstrange combination, in North American mythology.  The bird is always\nincomprehensible to the savage.  Its power of flight, its appearance in\nthe heavens where dwell the gods, and its musical song {110} combine to\nrender it in his sight a being of mystery, possessing capabilities far\nabove his own.  From it he conceives the idea of the winged spirit or\ngod, and he frequently regards it as a messenger from the bright\nregions of the sun or the sky deity.  The flight and song of birds have\nalways been carefully observed by primitive people as omens of grave\nimport.  These superstitions prevailed among the Red Race no less than\namong our own early ancestors.  Many tribes imagined that birds were\nthe visible spirits of the deceased.  Thus the Powhatans of Virginia\nbelieved that the feathered race received the souls of their chiefs at\ndeath, and they were careful to do them no harm, accordingly.  The\nAlgonquins believed that birds caused the phenomenon of wind, that they\ncreated water-spouts, and that the clouds were the spreading and\nagitation of their wings.  The Navaho thought that a great white swan\nsat at each of the four points of the compass and conjured up the\nblasts which came therefrom, while the Dakotas believed that in the\nwest is the home of the Wakinyjan, 'the Flyers,' the breezes that send\nthe storms.  The thunder, too, is regarded by some Indian peoples as\nthe flapping of the pinions of a great bird, whose tracks are seen in\nthe lightning, \"like the sparks which the buffalo scatters when he\nscours over a stony plain.\"  Many of the tribes of the north-west coast\nhold the same belief, and imagine the lightning to be the flash of the\nthunder-bird's eye.\n\n\n\nEagle-Worship\n\nThe eagle appears to have been regarded with extreme veneration by the\nRed Man of the north.  \"Its feathers composed the war-flag of the\nCreeks, and its image carved in wood or its stuffed skin {111}\nsurmounted their council lodges.  None but an approved warrior dared\nwear it among the Cherokees, and the Dakotas allowed such an honour\nonly to him who had first touched the corpse of the common foe.\"[5]\nThe Natchez and other tribes esteemed it almost as a deity.  The Zu\u00f1i\nof New Mexico employed four of its feathers to represent the four winds\nwhen invoking the rain-god.  Indeed, it was venerated by practically\nevery tribe in North America.  The owl, too, was employed as a symbol\nof wisdom, and sometimes, as by the Algonquins, was represented as the\nattendant of the Lord of the Dead.  The Creek medicine-men carried a\nstuffed owl-skin as the badge of their fraternity and a symbol of their\nwisdom, and the Cherokees placed one above the 'medicine' stone in\ntheir council lodge.  The dove also appears to have been looked upon as\nsacred by the Hurons and Mandans.\n\n\n[5] Brinton, _Myths of the New World_.\n\n\n\nThe Serpent and the Sun\n\nSome Indian tribes adopted the serpent as a symbol of time.  They\nreckoned by 'suns,' and as the outline of the sun, a circle,\ncorresponds to nothing in nature so much as a serpent with its tail in\nits mouth, devouring itself, so to speak, this may have been the origin\nof the symbol.  Some writers think that the serpent symbolized the\nIndian idea of eternity, but it is unlikely that such a recondite\nconception would appeal to a primitive folk.\n\n\n\nThe Lightning Serpent\n\nAmong the Indians the serpent also typified the lightning.  The\nrapidity and sinuosity of its motions, its quick spring and sharp\nrecoil, prove the aptness of the illustration.  The brilliancy of the\nserpent's basilisk {112} glance and the general intelligence of its\nhabits would speedily give it a reputation for wisdom, and therefore as\nthe possessor of _orenda_, or magic power.  These two conceptions would\nshortly become fused.  The serpent as the type of the lightning, the\nsymbol of the spear of the war-god, would lead to the idea that that\ndeity also had power over the crops or summer vegetation, for it is at\nthe time of year when lightning is most prevalent that these come to\nfruition.  Again, the serpent would through this association with the\nwar-god attain a significance in the eye of warriors, who would regard\nit as powerful war-physic.  Thus, the horn of the great Prince of\nSerpents, which was supposed to dwell in the Great Lakes, was thought\nto be the most potent war-charm obtainable, and priests or medicine-men\nprofessed to have in their possession fragments of this mighty talisman.\n\nThe Algonquins believed that the lightning was an immense serpent\nvomited by the Manito, or creator, and said that he leaves serpentine\ntwists and folds on the trees that he strikes.  The Pawnees called the\nthunder \"the hissing of the great snake.\"\n\nIn snake-charming as a proof of magical proficiency, as typifying the\nlightning, which, as the serpent-spear of the war-god, brings victory\nin battle, and in its agricultural connexion, lies most of the secret\nof the potency of the serpent symbol.  As the emblem of the fertilizing\nsummer showers the lightning serpent was the god of fruitfulness; but\nas the forerunner of floods and disastrous rains it was feared and\ndreaded.\n\n\n\nSerpent-Worship\n\nProbably more ponderous nonsense has been written about the worship of\nreptiles ('ophiolatry,' as the mythologists of half a century ago\ntermed it) than {113} upon any other allied subject.  But, this\nnotwithstanding, there is no question that the serpent still holds a\nhigh place in the superstitious regard of many peoples, Asiatic and\nAmerican.  As we have already seen, it frequently represents the orb of\nday, and this is especially the case among the Zu\u00f1i and other tribes of\nthe southern portions of North America, where sun-worship is more usual\nthan in the less genial regions.  With the Red Man also it commonly\ntypified water.  The sinuous motion of the reptile sufficiently\naccounts for its adoption as the symbol for this element.  And it would\nbe no difficult feat of imagination for the savage to regard the\nserpent as a water-god, bearing in mind as he would the resemblance\nbetween its movement and the winding course of a river.  Kennebec, the\nname of a stream in Maine, means 'snake,' and Antietam, a creek in\nMaryland, has the same significance in the Iroquois dialect.  Both\nAlgonquins and Iroquois believed in the mighty serpent of the Great\nLakes.  The wrath of this deity was greatly to be feared, and it was\nthought that, unless duly placated, he vented his irascible temper upon\nthe foolhardy adventurers who dared to approach his domain by raising a\ntempest or breaking the ice beneath their feet and dragging them down\nto his dismal fastnesses beneath.\n\n\n\nThe Rattlesnake\n\nThe rattlesnake was the serpent almost exclusively honoured by the Red\nRace.  It is slow to attack, but venomous in the extreme, and possesses\nthe power of the basilisk to attract within reach of its spring small\nbirds and squirrels.  \"It has the same strange susceptibility to the\ninfluence of rhythmic sounds as the vipers, in which lies the secret of\nsnake-charming.  Most of the Indian magicians were familiar with this\n{114} singularity.  They employed it with telling effect to put beyond\nquestion their intercourse with the unseen powers, and to vindicate the\npotency of their own guardian spirits who thus enabled them to handle\nwith impunity the most venomous of reptiles.  The well-known antipathy\nof these serpents to certain plants, for instance the hazel, which,\nbound around the ankles, is an alleged protection against their\nattacks, and perhaps some antidote to their poison used by the\nmagicians, led to their frequent introduction in religious ceremonies.\nSuch exhibitions must have made a profound impression on the spectators\nand redounded in a corresponding degree to the glory of the performer.\n'Who is a _manito_?' asks the mystic Meda Chant of the Algonkins.\n'He,' is the reply, 'he who walketh with a serpent, walking on the\nground; he is a _manito_.'  The intimate alliance of this symbol with\nthe mysteries of religion, the darkest riddles of the Unknown, is\nreflected in their language, and also in that of their neighbours, the\nDakotas, in both of which the same words _manito, wakan_, which express\nthe supernatural in its broadest sense, are also used as terms for this\nspecies of animals!  The pious founder of the Moravian Brotherhood, the\nCount of Zinzendorf, owed his life on one occasion to this deeply\nrooted superstition.  He was visiting a missionary station among the\nShawnees, in the Wyoming valley.  Recent quarrels with the whites had\nunusually irritated this unruly folk, and they resolved to make him\ntheir first victim.  After he had retired to his secluded hut, several\nof the braves crept upon him, and, cautiously lifting the corner of the\nlodge, peered in.  The venerable man was seated before a little fire, a\nvolume of the Scriptures on his knees, lost in the perusal of the\nsacred words.  While they gazed, a huge rattlesnake, {115} unnoticed by\nhim, trailed across his feet, and rolled itself into a coil in the\ncomfortable warmth of the fire.  Immediately the would-be murderers\nforsook their purpose and noiselessly retired, convinced that this was\nindeed a man of God.\"[6]\n\n\n[6] Brinton, _Myths of the New World_, pp. 131-133.\n\n\n\nThe Sacred Origin of Smoking\n\nSmoking is, of course, originally an American custom, and with the\nIndians of North America possesses a sacred origin.  Says an authority\nupon the barbarian use of tobacco:[7]\n\n\n[7] Schoolcraft, _op. cit._\n\n\n\"Of the sacred origin of tobacco the Indian has no doubt, although\nscarcely two tribes exactly agree in the details of the way in which\nthe invaluable boon was conferred on man.  In substance, however, the\nlegend is the same with all.  Ages ago, at the time when spirits\nconsidered the world yet good enough for their occasional residence, a\nvery great and powerful spirit lay down by the side of his fire to\nsleep in the forest.  While so lying, his arch-enemy came that way, and\nthought it would be a good chance for mischief; so, gently approaching\nthe sleeper, he rolled him over toward the fire, till his head rested\namong the glowing embers, and his hair was set ablaze.  The roaring of\nthe fire in his ears roused the good spirit, and, leaping to his feet,\nhe rushed in a fright through the forest, and as he did so the wind\ncaught his singed hair as it flew off, and, carrying it away, sowed it\nbroadcast over the earth, into which it sank and took root, and grew up\ntobacco.\n\n\"If anything exceeds the savage's belief in tobacco, it is that which\nattaches to his pipe.  In life it is his dearest companion, and in\ndeath is inseparable; for {116} whatever else may be forgotten at his\nfuneral obsequies, his pipe is laid in the grave with him to solace him\non his journey to the 'happy hunting-ground.'  'The first pipe' is\namong the most sacred of their traditions; as well it may be, when it\nis sincerely believed that no other than the Great Spirit himself was\nthe original smoker.\n\n\"Many years ago the Great Spirit called all his people together, and,\nstanding on the precipice of the Red Pipe-stone Rock, he broke a piece\nfrom the wall, and, kneading it in his hands, made a huge pipe, which\nhe smoked over them, and to the north, south, east, and west.  He told\nthem that this stone was red, that it was their flesh, that of it they\nmight make their pipes of peace; but it belonged equally to all; and\nthe war-club and the scalping-knife must not be raised on this ground.\nAnd he smoked his pipe and talked to them till the last whiff, and then\nhis head disappeared in a cloud; and immediately the whole surface of\nthe rock for several miles was melted and glazed.  Two great ovens were\nopened beneath, and two women (guardian spirits of the place) entered\nthem in a blaze of fire; and they are heard there yet, and answer to\nthe invocation of the priests, or medicine-men, who consult them on\ntheir visits to this sacred place.\n\n\"The 'sacred place' here mentioned is the site of the world-renowned\n'Pipe-stone Quarry.'  From this place has the North American Indian\never obtained material for his pipe, and from no other spot.  Catlin\nasserts that in every tribe he has visited (numbering about forty, and\nextending over thousands of miles of country) the pipes have all been\nmade of this red pipe-stone.  Clarke, the great American traveller,\nrelates that in his intercourse with many tribes who as yet had had but\nlittle intercourse with the whites he {117} learned that almost every\nadult had made the pilgrimage to the sacred rock and drawn from thence\nhis pipe-stone.  So peculiar is this 'quarry' that Catlin has been at\nthe pains to describe it very fully and graphically, and from his\naccount the following is taken:\n\n\"'Our approach to it was from the east, and the ascent, for the\ndistance of fifty miles, over a continued succession of slopes and\nterraces, almost imperceptibly rising one above another, that seemed to\nlift us to a great height.  There is not a tree or bush to be seen from\nthe highest summit of the ridge, though the eye may range east and\nwest, almost to a boundless extent, over a surface covered with a short\ngrass, that is green at one's feet, and about him, but changing to blue\nin distance, like nothing but the blue and vastness of the ocean.\n\n\"'On the very top of this mound or ridge we found the far-famed quarry\nor fountain of the Red Pipe, which is truly an anomaly in nature.  The\nprincipal and most striking feature of this place is a perpendicular\nwall of close-grained, compact quartz, of twenty-five and thirty feet\nin elevation, running nearly north and south, with its face to the\nwest, exhibiting a front of nearly two miles in length, when it\ndisappears at both ends, by running under the prairie, which becomes\nthere a little more elevated, and probably covers it for many miles,\nboth to the north and south.  The depression of the brow of the ridge\nat this place has been caused by the wash of a little stream, produced\nby several springs at the top, a little back from the wall, which has\ngradually carried away the superincumbent earth, and having bared the\nwall for the distance of two miles, is now left to glide for some\ndistance over a perfectly level surface of quartz rock; and then to\nleap from the top of the wall into a deep basin below, {118} and thence\nseek its course to the Missouri, forming the extreme source of a noted\nand powerful tributary, called the \"Big Sioux.\"\n\n\"'At the base of this wall there is a level prairie, of half a mile in\nwidth, running parallel to it, in any, and in all parts of which, the\nIndians procure the red stone for their pipes, by digging through the\nsoil and several slaty layers of the red stone to the depth of four or\nfive feet.  From the very numerous marks of ancient and modern diggings\nor excavations, it would appear that this place has been for many\ncenturies resorted to for the red stone; and from the great number of\ngraves and remains of ancient fortifications in the vicinity, it would\nseem, as well as from their actual traditions, that the Indian tribes\nhave long held this place in high superstitious estimation; and also\nthat it has been the resort of different tribes, who have made their\nregular pilgrimages here to renew their pipes.'\n\n\"As far as may be gathered from the various and slightly conflicting\naccounts of Indian smoking observances, it would seem that to every\ntribe, or, if it be an extensive one, to every detachment of a tribe,\nbelongs a potent instrument known as 'medicine pipe-stem.'  It is\nnothing more than a tobacco-pipe, splendidly adorned with savage\ntrappings, yet it is regarded as a sacred thing to be used only on the\nmost solemn occasions, or in the transaction of such important business\nas among us could only be concluded by the sanction of a Cabinet\nCouncil, and affixing the royal signature.\"\n\n\n\nThe Gods of the Red Man\n\nMost of the North American stocks possessed a regular pantheon of\ndeities.  Of these, having regard to their numbers, it will be\nimpossible to speak in any {119} detail, and it will be sufficient if\nwe confine ourselves to some account of the more outstanding figures.\nAs in all mythologies, godhead is often attached to the conception of\nthe bringer of culture, the sapient being who first instructs mankind\nin the arts of life, agriculture, and religion.  American mythologies\npossess many such hero-gods, and it is not always easy to say whether\nthey belong to history or mythology.  Of course, the circumstances\nsurrounding the conception of some of these beings prove that they can\nbe nothing else than mythological, but without doubt some of them were\noriginally mere mortal heroes.\n\n\n\nMichabo\n\nWe discover one of the first class in Michabo, the Great Hare, the\nprincipal deity of the Algonquins.  In the accounts of the older\ntravellers we find him described as the ruler of the winds, the\ninventor of picture-writing, and even the creator and preserver of the\nworld.  Taking a grain of sand from the bed of the ocean, he made from\nit an island which he launched in the primeval waters.  This island\nspeedily grew to a great size; indeed, so extensive did it become that\na young wolf which managed to find a footing on it and attempted to\ncross it died of old age before he completed his journey.  A great\n'medicine' society, called Meda, was supposed to have been founded by\nMichabo.  Many were his inventions.  Observing the spider spread its\nweb, he devised the art of knitting nets to catch fish.  He furnished\nthe hunter with many signs and charms for use in the chase.  In the\nautumn, ere he takes his winter sleep, he fills his great pipe and\nsmokes, and the smoke which arises is seen in the clouds which fill the\nair with the haze of the Indian summer.\n\n{120}\n\nSome uncertainty prevailed among the various Algonquian tribes as to\nwhere Michabo resided, some of them believing that he dwelt on an\nisland in Lake Superior, others on an iceberg in the Arctic Ocean, and\nstill others in the firmament, but the prevalent idea seems to have\nbeen that his home was in the east, where the sun rises on the shores\nof the great river Ocean that surrounds the dry land.\n\nThat a being possessing such qualities should be conceived of as taking\nthe name and form of a timid animal like the hare is indeed curious,\nand there is little doubt that the original root from which the name\nMichabo has been formed does not signify 'hare.'  In fact, the root\n_wab_, which is the initial syllable of the Algonquian word for 'hare,'\nmeans also 'white,' and from it are derived the words for 'east,'\n'dawn,' 'light,' and 'day.'  Their names proceeding from the same root,\nthe idea of the hare and the dawn became confused, and the more\ntangible object became the symbol of the god.  Michabo was therefore\nthe spirit of light, and, as the dawn, the bringer of winds.  As lord\nof light he is also wielder of the lightning.  He is in constant\nstrife, nevertheless, with his father the West Wind, and in this combat\nwe can see the diurnal struggle between east and west, light and\ndarkness, common to so many mythologies.\n\nModern Indian tales concerning Michabo make him a mere tricksy spirit,\na malicious buffoon, but in these we can see his character in process\nof deterioration under the stress of modern conditions impinging upon\nIndian life.  It is in the tales of the old travellers and missionaries\nthat we find him in his true colours as a great culture-hero, Lord of\nthe Day and bringer of light and civilization.\n\n\n\n{121}\n\nThe Battle of the Twin-Gods\n\nAmong the Iroquois we find a similar myth.  It tells of two brothers,\nIoskeha and Tawiscara, or the White One and the Dark One, twins, whose\ngrandmother was the moon.  When they grew up they quarrelled violently\nwith one another, and finally came to blows, Ioskeha took as his weapon\nthe horns of a stag, while Tawiscara seized a wild rose to defend\nhimself.  The latter proved but a puny weapon, and, sorely wounded,\nTawiscara turned to fly.  The drops of blood which fell from him became\nflint stones.  Ioskeha later built for himself a lodge in the far east,\nand became the father of mankind and principal deity of the Iroquois,\nslaying the monsters which infested the earth, stocking the woods with\ngame, teaching the Indians how to grow crops and make fires, and\ninstructing them in many of the other arts of life.  This myth appears\nto have been accepted later by the Mohawks and Tuscaroras.\n\n\n\nAwonawilona\n\nWe have already alluded in the Zu\u00f1i creation-myth to the native deity\nAwonawilona.  This god stands out as one of the most perfect examples\nof deity in its constructive aspect to be found in the mythologies of\nAmerica.  He seems in some measure to be identified with the sun, and\nfrom the remote allusions regarding him and the manner in which he is\nspoken of as an architect of the universe we gather that he was not\nexactly in close touch with mankind.\n\n\n\nAhsonnutli\n\nClosely resembling him was Ahsonnutli, the principal deity of the\nNavaho Indians of New Mexico, who was {122} regarded as the creator of\nthe heavens and earth.  He was supposed to have placed twelve men at\neach of the cardinal points to uphold the heavens.  He was believed to\npossess the qualities of both sexes, and is entitled the Turquoise\nMan-woman.\n\n\n\nAtius Tir\u00e1wa\n\nAtius Tir\u00e1wa was the great god of the Pawnees.  He also was a creative\ndeity, and ordered the courses of the sun, moon, and stars.  As known\nto-day he is regarded as omnipotent and intangible; but how far this\nconception of him has been coloured by missionary influence it would be\ndifficult to say.  We find, however, in other Indian mythologies which\nwe know have not been sophisticated by Christian belief many references\nto deities who possess such attributes, and there is no reason why we\nshould infer that Atius Tir\u00e1wa is any other than a purely aboriginal\nconception.\n\n\n\nEsaugetuh Emissee\n\nThe great life-giving god of the Creeks and other Muskhogeans was\nEsaugetuh Emissee, whose name signifies, 'Master of Breath.'  The sound\nof the name represents the emission of breath from the mouth.  He was\nthe god of wind, and, like many another divinity in American mythology,\nhis rule over that element was allied with his power over the breath of\nlife--one of the forms of wind or air.  Savage man regards the wind as\nthe great source of breath and life.  Indeed, in many tongues the words\n'wind,' 'soul,' and 'breath' have a common origin.  We find a like\nconception in the Aztec wind-god Tezcatlipoca, who was looked upon as\nthe primary source of existence.[8]\n\n\n[8] See the author's _Myths of Mexico and Peru_, in this series.\n\n\n\n{123}\n\nThe Coyote God\n\nAmong the people of the far west, the Californians and Chinooks, an\noutstanding deity is, strangely enough, the Coyote.  But whereas among\nthe Chinooks he was thought to be a benign being, the Maidu and other\nCalifornian tribes pictured him as mischievous, cunning, and\ndestructive.  Kodoyanpe, the Maidu creator, discovered the world along\nwith Coyote, and with his aid rendered it habitable for mankind.  The\npair fashioned men out of small wooden images, as the gods of the Kiche\nof Central America are related to have done in the myth in the _Popol\nVuh_.  But the mannikins proved unsuitable to their purpose, and they\nturned them into animals.  Kodoyanpe's intentions were beneficent, and\nas matters appeared to be going but ill, he concluded that Coyote was\nat the bottom of the mischief.  In this he was correct, and on\nconsideration he resolved to destroy Coyote.  On the side of the\ndisturber was a formidable array of monsters and other evil agencies.\nBut Kodoyanpe received powerful assistance from a being called the\nConqueror, who rid the universe of many monsters and wicked spirits\nwhich might have proved unfriendly to the life of man, as yet unborn.\nThe combat raged fiercely over a protracted period, but at last the\nbeneficent Kodoyanpe was defeated by the crafty Coyote.  Kodoyanpe had\nburied many of the wooden mannikins whom he had at first created, and\nthey now sprang from their places and became the Indian race.\n\nThis is, of course, a day-and-night or light-and-darkness myth.\nKodoyanpe is the sun, the spirit of day, who after a diurnal struggle\nwith the forces of darkness flies toward the west for refuge.  Coyote\nis the spirit of night, typified by an animal of nocturnal {124} habits\nwhich slinks forth from its den as the shades of dusk fall on the land.\nWe find a similar conception in Egyptian mythology, where Anubis, the\njackal-headed, swallows his father Osiris, the brilliant god of day, as\nthe night swallows up the sun.\n\nAnother version of the Coyote myth current in California describes how\nin the beginning there was only the primeval waste of waters, upon\nwhich Kodoyanpe and Coyote dropped in a canoe.  Coyote willed that the\nsurf beneath them should become sand.\n\n\"Coyote was coming.  He came to Got'at.  There he met a heavy surf.  He\nwas afraid that he might be drifted away, and went up to the\nspruce-trees.  He stayed there a long time.  Then he took some sand and\nthrew it upon that surf: 'This shall be a prairie and no surf.  The\nfuture generations shall walk on this prairie!'  Thus Clatsop became a\nprairie.  The surf became a prairie.\"[9]\n\n\n[9] Boas, _Chinook Texts_.\n\n\nBut among other tribes as well as among the Chinooks Italapas, the\nCoyote, is a beneficent deity.  Thus in the myths of the Shushwap and\nKutenai Indians of British Columbia he figures as the creative agency,\nand in the folk-tales of the Ashochimi of California he appears after\nthe deluge and plants in the earth the feathers of various birds, which\naccording to their colour become the several Indian tribes.\n\n\n\nBlue Jay\n\nAnother mischievous deity of the Chinooks and other western peoples is\nBlue Jay.  He is a turbulent braggart, schemer, and mischief-maker.  He\nis the very clown of gods, and invariably in trouble himself if he is\nnot manufacturing it for others.  He has the shape of a jay-bird, which\nwas given him by the Supernatural {125} People because he lost to them\nin an archery contest.  They placed a curse upon him, telling him the\nnote he used as a bird would gain an unenviable notoriety as a bad\nomen.  Blue Jay has an elder brother, the Robin, who is continually\nupbraiding him for his mischievous conduct in sententious phraseology.\nThe story of the many tricks and pranks played by Blue Jay, not only on\nthe long-suffering members of his tribe, but also upon the denizens of\nthe supernatural world, must have afforded intense amusement around\nmany an Indian camp-fire.  Even the proverbial gravity of the Red Man\ncould scarcely hold out against the comical adventures of this American\nOwl-glass.\n\n\n\nThunder-Gods\n\nNorth America is rich in thunder-gods.  Of these a typical example is\nHaokah, the god of the Sioux.  The countenance of this divinity was\ndivided into halves, one of which expressed grief and the other\ncheerfulness--that is, on occasion he could either weep with the rain\nor smile with the sun.  Heat affected him as cold, and cold was to him\nas heat.  He beat the tattoo of the thunder on his great drum, using\nthe wind as a drum-stick.  In some phases he is reminiscent of Jupiter,\nfor he hurls the lightning to earth in the shape of thunderbolts.  He\nwears a pair of horns, perhaps to typify his connexion with the\nlightning, or else with the chase, for many American thunder-gods are\nmighty hunters.  This double conception arises from their possession of\nthe lightning-spear, or arrow, which also gives them in some cases the\ncharacter of a war-god.  Strangely enough, such gods of the chase often\nresembled in appearance the animals they hunted.  For example, Tsui\n'Kalu (Slanting Eyes), a hunter-god {126} of the Cherokee Indians,\nseems to resemble a deer.  He is of giant proportions, and dwells in a\ngreat mountain of the Blue Ridge Range, in North-western Virginia.  He\nappears to have possessed all the game in the district as his private\nproperty.  A Cherokee thunder-god is Asgaya Gigagei (Red Man).  The\nfacts that he is described as being of a red colour, thus typifying the\nlightning, and that the Cherokees were originally a mountain people,\nleave little room for doubt that he is a thunder-god, for it is around\nthe mountain peaks that the heavy thunder-clouds gather, and the red\nlightning flashing from their depths looks like the moving limbs of the\nhalf-hidden deity.  We also find occasionally invoked in the Cherokee\nreligious formul\u00e6 a pair of twin deities known as the 'Little Men,' or\n'Thunder-boys.'  This reminds us that in Peru twins were always\nregarded as sacred to the lightning, since they were emblematic of the\nthunder-and-lightning twins, Apocatequil and Piguerao.  All these\nthunder-gods are analogous to the Aztec Tlaloc, the Kiche Hurakan, and\nthe Otomi Mixcoatl.[10]  A well-known instance of the thunder- or\nhunter-god who possesses animal characteristics will occur to those who\nare familiar with the old English legend of Herne the Hunter, with his\ndeer's head and antlers.\n\n\n[10] See _Myths of Mexico and Peru_.\n\n\nThe Dakota Indians worshipped a deity whom they addressed as Waukheon\n(Thunder-bird).  This being was engaged in constant strife with the\nwater-god, Unktahe, who was a cunning sorcerer, and a controller of\ndreams and witchcraft.  Their conflict probably symbolizes the\natmospheric changes which accompany the different seasons.\n\n\n\n{127}\n\nIdea of a Future Life\n\nThe idea of a future life was very widely disseminated among the tribes\nof North America.  The general conception of such an existence was that\nit was merely a shadowy extension of terrestrial life, in which the\nsame round of hunting and kindred pursuits was engaged in.  The Indian\nidea of eternal bliss seems to have been an existence in the Land of\nthe Sun, to which, however, only those famed in war were usually\nadmitted.\n\nThat the Indians possessed a firm belief in a future state of existence\nis proved by their statements to the early Moravian missionaries, to\nwhom they said: \"We Indians shall not for ever die.  Even the grains of\ncorn we put under the earth grow up and become living things.\"  The old\nmissionary adds: \"They conceive that when the soul has been awhile with\nGod it can, if it chooses, return to earth and be born again.\"  This\nidea of rebirth, however, appears to have meant that the soul would\nreturn to the bones, that these would clothe themselves with flesh, and\nthat the man would rejoin his tribe.  By what process of reasoning they\narrived at such a conclusion it would be difficult to ascertain, but\nthe almost universal practice which obtained among the Indians both of\nNorth and South America of preserving the bones of the deceased plainly\nindicates that they possessed some strong religious reason for this\nbelief.  Many tribes which dwelt east of the Mississippi once in every\ndecade collected the bones of those who had died within that period,\ncarefully cleaned them, and placed them in a tomb lined with beautiful\nflowers, over which they erected a mound of wood, stone, or earth.\nNor, indeed, were the ancient Egyptians more considerate of the remains\nof their fathers.\n\n\n\n{128}\n\nThe Hope of Resurrection\n\nAmerican funerary ritual and practice throughout the northern\nsub-continent plainly indicates a strong and vivid belief in the\nresurrection of the soul after death.  Among many tribes the practice\nprevailed of interring with the deceased such objects as he might be\nsupposed to require in the other world.  These included weapons of war\nand of the chase for men, and household implements and feminine finery\nin the case of women.\n\nAmong primitive peoples the belief is prevalent that inanimate objects\npossess doubles, or, as spiritualists would say, 'astral bodies,' or\nsouls, and some Indian tribes supposed that unless such objects were\nbroken or mutilated--that is to say, 'killed'--their doubles would not\naccompany the spirit of the deceased on its journey.\n\n\n\nIndian Burial Customs\n\nMany methods of disposing of the corpse were, and are, in use among the\nAmerican Indians.  The most common of these were ordinary burial in the\nearth or under tumuli, burial in caves, tree-burial, raising the dead\non platforms, and the disposal of cremated remains in urns.\n\nEmbalming and mummification were practised to a certain extent by some\nof the extinct tribes of the east coast, and some of the north-west\ntribes, notably the Chinooks, buried their dead in canoes, which were\nraised on poles.  The rites which accompanied burial, besides the\nplacing of useful articles and food in the grave, generally consisted\nin a solemn dance, in which the bereaved relatives cut themselves and\nblackened their faces, after which they wailed night and morning in\nsolitary places.  It was generally regarded as unlucky to mention the\nname of the deceased, and, indeed, the {129} bereaved family often\nadopted another name to avoid such a contingency.\n\n\n\nThe Soul's Journey\n\nMost of the tribes appear to have believed that the soul had to\nundertake a long journey before it reached its destination.  The belief\nof the Chinooks in this respect is perhaps a typical one.  They imagine\nthat after death the spirit of the deceased drinks at a large hole in\nthe ground, after which it shrinks and passes on to the country of the\nghosts, where it is fed with spirit food and drink.  After this act of\ncommunion with the spirit-world it may not return.  They also believe\nthat every one is possessed of two spirits, a greater and a less.\nDuring illness the lesser soul is spirited away by the denizens of\nGhost-land.  The Navahos possess a similar belief, and say that the\nsoul has none of the vital force which animates the body, nor any of\nthe faculties of the mind, but a kind of third quality, or personality,\nlike the _ka_ of the ancient Egyptians, which may leave its owner and\nbecome lost, much to his danger and discomfort.  The Hurons and\nIroquois believe that after death the soul must cross a deep and swift\nstream, by a bridge formed by a single slender tree, upon which it has\nto combat the attacks of a fierce dog.  The Athapascans imagine that\nthe soul must be ferried over a great water in a stone canoe, and the\nAlgonquins and Dakotas believe that departed spirits must cross a\nstream bridged by an enormous snake.\n\n\n\nParadise and the Supernatural People\n\nThe Red Man appears to have possessed two wholly different conceptions\nof supernatural life.  We find in Indian myth allusions both to a\n'Country of the Ghosts' and to a 'Land of the Supernatural People.'\n{130} The first appears to be the destination of human beings after\ndeath, but the second is apparently the dwelling-place of a spiritual\nrace some degrees higher than mankind.  Both these regions are within\nthe reach of mortals, and seem to be mere extensions of the terrestrial\nsphere.  Their inhabitants eat, drink, hunt, and amuse themselves in\nthe same manner as earthly folk, and are by no means invulnerable or\nimmortal.  The instinctive dread of the supernatural which primitive\nman possesses is well exemplified in the myths in which he is brought\ninto contact with the denizens of Ghost-land or the Spirit-world.\nThese myths were undoubtedly framed for the same purpose as the old\nWelsh poem on the harrying of hell, or the story of the journey of the\ntwin brothers to Xibalba in the Central American _Popol Vuh_.  That is\nto say, the desire was felt for some assurance that man, on entering\nthe spiritual sphere, would only be treading in the footsteps of heroic\nbeings who had preceded him, who had vanquished the forces of death and\nhell and had stripped them of their terrors.\n\nThe mythologies of the North American Indians possess no place of\npunishment, any more than they possess any deities who are frankly\nmalevolent toward humanity.  Should a place of torment be discernible\nin any Indian mythology at the present day it may unhesitatingly be\nclassed as the product of missionary sophistication.  Father Br\u00e9beuf,\nan early French missionary, could only find that the souls of suicides\nand those killed in war were supposed to dwell apart from the others.\n\"But as to the souls of scoundrels,\" he adds, \"so far from being shut\nout, they are welcome guests; though for that matter, if it were not so\ntheir paradise would be a total desert, as 'Indian' and 'scoundrel' are\none and the same.\"\n\n\n\n{131}\n\nThe Sacred Number Four\n\nOver the length and breadth of the American continent a peculiar\nsanctity is attached by the aborigines to the four points of the\ncompass.  This arises from the circumstance that from these quarters\ncome the winds which carry the fertilizing rains.  The Red Man, a\ndweller in vast undulating plains where landmarks are few, recognized\nthe necessity of such guidance in his wanderings as could alone be\nreceived from a strict adherence to the position of the four cardinal\npoints.  These he began to regard with veneration as his personal\nsafeguards, and recognized in them the dwelling-places of powerful\nbeings, under whose care he was.  Most of his festivals and\ncelebrations had symbolical or direct allusions to the four points of\nthe compass.  The ceremony of smoking, without which no treaty could be\ncommenced or ratified, was usually begun by the chief of the tribe\nexhaling tobacco-smoke toward the four quarters of the earth.  Among\nsome tribes other points were also recognized, as, for example, one in\nthe sky and one in the earth.  All these points had their symbolical\ncolours, and were presided over by various animal or other divinities.\nThus the Apaches took black for the east, white for the south, yellow\nfor the west, and blue for the north, the Cherokees red, white, black,\nand blue for the same points, and the Navahos white, blue, yellow, and\nblack, with white and black for the lower regions and blue for the\nupper or ethereal world.\n\n\n\nIndian Time and Festivals\n\nThe North American tribes have various ways of computing time.  Some of\nthem rely merely upon the changes in season and the growth of crops for\nguidance {132} as to when their annual festivals and seasonal\ncelebrations should take place.  Others fix their system of festivals\non the changes of the moon and the habits of animals and birds.  It\nwas, however, upon the moon that most of these peoples depended for\ninformation regarding the passage of time.  Most of them assigned\ntwelve moons to the year, while others considered thirteen a more\ncorrect number.  The Kiowa reckoned the year to consist of twelve and a\nhalf moons, the other half being carried over to the year following.\n\nThe Zu\u00f1i of New Mexico allude to the year as a 'passage of time,' and\ncall the seasons the 'steps of the year.'  The first six months of the\nZu\u00f1i year possess names which have an agricultural or natural\nsignificance, while the last six have ritualistic names.  Captain\nJonathan Carver, who travelled among the Sioux at the end of the\neighteenth century, says that some tribes among them reckoned their\nyears by moons, and made them consist of twelve lunar months, observing\nwhen thirty moons had waned to add a supernumerary one, which they\ntermed the 'lost moon.'  They gave a name to each month as follows, the\nyear beginning at the first new moon after the spring equinox: March,\nWorm Moon; April, Moon of Plants; May, Moon of Flowers; June, Hot Moon;\nJuly, Buck Moon; August, Sturgeon Moon; September, Corn Moon; October,\nTravelling Moon; November, Beaver Moon; December, Hunting Moon;\nJanuary, Cold Moon; February, Snow Moon.  These people had no division\ninto weeks, but counted days by 'sleeps,' half-days by pointing to the\nsun at noon, and quarter-days by the rising and setting of the sun, for\nall of which they possessed symbolic signs.  Many tribes kept records\nof events by means of such signs, as has already been indicated.  The\neastern Sioux {133} measure time by knotted leather thongs, similar to\nthe _quipos_ of the ancient Peruvians.  Other tribes have even more\nprimitive methods.  The Hupa of California tell a person's age by\nexamining his teeth.  The Maidu divide the seasons into Rain Season,\nLeaf Season, Dry Season, and Falling-leaf Season.  The Pima of Southern\nArizona record events by means of notched sticks, which no one but the\npersons who mark them can understand.\n\nThe chief reason for the computation of time among savage peoples is\nthe correct observance of religious festivals.  With the rude methods\nat their command they are not always able to hit upon the exact date on\nwhich these should occur.  These festivals are often of a highly\nelaborate nature, and occupy many days in their celebration, the most\nminute attention being paid to the proper performance of the various\nrites connected with them.  They consist for the most part of a\npreliminary fast, followed by symbolic dances or magical ceremonies,\nand concluding with a gluttonous orgy.  Most of these observances\npossess great similarity one to another, and visible differences may be\naccounted for by circumstances of environment or seasonal variations.\n\nWhen the white man first came into contact with the Algonquian race it\nwas observed that they held regularly recurring festivals to celebrate\nthe ripening of fruits and grain, and more irregular feasts to mark the\nreturn of wild-fowl and the hunting season in general.  Dances were\nengaged in, and heroic songs chanted.  Indeed, the entire observance\nappears to have been identical in its general features with the\nfestival of to-day.\n\nOne of the most remarkable of these celebrations is that of the Creeks\ncalled the 'Busk,' a contraction {134} for its native name, Pushkita.\nCommencing with a rigorous fast which lasts three days, the entire\ntribe assembles on the fourth day to watch the high-priest produce a\nnew fire by means of friction.  From this flame the members of the\ntribe are supplied, and feasting and dancing are then engaged in for\nthree days.  Four logs are arranged in the form of a cross pointing to\nthe four quarters of the earth, and burnt as an offering to the four\nwinds.\n\n\n\nThe Buffalo Dance\n\nThe Mandans, a Dakota tribe, each year celebrate as their principal\nfestival the Buffalo Dance, a feast which marks the return of the\nbuffalo-hunting season.  Eight men wearing buffalo-skins on their\nbacks, and painted black, red, or white, imitate the actions of\nbuffaloes.  Each of them holds a rattle in his right hand and a slender\nrod six feet long in his left, and carries a bunch of green willow\nboughs on his back.  The ceremony is held at the season of the year\nwhen the willow is in full leaf.  The dancers take up their positions\nat four different points of a canoe to represent the four cardinal\npoints of the compass.  Two men dressed as grizzly bears stand beside\nthe canoe, growling and threatening to spring upon any one who\ninterferes with the ceremony.  The bystanders throw them pieces of\nfood, which are at once pounced upon by two other men, and carried off\nby them to the prairie.  During the ceremony the old men of the tribe\nbeat upon sacks, chanting prayers for the success of the buffalo-hunt.\nOn the fourth day a man enters the camp in the guise of an evil spirit,\nand is driven from the vicinity with stones and curses.\n\nThe elucidation of this ceremony may perhaps be as {135} follows: From\nsome one of the four points of the compass the buffalo must come;\ntherefore all are requested to send goodly supplies.  The men dressed\nas bears symbolize the wild beasts which might deflect the progress of\nthe herds of buffalo toward the territory of the tribe, and therefore\nmust be placated.  The demon who visits the camp after the ceremony is,\nof course, famine.\n\n\n\nDance-Festivals of the Hopi\n\nThe most highly developed North American festival system is that of the\nHopi or Moqui of Arizona, the observances of which are almost of a\ntheatrical nature.  All the Pueblo Indians, of whom the Hopi are a\ndivision, possess similar festivals, which recur at various seasons or\nunder the auspices of different totem clans or secret societies.  Most\nof these 'dances' are arranged by the Katcina clan, and take place in\ndance-houses known as _kivas_.  These ceremonies have their origin in\nthe universal reverence shown to the serpent in America--a reverence\nbased on the idea that the symbol of the serpent, tail in mouth,\nrepresented the round, full sun of August.  In the summer 'dances'\nsnake-charming feats are performed, but in the Katcina ceremony\nserpents are never employed.\n\nDevil-dances are by no means uncommon among the Indians.  The purpose\nof these is to drive evil spirits from the vicinity of the tribe.\n\n\n\nMedicine-Men\n\nThe native American priesthood, whether known as medicine-men,\n_shamans_, or wizards, were in most tribes a caste apart, exercising\nnot only the priestly function, but those of physician and prophet as\nwell.  The name 'medicine-men,' therefore, is scarcely a misnomer.\n{136} They were skilled in the handling of occult forces such as\nhypnotism, and thus exercised unlimited sway over the rank and file of\nthe tribe.  But we shall first consider them in their religious aspect.\nIn many of the Indian tribes the priesthood was a hereditary office; in\nothers it was obtained through natural fitness or revelation in dreams.\nWith the Cherokees, for example, the seventh son of a family was\nusually marked out as a suitable person for the priesthood.  As a rule\nthe religious body did not share in the general life of the tribe, from\nwhich to a great degree it isolated itself.  For example, Bartram in\nhis _Travels in the Carolinas_ describes the younger priests of the\nCreeks as being arrayed in white robes, and carrying on their heads or\narms \"a great owl-skin stuffed very ingeniously as an insignia of\nwisdom and divination.  These bachelors are also distinguishable from\nthe other people by their taciturnity, grave and solemn countenance,\ndignified step, and singing to themselves songs or hymns in a low,\nsweet voice as they stroll about the towns.\"  To add to the feeling of\nawe which they inspired among the laymen of the tribe, the priests\nconversed with one another in a secret tongue.  Thus the magical\nformul\u00e6 of some of the Algonquin priests were not in the ordinary\nlanguage, but in a dialect of their own invention.  The Choctaws,\nCherokees, and Zu\u00f1i employed similar esoteric dialects, all of which\nare now known to be merely modifications of their several tribal\nlanguages, fortified with obsolete words, or else mere borrowings from\nthe idioms of other tribes.\n\n\n\nMedicine-Men as Healers\n\nIt was, however, as healers that the medicine-men were pre-eminent.\nThe Indian assigns all illness or bodily {137} discomfort to\nsupernatural agency.  He cannot comprehend that indisposition may arise\nwithin his own system, but believes that it must necessarily proceed\nfrom some external source.  Some supernatural being whom he has\noffended, the soul of an animal which he has slain, or perhaps a\nmalevolent sorcerer, torments him.  If the bodies of mankind were not\nafflicted in this mysterious manner their owners would endure for ever.\nWhen the Indian falls sick he betakes himself to a medicine-man, to\nwhom he relates his symptoms, at the same time acquainting him with any\ncircumstances which he may suspect of having brought about his\ncondition.  If he has slain a deer and omitted the usual formula of\nplacation afterward he suspects that the spirit of the beast is\nactively harming him.  Should he have shot a bird and have subsequently\nobserved any of the same species near his dwelling, he will almost\ninvariably conclude that they were bent on a mission of vengeance and\nhave by some means injured him.  The medicine-man, in the first\ninstance, may give his patient some simple native remedy.  If this\ntreatment does not avail he will arrange to go to the sufferer's lodge\nfor the purpose of making a more thorough examination.  Having located\nthe seat of the pain, he will blow upon it several times, and then\nproceed to massage it vigorously, invoking the while the aid of the\nnatural enemy of the spirit which he suspects is tormenting the sick\nman.  Thus if a deer's spirit be suspected he will call upon the\nmountain lion or the Great Dog to drive it away, but if a bird of any\nof the smaller varieties he will invoke the Great Eagle who dwells in\nthe zenith to slay or devour it.  Upon the supposed approach of these\npotent beings he will become more excited, and, vigorously slapping the\npatient, will chant incantations {138} in a loud and sonorous voice,\nwhich are supposed to hasten the advent of the friendly beings whom he\nhas summoned.  At last, producing by sleight of hand an image of the\ndisturbing spirit worked in bone, he calls for a vessel of boiling\nwater, into which he promptly plunges the supposed cause of his\npatient's illness.  The bone figure is withdrawn from the boiling water\nafter a space, and on being examined may be found to have one or more\nscores on its surface.  Each of these shows that it has already slain\nits man, and the patient is assured that had the native \u00c6sculapius not\nadopted severe measures the malign spirit would have added him to the\nnumber of its victims.\n\nShould these methods not result in a cure, others are resorted to.  The\npatient is regaled with the choicest food and drink, while incantations\nare chanted and music performed to frighten away the malign influences.\n\n\n\nProfessional Etiquette\n\nThe priestly class is not given to levying exorbitant fees upon its\npatients.  As a rule the Indian medicine-man strongly resents any\nallusion to a fee.  Should the payment be of a perishable nature, such\nas food, he usually shares it with his relatives, brother-priests, or\neven his patients, but should it consist of something that may be\nretained, such as cloth, teeth necklaces, or skins, he will carefully\nhoard it to afford provision for his old age.  The Indian practitioner\nis strongly of opinion that white doctors are of little service in the\ncure of native illnesses.  White medicine, he says, is good only for\nwhite men, and Indian medicine for the red man; in which conclusion he\nis probably justified.\n\n\n\n{139}\n\nJourneys in Spirit-land\n\nIn many Indian myths we read how the _shamans_, singly or in companies,\nseek the Spirit-land, either to search for the souls of those who are\nill, but not yet dead, or to seek advice from supernatural beings.\nThese thaumaturgical practices were usually undertaken by three\nmedicine-men acting in concert.  Falling into a trance, in which their\nsouls were supposed to become temporarily disunited from their bodies,\nthey would follow the track of the sick man's spirit into the\nspirit-world.  The order in which they travelled was determined by the\nrelative strength of their guardian spirits, those with the strongest\nbeing first and last, and he who had the weakest being placed in the\nmiddle.  If the sick man's track turned to the left they said he would\ndie, but if to the right, he would recover.  From the trail they could\nalso divine whether any supernatural danger was near, and the foremost\npriest would utter a magic chant to avert such evils if they came from\nthe front, while if the danger came from the rear the incantation was\nsung by the priest who came last.  Generally their sojourn occupied one\nor two nights, and, having rescued the soul of the patient, they\nreturned to place it in his body.\n\nNot only was the _shaman_ endowed with the power of projecting his own\n'astral body' into the Land of Spirits.  By placing cedar-wood charms\nin the hands of persons who had not yet received a guardian spirit he\ncould impart to them his clairvoyant gifts, enabling them to visit the\nSpirit-land and make any observations required by him.\n\nThe souls of chiefs, instead of following the usual route, went\ndirectly to the sea-shore, where only the most gifted _shamans_ could\nfollow their trail.  The sea {140} was regarded as the highway to the\nsupernatural regions.  A sick man was in the greatest peril at high\nwater, but when the tide was low the danger was less.\n\nThe means adopted by the medicine-men to lure ghosts away from their\npursuit of a soul was to create an 'astral' deer.  The ghosts would\nturn from hunting the man's soul to follow that of the beast.\n\n\n\nThe Savage and Religion\n\nIt cannot be said that the religious sense was exceptionally strong in\nthe mind of the North American Indian.  But this was due principally to\nthe stage of culture at which he stood, and in some cases still stands.\nIn man in his savage or barbarian condition the sense of reverence as\nwe conceive it is small, and its place is largely filled by fear and\nsuperstition.  It is only at a later stage, when civilizing influences\nhave to some extent banished the grosser terrors of animism and\nfetishism, that the gods reveal themselves in a more spiritual aspect.\n\n\n\n\n{141}\n\nCHAPTER III: ALGONQUIAN MYTHS AND LEGENDS\n\n\nGlooskap and Malsum\n\nThe Algonquin Indians have perhaps a more extensive mythology than the\nmajority of Indian peoples, and as they have been known to civilization\nfor several centuries their myths have the advantage of having been\nthoroughly examined.\n\nOne of the most interesting figures in their pantheon is Glooskap,\nwhich means 'The Liar'; but so far from an affront being intended to\nthe deity by this appellation, it was bestowed as a compliment to his\ncraftiness, cunning being regarded as one of the virtues by all savage\npeoples.\n\nGlooskap and his brother Malsum, the Wolf, were twins, and from this we\nmay infer that they were the opposites of a dualistic system, Glooskap\nstanding for what seems 'good' to the savage, and Malsum for all that\nwas 'bad.'[1]  Their mother died at their birth, and out of her body\nGlooskap formed the sun and moon, animals, fishes, and the human race,\nwhile the malicious Malsum made mountains, valleys, serpents, and every\nmanner of thing which he considered would inconvenience the race of men.\n\n\n[1] This 'goodness' and 'badness,' however, is purely relative and of\nmodern origin, such deities, as already explained, being figures in a\nlight-and-darkness myth.\n\n\nEach of the brothers possessed a secret as to what would kill him, as\ndo many other beings in myth and fairy story, notably Liew Llaw Gyffes\nin Welsh romance.\n\nMalsum asked Glooskap in what manner he could be killed, and the elder\nbrother, to try his sincerity, replied that the only way in which his\nlife could be taken was by the touch of an owl's feather--or, as {142}\nsome variants of the myth say, by that of a flowering rush.  Malsum in\nhis turn confided to Glooskap that he could only perish by a blow from\na fern-root.  The malicious Wolf, taking his bow, brought down an owl,\nand while Glooskap slept struck him with a feather plucked from its\nwing.  Glooskap immediately expired, but to Malsum's chagrin came to\nlife again.  This tale is surprisingly reminiscent of the Scandinavian\nmyth of Balder, who would only die if struck by a sprig of mistletoe by\nhis brother Hodur.  Like Balder, Glooskap is a sun-god, as is well\nproved by the circumstance that when he dies he does not fail to revive.\n\nBut Malsum resolved to learn his brother's secret and to destroy him at\nthe first opportunity.  Glooskap had told him subsequently to his first\nattempt that only a pine-root could kill him, and with this Malsum\nstruck him while he slept as before, but Glooskap, rising up and\nlaughing, drove Malsum into the forest, and seated himself by a stream,\nwhere he murmured, as if musing to himself: \"Only a flowering rush can\nkill me.\"  Now he said this because he knew that Quah-beet, the Great\nBeaver, was hidden among the rushes on the bank of the stream and would\nhear every word he uttered.  The Beaver went at once to Malsum and told\nhim what he regarded as his brother's vital secret.  The wicked Malsum\nwas so glad that he promised to give the Beaver whatever he might ask\nfor.  But when the beast asked for wings like a pigeon Malsum burst\ninto mocking laughter and cried: \"Ho, you with the tail like a file,\nwhat need have you of wings?\"  At this the Beaver was wroth, and, going\nto Glooskap, made a clean breast of what he had done.  Glooskap, now\nthoroughly infuriated, dug up a fern-root, and, rushing into the\nrecesses of the forest, sought out his treacherous brother and with a\nblow of the fatal plant struck him dead.\n\n\n\n{143}\n\nScandinavian Analogies\n\nBut although Malsum was slain he subsequently appears in Algonquian\nmyth as Lox, or Loki, the chief of the wolves, a mischievous and\nrestless spirit.  In his account of the Algonquian mythology Charles\nGodfrey Leland appears to think that the entire system has been\nsophisticated by Norse mythology filtering through the Eskimo.\nAlthough the probabilities are against such a theory, there are many\npoints in common between the two systems, as we shall see later, and\namong them few are more striking than the fact that the Scandinavian\nand Algonquian evil influences possess one and the same name.\n\nWhen Glooskap had completed the world he made man and the smaller\nsupernatural beings, such as fairies and dwarfs.  He formed man from\nthe trunk of an ash-tree, and the elves from its bark.  Like Odin, he\ntrained two birds to bring him the news of the world, but their\nabsences were so prolonged that he selected a black and a white wolf as\nhis attendants.  He waged a strenuous and exterminating warfare on the\nevil monsters which then infested the world, and on the sorcerers and\nwitches who were harmful to man.  He levelled the hills and restrained\nthe forces of nature in his mighty struggles, in which he towered to\ngiant stature, his head and shoulders rising high above the clouds.\nYet in his dealings with men he was gentle and quietly humorous, not to\nsay ingenuous.\n\nOn one occasion he sought out a giant sorcerer named Win-pe, one of the\nmost powerful of the evil influences then dwelling upon the earth.\nWin-pe shot upward till his head was above the tallest pine of the\nforest, but Glooskap, with a god-like laugh, grew till his head reached\nthe stars, and tapped the wizard {144} gently with the butt of his bow,\nso that he fell dead at his feet.\n\nBut although he exterminated many monsters and placed a check upon the\nadvance of the forces of evil, Glooskap did not find that the race of\nmen grew any better or wiser.  In fact, the more he accomplished on\ntheir behalf the worse they became, until at last they reached such a\npitch of evil conduct that the god resolved to quit the world\naltogether.  But, with a feeling of consideration still for the beings\nhe had created, he announced that within the next seven years he would\ngrant to all and sundry any request they might make.  A great many\npeople were desirous of profiting by this offer, but it was with the\nutmost difficulty that they could discover where Glooskap was.  Those\nwho did find him and who chose injudiciously were severely punished,\nwhile those whose desires were reasonable were substantially rewarded.\n\n\n\nGlooskap's Gifts\n\nFour Indians who won to Glooskap's abode found it a place of magical\ndelights, a land fairer than the mind could conceive.  Asked by the god\nwhat had brought them thither, one replied that his heart was evil and\nthat anger had made him its slave, but that he wished to be meek and\npious.  The second, a poor man, desired to be rich, and the third, who\nwas of low estate and despised by the folk of his tribe, wished to be\nuniversally honoured and respected.  The fourth was a vain man,\nconscious of his good looks, whose appearance was eloquent of conceit.\nAlthough he was tall, he had stuffed fur into his moccasins to make him\nappear still taller, and his wish was that he might become bigger than\nany man of his tribe and that he might live for ages.\n\n{145}\n\nGlooskap drew four small boxes from his medicine-bag and gave one to\neach, desiring that they should not open them until they reached home.\nWhen the first three arrived at their respective lodges each opened his\nbox, and found therein an unguent of great fragrance and richness, with\nwhich he rubbed himself.  The wicked man became meek and patient, the\npoor man speedily grew wealthy, and the despised man became stately and\nrespected.  But the conceited man had stopped on his way home in a\nclearing in the woods, and, taking out his box, had anointed himself\nwith the ointment it contained.  His wish also was granted, but not\nexactly in the manner he expected, for he was changed into a pine-tree,\nthe first of the species, and the tallest tree of the forest at that.\n\n\n\nGlooskap and the Baby\n\nGlooskap, having conquered the Kewawkqu', a race of giants and\nmagicians, and the Medecolin, who were cunning sorcerers, and Pamola, a\nwicked spirit of the night, besides hosts of fiends, goblins,\ncannibals, and witches, felt himself great indeed, and boasted to a\ncertain woman that there was nothing left for him to subdue.\n\nBut the woman laughed and said: \"Are you quite sure, Master?  There is\nstill one who remains unconquered, and nothing can overcome him.\"\n\nIn some surprise Glooskap inquired the name of this mighty individual.\n\n\"He is called Wasis,\" replied the woman; \"but I strongly advise you to\nhave no dealings with him.\"\n\nWasis was only the baby, who sat on the floor sucking a piece of\nmaple-sugar and crooning a little song to himself.  Now Glooskap had\nnever married and was quite ignorant of how children are managed, {146}\nbut with perfect confidence he smiled to the baby and asked it to come\nto him.  The baby smiled back to him, but never moved, whereupon\nGlooskap imitated the beautiful song of a certain bird.  Wasis,\nhowever, paid no heed to him, but went on sucking his maple-sugar.\nGlooskap, unaccustomed to such treatment, lashed himself into a furious\nrage, and in terrible and threatening accents ordered Wasis to come\ncrawling to him at once.  But Wasis burst into direful howling, which\nquite drowned the god's thunderous accents, and for all the\nthreatenings of the deity he would not budge.  Glooskap, now thoroughly\naroused, brought all his magical resources to his aid.  He recited the\nmost terrible spells, the most dreadful incantations.  He sang the\nsongs which raise the dead, and which sent the devil scurrying to the\nnethermost depths of the pit.  But Wasis evidently seemed to think this\nwas all some sort of a game, for he merely smiled wearily and looked a\ntrifle bored.  