{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_70318/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_70318","id":"gutenberg_70318","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/70318","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Indian mythology -- North America -- Juvenile literature","Indians of North America -- Folklore -- Juvenile literature"],"text":"INDIAN\n               NATURE MYTHS\n\n                    BY\n            JULIA DARROW COWLES\n\n\n           With Illustrations by\n               Dorothy Dulin\n\n\n            A. FLANAGAN COMPANY\n                  CHICAGO\n\n\n  COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY A. FLANAGAN COMPANY\n\n    [Illustration: Publisher\u2019s device]\n\n\n\n\n                  INDIAN\n                  NATURE\n                   MYTHS\n\n\n\n\n                 Books by\n\n            Julia Darrow Cowles\n\n\n        THE ROBINSON CRUSOE READER\n              STORIES TO TELL\n      GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND\n          THE QUEER LITTLE TAILOR\n            INDIAN NATURE MYTHS\n\n\n               Published by\n\n            A. Flanagan Company\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration:\n                                                            Page 121\n\n\u201cTHE THUNDER MAIDEN FASTENED HIS PURPLE WINGS TO HIS SHOULDERS AND\n    BADE HIM GOOD-BYE\u201d]\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nThe stories of this book have been chosen for the purpose of showing\nhow the early Red Men accounted for the phenomena of nature--the\npresence of the birds, the moaning of the wind, the whispering of the\nleaves. The nature myths of the North American Indian are full of\npoetry, and occasionally of a rich humor. In retelling the stories for\nchildren the author has sought to retain the original spirit of the\ntales, and through them to give to the reader a better understanding\nof the inner life and thought of the primitive Red Man at his best.\nThe tales have been gathered from many sources, and are representative\nof many tribes.\n\nIt is well known that the same tale in varying form is told among many\ndifferent tribes, just as the folk tales have been carried in early\ntimes from one nation to another and are variously accredited. It is\nnot always possible to determine the original source.\n\nBefore reading or telling the Indian Nature Myths to the children, it\nis best to explain that just as they love to wonder and imagine about\nthe new and strange sights and sounds of the world, so the early races\nof men, the children of time, loved to wonder and imagine. And so\nthese stories of nature grew out of their imaginings; and some of the\nstories are so beautiful, and some of them are so odd, that men have\nrepeated them from one generation to another, ever since,--for even\nwhen they no longer believed them to be true, they loved them.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                                                PAGES\n  How the Seasons Came to Be (Ojibwa)                             11\n\n  Birth of the Arbutus (Ojibwa)                                   18\n\n  The Maiden with Golden Hair (Chippewa)                          24\n\n  Origin of the Violet (Iroquois)                                 29\n\n  The Beginning of Birds (Blackfeet)                              33\n\n  Why the Wind Wails (Algonquin)                                  37\n\n  Story of the Humming Bird (Shoshonee)                           43\n\n  The Gift of Indian Corn (Chippewa)                              48\n\n  The Stars That Dance (Iroquois)                                 56\n\n  The Pukwudjee and the Morning Star (Ojibwa)                     60\n\n  The White Hawk (Shawnee)                                        65\n\n  How Mosquitoes Came to Be (Iroquois)                            74\n\n  How Birds and Fairies Came to Be (Algonquin)                    78\n\n  Why the Aspen Leaves Are Never Still (Blackfeet)                83\n\n  Why the Baby Says \u201cGoo\u201d (Algonquin)                             88\n\n  Why the Squirrel Coughs (Algonquin)                             93\n\n  Why the Frogs Croak (Algonquin)                                 95\n\n  The Rock of the Measuring Worm; El Capit\u00e1n, in the Yosemite\n    (California