At last Glooskap in despair rushed from the hut, while\nWasis, sitting on the floor, cried, \"Goo, goo,\" and crowed\ntriumphantly.  And to this day the Indians say that when a baby cries\n\"Goo\" he remembers the time when he conquered the mighty Glooskap.\n\n[Illustration: \"Glooskap brought all his magical resources to his aid\"]\n\n\nGlooskap's Farewell\n\nAt length the day on which Glooskap was to leave the earth arrived, and\nto celebrate the event he caused a great feast to be made on the shores\nof Lake Minas.  It was attended by all the animals, and when it drew to\na close Glooskap entered his great canoe and slowly drifted out of\nsight.  When they could see him no longer they still heard his\nbeautiful singing growing fainter and fainter in the distance, until at\nlast it died away altogether.  Then a strange thing happened.  {147}\nThe beasts, who up to this time had spoken but one language, could no\nlonger understand each other, and in confusion fled away, never again\nto meet in friendly converse until Glooskap shall return and revive the\nhalcyon days of the Golden Age.\n\nThis tradition of Glooskap strikingly recalls that of the Mexican god\nQuetzalcoatl, who drifted from the shores of Mexico eastward toward the\nfabled land of Tlapallan, whence he had originally come.  Glooskap,\nlike the Mexican deity alluded to, is, as has already been indicated, a\nsun-god, or, more properly speaking, a son of the sun, who has come to\nearth on a mission of enlightenment and civilization, to render the\nworld habitable for mankind and to sow the seeds of the arts, domestic\nand agricultural.  Quetzalcoatl disappeared toward the east because it\nwas the original home of his father, the sun, and not toward the west,\nwhich is merely the sun's resting-place for the night.  But Glooskap\ndrifted westward, as most sun-children do.\n\n\n\nHow Glooskap Caught the Summer\n\nA very beautiful myth tells how Glooskap captured the Summer.  The form\nin which it is preserved is a kind of poetry possessing something in\nthe nature of metre, which until a few generations ago was recited by\nmany Algonquian firesides.  A long time ago Glooskap wandered very far\nnorth to the Ice-country, and, feeling tired and cold, sought shelter\nat a wigwam where dwelt a great giant--the giant Winter.  Winter\nreceived the god hospitably, filled a pipe of tobacco for him, and\nentertained him with charming stories of the old time as he smoked.\nAll the time Winter was casting his spell over Glooskap, for as he\ntalked drowsily and monotonously he gave forth a freezing atmosphere,\nso that Glooskap first dozed and then fell {148} into a deep sleep--the\nheavy slumber of the winter season.  For six whole months he slept;\nthen the spell of the frost arose from his brain and he awoke.  He took\nhis way homeward and southward, and the farther south he fared the\nwarmer it felt, and the flowers began to spring up around his steps.\n\nAt length he came to a vast, trackless forest, where, under primeval\ntrees, many little people were dancing.  The queen of these folk was\nSummer, a most exquisitely beautiful, if very tiny, creature.  Glooskap\ncaught the queen up in his great hand, and, cutting a long lasso from\nthe hide of a moose, secured it round her tiny frame.  Then he ran\naway, letting the cord trail loosely behind him.\n\n\n\nThe Elves of Light\n\nThe tiny people, who were the Elves of Light, came clamouring shrilly\nafter him, pulling frantically at the lasso.  But as Glooskap ran the\ncord ran out, and pull as they might they were left far behind.\n\nNorthward he journeyed once more, and came to the wigwam of Winter.\nThe giant again received him hospitably, and began to tell the old\nstories whose vague charm had exercised such a fascination upon the\ngod.  But Glooskap in his turn began to speak.  Summer was lying in his\nbosom, and her strength and heat sent forth such powerful magic that at\nlength Winter began to show signs of distress.  The sweat poured\nprofusely down his face, and gradually he commenced to melt, as did his\ndwelling.  Then slowly nature awoke, the song of birds was heard, first\nfaintly, then more clearly and joyously.  The thin green shoots of the\nyoung grass appeared, and the dead leaves of last autumn were carried\ndown to the river by the melting snow.  Lastly the fairies came out,\nand {149} Glooskap, leaving Summer with them, once more bent his steps\nsouthward.\n\nThis is obviously a nature-myth conceived by a people dwelling in a\nclimate where the rigours of winter gave way for a more or less brief\nspace only to the blandishments of summer.  To them winter was a giant,\nand summer an elf of pigmy proportions.  The stories told during the\nwinter season are eloquent of the life led by people dwelling in a\nsub-arctic climate, where the traditional tale, the father of epic\npoetry, whiles away the long dark hours, while the winter tempest roars\nfuriously without and the heaped-up snow renders the daily occupation\nof the hunter impossible.\n\n\n\nGlooskap's Wigwam\n\nThe Indians say that Glooskap lives far away, no one knows where, in a\nvery great wigwam.  His chief occupation is making arrows, and it would\nappear that each of these stands for a day.  One side of his wigwam is\ncovered with arrows, and when his lodge shall be filled with them the\nlast great day will arrive.  Then he will call upon his army of good\nspirits and go forth to attack Malsum in a wonderful canoe, which by\nmagical means can be made to expand so as to hold an army or contract\nso that it may be carried in the palm of the hand.  The war with his\nevil brother will be one of extermination, and not one single\nindividual on either side will be left.  But the good will go to\nGlooskap's beautiful abode, and all will be well at last.\n\n\n\nThe Snow-Lodge\n\nChill breezes had long forewarned the geese of the coming cold season,\nand the constant cry from above of \"Honk, honk,\" told the Indians that\nthe birds' migration was in progress.\n\n{150}\n\nThe buffalo-hunters of the Blackfeet, an Algonquian tribe, were abroad\nwith the object of procuring the thick robes and the rich meat which\nwould keep them warm and provide good fare through the desolate winter\nmoons.  Sacred Otter had been lucky.  Many buffaloes had fallen to him,\nand he was busily occupied in skinning them.  But while the braves\nplied the knife quickly and deftly they heeded not the dun, lowering\nclouds heavy with tempest hanging like a black curtain over the\nnorthern horizon.  Suddenly the clouds swooped down from their place in\nthe heavens like a flight of black eagles, and with a roar the blizzard\nwas upon them.\n\n[Illustration: \"He descried a great _tepee_\"]\n\nSacred Otter and his son crouched beneath the carcass of a dead buffalo\nfor shelter.  But the air was frore as water in which the ice is\nfloating, and he knew that they would quickly perish unless they could\nfind some better protection from the bitter wind.  So he made a small\n_tepee_, or tent, out of the buffalo's hide, and both crawled inside.\nAgainst this crazy shelter the snow quickly gathered and drifted, so\nthat soon the inmates of the tiny lodge sank into a comfortable drowse\ninduced by the gentle warmth.  As Sacred Otter slept he dreamed.  Away\nin the distance he descried a great _tepee_, crowned with a colour like\nthe gold of sunlight, and painted with a cluster of stars symbolic of\nthe North.  The ruddy disc of the sun was pictured at the back, and to\nthis was affixed the tail of the Sacred Buffalo.  The skirts of the\n_tepee_ were painted to represent ice, and on its side had been drawn\nfour yellow legs with green claws, typical of the Thunder-bird.  A\nbuffalo in glaring red frowned above the door, and bunches of\ncrow-feathers, with small bells attached, swung and tinkled in the\nbreeze.\n\nSacred Otter, surprised at the unusual nature of the {151} paintings,\nstood before the _tepee_ lost in admiration of its decorations, when he\nwas startled to hear a voice say:\n\n\"Who walks round my _tepee_?  Come in--come in!\"\n\n\n\nThe Lord of Cold Weather\n\nSacred Otter entered, and beheld a tall, white-haired man, clothed all\nin white, sitting at the back of the lodge, of which he was the sole\noccupant.  Sacred Otter took a seat, but the owner of the _tepee_ never\nlooked his way, smoking on in stolid silence.  Before him was an\nearthen altar, on which was laid juniper, as in the Sun ceremonial.\nHis face was painted yellow, with a red line in the region of the\nmouth, and another across the eyes to the ears.  Across his breast he\nwore a mink-skin, and round his waist small strips of otter-skin, to\nall of which bells were attached.  For a long time he kept silence, but\nat length he laid down his black stone pipe and addressed Sacred Otter\nas follows:\n\n\"I am Es-tonea-pesta, the Lord of Cold Weather, and this, my dwelling,\nis the Snow-tepee, or Yellow Paint Lodge.  I control and send the\ndriving snow and biting winds from the Northland.  You are here because\nI have taken pity upon you, and on your son who was caught in the\nblizzard with you.  Take this Snow-tepee with its symbols and\nmedicines.  Take also this mink-skin tobacco-pouch, this black stone\npipe, and my supernatural power.  You must make a _tepee_ similar to\nthis on your return to camp.\"\n\nThe Lord of Cold Weather then minutely explained to Sacred Otter the\nsymbols of which he must make use in painting the lodge, and gave him\nthe songs and ceremonial connected with it.  At this juncture Sacred\nOtter awoke.  He observed that the storm had abated somewhat, and as\nsoon as it grew fair enough he and his son crawled from their shelter\nand tramped home {152} waist-high through the soft snow.  Sacred Otter\nspent the long, cold nights in making a model of the Snow-tepee and\npainting it as he had been directed in his dream.  He also collected\nthe 'medicines' necessary for the ceremonial, and in the spring, when\nnew lodges were made, he built and painted the Snow-tepee.\n\nThe power of Sacred Otter waxed great because of his possession of the\nSnow-lodge which the Lord of Cold had vouchsafed to him in dream.  Soon\nwas it proved.  Once more while hunting buffalo he and several\ncompanions were caught in a blizzard when many a weary mile from camp.\nThey appealed to Sacred Otter to utilize the 'medicine' of the Lord of\nCold.  Directing that several women and children who were with the\nparty should be placed on sledges, and that the men should go in\nadvance and break a passage through the snow for the horses, he took\nthe mink tobacco-pouch and the black stone pipe he had received from\nthe Cold-maker and commenced to smoke.  He blew the smoke in the\ndirection whence the storm came and prayed to the Lord of Cold to have\npity on the people.  Gradually the storm-clouds broke and cleared and\non every side the blue sky was seen.  The people hastened on, as they\nknew the blizzard was only being held back for a space.  But their camp\nwas at hand, and they soon reached it in safety.\n\nNever again, however, would Sacred Otter use his mystic power.  For he\ndreaded that he might offend the Lord of Cold.  And who could afford to\ndo that?\n\n\n\nThe Star-Maiden\n\nA pretty legend of the Chippeways, an Algonquian tribe, tells how\nAlgon, a hunter, won for his bride the daughter of a star.  While\nwalking over the prairies he discovered a circular pathway, worn as if\nby the tread {153} of many feet, though there were no foot-marks\nvisible outside its bounds.  The young hunter, who had never before\nencountered one or these 'fairy rings,' was filled with surprise at the\ndiscovery, and hid himself in the long grass to see whether an\nexplanation might not be forthcoming.  He had not long to wait.  In a\nlittle while he heard the sound of music, so faint and sweet that it\nsurpassed anything he had ever dreamed of.  The strains grew fuller and\nricher, and as they seemed to come from above he turned his eyes toward\nthe sky.  Far in the blue he could see a tiny white speck like a\nfloating cloud.  Nearer and nearer it came, and the astonished hunter\nsaw that it was no cloud, but a dainty osier car, in which were seated\ntwelve beautiful maidens.  The music he had heard was the sound of\ntheir voices as they sang strange and magical songs.  Descending into\nthe charmed ring, they danced round and round with such exquisite grace\nand abandon that it was a sheer delight to watch them.  But after the\nfirst moments of dazzled surprise Algon had eyes only for the youngest\nof the group, a slight, vivacious creature, so fragile and delicate\nthat it seemed to the stalwart hunter that a breath would blow her away.\n\nHe was, indeed, seized with a fierce passion for the dainty sprite, and\nhe speedily decided to spring from the grass and carry her off.  But\nthe pretty creatures were too quick for him.  The fairy of his choice\nskilfully eluded his grasp and rushed to the car.  The others followed,\nand in a moment they were soaring up in the air, singing a sweet,\nunearthly song.  The disconsolate hunter returned to his lodge, but try\nas he might he could not get the thought of the Star-maiden out of his\nhead, and next day, long before the hour of the fairies' arrival, he\nlay in the grass awaiting {154} the sweet sounds that would herald\ntheir approach.  At length the car appeared.  The twelve ethereal\nbeings danced as before.  Again Algon made a desperate attempt to seize\nthe youngest, and again he was unsuccessful.\n\n\"Let us stay,\" said one of the Star-maidens.  \"Perhaps the mortal\nwishes to teach us his earthly dances.\"  But the youngest sister would\nnot hear of it, and they all rose out of sight in their osier basket.\n\n\n\nAlgon's Strategy\n\nPoor Algon returned home more unhappy than ever.  All night he lay\nawake dreaming of the pretty, elusive creature who had wound a chain of\ngossamer round his heart and brain, and early in the morning he\nrepaired to the enchanted spot.  Casting about for some means of\ngaining his end, he came upon the hollow trunk of a tree in which a\nnumber of mice gambolled.  With the aid of the charms in his\n'medicine'-bag he turned himself into one of these little animals,\nthinking the fair sisters would never pierce his disguise.\n\n[Illustration: Algon carries the Captured Maiden home to his Lodge]\n\nThat day when the osier car descended its occupants alighted and danced\nmerrily as they were wont in the magic circle, till the youngest saw\nthe hollow tree-trunk (which had not been there on the previous day)\nand turned to fly.  Her sisters laughed at her fears, and tried to\nreassure her by overturning the tree-trunk.  The mice scampered in all\ndirections, and were quickly pursued by the Star-maidens, who killed\nthem all except Algon.  The latter regained his own shape just as the\nyoungest fairy raised her hand to strike him.  Clasping her in his\narms, he bore her to his village, while her frightened sisters ascended\nto their Star-country.\n\nArrived at his home, Algon married the maiden, and {155} by his\nkindness and gentleness soon won her affection.  However, her thoughts\nstill dwelt on her own people, and though she indulged her sorrow only\nin secret, lest it should trouble her husband, she never ceased to\nlament her lost home.\n\n\n\nThe Star-Maiden's Escape\n\nOne day while she was out with her little son she made a basket of\nosiers, like the one in which she had first come to earth.  Gathering\ntogether some flowers and gifts for the Star-people, she took the child\nwith her into the basket, sang the magical songs she still remembered,\nand soon floated up to her own country, where she was welcomed by the\nking, her father.\n\nAlgon's grief was bitter indeed when he found that his wife and child\nhad left him.  But he had no means of following them.  Every day he\nwould go to the magic circle on the prairie and give vent to his\nsorrow, but the years went past and there was no sign of his dear ones\nreturning.\n\nMeanwhile the woman and her son had almost forgotten Algon and the\nearth-country.  However, when the boy grew old enough to hear the story\nhe wished to go and see his father.  His mother consented, and arranged\nto go with him.  While they were preparing to descend the Star-people\nsaid:\n\n\"Bring Algon with you when you return, and ask him to bring some\nfeature from every beast and bird he has killed in the chase.\"\n\nAlgon, who had latterly spent almost all his time at the charmed\ncircle, was overjoyed to see his wife and son come back to him, and\nwillingly agreed to go with them to the Star-country.  He worked very\nhard to obtain a specimen of all the rare and curious birds and beasts\nin his land, and when at last he had gathered {156} the relics--a claw\nof one, a feather of another, and so on--he piled them in the osier\ncar, climbed in himself with his wife and boy, and set off to the\nStar-country.\n\nThe people there were delighted with the curious gifts Algon had\nbrought them, and, being permitted by their king to take one apiece,\nthey did so.  Those who took a tail or a claw of any beast at once\nbecame the quadruped represented by the fragment, and those who took\nthe wings of birds became birds themselves.  Algon and his wife and son\ntook the feathers of a white falcon and flew down to the prairies,\nwhere their descendants may still be seen.\n\n\n\nCloud-Carrier and the Star-Folk\n\nA handsome youth once dwelt with his parents on the banks of Lake\nHuron.  The old people were very proud of their boy, and intended that\nhe should become a great warrior.  When he grew old enough to prepare\nhis 'medicine'-bag he set off into the forest for that purpose.  As he\njourneyed he grew weary, and lay down to sleep, and while he slept he\nheard a gentle voice whisper:\n\n\"Cloud-carrier, I have come to fetch you.  Follow me.\"\n\nThe young man started to his feet.\n\n\"I am dreaming.  It is but an illusion,\" he muttered to himself, as he\ngazed at the owner of the soft voice, who was a damsel of such\nmarvellous beauty that the sleepy eyes of Cloud-carrier were quite\ndazzled.\n\n\"Follow me,\" she said again, and rose softly from the ground like\nthistledown.  To his surprise the youth rose along with her, as lightly\nand as easily.  Higher they went, and still higher, far above the\ntree-tops, and into the sky, till they passed at length through an\nopening in the spreading vault, and Cloud-carrier saw that he was in\nthe country of the Star-people, and that his beautiful guide was no\nmortal {157} maiden, but a supernatural being.  So fascinated was he by\nher sweetness and gentleness that he followed her without question till\nthey came to a large lodge.  Entering it at the invitation of the\nStar-maiden, Cloud-carrier found it filled with weapons and ornaments\nof silver, worked in strange and grotesque designs.  For a time he\nwandered through the lodge admiring and praising all he saw, his\nwarrior-blood stirring at the sight of the rare weapons.  Suddenly the\nlady cried:\n\n\"Hush!  My brother approaches!  Let me hide you.  Quick!\"\n\nThe young man crouched in a corner, and the damsel threw a richly\ncoloured scarf over him.  Scarcely had she done so when a grave and\ndignified warrior stalked into the lodge.\n\n\"Nemissa, my dear sister,\" he said, after a moment's pause, \"have you\nnot been forbidden to speak to the Earth-people?  Perhaps you imagine\nyou have hidden the young man, but you have not.\"  Then, turning from\nthe blushing Nemissa to Cloud-carrier, he added, good-naturedly:\n\n\"If you stay long there you will be very hungry.  Come out and let us\nhave a talk.\"\n\nThe youth did as he was bid, and the brother of Nemissa gave him a pipe\nand a bow and arrows.  He gave him also Nemissa for his wife, and for a\nlong time they lived together very happily.\n\n\n\nThe Star-Country\n\nNow the young man observed that his brother-in-law was in the habit of\ngoing away every day by himself, and feeling curious to know what his\nbusiness might be, he asked one morning whether he might accompany him.\n\nThe brother-in-law consented readily, and the two {158} set off.\nTravelling in the Star-country was very pleasant.  The foliage was\nricher than that of the earth, the flowers more delicately coloured,\nthe air softer and more fragrant, and the birds and beasts more\ngraceful and harmless.  As the day wore on to noon Cloud-carrier became\nvery hungry.\n\n\"When can we get something to eat?\" he asked his brother-in-law.\n\n\"Very soon,\" was the reassuring reply.  \"We are just going to make a\nrepast.\"  As he spoke they came to a large opening, through which they\ncould see the lodges and lakes and forests of the earth.  At one place\nsome hunters were preparing for the chase.  By the banks of a river\nsome women were gathering reeds, and down in a village a number of\nchildren were playing happily.\n\n\"Do you see that boy down there in the centre of the group?\" said the\nbrother of Nemissa, and as he spoke he threw something at the child.\nThe poor boy fell down instantly, and was carried, more dead than\nalive, to the nearest hut.\n\n\n\nThe Sacrifice\n\nCloud-carrier was much perplexed at the act of his supernatural\nrelative.  He saw the medicine-men gather round the child and chant\nprayers for his recovery.\n\n\"It is the will of Manitou,\" said one priest, \"that we offer a white\ndog as a sacrifice.\"\n\nSo they procured a white dog, skinned and roasted it, and put it on a\nplate.  It flew up in the air and provided a meal for the hungry\nCloud-carrier and his companion.  The child recovered and returned to\nhis play.\n\n\"Your medicine-men,\" said Nemissa's brother, \"get {159} a great\nreputation for wisdom simply because they direct the people to me.  You\nthink they are very clever, but all they do is to advise you to\nsacrifice to me.  It is I who recover the sick.\"\n\nCloud-carrier found in this spot a new source of interest, but at\nlength the delights of the celestial regions began to pall.  He longed\nfor the companionship of his own kin, for the old commonplace pastimes\nof the Earth-country.  He became, in short, very homesick, and begged\nhis wife's permission to return to earth.  Very reluctantly she\nconsented.\n\n\"Remember,\" she said, \"that I shall have the power to recall you when I\nplease, for you will still be my husband.  And above all do not marry\nan Earth-woman, or you will taste of my vengeance.\"\n\nThe young man readily promised to respect her injunctions.  So he went\nto sleep, and awoke a little later to find himself lying on the grass\nclose by his father's lodge.  His parents greeted him joyfully.  He had\nbeen absent, they told him, for more than a year, and they had not\nhoped to see him again.\n\nThe remembrance of his sojourn among the Star-people faded gradually to\na dim recollection.  By and by, forgetting the wife he had left there,\nhe married a young and handsome woman belonging to his own village.\nFour days after the wedding she died, but Cloud-carrier failed to draw\na lesson from this unfortunate occurrence.  He married a third wife.\nBut one day he was missing, and was never again heard of.  His\nStar-wife had recalled him to the sky.\n\n\n\nThe Snow-Man Husband\n\nIn a northern village of the Algonquins dwelt a young girl so\nexquisitely beautiful that she attracted hosts of admirers.  The fame\nof her beauty spread far {160} and wide, and warriors and hunters\nthronged to her father's lodge in order to behold her.  By universal\nconsent she received the name of 'Handsome.'  One of the braves who was\nmost assiduous in paying her his addresses was surnamed 'Elegant,'\nbecause of the richness of his costume and the nobility of his\nfeatures.  Desiring to know his fate, the young man confided the secret\nof his love for Handsome to another of his suitors, and proposed that\nthey two should that day approach her and ask her hand in marriage.\nBut the coquettish maiden dismissed the young braves disdainfully, and,\nto add to the indignity of her refusal, repeated it in public outside\nher father's lodge.  Elegant, who was extremely sensitive, was so\nhumiliated and mortified that he fell into ill-health.  A deep\nmelancholy settled on his mind.  He refused all nourishment, and for\nhours he would sit with his eyes fixed on the ground in moody\ncontemplation.  A profound sense of disgrace seized upon him, and\nnotwithstanding the arguments of his relations and comrades he sank\ndeeper into lethargy.  Finally he took to his bed, and even when his\nfamily were preparing for the annual migration customary with the tribe\nhe refused to rise from it, although they removed the tent from above\nhis head and packed it up for transport.\n\n\n\nThe Lover's Revenge\n\nAfter his family had gone Elegant appealed to his guardian spirit or\ntotem to revenge him on the maiden who had thus cast him into\ndespondency.  Going from lodge to lodge, he collected all the rags that\nhe could find, and, kneading snow over a framework of animals' bones,\nhe moulded it into the shape of a man, which he attired in the tatters\nhe had gathered, finally covering the whole with brilliant beads and\ngaudy feathers so {161} that it presented a very imposing appearance.\nBy magic art he animated this singular figure, placed a bow and arrows\ninto its hands, and bestowed on it the name of Moowis.\n\nTogether the pair set out for the new encampment of the tribe.  The\nbrilliant appearance of Moowis caused him to be received by all with\nthe most marked distinction.  The chieftain of the tribe begged him to\nenter his lodge, and entertained him as an honoured guest.  But none\nwas so struck by the bearing of the noble-looking stranger as Handsome.\nHer mother requested him to accept the hospitality of her lodge, which\nhe duly graced with his presence, but being unable to approach too\nclosely to the hearth, on which a great fire was burning, he placed a\nboy between him and the blaze, in order that he should run no risk of\nmelting.  Soon the news that Moowis was to wed Handsome ran through the\nencampment, and the nuptials were celebrated.  On the following day\nMoowis announced his intention of undertaking a long journey.  Handsome\npleaded for leave to accompany him, but he refused on the ground that\nthe distance was too great and that the fatigues and dangers of the\nroute would prove too much for her strength.  Finally, however, she\novercame his resistance, and the two set out.\n\n\n\nA Strange Transformation\n\nA rough and rugged road had to be traversed by the newly wedded pair.\nOn every hand they encountered obstacles, and the unfortunate Handsome,\nwhose feet were cut and bleeding, found the greatest difficulty in\nkeeping up with her more active husband.  At first it was bitterly\ncold, but at length the sun came out and shone in all his strength, so\nthat the girl forgot her woes and began to sing gaily.  But on the\nappearance {162} of the luminary a strange transformation had slowly\novertaken her spouse.  At first he attempted to keep in the shade, to\navoid the golden beams that he knew meant death to him, but all to no\npurpose.  The air became gradually warmer, and slowly he dissolved and\nfell to pieces, so that his frenzied wife now only beheld his garments,\nthe bones that had composed his framework, and the gaudy plumes and\nbeads with which he had been bedecked.  Long she sought his real self,\nthinking that some trick had been played upon her; but at length,\nexhausted with fatigue and sorrow, she cast herself on the ground, and\nwith his name on her lips breathed her last.  So was Elegant avenged.\n\n\n\nThe Spirit-Bride\n\nA story is told of a young Algonquin brave whose bride died on the day\nfixed for their wedding.  Before this sad event he had been the most\ncourageous and high-spirited of warriors and the most skilful of\nhunters, but afterward his pride and his bravery seemed to desert him.\nIn vain his friends urged him to seek the chase and begged him to take\na greater interest in life.  The more they pressed him the more\nmelancholy he became, till at length he passed most of his time by the\ngrave of his bride.\n\n[Illustration: Moowis had melted in the Sun]\n\nHe was roused from his state of apathy one day, however, by hearing\nsome old men discussing the existence of a path to the Spirit-world,\nwhich they supposed lay to the south.  A gleam of hope shone in the\nyoung brave's breast, and, worn with sorrow as he was, he armed himself\nand set off southward.  For a long time he saw no appreciable change in\nhis surroundings--rivers, mountains, lakes, and forests similar to\nthose of his own country environed him.  But after a weary journey of\nmany days he fancied he saw a {163} difference.  The sky was more blue,\nthe prairie more fertile, the scenery more gloriously beautiful.  From\nthe conversation he had overheard before he set out, the young brave\njudged that he was nearing the Spirit-world.  Just as he emerged from a\nspreading forest he saw before him a little lodge set high on a hill.\nThinking its occupants might be able to direct him to his destination,\nhe climbed to the lodge and accosted an aged man who stood in the\ndoorway.\n\n\"Can you tell me the way to the Spirit-world?\" he inquired.\n\n\n\nThe Island of the Blessed\n\n\"Yes,\" said the old man gravely, throwing aside his cloak of swan's\nskin.  \"Only a few days ago she whom you seek rested in my lodge.  If\nyou will leave your body here you may follow her.  To reach the Island\nof the Blessed you must cross yonder gulf you see in the distance.  But\nI warn you the crossing will be no easy matter.  Do you still wish to\ngo?\"\n\n\"Oh, yes, yes,\" cried the warrior eagerly, and as the words were\nuttered he felt himself grow suddenly lighter.  The whole aspect, too,\nof the scene was changed.  Everything looked brighter and more\nethereal.  He found himself in a moment walking through thickets which\noffered no resistance to his passage, and he knew that he was a spirit,\ntravelling in the Spirit-world.  When he reached the gulf which the old\nman had indicated he found to his delight a wonderful canoe ready on\nthe shore.  It was cut from a single white stone, and shone and\nsparkled in the sun like a jewel.  The warrior lost no time in\nembarking, and as he put off from the shore he saw his pretty bride\nenter just such another canoe as his and imitate all his movements.\nSide by side they made for the Island of the Blessed, a {164} charming\nwoody islet set in the middle of the water, like an emerald in silver.\nWhen they were about half-way across a sudden storm arose, and the huge\nwaves threatened to engulf them.  Many other people had embarked on the\nperilous waters by this time, some of whom perished in the furious\ntempest.  But the youth and maiden still battled on bravely, never\nlosing sight of one another.  Because they were good and innocent, the\nMaster of Life had decreed that they should arrive safely at the fair\nisland, and after a weary struggle they felt their canoes grate on the\nshore.\n\nHand in hand the lovers walked among the beautiful sights and sounds\nthat greeted their eyes and ears from every quarter.  There was no\ntrace of the recent storm.  The sea was as smooth as glass and the sky\nas clear as crystal.  The youth and his bride felt that they could\nwander on thus for ever.  But at length a faint, sweet voice bade the\nformer return to his home in the Earth-country.\n\n\n\nThe Master of Life\n\n\"You must finish your mortal course,\" it whispered softly.  \"You will\nbecome a great chief among your own people.  Rule wisely and well, and\nwhen your earthly career is over you shall return to your bride, who\nwill retain her youth and beauty for ever.\"\n\nThe young man recognized the voice as that of the Master of Life, and\nsadly bade farewell to the woman.  He was not without hope now,\nhowever, but looked forward to another and more lasting reunion.\n\nReturning to the old man's lodge, he regained his body, went home as\nthe gentle voice on the island had commanded him, and became a father\nto his people for many years.  By his just and kindly rule he won the\nhearts of all who knew him, and ensured for himself a {165} safe\npassage to the Island of the Blessed, where he arrived at last to\npartake of everlasting happiness with his beautiful bride.\n\n\n\nOtter-Heart\n\nIn the heart of a great forest lay a nameless little lake, and by its\nside dwelt two children.  Wicked magicians had slain their parents\nwhile they were yet of tender years, and the little orphans were\nobliged to fend for themselves.  The younger of the two, a boy, learned\nto shoot with bow and arrow, and he soon acquired such skill that he\nrarely returned from a hunting expedition without a specimen of his\nprowess in the shape of a bird or a hare, which his elder sister would\ndress and cook.\n\nWhen the boy grew older he naturally felt the need of some\ncompanionship other than that of his sister.  During his long, solitary\njourneys in search of food he thought a good deal about the great world\noutside the barrier of the still, silent forest.  He longed for the\nsound of human voices to replace the murmuring of the trees and the\ncries of the birds.\n\n\"Are there no Indians but ourselves in the whole world?\" he would ask\nwistfully.\n\n\"I do not know,\" his sister invariably replied.  Busying herself\ncheerfully about her household tasks, she knew nothing of the strange\nthoughts that were stirring in the mind of her brother.\n\nBut one day he returned from the chase in so discontented a mood that\nhis unrest could no longer pass unnoticed.  In response to solicitous\ninquiries from his sister, he said abruptly:\n\n\"Make me ten pairs of moccasins.  To-morrow I am going to travel into\nthe great world.\"\n\nThe girl was much disturbed by this communication, {166} but like a\ngood Indian maiden she did as he requested her and kept a respectful\nsilence.\n\nEarly on the following morning the youth, whose name was Otter-heart,\nset out on his quest.  He soon came to a clearing in the forest, but to\nhis disappointment he found that the tree-stumps were old and rotten.\n\n\"It is a long, long time,\" he said mournfully, \"since there were\nIndians here.\"\n\nIn order that he might find his way back, he suspended a pair of\nmoccasins from the branch of a tree, and continued his journey.  Other\nclearings he reached in due time, each showing traces of a more recent\noccupation than the last, but still it seemed to him that a long time\nmust have elapsed since the trees were cut down, so he hung up a pair\nof moccasins at each stage of his journey, and pursued his course in\nsearch of human beings.\n\nAt last he saw before him an Indian village, which he approached with\nmingled feelings of pleasure and trepidation, natural enough when it is\nremembered that since his early childhood he had spoken to no one but\nhis sister.\n\n\n\nThe Ball-Players\n\nOn the outskirts of the village some youths of about his own age were\nengaged in a game of ball, in which they courteously invited the\nstranger to join.  Very soon he had forgotten his natural shyness so\nfar as to enter into the sport with whole-hearted zest and enjoyment.\nHis new companions, for their part, were filled with astonishment at\nhis skill and agility, and, wishing to do him honour, led him to the\ngreat lodge and introduced him to their chief.\n\nNow the chief had two daughters, one of whom was {167} surnamed 'The\nGood' and the other 'The Wicked.'  To the guest the names sounded\nrather suggestive, and he was not a little embarrassed when the chief\nbegged him to marry the maidens.\n\n\"I will marry 'The Good,'\" he declared.\n\nBut the chief would not agree to that.\n\n\"You must marry both,\" he said firmly.\n\nHere was a dilemma for our hero, who had no wish to wed the cross, ugly\nsister.  He tried hard to think of a way of escape.\n\n\"I am going to visit So-and-so,\" he said at last, mentioning the name\nof one of his companions at ball, and he dressed himself carefully as\nthough he were about to pay a ceremonious visit.\n\nDirectly he was out of sight of the chief's lodge, however, he took to\nhis heels and ran into the forest as hard as he could.  Meanwhile the\nmaidens sat waiting their intended bridegroom.  When some hours passed\nwithout there being any signs of his coming they became alarmed, and\nset off to look for him.\n\nToward nightfall the young Otter-heart relaxed his speed.  \"I am quite\nsafe now,\" he thought.  He did not know that the sisters had the\nresources of magic at their command.  Suddenly he heard wild laughter\nbehind him.  Recognizing the shrill voice of The Wicked, he knew that\nhe was discovered, and cast about for a refuge.  The only likely place\nwas in the branches of a dense fir-tree, and almost as soon as the\nthought entered his mind he was at the top.  His satisfaction was\nshort-lived.  In a moment the laughter of the women broke out anew, and\nthey commenced to hew down the tree.  But Otter-heart himself was not\nwithout some acquaintance with magic art.  Plucking a small fir-cone\nfrom the tree-top, he threw it into the air, jumped astride it, and\nrode down {168} the wind for half a mile or more.  The sisters,\nabsorbed in their task of cutting down the tree, did not notice that\ntheir bird was flown.  When at last the great fir crashed to the ground\nand the youth was nowhere to be seen the pursuers tore their hair in\nrage and disappointment.\n\n\n\nOtter-Heart's Stratagem\n\nOnly on the following evening did they overtake Otter-heart again.\nThis time he had entered a hollow cedar-tree, the hard wood of which he\nthought would defy their axes.  But he had under-estimated the energy\nof the sisters.  In a short time the tree showed the effect of their\nblows, and Otter-heart called on his guardian spirit to break one of\nthe axes.\n\nHis wish was promptly gratified, but the other sister continued her\nlabours with increased energy.  Otter-heart now wished that the other\naxe might break, and again his desire was fulfilled.  The sisters were\nat a loss to know what to do.\n\n\"We cannot take him by force,\" said one; \"we must take him by subtlety.\nLet each do her best, and the one who gets him can keep him.\"\n\nSo they departed, and Otter-heart was free to emerge from his prison.\nHe travelled another day's journey from the spot, and at last, reaching\na place where he thought he would be safe, he laid down his blanket and\nwent in search of food.  Fortune favoured the hunter, and he shortly\nreturned with a fine beaver.  What was his amazement when he beheld a\nhandsome lodge where he had left his blanket!\n\n\"It must be those women again,\" he muttered, preparing to fly.  But the\nlight shone so warmly from the lodge, and he was so tired and hungry,\nthat he conquered his fears and entered.  Within he found a {169} tall,\nthin woman, pale and hungry-eyed, but rather pretty.  Taking the\nbeaver, she proceeded to cook it.  As she did so Otter-heart noticed\nthat she ate all the best parts herself, and when the meal was set out\nonly the poorest pieces remained for him.  This was so unlike an Indian\nhousewife that he cast reproaches at her and accused her of greediness.\nAs he spoke a curious change came over her.  Her features grew longer\nand thinner.  In a moment she had turned into a wolf and slunk into the\nforest.  It was The Wicked, who had made herself pretty by means of\nmagic, but could not conceal her voracious nature.\n\nOtter-heart was glad to have found her out.  He journeyed on still\nfarther, laid down his blanket, and went to look for game.  This time\nseveral beavers rewarded his skill, and he carried them to the place\nwhere he had left his blanket.  Another handsome lodge had been erected\nthere!  More than ever he wanted to run away, but once more his hunger\nand fatigue detained him.\n\n[Illustration: \"He rode down the wind\"]\n\n\"Perhaps it is The Good,\" he said.  \"I shall go inside, and if she has\nlaid my blanket near her couch I shall take it for a sign and she shall\nbecome my wife.\"\n\n\n\nThe Beaver-Woman\n\nHe entered the lodge, and found a small, pretty woman busily engaged in\nhousehold duties.  Sure enough she had laid his blanket near her couch.\nWhen she had dressed and cooked the beavers she gave the finest morsels\nto her husband, who was thoroughly pleased with his wife.\n\nHearing a sound in the night, Otter-heart awoke, and fancied he saw his\nwife chewing birch-bark.  When he told her of the dream in the morning\nshe did not laugh, but looked very serious.\n\n{170}\n\n\"Tell me,\" asked Otter-heart, \"why did you examine the beavers so\nclosely yesterday?\"\n\n\"They were my relatives,\" she replied; \"my cousin, my aunt, and my\ngreat-uncle.\"\n\nOtter-heart was more than ever delighted, for the otters, his\ntotem-kin, and the beavers had always been on very good terms.  He\npromised never to kill any more beavers, but only deer and birds, and\nhe and his wife, The Good, lived together very happily for a long time.\n\n\n\nThe Fairy Wives\n\nOnce upon a time there dwelt in the forest two braves, one of whom was\ncalled the Moose and the other the Marten.  Moose was a great hunter,\nand never returned from the chase without a fine deer or buffalo, which\nhe would give to his old grandmother to prepare for cooking.  Marten,\non the other hand, was an idler, and never hunted at all if he could\nobtain food by any other means.  When Moose brought home a trophy of\nhis skill in the hunt Marten would repair to his friend's lodge and beg\nfor a portion of the meat.  Being a good-natured fellow, Moose\ngenerally gave him what he asked for, to the indignation of the old\ngrandmother, who declared that the lazy creature had much better learn\nto work for himself.\n\n\"Do not encourage his idle habits,\" said she to her grandson.  \"If you\nstop giving him food he will go and hunt for himself.\"\n\nMoose agreed with the old woman, and having on his next expedition\nkilled a bear, he told the grandmother to hide it, so that Marten might\nknow nothing of it.\n\nWhen the time came to cook the bear-meat, however, the grandmother\nfound that her kettle would not {171} hold water, and remembering that\nMarten had just got a nice new kettle, she went to borrow his.\n\n\"I will clean it well before I return it,\" she thought.  \"He will never\nknow what I want it for.\"\n\nBut Marten made a very good guess, so he laid a spell on the kettle\nbefore lending it, and afterward set out for Moose's lodge.  Looking\nin, he beheld a great quantity of bear-meat.\n\n\"I shall have a fine feast to-morrow,\" said he, laughing, as he stole\nquietly away without being seen.\n\nOn the following day the old grandmother of Moose took the borrowed\nkettle, cleaned it carefully, and carried it to its owner.  She never\ndreamed that he would suspect anything.\n\n\"Oh,\" said Marten, \"what a fine kettleful of bear-meat you have brought\nme!\"\n\n\"I have brought you nothing,\" the old woman began in astonishment, but\na glance at her kettle showed her that it was full of steaming\nbear-meat.  She was much confused, and knew that Marten had discovered\nher plot by magic art.\n\n\n\nMoose Demands a Wife\n\nThough Marten was by no means so brave or so industrious as Moose, he\nnevertheless had two very beautiful wives, while his companion had not\neven one.  Moose thought this rather unfair, so he ventured to ask\nMarten for one of his wives.  To this Marten would not agree, nor would\neither of the women consent to be handed over to Moose, so there was\nnothing for it but that the braves should fight for the wives, who, all\nunknown to their husband, were fairies.  And fight they did, that day\nand the next and the next, till it grew to be a habit with them, and\nthey fought as regularly as they slept.\n\n{172}\n\nIn the morning Moose would say: \"Give me one of your wives.\"  \"Paddle\nyour own canoe,\" Marten would retort, and the fight would begin.  Next\nmorning Moose would say again: \"Give me one of your wives.\"  \"Fish for\nyour own minnows,\" the reply would come, and the quarrel would be\ncontinued with tomahawks for arguments.\n\n\"Give me one of your wives,\" Moose persisted.\n\n\"Skin your own rabbits!\"\n\nMeanwhile the wives of Marten had grown tired of the perpetual\nskirmishing.  So they made up their minds to run away.  Moose and\nMarten never missed them: they were too busy righting.\n\nAll day the fairy wives, whose name was Weasel, travelled as fast as\nthey could, for they did not want to be caught.  But when night came\nthey lay down on the banks of a stream and watched the stars shining\nthrough the pine-branches.\n\n\"If you were a Star-maiden,\" said one, \"and wished to marry a star,\nwhich one would you choose?\"\n\n\"I would marry that bright little red one,\" said the other.  \"I am sure\nhe must be a merry little fellow.\"\n\n\"I,\" said her companion, \"should like to marry that big yellow one.  I\nthink he must be a great warrior.\"  And so saying she fell asleep.\n\n\n\nThe Red Star and the Yellow Star\n\nWhen they awoke in the morning the fairies found that their wishes were\nfulfilled.  One was the wife of the great yellow star, and the other\nthe wife of the little red one.\n\nThis was the work of an Indian spirit, whose duty it is to punish\nunfaithful wives, and who had overheard their remarks on the previous\nnight.  Knowing that the fulfilment of their wishes would be the best\n{173} punishment, he transported them to the Star-country, where they\nwere wedded to the stars of their choice.  And punishment it was, for\nthe Yellow Star was a fierce warrior who frightened his wife nearly out\nof her wits, and the Red Star was an irritable old man, and his wife\nwas obliged to wait on him hand and foot.  Before very long the fairies\nfound their life in the Star-country exceedingly irksome, and they\nwished they had never quitted their home.\n\nNot far from their lodges was a large white stone, which their husbands\nhad forbidden them to touch, but which their curiosity one day tempted\nthem to remove.  Far below they saw the Earth-country, and they became\nsadder and more home-sick than ever.  The Star-husbands, whose magic\npowers told them that their wives had been disobedient, were not really\ncruel or unkind at heart, so they decided to let the fairies return to\nearth.\n\n\"We do not want wives who will not obey,\" they said, \"so you may go to\nyour own country if you will be obedient once.\"\n\nThe fairies joyfully promised to do whatever was required of them if\nthey might return home.\n\n\"Very well,\" the stars replied.  \"You must sleep to-night, and in the\nmorning you will wake and hear the song of the chickadee, but do not\nopen your eyes.  Then you will hear the voice of the ground-squirrel;\nstill you must not rise.  The red squirrel also you shall hear, but the\nsuccess of our scheme depends on your remaining quiet.  Only when you\nhear the striped squirrel you may get up.\"\n\n\n\nThe Return to Earth\n\nThe fairies went to their couch and slept, but their sleep was broken\nby impatience.  In the morning the {174} chickadee woke them with its\nsong.  The younger fairy eagerly started up, but the other drew her\nback.\n\n\"Let us wait till we hear the striped squirrel,\" said she.\n\nWhen the red squirrel's note was heard the younger fairy could no\nlonger curb her impatience.  She sprang to her feet, dragging her\ncompanion with her.  They had indeed reached the Earth-country, but in\na way that helped them but little, for they found themselves in the\ntopmost branches of the highest tree in the forest, with no prospect of\ngetting down.  In vain they called to the birds and animals to help\nthem; all the creatures were too busy to pay any attention to their\nplight.  At last Lox, the wolverine, passed under the tree, and though\nhe was the wickedest of the animals the Weasels cried to him for help.\n\n\"If you will promise to come to my lodge,\" said Lox, \"I will help you.\"\n\n\"We will build lodges for you,\" cried the elder fairy, who had been\nthinking of a way of escape.\n\n\"That is well,\" said Lox; \"I will take you down.\"\n\nWhile he was descending the tree with the younger of the fairies the\nelder one wound her magic hair-string in the branches, knotting it\nskilfully, so that the task of undoing it would be no light one.  When\nshe in her turn had been carried to the ground she begged Lox to return\nfor her hair-string, which, she said, had become entangled among the\nbranches.\n\n\"Pray do not break it,\" she added, \"for if you do I shall have no good\nfortune.\"\n\n\n\nThe Escape from Lox\n\nOnce more Lox ascended the tall pine, and strove with the knots which\nthe cunning fairy had tied.  Meanwhile the Weasels built him a wigwam.\nThey {175} filled it with thorns and briers and all sorts of prickly\nthings, and induced their friends the ants and hornets to make their\nnests inside.  So long did Lox take to untie the knotted hair-string\nthat when he came down it was quite dark.  He was in a very bad temper,\nand pushed his way angrily into the new lodge.  All the little\ncreatures attacked him instantly, the ants bit him, the thorns pricked\nhim, so that he cried out with anger and pain.\n\nThe fairies ran away as fast as they could, and by and by found\nthemselves on the brink of a wide river.  The younger sat down and\nbegan to weep, thinking that Lox would certainly overtake them.  But\nthe elder was more resourceful.  She saw the Crane, who was ferryman,\nstanding close by, and sang a very sweet song in praise of his long\nlegs and soft feathers.\n\n[Illustration: \"'Will you carry us over the river?' she asked\"]\n\n\"Will you carry us over the river?\" she asked at length.\n\n\"Willingly,\" replied the Crane, who was very susceptible to flattery,\nand he ferried them across the river.\n\nThey were just in time.  Scarcely had they reached the opposite bank\nwhen Lox appeared on the scene, very angry and out of breath.\n\n\"Ferry me across, Old Crooked-legs,\" said he, and added other still\nmore uncomplimentary remarks.\n\nThe Crane was furious, but he said nothing, and bore Lox out on the\nriver.\n\n\"I see you,\" cried Lox to the trembling fairies.  \"I shall have you\nsoon!\"\n\n\"You shall not, wicked one,\" said the Crane, and he threw Lox into the\ndeepest part of the stream.\n\nThe fairies turned their faces homeward and saw him no more.\n\n\n\n{176}\n\nThe Malicious Mother-in-Law\n\nAn Ojibway or Chippeway legend tells of a hunter who was greatly\ndevoted to his wife.  As a proof of his affection he presented her with\nthe most delicate morsels from the game he killed.  This aroused the\njealousy and envy of his mother, who lived with them, and who imagined\nthat these little attentions should be paid to her, and not to the\nyounger woman.  The latter, quite unaware of her mother-in-law's\nattitude, cooked and ate the gifts her husband brought her.  Being a\nwoman of a gentle and agreeable disposition, who spent most of her time\nattending to her household duties and watching over her child and a\nlittle orphan boy whom she had adopted, she tried to make friends with\nthe old dame, and was grieved and disappointed when the latter would\nnot respond to her advances.\n\nThe mother-in-law nursed her grievance until it seemed of gigantic\nproportions.  Her heart grew blacker and blacker against her son's\nwife, and at last she determined to kill her.  For a time she could\nthink of no way to put her evil intent into action, but finally she hit\nupon a plan.\n\nOne day she disappeared from the lodge, and returned after a space\nlooking very happy and good-tempered.  The younger woman was surprised\nand delighted at the alteration.  This was an agreeably different\nperson from the nagging, cross-grained old creature who had made her\nlife a burden!  The old woman repeatedly absented herself from her home\nafter this, returning on each occasion with a pleased and contented\nsmile on her wrinkled face.  By and by the wife allowed her curiosity\nto get the better of her, and she asked the meaning of her\nmother-in-law's happiness.\n\n\n\n{177}\n\nThe Death-Swing\n\n\"If you must know,\" replied the old woman, \"I have made a beautiful\nswing down by the lake, and always when I swing on it I feel so well\nand happy that I cannot help smiling.\"\n\nThe young woman begged that she too might be allowed to enjoy the swing.\n\n\"To-morrow you may accompany me,\" was the reply.  But next day the old\nwoman had some excuse, and so on, day after day, till the curiosity of\nher son's wife was very keen.  Thus when the elder woman said one day,\n\"Come with me, and I will take you to the swing.  Tie up your baby and\nleave him in charge of the orphan,\" the other complied eagerly, and was\nready in a moment to go with her mother-in-law.\n\nWhen they reached the shores of the lake they found a lithe sapling\nwhich hung over the water.\n\n\"Here is my swing,\" said the old creature, and she cast aside her robe,\nfastened a thong to her waist and to the sapling, and swung far over\nthe lake.  She laughed so much and seemed to find the pastime so\npleasant that her daughter-in-law was more anxious than ever to try it\nfor herself.\n\n\"Let me tie the thong for you,\" said the old woman, when she had tired\nof swinging.  Her companion threw off her robe and allowed the leather\nthong to be fastened round her waist.  When all was ready she was\ncommanded to swing.  Out over the water she went fearlessly, but as she\ndid so the jealous old mother-in-law cut the thong, and she fell into\nthe lake.\n\nThe old creature, exulting over the success of her cruel scheme,\ndressed herself in her victim's clothes and returned to the lodge.  But\nthe baby cried and refused to be fed by her, and the orphan boy cried\ntoo, {178} for the young woman had been almost a mother to him since\nhis parents had died.\n\n\"Where is the baby's mother?\" he asked, when some hours had passed and\nshe did not return.\n\n\"At the swing,\" replied the old woman roughly.\n\nWhen the hunter returned from the chase he brought with him, as usual,\nsome morsels of game for his wife, and, never dreaming that the woman\nbending over the child might not be she, he gave them to her.  The\nlodge was dark, for it was evening, and his mother wore the clothes of\nhis wife and imitated her voice and movements, so that his error was\nnot surprising.  Greedily she seized the tender pieces of meat, and\ncooked and ate them.\n\nThe heart of the little orphan was so sore that he could not sleep.  In\nthe middle of the night he rose and went to look for his foster-mother.\nDown by the lake he found the swing with the thong cut, and he knew\nthat she had been killed.  Crying bitterly, he crept home to his couch,\nand in the morning told the hunter all that he had seen.\n\n\"Say nothing,\" said the chief, \"but come with me to hunt, and in the\nevening return to the shores of the lake with the child, while I pray\nto Manitou that he may send me back my wife.\"\n\n\n\nThe Silver Girdle\n\nSo they went off in search of game without a word to the old woman; nor\ndid they stay to eat, but set out directly it was light.  At sunset\nthey made their way to the lake-side, the little orphan carrying the\nbaby.  Here the hunter blackened his face and prayed earnestly that the\nGreat Manitou might send back his wife.  While he prayed the orphan\namused the child by singing quaint little songs; but at last the baby\ngrew weary and hungry and began to cry.\n\n{179}\n\nFar in the lake his mother heard the sound, and skimmed over the water\nin the shape of a great white gull.  When she touched the shore she\nbecame a woman again, and hugged the child to her heart's content.  The\norphan boy besought her to return to them.\n\n\"Alas!\" said she, \"I have fallen into the hands of the Water Manitou,\nand he has wound his silver tail about me, so that I never can escape.\"\n\nAs she spoke the little lad saw that her waist was encircled by a band\nof gleaming silver, one end of which was in the water.  At length she\ndeclared that it was time for her to return to the home of the\nwater-god, and after having exacted a promise from the boy that he\nwould bring her baby there every day, she became a gull again and flew\naway.  The hunter was informed of all that had passed, and straightway\ndetermined that he would be present on the following evening.  All next\nday he fasted and besought the good-will of Manitou, and when the night\nbegan to fall he hid himself on the shore till his wife appeared.\nHastily emerging from his concealment, the hunter poised his spear and\nstruck the girdle with all his force.  The silver band parted, and the\nwoman was free to return home with her husband.\n\n[Illustration: \"He poised his spear and struck the girdle\"]\n\nOverjoyed at her restoration, he led her gently to the lodge, where his\nmother was sitting by the fire.  At the sight of her daughter-in-law,\nwhom she thought she had drowned in the lake, she started up in such\nfear and astonishment that she tripped, overbalanced, and fell into the\nfire.  Before they could pull her out the flames had risen to the\nsmoke-hole, and when the fire died down no woman was there, but a great\nblack bird, which rose slowly from the smoking embers, flew out of the\nlodge, and was never seen again.\n\n{180}\n\nAs for the others, they lived long and happily, undisturbed by the\njealousy and hatred of the malicious crone.\n\n\n\nThe Maize Spirit\n\nThe Chippeways tell a charming story concerning the origin of the zea\nmaize, which runs as follows:\n\nA lad of fourteen or fifteen dwelt with his parents, brothers, and\nsisters in a beautifully situated little lodge.  The family, though\npoor, were very happy and contented.  The father was a hunter who was\nnot lacking in courage and skill, but there were times when he could\nscarcely supply the wants of his family, and as none of his children\nwas old enough to help him things went hardly with them then.  The lad\nwas of a cheerful and contented disposition, like his father, and his\ngreat desire was to benefit his people.  The time had come for him to\nobserve the initial fast prescribed for all Indian boys of his age, and\nhis mother made him a little fasting-lodge in a remote spot where he\nmight not suffer interruption during his ordeal.\n\nThither the boy repaired, meditating on the goodness of the Great\nSpirit, who had made all things beautiful in the fields and forests for\nthe enjoyment of man.  The desire to help his fellows was strong upon\nhim, and he prayed that some means to that end might be revealed to him\nin a dream.\n\nOn the third day of his fast he was too weak to ramble through the\nforest, and as he lay in a state between sleeping and waking there came\ntoward him a beautiful youth, richly dressed in green robes, and\nwearing on his head wonderful green plumes.\n\n\"The Great Spirit has heard your prayers,\" said the youth, and his\nvoice was like the sound of the wind sighing through the grass.\n\"Hearken to me and you {181} shall have your desire fulfilled.  Arise\nand wrestle with me.\"\n\n\n\nThe Struggle\n\nThe lad obeyed.  Though his limbs were weak his brain was clear and\nactive, and he felt he could not but obey the soft-voiced stranger.\nAfter a long, silent struggle the latter said:\n\n\"That will do for to-day.  To-morrow I shall come again.\"\n\nThe lad lay back exhausted, but on the morrow the green-clad stranger\nreappeared, and the conflict was renewed.  As the struggle went on the\nyouth felt himself grow stronger and more confident, and before leaving\nhim for the second time the supernatural visitor offered him some words\nof praise and encouragement.\n\nOn the third day the youth, pale and feeble, was again summoned to the\ncontest.  As he grasped his opponent the very contact seemed to give\nhim new strength, and he fought more and more bravely, till his lithe\ncompanion was forced to cry out that he had had enough.  Ere he took\nhis departure the visitor told the lad that the following day would put\nan end to his trials.\n\n\"To-morrow,\" said he, \"your father will bring you food, and that will\nhelp you.  In the evening I shall come and wrestle with you.  I know\nthat you are destined to succeed and to obtain your heart's desire.\nWhen you have thrown me, strip off my garments and plumes, bury me\nwhere I fall, and keep the earth above me moist and clean.  Once a\nmonth let my remains be covered with fresh earth, and you shall see me\nagain, clothed in my green garments and plumes.\"  So saying, he\nvanished.\n\n\n\n{182}\n\nThe Final Contest\n\nNext day the lad's father brought him food; the youth, however, begged\nthat it might be set aside till evening.  Once again the stranger\nappeared.  Though he had eaten nothing, the hero's strength, as before,\nseemed to increase as he struggled, and at length he threw his\nopponent.  Then he stripped off his garments and plumes, and buried him\nin the earth, not without sorrow in his heart for the slaying of such a\nbeautiful youth.\n\nHis task done, he returned to his parents, and soon recovered his full\nstrength.  But he never forgot the grave of his friend.  Not a weed was\nallowed to grow on it, and finally he was rewarded by seeing the green\nplumes rise above the earth and broaden out into graceful leaves.  When\nthe autumn came he requested his father to accompany him to the place.\nBy this time the plant was at its full height, tall and beautiful, with\nwaving leaves and golden tassels.  The elder man was filled with\nsurprise and admiration.\n\n\"It is my friend,\" murmured the youth, \"the friend of my dreams.\"\n\n\"It is Mon-da-min,\" said his father, \"the spirit's grain, the gift of\nthe Great Spirit.\"\n\nAnd in this manner was maize given to the Indians.\n\n\n\nThe Seven Brothers\n\nThe Blackfeet have a curious legend in explanation of the constellation\nknown as the Plough or Great Bear.  Once there dwelt together nine\nchildren, seven boys and two girls.  While the six older brothers were\naway on the war-path the elder daughter, whose name was Bearskin-woman,\nmarried a grizzly bear.  Her father was so enraged that he collected\nhis friends and {183} ordered them to surround the grizzly's cave and\nslay him.  When the girl heard that her spouse had been killed she took\na piece of his skin and wore it as an amulet.  Through the agency of\nher husband's supernatural power, one dark night she was changed into a\ngrizzly bear, and rushed through the camp, killing and rending the\npeople, even her own father and mother, sparing only her youngest\nbrother and her sister, Okinai and Sinopa.  She then took her former\nshape, and returned to the lodge occupied by the two orphans, who were\ngreatly terrified when they heard her muttering to herself, planning\ntheir deaths.\n\nSinopa had gone to the river one day, when she met her six brothers\nreturning from the war-path.  She told them what had happened in their\nabsence.  They reassured her, and bade her gather a large number of\nprickly pears.  These she was to strew in front of the lodge, leaving\nonly a small path uncovered by them.  In the dead of night Okinai and\nSinopa crept out of the lodge, picking their way down the little path\nthat was free from the prickly pears, and meeting their six brothers,\nwho were awaiting them.  The Bearskin-woman heard them leaving the\nlodge, and rushed out into the open, only to tread on the prickly\npears.  Roaring with pain and anger, she immediately assumed her bear\nshape and rushed furiously at her brothers.  But Okinai rose to the\noccasion.  He shot an arrow into the air, and so far as it flew the\nbrothers and sister found themselves just that distance in front of the\nsavage animal behind them.\n\n\n\nThe Chase\n\nThe beast gained on them, however; but Okinai waved a magic feather,\nand thick underbrush rose in its path.  Again Bearskin-woman made\nheadway.  {184} Okinai caused a lake to spring up before her.  Yet\nagain she neared the brothers and sister, and this time Okinai raised a\ngreat tree, into which the refugees climbed.  The Grizzly-woman,\nhowever, succeeded in dragging four of the brothers from the tree, when\nOkinai shot an arrow into the air.  Immediately his little sister\nsailed into the sky.  Six times more he shot an arrow, and each time a\nbrother went up, Okinai himself following them as the last arrow soared\ninto the blue.  Thus the orphans became stars; and one can see that\nthey took the same position in the sky as they had occupied in the\ntree, for the small star at one side of the bunch is Sinopa, while the\nfour who huddle together at the bottom are those who had been dragged\nfrom the branches by Bearskin-woman.\n\n\n\nThe Beaver Medicine Legend[2]\n\nTwo brothers dwelt together in the old time.  The elder, who was named\nNopatsis, was married to a woman who was wholly evil, and who hated his\nyounger brother, Akaiyan.  Daily the wife pestered her husband to be\nrid of Akaiyan, but he would not agree to part with his only brother,\nfor they had been together through long years of privation--indeed,\nsince their parents had left them together as little helpless\norphans--and they were all in all to each other.  So the wife of\nNopatsis had resort to a ruse well known to women whose hearts are\nevil.  One day when her husband returned from the chase he found her\nlamenting with torn clothes and disordered appearance.  She told him\nthat Akaiyan had treated her brutally.  The lie entered into the heart\nof Nopatsis and made it heavy, so that in time he conceived a hatred of\nhis innocent brother, and {185} debated with himself how he should rid\nhimself of Akaiyan.\n\n\n[2] The first portion of this legend has its exact counterpart in\nEgyptian story.  See Wiedemann, _Popular Literature of Ancient Egypt_,\np. 45.\n\n\nSummer arrived, and with it the moulting season when the wild\nwater-fowl shed their feathers, with which the Indians fledge their\narrows.  Near Nopatsis's lodge there was a great lake, to which these\nbirds resorted in large numbers, and to this place the brothers went to\ncollect feathers with which to plume their darts.  They built a raft to\nenable them to reach an island in the middle of the lake, making it of\nlogs bound securely with buffalo-hide.  Embarking, they sailed to the\nlittle island, along the shores of which they walked, looking for\nsuitable feathers.  They parted in the quest, and after some time\nAkaiyan, who had wandered far along the strand, suddenly looked up to\nsee his brother on the raft sailing toward the mainland.  He called\nloudly to him to return, but Nopatsis replied that he deserved to\nperish there because of the brutal manner in which he had treated his\nsister-in-law.  Akaiyan solemnly swore that he had not injured her in\nany way, but Nopatsis only jeered at him, and rowed away.  Soon he was\nlost to sight, and Akaiyan sat down and wept bitterly.  He prayed\nearnestly to the nature spirits and to the sun and moon, after which he\nfelt greatly uplifted.  Then he improvised a shelter of branches, and\nmade a bed of feathers of the most comfortable description.  He lived\nwell on the ducks and geese which frequented the island, and made a\nwarm robe against the winter season from their skins.  He was careful\nalso to preserve many of the tame birds for his winter food.\n\nOne day he encountered the lodge of a beaver, and while he looked at it\ncuriously he became aware of the presence of a little beaver.\n\n\"My father desires that you will enter his dwelling,\" said the animal.\nSo Akaiyan accepted the invitation {186} and entered the lodge, where\nthe Great Beaver, attended by his wife and family, received him.  He\nwas, indeed, the chief of all the beavers, and white with the snows of\ncountless winters.  Akaiyan told the Beaver how cruelly he had been\ntreated, and the wise animal condoled with him, and invited him to\nspend the winter in his lodge, when he would learn many wonderful and\nuseful things.  Akaiyan gratefully accepted the invitation, and when\nthe beavers closed up their lodge for the winter he remained with them.\nThey kept him warm by placing their thick, soft tails on his body, and\ntaught him the secret of the healing art, the use of tobacco, and\nvarious ceremonial dances, songs, and prayers belonging to the great\nmystery of 'medicine.'\n\nThe summer returned, and on parting the Beaver asked Akaiyan to choose\na gift.  He chose the Beaver's youngest child, with whom he had\ncontracted a strong friendship; but the father prized his little one\ngreatly, and would not at first permit him to go.  At length, however,\nGreat Beaver gave way to Akaiyan's entreaties and allowed him to take\nLittle Beaver with him, counselling him to construct a sacred Beaver\nBundle when he arrived at his native village.\n\nIn due time Nopatsis came to the island on his raft, and, making sure\nthat his brother was dead, began to search for his remains.  But while\nhe searched, Akaiyan caught up Little Beaver in his arms and, embarking\non the raft, made for the mainland, espied by Nopatsis.  When Akaiyan\narrived at his native village he told his story to the chief, gathered\na Beaver Bundle, and commenced to teach the people the mystery of\n'medicine,' with its accompanying songs and dances.  Then he invited\nthe chiefs of the animal tribes to contribute their knowledge to the\nBeaver Medicine, which many of them did.\n\n{187}\n\nHaving accomplished his task of instruction, which occupied him all the\nwinter, Akaiyan returned to the island with Little Beaver, who had been\nof immense service to him in teaching the Indians the 'medicine' songs\nand dances.  He returned Little Beaver to his parents, and received in\nexchange for him a sacred pipe, being also instructed in its\naccompanying songs and ceremonial dances.  On the island he found the\nbones of his credulous and vengeful brother, who had met with the fate\nhe had purposed for the innocent Akaiyan.  Every spring Akaiyan visited\nthe beavers, and as regularly he received something to add to the\nBeaver Medicine Bundle, until it reached the great size it now has.\nAnd he married and founded a race of medicine-men who have handed down\nthe traditions and ceremonials of the Beaver Medicine to the present\nday.\n\n\n\nThe Sacred Bear-Spear\n\nAn interesting Blackfoot myth relates how that tribe obtained its\nsacred Bear-spear.  Many generations ago, even before the Blackfeet\nused horses as beasts of burden, the tribe was undertaking its autumn\nmigration, when one evening before striking camp for the night it was\nreported that a dog-sledge or cart belonging to the chief was missing.\nTo make matters worse, the chief's ermine robe and his wife's buckskin\ndress, with her sacred elk-skin robe, had been packed in the little\ncart.  Strangely enough, no one could recollect having noticed the dog\nduring the march.  Messengers were dispatched to the camping-site of\nthe night before, but to no avail.  At last the chief's son, Sokumapi,\na boy about twelve years of age, begged to be allowed to search for the\nmissing dog, a proposal to which his father, after some demur,\nconsented.  Sokumapi set out alone for the last camping-ground, which\nwas under {188} the shadows of the Rocky Mountains, and carefully\nexamined the site.  Soon he found a single dog-sledge track leading\ninto a deep gulch, near the entrance to which he discovered a large\ncave.  A heap of freshly turned earth stood in front of the cave,\nbeside which was the missing cart.  As he stood looking at it,\nwondering what had become of the dog which had drawn it, an immense\ngrizzly-bear suddenly dashed out.  So rapid was its attack that\nSokumapi had no chance either to defend himself or to take refuge in\nflight.  The bear, giving vent to the most terrific roars, dragged him\ninto the cave, hugging him with such force that he fainted.  When he\nregained consciousness it was to find the bear's great head within a\nfoot of his own, and he thought that he saw a kindly and almost human\nexpression in its big brown eyes.  For a long time he lay still, until\nat last, to his intense surprise, the Bear broke the silence by\naddressing him in human speech.\n\n\"Have no fear,\" said the grizzly.  \"I am the Great Bear, and my power\nis extensive.  I know the circumstances of your search, and I have\ndrawn you to this cavern because I desired to assist you.  Winter is\nupon us, and you had better remain with me during the cold season, in\nthe course of which I will reveal to you the secret of my supernatural\npower.\"\n\n\n\nBear Magic\n\nIt will be observed that the circumstances of this tale are almost\nidentical with those which relate to the manner in which the Beaver\nMedicine was revealed to mankind.  The hero of both stories remains\nduring the winter with the animal, the chief of its species, who in the\nperiod of hibernation instructs him in certain potent mysteries.\n\n{189}\n\nThe Bear, having reassured Sokumapi, showed him how to transform\nvarious substances into food.  His strange host slept during most of\nthe winter; but when the warm winds of spring returned and the snows\nmelted from the hills the grizzly became restless, and told Sokumapi\nthat it was time to leave the cave.  Before they quitted it, however,\nhe taught the lad the secret of his supernatural power.  Among other\nthings, he showed him how to make a Bear-spear.  He instructed him to\ntake a long stick, to one end of which he must secure a sharp point, to\nsymbolize the bear's tusks.  To the staff must be attached a bear's\nnose and teeth, while the rest of the spear was to be covered with\nbear's skin, painted the sacred colour, red.  The Bear also told him to\ndecorate the handle with eagle's feathers and grizzly claws, and in\nwar-time to wear a grizzly claw in his hair, so that the strength of\nthe Great Bear might go with him in battle, and to imitate the noise a\ngrizzly makes when it charges.  The Bear furthermore instructed him\nwhat songs should be used in order to heal the sick, and how to paint\nhis face and body so that he would be invulnerable in battle, and,\nlastly, told him of the sacred nature of the spear, which was only to\nbe employed in warfare and for curing disease.  Thus if a person was\nsick unto death, and a relative purchased the Bear-spear, its\nsupernatural power would restore the ailing man to health.  Equipped\nwith this knowledge, Sokumapi returned to his people, who had long\nmourned him as dead.  After a feast had been given to celebrate his\nhome-coming he began to manufacture the Bear-spear as directed by his\nfriend.\n\n\n\nHow the Magic Worked\n\nShortly after his return the Crows made war upon the Blackfeet, and on\nthe meeting of the two tribes in {190} battle Sokumapi appeared in\nfront of his people carrying the Bear-spear on his back.  His face and\nbody were painted as the Great Bear had instructed him, and he sang the\nbattle-songs that the grizzly had taught him.  After these ceremonies\nhe impetuously charged the enemy, followed by all his braves in a solid\nphalanx, and such was the efficacy of the Bear magic that the Crows\nimmediately took to flight.  The victorious Blackfeet brought back\nSokumapi to their camp in triumph, to the accompaniment of the Bear\nsongs.  He was made a war-chief, and ever afterward the spear which he\nhad used was regarded as the palladium of the Blackfoot Indians.  In\nthe spring the Bear-spear is unrolled from its covering and produced\nwhen the first thunder is heard, and when the Bear begins to quit his\nwinter quarters; but when the Bear returns to his den to hibernate the\nspear is once more rolled up and put away.  The greatest care is taken\nto protect it against injury.  It has a special guardian, and no woman\nis permitted to touch it.\n\n\n\nThe Young Dog Dance\n\nA dance resembling the Sun Dance was formerly known to the Pawnee\nIndians, who called it the Young Dog Dance.  It was, they said,\nborrowed from the Crees, who produced the following myth to account for\nit.\n\nOne day a young brave of the Cree tribe had gone out from his village\nto catch eagles, in order to provide himself with feathers for a\nwar-bonnet, or to tie in his hair.  Now the Crees caught eagles in this\nfashion.  On the top of a hill frequented by these birds they would dig\na pit and cover it over with a roof of poles, cunningly concealing the\nstructure with grass.  A piece of meat was fastened to the poles, so\nthat the eagles {191} could not carry it off.  Then the Indian, taking\noff his clothes, would descend into the pit, and remain there for\nhours, or days, as the case might be, until an eagle was attracted by\nthe bait, when he would put his hand between the poles, seize the bird\nby the feet, and quickly dispatch it.\n\nThe young brave whose fortune it was to discover the Young Dog Dance\nhad prepared the trap in this wise, and was lying in the pit praying\nthat an eagle might come and bring his uncomfortable vigil to an end.\nSuddenly he heard a sound of drumming, distant but quite distinct,\nthough he could not tell from what direction it proceeded.  All night\nthe mysterious noise continued.  Next night as he lay in the same\nposition he heard it again, and resolved to find out its origin, so he\nclambered out of his pit and went off in the direction from which the\ndrum-beating seemed to proceed.  At last, when dawn was near, he\nreached the shores of a great lake.  Here he stopped, for the sounds\nquite evidently came from the lake.  All that day he sat by the water\nbemoaning his ill-luck and praying for better fortune.  When night fell\nthe drumming began anew, and the young man saw countless animals and\nbirds swimming in the lake.  Four days he remained on the lake-shore,\ntill at length, worn out by fatigue and hunger (for many days had\nelapsed since he had eaten), he fell asleep.\n\n\n\nThe Lodge of Animals\n\nWhen he awoke he found himself in a large lodge, surrounded by many\npeople, some of whom were dancing, while others sat round the walls.\nAll these people wore robes made from the skins of various animals or\nbirds.  They were, in fact, the animals the young Indian had seen\nswimming in the water, who {192} had changed themselves into human\nshape.  A chief at the back of the lodge stood up and addressed him\nthus:\n\n\"My friend, we have heard your prayers, and our desire is to help you.\nYou see these people?  They represent the animals.  I am the Dog.  The\nGreat Spirit is very fond of dogs.  I have much power, and my power I\nshall give to you, so that you may be like me, and my spirit will\nalways protect you.  Take this dance home to your people, and it will\nmake them lucky in war.\"  And he imparted the nature of the rite to the\nIndian by action.\n\nThe Dog turned from the Cree brave and his eye swept the company.\n\n\n\nThe Gift\n\n\"Brothers,\" he said, \"I have given him my power.  Will you not pity him\nand give him the power you have?\"\n\nFor a time there was silence.  No one seemed disposed to respond to the\nchief's appeal.  At last the Owl rose.\n\n\"I will help you,\" he said to the young man.  \"I have power to see in\nthe dark wherever I may go.  When you go out at night I will be near\nyou, and you shall see as well as I do.  Take these feathers and tie\nthem in your hair.\"  And, giving him a bunch of feathers, the Owl sat\ndown.\n\nThere was a pause, and the next to rise was the Buffalo Bull, who gave\nto the young Indian his strength and endurance and the power to trample\nhis enemies underfoot.  As a token he gave him a shoulder-belt of\ntanned buffalo-hide, bidding him wear it when he went on the war-path.\n\nBy and by the Porcupine stood up and addressed {193} the guest.  Giving\nhim some of his quills with which to ornament the leather belt, he said:\n\n\"I also will help you.  I can make my enemies as weak as women, so that\nthey fly before me.  When you fight your foes shall flee and you shall\novercome them.\"\n\nAnother long silence ensued, and when at last the Eagle rose every one\nlistened to hear what he had to say.\n\n\"I also,\" he said majestically, \"will be with you wherever you go, and\nwill give you my prowess in war, so that you may kill your foes as I\ndo.\"  As he spoke he handed to the brave some eagle feathers to tie in\nhis hair.\n\nThe Whooping Crane followed, and gave him a bone from its wing for a\nwar-whistle to frighten his enemies away.\n\nThe Deer and the Bear came next, the one giving him swiftness, with a\nrattle as token, and the other hardiness, and a strip of fur for his\nbelt.\n\nAfter he had received these gifts from the animals the brave lay down\nand fell asleep again.  When he awoke he found himself on the shores of\nthe lake once more.\n\nReturning home, he taught the Crees the Young Dog Dance, which was to\nmake them skilful in war, and showed them the articles he had received.\nSo the young men formed a Society of Young Dogs, which practised the\ndance and obtained the benefits.\n\n\n\nThe Medicine Wolf\n\nA quaint story of a 'medicine' wolf is told among the Blackfoot\nIndians.  On one occasion when the Blackfeet were moving camp they were\nattacked by a number of Crow Indians who had been lying in wait for\nthem.  The Blackfeet were travelling slowly in a {194} long, straggling\nline, with the old men and the women and children in the middle, and a\nband of warriors in front and in the rear.  The Crows, as has been\nsaid, made an ambush for their enemies, and rushed out on the middle\nportion of the line.  Before either party of the Blackfoot warriors\ncould reach the scene of the struggle many of the women and children\nhad perished, and others were taken captive by the attacking force.\nAmong the prisoners was a young woman called Sits-by-the-door.  Many\nweary miles lay between them and the Crow camp on the Yellowstone\nRiver, but at length the tired captives, mounted with their captors on\njaded horses, arrived at their destination.  The warrior who had taken\nSits-by-the-door prisoner now presented her to a friend of his, who in\nturn gave her into the keeping of his wife, who was somewhat older than\nher charge.  The young Blackfoot woman was cruelly treated by the Crow\ninto whose possession she had passed.  Every night he tied her feet\ntogether so that she might not escape, and also tied a rope round her\nwaist, the other end of which he fastened to his wife.  The Crow woman,\nhowever, was not unmoved by the wretchedness of her prisoner.  While\nher husband was out she managed to converse with her and to show her\nthat she pitied her misfortunes.  One day she informed Sits-by-the-door\nthat she had overheard her husband and his companions plotting to kill\nher, but she added that when darkness fell she would help her to\nescape.  When night came the Crow woman waited until the deep breathing\nof her husband told her that he was sound asleep; then, rising\ncautiously, she loosened the ropes that bound her captive, and, giving\nher a pair of moccasins, a flint, and a small sack of pemmican, bade\nher make haste and escape from the fate that would surely befall her\n{195} if she remained where she was.  The trembling woman obeyed, and\ntravelled at a good pace all night.  At dawn she hid in the dense\nundergrowth, hoping to escape observation should her captors pursue\nher.  They, meanwhile, had discovered her absence, and were searching\nhigh and low, but no tracks were visible, and at last, wearied with\ntheir unprofitable search, they gave up the chase and returned to their\nhomes.\n\n\n\nThe Friendly Wolf\n\nWhen the woman had journeyed on for four nights she stopped concealing\nherself in the daytime and travelled straight on.  She was not yet out\nof danger, however, for her supply of pemmican was soon exhausted, and\nshe found herself face to face with the miseries of starvation.  Her\nmoccasins, besides, were worn to holes and her feet were cut and\nbleeding, while, to add to her misfortunes, a huge wolf dogged her\nevery movement.  In vain she tried to run away; her strength was\nexhausted and she sank to the ground.  Nearer and nearer came the great\nwolf, and at last he lay down at her feet.  Whenever the woman walked\non her way the wolf followed, and when she lay down to rest he lay down\nalso.\n\nAt length she begged her strange companion to help her, for she knew\nthat unless she obtained food very soon she must die.  The animal\ntrotted away, and returned shortly with a buffalo calf which it had\nkilled, and laid it at the woman's feet.  With the aid of the\nflint--one of the gifts with which the Crow woman had sped her unhappy\nguest--she built a fire and cooked some of the buffalo meat.  Thus\nrefreshed, she proceeded on her way.  Again and again the wolf provided\nfood in a similar manner, until at length they reached the Blackfoot\ncamp.  The woman led the animal {196} into her lodge, and related to\nher friends all that had befallen her in the Crow camp, and the manner\nof her escape.  She also told them how the wolf had befriended her, and\nbegged them to treat it kindly.  But soon afterward she fell ill, and\nthe poor wolf was driven out of the village by the Indian dogs.  Every\nevening he would come to the top of a hill overlooking the camp and\nwatch the lodge where Sits-by-the-door dwelt.  Though he was still fed\nby her friends, after a time he disappeared and was seen no more.[3]\n\n\n[3] The reader cannot fail to discern the striking resemblance between\nthis episode and that of Una and the lion in Spenser's _Faerie Queene_.\n\n\n\nThe Story of Scar-face\n\nScar-face was brave but poor.  His parents had died while he was yet a\nboy, and he had no near relations.  But his heart was high, and he was\na mighty hunter.  The old men said that Scar-face had a future before\nhim, but the young braves twitted him because of a mark across his\nface, left by the rending claw of a great grizzly which he had slain in\nclose fight.\n\nThe chief of his tribe possessed a beautiful daughter, whom all the\nyoung men desired in marriage.  Scar-face also had fallen in love with\nher, but he felt ashamed to declare his passion because of his poverty.\nThe maiden had already repulsed half the braves of his tribe.  Why, he\nargued, should she accept him, poor and disfigured as he was?\n\nOne day he passed her as she sat outside her lodge.  He cast a\npenetrating glance at her--a glance which was observed by one of her\nunsuccessful suitors, who sneeringly remarked:\n\n\"Scar-face would marry our chiefs daughter!  She does not desire a man\nwithout a blemish.  Ha, Scar-face, now is your chance!\"\n\n{197}\n\nScar-face turned upon the jeerer, and in his quiet yet dignified manner\nremarked that it was his intention to ask the chief's daughter to be\nhis wife.  His announcement met with ridicule, but he took no notice of\nit and sought the girl.\n\nHe found her by the river, pulling rushes to make baskets.\nApproaching, he respectfully addressed her.\n\n\"I am poor,\" he said, \"but my heart is rich in love for you.  I have no\nwealth of furs or pemmican.  I live by my bow and spear.  I love you.\nWill you dwell with me in my lodge and be my wife?\"\n\n\n\nThe Sun-God's Decree\n\nThe girl regarded him with bright, shy eyes peering up through lashes\nas the morning sun peers through the branches.\n\n\"My husband would not be poor,\" she faltered, \"for my father, the\nchief, is wealthy and has abundance in his lodge.  But it has been laid\nupon me by the Sun-god that I may not marry.\"\n\n\"These are heavy words,\" said Scar-face sadly.  \"May they not be\nrecalled?\"\n\n\"On one condition only,\" replied the girl.  \"Seek the Sun-god and ask\nhim to release me from my promise.  If he consents to do so, request\nhim to remove the scar from your face as a sign that I may know that he\ngives me to you.\"\n\nScar-face was sad at heart, for he could not believe that the Sun-god,\nhaving chosen such a beautiful maiden for himself, would renounce her.\nBut he gave the chief's daughter his promise that he would seek out the\ngod in his own bright country and ask him to grant his request.\n\nFor many moons Scar-face sought the home of the Sun-god.  He traversed\nwide plains and dense forests, {198} crossed rivers and lofty\nmountains, yet never a trace of the golden gates of the dwelling of the\nGod of Light could he see.\n\nMany inquiries did he make from the wild denizens of the forest--the\nwolf, the bear, the badger.  But none was aware of the way to the home\nof the Sun-god.  He asked the birds, but though they flew far they were\nlikewise in ignorance of the road thither.  At last he met a wolverine\nwho told him that he had been there himself, and promised to set him on\nthe way.  For a long and weary season they marched onward, until at\nlength they came to a great water, too broad and too deep to cross.\n\nAs Scar-face sat despondent on the bank bemoaning his case two\nbeautiful swans advanced from the water, and, requesting him to sit on\ntheir backs, bore him across in safety.  Landing him on the other side,\nthey showed him which way to take and left him.  He had not walked far\nwhen he saw a bow and arrows lying before him.  But Scar-face was\npunctilious and would not pick them up because they did not belong to\nhim.  Not long afterward he encountered a beautiful youth of handsome\nform and smiling aspect.\n\n\"I have lost a bow and arrows,\" he said to Scar-face.  \"Have you seen\nthem?\"\n\nScar-face told him that he had seen them a little way back, and the\nhandsome youth praised him for his honesty in not appropriating them.\nHe further asked him where he was bound for.\n\n\"I am seeking the Sun in his home,\" replied the Indian, \"and I believe\nthat I am not far from my destination.\"\n\n\"You are right,\" replied the youth.  \"I am the son of the Sun,\nApisirahts, the Morning Star, and I will lead you to the presence of my\naugust father.\"\n\n{199}\n\nThey walked onward for a little space, and then Apisirahts pointed out\na great lodge, glorious with golden light and decorated with an art\nmore curious than any that Scar-face had ever beheld.  At the entrance\nstood a beautiful woman, the mother of Morning Star, Kokomikis, the\nMoon-goddess, who welcomed the footsore Indian kindly and joyously.\n\n\n\nThe Chase of the Savage Birds\n\nThen the great Sun-god appeared, wondrous in his strength and beauty as\nthe mighty planet over which he ruled.  He too greeted Scar-face\nkindly, and requested him to be his guest and to hunt with his son.\nScar-face and the youth gladly set out for the chase.  But on departing\nthe Sun-god warned them not to venture near the Great Water, as there\ndwelt savage birds which might slay Morning Star.\n\nScar-face tarried with the Sun, his wife and child, fearful of asking\nhis boon too speedily, and desiring to make as sure as possible of its\nbeing granted.\n\nOne day he and Morning Star hunted as usual, and the youth stole away,\nfor he wished to slay the savage birds of which his father had spoken.\nBut Scar-face followed, rescued the lad in imminent peril, and killed\nthe monsters.  The Sun was grateful to him for having saved his son\nfrom a terrible death, and asked him for what reason he had sought his\nlodge.  Scar-face acquainted him with the circumstances of his love for\nthe chief's daughter and of his quest.  At once the Sun-god granted his\ndesire.\n\n\"Return to the woman you love so much,\" he said, \"return and make her\nyours.  And as a sign that it is my will that she should be your wife,\nI make you whole.\"\n\nWith a motion of his bright hand the deity removed {200} the unsightly\nscar.  On quitting the Sun-country the god, his wife and son presented\nScar-face with many good gifts, and showed him a short route by which\nto return to Earth-land once more.\n\nScar-face soon reached his home.  When he sought his chief's daughter\nshe did not know him at first, so rich was the gleaming attire he had\nobtained in the Sun-country.  But when she at last recognized him she\nfell upon his breast with a glad cry.  That same day she was made his\nwife.  The happy pair raised a 'medicine' lodge to the Sun-god, and\nhenceforth Scar-face was called Smooth-face.\n\n\n\nThe Legend of Po\u00efa\n\nA variant of this beautiful story is as follows:\n\nOne summer morning a beautiful girl called Feather-woman, who had been\nsleeping outside her lodge among the long prairie grass, awoke just as\nthe Morning Star was rising above the horizon.  She gazed intently at\nit, and so beautiful did it seem that she fell deeply in love with it.\nShe awakened her sister, who was lying beside her, and declared to her\nthat she would marry nobody but the Morning Star.  The people of her\ntribe ridiculed her because of what they considered her absurd\npreference; so she avoided them as much as possible, and wandered\nalone, eating her heart out in secret for love of the Morning Star, who\nseemed to her unapproachable.\n\nOne day she went alone to the river for water, and as she returned she\nbeheld a young man standing before her.  At first she took him for one\nof the young men of the tribe, and would have avoided him, but he said:\n\n\"I am the Morning Star.  I beheld you gazing upward at me, and knew\nthat you loved me.  I returned {201} your love, and have descended to\nask you to go with me to my dwelling in the sky.\"\n\nFeather-woman trembled violently, for she knew that he who spoke to her\nwas a god, and replied hesitatingly that she must bid farewell to her\nfather and mother.  But this Morning Star would not permit.  He took a\nrich yellow plume from his hair and directed her to hold this in one\nhand, while she held a juniper branch in the other.  Then he commanded\nher to close her eyes, and when she opened them again she was in the\nSky-country, standing before a great and shining lodge.  Morning Star\ntold her that this was the home of his parents, the Sun and Moon, and\nrequested her to enter.  It was daytime, so that the Sun was away on\nhis diurnal round, but the Moon was at home.  She welcomed\nFeather-woman as the wife of her son, as did the Sun himself when he\nreturned.  The Moon clothed her in a soft robe of buckskin, trimmed\nwith elks' teeth.  Feather-woman was very happy, and dwelt contentedly\nin the lodge or Morning Star.  They had a little son, whom they called\nStar-boy.  The Moon gave Feather-woman a root-digger, and told her that\nshe could dig up all kinds of roots, but warned her on no account to\ndig up the large turnip which grew near the home of the Spider Man,\ntelling her that it would bring unhappiness to all of them if she did\nso.\n\n\n\nThe Great Turnip\n\nFeather-woman often saw the large turnip, but always avoided touching\nit.  One day, however, her curiosity got the better of her, and she was\ntempted to see what might be underneath it.  She laid her little son on\nthe ground and dug until her root-digger stuck fast.  Two large cranes\ncame flying overhead.  {202} She begged these to help her.  They did\nso, and sang a magic song which enabled them to uproot the turnip.\n\nNow, although she was unaware of it, this very turnip filled up the\nhole through which Morning Star had brought her into the Sky-country.\nGazing downward, she saw the camp of the Blackfeet where she had lived.\nThe smoke was ascending from the lodges, she could hear the song of the\nwomen as they went about their work.  The sight made her homesick and\nlonely, and as she went back to her lodge she cried softly to herself.\nWhen she arrived Morning Star gazed earnestly at her, and said with a\nsorrowful expression of countenance: \"You have dug up the sacred\nturnip.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"Gazing downward, she saw the camp of the Blackfeet\"]\n\nThe Moon and Sun were also troubled, and asked her the meaning of her\nsadness, and when she had told them they said that as she had disobeyed\ntheir injunction she must return to earth.  Morning Star took her to\nthe Spider Man, who let her down to earth by a web, and the people\nbeheld her coming to earth like a falling star.\n\n\n\nThe Return to Earth\n\nShe was welcomed by her parents, and returned with her child, whom she\nhad brought with her from the Sky-country, to the home of her youth.\nBut happiness never came back to her.  She mourned ceaselessly for her\nhusband, and one morning, climbing to the summit of a high mound, she\nwatched the beautiful Morning Star rise above the horizon, just as on\nthe day when she had first loved him.  Stretching out her arms to the\neastern sky, she besought him passionately to take her back.  At length\nhe spoke to her.\n\n\"It is because of your own sin,\" he said, \"that you are for ever shut\nout from the Sky-country.  Your {203} disobedience has brought sorrow\nupon yourself and upon all your people.\"\n\nHer pleadings were in vain, and in despair she returned to her lodge,\nwhere her unhappy life soon came to a close.  Her little son, Star-boy,\nwas now an orphan, and the death of his grandparents deprived him of\nall his earthly kindred.  He was a shy, retiring, timid boy, living in\nthe deepest poverty, notwithstanding his exalted station as grandchild\nof the Sun.  But the most noticeable thing about him was a scar which\ndisfigured his face, because of which he was given the name of Po\u00efa\n(Scar-face) by the wits of the tribe.  As he grew older the scar became\nmore pronounced, and ridicule and abuse were heaped upon him.  When he\nbecame a man he fell in love with a maiden of surpassing beauty, the\ndaughter of a great chief of his tribe.  She, however, laughed him to\nscorn, and told him that she would marry him when he removed the scar\nfrom his face.  Po\u00efa, greatly saddened by her unkindness, consulted an\nold medicine-woman, to see whether the scar might not be removed.  She\ncould only tell him that the mark had been placed on his face by the\nSun, and that the Sun alone could remove it.  This was melancholy news\nfor Po\u00efa.  How could he reach the abode of the Sun?  Nevertheless,\nencouraged by the old woman, he resolved to make the attempt.\nGratefully accepting her parting gift of pemmican and moccasins, he set\noff on a journey that was to last for many days.\n\n\n\nThe Big Water\n\nAfter climbing mountains and traversing forests and wandering over\ntrackless prairies he arrived at the Big Water (that is to say, the\nPacific Ocean), on the shores of which he sat down, praying and fasting\nfor three {204} days.  On the third day, when the Sun was sinking\nbehind the rim of the ocean, he saw a bright pathway leading straight\nto the abode of the Sun.  He resolved to follow the shining trail,\nthough he knew not what might lie before him in the great Sky-country.\nHe arrived quite safely, however, at the wonderful lodge of the Sun.\nAll night he hid himself outside the lodge, and in the morning the Sun,\nwho was about to begin his daily journey, saw a ragged wayfarer lying\nby his door.  He did not know that the intruder was his grandson, but,\nseeing that he had come from the Earth-country, he determined to kill\nhim, and said so to his wife, the Moon.  But she begged that the\nstranger's life should be spared, and Morning Star, who at that moment\nissued from the lodge, also gave Po\u00efa his protection.  Po\u00efa lived very\nhappily in the lodge of the Sun, and having on one occasion killed\nseven birds who were about to destroy Morning Star, he earned the\ngratitude of his grandparents.  At the request of Morning Star the Sun\nremoved the scar on Po\u00efa's face, and bade him return with a message to\nthe Blackfeet.  If they would honour him once a year in a Sun Dance he\nwould consent to heal their sick.  The secrets of the Sun Dance were\ntaught to Po\u00efa, two raven's feathers were placed in his hair, and he\nwas given a robe of elk-skin.  The latter, he was told, must only be\nworn by a virtuous woman, who should then dance the Sun Dance, so that\nthe sick might be restored to health.  From his father Po\u00efa received an\nenchanted flute and a magic song, which would win the heart of the maid\nhe loved.\n\nPo\u00efa came to earth by the Milky Way, or, as the Indians call it, the\nWolf-trail, and communicated to the Blackfeet all that he had learned\nin the Sky-country.  When they were thoroughly conversant with the Sun\n{205} Dance he returned to the Sky-country, the home of his father,\naccompanied by his beautiful bride.  Here they dwelt together happily,\nand Pola and the Morning Star travelled together through the sky.\n\n\n\nA Blackfoot Day-and-Night Myth\n\nMany stories are told by the Blackfoot Indians of their creator, N\u00e1pi,\nand these chiefly relate to the manner in which he made the world and\nits inhabitants.\n\nOne myth connected with this deity tells how a poor Indian who had a\nwife and two children lived in the greatest indigence on roots and\nberries.  This man had a dream in which he heard a voice command him to\nprocure a large spider-web, which he was to hang on the trail of the\nanimals where they passed through the forest, by which means he would\nobtain plenty of food.  This he did, and on returning to the place in\nwhich he had hung the web he found deer and rabbits entangled in its\nmagical meshes.  These he killed for food, for which he was now never\nat a loss.\n\nReturning with his game on his shoulders one morning, he discovered his\nwife perfuming herself with sweet pine, which she burned over the fire.\nHe suspected that she was thus making herself attractive for the\nbenefit of some one else, but, preserving silence, he told her that on\nthe following day he would set his spider-web at a greater distance, as\nthe game in the neighbouring forest was beginning to know the trap too\nwell.  Accordingly he went farther afield, and caught a deer, which he\ncut up, carrying part of its meat back with him to his lodge.  He told\nhis wife where the remainder of the carcass was to be found, and asked\nher to go and fetch it.\n\nHis wife, however, was not without her own suspicions, and, concluding\nthat she was being watched by {206} her husband, she halted at the top\nof the nearest hill and looked back to see if he was following her.\nBut he was sitting where she had left him, so she proceeded on her way.\nWhen she was quite out of sight the Indian himself climbed the hill,\nand, seeing that she was not in the vicinity, returned to the camp.  He\ninquired of his children where their mother went to gather firewood,\nand they pointed to a large patch of dead timber.  Proceeding to the\nclump of leafless trees, the man instituted a thorough search, and\nafter a while discovered a den of rattlesnakes.  Now it was one of\nthese reptiles with which his wife was in love, so the Indian in his\nwrath gathered fragments of dry wood and set the whole plantation in a\nblaze.  Then he returned to his lodge and told his children what he had\ndone, at the same time warning them that their mother would be very\nwrathful, and would probably attempt to kill them all.  He further said\nthat he would wait for her return, but that they had better run away,\nand that he would provide them with three things which they would find\nof use.  He then handed to the children a stick, a stone, and a bunch\nof moss, which they were to throw behind them should their mother\npursue them.  The children at once ran away, and their father hung the\nspider-web over the door of the lodge.  Meanwhile the woman had seen\nthe blaze made by the dry timber-patch from a considerable distance,\nand in great anger turned and ran back to the lodge.  Attempting to\nenter it, she was at once entangled in the meshes of the spider-web.\n\n\n\nThe Pursuing Head\n\nShe struggled violently, however, and succeeded in getting her head\nthrough the opening, whereupon her husband severed it from her\nshoulders with his stone {207} axe.  He then ran out of the lodge and\ndown the valley, hotly pursued by the woman's body, while her head\nrolled along the ground in chase of the children.  The latter soon\ndescried the grisly object rolling along in their tracks at a great\nspeed, and one of them quickly threw the stick behind him as he had\nbeen told to do.  Instantly a dense forest sprang up in their rear,\nwhich for a space retarded their horrible pursuer.  The children made\nconsiderable headway, but once more the severed head made its\nappearance, gnashing its teeth in a frenzy of rage and rolling its eyes\nhorribly, while it shrieked out threats which caused the children's\nblood to turn to water.\n\n[Illustration: The Pursuing Head]\n\nThen another of the boys threw the stone which he had been given behind\nhim, and instantly a great mountain sprang up which occupied the land\nfrom sea to sea, so that the progress of the head was quite barred.  It\ncould perceive no means of overcoming this immense barrier, until it\nencountered two rams feeding, which it asked to make a way for it\nthrough the mountain, telling them that if they would do so it would\nmarry the chief of the sheep.  The rams made a valiant effort to meet\nthis request, and again and again fiercely rushed at the mountain, till\ntheir horns were split and broken and they could butt no longer.  The\nhead, growing impatient, called upon a colony of ants which dwelt in\nthe neighbourhood to tunnel a passage through the obstacle, and\noffered, if they were successful, to marry the chief ant as a\nrecompense for their labours.  The insects at once took up the task,\nand toiled incessantly until they had made a tunnel through which the\nhead could roll.\n\n\n\nThe Fate of the Head\n\nThe children were still running, but felt that the head had not\nabandoned pursuit.  At last, after a long {208} interval, they observed\nit rolling after them, evidently as fresh as ever.  The child who had\nthe bunch of moss now wet it and wrung out the water over their trail,\nand immediately an immense strait separated them from the land where\nthey had been but a moment before.  The head, unable to stop, fell into\nthis great water and was drowned.\n\nThe children, seeing that their danger was past, made a raft and sailed\nback to the land from which they had come.  Arrived there, they\njourneyed eastward through many countries, peopled by many different\ntribes of Indians, in order to reach their own territory.  When they\narrived there they found it occupied by tribes unknown to them, so they\nresolved to separate, one going north and the other south.  One of them\nwas shrewd and clever, and the other simple and ingenious.  The shrewd\nboy is he who made the white people and instructed them in their arts.\nThe other, the simple boy, made the Blackfeet, but, being very stupid,\nwas unable to teach them anything.  He it was who was called N\u00e1pi.  As\nfor the mother's body, it continued to chase her husband, and is still\nfollowing him, for she is the Moon and he is the Sun.  If she succeeds\nin catching him she will slay him, and night will reign for evermore,\nbut as long as he is able to evade her day and night will continue to\nfollow one another.\n\n\n\nN\u00e1pi and the Buffalo-Stealer\n\nThere was once a great famine among the Blackfeet.  For months no\nbuffaloes were killed, and the weaker members of the tribe dropped off\none by one, while even the strong braves and hunters began to sink\nunder the privation.  The chief in despair prayed that the creator,\nN\u00e1pi, would send them food.  N\u00e1pi, {209} meanwhile, was far away in the\nsouth, painting the plumage of the birds in gorgeous tints.\nNevertheless he heard the voice of the chief over all the distance, and\nhastened northward.\n\n\"Who has summoned me?\" he demanded.\n\n\"It was I,\" said the chief humbly.  \"My people are starving, and unless\nrelief comes soon I fear we must all perish.\"\n\n\"You shall have food,\" answered N\u00e1pi.  \"I will provide game for you.\"\n\nTaking with him the chief's son, N\u00e1pi travelled toward the west.  As\nthey went the youth prayed earnestly to the Sun, the Moon, and the\nMorning Star, but his companion rebuked his impatience and bade him\nhold his peace.  They crossed the Sweet Grass Hills, which N\u00e1pi had\nmade from huge handfuls of herbage, and where he loved to rest.  Still\nthere was no sign of game.  At length they reached a little lodge by\nthe side of a river, and N\u00e1pi called a halt.\n\n\"There dwells the cause of your misfortunes,\" said he.  \"He who lives\nin that lodge is the Buffalo-stealer.  He it is who has taken all the\nherds from the prairies, so that there is none left.\"\n\nTo further his design, N\u00e1pi took the shape of a dog, and turned the\nyouth into a stick.  Not long afterward the little son of\nBuffalo-stealer was passing that way, and immediately desired to take\nthe little dog home with him.\n\n\"Very well,\" said his mother; \"take that stick and drive it to the\nlodge.\"\n\nBut the boy's father frowned angrily.\n\n\"I do not like the look of the beast,\" he said.  \"Send it away.\"\n\nThe boy refused to part with the dog, and his mother wanted the stick\nto gather roots with, so the father was {210} obliged to give way.\nStill he did not show any good-will to the dog.  The following day he\nwent out of the lodge, and in a short time returned with a buffalo,\nwhich he skinned and prepared for cooking.  His wife, who was in the\nwoods gathering berries, came home toward evening, and at her husband's\nbidding cooked part of the buffalo-meat.  The little boy incurred his\nfather's anger again by giving a piece of meat to the dog.\n\n\"Have I not told you,\" cried Buffalo-stealer irately, \"that he is an\nevil thing?  Do not touch him.\"\n\nThat night when all was silent N\u00e1pi and the chief's son resumed their\nhuman form and supped off the buffalo-meat.\n\n\"It is Buffalo-stealer who keeps the herds from coming near the\nBlackfoot camp,\" said N\u00e1pi.  \"Wait till morning and see.\"\n\n\n\nThe Herds of Buffalo-Stealer\n\nIn the morning they were once more dog and stick.  When the woman and\nher child awoke they set off for the woods again, the former taking the\nstick to dig for roots, the latter calling for his little dog to\naccompany him.  Alas! when they reached the spot they had fixed upon\nfor root-gathering operations both dog and stick had vanished!  And\nthis was the reason for their disappearance.  As the dog was trotting\nthrough the wood he had observed an opening like the mouth of a cavern,\nall but concealed by the thick undergrowth, and in the aperture he\nperceived a buffalo.  His short, sharp barking attracted the attention\nof the stick, which promptly wriggled snake-wise after him.  Within the\ncavern were great herds of deer and buffalo, enough to provide the\nBlackfeet with food for years and years.  N\u00e1pi ran among them, barking,\nand they were driven out to the prairie.\n\n{211}\n\nWhen Buffalo-stealer returned and discovered his loss his wrath knew no\nbounds.  He questioned his wife and son, but they denied all knowledge\nof the affair.\n\n\"Then,\" said he, \"it is that wretched little dog of yours.  Where is he\nnow?\"\n\nBut the child could not tell him.\n\n\"We lost him in the woods,\" said he.\n\n\"I shall kill him,\" shouted the man, \"and I shall break the stick as\nwell!\"\n\nN\u00e1pi overheard the threat, and clung to the long hair of an old\nbuffalo; He advised the stick to conceal itself in the buffalo's hair\nalso, and so the twain escaped unnoticed from the cave, much as did\nUlysses from the Cyclops' cavern.  Once again they took the form of\nmen, and drove a herd of buffalo to the Blackfoot camp, while\nBuffalo-stealer and his family sought them in vain.\n\nThe people met them with delighted acclamations, and the famine was at\nan end.  Yet there were still some difficulties in the way, for when\nthey tried to get the herd into the enclosure a large grey bird so\nfrightened the animals with its dismal note that they refused to enter.\nThis occurred so often that N\u00e1pi suspected that the grey bird was no\nother than Buffalo-stealer.  Changing himself into an otter, he lay by\nthe side of a river and pretended to be dead.  The greedy bird saw what\nhe thought to be a dead otter, and pounced upon it, whereupon N\u00e1pi\nseized him by the leg and bore him off to the camp.  By way of\npunishment he was tied over the smoke-hole of the wigwam, where his\ngrey feathers soon became black and his life a burden to him.\n\n\"Spare me!\" he cried.  \"Let me return to my wife and child.  They will\nsurely starve.\"\n\n{212}\n\nHis piteous appeals moved the heart of N\u00e1pi, and he let him go, but not\nwithout an admonition.\n\n\"Go,\" said he, \"and hunt for food, that you may support your wife and\nchild.  But do not take more than you need, or you shall die.\"\n\nThe bird did as he was bidden.  But to this day the feathers of the\nraven are black, and not grey.\n\n\n\nThe Story of Kutoyis\n\nThere once lived on the banks of the Missouri an old couple who had one\ndaughter, their only child.  When she grew to be a woman she had a\nsuitor who was cruel and overbearing, but as she loved him her parents\noffered no opposition to their marriage.  Indeed, they gave the bride\nthe best part of their possessions for a dowry, so that she and her\nhusband were rich, while her father and mother lived in a poor lodge\nand had very little to eat.  The wicked son-in-law took advantage of\ntheir kindness in every way.  He forced the old man to accompany him on\nhis hunting expeditions, and then refused to share the game with him.\nSometimes one would kill a buffalo and sometimes the other, but always\nit was the younger man who got the best of the meat and who made\nhimself robes and moccasins from the hide.\n\nThus the aged couple were nearly perishing from cold and hunger.  Only\nwhen her husband was out hunting would the daughter venture to carry a\nmorsel of meat to her parents.\n\nOn one occasion the younger man called in his overbearing way to his\nfather-in-law, bidding him help in a buffalo-hunt.  The old man,\nreduced by want almost to a skeleton, was too much afraid of the tyrant\nto venture to disobey him, so he accompanied him in the chase.  Ere\nlong they encountered a fine buffalo, {213} whereupon both drew their\nbows and fired.  But it was the arrow of the elder man which pierced\nthe animal and brought it to the ground.  The old man set himself to\nskin the buffalo, for his son-in-law never shared in these tasks, but\nleft them to his companion.  While he was thus engaged the latter\nobserved a drop of blood on one of his arrows which had fallen to the\nground.\n\nThinking that even a drop of blood was better than nothing, he replaced\nthe arrow in its quiver and set off home.  As it happened, no more of\nthe buffalo than that fell to his share, the rest being appropriated by\nhis son-in-law.\n\nOn his return the old man called to his wife to heap fuel on the fire\nand put on the kettle.  She, thinking he had brought home some\nbuffalo-meat, hastened to do his bidding.  She waited curiously till\nthe water in the kettle had boiled; then to her surprise she saw him\nplace in it an arrow with a drop of blood on it.\n\n\n\nHow Kutoyis was Born\n\n\"Why do you do that?\" she asked.\n\n\"Something will come of it,\" he replied.  \"My spirit tells me so.\"\n\nThey waited in silence.\n\nThen a strange sound was heard in their lonely little lodge--the crying\nof a child.  Half fearfully, half curiously, the old couple lifted the\nlid of the kettle, and there within was a little baby boy.\n\n\"He shall bring us good luck,\" said the old Indian.\n\nThey called the child Kutoyis--that is, 'Drop of Blood'--and wrapped\nhim up as is customary with Indian babies.\n\n\"Let us tell our son-in-law,\" said the old man, \"that it is a little\ngirl, and he will let it live.  If we say it is a boy he will surely\nkill it.\"\n\n{214}\n\nKutoyis became a great favourite in the little lodge to which he had\ncome.  He was always laughing, and his merriment won the hearts of the\nold people.  One day, while they thought him much too young to speak,\nthey were astonished to hear his voice.\n\n\"Lash me up and hang me from the lodge pole,\" said he, \"and I shall\nbecome a man.\"\n\nWhen they had recovered from their astonishment they lashed him to the\nlodge pole.  In a moment he had burst the lashings and grown before\ntheir eyes into a tall, strong man.  Looking round the lodge, which\nseemed scarcely large enough to hold him, Kutoyis perceived that there\nwas no food about.\n\n\"Give me some arrows,\" said he, \"and I will bring you food.\"\n\n\"We have no arrows,\" replied the old man, \"only four arrow-heads.\"\n\nKutoyis fetched some wood, from which he cut a fine bow, and shafts to\nfit the flint arrow-heads.  He begged the old Indian to lead him to a\ngood hunting-ground, and when he had done so they quickly killed a\nmagnificent buffalo.\n\nMeanwhile the old Indian had told Kutoyis how badly his son-in-law had\ntreated him, and as they were skinning the buffalo who should pass by\nbut the subject of their conversation.  Kutoyis hid behind the dead\nanimal to see what would happen, and a moment later the angry voice of\nthe son-in-law was heard.\n\nGetting no reply, the cowardly hunter fitted an arrow to his bow and\nshot it at his father-in-law.  Enraged at the cruel act, Kutoyis rose\nfrom his hiding-place behind the dead buffalo and fired all his arrows\nat the young man, whom he slew.  He afterward gave food in plenty to\nthe old man and his wife, and bade them return to their home.  They\nwere delighted to find {215} themselves once more free from\npersecution, but their daughter wept so much that finally Kutoyis asked\nher whether she would have another husband or whether she wished to\nfollow her first spouse to the Land of Shadows, as she must do if she\npersisted in lamenting him.\n\nThe lady chose the former alternative as the lesser evil, and Kutoyis\nfound her an excellent husband, with whom she lived happily for a long\ntime.\n\n\n\nKutoyis on his Travels\n\nAt length Kutoyis tired of his monotonous life, and desired to see more\nof the world.  So his host directed him to a distant village, where he\nwas welcomed by two old women.  They set before their handsome guest\nthe best fare at their disposal, which was buffalo-meat of a rather\nunattractive appearance.\n\n\"Is there no good meat?\" queried Kutoyis.\n\nThe old women explained that one of the lodges was occupied by a fierce\nbear, who seized upon all the good meat and left only the dry, poor\nsort for his neighbours.  Without hesitation Kutoyis went out and\nkilled a buffalo calf, which he presented to the women, desiring them\nto place the best parts of the meat in a prominent position outside the\nlodge, where the big bear could not fail to see it.\n\nThis they did, and sure enough one of the bear-cubs shortly passed by\nand seized the meat.  Kutoyis, who had been lying in wait, rushed out\nand hit the animal as hard as he could.  The cub carried his tale of\nwoe to his father, and the big bear, growling threats of vengeance,\ngathered his whole family round him and rushed to the lodge of the old\nwomen, intending to kill the bold hunter.\n\nHowever, Kutoyis was more than a match for all of {216} them, and very\nsoon the bears were slain.  Still he was unsatisfied, and longed for\nfurther adventures.\n\n\"Tell me,\" said he, \"where shall I find another village?\"\n\n\n\nThe Wrestling Woman\n\n\"There is a village by the Big River,\" said the old women, \"but you\nmust not go there, for a wicked woman dwells in it who wrestles with\nand slays all who approach.\"\n\nNo sooner did Kutoyis hear this than he determined to seek the village,\nfor his mission was to destroy evil beings who were a danger to his\nfellow-men.  So in spite of the dissuasions of the old women he\ndeparted.\n\nAs he had been warned, the woman came out of her lodge on the approach\nof the stranger and invited him to wrestle with her.\n\n\"I cannot,\" said he, pretending to be frightened.\n\nThe woman mocked and jeered at him, while he made various excuses, but\nall the time he was observing how the land lay.  When he drew nearer he\nsaw that she had covered the ground with sharp flints, over which she\nhad strewn grass.  At last he said: \"Very well, I will wrestle with\nyou.\"\n\nIt was no wonder that she had killed many braves, for she was very\nstrong.  But Kutoyis was still stronger.  With all her skill she could\nnot throw him, and at last she grew tired, and was herself thrown on\nthe sharp flints, on which she bled to death.  The people rejoiced\ngreatly when they heard of her death, and Kutoyis was universally\nacclaimed as a hero.\n\nKutoyis did many other high deeds before he departed to the Shadowland,\nand when he went he left sorrow in many lodges.\n\n\n\n\n{217}\n\nCHAPTER IV: IROQUOIS MYTHS AND LEGENDS\n\n\nIroquois Gods and Heroes\n\nThe myths of the Iroquois are of exceptional\ninterest because of the portraits they present\nof several semi-historical heroes.  The earliest\nsubstratum of the myths of this people deals with the\nadventures of their principal deity, Hi'nun, the\nThunder-god, who, with his brother, the West Wind, finally\novercame and exterminated the powerful race of Stone\nGiants.  Coming to a later period, we find that a\nnumber of legends cluster round the names of the\nchiefs Atotarho and Hiawatha, who in all probability\nat one time really existed.  These present a good\ninstance of the rapidity with which myth gathers round a\nfamous name.  Atotarho, the mighty warrior, is now\nregarded as the wizard _par excellence_ of the Iroquois,\nbut probably this does not result from the fact that\nhe was cunning and cruel, as some writers on the tribe\nappear to think, but from the circumstance that as a\ngreat warrior he was clothed in a garment of serpents,\nand these reptiles, besides being looked upon as powerful\nwar-physic, also possessed a deep magical significance.\nThe original Hiawatha (He who seeks the Wampum-belt)\nis pictured as the father of a long line of persons\nof the same name, who appear to have been important\nfunctionaries in the tribal government.  To him was\nascribed the honour of having established the great\nconfederacy of the Iroquois, which so long rendered\nthem formidable opponents to the tribes which\nsurrounded them.  Like many other heroes in myth--the\nCeltic Mananan, for example--Hiawatha possessed\na magic canoe which would obey his slightest behest,\nand in which he finally quitted the terrestrial sphere\n{218}\nfor that shadowy region to which all heroes finally take\ntheir departure.\n\n\n\nHi'nun\n\nMany interesting myths are related of the manner in\nwhich Hi'nun destroyed the monsters and giants which\ninfested the early world.  A hunter, caught in a heavy\nthunder-shower, took refuge in the woods.  Crouching\nunder the shelter of a great tree, he became aware\nof a mysterious voice which urged him to follow it.\nHe was conscious of a sensation of slowly rising from\nthe earth, and he soon found himself gazing downward\nfrom a point near the clouds, the height of many trees\nfrom the ground.  He was surrounded by beings who\nhad all the appearance of men, with one among them\nwho seemed to be their chief.  They asked him to cast\nhis eyes toward the earth and tell them whether he\ncould see a huge water-serpent.  Unable to descry\nsuch a monster, the chief anointed his eyes with a\nsacred ointment, which gave him supernatural sight\nand permitted him to behold a dragon-like shape in\nthe watery depths far below him.  The chief\ncommanded one of his warriors to dispatch the monster,\nbut arrow after arrow failed to transfix it, whereupon\nthe hunter was requested to display his skill as an\narcher.  Drawing his bow, he took careful aim.  The\narrow whizzed down the depths and was speedily\nlost to sight, but a terrible commotion arose in the\nlake below, the body of the great serpent leaping from\nthe blood-stained water with dreadful writhings and\ncontortions.  So appalling was the din that rose up\nto them that even the heavenly beings by whom the\nhunter was surrounded fell into a great trembling;\nbut gradually the tempest of sound subsided, and the\nhuge bulk of the mortally wounded serpent sank back\n{219}\ninto the lake, the surface of which became gradually\nmore still, until finally all was peace once more.  The\nchief thanked the hunter for the service he had rendered,\nand he was conducted back to earth.  Thus was man\nfirst brought into contact with the beneficent Hi'nun,\nand thus did he learn the existence of a power which\nwould protect him from forces unfriendly to humanity.\n\n\n\nThe Thunderers\n\nOnce in early Iroquois days three braves set out\nupon an expedition.  After they had journeyed for\nsome time a misfortune occurred, one of their number\nbreaking his leg.  The others fashioned a litter with\nthe object of carrying him back to his home, as Indian\ncustom exacted.  Retracing their steps, they came to a\nrange of high mountains, the steep slopes of which\ntaxed their strength to the utmost.  To rest\nthemselves they placed the disabled man on the ground and\nwithdrew to a little distance.\n\n\"Why should we be thus burdened with a wounded\nman?\" said one to the other.\n\n\"You speak truly,\" was the rejoinder.  \"Why\nshould we, indeed, since his hurt has come upon him\nby reason of his own carelessness?\"\n\nAs they spoke their eyes met in a meaning glance,\nand one of them pointed to a deep hole or pit opening\nin the side of the mountain at a little distance from the\nplace where they were sitting.  Returning to the injured\nman, they raised him as if about to proceed on the\njourney, and when passing the brink of the pit suddenly\nhurled him into it with great force.  Then without\nloss of time they set their faces homeward.  When they\narrived in camp they reported that their comrade had\ndied of wounds received in fight, but that he had not\nfallen into the enemy's hands, having received careful\n{220}\nattention from them in his dying moments and\nhonourable burial.  The unfortunate man's aged mother was\nprostrate with grief at the sad news, but was somewhat\nrelieved to think that her son had been kindly ministered\nto at the end.\n\n[Illustration: \"He suddenly assumed the shape of a\ngigantic porcupine\"]\n\nWhen the brave who had been thrown into the pit\nregained his senses after the severe fall he had sustained\nhe perceived a man of venerable aspect bending over\nhim solicitously.  