Tribes)                                           99\n\n  How the Flying Squirrel Got His Wings (Iroquois)               103\n\n  Why Brother Bear Wears a Stumpy Tail (Ojibwa)                  111\n\n  The Thunder People (Passamaquoddy)                             118\n\n  Keepers of the Winds (Algonquin)                               123\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n  \u201cThe Thunder Maiden Fastened His Purple Wings to His\n    Shoulders and Bade Him Good-Bye\u201d                     _Frontispiece_\n\n                                                                  PAGES\n  \u201cOmeme Said, \u2018I Will Not Shoot You, Tell Me Your Secret\u2019\u201d         13\n\n  \u201c\u2018The Arbutus!\u2019 Cried the Children\u201d                               21\n\n  \u201cDay After Day ... She Stood and Waited for His Coming\u201d           27\n\n  \u201cThere Arose a Great Flock of Winged Birds\u201d                       35\n\n  \u201cThe Wind Tried to Catch Her in His Embrace\u201d                      41\n\n  \u201cHe Grappled with the Youth and They Wrestled Together\u201d           51\n\n  \u201c\u2018I Am a Pukwudjee--A Little Man of the Mountains,\u2019 He Said\u201d      63\n\n  \u201cWaupee Heard the Strains of the Magic Song\u201d                      71\n\n  \u201cWith a Terrible Cry, the Great Mosquito Flew Down with His\n    Enormous Wings Outstretched\u201d                                    75\n\n  \u201cThe Older Sister Looked on with Scorn\u201d                           85\n\n  \u201cWasis Sent Forth Such Piercing Yells and Shrieks, that the\n    Warrior Stopped in Amazement\u201d                                   91\n\n  \u201cHe Was Fat and Ugly, and His Back Was Covered with Green\n    Slime from the Pool\u201d                                            97\n\n  \u201cLittle Jo-nis-gy-ont Had His Own Ideas\u201d                         105\n\n  \u201cNorth Wind Saw Him Sitting There with His Eyes Closed and\n    His Tail Hanging Down in the Water\u201d                            115\n\n  \u201cWabun Wooed Her with His Soft Breezes ... and the Songs of\n    Birds\u201d                                                         125\n\n\n\n\nINDIAN NATURE MYTHS\n\n\n\n\nHOW THE SEASONS CAME TO BE\n\n(Ojibwa)\n\n\nTHERE was once a little Indian boy who wanted above everything else to\nbecome a mighty hunter.\n\nHis father, whose name was Ojeeg, the Fisher, was the mightiest hunter\nof his tribe, and Omeme wanted to be like his father.\n\nOften he went out into the forest with the little bow and arrows which\nhis father had made for him, to hunt the small creatures of the woods.\nBut it was too cold for him to stay long; for in those days there were\nno seasons, only cold and snow day after day, moon following moon.\n\nSo little Omeme often came back to the lodge with fingers stiff and\nnumb. As he shivered and held his fingers over the fire of the lodge,\nhe cried, \u201cThere is nothing for Omeme to shoot. The birds fly up to\nthe sun for warmth. The little creatures hide in the forest: they\nhide far down beneath the snow blanket. It is cold. Omeme can get no\ngame.\u201d\n\nOne day Omeme met a squirrel in the forest, and the squirrel said, \u201cDo\nnot shoot me, Omeme. I will tell you a great secret.\u201d\n\nThen Omeme said, \u201cI will not shoot you. Tell me your secret.\u201d\n\nAnd the squirrel said, \u201cAway up in the Sky Land it is always warm.\nThere is no frost, no snow. If we could have some of the warmth of the\nSky Land, we should not always be cold. There would be good hunting\nfor Omeme. There would be plenty for us all to eat.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut the Sky Land is far away,\u201d said Omeme.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d replied the squirrel, \u201cbut Ojeeg is mighty. Could he not go to\nthe Sky Land and bring away some of its warmth?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy father is mighty,\u201d answered Omeme. \u201cI will ask him.\u201d\n\nHe ran home, for he had grown cold while listening to the squirrel\u2019s\nsecret.\n\nOjeeg was in the lodge.\n\n\u201cOh, my father,\u201d exclaimed Omeme, \u201call we little creatures are so\ncold! The squirrel tells me there is warmth in the Sky Land. Could\nyou not go there and bring some of its warmth to the earth?\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cOMEME SAID, \u2018I WILL NOT SHOOT YOU. TELL ME YOUR\n    SECRET\u2019\u201d]\n\nOjeeg was silent for a long, long time. He loved Omeme dearly. He was\nsorry that Omeme was cold. But the journey to the Sky Land was long.\nIt was full of dangers.\n\nAt length Ojeeg said, \u201cThe earth _is_ cold. I will hold a council with\nmy neighbors.\u201d\n\nSo Ojeeg, the Fisher, called together his neighbors, the Otter, the\nBeaver, the Badger, the Lynx, and the Wolverine. Long and earnestly\nthey considered the matter, and at length they decided to undertake\nthe journey to the Sky Land.\n\nUpon a given day they started. It was a great adventure, and Ojeeg\nfelt sure that he would never return to his lodge, and never again\nwould he see the little Omeme.\n\nFor a long, long distance they traveled and at last, tired and spent\nwith hunger, they reached the top of a very high mountain. So high it\nwas that the sky seemed almost to rest upon it.\n\nThere they found meat and a fire, as though some traveler had left\nthem. So they rested and were refreshed.\n\nThen Ojeeg said to the Otter, \u201cNow we will try to gain entrance to\nthe Sky Land. It is just above us. Jump, and see if you cannot break\nthrough, and we will follow.\u201d\n\nThe Otter tried, but he could not jump high enough, and he fell, and\nslid all the way down to the foot of the mountain. So he gave up and\nreturned to his home.\n\nThen Ojeeg said to the Beaver, \u201cJump, and see if you cannot do better\nthan the Otter.\u201d The Beaver jumped; but neither could he jump high\nenough, and he too fell, and slid all the way down to the bottom of\nthe mountain. So the Beaver gave up, and returned to his home.\n\nThen Ojeeg said to the Badger, \u201cJump. Let us see if you cannot do\nbetter than the Otter and the Beaver.\u201d\n\nThe Badger jumped; but neither could he jump high enough, and back he\nslid to the bottom of the mountain. So the Badger gave up, and\nreturned to his home.\n\nThen Ojeeg said to the Lynx, \u201cSurely you are stronger than the Otter,\nand the Beaver, and the Badger, and you can jump farther. Try, and see\nif you cannot break through into the Sky Land, and we will follow.\u201d\n\nThe Lynx jumped; but neither could he break through the Sky, though\nhe made a deep scratch upon it with one of his sharp claws; and back\nhe slid to the bottom of the mountain. So the Lynx gave up, and\nreturned to his home.\n\nThen said Ojeeg to the Wolverine, \u201cYou are stronger and more agile\nthan the others. Jump, and see if you cannot break through, and I will\nfollow you. Do your best. You must not fail me.\u201d\n\nThe Wolverine prepared for a mighty jump. He sprang upward, and\ntouched the Sky just where the Lynx\u2019s claw had scratched it. He broke\nit, and sprang through the opening.\n\nAfter him sprang Ojeeg, and now they two were in the Sky Land.\n\nIt was a beautiful country. There was no snow. The winds blew softly;\nthe air was balmy; and all about them were flowers, and grass, and\nsinging birds.\n\nOjeeg stamped hard with his foot, and a great hole was made where he\nstamped. Down through the hole rushed the singing birds, and the warm\nair of the Sky Land.\n\nDown went Spring, and after Spring went Summer, and after Summer went\nAutumn. But just as Autumn disappeared, Ojeeg heard a great noise and\nshouting, for the people of the Sky Land were coming. He knew that\nthey would punish him for his daring.\n\nThe Wolverine slipped through the hole and followed Autumn; but before\nOjeeg could follow, the Sky people came, and the hole was closed.\n\nOjeeg ran, but the arrows of the Sky people were swift, and overtook\nhim.\n\nSo Ojeeg gave up his life, but he had sent warmth to all the creatures\nof the earth, and since that time his people have had the four\nseasons, instead of one unbroken season of bitter cold and snow.\n\nThe little Omeme was proud of the mighty deed of his father. He was\ncold no more: and he grew up to be a mighty hunter, as his father the\ngreat Ojeeg had been before him.\n\nAnd when the Indians look up at the stars and see the constellation of\nthe fish, they say, \u201cThat is Ojeeg, the Fisher, who gave the summer to\nhis people.