When this person saw that the\nyoung man had regained consciousness he asked him\nwhat had been the intention of his comrades in so\ncruelly casting him into that abyss.  The young man\nreplied that his fellows had become tired of\ncarrying him and had thus rid themselves of him.  The\nold hermit--for so he seemed to be--made a hasty\nexamination of the Indian's injuries, and announced\nthat he would speedily cure him, on one condition.\nThe other pledged his word to accept this, whatever\nit might be, whereupon the recluse told him that all he\nrequired was that he should hunt for him and bring\nhome to him such game as he should slay.  To this the\nbrave gave a ready assent.  The old man lost no time\nin performing his part of the bargain.  He applied\nherbs to his injuries and assiduously tended his guest,\nwho made a speedy and satisfactory recovery.  The\ngrateful warrior, once more enabled to follow the\nchase, brought home many trophies of his skill as a\nhunter to the cave on the mountain-side, and soon the\npair had formed a strong attachment.  One day, when\nin the forest, the warrior encountered an enormous\nbear, which he succeeded in slaying after a desperate\nstruggle.  As he was pondering how best he could\nremove it to the cave he became aware of a murmur of\nvoices behind him, and glancing round he saw three\nmen, or beings in the shape of men, clad in strange\n{221}\ndiaphanous garments, standing near.  In reply to his\nquestion as to what brought them there, they told him\nthat they were the Thunderers, or people of Hi'nun,\nwhose mission it was to keep the earth in good order\nfor the benefit of humanity, and to slay or destroy\nevery agency inimical to mankind.  They told him that\nthe old man with whom he had been residing was by no\nmeans the sort of person he seemed to think, and that\nthey had come to earth with the express intention of\ncompassing his destruction.  In this they requested his\nassistance, and promised him that if he would vouchsafe\nit he would speedily be transported back to his mother's\nlodge.  Overjoyed at this proposal, the hunter did not\nscruple to return to the cave and tell the hermit that\nhe had killed the bear, which he wished his help in\nbringing home.  The old man seemed very uneasy,\nand begged him to examine the sky and tell him\nwhether he perceived the least sign of clouds.  The\nyoung brave reassured him and told him that not a\ncloud was to be seen, whereupon, emerging from his\nshelter, he made for the spot where the bear was\nlying.  Hastily picking up the carcass, he requested\nhis companion to place it all on his shoulders, which\nthe young man did, expressing surprise at his great\nstrength.  He had proceeded with his burden for some\ndistance when a terrific clap of thunder burst from the\nmenacing black clouds which had speedily gathered\noverhead.  In great terror the old man threw down his\nload and commenced to run with an agility which belied\nhis years, but when a second peal broke forth he\nsuddenly assumed the shape of a gigantic porcupine,\nwhich dashed through the undergrowth, discharging\nits quills like arrows as it ran.  A veritable hail of\nthunderbolts now crashed down upon the creature's\nspiny back.  As it reached the entrance to the cave\n{222}\none larger than the rest struck it with such tremendous\nforce that it rolled dead into its den.\n\nThen the Thunderers swooped down from the sky\nin triumph, mightily pleased at the death of their\nvictim.  The young hunter now requested them to\ndischarge the promise they had made him to transport\nhim back to his mother's lodge; so, having fastened\ncloud-wings on his shoulders, they speedily brought\nhim thither, carrying him carefully through the air and\ndepositing him just outside the hut.  The widow was\ndelighted to see her son, whom she had believed to be\nlong dead, and the Thunderers were so pleased with\nthe assistance he had lent them that they asked him to\naccompany them in their monster-destroying mission\nevery spring.  He assented, and on one of these\nexpeditions flew earthward to drink from a certain pool.\nWhen he rejoined his companions they observed that\nthe water with which his lips were moist had caused\nthem to shine as if smeared with oil.  At their request\nhe indicated the pool from which he had drunk, and\nthey informed him that in its depths there dwelt a\nmonster for which they had searched for years.  With\nthat they hurled a great thunderbolt into the pool,\nwhich immediately dried up, revealing an immense\ngrub of the species which destroys the standing crops.\nThe monster was, indeed, the King of Grubs, and his\ndeath set back the conspiracies of his kind for many\ngenerations.  The youth subsequently returned to\nearth, and having narrated to the members of his tribe\nthe services which Hi'nun had performed on their\nbehalf, they considered it fitting to institute a special\nworship of the deity, and, in fact, to make him supreme\ngod of their nation.  Even to-day many Iroquois allude\nto Hi'nun as their grandfather, and evince extraordinary\nveneration at the mention of his name.\n\n\n\n{223}\n\nHiawatha\n\nMuch confusion exists with regard to the true status\nof the reputed Iroquois hero Hiawatha.  We find him\nvariously represented as a historical personage and a\nmythical demi-god, and as belonging to both the\nIroquois and the Algonquins.  In solid history and in\nthe wildest myth he is a figure of equal importance.\nThis confusion is largely due to the popularity of\nLongfellow's poem _Hiawatha_, which by its very excellence\nhas given the greater prominence to the fallacies\nit contains.  The fact is that Longfellow, following\nin the path of Schoolcraft, has really confused two\npersonages in the character of Hiawatha, one the\nentirely mythical Manabozho, or Michabo--which\nname he at first intended to bestow on his poem--and\nthe other the almost wholly historical Hiawatha.\nManabozho, according to tradition, was a demi-god\nof the Ojibways, and to him, and not to Hiawatha,\nmust be credited the exploits described in the poem.\nThere is no doubt that myths have grown up round\nthe name of the Iroquois hero, for myth is the ivy that\nbinds all historical ruins and makes them picturesque\nto the eye; but it has been proved that there is a\nsolid structure of fact behind the legendary stories of\nHiawatha, and even the period of his activity has been\nfixed with tolerable accuracy by modern American\nhistorians.\n\nHiawatha, or Hai-en-Wat-ha, was a chief of Iroquois\nstock, belonging either to the Onondaga or the\nMohawk tribe.  His most important feat was the\nunion of the Five Nations of the Iroquois into a Grand\nLeague, an event which was of more than national\nsignificance, since it so largely affected the fortunes of\nEuropean peoples when they afterward fought for\nAmerican supremacy.  As the Five Nations are known\n{224}\nto have come together in the sixteenth century, it\nfollows that Hiawatha must have lived and worked\nabout that time.  In later days the League was called\nthe Six Nations, and still more recently the Seven\nNations.\n\nWhen the Iroquois, or 'Long House People,' were\nfound by the French and Dutch they occupied the\nwestern part of what is now New York State, and were\nat a much more advanced stage of culture than most of\nthe Indian tribes.  They tilled the ground, cultivating\nmaize and tobacco, and were skilled in the arts of war\nand diplomacy.  They were greatly strengthened by\nthe Grand League, or 'Kayanerenh Kowa,' which, as\nhas been said, was founded by the chief Hiawatha, and\nwere much the most important of the North American\ntribes.\n\nIf we look to tradition for an account of the origin\nof the Grand League, we learn that the union was\neffected by Hiawatha in the fourteenth century.  The\nHurons and Iroquois, we are told, were at one time one\npeople, but later they separated, the Hurons going to\nthe lake which is named after them, and the Iroquois\nto New York, where their five tribes were united under\na General Council.  But tradition is quite evidently\nwrong in assigning so early a date to this important\nevent, for one of the two branches of the Iroquois\nfamily (that which comprises the Mohawks and the\nOneidas) has left but few traces of an early occupation,\nand these, in the shape of some old town-sites, are\njudged to belong to the latter part of the sixteenth\ncentury.\n\nThe early connexion between the Iroquois and the\nHurons, and their subsequent separation, remains\nundisputed.  The Iroquois family was divided into\ntwo branches, the Sinnekes (Onondagas, Cayugas, and\n{225}\nSenecas) and the Caniengas (Mohawks and Oneidas),\nof which the subdivisions composed the Five Nations.\nThe Sinnekes had established themselves in the western\nportion of New York, and the Caniengas at Hochelaga\n(Montreal) and elsewhere on the St. Lawrence, where\nthey lived amicably enough with their Algonquin\nneighbours.  But in 1560 a quarrel arose between the\nCaniengas and the Algonquins, in which the latter\ncalled in the aid of the Hurons.  This was the\nbeginning of a long war, in which the Caniengas had the\nworst of it.  Gradually the Caniengas were driven\nalong the shores of Lake Champlain and Lake George\ntill they reached the valley of the Mohawk River, where\nthey established themselves in a country bordering on\nthat of the Onondagas.\n\nNow the Onondagas were a formidable tribe, fierce\nand warlike, and the Caniengas, being long accustomed\nto war, were not the most peaceable of nations, and\nere long there was trouble between them, while both\nwere at war with the Hurons.  At the head of the\nOnondagas was the great chief Atotarho, whose\nsanguinary exploits and crafty stratagems had become\nthe dread of the neighbouring peoples, and among his\nwarriors was the generous Hiawatha.  Hiawatha was filled\nwith horror at the sight of the suffering caused by\nAtotarho's expeditions, and already his statesman's\nmind was forming projects of peace.  He saw that in\nconfederation lay the means not only of preserving\npeace among his people, but of withstanding alien\nfoes as well.  In two consecutive years he called an\nassembly to consider his plan, but on each occasion the\ngrim presence of Atotarho made discussion impossible.\nHiawatha in despair fled from the land of the\nOnondagas, journeyed eastward through the country\nof the Oneidas, and at last took up his residence\n{226}\namong the Mohawks, into which tribe he was adopted.\nIt has been said by some authorities, and the idea does\nnot lack probability, that Hiawatha was originally\na Mohawk, and that he spent some time among the\nOnondagas, afterward returning to his own people.\nAt all events, the Mohawks proved more amenable to\nreason than the Onondagas had done.  Among the\nchiefs of his adopted tribe Hiawatha found\none--Dekanewidah--who fell in with his confederation\nplans, and agreed to work along with him.  Messengers\nwere dispatched to the Oneidas, who bade them\nreturn in a year, at the end of which period negotiations\nwere renewed.  The result was that the Oneida\nchiefs signed a treaty inaugurating the Kayanerenh\nKowa.  An embassy to the Onondagas was fruitless,\nas Atotarho persistently obstructed the new scheme;\nbut later, when the Kayanerenh Kowa embraced the\nCayugas, messages were once more sent to the powerful\nOnondagas, diplomatically suggesting that Atotarho\nshould take the lead in the Grand Council.  The grim\nwarrior was mollified by this sop to his vanity, and\ncondescended to accept the proposal.  Not only that,\nbut he soon became an enthusiastic worker in the\ncause of confederation, and secured the inclusion of the\nSenecas in the League.\n\nThe confederacy of the Five Nations was now complete,\nand the 'Silver Chain,' as their Grand Council\nwas called, met together on the shores of the Salt\nLake.  The number of chiefs chosen from each tribe\nbore some relation to its numerical status, the largest\nnumber, fourteen, being supplied by the Onondagas.\nThe office of representative in the Council was to be an\nhereditary one, descending in the female line, as with\nthe Picts of Scotland and other primitive peoples, and\nnever from father to son.\n\n{227}\n\nSo powerful did the League become that the name\nof 'Long House People' was held in the greatest awe.\nThey annihilated their ancient enemies, the Hurons,\nand they attacked and subdued the Micmacs,\nMohicans, Pawnees, Algonquins, Cherokees, and many\nother tribes.  The effect of the League on British\nhistory is incalculable.  When the Frenchman Champlain\narrived in 1611 he interfered on behalf of the\nHurons, an action whose far-reaching consequences he\ncould not foresee, but from that period dated the\nhatred of the Iroquois for the French which ensured\nBritain's success in the long struggle between the\nEuropean nations in America.  Without the assistance\nof the native factor, who shall say how the struggle\nmight have ended?\n\nBut the Iroquois were not altogether a bloodthirsty\npeople.  A strong bond of brotherhood existed between\nthe Five Nations, among themselves they were kind and\ngentle, and in part at least Hiawatha's dream of peace\nwas realized.  It is not, of course, very easy to say how\nfar Hiawatha intended the scheme of universal brotherhood\nwith which he is credited.  Whether he conceived\na Grand League embracing all the nations of the earth\nor whether his full ambition was realized in the union\nof the Five Nations is a point which history does not\nmake clear.  But even in the more limited sense his work\nwas a great one, and the lofty and noble character\nwhich Longfellow has given to his hero seems not\nunsuited to the actual Hiawatha, who realizes the ideal\nof the 'noble savage' more fully, perhaps, than any\none else in the annals of primitive peoples.\n\nAs in the case of King Arthur and Dietrich of\nBerne, many myths soon gathered round the popular\nand revered name of Hiawatha.  Among barbarians\nthree, or even two, generations usually suffice to render\n{228}\na great and outstanding figure mythical.  But one\nprefers to think of this Iroquois statesman as a real man, a\nbright particular star in a dark sky of savagery and\nignorance.\n\n\n\nThe Stone Giants\n\nThe Iroquois believed that in early days there existed\na malignant race of giants whose bodies were fashioned\nout of stone.  It is difficult to say how the idea of\nsuch beings arose, but it is possible that the generally\ndistributed conception of a gigantic race springing from\nMother Earth was in this instance fused with another\nbelief that stones and rocks composed the earth's bony\nframework.  We find an example of this belief in the\nbeautiful old Greek myth of Deucalion and Pyrrha,\nwhich much resembles that of Noah.  When after the\ngreat flood which submerged Hellas the survivors' ship\ngrounded upon Mount Parnassus they inquired of the\noracle of Themis in what manner the human race might\nbe restored.  They were bidden by the oracle to veil\nthemselves and to throw the bones of their mother\nbehind them.  These they interpreted to mean the\nstones of the earth.  Picking up loose pieces of stone,\nthey cast them over their shoulders, and from those\nthrown by Deucalion there sprang men, while those\ncast by Pyrrha became women.\n\nThese Stone Giants of the Iroquois, dwelling in the\nfar west, took counsel with one another and resolved to\ninvade the Indian territory and exterminate the race of\nmen.  A party of Indians just starting on the war-path\nwere apprised of the invasion, and were bidden by the\ngods to challenge the giants to combat.  This they did,\nand the opposing bands faced each other at a spot near\na great gulf.  But as the monsters advanced upon their\nhuman enemies the god of the west wind, who was\n{229}\nlying in wait for them, swooped down upon the Titans,\nso that they were hurled over the edge of the gulf, far\ndown into the dark abyss below, where they perished\nmiserably.\n\n\n\nThe Pigmies\n\nIn contradistinction to their belief in giants, the\nIroquois imagined the existence of a race of pigmies,\nwho had many of the attributes of the Teutonic\ngnomes.  They were responsible for the beauty of\nterrestrial scenery, which they carved and sculptured in\ncliff, scar, and rock, and, like the thunder-gods, they\nprotected the human race against the many monsters\nwhich infested the world in early times.\n\n\n\nWitches and Witchcraft\n\nThe Iroquois belief in witchcraft was very strong,\nand the following tale is supposed to account for the\norigin of witches and sorcery.  A boy who was out\nhunting found a snake the colours of whose skin were\nso intensely beautiful that he resolved to capture it.\nHe caught it and tended it carefully, feeding it on\nbirds and small game, and housing it in a little bowl\nmade of bark, which he filled with water.  In the\nbottom of the bowl he placed down, small feathers,\nand wood fibre, and on going to feed the snake he\ndiscovered that these things had become living beings.\nFrom this he gathered that the reptile was endowed\nwith supernatural powers, and he found that other\narticles placed in the water along with it soon showed\nsigns of life.  He procured more snakes and placed\nthem in the bowl.  Observing some men of the tribe\nrubbing ointment on their eyes to enable them to see\nmore clearly, he used some of the water from the bowl\nin which the snakes were immersed upon his own, and\n{230}\nlo! he found on climbing a tall tree that nothing was\nhidden from his sight, which pierced all intervening\nobstacles.  He could see far into the earth, where lay\nhidden precious stones and rich minerals.  His sight\npierced the trunks of trees; he could see through\nmountains, and could discern objects lying deep down\nin the bed of a river.\n\nHe concluded that the greater the number of reptiles\nthe snake-liquid contained the more potent would it\nbecome.  Accordingly he captured several snakes, and\nsuspended them over his bowl in such a manner that\nthe essential oil they contained dropped into the water,\nwith the result that the activity of the beings which had\nbeen so strangely bred in it was increased.  In course\nof time he found that by merely placing one of his\nfingers in the liquid and pointing it at any person he\ncould instantly bewitch him.  He added some roots\nto the water in the bowl, some of which he then\ndrank.  By blowing this from his mouth a great light\nwas produced, by rubbing his eyes with it he could see\nin the dark, and by other applications of it he could\nrender himself invisible, or take the shape of a snake.\nIf he dipped an arrow into the liquid and discharged it\nat any living being it would kill it although it might\nnot strike it.  Not content with discovering this magic\nfluid, the youth resolved to search for antidotes to it,\nand these he collected.\n\n\n\nA 'Medicine' Legend\n\nA similar legend is told by the Senecas to account\nfor the origin of their 'medicine.'  Nearly two hundred\nyears ago--in the savage estimation this is a very great\nperiod of time--an Indian went into the woods on\na hunting expedition.  One night while asleep in his\nsolitary camp he was awakened by a great noise of\n{231}\nsinging and drum-beating, such as is heard at festivals.\nStarting up, he made his way to the place whence the\nsounds came, and although he could not see any one\nthere he observed a heap of corn and a large squash\nvine with three squashes on it, and three ears of corn\nwhich lay apart from the rest.  Feeling very uneasy,\nhe once more pursued his hunting operations, and when\nnight came again laid himself down to rest.  But his\nsleep was destined to be broken yet a second time, and\nawaking he perceived a man bending over him, who\nsaid in menacing tones:\n\n\"Beware: what you saw was sacred.  You deserve to die.\"\n\nA rustling among the branches denoted the presence\nof a number of people, who, after some hesitation,\ngathered round the hunter, and informed him that\nthey would pardon his curiosity and would tell him\ntheir secret.  \"The great medicine for wounds,\" said\nthe man who had first awakened him, \"is squash and\ncorn.  Come with me and I will teach you how to\nmake and apply it.\"\n\nWith these words he led the hunter to the spot at\nwhich he had surprised the 'medicine'-making operations\non the previous night, where he beheld a great fire\nand a strange-looking laurel-bush, which seemed as if\nmade of iron.  Chanting a weird song, the people circled\nslowly round the bush to the accompaniment of a\nrattling of gourd-shells.  On the hunter's asking them\nto explain this procedure, one of them heated a stick\nand thrust it right through his cheek.  He immediately\napplied some of the 'medicine' to the wound, so that\nit healed instantly.  Having thus demonstrated the\npower of the drug, they sang a tune which they called\nthe 'medicine-song,' which their pupil learnt by heart.\n\nThe hunter then turned to depart, and all at once he\n{232}\nsaw that the beings who surrounded him were not\nhuman, as he had thought, but animals--foxes, bears,\nand beavers--who fled as he looked at them.  Surprised\nand even terrified at the turn matters had taken, he\nmade his way homeward with all speed, conning over\nthe prescription which the strange beings had given him\nthe while.  They had told him to take one stalk of\ncorn, to dry the cob and pound it very fine, then to\ntake one squash, cut it up and pound it, and to mix the\nwhole with water from a running stream, near its source.\nThis prescription he used with very great success among\nhis people, and it proved the origin of the great\n'medicine' of the Senecas.  Once a year at the season\nwhen the deer changes his coat they prepare it as the\nforest folk did, singing the weird song and dancing\nround it to the rhythmic accompaniment of the gourd-shell\nrattles, while they burn tobacco to the gods.\n\n\n\nGreat Head and the Ten Brothers\n\nIt was commonly believed among the Iroquois\nIndians that there existed a curious and malevolent\nbeing whom they called Great Head.  This odd\ncreature was merely an enormous head poised on\nslender legs.  He made his dwelling on a rugged rock,\nand directly he saw any living person approach he\nwould growl fiercely in true ogre fashion: \"I see thee,\nI see thee!  Thou shalt die.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"'I see thee, I see thee!  Thou shalt die.'\"]\n\nFar away in a remote spot an orphaned family of\nten boys lived with their uncle.  The older brothers\nwent out every day to hunt, but the younger ones, not\nyet fitted for so rigorous a life, remained at home with\ntheir uncle, or at least did not venture much beyond\nthe immediate vicinity of their lodge.  One day the\nhunters did not return at their usual hour.  As the\nevening passed without bringing any sign of the missing\n{233}\nyouths the little band at home became alarmed.  At\nlength the eldest of the boys left in the lodge\nvolunteered to go in search of his brothers.  His uncle\nconsented, and he set off, but he did not return.\n\nIn the morning another brother said: \"I will go to\nseek my brothers.\"  Having obtained permission, he\nwent, but he also did not come back.  Another and\nanother took upon himself the task of finding the lost\nhunters, but of the searchers as well as of those sought\nfor there was no news forthcoming.  At length only\nthe youngest of the lads remained at home, and to his\nentreaties to be allowed to seek for his brothers the\nuncle turned a deaf ear, for he feared to lose the last of\nhis young nephews.\n\nOne day when uncle and nephew were out in the forest\nthe latter fancied he heard a deep groan, which seemed to\nproceed from the earth exactly under his feet.  They\nstopped to listen.  The sound was repeated--unmistakably\na human groan.  Hastily they began digging in the\nearth, and in a moment or two came upon a man covered\nwith mould and apparently unconscious.\n\nThe pair carried the unfortunate one to their lodge,\nwhere they rubbed him with bear's oil till he recovered\nconsciousness.  When he was able to speak he could\ngive no explanation of how he came to be buried\nalive.  He had been out hunting, he said, when\nsuddenly his mind became a blank, and he remembered\nnothing more till he found himself in the lodge with\nthe old man and the boy.  His hosts begged the\nstranger to stay with them, and they soon discovered\nthat he was no ordinary mortal, but a powerful\nmagician.  At times he behaved very strangely.  One\nnight, while a great storm raged without, he tossed\nrestlessly on his couch instead of going to sleep.  At\nlast he sought the old uncle.\n\n{234}\n\n\"Do you hear that noise?\" he said.  \"That is my\nbrother, Great Head, who is riding on the wind.  Do\nyou not hear him howling?\"\n\nThe old man considered this astounding speech for\na moment; then he asked: \"Would he come here if\nyou sent for him?\"\n\n\"No,\" said the other, thoughtfully, \"but we might\nbring him here by magic.  Should he come you must\nhave food ready for him, in the shape of huge blocks\nof maple-wood, for that is what he lives on.\"\n\nThe stranger departed in search of his brother Great\nHead, taking with him his bow, and on the way he\ncame across a hickory-tree, whose roots provided him\nwith arrows.  About midday he drew near to the\ndwelling of his brother, Great Head.  In order to see\nwithout being seen, he changed himself into a mole,\nand crept through the grass till he saw Great Head\nperched on a rock, frowning fiercely.  \"I see thee!\" he\ngrowled, with his wild eyes fixed on an owl.  The\nman-mole drew his bow and shot an arrow at Great\nHead.  The arrow became larger and larger as it flew\ntoward the monster, but it returned to him who had\nfired it, and as it did so it regained its natural size.\nThe man seized it and rushed back the way he had\ncome.  Very soon he heard Great Head in pursuit,\npuffing and snorting along on the wings of a hurricane.\nWhen the creature had almost overtaken him he turned\nand discharged another arrow.  Again and again he\nrepulsed his pursuer in this fashion, till he lured him\nto the lodge where his benefactors lived.  When Great\nHead burst into the house the uncle and nephew began\nto hammer him vigorously with mallets.  To their\nsurprise the monster broke into laughter, for he had\nrecognized his brother and was very pleased to see him.\nHe ate the maple-blocks they brought him with a\n{235}\nhearty appetite, whereupon they told him the story of\nthe missing hunters.\n\n\"I know what has become of them,\" said Great\nHead.  \"They have fallen into the hands of a witch.\nIf this young man,\" indicating the nephew, \"will\naccompany me, I will show him her dwelling, and the\nbones of his brothers.\"\n\nThe youth, who loved adventure, and was besides\nvery anxious to learn the fate of his brothers, at once\nconsented to seek the home of the witch.  So he and\nGreat Head started off, and lost no time in getting to\nthe place.  They found the space in front of the lodge\nstrewn with dry bones, and the witch sitting in the\ndoorway singing.  When she saw them she muttered\nthe magic word which turned living people into dry\nbones, but on Great Head and his companion it had\nno effect whatever.  Acting on a prearranged signal,\nGreat Head and the youth attacked the witch and\nkilled her.  No sooner had she expired than her flesh\nturned into birds and beasts and fishes.  What was\nleft of her they burned to ashes.\n\nTheir next act was to select the bones of the nine\nbrothers from among the heap, and this they found no\neasy task.  But at last it was accomplished, and Great\nHead said to his companion: \"I am going home to\nmy rock.  When I pass overhead in a great storm I\nwill bid these bones arise, and they will get up and\nreturn with you.\"\n\nThe youth stood alone for a little while till he heard\nthe sound of a fierce tempest.  Out of the hurricane\nGreat Head called to the brothers to arise.  In a\nmoment they were all on their feet, receiving the\ncongratulations of their younger brother and each\nother, and filled with joy at their reunion.\n\n\n\n{236}\n\nThe Seneca's Revenge\n\nA striking story is told of a Seneca youth who for\nmany years and through a wearisome captivity nourished\nthe hope of vengeance so dear to the Indian soul.  A\ncertain tribe of the Senecas had settled on the shores\nof Lake Erie, when they were surprised by their ancient\nenemies the Illinois, and in spite of a stout resistance\nmany of them were slain, and a woman and a boy\ntaken prisoner.  When the victors halted for the night\nthey built a great fire, and proceeded to celebrate their\nsuccess by singing triumphant songs, in which they\ncommanded the boy to join them.  The lad pretended\nthat he did not know their language, but said that he\nwould sing their song in his own tongue, to which\nthey assented; but instead of a p\u00e6an in their praise\nhe sang a song of vengeance, in which he vowed that\nif he were spared all of them would lose their scalps.\nA few days afterward the woman became so exhausted\nthat she could walk no farther, so the Illinois slew her.\nBut before she died she extracted a promise from the\nboy that he would avenge her, and would never cease\nto be a Seneca.\n\nIn a few days they arrived at the Illinois camp,\nwhere a council was held to consider the fate of the\ncaptive lad.  Some were for instantly putting him to\ndeath, but their chief ruled that should he be able to\nlive through their tortures he would be worthy of\nbecoming an Illinois.  They seized the wretched lad\nand held his bare feet to the glowing council-fire, then\nafter piercing them they told him to run a race.  He\nbounded forward, and ran so swiftly that he soon\ngained the Great House of the tribe, where he seated\nhimself upon a wild-cat skin.\n\nAnother council was held, and the Illinois braves\n{237}\nagreed that the lad possessed high courage and would\nmake a great warrior; but others argued that he knew\ntheir war-path and might betray them, and it was finally\ndecided that he should be burnt at the stake.  As he\nwas about to perish in this manner an aged warrior\nsuggested that if he were able to withstand their last\ntorture he should be permitted to live.  Accordingly\nhe held the unfortunate lad under water in a pool until\nonly a spark of life remained in him, but he survived,\nand became an Illinois warrior.\n\nYears passed, and the boy reached manhood and\nmarried a chief's daughter.  His strength and endurance\nbecame proverbial, but the warriors of the tribe of his\nadoption would never permit him to take part in their\nwarlike expeditions.  At length a raid against the Senecas\nwas mooted, and he begged so hard to be allowed to\naccompany the braves that at last they consented.\nIndeed, so great was their admiration of the skill with\nwhich he outlined a plan of campaign that they made\nhim chief of the expedition.  For many days the party\nmarched toward the Seneca country; but when at last\nthey neared it their scouts reported that there were no\nsigns of the tribe, and that the Senecas must have quitted\ntheir territory.  Their leader, however, proposed to go in\nsearch of the enemy himself, along with another warrior\nof the tribe, and this was agreed to.\n\nWhen the pair had gone five or six miles the leader\nsaid to his companion that it would be better if they\nseparated, as they would then be able to cover more\nground.  Passing on to where he knew he would find\nthe Senecas, he warned them of their danger, and\narranged that an ambush of his kinsfolk should lie in\nwait for the Illinois.\n\nReturning to the Illinois camp, he reported that he\nhad seen nothing, but that he well remembered the\n{238}\nSeneca hiding-place.  He asked to be given the bravest\nwarriors, and assured the council that he would soon\nbring them the scalps of their foes.  Suspecting nothing,\nthey assented to his proposal, and he was followed by\nthe flower of the Illinois tribe, all unaware that five\nhundred Senecas awaited them in the valley.  The\nyouth led his men right into the heart of the ambush;\nthen, pretending to miss his footing, he fell.  This\nwas the signal for the Senecas to rise on every side.\nYelling their war-cry, they rushed from their shelter\nand fell on the dismayed Illinois, who gave way on\nevery side.  The slaughter was immense.  Vengeance\nnerved the arms of the Seneca braves, and of three\nhundred Illinois but two escaped.  The leader of the\nexpedition was borne in triumph to the Seneca village,\nwhere to listening hundreds he told the story of his\ncapture and long-meditated revenge.  He became a\ngreat chief among his people, and even to this day his\nname is uttered by them with honour and reverence.\n\n\n\nThe Boy Magician\n\nIn the heart of the wilderness there lived an old\nwoman and her little grandson.  The two found no\nlack of occupation from day to day, the woman busying\nherself with cooking and cleaning and the boy with\nshooting and hunting.  The grandmother frequently\nspoke of the time when the child would grow up and\ngo out into the world.\n\n\"Always go to the east,\" she would say.  \"Never\ngo to the west, for there lies danger.\"\n\nBut what the danger was she would not tell him,\nin spite of his importunate questioning.  Other boys\nwent west, he thought to himself, and why should not\nhe?  Nevertheless his grandmother made him promise\nthat he would not go west.\n\n{239}\n\nYears passed by, and the child grew to be a man,\nthough he still retained the curiosity and high spirits\nof his boyhood.  His persistent inquiries drew from\nthe old grandmother a reluctant explanation of her\nwarning.\n\n\"In the west,\" said she, \"there dwells a being who\nis anxious to do us harm.  If he sees you it will mean\ndeath for both of us.\"\n\nThis statement, instead of frightening the young\nIndian, only strengthened in him a secret resolution he\nhad formed to go west on the first opportunity.  Not\nthat he wished to bring any misfortune on his poor\nold grandmother, any more than on himself, but he\ntrusted to his strong arm and clear head to deliver\nthem from their enemy.  So with a laugh on his lips\nhe set off to the west.\n\nToward evening he came to a lake, where he rested.\nHe had not been there long when he heard a voice\nsaying: \"Aha, my fine fellow, I see you!\"\n\nThe youth looked all round him, and up into the\nsky above, but he saw no one.\n\n\"I am going to send a hurricane,\" the mysterious\nvoice continued, \"to break your grandmother's hut to\npieces.  How will you like that?\"\n\n\"Oh, very well,\" answered the young man gaily.\n\"We are always in need of firewood, and now we shall\nhave plenty.\"\n\n\"Go home and see,\" the voice said mockingly.\n\"I daresay you will not like it so well.\"\n\nNothing daunted, the young adventurer retraced\nhis steps.  As he neared home a great wind sprang up,\nseeming to tear the very trees out by the roots.\n\n\"Make haste!\" cried the grandmother from the\ndoorway.  \"We shall both be killed!\"\n\nWhen she had drawn him inside and shut the door\n{240}\nshe scolded him heartily for his disobedience, and\nbewailed the fate before them.  The young man soothed\nher fears, saying: \"Don't cry, grandmother.  We\nshall turn the lodge into a rock, and so we shall be\nsaved.\"\n\nHaving some skill in magic, he did as he had said,\nand the hurricane passed harmlessly over their heads.\nWhen it had ceased they emerged from their retreat,\nand found an abundance of firewood all round them.\n\n\n\nThe Hailstorm\n\nNext day the youth was on the point of setting off\ntoward the west once more, but the urgent entreaties\nof his grandmother moved him to proceed eastward--for\na time.  Directly he was out of sight of the lodge\nhe turned his face once more to the west.  Arrived at\nthe lake, he heard the voice once more, though its\nowner was still invisible.\n\n\"I am going to send a great hailstorm on your\ngrandmother's hut,\" it said.  \"What do you think of\nthat?\"\n\n\"Oh,\" was the response, \"I think I should like it.\nI have always wanted a bundle of spears.\"\n\n\"Go home and see,\" said the voice.\n\nAway the youth went through the woods.  The sky\nbecame darker and darker as he neared his home, and\njust as he was within a bowshot of the little hut a\nfierce hailstorm broke, and he thought he would be\nkilled before he reached shelter.\n\n\"Alas!\" cried the old woman when he was safely\nindoors, \"we shall be destroyed this time.  How can\nwe save ourselves?\"\n\nAgain the young man exercised his magic powers,\nand transformed the frail hut into a hollow rock, upon\nwhich the shafts of the hailstorm spent themselves in\n{241}\nvain.  At last the sky cleared, the lodge resumed its\nformer shape, and the young man saw a multitude of\nsharp, beautiful spear-heads on the ground.\n\n\"I will get poles,\" said he, \"to fit to them for\nfishing.\"\n\nWhen he returned in a few minutes with the poles\nhe found that the spears had vanished.\n\n\"Where are my beautiful spears?\" he asked his\ngrandmother.\n\n\"They were only ice-spears,\" she replied.  \"They\nhave all melted away.\"\n\nThe young Indian was greatly disappointed, and\nwondered how he could avenge himself on the being\nwho had played him this malicious trick.\n\n\"Be warned in time,\" said the aged grandmother,\nshaking her head at him.  \"Take my advice and leave\nhim alone.\"\n\n\n\nThe Charmed Stone\n\nBut the youth's adventurous spirit impelled him to\nsee the end of the matter, so he took a stone and tied\nit round his neck for a charm, and sought the lake\nonce again.  Carefully observing the direction from\nwhich the voice proceeded, he saw in the middle of the\nlake a huge head with a face on every side of it.\n\n\"Aha! uncle,\" he exclaimed, \"I see you!  How\nwould you like it if the lake dried up?\"\n\n\"Nonsense!\" said the voice angrily, \"that will\nnever happen.\"\n\n\"Go home and see,\" shouted the youth, mimicking\nthe mocking tone the other had adopted on the\nprevious occasions.  As he spoke he swung his charmed\nstone round his head and threw it into the air.  As it\ndescended it grew larger and larger, and the moment\nit entered the lake the water began to boil.\n\n{242}\nThe lad returned home and told his grandmother\nwhat he had done.\n\n\"It is of no use,\" said she.  \"Many have tried to\nslay him, but all have perished in the attempt.\"\n\nNext morning our hero went westward again, and\nfound the lake quite dry, and the animals in it dead,\nwith the exception of a large green frog, who was in\nreality the malicious being who had tormented the\nIndian and his grandmother.  A quick blow with a\nstick put an end to the creature, and the triumphant\nyouth bore the good news to his old grandmother, who\nfrom that time was left in peace and quietness.\n\n\n\nThe Friendly Skeleton\n\nA little boy living in the woods with his old uncle was\nwarned by him not to go eastward, but to play close to\nthe lodge or walk toward the west.  The child felt a\nnatural curiosity to know what lay in the forbidden\ndirection, and one day took advantage of his uncle's\nabsence on a hunting expedition to wander away to the\neast.  At length he came to a large lake, on the shores of\nwhich he stopped to rest.  Here he was accosted by a\nman, who asked him his name and where he lived.\n\n\"Come,\" said the stranger, when he had finished\nquestioning the boy, \"let us see who can shoot an\narrow the highest.\"\n\nThis they did, and the boy's arrow went much higher\nthan that of his companion.\n\nThe stranger then suggested a swimming match.\n\n\"Let us see,\" he said, \"who can swim farthest under\nwater without taking a breath.\"\n\nAgain the boy beat his rival, who next proposed\nthat they should sail out to an island in the middle of\nthe lake, to see the beautiful birds that were to be\nfound there.  The child consented readily, and they\n{243}\nembarked in a curious canoe, which was propelled by\nthree swans harnessed to either side of it.  Directly they\nhad taken their seats the man began to sing, and the\ncanoe moved off.  In a very short time they had reached\nthe island.  Here the little Indian realized that his\nconfidence in his new-found friend was misplaced.  The\nstranger took all his clothes from him, put them in the\ncanoe, and jumped in himself, saying:\n\n\"Come, swans, let us go home.\"\n\nThe obedient swans set off at a good pace, and\nsoon left the island far behind.  The boy was very\nangry at having been so badly used, but when it\ngrew dark his resentment changed to fear, and he sat\ndown and cried with cold and misery.  Suddenly he\nheard a husky voice close at hand, and, looking round,\nhe saw a skeleton on the ground.\n\n\"I am very sorry for you,\" said the skeleton in\nhoarse tones.  \"I will do what I can to help you.\nBut first you must do something for me.  Go and\ndig by that tree, and you shall find a tobacco-pouch\nwith some tobacco in it, a pipe, and a flint.\"\n\nThe boy did as he was asked, and when he had\nfilled the pipe he lit it and placed it in the mouth of\nthe skeleton.  He saw that the latter's body was full\nof mice, and that the smoke frightened them away.\n\n[Illustration: \"He lit a pipe and placed it in the\nmouth of the skeleton\"]\n\n\"There is a man coming to-night with three dogs,\"\nsaid the skeleton.  \"He is coming to look for you.\nYou must make tracks all over the island, so that they\nmay not find you, and then hide in a hollow tree.\"\n\nAgain the boy obeyed his gaunt instructor, and when\nhe was safely hidden he saw a man come ashore with\nthree dogs.  All night they hunted him, but he had made\nso many tracks that the dogs were confused, and at last\nthe man departed in anger.  Next day the trembling\nboy emerged and went to the skeleton.\n\n{244}\n\n\"To-night,\" said the latter, \"the man who brought\nyou here is coming to drink your blood.  You must\ndig a hole in the sand and hide.  When he comes out of\nthe canoe you must enter it.  Say, 'Come, swans, let us\ngo home,' and if the man calls you do not look back.\"\n\n\n\nThe Lost Sister\n\nEverything fell out as the skeleton had foretold.\nThe boy hid in the sand, and directly he saw his\ntormentor step ashore he jumped into the canoe,\nsaying hastily, \"Come, swans, let us go home.\"  Then\nhe began to sing as he had heard the man do when\nthey first embarked.  In vain the man called him back;\nhe refused to look round.  The swans carried the\ncanoe to a cave in a high rock, where the boy found\nhis clothes, as well as a fire and food.  When he\nhad donned his garments and satisfied his hunger\nhe lay down and slept.  In the morning he returned\nto the island, where he found the tyrant quite dead.\nThe skeleton now commanded him to sail eastward to\nseek for his sister, whom a fierce man had carried\naway.  He set out eagerly on his new quest, and a\nthree days' journey brought him to the place where his\nsister was.  He lost no time in finding her.\n\n\"Come, my sister,\" said he, \"let us flee away\ntogether.\"\n\n\"Alas!  I cannot,\" answered the young woman.  \"A\nwicked man keeps me here.  It is time for him to\nreturn home, and he would be sure to catch us.  But\nlet me hide you now, and in the morning we shall go\naway.\"\n\nSo she dug a pit and hid her brother, though not a\nmoment too soon, for the footsteps of her husband\nwere heard approaching the hut.  The woman had\ncooked a child, and this she placed before the man.\n\n{245}\n\n\"You have had visitors,\" he said, seeing his dogs\nsnuffing around uneasily.\n\n\"No,\" was the reply, \"I have seen no one but you.\"\n\n\"I shall wait till to-morrow,\" said the man to himself.\n\"Then I shall kill and eat him.\"  He had already\nguessed that his wife had not spoken the truth.\nHowever, he said nothing more, but waited till morning,\nwhen, instead of going to a distant swamp to seek for\nfood, as he pretended to do, he concealed himself\nat a short distance from the hut, and at length saw\nthe brother and sister making for a canoe.  They were\nhardly seated when they saw him running toward them.\nIn his hand he bore a large hook, with which he\ncaught the frail vessel; but the lad broke the hook\nwith a stone, and the canoe darted out on to the lake.\nThe man was at a loss for a moment, and could only\nshout incoherent threats after the pair.  Then an idea\noccurred to him, and, lying down on the shore, he\nbegan to drink the water.  This caused the canoe to\nrush back again, but once more the boy was equal to\nthe occasion.  Seizing the large stone with which he\nhad broken the hook, he threw it at the man and slew\nhim, the water at the same time rushing back into the\nlake.  Thus the brother and sister escaped, and in\nthree days they had arrived at the island, where they\nheartily thanked their benefactor, the skeleton.  He,\nhowever, had still another task for the young Indian\nto perform.\n\n\"Take your sister home to your uncle's lodge,\" said\nhe; \"then return here yourself, and say to the many\nbones which you will find on the island, 'Arise,' and\nthey shall come to life again.\"\n\nWhen the brother and sister reached their home\nthey found that their old uncle had been grievously\n{246}\nlamenting the loss of his nephew, and he was quite\noverjoyed at seeing them.  On his recommendation\nthey built a large lodge to accommodate the people they\nwere to bring back with them.  When it was completed,\nthe youth revisited the island, bade the bones arise,\nand was delighted to see them obey his bidding and\nbecome men and women.  He led them to the lodge\nhe had built, where they all dwelt happily for a long\ntime.\n\n\n\nThe Pigmies\n\nWhen the Cherokees were dwelling in the swamps\nof Florida the Iroquois made a practice of swooping\ndown on them and raiding their camps.  On one\noccasion the raiding party was absent from home for\nclose on two years.  On the eve of their return one\nof their number, a chieftain, fell ill, and the rest of\nthe party were at a loss to know what to do with him.\nObviously, if they carried him home with them he\nwould considerably impede their progress.  Besides,\nthere was the possibility that he might not recover,\nand all their labour would be to no purpose.  Thus\nthey debated far into the night, and finally decided to\nabandon him to his fate and return by themselves.\nThe sick man, unable to stir hand or foot, overheard\ntheir decision, but he bore it stoically, like an Indian\nwarrior.  Nevertheless, when he heard the last swish\nof their paddles as they crossed the river he could not\nhelp thinking of the friends and kindred he would\nprobably never see again.\n\nWhen the raiders reached home they were closely\nquestioned as to the whereabouts of the missing chief,\nand the inquiries were all the more anxious because\nthe sick man had been a great favourite among his\npeople.  The guilty warriors answered evasively.  They\n{247}\ndid not know what had become of their comrade,\nthey said.  Possibly he had been lost or killed in\nFlorida.\n\nMeanwhile the sick man lay dying on the banks of\nthe river.  Suddenly he heard, quite close at hand, the\ngentle sound of a canoe.  The vessel drew in close to\nthe bank, and, full in view of the warrior, three pigmy\nmen disembarked.  They regarded the stranger with\nsome surprise.  At length one who seemed to be\nthe leader advanced and spoke to him, bidding him\nawait their return, and promising to look after him.\nThey were going, he said, to a certain 'salt-lick,' where\nmany curious animals watered, in order to kill some\nfor food.\n\n\n\nThe Salt-Lick\n\nWhen the pigmies arrived at the place they found\nthat no animals were as yet to be seen, but very soon\na large buffalo bull came to drink.  Immediately a\nbuffalo cow arose from the lick, and when they had\nsatisfied their thirst the two animals lay down on the\nbank.  The pigmies concluded that the time was ripe\nfor killing them, and, drawing their bows, they\nsucceeded in dispatching the buffaloes.  Returning to\nthe sick man, they amply fulfilled their promise to take\ncare of him, skilfully tending him until he had made a\ncomplete recovery.  They then conveyed him to his\nfriends, who now learnt that the story told them by\nthe raiders was false.  Bitterly indignant at the\ndeception and heartless cruelty of these men, they fell upon\nthem and punished them according to their deserts.\n\nLater the chief headed a band of people who were\ncurious to see the lick, which they found surrounded\nby the bones of numberless large animals which had\nbeen killed by the pigmies.\n\n{248}\n\nThis story is interesting as a record of what were\nperhaps the last vestiges of a pigmy folk who at one\ntime inhabited the eastern portion of North America,\nbefore the coming of the Red Man.  We have already\nalluded to this people, in the pages dealing with the\ndiscoveries of the Norsemen in the continent.\n\n\n\nThe Magical Serpent\n\nIn the seventeenth century a strange legend\nconcerning a huge serpent was found among the Hurons,\nwho probably got it from the neighbouring Algonquins.\nThis monster had on its head a horn which would\npierce anything, even the hardest rock.  Any one\npossessing a piece of it was supposed to have very\ngood fortune.  The Hurons did not know where the\ncreature was to be found, but said that the Algonquins\nwere in the habit of selling them small pieces of the\nmagic horn.\n\nIt is possible that the mercenary Shawnees had\nborrowed this myth from the Cherokees for their own\npurposes.  At all events a similar legend existed among\nboth tribes which told of a monster snake, the King\nof Rattlesnakes, who dwelt up among the mountain-passes,\nattended by a retinue of his kind.  Instead of\na crown, he wore on his head a beautiful jewel which\npossessed magic properties.  Many a brave tried to\nobtain possession of this desirable gem, but all fell\nvictims to the venomous reptiles.  At length a more\ningenious warrior clothed himself entirely in leather,\nand so rendered himself impervious to their attack.\nMaking his way to the haunt of the serpents, he slew\ntheir monster chief.  Then, triumphantly taking\npossession of the wonderful jewel, he bore it to his tribe,\nby whom it was regarded with profound veneration and\njealously preserved.\n\n\n\n{249}\n\nThe Origin of Medicine\n\nAn interesting Cherokee myth is that which recounts\nthe origin of disease, and the consequent institution of\ncurative medicine.  In the old days, we are told, the\nmembers of the brute creation were gifted with speech\nand dwelt in amity with the human race, but mankind\nmultiplied so quickly that the animals were crowded\ninto the forests and desert places of the earth, so that\nthe old friendship between them was soon forgotten.\nThe breach was farther widened by the invention of\nlethal weapons, by the aid of which man commenced\nthe wholesale slaughter of the beasts for the sake of\ntheir flesh and skins.  The animals, at first surprised,\nsoon grew angry, and resolved upon measures of\nretaliation.  The bear tribe met in council, presided\nover by the Old White Bear, their chief.  After several\nspeakers had denounced mankind for their bloodthirsty\ntendencies, war was unanimously decided upon, but\nthe lack of weapons was regarded as a serious drawback.\nHowever, it was suggested that man's instruments\nshould be turned against himself, and as the bow and\narrow were considered to be the principal human agency\nof destruction, it was resolved to fashion a specimen.\nA suitable piece of wood was procured, and one of the\nbears sacrificed himself to provide gut for a bowstring.\nWhen the weapon was completed it was discovered\nthat the claws of the bears spoiled their shooting.  One\nof the bears, however, cut his claws, and succeeded in\nhitting the mark, but the Old White Bear very wisely\nremarked that without claws they could not climb trees\nor bring down game, and that were they to cut them\noff they must all starve.\n\nThe deer also met in council, under their chief, the\nLittle Deer, when it was decided that those hunters who\n{250}\nslew one of their number without asking pardon in\na suitable manner should be afflicted with rheumatism.\nThey gave notice of this decision to the nearest\nsettlement of Indians, and instructed them how to\nmake propitiation when forced by necessity to kill one\nof the deer-folk.  So when a deer is slain by the\nhunter the Little Deer runs to the spot, and, bending\nover the blood-stains, asks the spirit of the deer if it\nhas heard the prayer of the hunter for pardon.  If the\nreply be 'Yes,' all is well, and the Little Deer departs;\nbut if the answer be in the negative, he tracks the\nhunter to his cabin, and strikes him with rheumatism,\nso that he becomes a helpless cripple.  Sometimes\nhunters who have not learned the proper formula for\npardon attempt to turn aside the Little Deer from his\npursuit by building a fire behind them in the trail.\n\n\n\nThe Council of the Fishes\n\nThe fishes and reptiles then held a joint council, and\narranged to haunt those human beings who tormented\nthem with hideous dreams of serpents twining round\nthem and of eating fish which had become decayed.\nThese snake and fish dreams seem to be of common\noccurrence among the Cherokees, and the services of\nthe _shamans_ to banish them are in constant demand.\n\nLastly, the birds and the insects, with the smaller\nanimals, gathered together for a similar purpose, the\ngrub-worm presiding over the meeting.  Each in turn\nexpressed an opinion, and the consensus was against\nmankind.  They devised and named various diseases.\n\nWhen the plants, which were friendly to man, heard\nwhat had been arranged by the animals, they determined\nto frustrate their evil designs.  Each tree, shrub, and\nherb, down even to the grasses and mosses, agreed to\nfurnish a remedy for some one of the diseases named.\n{251}\nThus did medicine come into being.  When the _shaman_\nis in doubt as to what treatment to apply for the relief\nof a patient the spirit of the plant suggests a fitting\nremedy.\n\n\n\nThe Wonderful Kettle\n\nA story is told among the Iroquois of two brothers\nwho lived in the wilderness far from all human\nhabitation.  The elder brother went into the forest to hunt\ngame, while the younger stayed at home and tended\nthe hut, cooked the food, and gathered firewood.\n\nOne evening the tired hunter returned from the\nchase, and the younger brother took the game from\nhim as usual and dressed it for supper.  \"I will smoke\nawhile before I eat,\" said the hunter, and he smoked\nin silence for a time.  When he was tired of smoking\nhe lay down and went to sleep.\n\n\"Strange,\" said the boy; \"I should have thought\nhe would want to eat first.\"\n\nWhen the hunter awoke he found that his brother\nhad prepared the supper and was waiting for him.\n\n\"Go to bed,\" said he; \"I wish to be alone.\"\n\nWondering much, the boy did as he was bidden,\nbut he could not help asking himself how his brother\ncould possibly live if he did not eat.  In the\nmorning he observed that the hunter went away without\ntasting any food, and on many succeeding mornings\nand evenings the same thing happened.\n\n\"I must watch him at night,\" said the boy to himself,\n\"for he must eat at night, since he eats at no other\ntime.\"\n\nThat same evening, when the lad was told as usual\nto go to bed, he lay down and pretended to be sound\nasleep, but all the time one of his eyes was open.  In\nthis cautious fashion he watched his brother, and saw\n{252}\nhim rise from his couch and pass through a trap-door\nin the floor, from which he shortly emerged bearing\na rusty kettle, the bottom of which he scraped\nindustriously.  Filling it with water, he set it on the\nblazing fire.  As he did so he struck it with a whip,\nsaying at every blow: \"Grow larger, my kettle!\"\n\nThe obedient kettle became of gigantic proportions,\nand after setting it aside to cool the man ate its contents\nwith evident relish.\n\nHis watchful younger brother, well content with\nthe result of his observation, turned over and went to\nsleep.\n\nWhen the elder had set off next morning, the boy,\nfilled with curiosity, opened the trap-door and\ndiscovered the kettle.  \"I wonder what he eats,\" he said,\nand there within the vessel was half a chestnut!  He\nwas rather surprised at this discovery, but he thought\nto himself how pleased his brother would be if on his\nreturn he found a meal to his taste awaiting him.\nWhen evening drew near he put the kettle on the\nfire, took a whip, and, hitting it repeatedly, exclaimed:\n\"Grow larger, my kettle!\"\n\n[Illustration: \"'Grow larger, my kettle!'\"]\n\nThe kettle grew larger, but to the boy's alarm it\nkept on growing until it filled the room, and he was\nobliged to get on the roof and stir it through the\nchimney.\n\n\"What are you doing up there?\" shouted the hunter,\nwhen he came within hail.\n\n\"I took your kettle to get your supper ready,\"\nanswered the boy.\n\n\"Alas!\" cried the other, \"now I must die!\"\n\nHe quickly reduced the kettle to its original proportions\nand put it in its place.  But he still wore such\na sad and serious air that his brother was filled with\ndismay, and prayed that he might be permitted to\n{253}\nundo the mischief he had wrought.  When the days\nwent past and he found that his brother no longer\nwent out to hunt or displayed any interest in life, but\ngrew gradually thinner and more melancholy, his distress\nknew no bounds.\n\n\"Let me fetch you some chestnuts,\" he begged\nearnestly.  \"Tell me where they may be found.\"\n\n\n\nThe White Heron\n\n\"You must travel a full day's journey,\" said the hunter\nin response to his entreaties.  \"You will then reach\na river which is most difficult to ford.  On the opposite\nbank there stands a lodge, and near by a chestnut-tree.\nEven then your difficulties will only be begun.\nThe tree is guarded by a white heron, which never\nloses sight of it for a moment.  He is employed for\nthat purpose by the six women who live in the lodge,\nand with their war-clubs they slay any one who has the\ntemerity to approach.  I beg of you, do not think of\ngoing on such a hopeless errand.\"\n\nBut the boy felt that were the chance of success even\nmore slender he must make the attempt for the sake of\nhis brother, whom his thoughtlessness had brought low.\n\nHe made a little canoe about three inches long, and\nset off on his journey, in the direction indicated by his\nbrother.  At the end of a day he came to the river,\nwhose size had not been underestimated.  Taking his\nlittle canoe from his pocket, he drew it out till it was of\na suitable length, and launched it in the great stream.\nA few minutes sufficed to carry him to the opposite\nbank, and there he beheld the lodge and the chestnut-tree.\nOn his way he had managed to procure some\nseeds of a sort greatly liked by herons, and these he\nscattered before the beautiful white bird strutting round\nthe tree.  While the heron was busily engaged in\n{254}\npicking them up the young man seized his opportunity\nand gathered quantities of the chestnuts, which were\nlying thickly on the ground.  Ere his task was finished,\nhowever, the heron perceived the intruder, and called a\nloud warning to the women in the lodge, who were not\nslow to respond.  They rushed out with their fishing-lines\nin their hands, and gave chase to the thief.  But\nfear, for his brother as well as for himself, lent the\nyouth wings, and he was well out on the river in his\ncanoe when the shrieking women reached the bank.\nThe eldest threw her line and caught him, but with a\nsharp pull he broke it.  Another line met with the\nsame fate, and so on, until all the women had thrown\ntheir lines.  They could do nothing further, and were\nobliged to watch the retreating canoe in impotent rage.\n\nAt length the youth, having come safely through\nthe perils of the journey, arrived home with his\nprecious burden of chestnuts.  He found his brother\nstill alive, but so weak that he could hardly speak.  A\nmeal of the chestnuts, however, helped to revive him,\nand he quickly recovered.\n\n\n\nThe Stone Giantess\n\nIn bygone times it was customary for a hunter's wife\nto accompany her husband when he sought the chase.\nA dutiful wife on these occasions would carry home\nthe game killed by the hunter and dress and cook it\nfor him.\n\nThere was once a chief among the Iroquois who was\na very skilful hunter.  In all his expeditions his wife\nwas his companion and helper.  On one excursion he\nfound such large quantities of game that he built a\nwigwam at the place, and settled there for a time with\nhis wife and child.  One day he struck out on a new\n{255}\ntrack, while his wife followed the path they had taken\non the previous day, in order to gather the game\nkilled then.  As the woman turned her steps\nhomeward after a hard day's work she heard the sound of\nanother woman's voice inside the hut.  Filled with\nsurprise, she entered, but found to her consternation\nthat her visitor was no other than a Stone Giantess.  To\nadd to her alarm, she saw that the creature had in her\narms the chief's baby.  While the mother stood in the\ndoorway, wondering how she could rescue her child\nfrom the clutches of the giantess, the latter said in a\ngentle and soothing voice: \"Do not be afraid: come\ninside.\"\n\nThe hunter's wife hesitated no longer, but boldly\nentered the wigwam.  Once inside, her fear changed\nto pity, for the giantess was evidently much worn with\ntrouble and fatigue.  She told the hunter's wife, who\nwas kindly and sympathetic, how she had travelled from\nthe land of the Stone Giants, fleeing from her cruel\nhusband, who had sought to kill her, and how she had\nfinally taken shelter in the solitary wigwam.  She\nbesought the young woman to let her remain for a while,\npromising to assist her in her daily tasks.  She also\nsaid she was very hungry, but warned her hostess that\nshe must be exceedingly careful about the food she\ngave her.  It must not be raw or at all underdone, for\nif once she tasted blood she might wish to kill the\nhunter and his wife and child.\n\nSo the wife prepared some food for her, taking care\nthat it was thoroughly cooked, and the two sat down\nto dine together.  The Stone Giantess knew that the\nwoman was in the habit of carrying home the game, and\nshe now declared that she would do it in her stead.\nMoreover, she said she already knew where it was to be\nfound, and insisted on setting out for it at once.  She\n{256}\nvery shortly returned, bearing in one hand a load of\ngame which four men could scarcely have carried, and\nthe woman recognized in her a very valuable assistant.\n\nThe time of the hunter's return drew near, and the\nStone Giantess bade the wife go out and meet her\nhusband and tell him of her visitor.  The man was\nvery well pleased to learn how the new-comer had\nhelped his wife, and he gave her a hearty welcome.  In\nthe morning he went out hunting as usual.  When he\nhad disappeared from sight in the forest the giantess\nturned quickly to the woman and said:\n\n\"I have a secret to tell you.  My cruel husband is\nafter me, and in three days he will arrive here.  On\nthe third day your husband must remain at home and\nhelp me to slay him.\"\n\nWhen the third day came round the hunter remained\nat home, obedient to the instructions of his guest.\n\n\"Now,\" said the giantess at last, \"I hear him\ncoming.  You must both help me to hold him.  Strike\nhim where I bid you, and we shall certainly kill him.\"\n\nThe hunter and his wife were seized with terror\nwhen a great commotion outside announced the arrival\nof the Stone Giant, but the firmness and courage of\nthe giantess reassured them, and with something like\ncalmness they awaited the monster's approach.  Directly\nhe came in sight the giantess rushed forward, grappled\nwith him and threw him to the ground.\n\n\"Strike him on the arms!\" she cried to the others.\n\"Now on the nape of the neck!\"\n\nThe trembling couple obeyed, and very shortly they\nhad succeeded in killing the huge creature.\n\n\"I will go and bury him,\" said the giantess.  And\nthat was the end of the Stone Giant.\n\nThe strange guest stayed on in the wigwam till the\ntime came for the hunter and his family to go back to\n{257}\nthe settlement, when she announced her intention of\nreturning to her own people.\n\n\"My husband is dead,\" said she; \"I have no\nlonger anything to fear.\"  Thus, having bade them\nfarewell, she departed.\n\n\n\nThe Healing Waters\n\nThe Iroquois have a touching story of how a brave\nof their race once saved his wife and his people from\nextinction.\n\nIt was winter, the snow lay thickly on the ground,\nand there was sorrow in the encampment, for with the\ncold weather a dreadful plague had visited the people.\nThere was not one but had lost some relative, and\nin some cases whole families had been swept away.\nAmong those who had been most sorely bereaved was\nNekumonta, a handsome young brave, whose parents,\nbrothers, sisters, and children had died one by one\nbefore his eyes, the while he was powerless to help\nthem.  And now his wife, the beautiful Shanewis, was\nweak and ill.  The dreaded disease had laid its awful\nfinger on her brow, and she knew that she must shortly\nbid her husband farewell and take her departure for the\nplace of the dead.  Already she saw her dead friends\nbeckoning to her and inviting her to join them, but it\ngrieved her terribly to think that she must leave her\nyoung husband in sorrow and loneliness.  His despair\nwas piteous to behold when she broke the sad news\nto him, but after the first outburst of grief he bore up\nbravely, and determined to fight the plague with all\nhis strength.\n\n\"I must find the healing herbs which the Great\nManitou has planted,\" said he.  \"Wherever they may\nbe, I must find them.\"\n\nSo he made his wife comfortable on her couch,\n{258}\ncovering her with warm furs, and then, embracing her\ngently, he set out on his difficult mission.\n\nAll day he sought eagerly in the forest for the\nhealing herbs, but everywhere the snow lay deep,\nand not so much as a blade of grass was visible.\nWhen night came he crept along the frozen ground,\nthinking that his sense of smell might aid him in his\nsearch.  Thus for three days and nights he wandered\nthrough the forest, over hills and across rivers, in a\nvain attempt to discover the means of curing the malady\nof Shanewis.\n\nWhen he met a little scurrying rabbit in the path he\ncried eagerly: \"Tell me, where shall I find the herbs\nwhich Manitou has planted?\"\n\nBut the rabbit hurried away without reply, for he\nknew that the herbs had not yet risen above the ground,\nand he was very sorry for the brave.\n\nNekumonta came by and by to the den of a big\nbear, and of this animal also he asked the same\nquestion.  But the bear could give him no reply, and he\nwas obliged to resume his weary journey.  He\nconsulted all the beasts of the forest in turn, but from\nnone could he get any help.  How could they tell him,\nindeed, that his search was hopeless?\n\n\n\nThe Pity of the Trees\n\nOn the third night he was very weak and ill, for he\nhad tasted no food since he had first set out, and he was\nnumbed with cold and despair.  He stumbled over a\nwithered branch hidden under the snow, and so tired\nwas he that he lay where he fell, and immediately went\nto sleep.  All the birds and the beasts, all the multitude\nof creatures that inhabit the forest, came to watch over\nhis slumbers.  They remembered his kindness to them\nin former days, how he had never slain an animal unless\n{259}\nhe really needed it for food or clothing, how he had\nloved and protected the trees and the flowers.  Their\nhearts were touched by his courageous fight for Shanewis,\nand they pitied his misfortunes.  All that they could do\nto aid him they did.  They cried to the Great Manitou\nto save his wife from the plague which held her, and\nthe Great Spirit heard the manifold whispering and\nresponded to their prayers.\n\n[Illustration: \"She sang a strange, sweet song\"]\n\nWhile Nekumonta lay asleep there came to him the\nmessenger of Manitou, and he dreamed.  In his dream\nhe saw his beautiful Shanewis, pale and thin, but as\nlovely as ever, and as he looked she smiled at him,\nand sang a strange, sweet song, like the murmuring of\na distant waterfall.  Then the scene changed, and it\nreally was a waterfall he heard.  In musical language\nit called him by name, saying: \"Seek us, O Nekumonta,\nand when you find us Shanewis shall live.  We\nare the Healing Waters of the Great Manitou.\"\n\nNekumonta awoke with the words of the song still\nringing in his ears.  Starting to his feet, he looked in\nevery direction; but there was no water to be seen,\nthough the murmuring sound of a waterfall was\ndistinctly audible.  He fancied he could even distinguish\nwords in it.\n\n\n\nThe Finding of the Waters\n\n\"Release us!\" it seemed to say.  \"Set us free, and\nShanewis shall be saved!\"\n\nNekumonta searched in vain for the waters.  Then\nit suddenly occurred to him that they must be\nunderground, directly under his feet.  Seizing branches,\nstones, flints, he dug feverishly into the earth.  So\narduous was the task that before it was finished he was\ncompletely exhausted.  But at last the hidden spring\nwas disclosed, and the waters were rippling merrily\n{260}\ndown the vale, carrying life and happiness wherever\nthey went.  The young man bathed his aching limbs\nin the healing stream, and in a moment he was well\nand strong.\n\nRaising his hands, he gave thanks to Manitou.  With\neager fingers he made a jar of clay, and baked it in the\nfire, so that he might carry life to Shanewis.  As he\npursued his way homeward with his treasure his despair\nwas changed to rejoicing and he sped like the wind.\n\nWhen he reached his village his companions ran to\ngreet him.  Their faces were sad and hopeless, for the\nplague still raged.  However, Nekumonta directed\nthem to the Healing Waters and inspired them with\nnew hope.  Shanewis he found on the verge of the\nShadow-land, and scarcely able to murmur a farewell\nto her husband.  But Nekumonta did not listen to her\nbroken adieux.  He forced some of the Healing Water\nbetween her parched lips, and bathed her hands and\nher brow till she fell into a gentle slumber.  When\nshe awoke the fever had left her, she was serene and\nsmiling, and Nekumonta's heart was filled with a great\nhappiness.\n\nThe tribe was for ever rid of the dreaded plague,\nand the people gave to Nekumonta the title of 'Chief\nof the Healing Waters,' so that all might know that it\nwas he who had brought them the gift of Manitou.\n\n\n\nSayadio in Spirit-land\n\nA legend of the Wyandot tribe of the Iroquois\nrelates how Sayadio, a young Indian, mourned greatly\nfor a beautiful sister who had died young.  So deeply\ndid he grieve for her that at length he resolved to seek\nher in the Land of Spirits.  Long he sought the maiden,\nand many adventures did he meet with.  Years passed\nin the search, which he was about to abandon as wholly\n{261}\nin vain, when he encountered an old man, who gave\nhim some good advice.  This venerable person also\nbestowed upon him a magic calabash in which he\nmight catch and retain the spirit of his sister should\nhe succeed in finding her.  He afterward discovered\nthat this old man was the keeper of that part of the\nSpirit-land which he sought.\n\nDelighted to have achieved so much, Sayadio\npursued his way, and in due time reached the Land of\nSouls.  But to his dismay he perceived that the spirits,\ninstead of advancing to meet him as he had expected,\nfled from him in terror.  Greatly dejected, he\napproached Tarenyawago, the spirit master of ceremonies,\nwho took compassion upon him and informed him that\nthe dead had gathered together for a great dance\nfestival, just such as the Indians themselves celebrate at\ncertain seasons of the year.  Soon the dancing\ncommenced, and Sayadio saw the spirits floating round in\na mazy measure like wreaths of mist.  Among them\nhe perceived his sister, and sprang forward to embrace\nher, but she eluded his grasp and dissolved into air.\n\n[Illustration: \"Soon the dancing commenced\"]\n\nMuch cast down, the youth once more appealed to\nthe sympathetic master of ceremonies, who gave him a\nmagic rattle of great power, by the sound of which he\nmight bring her back.  Again the spirit-music sounded\nfor the dance, and the dead folk thronged into the circle.\nOnce more Sayadio saw his sister, and observed that she\nwas so wholly entranced with the music that she took\nno heed of his presence.  Quick as thought the young\nIndian dipped up the ghost with his calabash as one\nnets a fish, and secured the cover, in spite of all the\nefforts of the captured soul to regain its liberty.\n\nRetracing his steps earthward, he had no difficulty\nin making his way back to his native village, where he\nsummoned his friends to come and behold his sister's\n{262}\nresuscitation.  The girl's corpse was brought from its\nresting-place to be reanimated with its spirit, and all\nwas prepared for the ceremony, when a witless Indian\nmaiden must needs peep into the calabash in her\ncuriosity to see how a disembodied spirit looked.\nInstantly, as a bird rises when its cage bars are opened\nand flies forth to freedom, the spirit of Sayadio's sister\nflew from the calabash before the startled youth could\ndash forward and shut down the cover.  For a while\nSayadio could not realize his loss, but at length his\nstraining eyes revealed to him that the spirit of his\nsister was not within sight.  In a flash he saw the ruin\nof his hopes, and with a broken heart he sank senseless\nto the earth.\n\n\n\nThe Peace Queen\n\nA brave of the Oneida tribe of the Iroquois hunted\nin the forest.  The red buck flashed past him, but not\nswifter than his arrow, for as the deer leaped he loosed\nhis shaft and it pierced the dappled hide.\n\nThe young man strode toward the carcass, knife in\nhand, but as he seized the horns the branches parted,\nand the angry face of an Onondaga warrior lowered\nbetween them.\n\n\"Leave the buck, Oneida,\" he commanded fiercely.\n\"It is the spoil of my bow.  I wounded the beast ere\nyou saw it.\"\n\nThe Oneida laughed.  \"My brother may have shot\nat the buck,\" he said, \"but what avails that if he did\nnot slay it?\"\n\n\"The carcass is mine by right of forest law,\" cried\nthe other in a rage.  \"Will you quit it or will you\nfight?\"\n\nThe Oneida drew himself up and regarded the\nOnondaga scornfully.\n\n{263}\n\n\"As my brother pleases,\" he replied.  Next moment\nthe two were locked in a life-and-death struggle.\n\nTall was the Onondaga and strong as a great tree\nof the forest.  The Oneida, lithe as a panther, fought\nwith all the courage of youth.  To and fro they swayed,\ntill their breathing came thick and fast and the falling\nsweat blinded their eyes.  At length they could struggle\nno longer, and by a mutual impulse they sprang apart.\n\n\n\nThe Quarrel\n\n\"Ho!  Onondaga,\" cried the younger man, \"what\nprofits it thus to strive for a buck?  Is there no meat\nin the lodges of your people that they must fight for\nit like the mountain lion?\"\n\n\"Peace, young man!\" retorted the grave Onondaga.\n\"I had not fought for the buck had not your evil\ntongue roused me.  But I am older than you, and, I\ntrust, wiser.  Let us seek the lodge of the Peace\nQueen hard by, and she will award the buck to him\nwho has the best right to it.\"\n\n\"It is well,\" said the Oneida, and side by side they\nsought the lodge of the Peace Queen.\n\nNow the Five Nations in their wisdom had set apart\na Seneca maiden dwelling alone in the forest as arbiter\nof quarrels between braves.  This maiden the men of\nall tribes regarded as sacred and as apart from other\nwomen.  Like the ancient Vestals, she could not become\nthe bride of any man.\n\nAs the Peace Queen heard the wrathful clamour of\nthe braves outside her lodge she stepped forth, little\npleased that they should thus profane the vicinity of\nher dwelling.\n\n\"Peace!\" she cried.  \"If you have a grievance\nenter and state it.  It is not fitting that braves should\nquarrel where the Peace Queen dwells.\"\n\n{264}\n\nAt her words the men stood abashed.  They entered\nthe lodge and told the story of their meeting and the\ncircumstances of their quarrel.\n\nWhen they had finished the Peace Queen smiled\nscornfully.  \"So two such braves as you can quarrel\nabout a buck?\" she said.  \"Go, Onondaga, as the\nelder, and take one half of the spoil, and bear it back\nto your wife and children.\"\n\nBut the Onondaga stood his ground.\n\n\n\nThe Offers\n\n\"O Queen,\" he said, \"my wife is in the Land of\nSpirits, snatched from me by the Plague Demon.  But\nmy lodge does not lack food.  I would wive again,\nand thine eyes have looked into my heart as the sun\npierces the darkness of the forest.  Will you come to\nmy lodge and cook my venison?\"\n\nBut the Peace Queen shook her head.\n\n\"You know that the Five Nations have placed\nGenetaska apart to be Peace Queen,\" she replied\nfirmly, \"and that her vows may not be broken.  Go\nin peace.\"\n\nThe Onondaga was silent.\n\nThen spoke the Oneida.  \"O Peace Queen,\" he\nsaid, gazing steadfastly at Genetaska, whose eyes\ndropped before his glance, \"I know that you are set\napart by the Five Nations.  But it is in my mind to\nask you to go with me to my lodge, for I love you.\nWhat says Genetaska?\"\n\nThe Peace Queen blushed and answered: \"To you\nalso I say, go in peace,\" but her voice was a whisper\nwhich ended in a stifled sob.\n\nThe two warriors departed, good friends now that\nthey possessed a common sorrow.  But the Peace\nMaiden had for ever lost her peace.  For she could\n{265}\nnot forget the young Oneida brave, so tall, so strong,\nand so gentle.\n\nSummer darkened into autumn, and autumn whitened\ninto winter.  Warriors innumerable came to the Peace\nLodge for the settlement of disputes.  Outwardly\nGenetaska was calm and untroubled, but though she gave\nsolace to others her own breast could find none.\n\nOne day she sat by the lodge fire, which had burned\ndown to a heap of cinders.  She was thinking, dreaming\nof the young Oneida.  Her thoughts went out to him\nas birds fly southward to seek the sun.  Suddenly a\ncrackling of twigs under a firm step roused her from\nher reverie.  Quickly she glanced upward.  Before\nher stood the youth of her dreams, pale and worn.\n\n\"Peace Queen,\" he said sadly, \"you have brought\ndarkness to the soul of the Oneida.  No longer may\nhe follow the hunt.  The deer may sport in quiet for\nhim.  No longer may he bend the bow or throw the\ntomahawk in contest, or listen to the tale during the\nlong nights round the camp-fire.  You have his heart\nin your keeping.  Say, will you not give him yours?\"\n\nSoftly the Peace Queen murmured: \"I will.\"\n\nHand in hand like two joyous children they sought\nhis canoe, which bore them swiftly westward.  No\nlonger was Genetaska Peace Queen, for her vows were\nbroken by the power of love.\n\nThe two were happy.  But not so the men of the\nFive Nations.  They were wroth because the Peace\nQueen had broken her vows, and knew how foolish\nthey had been to trust to the word of a young and\nbeautiful woman.  So with one voice they abolished\nthe office of Peace Queen, and war and tumult returned\nonce more to their own.\n\n\n\n\n{266}\n\nCHAPTER V: SIOUX MYTHS AND LEGENDS\n\n\nThe Sioux or Dakota Indians\n\nThe Sioux or Dakota Indians dwell north of the Arkansas River on the\nright bank of the Mississippi, stretching over to Lake Michigan and up\nthe valley of the Missouri.  One of their principal tribes is the Iowa.\n\n\n\nThe Adventures of Ictinike\n\nMany tales are told by the Iowa Indians regarding Ictinike, the son of\nthe sun-god, who had offended his father, and was consequently expelled\nfrom the celestial regions.  He possesses a very bad reputation among\nthe Indians for deceit and trickery.  They say that he taught them all\nthe evil things they know, and they seem to regard him as a Father of\nLies.  The Omahas state that he gave them their war-customs, and for\none reason or another they appear to look upon him as a species of\nwar-god.  A series of myths recount his adventures with several\ninhabitants of the wild.  The first of these is as follows.\n\nOne day Ictinike encountered the Rabbit, and hailed him in a friendly\nmanner, calling him 'grandchild,' and requesting him to do him a\nservice.  The Rabbit expressed his willingness to assist the god to the\nbest of his ability, and inquired what he wished him to do.\n\n\"Oh, grandchild,\" said the crafty one, pointing upward to where a bird\ncircled in the blue vault above them, \"take your bow and arrow and\nbring down yonder bird.\"\n\nThe Rabbit fitted an arrow to his bow, and the shaft transfixed the\nbird, which fell like a stone and lodged in the branches of a great\ntree.\n\n{267}\n\n\"Now, grandchild,\" said Ictinike, \"go into the tree and fetch me the\ngame.\"\n\nThis, however, the Rabbit at first refused to do, but at length he took\noff his clothes and climbed into the tree, where he stuck fast among\nthe tortuous branches.\n\nIctinike, seeing that he could not make his way down, donned the\nunfortunate Rabbit's garments, and, highly amused at the animal's\npredicament, betook himself to the nearest village.  There he\nencountered a chief who had two beautiful daughters, the elder of whom\nhe married.  The younger daughter, regarding this as an affront to her\npersonal attractions, wandered off into the forest in a fit of the\nsulks.  As she paced angrily up and down she heard some one calling to\nher from above, and, looking upward, she beheld the unfortunate Rabbit,\nwhose fur was adhering to the natural gum which exuded from the bark of\nthe tree.  The girl cut down the tree and lit a fire near it, which\nmelted the gum and freed the Rabbit.  The Rabbit and the chief's\ndaughter compared notes, and discovered that the being who had tricked\nthe one and affronted the other was the same.  Together they proceeded\nto the chief's lodge, where the girl was laughed at because of the\nstrange companion she had brought back with her.  Suddenly an eagle\nappeared in the air above them.  Ictinike shot at and missed it, but\nthe Rabbit loosed an arrow with great force and brought it to earth.\nEach morning a feather of the bird became another eagle, and each\nmorning Ictinike shot at and missed this newly created bird, which the\nRabbit invariably succeeded in killing.  This went on until Ictinike\nhad quite worn out the Rabbit's clothing and was wearing a very old\npiece of tent skin; but the Rabbit returned to him the garments he had\nbeen forced to don when Ictinike had stolen his.  Then {268} the Rabbit\ncommanded the Indians to beat the drums, and each time they were beaten\nIctinike jumped so high that every bone in his body was shaken.  At\nlength, after a more than usually loud series of beats, he leapt to\nsuch a height that when he came down it was found that the fall had\nbroken his neck.  The Rabbit was avenged.\n\n[Illustration: \"He jumped so high that every bone in his body was\nshaken\"]\n\n\n\nIctinike and the Buzzard\n\nOne day Ictinike, footsore and weary, encountered a buzzard, which he\nasked to oblige him by carrying him on its back part of the way.  The\ncrafty bird immediately consented, and, seating Ictinike between its\nwings, flew off with him.\n\nThey had not gone far when they passed above a hollow tree, and\nIctinike began to shift uneasily in his seat as he observed the buzzard\nhovering over it.  He requested the bird to fly onward, but for answer\nit cast him headlong into the tree-trunk, where he found himself a\nprisoner.  For a long time he lay there in want and wretchedness, until\nat last a large hunting-party struck camp at the spot.  Ictinike\nchanced to be wearing some racoon skins, and he thrust the tails of\nthese through the cracks in the tree.  Three women who were standing\nnear imagined that a number of racoons had become imprisoned in the\nhollow trunk, and they made a large hole in it for the purpose of\ncapturing them.  Ictinike at once emerged, whereupon the women fled.\nIctinike lay on the ground pretending to be dead, and as he was covered\nwith the racoon-skins the birds of prey, the eagle, the rook, and the\nmagpie, came to devour him.  While they pecked at him the buzzard made\nhis appearance for the purpose of joining in the feast, but Ictinike,\nrising quickly, tore the feathers from its scalp.  That is why the\nbuzzard has no feathers on its head.\n\n\n\n{269}\n\nIctinike and the Creators\n\nIn course of time Ictinike married and dwelt in a lodge of his own.\nOne day he intimated to his wife that it was his intention to visit her\ngrandfather the Beaver.  On arriving at the Beaver's lodge he found\nthat his grandfather-in-law and his family had been without food for a\nlong time, and were slowly dying of starvation.  Ashamed at having no\nfood to place before their guest, one of the young beavers offered\nhimself up to provide a meal for Ictinike, and was duly cooked and\nserved to the visitor.  Before Ictinike partook of the dish, however,\nhe was earnestly requested by the Beaver not to break any of the bones\nof his son, but unwittingly he split one of the toe-bones.  Having\nfinished his repast, he lay down to rest, and the Beaver gathered the\nbones and put them in a skin.  This he plunged into the river that\nflowed beside his lodge, and in a moment the young beaver emerged from\nthe water alive.\n\n\"How do you feel, my son?\" asked the Beaver.\n\n\"Alas! father,\" replied the young beaver, \"one of my toes is broken.\"\n\nFrom that time every beaver has had one toe--that next to the little\none--which looks as if it had been split by biting.\n\nIctinike shortly after took his leave of the Beavers, and pretended to\nforget his tobacco-pouch, which he left behind.  The Beaver told one of\nhis young ones to run after him with the pouch, but, being aware of\nIctinike's treacherous character, he advised his offspring to throw it\nto the god when at some distance away.  The young beaver accordingly\ntook the pouch and hurried after Ictinike, and, obeying his father's\ninstruction, was about to throw it to him from a {270} considerable\ndistance when Ictinike called to him: \"Come closer, come closer.\"\n\nThe young beaver obeyed, and as Ictinike took the pouch from him he\nsaid: \"Tell your father that he must visit me.\"\n\nWhen the young beaver arrived home he acquainted his father with what\nhad passed, and the Beaver showed signs of great annoyance.\n\n\"I knew he would say that,\" he growled, \"and that is why I did not want\nyou to go near him.\"\n\nBut the Beaver could not refuse the invitation, and in due course\nreturned the visit.  Ictinike, wishing to pay him a compliment, was\nabout to kill one of his own children wherewith to regale the Beaver,\nand was slapping it to make it cry in order that he might work himself\ninto a passion sufficiently murderous to enable him to take its life,\nwhen the Beaver spoke to him sharply and told him that such a sacrifice\nwas unnecessary.  Going down to the stream hard by, the Beaver found a\nyoung beaver by the water, which was brought up to the lodge, killed\nand cooked, and duly eaten.\n\nOn another occasion Ictinike announced to his wife his intention of\ncalling upon her grandfather the Musk-rat.  At the Musk-rat's lodge he\nmet with the same tale of starvation as at the home of the Beaver, but\nthe Musk-rat told his wife to fetch some water, put it in the kettle,\nand hang the kettle over the fire.  When the water was boiling the\nMusk-rat upset the kettle, which was found to be full of wild rice,\nupon which Ictinike feasted.  As before, he left his tobacco-pouch with\nhis host, and the Musk-rat sent one of his children after him with the\narticle.  An invitation for the Musk-rat to visit him resulted, and the\ncall was duly paid.  Ictinike, wishing to display his magical {271}\npowers, requested his wife to hang a kettle of water over the fire,\nbut, to his chagrin, when the water was boiled and the kettle upset\ninstead of wild rice only water poured out.  Thereupon the Musk-rat had\nthe kettle refilled, and produced an abundance of rice, much to\nIctinike's annoyance.\n\nIctinike then called upon his wife's grandfather the Kingfisher, who,\nto provide him with food, dived into the river and brought up fish.\nIctinike extended a similar invitation to him, and the visit was duly\npaid.  Desiring to be even with his late host, the god dived into the\nriver in search of fish.  He soon found himself in difficulties,\nhowever, and if it had not been for the Kingfisher he would most\nassuredly have been drowned.\n\nLastly, Ictinike went to visit his wife's grandfather the Flying\nSquirrel.  The Squirrel climbed to the top of his lodge and brought\ndown a quantity of excellent black walnuts, which Ictinike ate.  When\nhe departed from the Squirrel's house he purposely left one of his\ngloves, which a small squirrel brought after him, and he sent an\ninvitation by this messenger for the Squirrel to visit him in turn.\nWishing to show his cleverness, Ictinike scrambled to the top of his\nlodge, but instead of finding any black walnuts there he fell and\nseverely injured himself.  Thus his presumption was punished for the\nfourth time.\n\nThe four beings alluded to in this story as the Beaver, Musk-rat,\nKingfisher, and Flying Squirrel are four of the creative gods of the\nSioux, whom Ictinike evidently could not equal so far as reproductive\nmagic was concerned.\n\n\n\nThe Story of Wabaskaha\n\nAn interesting story is that of Wabaskaha, an Omaha brave, the facts\nrelated in which occurred about a {272} century ago.  A party of\nPawnees on the war-path raided the horses belonging to some Omahas\ndwelling beside Omaha Creek.  Most of the animals were the property of\nWabaskaha, who immediately followed on their trail.  A few Omahas who\nhad tried to rescue the horses had also been carried off, and on the\narrival of the Pawnee party at the Republican River several of the\nPawnees proposed to put their prisoners to death.  Others, however,\nrefused to participate in such an act, and strenuously opposed the\nsuggestion.  A wife of one of the Pawnee chiefs fed the captives, after\nwhich her husband gave them permission to depart.\n\nAfter this incident quite a feeling of friendship sprang up between the\ntwo peoples, and the Pawnees were continually inviting the Omahas to\nfeasts and other entertainments, but they refused to return the horses\nthey had stolen.  They told Wabaskaha that if he came for his horses in\nthe fall they would exchange them then for a certain amount of\ngunpowder, and that was the best arrangement he could come to with\nthem.  On his way homeward Wabaskaha mourned loudly for the horses,\nwhich constituted nearly the whole of his worldly possessions, and\ncalled upon Wakanda, his god, to assist and avenge him.  In glowing\nlanguage he recounted the circumstances of his loss to the people of\nhis tribe, and so strong was their sense of the injustice done him that\nnext day a general meeting was held in the village to consider his\ncase.  A pipe was filled, and Wabaskaha asked the men of his tribe to\nplace it to their lips if they decided to take vengeance on the\nPawnees.  All did so, but the premeditated raid was postponed until the\nearly autumn.\n\nAfter a summer of hunting the braves sought the war-path.  They had\nhardly started when a number of {273} Dakotas arrived at their village,\nbringing some tobacco.  The Dakotas announced their intention of\njoining the Omaha war-party, the trail of which they took up\naccordingly.  In a few days the Omahas arrived at the Pawnee village,\nwhich they attacked at daylight.  After a vigorous defence the Pawnees\nwere almost exterminated, and all their horses captured.  The Dakotas\nwho had elected to assist the Omaha war-party were, however, slain to a\nman.  Such was the vengeance of Wabaskaha.\n\nThis story is interesting as an account of a veritable Indian raid,\ntaken from the lips of Joseph La Fl\u00e8che, a Dakota Indian.\n\n\n\nThe Men-Serpents\n\nTwenty warriors who had been on the war-path were returning homeward\nworn-out and hungry, and as they went they scattered in search of game\nto sustain them on their way.\n\nSuddenly one of the braves, placing his ear to the ground, declared\nthat he could hear a herd of buffaloes approaching.\n\nThe band was greatly cheered by this news, and the plans made by the\nchief to intercept the animals were quickly carried into effect.\n\n[Illustration: The War-chief kills the Monster Rattlesnake]\n\nNearer and nearer came the supposed herd.  The chief lay very still,\nready to shoot when it came within range.  Suddenly he saw, to his\nhorror, that what approached them was a huge snake with a rattle as\nlarge as a man's head.  Though almost paralysed with surprise and\nterror, he managed to shoot the monster and kill it.  He called up his\nmen, who were not a little afraid of the gigantic creature, even though\nit was dead, and for a long time they debated what they should do with\nthe carcass.  At length hunger {274} conquered their scruples and made\nthem decide to cook and eat it.  To their surprise, they found the meat\nas savoury as that of a buffalo, which it much resembled.  All partook\nof the fare, with the exception of one boy, who persisted in refusing\nit, though they pressed him to eat.\n\nWhen the warriors had finished their meal they lay down beside the\ncamp-fire and fell asleep.  Later in the night the chief awoke and was\nhorrified to find that his companions had turned to snakes, and that he\nhimself was already half snake, half man.  Hastily he gathered his\ntransformed warriors, and they saw that the boy who had not eaten of\nthe reptile had retained his own form.  The lad, fearing that the\nserpents might attack him, began to weep, but the snake-warriors\ntreated him very kindly, giving him their charms and all they possessed.\n\nAt their request he put them into a large robe and carried them to the\nsummit of a high hill, where he set them down under the trees.\n\n\"You must return to our lodges,\" they told him, \"and in the summer we\nwill visit our kindred.  See that our wives and children come out to\ngreet us.\"\n\nThe boy carried the news to his village, and there was much weeping and\nlamentation when the friends of the warriors heard of their fate.  But\nin the summer the snakes came and sat in a group outside the village,\nand all the people crowded round them, loudly venting their grief.  The\nhorses which had belonged to the snakes were brought out to them, as\nwell as their moccasins, leggings, whips, and saddles.\n\n\"Do not be afraid of them,\" said the boy to the assembled people.  \"Do\nnot flee from them, lest something happen to you also.\"  So they let\nthe snakes creep over them, and no harm befell.  {275} In the winter\nthe snakes vanished altogether, and with them their horses and other\npossessions, and the people never saw them more.\n\n\n\nThe Three Tests\n\nThere dwelt in a certain village a woman of remarkable grace and\nattractiveness.  The fame of her beauty drew suitors from far and near,\neager to display their prowess and win the love of this imperious\ncreature--for, besides being beautiful, she was extremely hard to\nplease, and set such tests for her lovers as none had ever been able to\nsatisfy.\n\nA certain young man who lived at a considerable distance had heard of\nher great charms, and made up his mind to woo and win her.  The\ndifficulty of the task did not daunt him, and, full of hope, he set out\non his mission.\n\nAs he travelled he came to a very high hill, and on the summit he saw a\nman rising and sitting down at short intervals.  When the prospective\nsuitor drew nearer he observed that the man was fastening large stones\nto his ankles.  The youth approached him, saying: \"Why do you tie these\ngreat stones to your ankles?\"\n\n\"Oh,\" replied the other, \"I wish to chase buffaloes, and yet whenever I\ndo so I go beyond them, so I am tying stones to my ankles that I may\nnot run so fast.\"\n\n\"My friend,\" said the suitor, \"you can run some other time.  In the\nmeantime I am without a companion: come with me.\"\n\nThe Swift One agreed, and they walked on their way together.  Ere they\nhad gone very far they saw two large lakes.  By the side of one of them\nsat a man, who frequently bowed his head to the water and drank.\nSurprised that his thirst was not quenched, they said to him: \"Why do\nyou sit there drinking of the lake?\"\n\n{276}\n\n\"I can never get enough water.  When I have finished this lake I shall\nstart on the other.\"\n\n\"My friend,\" said the suitor, \"do not trouble to drink it just now.\nCome and join us.\"\n\nThe Thirsty One complied, and the three comrades journeyed on.  When\nthey had gone a little farther they noticed a man walking along with\nhis face lifted to the sky.  Curious to know why he acted thus, they\naddressed him.\n\n\"Why do you walk with your eyes turned skyward?\" said they.\n\n\"I have shot an arrow,\" he said, \"and I am waiting for it to reappear.\"\n\n\"Never mind your arrow,\" said the suitor.  \"Come with us.\"\n\n\"I will come,\" said the Skilful Archer.\n\nAs the four companions journeyed through a forest they beheld a strange\nsight.  A man was lying with his ear to the ground, and if he lifted\nhis head for a moment he bowed it again, listening intently.  The four\napproached him, saying: \"Friend, for what do you listen so earnestly?\"\n\n\"I am listening,\" said he, \"to the plants growing.  This forest is full\nof plants, and I am listening to their breathing.\"\n\n\"You can listen when the occasion arises,\" they told him.  \"Come and\njoin us.\"\n\nHe agreed, and so they travelled to the village where dwelt the\nbeautiful maiden.\n\nWhen they had reached their destination they were quickly surrounded by\nthe villagers, who displayed no small curiosity as to who their\nvisitors were and what object they had in coming so far.  When they\nheard that one of the strangers desired to marry the village beauty\nthey shook their heads over him.  Did he not {277} know the\ndifficulties in the way?  Finding that he would not be turned from his\npurpose, they led him to a huge rock which overshadowed the village,\nand described the first test he would be required to meet.\n\n\"If you wish to win the maiden,\" they said, \"you must first of all push\naway that great stone.  It is keeping the sunlight from us.\"\n\n\"Alas!\" said the youth, \"it is impossible.\"\n\n\"Not so,\" said his companion of the swift foot; \"nothing could be more\neasy.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"He leaned his shoulder against the rock\"]\n\nSaying this, he leaned his shoulder against the rock, and with a mighty\ncrash it fell from its place.  From the breaking up of it came the\nrocks and stones that are scattered over all the world.\n\nThe second test was of a different nature.  The people brought the\nstrangers a large quantity of food and water, and bade them eat and\ndrink.  Being very hungry, they succeeded in disposing of the food, but\nthe suitor sorrowfully regarded the great kettles of water.\n\n\"Alas!\" said he, \"who can drink up that?\"\n\n\"I can,\" said the Thirsty One, and in a twinkling he had drunk it all.\n\nThe people were amazed at the prowess of the visitors.  However, they\nsaid, \"There is still another test,\" and they brought out a woman who\nwas a very swift runner, so swift that no one had ever outstripped her\nin a race.\n\n\n\nThe Race\n\n\"You must run a race with this woman,\" said they.  \"If you win you\nshall have the hand of the maiden you have come to seek.\"\n\nNaturally the suitor chose the Swift One for this test.  When the\nrunners were started the people hailed them as {278} fairly matched,\nfor they raced together till they were out of sight.\n\nWhen they reached the turning-point the woman said: \"Come, let us rest\nfor a little.\"\n\nThe man agreed, but no sooner had he sat down than he fell asleep.  The\nwoman seized her opportunity.  Making sure that her rival was sleeping\nsoundly, she set off for the village, running as hard as she could.\n\nMeanwhile the four comrades were anxiously awaiting the return of the\ncompetitors, and great was their disappointment when the woman came in\nsight, while there was yet no sign of their champion.\n\nThe man who could hear the plants growing bent his ear to the ground.\n\n\"He is asleep,\" said he; \"I can hear him snoring.\"\n\nThe Skilful Archer came forward, and as he bit the point off an arrow\nhe said: \"I will soon wake him.\"\n\nHe shot an arrow from the bowstring with such a wonderful aim that it\nwounded the sleeper's nose, and roused him from his slumbers.  The\nrunner started to his feet and looked round for the woman.  She was\ngone.  Knowing that he had been tricked, the Swift One put all his\nenergy into an effort to overtake her.  She was within a few yards of\nthe winning-post when he passed her.  It was a narrow margin, but\nnevertheless the Swift One had gained the race for his comrade.\n\nThe youth was then married to the damsel, whom he found to be all that\nher admirers had claimed, and more.\n\n\n\nThe Snake-Ogre\n\nOne day a young brave, feeling at variance with the world in general,\nand wishing to rid himself of the mood, left the lodges of his people\nand journeyed into {279} the forest.  By and by he came to an open\nspace, in the centre of which was a high hill.  Thinking he would climb\nto the top and reconnoitre, he directed his footsteps thither, and as\nhe went he observed a man coming in the opposite direction and making\nfor the same spot.  The two met on the summit, and stood for a few\nmoments silently regarding each other.  The stranger was the first to\nspeak, gravely inviting the young brave to accompany him to his lodge\nand sup with him.  The other accepted the invitation, and they\nproceeded in the direction the stranger indicated.\n\nOn approaching the lodge the youth saw with some surprise that there\nwas a large heap of bones in front of the door.  Within sat a very old\nwoman tending a pot.  When the young man learned that the feast was to\nbe a cannibal one, however, he declined to partake of it.  The woman\nthereupon boiled some corn for him, and while doing so told him that\nhis host was nothing more nor less than a snake-man, a sort of ogre who\nkilled and ate human beings.  Because the brave was young and very\nhandsome the old woman took pity on him, bemoaning the fate that would\nsurely befall him unless he could escape from the wiles of the\nsnake-man.\n\n\"Listen,\" said she: \"I will tell you what to do.  Here are some\nmoccasins.  When the morning comes put them on your feet, take one\nstep, and you will find yourself on that headland you see in the\ndistance.  Give this paper to the man you will meet there, and he will\ndirect you further.  But remember that however far you may go, in the\nevening the Snake will overtake you.  When you have finished with the\nmoccasins take them off, place them on the ground facing this way, and\nthey will return.\"\n\n\"Is that all?\" said the youth.\n\n{280}\n\n\"No,\" she replied.  \"Before you go you must kill me and put a robe over\nmy bones.\"\n\n\n\nThe Magic Moccasins\n\nThe young brave forthwith proceeded to carry these instructions into\neffect.  First of all he killed the old woman, and disposed of her\nremains in accordance with her bidding.  In the morning he put on the\nmagic moccasins which she had provided for him, and with one great step\nhe reached the distant headland.  Here he met an old man, who received\nthe paper from him, and then, giving him another pair of moccasins,\ndirected him to a far-off point where he was to deliver another piece\nof paper to a man who would await him there.  Turning the first\nmoccasins homeward, the young brave put the second pair to use, and\ntook another gigantic step.  Arrived at the second stage of his journey\nfrom the Snake's lodge, he found it a repetition of the first.  He was\ndirected to another distant spot, and from that to yet another.  But\nwhen he delivered his message for the fourth time he was treated\nsomewhat differently.\n\n[Illustration: \"With one great step he reached the distant headland\"]\n\n\"Down there in the hollow,\" said the recipient of the paper, \"there is\na stream.  Go toward it, and walk straight on, but do not look at the\nwater.\"\n\nThe youth did as he was bidden, and shortly found himself on the\nopposite bank of the stream.\n\nHe journeyed up the creek, and as evening fell he came upon a place\nwhere the river widened to a lake.  Skirting its shores, he suddenly\nfound himself face to face with the Snake.  Only then did he remember\nthe words of the old woman, who had warned him that in the evening the\nSnake would overtake him.  So he turned himself into a little fish with\nred fins, lazily moving in the lake.\n\n\n\n{281}\n\nThe Snake's Quest\n\nThe Snake, high on the bank, saw the little creature, and cried:\n\"Little Fish! have you seen the person I am looking for?  If a bird had\nflown over the lake you must have seen it, the water is so still, and\nsurely you have seen the man I am seeking?\"\n\n\"Not so,\" replied the Little Fish, \"I have seen no one.  But if he\npasses this way I will tell you.\"\n\nSo the Snake continued down-stream, and as he went there was a little\ngrey toad right in his path.\n\n\"Little Toad,\" said he, \"have you seen him for whom I am seeking?  Even\nif only a shadow were here you must have seen it.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" said the Little Toad, \"I have seen him, but I cannot tell you\nwhich way he has gone.\"\n\nThe Snake doubled and came back on his trail.  Seeing a very large fish\nin shallow water, he said: \"Have you seen the man I am looking for?\"\n\n\"That is he with whom you have just been talking,\" said the Fish, and\nthe Snake turned homeward.  Meeting a musk-rat he stopped.\n\n\"Have you seen the person I am looking for?\" he said.  Then, having his\nsuspicions aroused, he added craftily: \"I think that you are he.\"\n\nBut the Musk-rat began a bitter complaint.\n\n\"Just now,\" said he, \"the person you seek passed over my lodge and\nbroke it.\"\n\nSo the Snake passed on, and encountered a red-breasted turtle.\n\nHe repeated his query, and the Turtle told him that the object of his\nsearch was to be met with farther on.\n\n\"But beware,\" he added, \"for if you do not recognize him he will kill\nyou.\"\n\n{282}\n\nFollowing the stream, the Snake came upon a large green frog floating\nin shallow water.\n\n\"I have been seeking a person since morning,\" he said.  \"I think that\nyou are he.\"\n\nThe Frog allayed his suspicions, saying: \"You will meet him farther\ndown the stream.\"\n\nThe Snake next found a large turtle floating among the green scum on a\nlake.  Getting on the Turtle's back, he said: \"You must be the person I\nseek,\" and his head rose higher and higher as he prepared to strike.\n\n\"I am not,\" replied the Turtle.  \"The next person you meet will be he.\nBut beware, for if you do not recognize him he will kill you.\"\n\nWhen he had gone a little farther down the Snake attempted to cross the\nstream.  In the middle was an eddy.  Crafty as he was, the Snake failed\nto recognize his enemy, and the eddy drew him down into the water and\ndrowned him.  So the youth succeeded in slaying the Snake who had\nsought throughout the day to kill him.\n\n\n\nThe Story of the Salmon\n\nA certain chief who had a very beautiful daughter was unwilling to part\nwith her, but knowing that the time must come when she would marry he\narranged a contest for her suitors, in which the feat was to break a\npair of elk's antlers hung in the centre of the lodge.\n\n\"Whoever shall break these antlers,\" the old chief declared, \"shall\nhave the hand of my daughter.\"\n\nThe quadrupeds came first--the Snail, Squirrel, Otter, Beaver, Wolf,\nBear, and Panther; but all their strength and skill would not suffice\nto break the antlers.  Next came the Birds, but their efforts also\n{283} were unavailing.  The only creature left who had not attempted\nthe feat was a feeble thing covered with sores, whom the mischievous\nBlue Jay derisively summoned to perform the task.  After repeated\ntaunts from the tricky bird, the creature rose, shook itself, and\nbecame whole and clean and very good to look upon, and the assembled\ncompany saw that it was the Salmon.  He grasped the elk's antlers and\neasily broke them in five pieces.  Then, claiming his prize, the\nchief's daughter, he led her away.\n\nBefore they had gone very far the people said: \"Let us go and take the\nchief's daughter back,\" and they set off in pursuit of the pair along\nthe sea-shore.\n\nWhen Salmon saw what was happening he created a bay between himself and\nhis pursuers.  The people at length reached the point of the bay on\nwhich Salmon stood, but he made another bay, and when they looked they\ncould see him on the far-off point of that one.  So the chase went on,\ntill Salmon grew tired of exercising his magic powers.\n\nCoyote and Badger, who were in advance of the others, decided to shoot\nat Salmon.  The arrow hit him in the neck and killed him instantly.\nWhen the rest of the band came up they gave the chief's daughter to the\nWolves, and she became the wife of one of them.\n\nIn due time the people returned to their village, and the Crow, who was\nSalmon's aunt, learnt of his death.  She hastened away to the spot\nwhere he had been killed, to seek for his remains, but all she could\nfind was one salmon's egg, which she hid in a hole in the river-bank.\nNext day she found that the egg was much larger, on the third day it\nwas a small trout, and so it grew till it became a full-grown salmon,\nand at length a handsome youth.\n\n\n\n{284}\n\nSalmon's Magic Bath\n\nLeading young Salmon to a mountain pool, his grand-aunt said: \"Bathe\nthere, that you may see spirits.\"\n\nOne day Salmon said: \"I am tired of seeing spirits.  Let me go away.\"\n\nThe old Crow thereupon told him of his father's death at the hands of\nBadger and Coyote.\n\n\"They have taken your father's bow,\" she said.\n\nThe Salmon shot an arrow toward the forest, and the forest went on\nfire.  He shot an arrow toward the prairie, and it also caught fire.\n\n\"Truly,\" muttered the old Crow, \"you have seen spirits.\"\n\nHaving made up his mind to get his father's bow, Salmon journeyed to\nthe lodge where Coyote and Badger dwelt.  He found the door shut, and\nthe creatures with their faces blackened, pretending to lament the\ndeath of old Salmon.  However, he was not deceived by their tricks, but\nboldly entered and demanded his father's bow.  Four times they gave him\nother bows, which broke when he drew them.  The fifth time it was\nreally his father's bow he received.  Taking Coyote and Badger outside,\nhe knocked them together and killed them.\n\n\n\nThe Wolf Lodge\n\nAs he travelled across the prairie he stumbled on the habitation of the\nWolves, and on entering the lodge he encountered his father's wife, who\nbade him hide before the monsters returned.  By means of strategy he\ngot the better of them, shot them all, and sailed away in a little boat\nwith the woman.  Here he fell into a deep sleep, and slept so long that\nat last his companion {285} ventured to wake him.  Very angry at being\nroused, he turned her into a pigeon and cast her out of the boat, while\nhe himself, as a salmon, swam to the shore.  Near the edge of the water\nwas a lodge, where dwelt five beautiful sisters.  Salmon sat on the\nshore at a little distance, and took the form of an aged man covered\nwith sores.  When the eldest sister came down to speak to him he bade\nher carry him on her back to the lodge, but so loathsome a creature was\nhe that she beat a hasty retreat.  The second sister did likewise, and\nthe third, and the fourth.  But the youngest sister proceeded to carry\nhim to the lodge, where he became again a young and handsome brave.  He\nmarried all the sisters, but the youngest was his head-wife and his\nfavourite.\n\n\n\nThe Drowned Child\n\nOn the banks of a river there dwelt a worthy couple with their only\nson, a little child whom they loved dearly.  One day the boy wandered\naway from the lodge and fell into the water, and no one was near enough\nto rescue him.  Great was the distress of the parents when the news\nreached them, and all his kindred were loud in their lamentations, for\nthe child had been a favourite with everybody.  The father especially\nshowed signs of the deepest grief, and refused to enter his lodge till\nhe should recover the boy.  All night he lay outside on the bare\nground, his cheek pillowed on his hand.  Suddenly he heard a faint\nsound, far under the earth.  He listened intently: it was the crying of\nhis lost child!  Hastily he gathered all his relatives round him, told\nthem what he had heard, and besought them piteously to dig into the\nearth and bring back his son.  This task they hesitated to undertake,\nbut they willingly collected {286} horses and goods in abundance, to be\ngiven to any one who would venture.\n\nTwo men came forward who claimed to possess supernatural powers, and to\nthem was entrusted the work of finding the child.  The grateful father\ngave them a pipe filled with tobacco, and promised them all his\npossessions if their mission should succeed.  The two gifted men\npainted their bodies, one making himself quite black, the other yellow.\nGoing to the neighbouring river, they plunged into its depths, and so\narrived at the abode of the Water-god.  This being and his wife, having\nno children of their own, had adopted the Indian's little son who was\nsupposed to have been drowned, and the two men, seeing him alive and\nwell, were pleased to think that their task was as good as accomplished.\n\n[Illustration: \"They arrived at the abode of the Water-god\"]\n\n\"The father has sent for his son,\" they said.  \"He has commanded us to\nbring him back.  We dare not return without him.\"\n\n\"You are too late,\" responded the Water-god.  \"Had you come before he\nhad eaten of my food he might safely have returned with you.  But he\nwished to eat, and he has eaten, and now, alas!  he would die if he\nwere taken out of the water.\"[1]\n\n\n[1] See p. 129, \"The Soul's Journey.\"\n\n\nSorrowfully the men rose to the surface and carried the tidings to the\nfather.\n\n\"Alas!\" they said, \"he has eaten in the palace of the Water-god.  He\nwill die if we bring him home.\"\n\nNevertheless the father persisted in his desire to see the child.\n\n\"I must see him,\" he said, and the two men prepared for a second\njourney, saying: \"If you get him back, the Water-god will require a\nwhite dog in payment.\"\n\nThe Indian promised to supply the dog.  The two {287} men painted\nthemselves again, the one black, the other yellow.  Once more they\ndived through the limpid water to the palace of the god.\n\n\"The father must have his child,\" they said.  \"This time we dare not\nreturn without him.\"\n\nSo the deity gave up the little boy, who was placed in his father's\narms, dead.  At the sight the grief of his kindred burst out afresh.\nHowever, they did not omit to cast a white dog into the river, nor to\npay the men lavishly, as they had promised.\n\nLater the parents lost a daughter in the same manner, but as she had\neaten nothing of the food offered her under the water she was brought\nback alive, on payment by her relatives of a tribute to the Water-god\nof four white-haired dogs.\n\n\n\nThe Snake-Wife\n\nA certain chief advised his son to travel.  Idling, he pointed out, was\nnot the way to qualify for chieftainship.\n\n\"When I was your age,\" said he, \"I did not sit still.  There was hard\nwork to be done.  And now look at me: I have become a great chief.\"\n\n\"I will go hunting, father,\" said the youth.  So his father furnished\nhim with good clothing, and had a horse saddled for him.\n\nThe young man went off on his expedition, and by and by fell in with\nsome elk.  Shooting at the largest beast, he wounded it but slightly,\nand as it dashed away he spurred his horse after it.  In this manner\nthey covered a considerable distance, till at length the hunter, worn\nout with thirst and fatigue, reined in his steed and dismounted.  He\nwandered about in search of water till he was well-nigh spent, but\nafter a time he came upon a spring, and immediately improvised a song\nof thanksgiving to the deity, {288} Wakanda, who had permitted him to\nfind it.  His rejoicing was somewhat premature, however, for when he\napproached the spring a snake started up from it.  The youth was badly\nscared, and retreated to a safe distance without drinking.  It seemed\nas though he must die of thirst after all.  Venturing to look back\nafter a time, he saw that the snake had disappeared, and very\ncautiously he returned.  Again the snake darted from the water, and the\nthirsty hunter was forced to flee.  A third return to the spring had no\nhappier results, but when his thirst drove him to a fourth attempt the\nyouth found, instead of a snake, a very beautiful woman.  She offered\nhim a drink in a small cup, which she replenished as often as he\nemptied it.  So struck was he by her grace and beauty that he promptly\nfell in love with her.  When it was time for him to return home she\ngave him a ring, saying: \"When you sit down to eat, place this ring on\na seat and say, 'Come, let us eat,' and I will come to you.\"\n\nHaving bidden her farewell, the young man turned his steps homeward,\nand when he was once more among his kindred he asked that food might be\nplaced before him.  \"Make haste,\" said he, \"for I am very hungry.\"\n\nQuickly they obeyed him, and set down a variety of dishes.  When he was\nalone the youth drew the ring from his finger and laid it on a seat.\n\"Come,\" he said, \"let us eat.\"\n\nImmediately the Snake-woman appeared and joined him at his meal.  When\nshe had eaten she vanished as mysteriously as she had come, and the\ndisconsolate husband (for the youth had married her) went out of the\nlodge to seek her.  Thinking she might be among the women of the\nvillage, he said to his father: \"Let the women dance before me.\"\n\n{289}\n\nAn old man was deputed to gather the women together, but not one of\nthem so much as resembled the Snake-woman.\n\nAgain the youth sat down to eat, and repeated the formula which his\nwife had described to him.  She ate with him as before, and vanished\nwhen the meal was over.\n\n\"Father,\" said the young man, \"let the very young women dance before\nme.\"\n\nBut the Snake-woman was not found among them either.\n\nAnother fleeting visit from his wife induced the chief's son to make\nyet another attempt to find her in the community.\n\n\"Let the young girls dance,\" he said.  Still the mysterious Snake-woman\nwas not found.\n\nOne day a girl overheard voices in the youth's lodge, and, peering in,\nsaw a beautiful woman sharing his meal.  She told the news to the\nchief, and it soon became known that the chief's son was married to a\nbeautiful stranger.\n\nThe youth, however, wished to marry a woman of his own tribe; but the\nmaiden's father, having heard that the young man was already married,\ntold his daughter that she was only being made fun of.\n\nSo the girl had nothing more to do with her wooer, who turned for\nconsolation to his ring.  He caused food to be brought, and placed the\nring on a seat.\n\n\n\nThe Ring Unavailing\n\n\"Come,\" he said, \"let us eat.\"\n\nThere was no response; the Snake-woman would not appear.\n\nThe youth was greatly disappointed, and made up his mind to go in\nsearch of his wife.\n\n{290}\n\n\"I am going a-hunting,\" said he, and again his father gave him good\nclothes and saddled a horse for him.\n\nWhen he reached the spot where the Snake-woman had first met him, he\nfound her trail leading up to the spring, and beyond it on the other\nside.  Still following the trail, he saw before him a very dilapidated\nlodge, at the door of which sat an old man in rags.  The youth felt\nvery sorry for the tattered old fellow, and gave him his fine clothes,\nin exchange for which he received the other's rags.\n\n\"You think you are doing me a good turn,\" said the old man, \"but it is\nI who am going to do you one.  The woman you seek has gone over the\nGreat Water.  When you get to the other shore talk with the people you\nshall meet there, and if they do not obey you send them away.\"\n\nIn addition to the tattered garments, the old man gave him a hat, a\nsword, and a lame old horse.\n\nAt the edge of the Great Water the youth prepared to cross, while his\ncompanion seated himself on the shore, closed his eyes, and recited a\nspell.  In a moment the young man found himself on the opposite shore.\nHere he found a lodge inhabited by two aged Thunder-men, who were\napparently given to eating human beings.  The young stranger made the\ndiscovery that his hat rendered him invisible, and he was able to move\nunseen among the creatures.  Taking off his hat for a moment, he took\nthe pipe from the lips of a Thunder-man and pressed it against the\nlatter's hand.\n\n\"Oh,\" cried the Thunder-man, \"I am burnt!\"\n\nBut the youth had clapped on his hat and disappeared.\n\n\"It is not well,\" said the Thunder-man gravely.  \"A stranger has been\nhere and we have let him escape.  {291} When our brother returns he\nwill not believe us if we tell him the man has vanished.\"\n\nShortly after this another Thunder-man entered with the body of a man\nhe had killed.  When the brothers told him their story he was quite\nsceptical.\n\n\"If I had been here,\" said he, \"I would not have let him escape.\"\n\nAs he spoke the youth snatched his pipe from him and pressed it against\nthe back of his hand.\n\n\"Oh,\" said the Thunder-man, \"I am burnt!\"\n\n\"It was not I,\" said one brother.\n\n\"It was not I,\" said the other.\n\n\"It was I,\" said the youth, pulling off his hat and appearing among\nthem.  \"What were you talking about among yourselves?  Here I am.  Do\nas you said.\"\n\nBut the Thunder-men were afraid.\n\n\"We were not speaking,\" they said, and the youth put on his hat and\nvanished.\n\n\"What will our brother say,\" cried the three in dismay, \"when he hears\nthat a man has been here and we have not killed him?  Our brother will\nsurely hate us.\"\n\nIn a few minutes another Thunder-man came into the lodge, carrying the\nbody of a child.  He was very angry when he heard that they had let a\nman escape.\n\nThe youth repeated his trick on the new-comer--appeared for a moment,\nthen vanished again.  The fifth and last of the brothers was also\ndeceived in the same manner.\n\nSeeing that the monsters were now thoroughly frightened, the young man\ntook off his magic hat and talked with them.\n\n\n\nThe Finding of the Snake-Wife\n\n\"You do wrong,\" said he, \"to eat men like this.  You should eat\nbuffaloes, not men.  I am going away.  {292} When I come back I will\nvisit you, and if you are eating buffaloes you shall remain, but if you\nare eating men I shall send you away.\"\n\nThe Thunder-men promised they would eat only buffaloes in future, and\nthe young man went on his way to seek for the Snake-woman.  When at\nlast he came to the village where she dwelt he found she had married a\nman of another tribe, and in a great rage he swung the sword the\nmagician had given him and slew her, and her husband, and the whole\nvillage, after which he returned the way he had come.  When he reached\nthe lodge of the Thunder-men he saw that they had not kept their\npromise to eat only buffaloes.\n\n\"I am going to send you above,\" he said.  \"Hitherto you have destroyed\nmen, but when I have sent you away you shall give them cooling rain to\nkeep them alive.\"\n\nSo he sent them above, where they became the thunder-clouds.\n\nProceeding on his journey, he again crossed the Great Water with a\nsingle stride, and related to the old wizard all that had happened.\n\n\"I have sent the Thunder-men above, because they would not stop eating\nmen.  Have I done well?\"\n\n\"Very well.\"\n\n\"I have killed the whole village where the Snake-woman was, because she\nhad taken another husband.  Have I done well?\"\n\n\"Very well.  It was for that I gave you the sword.\"\n\nThe youth returned to his father, and married a very beautiful woman of\nhis own village.\n\n\n\nA Subterranean Adventure\n\nThere lived in a populous village a chief who had two sons and one\ndaughter, all of them unmarried.  {293} Both the sons were in the habit\nof joining the hunters when they went to shoot buffaloes, and on one\nsuch occasion a large animal became separated from the herd.  One of\nthe chief's sons followed it, and when the pursuit had taken him some\ndistance from the rest of the party the buffalo suddenly disappeared\ninto a large pit.  Before they could check themselves man and horse had\nplunged in after him.  When the hunters returned the chief was greatly\ndisturbed to learn that his son was missing.  He sent the criers in all\ndirections, and spared no pains to get news of the youth.\n\n\"If any person knows the whereabouts of the chiefs son,\" shouted the\ncriers, \"let him come and tell.\"\n\nThis they repeated again and again, till at length a young man came\nforward who had witnessed the accident.\n\n\"I was standing on a hill,\" he said, \"and I saw the hunters, and I saw\nthe son of the chief.  And when he was on level ground he disappeared,\nand I saw him no more.\"\n\nHe led the men of the tribe to the spot, and they scattered to look for\nsigns of the youth.  They found his trail; they followed it to the pit,\nand there it stopped.\n\nThey pitched their tents round the chasm, and the chief begged his\npeople to descend into it to search for his son.\n\n\"If any man among you is brave and stout-hearted,\" he said, \"let him\nenter.\"\n\nThere was no response.\n\n\"If any one will go I will make him rich.\"\n\nStill no one ventured to speak.\n\n\"If any one will go I will give him my daughter in marriage.