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nBIRTH OF THE ARBUTUS\n\n(Ojibwa)\n\n\nLONG years ago, when only the red men lived among the hills and\nvalleys of the land, an old, old man sat shivering over the low fire\nof his tepee. The old man was Peboan. He was chief of the winter\nspirits.\n\nThe outside world was covered with snow. The branches of the trees\nbent low with its weight. The sides of the tepee were heavy with snow.\nAll the tracks of the bear and the rabbit were hidden.\n\nThe old man shivered, and bent over his fire. He was clothed in furs,\nand furs covered the floor of the tepee. But they could not keep out\nthe chill winds, for the fire was low. There was no more wood to\nreplenish it. Snow covered all the fallen branches, and the chief was\nold and feeble.\n\nPeboan had been a mighty hunter. He had killed the moose and the bear.\nThe skins of many deer were about him. But now his hair was white as\nthe icy fringes of the frozen brook.\n\nHe blew upon the coals of his fire and they glowed, bright as the eyes\nof a startled deer in the forest. But the glow faded. The old man\nshivered.\n\nThere was no food in the tepee. The bear and the rabbit were hidden in\nthe forest. Their tracks were covered with snow. Peboan could not hunt\nthem.\n\nThen, upon his knees, he cried to the Great Spirit for help. He cried\nfor help, that Peboan, chief of the winter spirits, might not suffer\nwant and cold.\n\nAs he sank once more upon his furs, he felt a warmth in the tepee. He\nlooked up.\n\nIn the doorway stood a youth, whose red cheeks and sparkling eyes told\nof health and strength. A wreath of sweet grass was bound about his\ncurling locks, and in his hands he held a cluster of flowers. Light\nand quick was his step as he entered the lodge of Peboan.\n\nHe smiled upon Peboan, and the old man felt a warmth enveloping him.\n\n\u201cEnter, my son,\u201d he said, \u201cand welcome. I have no refreshment to\noffer. But come to my fire, and tell me who you are.\u201d\n\nThen the youth said, \u201cThe Great Spirit has sent me to Peboan. I am\nSeegwun, the Spring. But tell me of yourself, Peboan.\u201d\n\nThen Peboan cried, \u201cI am the great winter spirit. When I come to the\nEarth, all the Earth\u2019s children tremble. I breathe upon them, and they\ncry out. The trees drop their leaves. The birds fly away. The forest\nchildren creep into their holes.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d cried the youth, \u201cwhen I come to the Earth, the Earth\u2019s children\nlaugh and clap their hands. I breathe upon them and they dance with\njoy. The trees put forth their leaves. The birds come back. The forest\nchildren awake.\u201d\n\nPeboan continued, \u201cWhen I come to the Earth, I shake my locks and snow\nfalls from the clouds. The streams grow hard and still. The wind sings\ndirges through the naked trees.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen I come to the Earth,\u201d laughed Seegwun, \u201cI shake my ringlets and\nwarm showers fall from the clouds. The grass awakes. The flowers\nbloom. Soft breezes blow. The streams are glad, and sing as they dance\nalong.\n\n\u201cPeboan,\u201d said the youth, \u201cthe Great Spirit has sent me to the Earth,\nand you must go.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201c\u2018THE ARBUTUS!\u2019 CRIED THE CHILDREN\u201d]\n\nSeegwun smiled, and the tepee grew warm. Peboan became silent. His\nhead drooped lower and lower.\n\nThe sun shone forth, and the snow melted beneath its rays.\n\nThen Spring waved his hands over the sleeping Peboan, and he sank upon\nthe ground. Smaller and smaller he grew. His clothing seemed turned to\nfurry leaves, and covered the floor of the tepee.\n\nThe youth smiled, for Peboan was gone.\n\nSoftly he lifted the furry leaves, and beneath each cluster he placed\nblossoms of white and pink. He breathed upon them with his fragrant\nbreath, and they became sweet. Their spicy odor filled all the tepee.\n\nThen the youth laughed gladly, and went his way.\n\nThe sun shone, and the children of the little Indian village ran from\ntheir homes, and danced and sang in its warmth. A bird was caroling in\nthe tree top, and they stopped to listen. The stream shook off its icy\ncovering and went singing down its course. The children followed it.\n\nThey came to the spot where the tepee of Peboan had stood. And lo! all\nthe ground was covered with fragrant flowers.