\"\n\nThere was a stir among the braves and a youth came forward.\n\n{294}\n\n\"I will go,\" he said simply.\n\nRopes of hide were made by willing hands, and secured to a skin shaped\nto form a sort of bucket.\n\nAfter arranging signals with the party at the mouth of the pit, the\nadventurous searcher allowed himself to be lowered.  Once fairly\nlaunched in the Cimmerian depths his eyes became accustomed to the\ndarkness, and he saw first the buffalo, then the horse, then the young\nbrave, quite dead.  He put the body of the chief's son into the skin\nbucket, and gave the signal for it to be drawn up to the surface.  But\nso great was the excitement that when his comrades had drawn up the\ndead man they forgot about the living one still in the pit, and hurried\naway.\n\n\n\nLost Underground\n\nBy and by the hero got tired of shouting, and wandered off into the\ndarkness.\n\nHe had not gone very far when he met an old woman.  Respectfully\naddressing her, he told her his story and begged her to aid his return\nto his own country.\n\n\"Indeed I cannot help you,\" she said, \"but if you will go to the house\nof the wise man who lives round the corner you may get what you want.\"\n\nHaving followed the direction she had indicated with a withered finger,\nthe youth shortly arrived at a lodge.  Hungry and weary, he knocked\nsomewhat impatiently.  Receiving no answer, he knocked again, still\nmore loudly.  This time there was a movement inside the lodge, and a\nwoman came to the door.  She led him inside, where her husband sat\ndejectedly, not even rising to greet the visitor.  Sadly the woman told\nhim that they were mourning the death of their only son.  At a word\nfrom his wife the husband looked at the youth.  Eagerly he rose and\nembraced him.\n\n{295}\n\n\"You are like our lost child,\" said he.  \"Come and we will make you our\nson.\"\n\nThe young brave then told him his story.\n\n\"We shall treat you as our child,\" said the Wise Man.  \"Whatever you\nshall ask we will give you, even should you desire to leave us and to\nreturn to your own people.\"\n\nThough he was touched by the kindness of the good folk, there was yet\nnothing the youth desired so much as to return to his kindred.\n\n\"Give me,\" said he, \"a white horse and a white mule.\"\n\n\n\nThe Return to Earth\n\nThe old man bade him go to where the horses were hobbled, and there he\nfound what he had asked for.  He also received from his host a magic\npiece of iron, which would enable him to obtain whatever he desired.\nThe rocks even melted away at a touch of this talisman.  Thus equipped,\nthe adventurer rode off.\n\n[Illustration: \"He emerged in his own country\"]\n\nShortly afterward he emerged in his own country, where the first\npersons he met were the chief and his wife, to whom he disclosed his\nidentity, as he was by this time very much changed.  They were\nsceptical at first, but soon they came to recognize him, and gave him a\nvery cordial reception.\n\nHe married the chief's daughter, and was made head chieftain by his\nfather-in-law.  The people built a lodge for him in the centre of the\nencampment, and brought him many valuable presents of clothing and\nhorses.  On his marriage-day the criers were sent out to tell the\npeople that on the following day no one must leave the village or do\nany work.\n\nOn the morrow all the men of the tribe went out to hunt buffaloes, and\nthe young chieftain accompanied {296} them.  By means of his magic\npiece of iron he charmed many buffaloes, and slew more than did the\nothers.\n\nNow it so happened that the chief's remaining son was very jealous of\nhis brother-in-law.  He thought his father should have given him the\nchieftainship, and the honours accorded by the people to his young\nrelative were exceedingly galling to him.  So he made up his mind to\nkill the youth and destroy his beautiful white horse.  But the\nsagacious beast told its master that some one was plotting against his\nlife, and, duly warned, he watched in the stable every night.\n\nOn the occasion of a second great buffalo hunt the wicked schemer found\nhis opportunity.  By waving his robe he scared the buffaloes and caused\nthem to close in on the youth and trample him to death.  But when the\nherd had scattered and moved away there was no trace of the young brave\nor of his milk-white steed.  They had returned to the Underworld.\n\n\n\nWhite Feather the Giant-Killer\n\nThere once dwelt in the heart of a great forest an old man and his\ngrandchild.  So far as he could remember, the boy had never seen any\nhuman being but his grandfather, and though he frequently questioned\nthe latter on the subject of his relatives he could elicit no\ninformation from him.  The truth was that they had perished at the\nhands of six great giants.  The nation to which the boy belonged had\nwagered their children against those of the giants that they would beat\nthe latter in a race.  Unfortunately the giants won, the children of\nthe rash Indians were forfeited, and all were slain with the exception\nof little Ch\u00e1copee, whose grandfather had taken charge of him.  The\nchild learned to hunt and fish, and seemed quite contented and happy.\n\n{297}\n\nOne day the boy wandered away to the edge of a prairie, where he found\ntraces of an encampment.  Returning, he told his grandfather of the\nashes and tent-poles he had seen, and asked for an explanation.  Had\nhis grandfather set them there?  The old man responded brusquely that\nthere were no ashes or tent-poles: he had merely imagined them.  The\nboy was sorely puzzled, but he let the matter drop, and next day he\nfollowed a different path.  Quite suddenly he heard a voice addressing\nhim as \"Wearer of the White Feather.\"  Now there had been a tradition\nin his tribe that a mighty man would arise among them wearing a white\nfeather and performing prodigies of valour.  But of this Ch\u00e1copee as\nyet knew nothing, so he could only look about him in a startled way.\nClose by him stood a man, which fact was in itself sufficiently\nastonishing to the boy, who had never seen any one but his grandfather;\nbut to his further bewilderment he perceived that the man was made of\nwood from the breast downward, only the head being of flesh.\n\n\"You do not wear the white feather yet,\" the curious stranger resumed,\n\"but you will by and by.  Go home and sleep.  You will dream of a pipe,\na sack, and a large white feather.  When you wake you will see these\nthings by your side.  Put the feather on your head and you will become\na very great warrior.  If you want proof, smoke the pipe and you will\nsee the smoke turn into pigeons.\"\n\nHe then proceeded to tell him who his parents were, and of the manner\nin which they had perished, and bade him avenge their death on the\ngiants.  To aid him in the accomplishment of this feat he gave him a\nmagic vine which would be invisible to the giants, and with which he\nmust trip them up when they ran a race with him.\n\n{298}\n\nCh\u00e1copee returned home, and everything happened as the Man of Wood had\npredicted.  The old grandfather was greatly surprised to see a flock of\npigeons issuing from the lodge, from which Ch\u00e1copee also shortly\nemerged, wearing on his head a white feather.  Remembering the\nprophecy, the old man wept to think that he might lose his grandchild.\n\n\n\nIn Search of the Giants\n\nNext morning Ch\u00e1copee set off in search of the giants, whom he found in\na very large lodge in the centre of the forest.  The giants had learned\nof his approach from the 'little spirits who carry the news.'  Among\nthemselves they mocked and scoffed at him, but outwardly they greeted\nhim with much civility, which, however, in nowise deceived him as to\ntheir true feelings.  Without loss of time they arranged a race between\nCh\u00e1copee and the youngest giant, the winner of which was to cut off the\nhead of the other.  Chdcopee won, with the help of his magic vine, and\nkilled his opponent.  Next morning he appeared again, and decapitated\nanother of his foes.  This happened on five mornings.  On the sixth he\nset out as usual, but was met by the Man of Wood, who informed him that\non his way to the giants' lodge he would encounter the most beautiful\nwoman in the world.\n\n\n\nCh\u00e1copee's Downfall\n\n\"Pay no attention to her,\" he said earnestly.  \"She is there for your\ndestruction.  When you see her turn yourself into an elk, and you will\nbe safe from her wiles.\"\n\nCh\u00e1copee proceeded on his way, and sure enough before long he met the\nmost beautiful woman in the world.  Mindful of the advice he had\nreceived, he {299} turned himself into an elk, but, instead of passing\nby, the woman, who was really the sixth giant, came up to him and\nreproached him with tears for taking the form of an elk when she had\ntravelled so far to become his wife.  Ch\u00e1copee was so touched by her\ngrief and beauty that he resumed his own shape and endeavoured to\nconsole her with gentle words and caresses.  At last he fell asleep\nwith his head in her lap.  The beautiful woman once more became the\ncruel giant, and, seizing his axe, the monster broke Ch\u00e1copee's back;\nthen, turning him into a dog, he bade him rise and follow him.  The\nwhite feather he stuck in his own head, fancying that magic powers\naccompanied the wearing of it.\n\n[Illustration: \"Everything happened as the Man of Wood had predicted\"]\n\nIn the path of the travellers there lay a certain village in which\ndwelt two young girls, the daughters of a chief.  Having heard the\nprophecy concerning the wearer of the white feather, each made up her\nmind that she would marry him when he should appear.  Therefore, when\nthey saw a man approaching with a white feather in his hair the elder\nran to meet him, invited him into her lodge, and soon after married\nhim.  The younger, who was gentle and timid, took the dog into her home\nand treated him with great kindness.\n\nOne day while the giant was out hunting he saw the dog casting a stone\ninto the water.  Immediately the stone became a beaver, which the dog\ncaught and killed.  The giant strove to emulate this feat, and was\nsuccessful, but when he went home and ordered his wife to go outside\nand fetch the beaver only a stone lay by the door.  Next day he saw the\ndog plucking a withered branch and throwing it on the ground, where it\nbecame a deer, which the dog slew.  The Giant performed this magic feat\nalso, but when his wife went to the door of the lodge to fetch the deer\nshe saw only {300} a piece of rotten wood.  Nevertheless the giant had\nsome success in the chase, and his wife repaired to the home of her\nfather to tell him what a skilful hunter her husband was.  She also\nspoke of the dog that lived with her sister, and his skill in the chase.\n\n\n\nThe Transformation\n\nThe old chief suspected magic, and sent a deputation of youths and\nmaidens to invite his younger daughter and her dog to visit him.  To\nthe surprise of the deputation, no dog was there, but an exceedingly\nhandsome warrior.  But alas!  Ch\u00e1copee could not speak.  The party set\noff for the home of the old chief, where they were warmly welcomed.\n\nIt was arranged to hold a general meeting, so that the wearer of the\nwhite feather might show his prowess and magical powers.  First of all\nthey took the giant's pipe (which had belonged to Ch\u00e1copee), and the\nwarriors smoked it one after the other.  When it came to Ch\u00e1copee's\nturn he signified that the giant should precede him.  The giant smoked,\nbut to the disappointment of the assembly nothing unusual happened.\nThen Ch\u00e1copee took the pipe, and as the smoke ascended it became a\nflock of pigeons.  At the same moment he recovered his speech, and\nrecounted his strange adventures to the astounded listeners.  Their\nindignation against the giant was unbounded, and the chief ordered that\nhe should be given the form of a dog and stoned to death by the people.\n\nCh\u00e1copee gave a further proof of his right to wear the white feather.\nCalling for a buffalo-hide, he cut it into little pieces and strewed it\non the prairie.  Next day he summoned the braves of the tribe to a\nbuffalo-hunt, and at no great distance they found a magnificent herd.\nThe pieces of hide had become buffaloes.  The {301} people greeted this\nexhibition of magic art with loud acclamations, and Ch\u00e1copee's\nreputation was firmly established with the tribe.\n\nCh\u00e1copee begged the chief's permission to take his wife on a visit to\nhis grandfather, which was readily granted, and the old man's gratitude\nand delight more than repaid them for the perils of their journey.\n\n\n\nHow the Rabbit Caught the Sun\n\nOnce upon a time the Rabbit dwelt in a lodge with no one but his\ngrandmother to keep him company.  Every morning he went hunting very\nearly, but no matter how early he was he always noticed that some one\nwith a very long foot had been before him and had left a trail.  The\nRabbit resolved to discover the identity of the hunter who forestalled\nhim, so one fine morning he rose even earlier than usual, in the hope\nof encountering the stranger.  But all to no purpose, for the\nmysterious one had gone, leaving behind him, as was his wont, the trail\nof the long foot.\n\nThis irritated the Rabbit profoundly, and he returned to the lodge to\nconsult with his grandmother.\n\n\"Grandmother,\" he grumbled, \"although I rise early every morning and\nset my traps in the hope of snaring game, some one is always before me\nand frightens the game away.  I shall make a snare and catch him.\"\n\n\"Why should you do so?\" replied his grandmother.  \"In what way has he\nharmed you?\"\n\n\"It is sufficient that I hate him,\" replied the querulous Rabbit, and\ndeparted.  He secreted himself among the bushes and waited for\nnightfall.  He had provided himself with a stout bowstring, which he\narranged as a trap in the place where the footprints were usually to be\nfound.  Then he went home, but returned very early to examine his snare.\n\n{302}\n\nWhen he arrived at the spot he discovered that he had caught the\nintruder, who was, indeed, no less a personage than the Sun.  He ran\nhome at the top of his speed to acquaint his grandmother with the news.\nHe did not know what he had caught, so his grandmother bade him seek\nthe forest once more and find out.  On returning he saw that the Sun\nwas in a violent passion.\n\n\"How dare you snare me!\" he cried angrily.  \"Come hither and untie me\nat once!\"\n\nThe Rabbit advanced cautiously, and circled round him in abject terror.\nAt last he clucked his head and, running in, cut the bowstring which\nsecured the Sun with his knife.  The Sun immediately soared upward, and\nwas quickly lost to sight.  And the reason why the hair between the\nRabbit's shoulders is yellow is that he was scorched there by the great\nheat which came from the Sun-god when he loosed him.\n\n\n\nHow the Rabbit Slew the Devouring Hill\n\nIn the long ago there existed a hill of ogre-like propensities which\ndrew people into its mouth and devoured them.  The Rabbit's grandmother\nwarned him not to approach it upon any account.\n\nBut the Rabbit was rash, and the very fact that he had been warned\nagainst the vicinity made him all the more anxious to visit it.  So he\nwent to the hill, and cried mockingly: \"Pahe-Wathahuni, draw me into\nyour mouth!  Come, devour me!\"\n\nBut Pahe-Wathahuni knew the Rabbit, so he took no notice of him.\n\nShortly afterward a hunting-party came that way, and Pahe-Wathahuni\nopened his mouth, so that they took it to be a great cavern, and\nentered.  The Rabbit, waiting his chance, pressed in behind them.  But\nwhen {303} he reached Pahe-Wathahuni's stomach the monster felt that\nsomething disagreed with him, and he vomited the Rabbit up.\n\n[Illustration: \"Once more the Rabbit entered, disguised as a man\"]\n\nLater in the day another hunting-party appeared, and Pahe-Wathahuni\nagain opened his capacious gullet.  The hunters entered unwittingly,\nand were devoured.  And once more the Rabbit entered, disguised as a\nman by magic art.  This time the cannibal hill did not eject him.\nImprisoned in the monster's entrails, he saw in the distance the\nwhitened bones of folk who had been devoured, the still undigested\nbodies of others, and some who were yet alive.\n\nMocking Pahe-Wathahuni, the Rabbit said: \"Why do you not eat?  You\nshould have eaten that very fat heart.\"  And, seizing his knife, he\nmade as if to devour it.  At this Pahe-Wathahuni set up a dismal\nhowling; but the Rabbit merely mocked him, and slit the heart in twain.\nAt this the hill split asunder, and all the folk who had been\nimprisoned within it went out again, stretched their arms to the blue\nsky, and hailed the Rabbit as their deliverer; for it was\nPahe-Wathahuni's heart that had been sundered.\n\nThe people gathered together and said: \"Let us make the Rabbit chief.\"\nBut he mocked them and told them to be gone, that all he desired was\nthe heap of fat the hill had concealed within its entrails, which would\nserve him and his old grandmother for food for many a day.  With that\nthe Rabbit went homeward, carrying the fat on his back, and he and his\ngrandmother rejoiced exceedingly and were never in want again.\n\n\n\n\n{304}\n\nCHAPTER VI: MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE PAWNEES\n\n\nThe Pawnees, or Caddoan Indians\n\nThe Caddoan stock, the principal representatives of which are the\nPawnees, are now settled in Oklahoma and North Dakota.  From the\nearliest period they seem to have been cultivators of the soil, as well\nas hunters, and skilled in the arts of weaving and pottery-making.\nThey possessed an elaborate form of religious ceremonial.  The\nfollowing myths well exemplify how strongly the Pawnee was gifted with\nthe religious sense.\n\n\n\nThe Sacred Bundle\n\nA certain young man was very vain of his personal appearance, and\nalways wore the finest clothes and richest adornments he could procure.\nAmong other possessions he had a down feather of an eagle, which he\nwore on his head when he went to war, and which possessed magical\nproperties.  He was unmarried, and cared nothing for women, though\ndoubtless there was more than one maiden of the village who would not\nhave disdained the hand of the young hunter, for he was as brave and\ngood-natured as he was handsome.\n\nOne day while he was out hunting with his companions--the Indians\nhunted on foot in those days--he got separated from the others, and\nfollowed some buffaloes for a considerable distance.  The animals\nmanaged to escape, with the exception of a young cow, which had become\nstranded in a mud-hole.  The youth fitted an arrow to his bow, and was\nabout to fire, when he saw that the buffalo had vanished and only a\nyoung and pretty woman was in sight.  The hunter was {305} rather\nperplexed, for he could not understand where the animal had gone to,\nnor where the woman had come from.  However, he talked to the maiden,\nand found her so agreeable that he proposed to marry her and return\nwith her to his tribe.  She consented to marry him, but only on\ncondition that they remained where they were.  To this he agreed, and\ngave her as a wedding gift a string of blue and white beads he wore\nround his neck.\n\nOne evening when he returned home after a day's hunting he found that\nhis camp was gone, and all round about were the marks of many hoofs.\nNo trace of his wife's body could he discover, and at last, mourning\nher bitterly, he returned to his tribe.\n\nYears elapsed, and one summer morning as he was playing the stick game\nwith his friends a little boy came toward him, wearing round his neck a\nstring of blue and white beads.\n\n\"Father,\" he said, \"mother wants you.\"\n\nThe hunter was annoyed at the interruption.\n\n\"I am not your father,\" he replied.  \"Go away.\"\n\nThe boy went away, and the man's companions laughed at him when they\nheard him addressed as 'father,' for they knew he was a woman-hater and\nunmarried.\n\nHowever, the boy returned in a little while.  He was sent away again by\nthe angry hunter, but one of the players now suggested that he should\naccompany the child and see what he wanted.  All the time the hunter\nhad been wondering where he had seen the beads before.  As he reflected\nhe saw a buffalo cow and calf running across the prairie, and suddenly\nhe remembered.\n\nTaking his bow and arrows, he followed the buffaloes, whom he now\nrecognized as his wife and child.  A {306} long and wearisome journey\nthey had.  The woman was angry with her husband, and dried up every\ncreek they came to, so that he feared he would die of thirst, but the\nstrategy of his son obtained food and drink for him until they arrived\nat the home of the buffaloes.  The big bulls, the leaders of the herd,\nwere very angry, and threatened to kill him.  First, however, they gave\nhim a test, telling him that if he accomplished it he should live.  Six\ncows, all exactly alike, were placed in a row, and he was told that if\nhe could point out his wife his life would be spared.  His son helped\nhim secretly, and he succeeded.  The old bulls were surprised, and much\nannoyed, for they had not expected him to distinguish his wife from the\nother cows.  They gave him another test.  He was requested to pick out\nhis son from among several calves.  Again the young buffalo helped him\nto perform the feat.  Not yet satisfied, they decreed that he must run\na race.  If he should win they would let him go.  They chose their\nfastest runners, but on the day set for the race a thin coating of ice\ncovered the ground, and the buffaloes could not run at all, while the\nyoung Indian ran swiftly and steadily, and won with ease.\n\n\n\nThe Magic Feather\n\nThe chief bulls were still angry, however, and determined that they\nwould kill him, even though he had passed their tests.  So they made\nhim sit on the ground, all the strongest and fiercest bulls round him.\nTogether they rushed at him, and in a little while his feather was seen\nfloating in the air.  The chief bulls called on the others to stop, for\nthey were sure that he must be trampled to pieces by this time.  But\nwhen they drew back there sat the Indian in the centre of the circle,\nwith his feather in his hair.\n\n{307}\n\nIt was, in fact, his magic feather to which he owed his escape, and a\nsecond rush which the buffaloes made had as little effect on him.\nSeeing that he was possessed of magical powers, the buffaloes made the\nbest of matters and welcomed him into their camp, on condition that he\nwould bring them gifts from his tribe.  This he agreed to do.\n\nWhen the Indian returned with his wife and son to the village people\nthey found that there was no food to be had; but the buffalo-wife\nproduced some meat from under her robe, and they ate of it.  Afterward\nthey went back to the herd with gifts, which pleased the buffaloes\ngreatly.  The chief bulls, knowing that the people were in want of\nfood, offered to return with the hunter.  His son, who also wished to\nreturn, arranged to accompany the herd in the form of a buffalo, while\nhis parents went ahead in human shape.  The father warned the people\nthat they must not kill his son when they went to hunt buffaloes, for,\nhe said, the yellow calf would always return leading more buffaloes.\n\nBy and by the child came to his father saying that he would no more\nvisit the camp in the form of a boy, as he was about to lead the herd\neastward.  Ere he went he told his father that when the hunters sought\nthe chase they should kill the yellow calf and sacrifice it to Atius\nTir\u00e1wa, tan its hide, and wrap in the skin an ear of corn and other\nsacred things.  Every year they should look out for another yellow\ncalf, sacrifice it, and keep a piece of its fat to add to the bundle.\nThen when food was scarce and famine threatened the tribe the chiefs\nshould gather in council and pay a friendly visit to the young buffalo,\nand he would tell Tir\u00e1wa of their need, so that another yellow calf\nmight be sent to lead the herd to the people.\n\nWhen he had said this the boy left the camp.  All {308} was done as he\nhad ordered.  Food became plentiful, and the father became a chief,\ngreatly respected by his people.  His buffalo-wife, however, he almost\nforgot, and one night she vanished.  So distressed was the chief, and\nso remorseful for his neglect of her, that he never recovered, but\nwithered away and died.  But the sacred bundle was long preserved in\nthe tribe as a magic charm to bring the buffalo.\n\nTheir sacred bundles were most precious to the Indians, and were\nguarded religiously.  In times of famine they were opened by the\npriests with much ceremony.  The above story is given to explain the\norigin of that belonging to the Pawnee tribe.\n\n\n\nThe Bear-Man\n\nThere was once a boy of the Pawnee tribe who imitated the ways of a\nbear; and, indeed, he much resembled that animal.  When he played with\nthe other boys of his village he would pretend to be a bear, and even\nwhen he grew up he would often tell his companions laughingly that he\ncould turn himself into a bear whenever he liked.\n\nHis resemblance to the animal came about in this manner.  Before the\nboy was born his father had gone on the war-path, and at some distance\nfrom his home had come upon a tiny bear-cub.  The little creature\nlooked at him so wistfully and was so small and helpless that he could\nnot pass by without taking notice of it.  So he stooped and picked it\nup in his arms, tied some Indian tobacco round its neck, and said: \"I\nknow that the Great Spirit, Tir\u00e1wa, will care for you, but I cannot go\non my way without putting these things round your neck to show that I\nfeel kindly toward you.  I hope that the animals will take care of my\nson when he is born, and help him to grow up {309} a great and wise\nman.\"  With that he went on his way.\n\nOn his return he told his wife of his encounter with the Little Bear,\ntold her how he had taken it in his arms and looked at it and talked to\nit.  Now there is an Indian superstition that a woman, before a child\nis born, must not look fixedly at or think much about any animal, or\nthe infant will resemble it.  So when the warrior's boy was born he was\nfound to have the ways of a bear, and to become more and more like that\nanimal the older he grew.  The boy, quite aware of the resemblance,\noften went away by himself into the forest, where he used to pray to\nthe Bear.\n\n\n\nThe Bear-Man Slain\n\nOn one occasion, when he was quite grown up, he accompanied a war party\nof the Pawnees as their chief.  They travelled a considerable distance,\nbut ere they arrived at any village they fell into a trap prepared for\nthem by their enemies, the Sioux.  Taken completely off their guard,\nthe Pawnees, to the number of about forty, were slain to a man.  The\npart of the country in which this incident took place was rocky and\ncedar-clad and harboured many bears, and the bodies of the dead Pawnees\nlay in a ravine in the path of these animals.  When they came to the\nbody of the Bear-man a she-bear instantly recognized it as that of\ntheir benefactor, who had sacrificed smokes to them, made songs about\nthem, and done them many a good turn during his lifetime.  She called\nto her companion and begged him to do something to bring the Bear-man\nto life again.  The other protested that he could do nothing.\n\"Nevertheless,\" he added, \"I will try.  If the sun were shining I might\nsucceed, but when it is dark and cloudy I am powerless.\"\n\n\n\n{310}\n\nThe Resuscitation of the Bear-Man\n\nThe sun was shining but fitfully that day, however.  Long intervals of\ngloom succeeded each gleam of sunlight.  But the two bears set about\ncollecting the remains of the Bear-man, who was indeed sadly mutilated,\nand, lying down on his body, they worked over him with their magic\nmedicine till he showed signs of returning life.  At length he fully\nregained consciousness, and, finding himself in the presence of two\nbears, was at a loss to know what had happened to him.  But the animals\nrelated how they had brought him to life, and the sight of his dead\ncomrades lying around him recalled what had gone before.  Gratefully\nacknowledging the service the bears had done him, he accompanied them\nto their den.  He was still very weak, and frequently fainted, but ere\nlong he recovered his strength and was as well as ever, only he had no\nhair on his head, for the Sioux had scalped him.  During his sojourn\nwith the bears he was taught all the things that they knew--which was a\ngreat deal, for all Indians know that the bear is one of the wisest of\nanimals.  However, his host begged him not to regard the wonderful\nthings he did as the outcome of his own strength, but to give thanks to\nTir\u00e1wa, who had made the bears and had given them their wisdom and\ngreatness.  Finally he told the Bear-man to return to his people, where\nhe would become a very great man, great in war and in wealth.  But at\nthe same time he must not forget the bears, nor cease to imitate them,\nfor on that would depend much of his success.\n\n\"I shall look after you,\" he concluded.  \"If I die, you shall die; if I\ngrow old, you shall grow old along with me.  This tree\"--pointing to a\ncedar--\"shall be a protector to you.  It never becomes old; it is\nalways {311} fresh and beautiful, the gift of Tir\u00e1wa.  And if a\nthunderstorm should come while you are at home throw some cedar-wood on\nthe fire and you will be safe.\"\n\nGiving him a bear-skin cap to hide his hairless scalp, the Bear then\nbade him depart.\n\nArrived at his home, the young man was greeted with amazement, for it\nwas thought that he had perished with the rest of the war party.  But\nwhen he convinced his parents that it was indeed their son who visited\nthem, they received him joyfully.  When he had embraced his friends and\nhad been congratulated by them on his return, he told them of the\nbears, who were waiting outside the village.  Taking presents of Indian\ntobacco, sweet-smelling clay, buffalo-meat, and beads, he returned to\nthem, and again talked with the he-bear.  The latter hugged him,\nsaying: \"As my fur has touched you, you will be great; as my hands have\ntouched your hands, you will be fearless; and as my mouth touches your\nmouth, you will be wise.\"  With that the bears departed.\n\nTrue to his words, the animal made the Bear-man the greatest warrior of\nhis tribe.  He was the originator of the Bear Dance, which the Pawnees\nstill practise.  He lived to an advanced age, greatly honoured by his\npeople.\n\n\n\n\n{312}\n\nCHAPTER VII: MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE NORTHERN AND NORTH-WESTERN INDIANS\n\n\nHaida Demi-Gods\n\nThere is a curious Haida story told of the origin of certain\nsupernatural people, who are supposed to speak through the _shamans_,\nor medicine-men, and of how they got their names.\n\nTen brothers went out to hunt with their dogs.  While they were\nclimbing a steep rocky mountain a thick mist enveloped them, and they\nwere compelled to remain on the heights.  By and by they made a fire,\nand the youngest, who was full of mischief, cast his bow in it.  When\nthe bow was burnt the hunters were astonished to see it on the level\nground below.  The mischievous brother thereupon announced his\nintention of following his weapon, and by the same means.  Though the\nothers tried hard to dissuade him, he threw himself on the blazing\nfire, and was quickly consumed.  His brothers then beheld him on the\nplain vigorously exhorting them to follow his example.  One by one they\ndid so, some boldly, some timorously, but all found themselves at last\non the level ground.\n\nAs the brothers travelled on they heard a wren chirping, and they saw\nthat one of their number had a blue hole in his heart.  Farther on they\nfound a hawk's feather, which they tied in the hair of the youngest.\nThey came at length to a deserted village on the shores of an inlet,\nand took possession of one of the huts.  For food they ate some\nmussels, and having satisfied their hunger they set out to explore the\nsettlement.  Nothing rewarded their search but an old canoe, moss-grown\nand covered with nettles.  When they had removed the weeds and scraped\noff the moss they {313} repaired it, and the mischievous one who had\nled them into the fire made a bark bailer for it, on which he carved\nthe representation of a bird.  Another, who had in his hair a bunch of\nfeathers, took a pole and jumped into the canoe.  The rest followed,\nand the canoe slid away from the shore.  Soon they came in sight of a\nvillage where a _shaman_ was performing.\n\nAttracted by the noise and the glow of the fire, the warrior at the bow\nstepped ashore and advanced to see what was going on.  \"Now,\" he heard\nthe _shaman_ say, \"the chief Supernatural-being-who-keeps-the-bow-off\nis coming ashore.\"  The Indian was ashamed to hear himself thus\nmistakenly, as he thought, referred to as a supernatural being, and\nreturned to the canoe.  The next one advanced to the village.  \"Chief\nHawk-hole is coming ashore,\" said the _shaman_.  The Indian saw the\nblue hole at his heart, and he also was ashamed, and returned to his\nbrothers.  The third was named\nSupernatural-being-on-whom-the-daylight-rests, the fourth\nSupernatural-being-on-the-water-on-whom-is-sunshine, the fifth\nSupernatural-puffin-on-the-water, the sixth\nHawk-with-one-feather-sticking-out-of-the-water, the seventh\nWearing-clouds-around-his-neck, the eighth\nSupernatural-being-with-the-big-eyes, the ninth\nSupernatural-being-lying-on-his-back-in-the-canoe, and the eldest, and\nlast, Supernatural-being-half-of-whose-words-are-raven.  Each as he\nheard his name pronounced returned to the canoe.  When they had all\nheard the _shaman_, and were assembled once more, the eldest brother\nsaid, \"We have indeed become supernatural people,\" which was quite\ntrue, for by burning themselves in the fire they had reached the Land\nof Souls.[1]\n\n\n[1] This myth would appear to explain the fancied resemblance between\nsmoke and the shadowy or vaporous substance of which spirits or ghosts\nare supposed to be composed.\n\n\n\n{314}\n\nThe Supernatural Sister\n\nThe ten brothers floated round the coast till they reached another\nvillage.  Here they took on board a woman whose arms had been\naccidentally burned by her husband, who mistook them for the arms of\nsome one embracing his wife.  The woman was severely burned and was in\ngreat distress.  The supernatural brothers made a crack in the bottom\nof the canoe and told the woman to place her hands in it.  Her wounds\nwere immediately healed.  They called her their sister, and seated her\nin the canoe to bail out the water.  When they came to the Dj[=u], the\nstream near which dwelt Fine-weather-woman,[2] the latter came and\ntalked to them, repeating the names which the _shaman_ had given them,\nand calling their sister Supernatural-woman-who-does-the-bailing.\n\n\n[2] See page 316.\n\n\n\"Paddle to the island you see in the distance,\" she added.  \"The wizard\nwho lives there is he who paints those who are to become supernatural\nbeings.  Go to him and he will paint you.  Dance four nights in your\ncanoe and you will be finished.\"\n\nThey did as she bade them, and the wizard dressed them in a manner\nbecoming to their position as supernatural beings.  He gave them\ndancing hats, dancing skirts, and puffin-beak rattles, and drew a cloud\nover the outside of their canoe.\n\n\n\nThe Birth of S\u00ee\u00f1\n\nThe Haida of British Columbia and the Queen Charlotte Islands possess a\nstriking myth relating to the incarnation of the Sky-god, their\nprincipal deity.  The daughter of a certain chief went one day to dig\nin the beach.  After she had worked some time she dug {315} up a\ncockle-shell.  She was about to throw it to one side when she thought\nshe heard a sound coming from it like that of a child crying.\nExamining the shell, she found a small baby inside.  She carried it\nhome and wrapped it in a warm covering, and tended it so carefully that\nit grew rapidly and soon began to walk.\n\nShe was sitting beside the child one day when he made a movement with\nhis hand as if imitating the drawing of a bowstring, so to please him\nshe took a copper bracelet from her arm and hammered it into the shape\nof a bow, which she strung and gave him along with two arrows.  He was\ndelighted with the tiny weapon, and immediately set out to hunt small\ngame with it.  Every day he returned to his foster-mother with some\ntrophy of his skill.  One day it was a goose, another a woodpecker, and\nanother a blue jay.\n\nOne morning he awoke to find himself and his mother in a fine new\nhouse, with gorgeous door-posts splendidly carved and illuminated in\nrich reds, blues, and greens.  The carpenter who had raised this fine\nbuilding married his mother, and was very kind to him.  He took the boy\ndown to the sea-shore, and caused him to sit with his face looking\ntoward the expanse of the Pacific.  And so long as the lad looked\nacross the boundless blue there was fair weather.\n\nHis father used to go fishing, and one day S\u00ee\u00f1--for such was the boy's\nname--expressed a wish to accompany him.  They obtained devil-fish for\nbait, and proceeded to the fishing-ground, where the lad instructed his\nfather to pronounce certain magical formul\u00e6, the result of which was\nthat their fishing-line was violently agitated and their canoe pulled\nround an adjacent island three times.  When the disturbance stopped at\nlast they pulled in the line and dragged out a monster covered with\npiles of halibut.\n\n{316}\n\nOne day S\u00ee\u00f1 went out wearing a wren-skin.  His mother beheld him rise\nin stature until he soared above her and brooded like a bank of shining\nclouds over the ocean.  Then he descended and donned the skin of a blue\njay.  Again he rose over the sea, and shone resplendently.  Once more\nhe soared upward, wearing the skin of a woodpecker, and the waves\nreflected a colour as of fire.\n\nThen he said: \"Mother, I shall see you no more.  I am going away from\nyou.  When the sky looks like my face painted by my father there will\nbe no wind.  Then the fishing will be good.\"\n\nHis mother bade him farewell, sadly, yet with the proud knowledge that\nshe had nurtured a divinity.  But her sorrow increased when her husband\nintimated that it was time for him to depart as well.  Her supernatural\nson and husband, however, left her a portion of their power.  For when\nshe sits by the inlet and loosens her robe the wind scurries down\nbetween the banks and the waves are ruffled with tempest; and the more\nshe loosens the garment the greater is the storm.  They call her in the\nIndian tongue Fine-weather-woman.  But she dwells mostly in the winds,\nand when the cold morning airs draw up from the sea landward she makes\nan offering of feathers to her glorious son.  The feathers are flakes\nof snow, and they serve to remind him that the world is weary for a\nglimpse of his golden face.\n\n\n\nMaster-Carpenter and Southeast\n\nA Haida myth relates how Master-carpenter, a supernatural being, went\nto war with South-east (the south-east wind) at Sqa-i, the town lying\nfarthest south on the Queen Charlotte Islands.  The south-east wind is\nparticularly rude and boisterous on that coast, and it {317} was with\nthe intention of punishing him for his violence that Master-carpenter\nchallenged him.  First of all, however, he set about building a canoe\nfor himself.  The first one he made split, and he was obliged to throw\nit away.  The second also split, notwithstanding the fact that he had\nmade it stouter than the other.  Another and another he built, making\neach one stronger than the last, but every attempt ended in failure,\nand at last, exceedingly vexed at his unskilfulness, he was on the\npoint of giving the task up.  He would have done so, indeed, but for\nthe intervention of Greatest Fool.  Hitherto Master-carpenter had been\ntrying to form two canoes from one log by means of wedges.  Greatest\nFool stood watching him for a time, amused at his clumsiness, and\nfinally showed him that he ought to use bent wedges.  And though he was\nperhaps the last person from whom Master-carpenter might expect to\nlearn anything, the unsuccessful builder of canoes adopted the\nsuggestion, with the happiest results.  When at length he was satisfied\nthat he had made a good canoe he let it down into the water, and sailed\noff in search of South-east.\n\n[Illustration: \"He seized hold of the hair\"]\n\nBy and by he floated right down to his enemy's abode, and when he\njudged himself to be above it he rose in the canoe and flung out a\nchallenge.  There was no reply.  Again he called, and this time a rapid\ncurrent began to float past him, bearing on its surface a quantity of\nseaweed.  The shrewd Master-carpenter fancied he saw the matted hair of\nhis enemy floating among the seaweed.  He seized hold of it, and after\nit came South-east.  The latter in a great passion began to call on his\nnephews to help him.  The first to be summoned was Red-storm-cloud.\nImmediately a deep red suffused the sky.  Then the stormy tints died\naway, and the wind rose with a harsh murmur.  {318} When this wind had\nreached its full strength another was summoned,\nTaker-off-of-the-tree-tops.  The blast increased to a hurricane, and\nthe tree-tops were blown off and carried away and fell thickly about\nthe canoe, where Master-carpenter was making use of his magic arts to\nprotect himself.  Again another wind was called up, Pebble-rattler, who\nset the stones and sand flying about as he shrieked in answer to the\nsummons.  Maker-of-the-thick-sea-mist came next, the spirit of the fog\nwhich strikes terror into the hearts of those at sea, and he was\nfollowed by a numerous band of other nephews, each more to be dreaded\nthan the last.  Finally Tidal-wave came and covered Master-carpenter\nwith water, so that he was obliged to give in.  Relinquishing his hold\non South-east, he managed to struggle to the shore.  It was said by\nsome that South-east died, but the _shamans_, who ought to know, say\nthat he returned to his own place.\n\nSouth-east's mother was named To-morrow, and the Indians say that if\nthey utter that word they will have bad weather, for South-east does\nnot like to hear his mother's name used by any one else.\n\n\n\nThe Beaver and the Porcupine\n\nThis is the tale of a feud between the beavers and the porcupines.\nBeaver had laid in a plentiful store of food, but Porcupine had failed\nto do so, and one day when the former was out hunting the latter went\nto his lodge and stole his provision.  When Beaver returned he found\nthat his food was gone, and he questioned Porcupine about the matter.\n\n\"Did you steal my food?\" he asked.\n\n\"No,\" answered Porcupine.  \"One cannot steal food from supernatural\nbeings, and you and I both possess supernatural powers.\"\n\n{319}\n\nOf course this was mere bluff on the part of Porcupine, and it in\nnowise deceived his companion.\n\n\"You stole my food!\" said Beaver angrily, and he tried to seize\nPorcupine with his teeth.  But the sharp spines of the latter\ndisconcerted him, though he was not easily repulsed.  For a time he\nfought furiously, but at length he was forced to retreat, with his face\ncovered with quills from his spiny adversary.  His friends and\nrelatives greeted him sympathetically.  His father summoned all the\nBeaver People, told them of the injuries his son had received, and bade\nthem avenge the honour of their clan.  The people at once repaired to\nthe abode of Porcupine, who, from the fancied security of his lodge,\nheaped insults and abuse on them.  The indignant Beaver People pulled\nhis house down about his ears, seized him, and carried him, in spite of\nhis threats and protests, to a desolate island, where they left him to\nstarve.\n\nIt seemed to Porcupine that he had not long to live.  Nothing grew on\nthe island save two trees, neither of which was edible, and there was\nno other food within reach.  He called loudly to his friends to come to\nhis assistance, but there was no answer.  In vain he summoned all the\nanimals who were related to him.  His cries never reached them.\n\nWhen he had quite given up hope he fancied he heard something whisper\nto him: \"Call upon Cold-weather, call upon North-wind.\"  At first he\ndid not understand, but thought his imagination must be playing tricks\nwith him.  Again the voice whispered to him: \"Sing North songs, and you\nwill be saved.\"  Wondering much, but with hope rising in his breast,\nPorcupine did as he was bidden, and raised his voice in the North\nsongs.  \"Let the cold weather come,\" he sang, \"let the water be smooth.\"\n\n\n\n{320}\n\nThe Finding of Porcupine\n\nAfter a time the weather became very cold, a strong wind blew from the\nnorth, and the water became smooth with a layer of ice.  When it was\nsufficiently frozen to bear the weight of the Porcupine People they\ncrossed over to the island in search of their brother.  They were\ngreatly rejoiced to see him, but found him so weak that he could hardly\nwalk, and he had to be carried to his father's lodge.\n\nWhen they wanted to know why Beaver had treated him so cruelly he\nreplied that it was because he had eaten Beaver's food.  The Porcupine\nPeople, thinking this a small excuse, were greatly incensed against the\nbeavers, and immediately declared war on them.  But the latter were\ngenerally victorious, and the war by and by came to an inglorious end\nfor the porcupines.  The spiny tribe still, however, imagined that they\nhad a grievance against Beaver, and plotted to take his life.  They\ncarried him to the top of a tall tree, thinking that as the beavers\ncould not climb he would be in the same plight as their brother had\nbeen on the island.  But by the simple expedient of eating the tree\ndownward from the top Beaver was enabled to return to his home.\n\n\n\nThe Devil-Fish's Daughter\n\nA Haida Indian was sailing in his canoe with his two children and his\nwife at low tide.  They had been paddling for some time, when they came\nto a place where some devil-fish stones lay, and they could discern the\ndevil-fish's tracks and see where its food was lying piled up.  The\nman, who was a _shaman_, landed upon the rocks with the intention of\nfinding and killing the devil-fish, but while he was searching {321}\nfor it the monster suddenly emerged from its hole and dragged him\nthrough the aperture into its den.  His wife and children, believing\nhim to be dead, paddled away.\n\nThe monster which had seized the man was a female devil-fish, and she\ndragged him far below into the precincts of the town where dwelt her\nfather, the devil-fish chief, and there he married the devil-fish which\nhad captured him.  Many years passed, and at length the man became\nhome-sick and greatly desired to see his wife and family once more.  He\nbegged the chief to let him go, and after some demur his request was\ngranted.\n\nThe _shaman_ departed in one canoe, and his wife, the devil-fish's\ndaughter, in another.  The canoes were magical, and sped along of\nthemselves.  Soon they reached his father's town by the aid of the\nenchanted craft.  He had brought much wealth with him from the\ndevil-fish kingdom, and with this he traded and became a great chief.\nThen his children found him and came to him.  They were grown up, and\nto celebrate his home-coming he held a great feast.  Five great feasts\nhe held, one after another, and at each of them his children and his\nhuman wife were present.\n\nBut the devil-fish wife began to pine for the sea-life.  One day while\nher husband and she sat in his father's house he began to melt.  At the\nsame time the devil-fish wife disappeared betwixt the planks of the\nflooring.  Her husband then assumed the devil-fish form, and a second\nsoft, slimy body followed the first through the planks.  The devil-fish\nwife and her husband had returned to her father's realm.\n\nThis myth, of course, approximates to those of the seal-wives who\nescape from their mortal husbands, and the swan- and other bird-brides\nwho, pining for their {322} natural environment, take wing one fine day\nand leave their earth-mates.\n\n\n\nChinook Tales\n\nThe Chinooks formerly dwelt on Columbia River, from the Dalles to its\nmouth, and on the Lower Willamette.  With the exception of a few\nindividuals, they are now extinct, but their myths have been\nsuccessfully collected and preserved.  They were the natives of the\nnorth-west coast, cunning in bargaining, yet dwelling on a communal\nplan.  Their chief physical characteristic was a high and narrow\nforehead artificially flattened.  Concerning this people Professor\nDaniel Wilson says:\n\n\"The Chinooks are among the most remarkable of the flat-headed Indians,\nand carry the process of cranial distortion to the greatest excess.\nThey are in some respects a superior race, making slaves of other\ntribes, and evincing considerable skill in such arts as are required in\ntheir wild forest and coast life.  Their chief war-implements are bows\nand arrows, the former made from the yew-tree, and the latter feathered\nand pointed with bone.  Their canoes are hollowed out of the trunk of\nthe cedar-tree, which attains to a great size in that region, and are\nfrequently ornamented with much taste and skill.  In such a canoe the\ndead Chinook chief is deposited, surrounded with all the requisites for\nwar, or the favourite occupations of life: presenting a correspondence\nin his sepulchral rites to the ancient pagan viking, who, as appears\nalike from the contents of the Scandinavian _Skibssaetninger_ and from\nthe narratives of the sagas, was interred or consumed in his\nwar-galley, and the form of that favourite scene of ocean triumphs\nperpetuated in the earth-work that covered his ashes.\"\n\n\n\n{323}\n\nThe Story of Blue Jay and Ioi\n\nThe Chinooks tell many stories of Blue Jay, the tricky, mischievous\ntotem-bird, and among these tales there are three which are concerned\nwith his sister Ioi.  Blue Jay, whose disposition resembled that of the\nbird he symbolized, delighted in tormenting Ioi by deliberately\nmisinterpreting her commands, and by repeating at every opportunity his\nfavourite phrase, \"Ioi is always telling lies.\"\n\nIn the first of the trilogy Ioi requested her brother to take a wife\nfrom among the dead, to help her with her work in house and field.  To\nthis Blue Jay readily assented, and he took for his spouse a\nchieftain's daughter who had been recently buried.  But Ioi's request\nthat his wife should be an old one he disregarded.\n\n\"Take her to the Land of the Supernatural People,\" said Ioi, when she\nhad seen her brother's bride, \"and they will restore her to life.\"\n\nBlue Jay set out on his errand, and after a day's journey arrived with\nhis wife at a town inhabited by the Supernatural Folk.\n\n\"How long has she been dead?\" they asked him, when he stated his\npurpose in visiting them.\n\n\"A day,\" he replied.\n\nThe Supernatural People shook their heads.\n\n\"We cannot help you,\" said they.  \"You must travel to the town where\npeople are restored who have been dead for a day.\"\n\nBlue Jay obediently resumed his journey, and at the end of another day\nhe reached the town to which he had been directed, and told its\ninhabitants why he had come.\n\n\"How long has she been dead?\" they asked.\n\n{324}\n\n\"Two days,\" said he.\n\n\"Then we can do nothing,\" replied the Supernatural Folk, \"for we can\nonly restore people who have been dead one day.  However, you can go to\nthe town where those are brought to life who have been dead two days.\"\n\nAnother day's journey brought Blue Jay and his wife to the third town.\nAgain he found himself a day late, and was directed to a fourth town,\nand from that one to yet another.  At the fifth town, however, the\nSupernatural People took pity on him, and recovered his wife from\ndeath.  Blue Jay they made a chieftain among them, and conferred many\nhonours upon him.\n\nAfter a time he got tired of living in state among the Supernatural\nPeople, and returned home.\n\nWhen he was once more among his kindred his young brother-in-law, the\nchief's son, learnt that his sister was alive and married to Blue Jay.\n\nHastily the boy carried the news to his father, the old chief, who sent\na message to Blue Jay demanding his hair in payment for his wife.  The\nmessenger received no reply, and the angry chief gathered his people\nround him and led them to Blue Jay's lodge.  On their approach Blue Jay\nturned himself into a bird and flew away, while his wife swooned.  All\nthe efforts of her kindred could not bring the woman round, and they\ncalled on her husband to return.  It was in vain, however: Blue Jay\nwould not come back, and his wife journeyed finally to the Land of\nSouls.\n\n\n\nThe Marriage of Ioi\n\nThe second portion of the trilogy relates how the Ghost-people, setting\nout one night from the Shadowland to buy a wife, took Ioi, the sister\nof Blue Jay, who disappeared before morning.  After a year had elapsed\n{325} her brother decided to go in search of her.  But though he\ninquired the way to the Ghost-country from all manner of birds and\nbeasts, he got a satisfactory answer from none of them, and would never\nhave arrived at his destination at all had he not been carried thither\nat last by supernatural means.\n\nIn the Ghost-country he found his sister, surrounded by heaps of bones,\nwhich she introduced to him as his relatives by marriage.  At certain\ntimes these relics would attain a semblance of humanity, but instantly\nbecame bones again at the sound of a loud voice.\n\n\n\nA Fishing Expedition in Shadow-land\n\nAt his sister's request Blue Jay went fishing with his young\nbrother-in-law.  Finding that when he spoke in a loud tone he caused\nthe boy to become a heap of bones in the canoe, Blue Jay took a\nmalicious pleasure in reducing him to that condition.  It was just the\nsort of trick he loved to play.\n\n[Illustration: A Fishing Expedition in Shadow-land]\n\nThe fish they caught were nothing more than leaves and branches, and\nBlue Jay, in disgust, threw them back into the water.  But, to his\nchagrin, when he returned his sister told him that they were really\nfish, and that he ought not to have flung them away.  However, he\nconsoled himself with the reflection, \"Ioi is always telling lies.\"\n\nBesides teasing Ioi, he played many pranks on the inoffensive Ghosts.\nSometimes he would put the skull of a child on the shoulders of a man,\nand vice versa, and take a mischievous delight in the ludicrous result\nwhen they came 'alive.'\n\nOn one occasion, when the prairies were on fire, Ioi bade her brother\nextinguish the flames.  For this purpose she gave him five buckets of\nwater, warning him that he must not pour it on the burning prairies\n{326} until he came to the fourth of them.  Blue Jay disobeyed her, as\nhe was wont to do, and with dire results, for when he reached the fifth\nprairie he found he had no water to pour on it.  While endeavouring to\nbeat out the flames he was so seriously burned that he died, and\nreturned to the Ghosts as one of themselves, but without losing his\nmischievous propensities.\n\n\n\nBlue Jay and Ioi Go Visiting\n\nThe third tale of the trilogy tells how Blue Jay and Ioi went to visit\ntheir friends.  The Magpie was the first to receive the visitors, and\nby means of magic he provided food for them.  Putting a salmon egg into\na kettle of boiling water, he placed the kettle on the fire, and\nimmediately it was full of salmon eggs, so that when they had eaten\nenough Blue Jay and Ioi were able to carry a number away.\n\nOn the following day the Magpie called for the kettle they had\nborrowed.  Blue Jay tried to entertain his visitor in the same magical\nfashion as the latter had entertained him.  But his attempt was so\nludicrous that the Magpie could not help laughing at him.\n\nThe pair's next visit was to the Duck, who obtained food for them by\nmaking her children dive for trout.  Again there was twice as much as\nthey could eat, and Blue Jay and Ioi carried away the remainder on a\nmat.  During the return visit of the Duck Blue Jay tried to emulate\nthis feat also, using Ioi's children instead of the ducklings.  His\nattempt was again unsuccessful.\n\nThe two visited in turn the Black Bear, the Beaver, and the Seal, all\nof whom similarly supplied refreshment for them in a magical manner.\nBut Blue Jay's attempts at imitating these creatures were futile.\n\n{327}\n\nA visit to the Shadows concluded the round, and the adventurers\nreturned home.\n\n\n\nThe Heaven-sought Bride\n\nA brother and sister left destitute by the death of their father, a\nchief of the Chinooks, were forced to go hunting sea-otters every day\nto obtain a livelihood.  As they hunted the mists came down, and with\nthem the Supernatural People, one of whom became enamoured of the girl.\nThe ghostly husband sent his wife gifts of stranded timber and\nwhale-meat, so that when her son was born she might want for nothing.\nThe mischievous Blue Jay, hearing of the abundance of meat in the young\nchief's house, apprised his own chief of the circumstance and brought\nall the village to share it.  The Supernatural People, annoyed that\ntheir bounty should be thus misused, abducted the young chief's sister,\nalong with her child.\n\nThe woman's aunt, the Crow, gathered many potentilla and other roots,\nplaced them in her canoe, and put out to sea.  She came to the country\nof the Supernatural Folk, and when they saw her approaching they all\nran down to the beach to greet her.  They greedily snatched at the\nroots she had brought with her and devoured them, eating the most\nsucculent and throwing away those that were not so much to their taste.\nThe Crow soon found her niece, who laughed at her for bringing such\nfare to such a land.\n\n\"Do you think they are men that you bring them potentilla roots?\" she\ncried.  \"They only eat certain of the roots you have fetched hither\nbecause they have magical properties.  The next time you come bring the\nsort of roots they seized upon--and you can also bring a basket of\npotentilla roots for me.\"\n\n\n\n{328}\n\nThe Whale-catcher\n\nShe then called upon a dog which was gambolling close at hand.\n\n\"Take this dog,\" she said to the Crow.  \"It belongs to your\ngrand-nephew.  When you come near the shore say, 'Catch a whale, dog,'\nand see what happens.\"\n\nThe Crow bade farewell to her niece, and, re-entering her canoe,\nsteered for the world of mortals again.  The dog lay quietly in the\nstern.  When about half-way across the Crow recollected her niece's\nadvice.\n\n\"Catch a whale, good dog,\" she cried encouragingly.\n\nThe dog arose, and at that moment a whale crossed the path of the\ncanoe.  The dog sank his teeth in the great fish, and the frail bark\nrocked violently.\n\n\"Hold him fast, good fellow!\" cried the Crow excitedly.  \"Hold him\nfast!\"  But the canoe tossed so dangerously and shipped so much water\nthat in a great fright she bade the dog let go.  He did so, and lay\ndown in the stern again.\n\nThe Crow arrived at the world of men once more, and after landing\nturned round to call her wonderful dog ashore.  But no trace of him was\nvisible.  He had disappeared.\n\n[Illustration: \"The mists came down, and with them the Supernatural\nPeople\"]\n\nOnce more the Crow gathered many roots and plants, taking especial care\nto collect a good supply of the sort the Supernatural People were fond\nof, and gathering only a small basket of potentilla.  For the second\ntime she crossed over to the land of the Divine Beings, who, on espying\nher succulent cargo, devoured it at once.  She carried the potentilla\nroots to her niece, and when in her house noticed the dog she had\nreceived and lost.  Her niece informed her that she should not have\nordered the animal to seize {329} the whale in mid-ocean, but should\nhave waited until she was nearer the land.  The Crow departed once\nmore, taking the dog with her.\n\nWhen they approached the land of men the Crow called to the animal to\ncatch a whale, but it stirred not.  Then the Crow poured some water\nover him, and he started up and killed a large whale, the carcass of\nwhich drifted on to the beach, when the people came down and cut it up\nfor food.\n\n\n\nThe Chinooks Visit the Supernaturals\n\nSome time after this the young chief expressed a desire to go to see\nhis sister, so his people manned a large canoe and set forth.  The\nchief of the Supernatural People, observing their approach, warned his\nsubjects that the mortals might do something to their disadvantage, and\nby means of magic he covered the sea with ice.  The air became\nexceedingly cold, so cold, indeed, that Blue Jay, who had accompanied\nthe young chief, leapt into the water.  At this one of the Supernatural\nPeople on shore laughed and cried out: \"Ha, ha!  Blue Jay has drowned\nhimself!\"  At this taunt the young chief in the canoe arose, and,\ntaking the ice which covered the surface of the sea, cast it away.  At\nsight of such power the Supernatural Folk became much alarmed.\n\nThe chief and his followers now came to land, and, walking up the\nbeach, found it deserted.  Not a single Supernatural Person was to be\nseen.  Espying the chief's house, however, the Chinooks approached it.\nIt was guarded by sea-lions, one at each side of the door.  The chief\ncautiously warned his people against attempting an entrance.  But the\nirrepressible Blue Jay tried to leap past the sea-lions, and got\nseverely bitten for his pains.  Howling dismally, he rushed seaward.\n{330} The young chief, annoyed that the Divine Beings should have cause\nfor laughter against any of his people, now darted forward, seized the\nmonsters one in each hand, and hurled them far away.\n\nAt this second feat the Supernatural Folk set up a hubbub of rage and\ndismay, which was turned to loud laughter when Blue Jay claimed the\ndeed as his, loudly chanting his own praises.  The Chinooks, taking\nheart, entered the lodge.  But the Supernatural Folk vanished, leaving\nonly the chief's sister behind.\n\nThe Chinooks had had nothing to eat since leaving their own country,\nand Blue Jay, who, like most worthless folk, was always hungry,\ncomplained loudly that he was famished.  His brother Robin sullenly\nordered him to be silent.  Suddenly a Supernatural Being with a long\nbeak emerged from under the bed, and, splitting wood with his beak,\nkindled a large fire.\n\n\"Robin,\" said Blue Jay, \"that is the spirit of our great-grandfather's\nslave.\"\n\nSoon the house was full of smoke, and a voice was heard calling out for\nthe Smoke-eater.  An individual with an enormous belly made his\nappearance, and swallowed all the smoke, so that the house became\nlight.  A small dish was brought, containing only one piece of meat.\nBut the mysterious voice called for the Whale-meat-cutter, who\nappeared, and sliced the fragment so with his beak that the plate was\nfull to overflowing.  Then he blew upon it, and it became a large canoe\nfull of meat, which the Chinooks finished, much to the amazement of the\nSupernatural People.\n\n\n\nThe Four Tests\n\nAfter a while a messenger from the Divine People approached and asked\nto be told whether the Indians would accept a challenge to a diving\ncontest, the {331} defeated to lose their lives.  This was agreed to,\nand Blue Jay was selected to dive for the Chinooks.  He had taken the\nprecaution of placing some bushes in his canoe, which he threw into the\nwater before diving with his opponent, a woman.  When his breath gave\nout he came to the surface, concealing his head under the floating\nbushes.  Then he sank into the water again, and cried to his opponent:\n\"Where are you?\"  \"Here I am,\" she replied.  Four times did Blue Jay\ncunningly come up for breath, hidden beneath the bushes, and on diving\nfor the last time he found the woman against whom he was pitted lying\nat the bottom of the sea, almost unconscious.  He took his club, which\nhe had concealed beneath his blanket, and struck her on the nape of the\nneck.  Then he rose and claimed the victory.\n\nThe Supernatural People, much chagrined, suggested a climbing contest,\nto which Blue Jay readily agreed, but he was warned that if he was\nbeaten he would be dashed to pieces.  He placed upright a piece of ice\nwhich was so high that it reached the clouds.  The Supernaturals\nmatched a chipmunk against him.  When the competitors had reached a\ncertain height Blue Jay grew tired, so he used his wings and flew\nupward.  The chipmunk kept her eyes closed and did not notice the\ndeception.  Blue Jay hit her on the neck with his club, so that she\nfell, and Blue Jay was adjudged the winner.\n\nA shooting match was next proposed by the exasperated Supernaturals, in\nwhich the persons engaged were to shoot at one another.  This the\nChinooks won by taking a beaver as their champion and tying a millstone\nin front of him.  A sweating match was also won by the Chinooks taking\nice with them into the superheated caves where the contest took place.\n\nAs a last effort to shame the Chinooks the Divine {332} People\nsuggested that the two chiefs should engage in a whale-catching\ncontest.  This was agreed to, and the Supernatural chief's wife, after\nwarning them, placed Blue Jay and Robin under her armpits to keep them\nquiet.  As they descended to the beach, she said to her brother: \"Four\nwhales will pass you, but do not harpoon any until the fifth appears.\"\n\nRobin did as he was bid, but the woman had a hard time in keeping the\ncurious Blue Jay hidden.  The four whales passed, but the young chief\ntook no heed.  Then the fifth slid by.  He thrust his harpoon deep into\nits blubber, and cast it ashore.  The Supernatural chief was\nunsuccessful in his attempts, and so the Chinooks won again.  On the\nresult being known Blue Jay could no longer be restrained, and, falling\nfrom under the woman's arm, he was drowned.\n\nOn setting out for home the chief was advised to tie Robin's blanket to\na magical rope with which his sister provided him.  When the Chinooks\nwere in the middle of the ocean the Supernatural People raised a great\nstorm to encompass their destruction.  But the charm the chief's sister\nhad given them proved efficacious, and they reached their own land in\nsafety.\n\nBlue Jay's death may be regarded as merely figurative, for he appears\nin many subsequent Chinook tales.\n\nThis myth is undoubtedly one of the class which relates to the\n'harrying of Hades.'  See the remarks at the conclusion of the myth of\n\"The Thunderer's Son-in-law.\"\n\n\n\nThe Thunderer's Son-in-Law\n\nThere were five brothers who lived together.  Four of them were\naccustomed to spend their days in hunting elk, while the fifth, who was\nthe youngest, was always compelled to remain at the camp.  They lived\namicably {333} enough, save that the youngest grumbled at never being\nable to go to the hunting.  One day as the youth sat brooding over his\ngrievance the silence was suddenly broken by a hideous din which\nappeared to come from the region of the doorway.  He was at a loss to\nunderstand the cause of it, and anxiously wished for the return of his\nbrothers.  Suddenly there appeared before him a man of gigantic size,\nstrangely apparelled.  He demanded food, and the frightened boy,\nremembering that they were well provided, hastily arose to satisfy the\nstranger's desires.  He brought out an ample supply of meat and tallow,\nbut was astonished to find that the strange being lustily called for\nmore.  The youth, thoroughly terrified, hastened to gratify the\nmonster's craving, and the giant ate steadily on, hour after hour,\nuntil the brothers returned at the end of the day to discover the\nglutton devouring the fruits of their hunting.  The monster appeared\nnot to heed the brothers, but, anxious to satisfy his enormous\nappetite, he still ate.  A fresh supply of meat had been secured, and\nthis the brothers placed before him.  He continued to gorge himself\nthroughout the night and well into the next day.  At last the meat was\nat an end, and the brothers became alarmed.  What next would the\ninsatiable creature demand?  They approached him and told him that only\nskins remained, but he replied: \"What shall I eat, grandchildren, now\nthat there are only skins and you?\"  They did not appear to understand\nhim until they had questioned him several times.  On realizing that the\nglutton meant to devour them, they determined to escape, so, boiling\nthe skins, which they set before him, they fled through a hole in the\nhut.  Outside they placed a dog, and told him to send the giant in the\ndirection opposite to that which they had taken.  Night fell, and the\nmonster {334} slept, while the dog kept a weary vigil over the exit by\nwhich his masters had escaped.  Day dawned as the giant crept through\nthe gap.  He asked the dog: \"Which way went your masters?\"  The animal\nreplied by setting his head in the direction opposite to the true one.\nThe giant observed the sign, and went on the road the dog indicated.\nAfter proceeding for some distance he found that the young men could\nnot have gone that way, so he returned to the hut, to find the dog\nstill there.  Again he questioned the animal, who merely repeated his\nprevious movement.  The monster once more set out, but, unable to\ndiscover the fugitives, he again returned.  Three times he repeated\nthese fruitless journeys.  At last he succeeded in getting on to the\nright path, and shortly came within sight of the brothers.\n\n\n\nThe Thunderer\n\nImmediately they saw their pursuer they endeavoured to outrun him, but\nwithout avail.  The giant gained ground, and soon overtook the eldest,\nwhom he slew.  He then made for the others, and slew three more.  The\nyoungest only was left.  The lad hurried on until he came to a river,\non the bank of which was a man fishing, whose name was the Thunderer.\nThis person he implored to convey him to the opposite side.  After much\nhesitation the Thunderer agreed, and, rowing him over the stream, he\ncommanded the fugitive to go to his hut, and returned to his nets.  By\nthis time the monster had gained the river, and on seeing the fisherman\nhe asked to be ferried over also.  The Thunderer at first refused, but\nwas eventually persuaded by the offer of a piece of twine.  Afraid that\nthe boat might capsize, the Thunderer stretched himself across the\nriver, and commanded the giant to walk over his body.  {335} The\nmonster, unaware of treachery, readily responded, but no sooner had he\nreached the Thunderer's legs than the latter set them apart, thus\nprecipitating him into the water.  His hat also fell in after him.  The\nThunderer now gained his feet, and watched the giant drifting\nhelplessly down the stream.  He did not wish to save the monster, for\nhe believed him to be an evil spirit.  \"Okulam [Noise of Surge] will be\nyour name,\" he said.  \"Only when the storm is raging will you be heard.\nWhen the weather is very bad your hat will also be heard.\"  As he\nconcluded this prophecy the giant disappeared from sight.  The\nThunderer then gathered his nets together and went to his hut.  The\nyouth whom he had saved married his daughter, and continued to remain\nwith him.  One day the youth desired to watch his father-in-law fishing\nfor whales.  His wife warned him against doing so.  He paid no heed to\nher warning, however, but went to the sea, where he saw the Thunderer\nstruggling with a whale.  His father-in-law flew into a great rage, and\na furious storm arose.  The Thunderer looked toward the land, and\nimmediately the storm increased in fury, with thunder and lightning, so\nhe threw down his dip-net and departed for home, followed by his\nson-in-law.\n\n\n\nStorm-Raising\n\nOn reaching the house the young man gathered some pieces of coal and\nclimbed a mountain.  There he blackened his face, and a high wind arose\nwhich carried everything before it.  His father-in-law's house was\nblown away, and the Thunderer, seeing that it was hopeless to attempt\nto save anything from the wreck, commanded his daughter to seek for her\nhusband.  She hurried up the mountain-side, where she found him, and\ntold him he was the cause of all the destruction, {336} but concluded:\n\"Father says you may look at him to-morrow when he catches whales.\"  He\nfollowed his wife back to the valley and washed his face.  Immediately\nhe had done so the storm abated.  Going up to his father-in-law, he\nsaid: \"To-morrow I shall go down to the beach, and you shall see me\ncatching whales.\"  Then the Thunderer and he rebuilt their hut.  On the\nfollowing morning they went down to the sea-shore together.  The young\nman cast his net into the sea.  After a little while a whale entered\nthe net.  The youth quickly pulled the net toward him, reached for the\nwhale, and flung it at the feet of his father-in-law.  Thunderer was\namazed, and called to him: \"Ho, ho, my son-in-law, you are just as I\nwas when I was a young man.\"\n\n\n\nThe Beast Comrades\n\nSoon after this the Thunderer's daughter gave birth to two sons.  The\nThunderer sent the young man into the woods to capture two wolves with\nwhich he used to play when a boy.  The son-in-law soon returned with\nthe animals, and threw them at the feet of the Thunderer.  But they\nseverely mauled the old man, who, seeing that they had forgotten him,\ncried piteously to his son-in-law to carry them back to the forest.\nShortly after this he again despatched his son-in-law in search of two\nbears with which he had also been friendly.  The young man obeyed.  But\nthe bears treated the old man as the wolves had done, so he likewise\nreturned them to their native haunts.  For the third time the\nson-in-law went into the forest, for two grizzly bears, and when he saw\nthem he called: \"I come to carry you away.\"  The bears instantly came\ntoward him and suffered themselves to be carried before the Thunderer.\nBut they also had forgotten their former {337} playmate, and\nimmediately set upon him, so that the young man was compelled to return\nwith them to the forest.  Thunderer had scarcely recovered from this\nlast attack when he sent his son-in-law into the same forest after two\npanthers, which in his younger days had also been his companions.\nWithout the slightest hesitation the young man arose and went into the\nwood, where he met the panthers.  He called to them in the same gentle\nmanner: \"I come to take you away.\"  The animals seemed to understand,\nand followed him.  But Thunderer was dismayed when he saw how wild they\nhad grown.  They would not allow him to tame them, and after suffering\ntheir attack he sent them back to the forest.  This ended the\nThunderer's exciting pastime.\n\n\n\nThe Tests\n\nThe Thunderer then sent his son-in-law to split a log of wood.  When\nthis had been done he put the young man's strength to the test by\nplacing him within the hollow trunk and closing the wood around him.\nBut the young man succeeded in freeing himself, and set off for the hut\ncarrying the log with him.  On reaching his home he dropped the wood\nbefore the door, and caused the earth to quake.  The Thunderer jumped\nup in alarm and ran to the door rejoicing in the might of his\nson-in-law.  \"Oh, my son-in-law,\" he cried, \"you are just as I was when\nI was young!\"  The two continued to live together and the young man's\nsons grew into manhood.  One day the Thunderer approached his\nson-in-law and said: \"Go to the Supernatural Folk and bring me their\nhoops.\"\n\n\n\nThe Spirit-land\n\nThe son-in-law obeyed.  He travelled for a long distance, and\neventually reached the land of the spirits.  {338} They stood in a\ncircle, and he saw that they played with a large hoop.  He then\nremembered that he must secure the hoop.  But he was afraid to approach\nthem, as the light of the place dazzled him.  He waited until darkness\nhad set in, and, leaving his hiding-place, dashed through the circle\nand secured the hoop.  The Supernatural People pursued him with\ntorches.  Just as this was taking place his wife remembered him.  She\ncalled to her children: \"Now whip your grandfather.\"  This they did,\nwhile the old man wept.  This chastisement brought rain upon the\nSupernatural People and extinguished their torches.  They dared not\npursue the young man farther, so they returned to their country.  The\nadventurer was now left in peace to continue his homeward journey.  He\nhanded over the hoop to Thunderer, who now sent him to capture the\ntargets of the Spirit Folk.  The son-in-law gladly undertook the\njourney, and again entered the bright region of Spirit-land.  He found\nthe Supernaturals shooting at the targets, and when night had fallen he\npicked them up and ran away.  The spirits lit their torches and\nfollowed him.  His wife once more was reminded of her absent husband,\nand commanded her sons to repeat the punishment upon their grandfather.\nThe rain recommenced and the torches of the pursuers were destroyed.\nThe young man returned in peace to his dwelling and placed the targets\nbefore his father-in-law.  He had not been long home before a restless\nspirit took possession of him.  He longed for further adventure, and at\nlast decided to set out in quest of it.  Arraying himself in his fine\nnecklaces of teeth and strapping around his waist two quivers of\narrows, he bade farewell to his wife and sons.  He journeyed until he\nreached a large village, which consisted of five rows of houses.  These\n{339} he carefully inspected.  The last house was very small, but he\nentered it.  He was met by two old women, who were known as the Mice.\nImmediately they saw him they muttered to each other: \"Oh, now Blue Jay\nwill make another chief unhappy.\"  On the young man's arrival in the\nvillage Blue Jay became conscious of a stranger in the midst of the\npeople.  He straightway betook himself to the house of the Mice.  He\nthen returned to his chief, saying that a strange chief wished to hold\na shooting match.  Blue Jay's chief seemed quite willing to enter into\nthe contest with the stranger, so he sent Blue Jay back to the house to\ninform the young chief of his willingness.  Blue Jay led the stranger\ndown to the beach where the targets stood.  Soon the old chief arrived\nand the shooting match began.  But the adventurer's skill could not\ncompare with the old chief's, who finally defeated him.  Blue Jay now\nsaw his opportunity.  He sprang upon the stranger, tore out his hair,\ncut off his head, and severed the limbs from his body.  He carried the\npieces to the house and hung up the head.  At nightfall the Mice fed\nthe head and managed to keep it alive.  This process of feeding went on\nfor many months, the old women never tiring of their task.  A full year\nhad passed, and the unfortunate adventurer's sons began to fear for his\nsafety.  They decided to search for him.  Arming themselves, they made\ntheir way to the large village in which their father was imprisoned.\nThey entered the house of the Mice, and there saw the two old women,\nwho asked: \"Oh, chiefs, where did you come from?\"\n\n\"We search for our father,\" they replied.  But the old women warned\nthem of Blue Jay's treachery, and advised them to depart.  The young\nmen would not heed the advice, and succeeded in drawing from the {340}\nwomen the story of their father's fate.  When they heard that Blue Jay\nhad used their father so badly they were very angry.  Blue Jay,\nmeanwhile, had become aware of the arrival of two strangers, and he\nwent to the small house to smell them out.  There he espied the youths,\nand immediately returned to inform his chief of their presence in the\nvillage.  The chief then sent him back to invite the strangers to a\nshooting match, but they ignored the invitation.  Three times Blue Jay\nmade the journey, and at last the youths looked upon him, whereupon his\nhair immediately took fire.  He ran back to his chief and said: \"Oh,\nthese strangers are more powerful than we are.  They looked at me and\nmy hair caught fire.\"  The chief was amazed, and went down to the beach\nto await the arrival of the strangers.  When the young men saw the\ntargets they would not shoot, and declared that they were bad.  They\nimmediately drew them out of the ground and replaced them by their own,\nthe brilliance of which dazzled the sight of their opponent.  The chief\nwas defeated.  He lost his life and the people were subdued.  The\nyouths then cast Blue Jay into the river, saying as they did so: \"Green\nSturgeon shall be your name.  Henceforth you shall not make chiefs\nmiserable.  You shall sing 'Watsetsetsetsetse,' and it shall be a bad\nomen.\"  This performance over, they restored their father from his\ndeath-slumber, and spoke kindly to the Mice, saying: \"Oh, you pitiful\nones, you shall eat everything that is good.  You shall eat berries.\"\nThen, after establishing order in this strange land, they returned to\ntheir home, accompanied by their father.\n\nThis curious story is an example of what is known in mythology as the\n'harrying of Hades.'  The land of the supernatural or subterranean\nbeings always {341} exercises a profound fascination over the minds of\nbarbarians, and such tales are invented by their story-tellers for the\npurpose of minimizing the terrors which await them when they themselves\nmust enter the strange country by death.  The incident of the glutton\nwould seem to show that two tales have been amalgamated, a not uncommon\ncircumstance in primitive story-telling.  In these stories the evil or\nsupernatural power is invariably defeated, and it is touching to\nobserve the child-like attempts of the savage to quench the dread of\ndeath, common to all mankind, by creating amusement at the ludicrous\nappearance of the dreadful beings whom he fears.  The sons of the\nThunderer are, of course, hero-gods whose effulgence confounds the\npowers of darkness, and to some extent they resemble the Hun-Apu and\nXbalanque of the Central American _Popol Vuh_, who travel to the dark\nkingdom of Xibalba to rescue their father and uncle, and succeed in\noverthrowing its hideous denizens.[3]\n\n\n[3] See the author's _Myths of Mexico and Peru_, in this series, p. 220.\n\n\n\nThe Myth of Stik[)u]a\n\n[Transcriber's note: the \"[)u]\" sequence represents the Unicode u-breve\ncharacter.]\n\nAs an example of a myth as taken from the lips of the Indian by the\ncollector we append to this series of Chinook tales the story of\nStik[)u]a in all its pristine ingenuousness.  Such a tale well\nexemplifies the difference of outlook between the aboriginal and the\ncivilized mind, and exhibits the many difficulties with which\ncollectors of such myths have to contend.\n\nMany people were living at Nakotat.  Now their chief died.  He had\n[left] a son who was almost grown up.  It was winter and the people\nwere hungry.  They had only mussels and roots to eat.  Once upon a time\na hunter said: \"Make yourselves ready.\"  All the men made themselves\nready, and went seaward in two canoes.  {342} Then the hunter speared a\nsea-lion.  It jumped and drifted on the water [dead].  They hauled it\nashore.  Blue Jay said: \"Let us boil it here.\"  They made a fire and\nsinged it.  They cut it and boiled it.  Blue Jay said: \"Let us eat it\nhere, let us eat all of it.\"  Then the people ate.  Raven tried to hide\na piece of meat in his mat, and carried it to the canoe.  [But] Blue\nJay had already seen it; he ran [after him] took it and threw it into\nthe fire.  He burned it.  Then they went home.  They gathered large and\nsmall mussels.  In the evening they came home.  Then Blue Jay shouted:\n\"Stik[)u]a, fetch your mussels.\"  Stik[)u]a was the name of Blue Jay's\nwife.  Then noise of many feet [was heard], and Stik[)u]a and the other\nwomen came running down to the beach.  They went to fetch mussels.  The\nwomen came to the beach and carried the mussels to the house.  Raven\ntook care of the chief's son.  The boy said: \"To-morrow I shall\naccompany you.\"  Blue Jay said to him: \"What do you want to do?  The\nwaves will carry you away, you will drift away; even I almost drifted\naway.\"\n\nThe next morning they made themselves ready.  They went into the canoe,\nand the boy came down to the beach.  He wanted to accompany them, and\nheld on to the canoe.  \"Go to the house, go to the house,\" said Blue\nJay.  The boy went up, but he was very sad.  Then Blue Jay said: \"Let\nus leave him.\"  The people began to paddle.  Then they arrived at the\nsea-lion island.  The hunter went ashore and speared a sea-lion.  It\njumped and drifted on the water [dead].  They hauled it ashore and\npulled it up from the water.  Blue Jay said: \"Let us eat it here; let\nus eat all of it, else our chief's son would always want to come here.\"\nThey singed it, carved it, and boiled it there.  When it was done they\nate it all.  Raven {343} tried to hide a piece in his hair, but Blue\nJay took it out immediately and burned it.  In the evening they\ngathered large and small mussels, and then they went home.  When they\napproached the beach Blue Jay shouted: \"Stik[)u]a, fetch your mussels!\"\nThen noise of many feet [was heard].  Stik[)u]a and her children and\nall the other women came running down to the beach and carried the\nmussels up to the house.  Blue Jay had told all those people: \"Don't\ntell our chief's son, else he will want to accompany us.\"  In the\nevening the boy said: \"To-morrow I shall accompany you.\"  But Blue Jay\nsaid: \"What do you want to do?  The waves will carry you away.\"  But\nthe boy replied: \"I must go.\"\n\nIn the morning they made themselves ready for the third time.  The boy\nwent down to the beach and took hold of the canoe.  But Blue Jay pushed\nhim aside and said: \"What do you want here?  Go to the house.\"  The boy\ncried and went up to the house.  [When he turned back] Blue Jay said:\n\"Now paddle away.  We will leave him.\"  The people began to paddle, and\nsoon they reached the sea-lion island.  The hunter went ashore and\nspeared one large sea-lion.  It jumped and drifted on the water [dead].\nThey hauled it toward the shore, landed, pulled it up and singed it.\nThey finished singeing it.  Then they carved it and boiled it, and when\nit was done they began to eat.  Blue Jay said: \"Let us eat it all.\nNobody must speak about it, else our chief's son will always want to\naccompany us.\"  A little [meat] was still left when they had eaten\nenough.  Raven tried to take a piece with him.  He tied it to his leg\nand said his leg was broken.  Blue Jay burned all that was left over.\nThen he said to Raven: \"Let me see your leg.\"  He jumped at it, untied\nit, and found the piece {344} of meat at Raven's leg.  He took it and\nburned it.  In the evening they gathered large and small mussels.  Then\nthey went home.  When they were near home Blue Jay shouted: \"Stik[)u]a,\nfetch your mussels!\"  Then noise of many feet [was heard], and\nStik[)u]a [her children and the other women] came down to the beach and\ncarried the mussels up to the house.  The [women and children] and the\nchief's son ate the mussels all night.  Then that boy said: \"To-morrow\nI shall accompany you.\"  Blue Jay said: \"What do you want to do?  You\nwill drift away.  If I had not taken hold of the canoe I should have\ndrifted away twice.\"\n\nOn the next morning they made themselves ready for the fourth time.\nThe boy rose and made himself ready also.  The people hauled their\ncanoes into the water and went aboard.  The boy tried to board a canoe\nalso, but Blue Jay took hold of him and threw him into the water.  He\nstood in the water up to his waist.  He held the canoe, but Blue Jay\nstruck his hands.  There he stood.  He cried, and cried, and went up to\nthe house.  The people went; they paddled, and soon they reached the\nsea-lion island.  The hunter went ashore and speared a sea-lion.  It\njumped and drifted on the water [dead].  Again they towed it to the\nisland, and pulled it ashore.  They singed it.  When they had finished\nsingeing it they carved it and boiled it.  When it was done Blue Jay\nsaid: \"Let us eat it here.\"  They ate half of it and were satiated.\nThey slept because they had eaten too much.  Blue Jay awoke first, and\nburned all that was left.  In the evening they gathered large and small\nmussels and went home.  When they were near the shore he shouted:\n\"Stik[)u]a, fetch your mussels!\"  Noise of many feet [was heard] and\nStik[)u]a [her children and the other women] came running down to the\nbeach {345} and carried up the mussels.  The boy said: \"To-morrow I\nshall accompany you.\"  But Blue Jay said: \"What do you want to do?  We\nmight capsize and you would be drowned.\"\n\nEarly on the following morning the people made themselves ready.  The\nboy arose and made himself ready also.  Blue Jay and the people hauled\ntheir canoes down to the water.  The boy tried to board, but Blue Jay\nthrew him into the water.  He tried to hold the canoe.  The water\nreached up to his armpits.  Blue Jay struck his hands [until he let\ngo].  Then the boy cried and cried.  Blue Jay and the other people went\naway.\n\nAfter some time the boy went up from the beach.  He took his arrows and\nwalked round a point of land.  There he met a young eagle and shot it.\nHe skinned it and tried to put the skin on.  It was too small; it\nreached scarcely to his knees.  Then he took it off, and went on.\nAfter a while he met another eagle.  He shot it and it fell down.  It\nwas a white-headed eagle.  He skinned it and tried the skin on, but it\nwas too small; it reached a little below his knees.  He took it off,\nleft it, and went on.  Soon he met a bald-headed eagle.  He shot it\ntwice and it fell down.  He skinned it and put the skin on.  It was\nnearly large enough for him, and he tried to fly.  He could fly\ndownward only.  He did not rise.  He turned back, and now he could fly.\nNow he went round the point seaward from Nakotat.  When he had nearly\ngone round he smelled smoke of burning fat.  When he came round the\npoint he saw the people of his town.  He alighted on top of a tree and\nlooked down.  [He saw that] they had boiled a sea-lion and that they\nate it.  When they had nearly finished eating he flew up.  He thought:\n\"Oh, I wish Blue Jay would see me.\"  Then Blue Jay {346} looked up [and\nsaw] the bird flying about.  \"Ah, a bird came to get food from us.\"\nFive times the eagle circled over the fire; then it descended.  Blue\nJay took a piece of blubber and said: \"I will give you this to eat.\"\nThe bird came down, grasped the piece of meat, and flew away.  \"Ha!\"\nsaid Blue Jay, \"that bird has feet like a man.\"  When the people had\neaten enough they slept.  Raven again hid a piece of meat.  Toward\nevening they awoke and ate again; then Blue Jay burned the rest of\ntheir food.  In the evening they gathered large and small mussels and\nwent home.  When the boy came home he lay down at once.  They\napproached the village, and Blue Jay shouted: \"Fetch your mussels,\nStik[)u]a!\"  Noise of many feet [was heard] and Stik[)u]a [and the\nother women] ran down to the beach and carried up the mussels.  They\ntried to rouse the boy, but he did not arise.\n\nThe next morning the people made themselves ready and launched their\ncanoe.  The chief's son stayed in bed and did not attempt to accompany\nthem.  After sunrise he rose and called the women and children and\nsaid: \"Wash yourselves; be quick.\"  The women obeyed and washed\nthemselves.  He continued: \"Comb your hair.\"  Then he put down a plank,\ntook a piece of meat out [from under his blanket, showed it to the\nwomen, and said]: \"Every day your husbands eat this.\"  He put two\npieces side by side on the plank, cut them to pieces, and greased the\nheads of all the women and children.  Then he pulled the planks forming\nthe walls of the houses out of the ground.  He sharpened them [at one\nend, and] those which were very wide he split in two.  He sharpened all\nof them.  The last house of the village was that of the Raven.  He did\nnot pull out its wall-planks.  He put the planks on to the backs of the\nwomen and children {347} and said: \"Go down to the beach.  When you go\nseaward swim five times round that rock.  Then go seaward.  When you\nsee sea-lions you shall kill them.  But you shall not give anything to\nstingy people.  I shall take these children down.  They shall live on\nthe sea and be my relatives.\"\n\nThen he split sinews.  The women went into the water and began to jump\n[out of the water].  They swam five times back and forth in front of\nthe village.  Then they went seaward to the place where Blue Jay and\nthe men were boiling.  Blue Jay said to the men: \"What is that?\"  The\nmen looked and saw the girls jumping.  Five times they swam round Blue\nJay's rock.  Then they went seaward.  After a while birds came flying\nto the island.  Their bills were [as red] as blood.  They followed [the\nfish].  \"Ah!\" said Blue Jay, \"do you notice them?  Whence come these\nnumerous birds?\"  The Raven said: \"Ha, squint-eye, they are your\nchildren; do you not recognize them?\"  Five times they went round the\nrock.  Now [the boy] threw the sinews down upon the stones and said:\n\"When Blue Jay comes to gather mussels they shall be fast [to the\nrocks].\"  And he said to the women, turning toward the sea:\n\"Whale-Killer will be your name.  When you catch a whale you will eat\nit, but when you catch a sea-lion you will throw it away; but you shall\nnot give anything to stingy people.\"\n\nBlue Jay and the people were eating.  Then that hunter said: \"Let us go\nhome.  I am afraid we have seen evil spirits; we have never seen\nanything like that on this rock.\"  Now they gathered mussels and\ncarried along the meat which they had left over.  In the evening they\ncame near their home.  [Blue Jay shouted:] \"Stik[)u]a, fetch your\nmussels!\"  There was no sound {348} of people.  Five times he called.\nNow the people went ashore and [they saw that] the walls of the houses\nhad disappeared.  The people cried.  Blue Jay cried also, but somebody\nsaid to him: \"Be quiet.  Blue Jay; if you had not been bad our chief's\nson would not have done so.\"  Now they all made one house.  Only Raven\nhad one house [by himself].  He went and searched for food on the\nbeach.  He found a sturgeon.  He went again to the beach and found a\nporpoise.  Then Blue Jay went to the beach and tried to search for\nfood.  [As soon as he went out] it began to hail; the hailstones were\nso large [indicating].  He tried to gather mussels and wanted to break\nthem off, but they did not come off.  He could not break them off.  He\ngave it up.  Raven went to search on the beach and found a seal.  The\nothers ate roots only.  Thus their chief took revenge on them.\n\n\n\nBeliefs of the Californian Tribes\n\nThe tribes of California afford a strange example of racial\nconglomeration, speaking as they do a variety of languages totally\ndistinct from one another, and exhibiting many differences in physical\nappearance and custom.  Concerning their mythological beliefs Bancroft\nsays:\n\n\"The Californian tribes, taken as a whole, are pretty uniform in the\nmain features of their theogonic beliefs.  They seem, without\nexception, to have had a hazy conception of a lofty, almost supreme\nbeing; for the most part referred to as a Great Man, the Old Man Above,\nthe One Above; attributing to him, however, as is usual in such cases,\nnothing but the vaguest and most negative functions and qualities.  The\nreal practical power that most interested them, who had most to do with\nthem and they with him, was a demon, {349} or body of demons, of a\ntolerably pronounced character.  In the face of divers assertions to\nthe effect that no such thing as a devil proper has ever been found in\nsavage mythology, we would draw attention to the following extract from\nthe Tomo manuscript of Mr. Powers--a gentleman who, both by his study\nand by personal investigation, has made himself one of the best\nqualified authorities on the belief of the native Californian, and\nwhose dealings have been for the most part with tribes that have never\nhad any friendly intercourse with white men.  Of course the thin and\nmeagre imagination of the American savages was not equal to the\ncreation of Milton's magnificent imperial Satan, or of Goethe's\nMephistopheles, with his subtle intellect, his vast powers, his\nmalignant mirth; but in so far as the Indian fiends or devils have the\nability, they are wholly as wicked as these.  They are totally bad,\nthey have no good thing in them, they think only evil; but they are\nweak and undignified and absurd; they are as much beneath Satan as the\n'Big Indians' who invent them are inferior in imagination to John\nMilton.\n\n\"A definite location is generally assigned to the evil one as his\nfavourite residence or resort; thus the Californians in the county of\nSiskiyou give over Devil's Castle, its mount and lake, to the malignant\nspirits, and avoid the vicinity of these places with all possible care.\n\n\"The coast tribes of Del Norte County, California, live in constant\nterror of a malignant spirit that takes the form of certain animals,\nthe form of a bat, of a hawk, of a tarantula, and so on, but especially\ndelights in and affects that of a screech-owl.  The belief of the\nRussian river tribes and others is practically identical with this.\n\n\"The Cahrocs have some conception of a great {350} deity called\nChareya, the Old Man Above; he is wont to appear upon earth at times to\nsome of the most favoured sorcerers; he is described as wearing a close\ntunic, with a medicine-bag, and as having long white hair that falls\nvenerably about his shoulders.  Practically, however, the Cahrocs, like\nthe majority of Californian tribes, venerate chiefly the Coyote.  Great\ndread is also had of certain forest-demons of nocturnal habits; these,\nsay the Cahrocs, take the form of bears, and shoot arrows at benighted\nwayfarers.\n\n\"Between the foregoing outlines of Californian belief and those\nconnected with the remaining tribes, passing south, we can detect no\nsalient difference till we reach the Olchones, a coast tribe between\nSan Francisco and Monterey; the sun here begins to be connected, or\nidentified by name, with that great spirit, or rather, that Big Man,\nwho made the earth and who rules in the sky.  So we find it again both\naround Monterey and around San Luis Obispo; the first fruits of the\nearth were offered in these neighbourhoods to the great light, and his\nrising was greeted with cries of joy.\"\n\nFather Ger\u00f3nimo Boscana gives us the following account of the faith and\nworship of the Acagchemem tribes, who inhabit the valley and\nneighbourhood of San Juan Capistrano, California.  We give first the\nversion held by the _serranos_, or highlanders, of the interior\ncountry, three or four leagues inland from San Juan Capistrano:\n\n\"Before the material world at all existed there lived two beings,\nbrother and sister, of a nature that cannot be explained; the brother\nliving above, and his name meaning the Heavens, the sister living\nbelow, and her name signifying Earth.  From the union of these two\nthere sprang a numerous offspring.  Earth and sand were the\nfirst-fruits of this marriage; then were born {351} rocks and stones;\nthen trees, both great and small; then grass and herbs; then animals;\nlastly was born a great personage called Ouiot, who was a 'grand\ncaptain.'  By some unknown mother many children of a medicine race were\nborn to this Ouiot.  All these things happened in the north; and\nafterwards when men were created they were created in the north; but as\nthe people multiplied they moved toward the south, the earth growing\nlarger also and extending itself in the same direction.\n\n\"In process of time, Ouiot becoming old, his children plotted to kill\nhim, alleging that the infirmities of age made him unfit any longer to\ngovern them or attend to their welfare.  So they put a strong poison in\nhis drink, and when he drank of it a sore sickness came upon him; he\nrose up and left his home in the mountains, and went down to what is\nnow the seashore, though at that time there was no sea there.  His\nmother, whose name is the Earth, mixed him an antidote in a large\nshell, and set the potion out in the sun to brew; but the fragrance of\nit attracted the attention of the Coyote, who came and overset the\nshell.  So Ouiot sickened to death, and though he told his children\nthat he would shortly return and be with them again, he has never been\nseen since.  All the people made a great pile of wood and burnt his\nbody there, and just as the ceremony began the Coyote leaped upon the\nbody, saying that he would burn with it; but he only tore a piece of\nflesh from the stomach and ate it and escaped.  After that the title of\nthe Coyote was changed from Eyacque, which means Sub-captain, to Eno,\nthat is to say, Thief and Cannibal.\n\n\"When now the funeral rites were over, a general council was held and\narrangements made for collecting animal and vegetable food; for up to\nthis time the {352} children and descendants of Ouiot had nothing to\neat but a kind of white clay.  And while they consulted together,\nbehold a marvellous thing appeared before them, and they spoke to it,\nsaying: 'Art thou our captain, Ouiot?'  But the spectre said: 'Nay, for\nI am greater than Ouiot; my habitation is above, and my name is\nChinigchinich.'  Then he spoke further, having been told for what they\nwere come together: 'I create all things, and I go now to make man,\nanother people like unto you; as for you, I give you power, each after\nhis kind, to produce all good and pleasant things.  One of you shall\nbring rain, and another dew, and another make the acorn grow, and\nothers other seeds, and yet others shall cause all kinds of game to\nabound in the land; and your children shall have this power for ever,\nand they shall be sorcerers to the men I go to create, and shall\nreceive gifts of them, that the game fail not and the harvests be\nsure.'  Then Chinigchinich made man; out of the clay of the lake he\nformed him, male and female; and the present Californians are the\ndescendants of the one or more pairs there and thus created.\n\n\"So ends the known tradition of the mountaineers; we must now go back\nand take up the story anew at its beginning, as told by the _playanos_,\nor people of the valley of San Juan Capistrano.  These say that an\ninvisible, all-powerful being, called Nocuma, made the world and all\nthat it contains of things that grow and move.  He made it round like a\nball and held it in his hands, where it rolled about a good deal at\nfirst, till he steadied it by sticking a heavy black rock called Tosaut\ninto it, as a kind of ballast.  The sea was at this time only a little\nstream running round the world, and so crowded with fish that their\ntwinkling fins had no longer room to move; so great was the press that\n{353} some of the more foolish fry were for effecting a landing and\nfounding a colony upon the dry land, and it was only with the utmost\ndifficulty that they were persuaded by their elders that the killing\nair and baneful sun and the want of feet must infallibly prove the\ndestruction before many days of all who took part in such a desperate\nenterprise.  The proper plan was evidently to improve and enlarge their\npresent home; and to this end, principally by the aid of one very large\nfish, they broke the great rock Tosaut in two, finding a bladder in the\ncentre filled with a very bitter substance.  The taste of it pleased\nthe fish, so they emptied it into the water, and instantly the water\nbecame salt and swelled up and overflowed a great part of the old\nearth, and made itself the new boundaries that remain to this day.\n\n\"Then Nocuma created a man, shaping him out of the soil of the earth,\ncalling him Ejoni.  A woman also the great god made, presumably out of\nthe same material as the man, calling her A\u00e9.  Many children were born\nto this first pair, and their descendants multiplied over the land.\nThe name of one of these last was Sirout, that is to say, Handful of\nTobacco, and the name of his wife was Ycaiut, which means Above; and to\nSirout and Ycaiut was born a son, while they lived in a place\nnorth-east about eight leagues from San Juan Capistrano.  The name of\nthis son was Ouiot, that is to say, Dominator; he grew a fierce and\nredoubtable warrior; haughty, ambitious, tyrannous, he extended his\nlordship on every side, ruling everywhere as with a rod of iron; and\nthe people conspired against him.  It was determined that he should die\nby poison; a piece of the rock Tosaut was ground up in so deadly a way\nthat its mere external application was sufficient to cause death.\nOuiot, notwithstanding that {354} he held himself constantly on the\nalert, having been warned of his danger by a small burrowing animal\ncalled the _cucumel_, was unable to avoid his fate; a few grains of the\ncankerous mixture were dropped upon his breast while he slept, and the\nstrong mineral ate its way to the very springs of his life.  All the\nwise men of the land were called to his assistance; but there was\nnothing for him save to die.  His body was burned on a great pile with\nsongs of joy and dances, and the nation rejoiced.\n\n\"While the people were gathered to this end, it was thought advisable\nto consult on the feasibility of procuring seed and flesh to eat\ninstead of the clay which had up to this time been the sole food of the\nhuman family.  And while they yet talked together, there appeared to\nthem, coming they knew not whence, one called Attajen, 'which name\nimplies man, or rational being.'  And Attajen, understanding their\ndesires, chose out certain of the elders among them, and to these gave\nhe power; one that he might cause rain to fall, to another that he\nmight cause game to abound, and so with the rest, to each his power and\ngift, and to the successors of each for ever.  These were the first\nmedicine-men.\"\n\nMany years having elapsed since the death of Ouiot, there appeared in\nthe same place one called Ouiamot, reputed son of Tacu and\nAuzar--people unknown, but natives, it is thought by Boscana, of \"some\ndistant land.\"  This Ouiamot is better known by his great name\nChinigchinich, which means Almighty.  He first manifested his powers to\nthe people on a day when they had met in congregation for some purpose\nor other; he appeared dancing before them crowned with a kind of high\ncrown made of tall feathers stuck into a circlet of some kind, girt\nwith a {355} kind of petticoat of feathers, and having his flesh\npainted black and red.  Thus decorated he was called the _tobet_.\nHaving danced some time, Chinigchinich called out the medicine-men, or\n_puplems_, as they were called, among whom it would appear the chiefs\nare always numbered, and confirmed their power; telling them that he\nhad come from the stars to instruct them in dancing and all other\nthings, and commanding that in all their necessities they should array\nthemselves in the _tobet_, and so dance as he had danced, supplicating\nhim by his great name, that thus they might be granted their petitions.\nHe taught them how to worship him, how to build _vanquechs_, or places\nof worship, and how to direct their conduct in various affairs of life.\nThen he prepared to die, and the people asked him if they should bury\nhim; but he warned them against attempting such a thing.  \"If ye buried\nme,\" he said, \"ye would tread upon my grave, and for that my hand would\nbe heavy upon you; look to it, and to all your ways, for lo, I go up\nwhere the high stars are, where mine eyes shall see all the ways of\nmen; and whosoever will not keep my commandments nor observe the things\nI have taught, behold, disease shall plague all his body, and no food\nshall come near his lips, the bear shall rend his flesh, and the\ncrooked tooth of the serpent shall sting him.\"\n\nIn Lower California the Pericues were divided into two _gentes_, each\nof which worshipped a divinity which was hostile to the other.  The\ntradition explains that there was a great lord in heaven, called\nNiparaya, who made earth and sea, and was almighty and invisible.  His\nwife was Anayicoyondi, a goddess who, though possessing no body, bore\nhim in a divinely mysterious manner three children, one of whom,\nQuaayayp, was a real man and born on earth, on the Acaragui {356}\nmountains.  Very powerful this young god was, and for a long time he\nlived with the ancestors of the Pericues, whom it is almost to be\ninferred that he created; at any rate we are told that he was able to\nmake men, drawing them up out of the earth.  The men at last killed\ntheir great hero and teacher, and put a crown of thorns upon his head.\nSomewhere or other he remains lying dead to this day; and he remains\nconstantly beautiful, neither does his body know corruption.  Blood\ndrips constantly from his wounds; and though he can speak no more,\nbeing dead, yet there is an owl that speaks to him.\n\nThe other god was called Wac, or Tuparan.  According to the Niparaya\nsect, this Wac had made war on their favourite god, and had been by him\ndefeated and cast forth from heaven into a cave under the earth, of\nwhich cave the whales of the sea were the guardians.  With a perverse,\nthough not unnatural, obstinacy, the sect that took Wac or Tuparan for\ntheir great god persisted in holding ideas peculiar to themselves with\nregard to the truth of the foregoing story, and their account of the\ngreat war in heaven and its results differed from the other as differ\nthe creeds of heterodox and orthodox everywhere; they ascribe, for\nexample, part of the creation to other gods besides Niparaya.\n\n\n\nMyths of the Athapascans\n\nThe great Athapascan family, who inhabit a vast extent of territory\nstretching north from the fifty-fifth parallel nearly to the Arctic\nOcean, and westward to the Pacific, with cognate ramifications to the\nfar south, are weak in mythological conceptions.  Regarding them\nBancroft says:[4]\n\n\n[4] _The Native Races of the Pacific States_, vol. iii.\n\n\n\n{357}\n\n\"They do not seem in any of their various tribes to have a single\nexpressed idea with regard to a supreme power.  The Loucheux branch\nrecognize a certain personage, resident in the moon, whom they\nsupplicate for success in starting on a hunting expedition.  This being\nonce lived among them as a poor ragged boy that an old woman had found\nand was bringing up; and who made himself ridiculous to his fellows by\nmaking a pair of very large snow-shoes; for the people could not see\nwhat a starveling like him should want with shoes of such unusual size.\nTimes of great scarcity troubled the hunters, and they would often have\nfared badly had they not invariably on such occasions come across a new\nbroad trail that led to a head or two of freshly killed game.  They\nwere glad enough to get the game and without scruples as to its\nappropriation; still they felt curious as to whence it came and how.\nSuspicion at last pointing to the boy and his great shoes as being in\nsome way implicated in the affair, he was watched.  It soon became\nevident that he was indeed the benefactor of the Loucheux, and the\nsecret hunter whose quarry had so often replenished their empty pots;\nyet the people were far from being adequately grateful, and continued\nto treat him with little kindness or respect.  On one occasion they\nrefused him a certain piece of fat--him who had so often saved their\nlives by his timely bounty!  That night the lad disappeared, leaving\nonly his clothes behind, hanging on a tree.  He returned to them in a\nmonth, however, appearing as a man, and dressed as a man.  He told them\nthat he had taken up his home in the moon; that he would always look\ndown with a kindly eye to their success in hunting; but he added that\nas a punishment for their shameless greed and ingratitude in refusing\nhim the piece of fat, all animals {358} should be lean the long winter\nthrough, and fat only in summer; as has since been the case.\n\n\"According to Hearne, the Tinneh believe in a kind of spirits, or\nfairies, called _nantena_, which people the earth, the sea, and the\nair, and are instrumental for both good and evil.  Some of them believe\nin a good spirit called Tihugun, 'my old friend,' supposed to reside in\nthe sun and in the moon; they have also a bad spirit, Chutsain,\napparently only a personification of death, and for this reason called\nbad.\n\n\"They have no regular order of _shamans_; any one when the spirit moves\nhim may take upon himself their duties and pretensions, though some by\nhappy chances, or peculiar cunning, are much more highly esteemed in\nthis regard than others, and are supported by voluntary contributions.\nThe conjurer often shuts himself in his tent and abstains from food for\ndays till his earthly grossness thins away, and the spirits and things\nunseen are constrained to appear at his behest.  The young Tinneh care\nfor none of these things; the strong limb and the keen eye, holding\ntheir own well in the jostle of life, mock at the terrors of the\ninvisible; but as the pulses dwindle with disease or age, and the knees\nstrike together in the shadow of impending death, the _shaman_ is hired\nto expel the evil things of which a patient is possessed.  Among the\nTacullies a confession is often resorted to at this stage, on the truth\nand accuracy of which depend the chances of a recovery.\"\n\n\n\nConclusion\n\nIn concluding this survey of representative myths of the Red Race of\nNorth America, the reader will probably be chiefly impressed with the\ncircumstance that although many of these tales exhibit a striking {359}\nresemblance to the myths of European and Asiatic peoples they have yet\nan atmosphere of their own which strongly differentiates them from the\nfolk-tales of all other races.  It is a truism in mythology that\nalthough the tales and mythological systems of peoples dwelling widely\napart may show much likeness to one another, such a resemblance cannot\nbe advanced as a proof that the divergent races at some distant period\npossessed a common mythology.  Certain tribes in Borneo live in huts\nbuilt on piles driven into lake-beds and use blow-pipes; so do some\nIndians of Guiana and contiguous countries; yet no scientist of\nexperience would be so rash as to advance the theory that these races\npossessed a common origin.  It is the same with mythological processes,\nwhich may have been evolved separately at great distances, but yet\nexhibit a marked likeness.  These resemblances arise from the\ncircumstance that the mind of man, whether he be situated in China or\nPeru, works on surprisingly similar lines.  But, as has been indicated,\nthe best proof that the myths of North America have not been\nsophisticated by those of Europe and Asia is the circumstance that the\naboriginal atmosphere they contain is so marked that even the most\nsuperficial observer could not fail to observe its presence.  In the\ntales contained in this volume the facts of Indian life, peculiar and\nunique, enter into every description and are inalienably interwoven\nwith the matter of the story.\n\nIn closing, the author desires to make a strong appeal for a reasoned\nand charitable consideration of the Indian character on the part of his\nreaders.  This noble, manly, and dignified race has in the past been\ngrossly maligned, chiefly by persons themselves ignorant and inspired\nby hereditary dislike.  The Red Man is neither a monster of inhumanity\nnor a marvel {360} of cunning, but a being with like feelings and\naspirations to our own.  Because his customs and habits of thought\ndiffer from ours he has been charged with all manner of crimes and\noffences with which he has, in general, nothing to do.  We do not deny\nthat he was, till very recent times, a savage, with the habits and\noutlook of a savage.  But that he ever was a demon in human shape must\nbe strenuously denied.  In the march of progress Indian men and women\nare to-day taking places of honour and emolument side by side with\ntheir white fellow-citizens, and many gifted and cultured persons of\nIndian blood have done good work for the race.  Let us hope that the\nancient virtues of courage and endurance which have stood the Indian\npeople in such good stead of old will assist their descendants in the\neven more strenuous tasks of civilization to which they are now called.\n\n[Illustration: MAP TO ILLUSTRATE LINGUISTIC FAMILIES OF NORTH AMERICAN\nINDIANS]\n\n\n\n\n{363}\n\nBIBLIOGRAPHY\n\nThe annexed bibliography, although full, is far from being exhaustive,\nbut it is hoped that readers who desire to follow up the whole or any\nseparate department of study connected with the Red Race of North\nAmerica will find in it reference to many useful volumes.  It is\nclaimed that the list represents the best of the literature upon the\nsubject.\n\n\nADAIR, JAMES: _The History of the American Indians_.  London, 1775.\n\nAMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY: _Transactions and Collections (Arch\u00e6logia\nAmericana)_, vols. i.-vii.; Worcester, 1820-85.  _Proceedings_, various\nnumbers.\n\n_American Arch\u00e6ologist_ (formerly _The Antiquarian_), vol. ii.,\nColumbus.  1898.\n\nAMERICAN ETHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY.  _Transactions_, vols. i.-iii.; New\nYork, 1845-53.  _Publications_, vols. i.-ii.; Leyden, 1907-9.\n\nAMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.  _Minutes and Proceedings: Digest_,\nvol. i.; Philadelphia, 1744-1838.  _Proceedings_, vols. i.-xliv.;\nPhiladelphia, 1838-1905.  _Transactions_, vols. i.-vi.; Philadelphia,\n1759-1809.  _Transactions_, New Series, vols. i.-xix.; Philadelphia,\n1818-98.\n\nANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.  _Transactions_, vols. i.-iii.\nWashington, 1881-85.\n\nARCH\u00c6OLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA.  _Papers_, American Series, vol.\ni., Boston and London, 1881 (reprinted 1883); vol. iii., Cambridge,\n1890; vol. iv., Cambridge, 1892; vol. v., Cambridge, 1890.  _Annual\nReport_, first to eleventh; Cambridge, 1880-90.  _Bulletin_, vol. i.;\nBoston, 1883.\n\nASHE, THOMAS: _Travels in America performed in 1806; for the purpose of\nexploring the Rivers Alleghany, Monongahela, Ohio, and Mississippi, and\nascertaining the Produce and Condition of their Banks and Vicinity_.\nLondon, 1808.\n\nATWATER, CALEB: _Description of the Antiquities discovered in the State\nof Ohio and other Western States_.  (In _Arch\u00e6ologia Americana_, vol.\ni., 1820.)\n\nBACON, OLMER N.: _A History of Natick, from its First Settlement in\n1651 to the Present Time_.  Boston, 1856.\n\n{364}\n\nBAEGERT, JACOB: _An Account of the Aboriginal Inhabitants of the\nCalifornia Peninsula_.  Translated by Charles Rau.  (Smithsonian Report\nfor 1863 and 1864; reprinted 1865 and 1875.)\n\nBAKER, C. ALICE: _True Stories of New England Captives_.  Cambridge,\n1897.\n\nBANCROFT, GEORGE: _History of the United States_.  9 vols.  Boston,\n1838-75.\n\nBANCROFT, HUBERT HOWE: Works.  39 vols. San Francisco, 1886-90.  (vols.\ni.-v., _Native Races_; vi.-vii., _Central America_; ix.-xiv., _North\nMexican States and Texas_; xvii., _Arizona and New Mexico_;\nxviii.-xxiv., _California_; xxv., _Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming_; xxvi.,\n_Utah_; xxvii.-xxviii., _North-west Coast_; xxix.-xxx., _Oregon_;\nxxxi., _Washington, Idaho, Montana_; xxxii., _British Columbia_;\nxxxiii., _Alaska_; xxxiv., _California Pastoral_; xxxv., _California\ninter Pocula_; xxxvi.-xxxvii., _Popular Tribunals_; xxxviii., _Essays\nand Miscellany_; xxxix., _Literary Industries_.)\n\nBANDELIER, ADOLF F.: _Historical Introduction to Studies among the\nSedentary Indians of New Mexico_.  (_Papers_ of the Arch\u00e6ological\nInstitute of America, American Series, vol. i., Boston, 1881.)\n\n---- _Final Report of Investigations among the Indians of the\nSouth-western United States, carried on mainly in the Years from 1880\nto 1885_.  (_Papers_ of the Arch\u00e6ological Institute of America,\nAmerican Series, vol. iii., Cambridge, 1890; vol. iv., Cambridge, 1892.)\n\nBARRATT, JOSEPH: _The Indian of New England and the North-eastern\nProvinces: a Sketch of the Life of an Indian Hunter, Ancient Traditions\nrelating to the Etchemin Tribe_, etc.  Middletown, Conn., 1851.\n\nBARTON, BENJAMIN S.: _New Views of the Origin of the Tribes and Nations\nof America_.  Philadelphia, 1797.  _Ibid._, 1798.\n\nBARTRAM, JOHN: _Observations on the Inhabitants, Climate, Soil, Rivers,\nProductions, Animals, and other Matters worthy of Notice made by Mr.\nJohn Bartram, in his Travels from Pensilvania to Onondago, Oswego, and\nthe Lake Ontario in Canada, to which is annexed a Curious Account of\nthe Cataracts of Niagara, by Mr. Peter Kalm_.  London, 1751.\n\nBARTRAM, WILLIAM: _Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia,\nEast and West Florida, the Cherokee Country, the Extensive Territories\nof the Muscogulges or Creek Confederacy, and the Country of the\nChactaws_.  Philadelphia, 1791.  London, 1792.\n\n{365}\n\nBATTEY, THOMAS C.: _Life and Adventures of a Quaker among the Indians_.\nBoston and New York, 1875.  _Ibid._, 1876.\n\nBEACH, WILLIAM W.: _The Indian Miscellany: containing Papers on the\nHistory, Antiquities, Arts, Languages, Religions, Traditions, and\nSuperstitions of the American Aborigines_.  Albany, 1877.\n\nBEAUCHAMP, WILLIAM M.: _The Iroquois Trail; or, Footprints of the Six\nNations_.  Fayetteville, N.Y., 1892.\n\nBELL, A. W.: _On the Native Races of New Mexico_.  (_Journal_ of the\nEthnological Society of London, New Series, vol. i., Session 1868-69;\nLondon, 1869.)\n\nBELL, ROBERT: _The Medicine-man; or, Indian and Eskimo Notions of\nMedicine_.  (_Canada Medical and Surgical Journal_, Montreal,\nMarch-April, 1886.)\n\nBLISS, EUGENE F. (Editor): _Diary of David Zeisberger, a Moravian\nMissionary among the Indians of Ohio_.  2 vols.  Cincinnati, 1885.\n\nBOAS, FRANZ: _Songs and Dances of the Kwakiutl_.  (_Journal of American\nFolk-lore_, vol. i.; Boston, 1888.)\n\n---- _Chinook Texts_.  (_Bulletin 20_, Bureau of American Ethnology;\nWashington, 1895.)\n\n---- _The Mythology of the Bella Coola Indians_.  (Memoirs of the\nAmerican Museum of Natural History, vol. ii., _Anthropology_, i.; New\nYork, 1898.)\n\n---- _Kathlamet Texts_.  {_Bulletin 26_, Bureau of American Ethnology.\nWashington, 1901.)\n\n---- _Tsimshian Texts_.  (_Bulletin 27_, Bureau of American Ethnology.\nWashington, 1902.)\n\nBOLLAERT, WILLIAM: _Observations on the Indian Tribes in Texas_.\n(_Journal_ of the Ethnological Society of London, vol. ii., 1850.)\n\nBOLLER, HENRY A.: _Among the Indians.  Eight Years in the Far West:\n1858-1866_.  _Embracing Sketches of Montana and Salt Lake_.\nPhiladelphia, 1868.\n\nBONNELL, GEORGE W.: _Topographical Description of Texas; to which is\nadded an Account of the Indian Tribes_.  Austin, 1840.\n\nBOSCANA, GERONIMO: _Chinigchinich; a Historical Account of the Origin,\nCustoms, and Traditions of the Indians at the Missionary Establishment\n{366} of St. Juan Capistrano, Alta California, called the Acagchemem\nNation_.  (In Alfred Robinson's _Life in California_; New York, 1846.)\n\nBOURKE, JOHN G.: _The Snake-Dance of the Moquis of Arizona; being a\nNarrative of a Journey from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to the Villages of\nthe Moqui Indians of Arizona_.  New York, 1884.\n\nBRICKELL, JOHN: _The Natural History of North Carolina; with an Account\nof the Trade, Manners, and Customs of the Christian and Indian\nInhabitants_.  Dublin, 1737.\n\nBRINTON, DANIEL G.: _Myths of the New World_.  New York, 1868.\n\n---- _National Legend of the Chahta-Muskokee Tribes_.  Morrisania,\nN.Y., 1870.\n\n---- _American Hero-myths: A Study in the Native Religions of the\nWestern Continent_.  Philadelphia, 1882.\n\n---- _Essays of an Americanist_.  Philadelphia, 1890.\n\n---- _The American Race_.  New York, 1891.\n\nBROWNELL, CHARLES DE W.: _The Indian Races of North and South America_.\nBoston, 1853.\n\nBUCHANAN, JAMES: _Sketches of the History, Manners, and Customs of the\nNorth American Indians, with a plan for their Melioration_.  Vols.\ni.-ii.  New York, 1824.  _Ibid._, 1825.\n\nBUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY (SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION): _Annual\nReports_, i.-xxvi.; Washington, 1881-1908.  _Bulletins_, 1-49;\nWashington, 1887-1910.  _Introductions_, i.-iv.; Washington, 1877-1880.\n_Miscellaneous Publications_, 1-9; Washington, 1880-1907.\n_Contributions to North American Ethnology_ (q.v.).\n\nBUSHNELL, D. I., Jr.: _The Choctaw of Bayou Lacomb, St. Tammany Parish,\nLouisiana_.  (_Bulletin 48_, Bureau of American Ethnology; Washington,\n1909.)\n\nCALLENDER, JOHN: _An Historical Discourse on the Civil and Religious\nAffairs of the Colony of Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations in\nNew-England, in America_.  Boston, 1739.  (_Collections_, Rhode Island\nHistorical Society, vols. i.-iv.; Providence, 1838.)\n\nCAMBRIDGE ANTHROPOLOGICAL EXPEDITION TO TORRES STRAITS: _Reports_, vol.\nii., parts i. and ii.  Cambridge, 1901-3.\n\nCARR, LUCIEN: _Food of certain American Indians_.  (_Proceedings_ of\nthe American Antiquarian Society, New Series, vol. x.; Worcester, 1895.)\n\n{367}\n\nCARR, LUCIEN: _Dress and Ornaments of certain American Indians_.\n(_Proceedings_ of the American Antiquarian Society, New Series, vol.\nxi.; Worcester, 1898.)\n\nCARVER, JONATHAN: _Travels through the Interior Parts of North America,\nin the Years 1766, 1767, and 1768_.  London, 1778.\n\n---- _Three Years through the Interior Parts of North America for more\nthan Five Thousand Miles_.  Philadelphia, 1796.\n\n---- _Carver's Travels in Wisconsin_.  New York, 1838.\n\nCATLIN, GEORGE: _Illustrations of the Manners and Customs and Condition\nof the North American Indians_.  2 vols. London, 1841.  _Ibid._,\nLondon, 1866.\n\n---- _Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the\nNorth American Indians_.  2 vols. New York and London, 1844.\n\n---- _O-kee-pa: a Religious Ceremony; and other Customs of the\nMandans_.  Philadelphia, 1867.\n\nCHAMPLAIN, SAMUEL DE: _Voyages: ou Journal des D\u00e9couvertes de la\nNouvelle France_.  2 vols.  Paris, 1830.\n\nCHARLEVOIX, PIERRE F. X. DE.: _Histoire et Description g\u00e9n\u00e9rale de la\nNouvelle France_.  3 vols.  Paris, 1744.\n\nCLARK, W. P.: _The Indian Sign Language_.  Philadelphia, 1885.\n\nCOLDEN, CADWALLADER: _The History of the Five Indian Nations of Canada,\nwhich are dependent on the Province of New York, America_.  London,\n1747.  _Ibid._, 1755.\n\nCONANT, A. J.: _Footprints of Vanished Races in the Mississippi\nValley_.  St. Louis, 1879.\n\n_Contributions to North American Ethnology_.  Department of the\nInterior, U.S. Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain\nRegion, J. W. Powell in charge.  vols. i.-vii., ix.  Washington,\n1877-93.\n\nCORTEZ, JOS\u00c9: _History of the Apache Nations and other Tribes near the\nParallel of 35\u00b0 North Latitude_.  (_Pacific Railroad Reports_, vol.\niii., part iii., chap. 7; Washington, 1856.)\n\nCOUES, ELLIOTT (Editor): _History of the Expedition of Lewis and Clark\nto the Sources of the Missouri River and to the Pacific in 1804-5-6_.\nA new edition, 4 vols.  New York, 1893.\n\nCURTIN, JEREMIAH: _Creation Myths of Primitive America in relation to\nthe Religious History and Mental Development of Mankind_.  Boston, 1898.\n\n{368}\n\nCURTIS, EDWARD S.: _The American Indian_.  4 vols. New York, 1907-9.\n\nCUSHING, F. H.: _Zu\u00f1i Fetiches_.  (_Second Report_, Bureau of American\nEthnology; Washington, 1883.)\n\n---- _Outlines of Zu\u00f1i Creation Myths_.  (_Thirteenth Report_, Bureau\nof American Ethnology; Washington, 1896.)\n\n---- _Zu\u00f1i Folk-tales_.  New York, 1901.\n\nDALL, WILLIAM H.: _Tribes of the Extreme North-West_.  (_Contributions\nto North American Ethnology_, vol. i.; Washington, 1877.)\n\n---- _The Native Tribes of Alaska_.  (_Proceedings_ of the American\nAssociation for the Advancement of Science, 1885, vol. xxxiv.; Salem,\n1886.)\n\nDAWSON, GEORGE M.: _Notes and Observations of the Kwakiootl People of\nthe Northern Part of Vancouver Island and Adjacent Coasts made during\nthe Summer of 1885, with Vocabulary of about 700 Words_.  (_Proceedings\nand Transactions_ of the Royal Society of Canada, 1887, vol. v.;\nMontreal, 1888.)\n\n---- _Notes on the Shuswap People of British Columbia_.  (_Proceedings\nand Transactions_ of the Royal Society of Canada, 1891, vol. ix., sect.\nii.; Montreal, 1892.)\n\nDE FOREST, JOHN W.: _History of the Indians of Connecticut from the\nEarliest Known Period to 1850_.  Hartford, 1851.  _Ibid._, 1852, 1853.\n\nDEANS, JAMES: _Tales from the Totems of the Hidery_.  (_Archives_ of\nthe International Folk-lore Association, vol. ii.; Chicago, 1889.)\n\nDELLENBAUGH, F. S.: _North Americans of Yesterday_.  New York and\nLondon, 1901.\n\nDIXON, R. B.: _Maidu Myths_.  (_Bulletins_ of the American Museum of\nNatural History, vol. vii., part ii.; New York, 1902.)\n\nDODGE, RICHARD I.: _Our Wild Indians_.  Hartford, 1882.\n\nDONALDSON, THOMAS: _The Moqui Indians of Arizona and Pueblo Indians of\nNew Mexico_.  (_Extra Census Bulletin_, Eleventh Census, U.S.;\nWashington, 1893.)\n\nDORSEY, GEORGE A.: _Arapaho Sun Dance: The Ceremony of the Offerings\nLodge_.  (_Publications_ of the Field College Museum, Anthropological\nSeries, vol. iv.; Chicago, 1903.)\n\n---- _Mythology of the Wichita_.  (Carnegie Institution of Washington,\n_Publication_ No. 21; Washington, 1904.)\n\n{369}\n\nDORSEY, GEORGE A.: _Traditions of the Osage_.  (_Publications_ of the\nField College Museum, Anthropological Series, vol. vii., No. i;\nChicago, 1904.)\n\n---- _The Cheyenne_.  Part i., _Ceremonial Organization_; part ii.,\n_The Sun Dance_.  (_Publications_ of the Field College Museum,\nAnthropological Series, vol. ix., Nos. 1 and 2; Chicago, 1905.)\n\n---- _The Pawnee: Mythology_.  Part i.  (Carnegie Institution of\nWashington, _Publication_ No. 59; Washington, 1906.)\n\n---- AND KROEBER, A. L.: _Traditions of the Arapaho_.  (_Publications_\nof the Field College Museum, Anthropological Series, vol. v.; Chicago,\n1903.)\n\nDORSEY, J. OWEN: _Osage Traditions_.  (_Sixth Report_, Bureau of\nAmerican Ethnology; Washington, 1888.)\n\n---- _The Cegiha Language_.  (_Contributions to North American\nEthnology_, vol. vi.; Washington, 1890.)\n\n---- _A Study of Siouan Cults_.  (_Eleventh Report_, Bureau of American\nEthnology; Washington, 1894.)\n\nDRAKE, SAMUEL G.: _Book of the Indians of North America_.  Boston,\n1833.  _Ibid._, Boston, 1841; Boston [1848].\n\nDUNN, JACOB P.: _True Indian Stories_.  With Glossary of Indiana Indian\nnames.  Indianapolis, 1908.  _Ibid._, 1909.\n\nEMERSON, ELLEN R.: _Indian Myths; or, Legends, Traditions, and Symbols\nof the Aborigines of America_.  Boston, 1884.\n\nEWBANK, THOMAS: _North American Rock-writing_.  Morrisania, N.Y., 1866.\n\nFAIRBANKS, G. R.: _History of Florida, 1512-1842_.  Philadelphia, 1871.\n\nFEWKES, J. W.: _Tusayan Katcinas_.  (_Fifteenth Report_, Bureau of\nAmerican Ethnology; Washington, 1897.)\n\n---- _Tusayan Migration Traditions_.  (_Nineteenth Report_, Bureau of\nAmerican Ethnology, part ii.; Washington, 1900.)\n\nFISCHER, JOSEPH: _Discoveries of the Norsemen in America_.  London,\n1903.\n\nFLETCHER, ALICE C.: _Indian Story and Song from North America_.\nBoston, 1900.\n\nFOSTER, J. W.: _Prehistoric Races of the United States of America_.\nChicago, 1878.\n\n{370}\n\nFOWKE, GERARD: _Stone Art_.  (_Thirteenth Report_, Bureau of American\nEthnology; Washington, 1896.)\n\nGASS, PATRICK: _Journal of the Voyages and Travels of a Corps of\nDiscovery, under Command of Lewis and Clark_.  Pittsburg, 1807.  Ibid.,\nPhiladelphia, 1810; Dayton, 1847; Welsburg, Va., 1859.\n\nGATSCHET, ALBERT S.: _A Migration Legend of the Creek Indians_.  vol.\ni., Philadelphia, 1884.  (Brinton's Library of Aboriginal American\nLiterature, No. 4); vol. ii., St. Louis, 1888 (_Transactions_ of the\nAcademy of Sciences, St. Louis, vol. v., Nos. 1 and 2).\n\nGENTLEMAN OF ELVAS: _A Narrative of the Expedition of Hernando de Soto\nInto Florida_.  Published at Evora, 1557.  Translated from the\nPortuguese by Richard Hakluyt.  London, 1609.  (In French, B.F., Hist.\nColl. La., part ii.; 2nd ed., Philadelphia, 1850.)\n\nGRINNELL, GEORGE BIRD: _Pawnee Hero-stories and Folk-tales_.  New York,\n1889.\n\n---- _Blackfoot Lodge Tales_.  New York, 1892.\n\nHALE, HORATIO: _Iroquois Book of Rites_.  Philadelphia, 1883.\n\nHECKEWELDER, JOHN G. E.: _An Account of the History, Manners, and\nCustoms of the Indian Nations who once inhabited Pennsylvania and the\nNeighbouring States_.  Philadelphia, 1819.  (Reprinted, Memoirs of the\nHistorical Society of Pennsylvania, vol. xii.; Philadelphia, 1876.)\n\nHEWITT, J. N. B.: _Legend of the Founding of the Iroquois League_.\n(_American Anthropologist_, vol. v.; Washington, 1892.)\n\n---- _Orenda and a Definition of Religion_.  (_American\nAnthropologist_, New Series, vol. iv.; Washington, 1891.)\n\n---- _Iroquoian Cosmology_.  (_Twenty-first Report_, Bureau of American\nEthnology; Washington, 1903.)\n\nHOFFMAN, WALTER J.: _The Mide'-wiwin, or 'Grand Medicine Society,' of\nthe Ojibwa_.  (_Seventh Report_, Bureau of American Ethnology;\nWashington, 1891.)\n\nHOLMES, WILLIAM H.: Aboriginal Pottery of the Eastern United States.\n(Twentieth Report, Bureau of American Ethnology; Washington, 1903.\n\nHOUGH, WALTER: _Antiquities of the Upper Gila and Salt River Valleys in\nArizona and New Mexico_.  (_Bulletin 35_, Bureau of American Ethnology;\nWashington, 1907.)\n\n{371}\n\nHRDLICKA, ALES: _Physiological and Medical Observations among the\nIndians of the South-western United States and Northern Mexico_.\n(_Bulletin 34_, Bureau of American Ethnology; Washington, 1908.)\n\nHUNTER, JOHN D.: _Memoirs of a Captivity among the Indians of North\nAmerica_.  London, 1823.\n\nJOHNSON, ELIAS: _Legends, Traditions, and Laws of the Iroquois, or Six\nNations_.  Lockport, N.Y., 1881.\n\n_Journal of American Ethnology and Arch\u00e6ology_, vols. i.-iv.  Boston\nand New York, 1891-94.\n\n_Journal of American Folk-lore_, vols. i.-xxiii.  Boston and New York,\n1888-1910.\n\nKANE, PAUL: _Wanderings of an Artist among the Indians of North\nAmerica_.  London, 1859.\n\nKELLY, FANNY: _Narrative of my Captivity among the Sioux Indians_.  2nd\ned.  Chicago, 1880.\n\nKOHL, J. G.: _Kitchi-gami: Wanderings round Lake Superior_.  London,\n1860.\n\nLAFITAU, JOSEPH FRAN\u00c7OIS: _Moeurs des Sauvages am\u00e9riquains, compar\u00e9es\naux Moeurs des Premiers Temps_.  2 vols. Paris, 1724.\n\nLARIMER, SARAH L.: _Capture and Escape; or, Life among the Sioux_.\nPhiladelphia, 1870.\n\nLE BEAU, C.: _Aventures; ou Voyage curieux et nouveau parmi les\nSauvages de l'Am\u00e9rique Septentrionale_.  2 vols.  Amsterdam, 1738.\n\nLEE, NELSON: _Three Years among the Comanches_.  Albany, 1859.\n\nLELAND, C. G.: _Algonquin Legends of New England_.  Boston and New\nYork, 1885.\n\nLEWIS, MERIWETHER: _The Travels of Captains Lewis and Clark, from St.\nLouis, by way of the Missouri and Columbia Rivers, to the Pacific\nOcean; performed in the Rears 1804, 1805, and 1806_.  London, 1809.\n_Ibid._, Philadelphia, 1809.\n\n---- AND CLARK, WILLIAM: _History of the Expedition of Captains Lewis\nand Clark to the Sources of the Missouri, across the Rocky Mountains;\n1804-6_.  2 vols.  Philadelphia, 1814.  _Ibid._, Dublin, 1817; New\nYork, 1817.\n\n---- _The Journal of Lewis and Clark to the Mouth of the Columbia River\nbeyond the Rocky Mountains_.  Dayton, Ohio, 1840.\n\n{372}\n\nLEWIS, MERIWETHER, AND CLARK, WILLIAM: _Original Journals of the Lewis\nand Clark Expedition, 1804-6_.  Edited by R. G. Thwaites.  8 vols.  New\nYork, 1904-5.\n\nLONG, JOHN: _Voyages and Travels of an Indian Interpreter and Trader,\ndescribing the Manners and Customs of the North American Indians_.\nLondon, 1791.\n\nLOSKIEL, GEORGE HENRY: _History of the Mission of the United Brethren\namong the Indians in North America_.  London, 1794.\n\nLUMHOLTZ, CARL: _Tarahumari Dances and Plant-worship_.  (_Scribner's\nMagazine_, vol. xvi., No. 4; New York, 1894.)\n\nLUMMIS, CHARLES F.: _The Man who Married the Moon, and other Pueblo\nIndian Folk-stories_.  New York, 1894.\n\nMcGEE, W. J.: _The Siouan Indians_.  (_Fifteenth Report_, Bureau of\nAmerican Ethnology; Washington, 1897.)\n\nMALLERY, GARRICK: _Sign-language among North American Indians_.\n(_First Report_, Bureau of American Ethnology; Washington, 1881.)\n\n---- _Picture-writing of the American Indians_.  (_Tenth Report_,\nBureau of American Ethnology; Washington, 1893.)\n\nMATTHEWS, WASHINGTON: _Navaho Legends_.  Boston and New York, 1897.\n\nMOONEY, JAMES: _The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees_.  (_Seventh\nReport_, Bureau of American Ethnology; Washington, 1891.)\n\n---- _The Ghost-dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 1890_.\n(_Fourteenth Report_, Bureau of American Ethnology, part ii.;\nWashington, 1896.)\n\n---- _Myths of the Cherokee_.  (_Nineteenth Report_, Bureau of American\nEthnology, part i.; Washington, 1900.)\n\nNADAILLAC, MARQUIS DE: _Prehistoric America_.  Translated by N.\nD'Anvers.  New York and London, 1884.\n\nNORDENSKIOLD, G.: _Cliff-dwellers of the Mesa Verde_.  Translated by D.\nLloyd Morgan.  Stockholm and Chicago, 1893.\n\nNORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA: _Reports on the Physical Characters,\nLanguages, Industrial and Social Condition of the North-Western Tribes\nof the Dominion of Canada_.  (In _Reports_ of the British Association\nfor the Advancement of Science, 1885-98; London, 1886-99.)\n\nPAYNE, EDWARD J.: _History of the New World called America_.  2 vols.\nOxford and New York, 1892.\n\n{373}\n\nPEABODY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ARCH\u00c6OLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY: _Arch\u00e6ological and\nEthnological Papers_, vols. i.-iii., 1888-1904.  _Memoirs_, vols.\ni.-iii., 1896-1904.  _Annual Reports_, vols. i.-xxxvii., 1868-1904.\nCambridge, Mass.\n\nPENSHALLOW, SAMUEL: _The History of the Wars of New-England with the\nEastern Indians_.  Boston, 1726.  (_Collections_ of the New Hampshire\nHistorical Society, vol. i., Concord, 182,4; reprint, 1871.)\n\nPERROT, NICOLAS: _M\u00e9moire sur les Moeurs, Coutumes, et Religion des\nSauvages de l'Am\u00e9rique Septentrionale, publi\u00e9 pour la premi\u00e8re fois par\nle R. P. J. Tailhan_.  Leipzig and Paris, 1864.\n\nPETITOT, EMILE: _Traditions indiennes du Canada Nord-Ouest_.  Alen\u00e7on,\n1887.\n\nPIDGEON, WILLIAM: _Traditions of De-coo-dah; and Antiquarian\nResearches, comprising extensive Explorations, Surveys, and Excavations\nof the Wonderful and Mysterious Remains of the Mound-builders in\nAmerica_.  New York, 1858.\n\nPOWERS, STEPHEN: _Tribes of California_.  (_Contributions to North\nAmerican Ethnology_, vol. iii.; Washington, 1877.)\n\nRAFN, K. C.: _Antiquitates American\u00e6_.  Copenhagen, 1837.\n\nSCHOOLCRAFT, HENRY R.:  _Algic Researches_.  2 vols. New York, 1839.\n\n---- _Historical and Statistical Information respecting the Indian\nTribes of the United States_.  Philadelphia, 1851-57.\n\nSHORT, JOHN T.: _North Americans of Antiquity_.  2nd ed.  New York,\n1880.\n\nSIMMS, S. C.: _Traditions of the Crows_.  (_Publications_ of the Field\nCollege Museum, Anthropological Series, vol. ii., No. 6; Chicago, 1903.)\n\nSMITH, ERMINNIE A.: _Myths of the Iroquois_.  (_Second Report_, Bureau\nof American Ethnology; Washington, 1883.)\n\nSMITH, JOHN: Works, 1608.  Edited by Edward Arber.  English Scholar's\nLibrary, No. 16.  Birmingham, 1884.\n\nSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: _Annual Reports_, 1846-1908; Washington,\n1847-1909.  _Contributions to Knowledge_, vols. i.-xxiv.; Washington,\n1848-1907.  _Miscellaneous Collections_, vols. i.-iv.; Washington,\n1862-1910.\n\nSNELLING, WILLIAM J.: _Tales of the North-West: Sketches of Indian Life\nand Character_.  Boston, 1830.\n\n{374}\n\nSTEVENSON, MATILDA C.: _The Zu\u00f1i Indians; their Mythology, Esoteric\nFraternities, and Ceremonies_.  (_Twenty-third Report_, Bureau of\nAmerican Ethnology; Washington, 1904.)\n\nSWANTOM, JOHN R.: _Haida Texts and Myths_.  (_Bulletin 29_, Bureau of\nAmerican Ethnology; Washington, 1905.)\n\n---- _Tlingit Myths and Texts_.  (_Bulletin 39_, Bureau of American\nEthnology; Washington, 1909.)\n\nTHOMAS, CYRUS: _Introduction to the Study of North American\nArch\u00e6ology_.  Cincinnati, 1903.\n\nU.S. GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES, F. V.\nHayden in charge.  _Bulletins_, vols. i.-vi.; Washington, 1874-82.\n_Annual Reports_, vols. i.-ix.; Washington, 1867-78.\n\nVIRCHOW, RUDOLF: _Crania ethnica americana_.  Berlin, 1892.\n\nVOTH, H. R.: _Oraibi Summer Snake Ceremony_.  (_Publications_ of the\nField College Museum Anthropological Series, vol. iii., No. 4; Chicago,\n1903.)\n\nWAITZ, THEODOR: _Anthropologie der Naturvolker_.  4 Bd.  Leipzig.\n1859-64.\n\nWARREN, WILLIAM W.: _History of the Ojibways, based upon Traditions and\nOral Statements_.  (_Collections_ of the Minnesota Historical Society,\nvol. v.; St. Paul, 1885.)\n\nWHEELER, OLIN D.: _The Trail of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1904_.  2 vols.\nNew York, 1904.\n\nWILL, G. F., AND SPINDEN, H. J.: _The Mandans: Study of their Culture,\nArch\u00e6ology, and Language_.  (_Papers_ of the Peabody Museum of American\nArch\u00e6ology and Ethnology, vol. iii., No. 4; Cambridge, Mass., 1906.)\n\nWINSOR, JUSTIN: _Narrative and Critical History of America_.  8 vols.\nBoston and New York, 1884-89.\n\n\n\n\n{376}\n\nNOTE ON PRONUNCIATION\n\nWorkers in Indian mythology and linguistics have in some instances\ncreated a phonology of their own for the several languages in which\nthey wrought.  But, generally speaking, the majority of Indian names,\nboth of places and individuals, should be pronounced as spelt, the\nspelling being that of persons used to transcribing native diction and\nas a rule representing the veritable Indian pronunciation of the word.\n\nAmong the North American Indians we find languages both harsh and soft.\nHarshness produced by a clustering of consonants is peculiar to the\nnorth-west coast of America, while the Mississippi basin and California\npossess languages rich in sonorous sounds.  A slurring of terminal\nsyllables is peculiar to many American tongues.\n\nThe vocabularies of American languages are by no means scanty, as is\noften mistakenly supposed, and their grammatical structure is intricate\nand systematic.  The commonest traits in American languages are the\nvagueness of demarcation between the noun and verb, the use of the\nintransitive form of the verb for the adjective, and the compound\ncharacter of independent pronouns.  A large number of ideas are\nexpressed by means of either affixes or stem-modification.  On account\nof the frequent occurrence of such elements American languages have\nbeen classed as 'polysynthetic.'\n\n\n\n\n{377}\n\nGLOSSARY AND INDEX\n\n\nA\n\nABNAKI, A tribe of the Algonquian stock, 25\n\nABORIGINES, AMERICAN.  Theories as to the origin of, 5-13, 17-22\n\nACAGCHEMEM.  A Californian people; myths of, 350-355\n\nADAM OF BREMEN.  And Norse voyages to America, 16\n\nA\u00c9.  The first woman, in an Acagchemem creation-myth, 353\n\nAHSONNUTLI.  Principal deity of the Navaho, called the Turquoise\nMan-woman, 121-122\n\nAKAIYAN.  A brave; in Algonquian legend of the origin of the Beaver\nMedicine, 184-187\n\nALEUTIAN INDIANS.  Custom of, resembles that of Asiatic tribe, 11\n\nALGON.  A hunter; in the story of the Star-maiden, 152-156\n\nALGONQUIAN STOCK.  An ethnic division of the American Indians, 24-27\n\nALGONQUINS.  The name applied to members of the Algonquian stock, 24\n_n._; tribes and distribution of, 24-25; early history, 25; an advanced\npeople, 26; costume of, 58; marriage-customs of, 73; creation-myth of,\n107-108; belief of, respecting birds, 110; belief of, respecting\nlightning, 112; and the owl, 111; and the serpent of the Great Lakes,\n113; Michabo the chief deity of, 119-120; and the soul's journey after\ndeath, 129; the festivals of, 133; dialect of the priests of, 136;\nmyths and legends of, 141-216; conflict with the Caniengas, 225,\nsubdued by the Iroquois, 227; and the King of Rattlesnakes, 248\n\nALLOUEZ, FATHER.  Incident connected with, related by Brinton, 100-101\n\nAMERICA.  Origin of man in, 5-22; resemblance between tribes of, and\nthose of Asia, 6, 10-12; discoveries of prehistoric remains in, 7-10;\nearly communication between Asia and, 6,12\n\nANAYICOYONDI.  A goddess of the Pericues, wife of Niparaya, 355\n\nANIMISM, 80\n\nANNIMIKENS.  A brave; hunting adventure of, 55\n\nAPACHES.  A tribe of the Athapascan stock, 22; of Arizona, houses of,\n47; costume of, 59; fetishes of, 89-90; and the points of the compass,\n131\n\nAPALACHEES.  A tribe of the Muskhogean stock, 27\n\nAPISIRAHTS (The Morning Star).  Son of the Sun-god, in Blackfoot myth;\nin the stories of Scar-face, or Po\u00efa, 198-205\n\nARAPAHO.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock, 25; dwellings of, 48\n\nARGALL, CAPTAIN SAMUEL.  Mentioned in the story of Pocahontas, 32, 36\n\nARIKARA.  A tribe of the Caddoan stock, 28\n\nART, INDIAN, 62-63\n\nASGAYA GIGAGEI (Red Man).  A thunder-god of the Cherokees, 126\n\nASHOCHIMI.  A Californian tribe; Coyote, a deity of, 124\n\nASIA.  Ethnological relationship between America and, 6, 10-13\n\nASSINIBOINS.  A tribe of the Siouan stock, 28; their method of cooking\nflesh, 11\n\nATHAPASCANS.  An ethnic division of the American Indians, 22-23;\ncostume of, 58; and the soul's journey after death, 129\n\nATIUS TIR\u00c1WA.  Principal deity of the Pawnees, 122; in the story of the\nSacred Bundle, 307; in the story of the Bear-man, 308, 310, 311\n\nATOTARHO.  A legendary hero of the Iroquois, chieftain of the\nOnondagas, 217, 225-226; Hiawatha a warrior under, 225; at first\nopposes Hiawatha's federation scheme, but later joins in it, 226\n\nATTAJEN (Man, or Rational Being).  In Acagchemem myth, a semi-divine\nbeing, a benefactor of the human race, 354\n\nAUGHEY, DR.  Prehistoric remains discovered by, 8\n\nAUZAR.  In Acagchemem myth, reputed mother of Ouiamot, 354\n\nAWONAWILONA (Maker and Container of All).  The Zu\u00f1i creative deity,\n106, 121\n\nAZTECS.  An aboriginal American race; the Shoshoneans related to, 29\n\n\n\nB\n\nBABEENS.  A tribe of the Athapascan stock; carvings of, 63\n\nBANCROFT, H. H.  On the mythological beliefs of the Californian tribes,\n348-350; on the beliefs of the Tinneh, 357-358\n\nBARTRAM, W.  On the priesthood of the Creeks, 136\n\nBEAR DANCE.  Pawnee ceremonial; story of the originator of the, 308-311\n\nBEAR, THE GREAT.  In Blackfoot legend of the origin of the Bear-spear,\n188-190\n\nBEAR-MAN.  The story of the, 308-311\n\nBEAR-SPEAR.  Blackfoot legend of the origin of, 187-190\n\nBEARSKIN-WOMAN.  The story of, 182-184\n\nBEAVER.  I. A creative deity of the Sioux, chief of the Beaver family;\nIctinike and, 269-270, 271.  II. In Haida myth; story of the feud\nbetween Porcupine and, 318-320\n\nBEAVER, THE GREAT (Quah-beet).  Algonquian totem-deity; in myth of\nGlooskap and Malsum, 142; in legend of origin of the Beaver Medicine,\n185-187\n\nBEAVER, LITTLE.  In legend of origin of the Beaver Medicine, 185-187\n\nBEAVER MEDICINE.  Legend of the origin of, 184-187\n\nBEAVER PEOPLE.  The beavers personified, in Haida myth; in the story of\nBeaver and Porcupine, 318-320\n\nBIG WATER.  The Pacific Ocean; in the story of Scar-face, 203\n\nBIRD, THE.  In Indian mythology, 109-111\n\nBLACK TORTOISE, TOMB OF THE.  An earth-mound, 19-20\n\nBLACKFEET.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock, 24, 25; legends of,\n182-184, 187-190, 193-212; the Sun Dance of, 204; N\u00e1pi, the creative\ndeity of, 205\n\nBLUE JAY.  A mischievous totem-deity of the Chinooks, 124-125, 323;\nstories of, and his sister Ioi, 323-327; and the Supernatural People,\n323-324, 327, 329-332, 339-340; in the story of Stik[)u]a, 342-348\n\nBOAS, FRANZ.  Extract from version of the Coyote myth related by, 124\n\nBOSCANA, FATHER GER\u00d3NIMO.  On the beliefs of Californian tribes, 350-354\n\nBOURBEUSE RIVER.  Prehistoric remains discovered at, 7\n\nBOURKE, J. G.  Description of an Apache fetish by, 89-90; on\n'phylacteries' (fetishes), 90\n\nBOY MAGICIAN.  The story of the, 238-242\n\nBR\u00c9BEUF, FATHER.  Incident connected with, related by Brinton, 100; and\nthe after-life of the Indians, 130\n\nBRINTON, D. G.  On the Shoshoneans, 29; extract from translation of the\n_Wallum-Olum_ by, 77-78; on the religion of the Indians, 97-101; on\nIndian 'good' and 'bad' gods, 104-105; on Indian veneration of the\neagle, 110-111\n\nBRUYAS, FATHER.  Mentioned, 104\n\nBUFFALO DANCE.  A festival of the Mandans, 134-135\n\nBUFFALO-STEALER.  The legend of, 208-212\n\nBUNDLES, SACRED.  Collections of articles supposed to possess magical\npotency, 92, 308\n\nBUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY.  Quotations from _Bulletins_ of, 17, 21,\n45-49, 55-59\n\nBURIAL CUSTOMS, INDIAN, 128\n\nBUSK.  A contraction for Pushkita, name of a Creek festival, 133-134\n\nBWOINAIS.  A Chippeway warrior; war-songs of, 71-72\n\n\n\nC\n\nCADDO.  I. An ethnic division of the American Indians, 28, 304.  II. A\ntribe forming a part of the stock of the same name, 28\n\nCAHROCS.  A Californian tribe; deities of, 349-350\n\n'CALAVERAS' SKULL.  Prehistoric relic; discovery of, 8\n\nCALIFORNIA.  Prehistoric remains discovered in, 8; the tribes of,\ndiversity among, 348; mythological beliefs of the tribes of, 348-356\n\nCANIENGAS.  One of the two political divisions of the Iroquois family,\n225\n\nCARVER, CAPTAIN JONATHAN.  On Sioux methods of reckoning time, 132\n\nCATLIN, G.  On the Pipe-stone Quarry, 116, 117-118\n\nCAYUGAS.  A tribe of the Iroquois stock, 224\n\nCH\u00c1COPEE, or WHITE FEATHER.  A Sioux hero; the story of, 296-301\n\nCHAREYA (The Old Man Above).  Deity of the Cahrocs, 350\n\nCHARLEVOIX, P.  On incident relating to origin of the Indians, 12\n\nCHEROKEES.  A tribe of the Iroquois stock, 23; as mound-builders, 21;\nand the eagle, 111; and the owl, 111; hunter- and thunder-gods of,\n125-126; and the points of the compass, 131; and the priesthood, 136;\ndialect of the priesthood of, 136; subdued by the Iroquois, 227; the\nIroquois attacks on, 246; and the King of Rattlesnakes, 248; their\nlegend of the origin of medicine, 249-251\n\nCHEYENNE.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock, 25; the great tribal fetish\nof, 91\n\nCHICKASAWS.  A tribe of the Muskhogean stock, 27; and earth-mounds, 21\n\nCHILKAT.  A tribe of the Thlingit stock; costume of, 58\n\nCHIMPSEYANS.  An ethnic division of the American Indians; carvings of,\n63\n\nCHINIGCHINICH (Almighty).  Deity of the Acagchemems, called also\nOuiamot, 352, 354-355\n\nCHINOOKS.  A tribe of the Chinookan stock, 322; Coyote a principal\ndeity of, 123, 124; Blue Jay a deity of, 124; mode of burial of, 128;\nbelief of, regarding the soul, 129; cranial deformation among, 322;\nmyths of, 322-348; story of their contests with the Supernatural\nPeople, 329-332\n\nCHIPPEWAYS, or OJIBWAYS.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock, 25;\ndwellings of, 48; carvings of, 63; called 'Pillagers,' 68; war-customs\nof, 68-69; a legend of, 152-156; Manabozho (or Michabo a demi-god of,\n223\n\nCHOCTAWS.  A tribe of the Muskhogean stock, 27; cranial deformation\namong, 27; dialect of the priesthood of, 136\n\nCHURCH, CAPTAIN BENJAMIN.  One of the early settlers; his methods in\nfighting the Indians, 31\n\nCHUTSAIN.  A malevolent spirit of the Tinneh, 358\n\nCITY OF THE MISTS.  Home of Po-shai-an-K'ia, the father of the Zu\u00f1i\n'medicine' societies, 95\n\nCLALLAMS.  A tribe of the Salish stock; carvings of, 63\n\nCLARKE, J.  On the Pipe-stone Quarry, 116-117\n\nCLIFF- AND ROCK-DWELLINGS, 48-49\n\nCLOUD-CARRIER.  The story of, 156-159\n\nCOCOPA.  A tribe of the Yuman stock; dwellings of, 47; costume of, 59\n\nCOLORADO.  Prehistoric remains discovered in, 8\n\nCOLOURS.  The Indians and, 60-62\n\nCOLUMBUS.  And the Discovery, 1, 2\n\nCOMANCHES.  A tribe of the Shoshonean stock, 28; dwellings of, 48\n\nCOMMUNITY HOUSES, 45-47\n\nCOMPASS, POINTS OF THE.  Significance to the Indians, 131\n\nCONANT, A. J.  On the group of earth-mounds in Minnesota, 20\n\nCONQUEROR, THE.  A deity mentioned in the myth of Coyote and Kodoyanpe,\n123\n\nCOSTUME OF THE INDIANS, 55-59\n\nCOUNTRY OF THE GHOSTS.  Same as Spirit-land, _which see_\n\nCOYOTE.  _See_ Italapas\n\nCOYOTE PEOPLE, THE GREAT.  A Zu\u00f1i clan, 95-96\n\nCRANIAL DEFORMATION.  Practised among the Muskhogeans, 27; among the\nChoctaws, 27; among the Chinooks, 322\n\nCREATION-MYTHS, 106-109, 350-353\n\nCREEKS.  A tribe of the Muskhogean stock, 27; and earth-mounds, 21; and\nthe eagle, no; and the owl, 111; Esaugetuh Emissee, the chief deity of,\n122; the Pushkita, a festival of, 133-134; the priests of, 136\n\nCREES.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock, 25; legend of origin of their\nYoung Dog Dance, 190-193; how they caught eagles, 190-191\n\nCROWS.  A tribe of the Siouan stock; in a Blackfoot legend, 193-196\n\n\n\nD\n\nDAKOTA.  An ethnic division of the American Indians, same as Sioux,\n_which see_\n\nDAY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE FETISHES.  A Zu\u00f1i fetish festival, 96\n\nDAY-AND-NIGHT MYTH.  A Blackfoot, 205-208\n\nDEKANEWIDAH.  A Mohawk chieftain; assists Hiawatha in his federation\nscheme, 226\n\nDELAWARES.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock, 25; in the story of\nFrances Slocum, 37-38, 41\n\nD\u00c9N\u00c9.  Same as Tinneh, _which see_\n\nDEVIL.  In Indian mythology, 349\n\nDEVIL DANCES, 135\n\nDEVIL'S CASTLE.  Place in Siskiyou, California; regarded by natives as\nabode of malignant spirits, 349\n\nDEVIL-FISH.  Supernatural beings in Haida myth; story of an Indian and\nthe daughter of a, 320-321\n\nDEVOURING HILL.  The story of the Rabbit and the, 302-303\n\nDICKSON, DR.  Discovery of prehistoric remains by, 7\n\nDIGHTON WRITING ROCK, 16\n\nDJ[=U].  A river mentioned in Haida myth, 314\n\nDOGRIB INDIANS.  A tribe of the Athapascan stock; myth of\nheaven-climber resembles that of Ugrian tribes of Asia, 11\n\nDROWNED CHILD.  The story of the, 285-287\n\nDWELLINGS, INDIAN, 45-49\n\n\n\nE\n\nEAGLE.  Indian veneration for, 110-111\n\nEJONI.  The first man, in an Acagchemem creation-myth, 353\n\nELEGANT.  An Indian beau; in the story of Handsome, 160-162\n\nENO (Thief and Cannibal).  A name of Coyote among the Acagchemem\ntribes, 351\n\nES-TONEA-PESTA (The Lord of Cold Weather).  In the story of the\nSnow-lodge, 151-152\n\nESAUGETUH EMISSEE (Master of Breath).  Supreme deity of the Muskhogees,\n122; in creation-myth, 108\n\nEYACQUE (Sub-captain).  A name of Coyote among the Acagchemem tribes,\n351\n\n\n\nF\n\nFACE-PAINTING, 59-62\n\nFAIRY WIVES.  The story of the, 170-175\n\nFEATHER-WOMAN.  A beautiful maiden; in the legend of Po\u00efa, 200-203\n\nFEATHER-WORK.  Indian skill in, 63\n\nFESTIVALS, INDIAN, 133-135\n\nFETISHISM.  Swanton on totemism and, 84-85; origin and nature of the\nfetish, 87-89; Apache fetishes, 89-90; Iroquoian fetishes, 91; Huron\nfetishes, 91; Algonquian fetishes, 91; the Cheyenne tribal fetish, 91;\nHidatsa fetishes, 92; Siouan fetishes, 92; Hopi fetishes, 92-93; Zu\u00f1i\nfetishism, 93-97; fetishism associated with totemism, 93\n\nFEWKES, J. W.  And fetishes of the Hopi, 92\n\nFINE-WEATHER-WOMAN.  Haida storm-deity; in the myth of the origin of\ncertain demi-gods, 314; origin of, as the mother of S\u00ee\u00f1, 314-316\n\nFIVE NATIONS, THE.  A federation of the Iroquois, called also the Grand\nLeague, 23, 24; the tribes composing, 23, 224-225; Hiawatha the founder\nof the league, 23; influence upon European history, 223, 227; called\nalso Six Nations and Seven Nations, 224; Hiawatha's early efforts\ntoward federation, 225; the federation inaugurated, and completed, 226;\ngrowth of the power of, 227; the Peace Queen appointed by, 263; the\noffice of Peace Queen abolished, 265\n\nFLATHEADS.  Name applied to the Choctaws by the whites, 27\n\nFLETCHER, Miss A. C.  On dwellings of the Omaha, 48\n\nFLYING SQUIRREL.  A creative deity of the Sioux; Ictinike and, 271\n\nFOXES.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock, 25, 71\n\nFRIENDLY SKELETON.  The story of the, 242-246\n\nFUTURE LIFE.  The Indian idea of, 127\n\n\n\nG\n\nG\u00c9BELIN, COURT DE.  And the Dighton Writing Rock, 16\n\nGENETASKA.  A Peace Queen; the legend of, 262-265\n\nGHOST PEOPLE.  The souls of the dead, the inhabitants of Spirit-land,\n129, 130; Ioi and Blue Jay among, 324-326, 327\n\nGHOST-LAND.  Same as Spirit-land, _which see_\n\nGILA-SONORA.  An ethnic division of the American Indians; costume of, 59\n\nGITSHE IAWBA.  A Chippeway brave; hunting exploit of, 54-55\n\nGLOOSKAP (The Liar).  A creative deity of the Algonquins, twin with\nMalsum, 141; his contest with Malsum, 141-142; resembles the\nScandinavian Balder, 142; creates man, 143; contest with Win-pe,\n143-144; his gifts to man, 144-145; and Wasis, the baby, 145-146;\nleaves the earth, 146-147; a sun-god, 147; and Summer and Winter,\n147-149; his 'wig-wam,' 149\n\nGOD.  The Indian idea of, 101\n\nGODS, INDIAN.  Character of, 103-105; description of the principal,\n118-126\n\nGRAND COUNCIL of the Five Nations, 224, 226\n\nGRAND LEAGUE, or KAYANERENH KOWA.  A federation of the Iroquois, known\nalso as the Five Nations.  _See under_ Five Nations\n\nGREAT DOG.  A totem-deity, 137\n\nGREAT EAGLE.  A totem-deity, 137\n\nGREAT HEAD.  A malevolent being, in Iroquois myth; a legend of, 232-235\n\nGREAT MAN.  Name for a chief deity among Californian tribes, 348\n\nGREAT SPIRIT THE, or MANITO.  Supreme Indian deity; and the origin of\nsmoking, 116\n\nGREAT WATER.  The Pacific; in the story of the Snake-wife, 290, 292\n\nGREATEST FOOL.  Supernatural being in Haida myth; in the story of\nMaster-carpenter and South-east, 317\n\nGREENLAND.  Early voyages from, to America, 13, 14-16\n\n\n\nH\n\nHAIDA.  A tribe of the Skittagetan stock; houses of, 46-47; myths and\nlegends of, 312-321\n\nHAMPTON INSTITUTE.  And education of the Indians, 79\n\nHANDSOME.  A beautiful maiden; the story of, 159-162\n\nHAOKAH.  Thunder-god of the Sioux, 125\n\n'HARRYING OF HADES.'  American Indian myth provides examples of, 332,\n340-341\n\nHEALING WATERS.  The legend of the, 257-260\n\nHELLU-LAND (Land of Flat Stones).  In legend of Norse voyage to\nAmerica, 14, 15\n\nHERBERT, SIR THOMAS.  His _Travels_ quoted, 4-5\n\nHERJULFSON, BIARNE.  And the Norse discovery of America, 13-14\n\nHIAWATHA (more properly HAI-EN-WAT-HA; = He who seeks the Wampum-belt).\nA legendary hero of the Iroquois, 217, 223-228; represented also as of\nAlgonquian race, 223; effect of Longfellow's poem on the history of,\n223; Longfellow's confusion in identity of, 223; historical basis for\nthe legends, 223; founder of the League of the Five Nations, 223-224; a\nwarrior under Atotarho, 225; his plans for federation, 225; adopted\ninto the Mohawk tribe, 226; his scheme consummated, 226\n\nHIDATSA.  A tribe of the Sioux; fetishes of, 92; have no belief in a\ndevil or hell, 104\n\nHI'NUN.  Thunder-god of the Iroquois, 217; myths relating to, 218-222;\ngreat veneration for, 222\n\nHOBBAMOCK, Or HOBBAMOQUI (Great).  Beneficent Indian deity, 105\n\nHOFFMANN, W. J.  On Algonquian fetishes, 91\n\nHOGAN.  An Indian dwelling, 49\n\nHOPI, or MOQUI.  A tribe of the Shoshonean stock; as cotton-weavers,\n56, 73; fetishes of, 92-93; festivals of, 135\n\nHUNTING, INDIAN, 50-55\n\nHUPA.  A tribe of the Athapascan stock; costume of, 59; method of\nreckoning age, 133\n\nHURONS.  A tribe of the Iroquois stock, 23; marriage among, 73;\nfetishes of, 91; the dove regarded as sacred by, 111; and the soul's\njourney after death, 129; originally one people with the Iroquois, 224;\nin the conflict between the Caniengas and Algonquins, 225; war with the\nOnondagas, 225; annihilated by the Iroquois, 227; a legend of, 248\n\n\n\nI\n\nICE-COUNTRY.  In Algonquian myth, 147\n\nICTINIKE.  An evil spirit, in Sioux myth; adventures of, 266-271\n\nILLINOIS.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock; in a Seneca legend, 236-238\n\n'INDIAN.'  The name wrongly applied to the North American races, 1\n\nINDIANA.  Primitive implements found in, 7; earth-mounds found in, 17,\n18\n\nINDIANS, NORTH AMERICAN.  The theory that they came from the East, 1-2;\nearly controversy as to origin of, 2-3; identified with the lost Ten\nTribes, 3; other theories of origin of, 4; theory of their Welsh\norigin, 4-5; origination of American man in the Old World, 5-6;\nscientific data relating to origin of, 5-13, 17-22; affinities with\nSiberian peoples, 10-12; probably migrants from Asia, 12-13; ethnic\ndivisions of, 22-29; geographical distribution of the tribes of, 22-29;\nindustry of, 26; early wars between whites and, 29-31; early\nrelationship with whites, 29-30; deportation of, as slaves, 31;\nconfinement of, to 'reservations,' 31-32; stories of whites and, 32-45;\nand kidnapping of white children, 36-45; dwellings of, 45-49; tribal\nlaw and custom among, 50; hunting among, 50-55; dress of, 55-59; and\nface-painting, 59-62; and colours, 60-62; art of, 62-63; war-customs\nof, 63-72; position of women among, 72-73; marriage among, 73; and\nchild-life, 73-74; and totemism, 74-76, 80-87; picture-writing among,\n76-78; enlightenment of, 79, 360; and fetishism, 87-97; and religion,\n97-105, 140; ideas of God, 101; character of gods of, 103-105;\ncreation-myths of, 106-109; serpent- and bird-worship among, 109-115;\nand the use of tobacco, 115-118; the gods of, 118-126; and ideas of a\nfuture life, 127-128; burial customs of, 128; and the soul's journey\nafter death, 129; and the spirit-world, 129-130, 139-140; reverence for\nthe four points of the compass, 131; methods of time-reckoning,\n131-133; festivals of, 132, 133-135; the medicine-men of, 135-140;\noriginal character of the mythologies of, 359; worthiness of the race,\n359-360\n\nIOI.  A deity of the Chinooks, sister of Blue Jay; stories of, 323-327\n\nIOSKEHA (White One).  One of the twin-gods of the Iroquois, 121\n\nIOWA.  I. The State; prehistoric remains discovered in, 8.  II. A tribe\nof the Sioux stock, 266; legends of, 266-271\n\nIROQUOIS (Real Adders).  An ethnic division of the American Indians,\ncalled also Long House People, 23-24, 224; the Five Nations of, 23, 24,\n223-227; community houses of, 45; costume of, 58; marriage customs of,\n73; name for fetish, 85; and the serpent of the Great Lakes, 113; the\ntwin-gods of, 121; and the soul's journey after death, 129; myths and\nlegends of, 217-265; Hi'nun, the chief deity of, 217; Hiawatha, a\nmythical hero of, 217; originally one people with the Hurons, 224; the\ntwo political branches of, 224-225; growth of the power of, 227\n\nIROQUOIS CONFEDERACY.  _See_ Five Nations\n\nISLAND OF THE BLESSED.  In the story of the Spirit-bride, 163-165\n\nITALAPAS or ITALAPATE, (Coyote).  A principal deity of the Chinooks and\nCalifornian tribes, 123-124, 350; in the myth of Ouiot, 351\n\n\n\nJ\n\nJAPAZAWS.  A chief, 32\n\nJEWS.  American aborigines identified with, 3-4\n\n\n\nK\n\nKATCINA.  A clan of the Hopi tribe, and the tribal festivals, 135\n\nKAYANERENH KOWA.  The Grand League, or Five Nations, a federation of\nthe Troquois.  _See under_ Five Nations\n\nKENTUCKY.  Earth-mounds found in, 18\n\nKEWAWKQU'.  A race of giants and magicians, in Algonquian myth;\nconquered by Glooskap, 145\n\nKICHAI.  A tribe of the Caddoan stock, 28\n\nKICKAPOOS.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock, 25\n\nKIDNAPPING by Indians, 36; a story of, 37-45\n\nKIEHTAN.  Beneficent Indian deity, 105\n\nKING OF GRUBS.  In the myth of the Thunderers, 222\n\nKING OF RATTLESNAKES.  The legend of, 248\n\nKING PHILIP'S WAR, 30-31\n\nKINGFISHER.  A creative deity of the Sioux; Ictinike and, 271\n\nKINGSBOROUGH, LORD.  And the identity of the American aborigines, 3\n\nKIOWA.  An ethnic division of the American Indians; dwellings of, 48;\npicture-writing records of, 77; the year of, 132\n\nKITTANITOWIT.  A manufactured name for the supreme Indian deity, 105\n\nKOCH, DR.  Prehistoric remains discovered by, 7\n\nKODOYANPE.  Principal deity of the Maidu, 123, 124\n\nKOHL, J. G.  On Indian face-painting, 59-62\n\nKOKOMIKIS.  The Moon-goddess, wife of the Sun-god; in the stories of\nScar-face, 199-204\n\nKOLUSCHES.  An ethnic division of the American Indians; customs of,\nresemble those of Asiatic tribes, 10-11\n\nKOOTENAY.  An ethnic division of the American Indians; Coyote the\ncreative deity of, 124\n\nKUM.  A semi-subterranean lodge of the Maidu, 47\n\nKUTOYIS (Drop of Blood).  A hero in Algonquian myth; legends of, 212-216\n\n\n\nL\n\nLAKE SUPERIOR.  Prehistoric remains discovered in district of, 8\n\nLAND OF THE SUN.  Indian abode of bliss, 127\n\nLAND OF THE SUPERNATURAL PEOPLE.  Region inhabited by a semi-divine\nrace, 129-130; in Chinook myth, 323-324, 327-332, 337-338\n\nLANGUAGE.  Resemblance between that of American and Asiatic tribes, 12;\nthe basis of ethnic classification of American tribes, 22\n\nLEIF THE LUCKY.  Legend of voyage of, to America, 14-15\n\nLELAND, C. G.  On Algonquian mythology, 143\n\nLENI-LEN\u00c2P\u00c9.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock; the _Wallum-Olum_ of,\n77-78\n\nLIGHTNING.  Indian belief regarding, 111-112\n\nLIPANS.  A tribe of the Athapascan stock, 22\n\nLITTLE DEER.  Chief of the Deer tribe, in Cherokee myth.  249, 250\n\nLITTLE MEN.  Twin thunder-gods of the Cherokees, 126\n\nLONE-DOG WINTER-COUNT.  A picture-writing chronicle of the Dakota, 77\n\nLONG HOUSE PEOPLE.  A name applied to the Iroquois, 224, 227\n\nLONGFELLOW, H. W.  And the identity of Hiawatha, 223\n\nLORD OF THE DEAD.  Indian deity; the owl sometimes represented as the\nattendant of, 112\n\nLOUCHEUX.  A division of the Tinneh stock; the myth of the moon-god of,\n357-358\n\nLOX, or LOKI.  Algonquian deity, a reincarnation of Malsum, 143;\nreminiscent of the Scandinavian Loki, 143; in the story of the Fairy\nWives, 174-175\n\nLYELL, SIR CHARLES.  On discovery of prehistoric remains, 7\n\n\n\nM\n\nMA-CON-A-QUA.  The Indian name of Frances Slocum, 44\n\nMADOC.  Legend of, 4\n\nMAIDU.  A Californian tribe; dwellings of, 47; creation-myth of, 123;\nCoyote and Kodoyanpe deities of, 123; the seasons of, 133\n\nMAIZE.  Chippeway story of the origin of, 180-182\n\nMAKER-OF-THE-THICK-SEA-MIST.  Haida deity; in the story of\nMaster-carpenter and South-east, 318\n\nMALICIOUS MOTHER-IN-LAW.  Story of the, 176-180\n\nMALSUM (The Wolf).  A malignant creative deity of the Algonquins, twin\nwith Glooskap, 141-143, 149; contest with Glooskap, 141-142; appears\nlater in Algonquian myth as Lox, or Loki, 143; future conflict with\nGlooskap, 149\n\nMAN.  Origin of, in America, 5-22\n\nMANABOZHO.  Same as Michabo, 11, _which see_\n\nMANDANS.  A tribe of the Siouan stock; community houses of, 45;\ncreation-myth of, 109; the dove regarded as sacred by, 112; the Buffalo\nDance, a festival of, 134-135\n\nMANITO (The Great Spirit).  I. Supreme deity of the Algonquins,\nprobably same as Michabo; and the lightning, 112.  II. A general term\nfor a potent spirit or the supernatural among the Algonquins and Sioux,\n114.  III. Supreme deity of the Iroquois; in the legend of the Healing\nWaters, 257-260\n\nMARK-LAND (Wood-land).  In legend of the Norse voyage to America, 14, 15\n\nMARRIAGE among the Indians, 73\n\nMARTEN.  An idle brave; in the story of the Fairy Wives, 170-172\n\nMASON, JOHN.  One of the early settlers; and the feud with the Pequots,\n30\n\nMASTER OF LIFE.  In the story of the Spirit-bride, 164\n\nMASTER-CARPENTER.  A supernatural being, in Haida myth; story of his\ncontest with South-east, 316-318\n\nMEDA.  A 'medicine' society of the Algonquins, 119\n\nMEDA CHANT.  An Algonquian religious ceremony, 114\n\nMEDECOLIN.  Sorcerers, in Algonquian myth; conquered by Glooskap, 145\n\nMEDICINE-MEN, or SHAMANS, 135-140; as priests, 136; as healers,\n136-138; 'journeys' of, to Spirit-land, 139-140; instituted by Attajen,\n354\n\n'MEDICINE.'  A term signifying magical potency, usually of a healing\norder; Seneca legend of the origin of, 230-232; Cherokee legend of the\norigin of curative medicine, 249-251\n\nMEN-SERPENTS.  The story of the, 273-275\n\nMENOMINEES.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock, 25\n\nMIAMI.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock; in the story of Frances\nSlocum, 40, 41\n\nMICE.  Two supernatural beings in Chinook myth, 339-340\n\nMICHABO (The Great Hare).  I. Supreme deity of the Algonquins, probably\nsame as Manito, 119-120; in creation-myth, 107-108.  II. A demi-god of\nthe Ojibways, called also Manabozho; confusion of, with Hiawatha, 223\n\nMICMACS.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock, 25; subdued by the Iroquois,\n227\n\nMILKY WAY.  Called the Wolf-trail by the Indians, 204\n\nMINAS, LAKE.  In Nova Scotia; Glooskap leaves the earth upon, 146\n\nMINNESOTA.  Primitive implements found in, 7; earth-mounds found in,\n18, 19-20\n\nMINNETAREES.  A tribe of the Hidatsa stock; creation-myth of, 109\n\n'MIOCENE BRIDGE.'  And the origin of man in America, 6\n\nMOHAVE.  A tribe of the Yuman stock; costume of, 59\n\nMOHAWKS.  A tribe of the Iroquois stock, 24, 224, 225; and the\ntwin-gods myth of the Iroquois, 121; Hiawatha may have belonged to,\n223, 226; Hiawatha adopted into, 226\n\nMOHEGANS.  Same as Mohicans, _which see_\n\nMOHICANS, or MOHEGANS.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock, 25; a\ncommunity house of, 45; subdued by the Iroquois, 227\n\nMON-DA-MIN.  The maize-plant; story of the origin of, 180-182\n\nMONTAGNAIS.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock, 25\n\nMOON-GODDESS.  _See_ Kokomikis\n\nMOOSE.  A brave, a great hunter; in the story of the Fairy Wives,\n170-172\n\nMOOWIS.  A counterfeit brave; in the story of Elegant and Handsome,\n161-162\n\nMOQUI.  Same as Hopi, _which see_\n\nMORGAN, L.  On Indian community houses, 45-46\n\nMORNING STAR.  _See_ Apisirahts\n\nMOUNDS.  Prehistoric earthen erections found in America, 17-22; in\nanimal form, 17-18; purpose of, 18; contents of, 18-19, 21; description\nof a group, 19-20; the builders of, 20-21; age of, 21-22\n\nMUSK-RAT.  A creative deity of the Sioux; Ictinike and, 270-271\n\nMUSKHOGEANS.  An ethnic division of the American Indians, 27; costume\nof, 58; marriage-customs of, 73; creation-myth of, 108\n\n\n\nN\n\nNAKOTAT.  A Chinook village; in the myth of Stik[)u]a, 341, 345\n\nNANTAQUAUS.  Son of the chief Powhatan, 33\n\nNANTENA.  Spirits or fairies, in Tinneh mythology, 358\n\nN\u00c1PI.  The creative deity of the Blackfeet; in a day-and-night legend,\n205, 208; in the legend of Buffalo-stealer, 208-212\n\nNARRAGANSETS.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock, 25\n\nNARVAEZ, PANFILO DE.  And the Muskhogean people, 27\n\nNATCHEZ.  I. The city; discoveries of prehistoric remains at, 7.  II. A\ntribe of the so-called Natchesan stock; and earth-mounds, 21; and the\neagle, 112\n\nNAVAHO.  A tribe of the Athapascan stock, 22; a dwelling of, 49;\ncostume of, 59; belief of, respecting birds and the winds, 110;\nAhsonnutli the chief deity of, 121-122; belief of, respecting the soul,\n129; and the points of the compass, 131\n\nNEBRASKA.  Prehistoric remains discovered in, 8\n\nNEKUMONTA.  An Iroquois brave; in the legend of the Healing Waters,\n257-260\n\nNEMISSA.  A Star-maiden; in the story of Cloud-carrier, 156-159\n\nNEW ORLEANS.  Prehistoric remains discovered at, 7\n\nNEW YORK.  State of; conflict between Indians and the early settlers\nin, 30\n\nNEZ PERC\u00c9S.  A tribe of the Sahaptian stock; dwellings of, 47\n\nNIPARAYA.  A supreme deity of the Pericues, 355-356\n\nNIPMUCS.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock, 25\n\nNOCUMA.  A creative deity of the Acagchemems, 352-353\n\nNOKAY.  A noted Chippeway hunter; hunting exploit of, 54\n\nNOOTKAS.  A tribe of the Nootka-Columbia stock; dwellings of, 47;\nQuahootze, a deity of, 100\n\nNOPATSIS.  A brave; in the legend of the origin of the Beaver Medicine,\n184-187\n\nNORSEMEN.  Discovery of America by, 13-14, 16; early voyages of, to\nAmerica, 14-16; left no traces of their occupation, 16\n\nNOTTOWAYS.  A tribe of the Iroquois stock, 23\n\nNUNNE CHAHA.  A hill mentioned in the Muskhogean creation-myth, 108\n\n\n\nO\n\nOHIO.  I. The State; primitive implements found in, 7; earth-mounds\nfound in, 17, 18.  II. The river; attempt to maintain as Indian\nboundary, 25\n\nOJIBWAYS.  Same as Chippeways, _which see_\n\nOKINAI.  In the story of Bearskin-woman, 183-184\n\nOKULAM (Noise of Surge).  Name given to giant in Chinook myth of the\nThunderer, 335\n\nOLCHONES.  A Californian tribe; sun identified with supreme deity by,\n350\n\nOLD MAN ABOVE.  I. Name for supreme deity among Californian tribes,\n348.  II. The Chareya of the Cahrocs, 350\n\nOLD WHITE BEAR.  Chief of the Bear tribe, in Cherokee myth, 249\n\nOMAHAS.  A tribe of the Siouan stock; dwellings of, 48; Ictinike a\nwar-god of, 266\n\nONE ABOVE.  Name for supreme deity among Californian tribes, 348\n\nONEIDAS.  A tribe of the Iroquois stock, 24, 224, 225; inaugurate the\nfederation of the Five Nations, 226\n\nONNIONT.  A mythological serpent, 91\n\nONONDAGAS.  A tribe of the Iroquois stock, 224; Hiawatha probably\nbelonged to, 223; war with Caniengas and Hurons, 225; Atotarho a chief\nof, 225; and Hiawatha's federation scheme, 226\n\nORENDA.  Magical power, 112\n\nOSAGES.  A tribe probably of the Algonquian stock; dwellings of, 48\n\nOTTER-HEART.  The story of, 165-170\n\nOUIAMOT.  Same as Chinigchinich, _which see_\n\nOUIOT (Dominator).  I. A demi-god of the Acagchemems, 351-352.  II. A\ntyrannous ruler, 353-354\n\nOWL, THE.  Indian veneration for, 113\n\n\n\nP\n\nPAHE-WATHAHUNI (The Devouring Hill).  The story of the Rabbit and,\n302-303\n\nPAIUTES.  A tribe of the Yunian stock; houses of, 47\n\nPALMER, CAPTAIN G.  Work by, quoted, 3-4\n\nPAMOLA.  An evil spirit, in Algonquian myth; conquered by Glooskap, 145\n\nPAWNEES.  A confederacy of tribes of the Caddoan stock, 28, 304; and\nthe tribal fetish of the Cheyenne, 91; and thunder, 112; Atius Tir\u00e1wa,\nthe chief deity of, 122; and the Young Dog Dance, 190; subdued by the\nIroquois, 227; strong religious sense of, 304; myths and legends of,\n304-311; story of the origin of their Sacred Bundle, 304-308\n\nPAYNE, E. J.  On resemblance of customs of American and Asiatic tribes,\n10-11\n\nPEACE QUEEN.  A maiden appointed by the Five Nations to be arbiter of\nquarrels; the legend of Genetaska the, 262-265; the office abolished,\n265\n\nPEBBLE-RATTLER.  Haida wind-deity; in the story of Master-carpenter and\nSouth-east, 318\n\nPEQUOTS.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock; feud between the whites and,\n30\n\nPERICUES.  A Californian tribe; the hostile divinities of, 355-356\n\nPETIT ANSE.  Place in Louisiana; prehistoric remains discovered at, 7\n\nPHILIP.  An Indian chief, called 'King Philip'; war of, with the\nwhites, 30-31\n\nPICTURE-WRITING, INDIAN, 76-78\n\nPIGMIES.  Iroquois belief in a race of, 229; a legend of, 246-248;\nperhaps actually a prehistoric American race, 248\n\nPIMAS.  A tribe of the Pueblo stock; costume of, 59; method of keeping\nrecords, 133\n\nPIPE-STONE QUARRY.  Source of the Indian's pipe; description of, 116-118\n\nPLAGUE DEMON.  Iroquois deity, 264\n\nPLAINS INDIANS.  Costume of, 58; artistic work of, 62; rank among,\nindicated by feathers worn, 63; marriage among, 73\n\nPOCAHONTAS.  Daughter of the chief Powhatan; the story of, 32-36\n\nPO\u00cfA (Scar-face).  The legends of, 196-205\n\nPORCUPINE.  One of the Porcupine People, in Haida myth; story of the\nconflict between Beaver and, 318-320\n\nPO-SHAI-AN-K'IA.  A Zu\u00f1i deity, father of the 'medicine' societies, 95;\nin creation-myth, 107\n\nPOWELL, CAPTAIN NATHANIEL.  And the story of Pocahontas, 32-36\n\nPOWERS, STEPHEN.  On evil spirits in Indian mythology, 349-350\n\nPOWHATAN.  A chief, father of Pocahontas, 32, 33\n\nPOWHATANS.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock, 25; belief of, respecting\nbirds, 110.\n\nPRATT, CAPTAIN R. H.  His school for the education of Indian children,\n79\n\nPREHISTORIC REMAINS.  Discoveries of, 7-10\n\nPREY BROTHERS.  A priesthood of the Zu\u00f1i, 96\n\nPREY-GODS.  Deities of the Zu\u00f1i, 94-97\n\nPRIESTHOOD of the Indian tribes, 135-136\n\nPRINCE OF SERPENTS.  A deity who dwelt in the Great Lakes, 112, 113\n\nPUEBLOS.  I. An ethnic division of the American Indians; buildings of,\n47, 49; costume of, 57, 59; artistic work of, 63; festivals of, 135.\nII. Indian community houses, 46, 48\n\nPUSHKITA.  A festival of the Creeks, 134\n\n\n\nQ\n\nQUAAYAYP.  A son of the Pericue deity Niparaya, 355\n\nQUAH-BEET (Great Beaver).  Algonquian totem-deity; in myth of Glooskap\nand Malsum, 142\n\nQUAHOOTZE.  Deity of the Nootkas, 100\n\nQUAPAWS.  A tribe of the Caddoan stock; and earth-mounds, 21\n\n\n\nR\n\nRABBIT.  Personified animal in Sioux myth; Ictinike and, 266-268; and\nthe Sun, 301-302; and Pahe-Wathahuni, the Devouring Hill, 302-303\n\nRAFN, K. C.  Cited, 14; and the Dighton Writing Rock, 16\n\nRATTLESNAKE.  Indian regard for the, 113-115\n\nRAVEN.  Personification in Chinook myth; in the story of Stik[)u]a,\n342-348\n\nRED PIPE-STONE ROCK.  The first pipe made at, 116\n\nRED-STORM-CLOUD.  A Haida wind-deity; in the story of Master-carpenter\nand South-east, 317\n\nRESERVATIONS, INDIAN, 31-32\n\nRESURRECTION.  Indian belief in, 128\n\nROBIN.  A deity of the Chinooks, brother of Blue Jay, 125, 330, 332\n\nROGEL, FATHER.  Incident connected with his missionary work, 105\n\nROLFE, JOHN.  Husband of Pocahontas, 32\n\nROOT-DIGGERS.  A tribe of the Shoshonean stock, 28\n\n\n\nS\n\nSACRED BUNDLE.  The story of the, 304-308\n\nSACRED OTTER.  A hunter; in the story of the Snow-lodge, 150-152\n\nSALISH INDIANS.  A tribe probably of the Algonquian stock; houses of,\n47; costume of, 58\n\nSALMON.  The story of, 282-285\n\nSANTEES.  A tribe of the Siouan stock, 28\n\nSASSACUS.  Pequot chief; his village destroyed, 30\n\nSAUKS.  A tribe of the Siouan stock, 71\n\nSAYADIO.  A young Wyandot brave; the legend of, 260-262\n\nSCALPING.  Nature of the act, 66; preservation of scalps, 67\n\nSCAR-FACE.  _See_ Po\u00efa\n\nSCHOOLCRAFT, H. R.  On Indian hunting, 52-55; on Indian warfare, 66-72;\non the Indian's use of tobacco, and his pipe, 115-118; and the identity\nof Hiawatha, 223\n\nSECOTAN.  An Indian village in North Carolina, 48\n\nSEMINOLES.  A tribe of the Muskhogean stock, 27; costume of, 58\n\nSENECAS.  A tribe of the Iroquois stock, 225, 226; the so-called, in\nOklahoma, 24; join the Grand League, 226; story of the origin of the\n'medicine' of, 230-232; legend of, 236-238\n\nSERPENT, THE.  In Indian mythology, 109-111, 114; worship of, 112-114;\nreverence paid to, 135\n\nSHADOW-LAND.  Same as Spirit-land, _which see_\n\nSHANEWIS.  Wife of Nekumonta; in the legend of the Healing Waters,\n257-260\n\nSHAWNEES.  A tribe of the Algonquian stock, 25; as mound-builders, 21;\nand the King of Rattlesnakes, 248\n\nSHOSHONEANS (Snakes).  An ethnic division of the American Indians,\n28-29; costume of, 59\n\nSHUSHWAP INDIANS.  A Salish tribe; Coyote the creative deity of, 124\n\nSILVER CHAIN.  Name applied to the Grand Council of the league of the\nFive Nations, 226\n\nS\u00ce\u00d1.  Sky-god and principal deity of the Haida; myth of the incarnation\nof, 314-316\n\nSINNEKES.  One of the two political divisions of the Iroquois, 224, 225\n\nSIOUX, or DAKOTA.  An ethnic division of the American Indians, 28, 266;\nsuperstition of, resembles that of the Itelmians of Kamchatka, 11;\ndwellings of, 48; face-painting among, 61-62; war-customs of, 68;\nfetishes of, 92; belief of, respecting the winds, 110; and the eagle,\n111; and the rattlesnake, 114; Haokah, the chief thunder-god of, 125;\nWaukheon, a thunder-god of, 126; Unktahe, the water-god of, 126; and\nthe soul's journey after death, 129; the year of, 132; methods of\ntime-reckoning of, 132-133; myths and legends of, 266-303\n\nSIROUT (Handful of Tobacco).  One of the first men, in an Acagchemem\ncreation-myth, 353\n\nSITS-BY-THE-DOOR.  The story of, 193-196\n\nSKR\u00c6LINGR.  Name given by Norsemen to American natives, 13; attack the\nearly Norse voyagers, 15\n\nSKULL, DEFORMATION OF THE.  Practised by the Muskhogean peoples,\nchiefly by Choctaws, 27; among the Chinooks, 322\n\nSKY-COUNTRY.  In a version of the story of Po\u00efa, 201-205\n\nSKY-GOD.  Of the Haida--_see_ S\u00ee\u00f1\n\nSLOCUM, FRANCES.  The story of, 37-45\n\nSMOKE-EATER.  A being with magical powers, in Chinook myth, 330\n\nSMOKING among the Indians, 115-118; legend of the origin of, 116;\nimportance of, in Indian life, 131\n\nSNAKE-OGRE.  The story of the, 278-282\n\nSNAKE-WIFE.  The story of the, 287-292\n\nSNOW-LODGE.  The story of the, 149-152\n\nSOKUMAPI.  A young brave; in Blackfoot story of the origin of the\nBear-spear, 187-190\n\nSOTO, HERNANDO DE.  And the Muskhogean people, 27\n\nSOUL.  The journey of the, after death, in Indian belief, 129\n\nSOULS, THE LAND OF.  In the legend of Sayadio, 260-261\n\nSOUTH-EAST.  A Haida deity representing the south-east wind; contest\nof, with Master-carpenter, 316-318\n\nSPIDER MAN.  In the legend of Po\u00efa, 201, 202\n\nSPIRIT-BRIDE.  The story of the, 162-165\n\nSPIRIT-LAND.  Abode of mortals after death, 129-130; the lesser soul of\nsick persons taken to, 129, 139-140; 'visits' of medicine-men to,\n139-140; in the story of the Spirit-bride, 162-165; in the story of\nSayadio, 260-261; Ioi and Blue Jay in, 324-326\n\nSQA-I.  A town in the Queen Charlotte Islands; the contest of\nMaster-carpenter and South-east at, 316-318\n\nSQUIER, E. G.  And the earth-mounds, 18\n\nSTAR-BOY.  First name of Po\u00efa, or Scar-face, 201, 203\n\nSTAR-COUNTRY, THE.  In the story of Algon, 155-156; in the story of\nCloud-carrier, 156-159; in the story of the Fairy Wives, 173\n\nSTAR-MAIDEN.  The story of the, 152-156\n\nSTIK[=U]A.  Wife of Blue Jay; the story of, 341-348\n\nSTONE GIANTESS.  The story of the, 254-257\n\nSTONE GIANTS.  A malignant race, in Iroquois myth, 217, 228-229, 255-257\n\nSTYLES, DR.  And the Dighton Writing Rock, 16\n\nSUMMER.  Queen of the Elves of Light, in Algonquian myth; Glooskap and,\n148-149\n\nSUN, THE.  In Indian creation-myth, 106; worship of, 113, 350; in Sioux\nmyth, the Rabbit and, 301-302\n\nSUN DANCE.  Blackfoot ceremony for the restoration of the sick; Po\u00efa\nbrings the secrets of, to the Blackfeet, 204\n\nSUN-CHILDREN.  Extract from the story of the two, 93-94\n\nSUN-COUNTRY.  In the story of Scar-face, 198-200\n\nSUN-GOD.  In the stories of Scar-face, 197-205; in a Blackfoot\nday-and-night myth, 208; the Sioux deity, Ictinike the son of, 266\n\nSUPERNATURAL PEOPLE, THE.  A semi-divine race, 129-130; Blue Jay and,\n124-125, 323-324, 327, 329-332; Haida myth of the origin of certain,\n312-314; in Chinook myth, 323-324, 327-332, 337-338\n\nSUSQUEHANNOCKS.  A tribe of the Iroquois stock, 23\n\nSWAMP FIGHT.  A battle between Indians and whites, 31\n\nSWANTON, J. R.  On totemism, 84-87\n\nSWEET GRASS HILLS.  In the legend of Buffalo-stealer, 209\n\n\n\nT\n\nTA-UL-TZU-JE.  An Indian; the fetish of, 90\n\nTACU.  In Californian myth, reputed father of Ouiamot, 354\n\nTACULLIES.  A tribe of the Tinneh stock; a superstition of, 358\n\nTAKAHLI.  A South American tribe; moral sense of, 98\n\nTAKER-OFF-OF-THE-TREE-TOPS.  Haida wind-deity; in the story of\nMaster-carpenter and South-east, 318\n\nTARENYAWAGO.  Master of ceremonies in the Land of Souls; in the legend\nof Sayadio, 261\n\nTAWISCARA (Dark One).  One of the twin-gods of the Iroquois, 121\n\nTECUMSEH.  An Algonquin chief; war of, with the whites, 25\n\nTETONS.  A tribe of the Siouan stock, 28\n\nTEXAS.  Indians of; and earth-mounds, 21\n\nTHORWALD.  Brother of Leif the Lucky; voyage of, to America, 15\n\nTHREE TESTS.  The story of the, 275-278\n\nTHUNDER-BOYS.  Twin thunder-gods of the Cherokees, 126\n\nTHUNDER-GODS, INDIAN, 125-126; analogous to thunder-gods of the\naboriginal Mexican peoples, 126\n\nTHUNDER-MEN.  Man-eating beings in Sioux myth; in the story of the\nSnake-wife, 290-292; transformed into the thunder-clouds, 292\n\nTHUNDERER.  A supernatural being, in Chinook myth, 334-338\n\nTHUNDERER'S SON-IN-LAW.  The story of the, 332-341\n\nTHUNDERERS.  The people of Hi'nun, the Iroquois thunder-god; a myth\nrelating to, 219-222\n\nTIDAL-WAVE.  Haida storm-deity; in the story of Master-carpenter and\nSouth-east, 318\n\nTIHUGUN (My Old Friend).  A beneficent deity of the Tinneh, 358\n\nTIME.  Indian methods of reckoning, 131-133\n\nTINNEH, or D\u00c9N\u00c9.  A division of the Athapascan stock, 22, 356; poverty\nof, in mythological conceptions, 356-357; beliefs of, 357-358\n\nTIPI.  An Indian tent-dwelling, 48, 49\n\nTIPPECANOE.  Battle of the, 25\n\nTLINGIT.  A tribe of the Koluschan stock; houses of, 46-47\n\nTO-MORROW.  Haida deity, mother of South-east; in the story of\nMaster-carpenter, 318\n\nTOBACCO.  Use of, among the Indians, 115-116; legend of the origin of\nsmoking, 115\n\nTOBET.  I. A ceremonial dancer of the Acagchemems, 355.  II. The\ncostume worn by the _tobet_, 355\n\nTOSAUT.  A rock mentioned in creation-myth of the Acagchemem tribes,\n352, 353\n\nTOTEMISM.  Influence of, upon marriage, 73; story of an adventure with\na totem, 74-75; story of a totem-vigil, 75-76; origin of, among the\nIndians, 80-81; wide extension of, 81, 82-83; development of the totem\ninto a deity, 82; rules of, 83; severity of totemic rule, 83; Swanton\non, 84-87; associated with fetishism, 93; influence upon the growth of\n'morality,' 102\n\nTSUI 'KALU (Slanting Eyes).  A hunter-god of the Cherokees, 125-126\n\nTUPARAN.  Same as Wac, _which see_\n\nTUSCARORAS.  A tribe of the Iroquois stock, 23; and the twin-gods myth\nof the Iroquois, 121\n\nTWIN-GODS of the Iroquois, 121\n\nTYRKER, or TYDSKER.  In legend of Norse voyage to America, 14, 15\n\nTZI-DALTAI.  Fetishes of the Apaches, 89-90\n\n\n\nU\n\nUNDERWORLD.  Sioux story of an adventure in, 292-296\n\nUNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.  And the Indians, 32, 79\n\nUNKTAHE.  Water-god of the Dakota, 126\n\nUTONAGAN.  A totem-spirit; an Indian's adventure with, 74-75\n\n\n\nV\n\nVANCOUVER, G.  And Indian dwellings, 47\n\nVIRGINIA.  Earth-mounds found in, 18; wars between whites and early\nsettlers in, 29-30\n\n\n\nW\n\nWABASKAHA.  An Omaha brave; the story of, 271-273\n\nWABOJEEG.  An Indian chief; hunting exploit of, 54; a war-song of, 70-71\n\nWABOSE, CATHERINE.  The adventure of, 75-76\n\nWAC.  A supreme deity of the Pericues, called also Tuparan, 356\n\nWAKANDA.  A deity of the Omaha; in the story of Wabaskaha, 272; in the\nstory of the Snake-wife, 288\n\nWAKINYJAN (The Flyers).  Sioux wind-deities who send storms, 110\n\nWALES.  Legend that North American Indians came from, 4-5\n\n\"WALLUM-OLUM.\"  Picture-writing records of the Leni-Len\u00e2p\u00e9, 77-78\n\nWAR-DANCE, INDIAN, 65, 69-70\n\nWARFARE AND WAR-CUSTOMS, INDIAN, 63-72\n\nWASIS.  A baby, in Algonquian myth; Glooskap and, 145-146\n\nWATER MANITOU.  In a Chippeway legend, 179\n\nWATER-GOD.  Of the Dakota, 126; in an Iroquois legend, 286-287\n\nWAUKHEON (Thunder-bird).  A thunder-god of the Dakota, 126\n\nWAYNE, GENERAL A., 26\n\nWEASEL.  Name of the Fairy Wives, 172\n\nWEST WIND, THE.  I. Algonquian deity, father of Michabo, 120.  II.\nDeity of the Iroquois, brother of Hi'nun, 217; destroys the Stone\nGiants, 228-229\n\nWHALE-MEAT-CUTTER.  A being with magical powers, in Chinook myth, 330\n\nWHITE FEATHER.  _See_ Ch\u00e1copee\n\nWHITES.  Familiar name for European settlers in America; early wars\nwith Indians, 29-31; early relationship with Indians, 29-30, 32;\nBlackfoot idea of the originator of, 208\n\nWHITNEY, PROFESSOR J. D.  Discovery of 'Calaveras' skull by, 8\n\nWICHITA.  A tribe of the Caddoan stock, 28; grass hut of, 48\n\nWICKIUP.  An Indian dwelling, 49\n\nWIGWAM.  An Indian dwelling, 49\n\nWILSON, PROFESSOR D.  On the Chinooks, 322\n\nWIN-PE.  A giant sorcerer, in Algonquian myth; Glooskap and, 143-144\n\nWINE-LAND.  In legend of Norse voyage to America, 15\n\nWINNEBAGO.  A tribe of the Siouan stock; as mound-builders, 21\n\nWINSLOW, E.  On the gods of the Indians, 105\n\nWINTER.  A giant, in Algonquian myth; Glooskap and, 147-148\n\nWISCONSIN.  Earth-mounds found in, 17\n\nWITCHCRAFT.  Iroquois belief in, 229\n\nWOLF-TRAIL.  Indian name for the Milky Way, 204\n\nWOMEN, INDIAN.  Position of, 72-73; skill of, in weaving, 73\n\nWONDERFUL KETTLE.  The story of the, 251-254\n\nWYANDOTS.  A tribe of the Iroquois stock; allied with Algonquian\ntribes, 25; a legend of, 260-262\n\nWYOMING.  Prehistoric remains discovered in, 8\n\n\n\nY\n\nYANKTONS.  A tribe of the Siouan stock, 28\n\nYCAIUT (Above).  One of the first women, in an Acagchemem\ncreation-myth, 353\n\nYOUNG DOG DANCE.  Legend of the origin of the, 190-193\n\nYUCHI.  A tribe of the Uchean stock; and earth-mounds, 21\n\n\n\nZ\n\nZlNZENDORF, THE COUNT OF.  Story of the rattlesnake and, 114-115\n\nZU\u00d1I.  A tribe of the Zu\u00f1ian stock; fetishism among, 93-97;\ncreation-myth of, 106-107; Awonawilona, the chief deity of, 106, 121;\nand the eagle, 111; and the serpent, 113; the year of, 132; dialect of\nthe priesthood of, 136","title":"The Myths of the North American Indians","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":119533}