\n\n\u201cThe arbutus!\u201d cried the children. \u201cThe arbutus!\u201d\n\nThey picked the beautiful, fragrant blossoms, and joyously carried\nthem home. And when the old people of the village saw them, they knew\nthat the Spirit of the Spring had returned to fill the earth with joy\nand gladness.\n\n\n\n\nTHE MAIDEN WITH GOLDEN HAIR\n\n(Chippewa)\n\n\nLEELINAU stood in the door of the lodge, holding in her hand a bunch\nof dandelions which had gone to seed. She blew upon them softly, and\nthe white-winged seeds went floating into the air.\n\n\u201cShawondasee\u2019s breath was mightier than thine,\u201d said a voice behind\nher. She turned to see her grandmother smiling upon her as she worked\nupon a deer-skin moccasin.\n\nLeelinau sat down. \u201cTell me of Shawondasee,\u201d she said coaxingly. So\nthe grandmother told her the story of the South Wind and the\nDandelion:\n\nShawondasee lived far away in the South Land where it was always warm\nand bright. His father, Kabeyun, the father of the winds, had given\nhim this part of the earth in which to dwell. The soft, warm winds of\nthe South were given him.\n\nBut Shawondasee was not strong, and quick, and eager, like his\nbrothers who governed the North Wind, and the West Wind. He was fat,\nand lazy, and sluggish. He liked to take life easily, and moved\nslowly, when he moved at all.\n\nSometimes, because he was so fat and heavy, he sighed deeply, and then\nhis warm breath would travel far across the land to the North, and the\npeople would cry, \u201cWhat a balmy day! How soft and warm the air is!\u201d\n\nOne day, as Shawondasee looked far away toward the North, he saw upon\nthe prairie a beautiful maiden. Her body was tall and slender. She\nwore a gown of green, and her hair was a wonderful yellow, like\nburnished gold.\n\nShawondasee looked long upon her, for never had he seen a maiden like\nher before. The Indian maidens had hair of deepest black, like the\nglossy feathers of the crow, and their skins were dark.\n\n\u201cShe is fair and beautiful,\u201d sighed Shawondasee. \u201cI should woo her, if\nshe were not so far away.\u201d\n\nHe stirred a little, and sighed, and the air grew warm, and a soft\nbreeze blew. The beautiful maiden on the prairie swayed in the breeze,\nand her green robe fluttered.\n\n\u201cShe is very beautiful,\u201d cried Shawondasee. \u201cI will send her a kiss.\u201d\nSo with his softest breath he sent a kiss to the maiden of the yellow\nhair, and again she bowed and swayed.\n\nStill Shawondasee did not leave his home in the South Land to visit\nthe maiden. He sent soft breezes to blow upon her, and the breezes\ncarried sighs and kisses to her; but Shawondasee himself remained at\nhome. Day after day he wished that he might win the maiden with the\ngolden hair. Day after day he looked toward the North where she stood\nand waited for his coming.\n\nThen one morning there was a change. As Shawondasee looked out upon\nthe prairie he saw that the beautiful golden hair of the maiden he\nloved had turned to snowy white. For once he was startled. \u201cWhat have\nI done?\u201d he cried. \u201cI have put off going to her, and now I have lost\nher. Her golden beauty has changed to a beauty which is not of this\nearth. It is now too late!\u201d\n\nShawondasee heaved a mighty sigh as he spoke--a sigh that stirred all\nthe winds of the South Land--and behold! the air was filled with the\nsilvery white locks of the Dandelion maiden.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cDAY AFTER DAY ... SHE STOOD AND WAITED FOR HIS\n    COMING\u201d]\n\nFar and wide they floated, and wherever one fell, there a new flower\nsprang up, and it was called the Dandelion.\n\nThe old grandmother had finished her story and her moccasin at the\nsame time.\n\n\u201cAnd so Shawondasee never married the Dandelion maiden?\u201d questioned\nLeelinau.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered the grandmother. \u201cHe was far too fat and lazy to win a\nmaiden of spirit. But then,\u201d she added, \u201cit was no great loss to\neither. No Indian of good sense would wed a maiden with yellow hair.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nORIGIN OF THE VIOLET\n\n(Iroquois)\n\n\nTHREE wonderful deeds had the Indian youth performed: three deeds for\nwhich the older men of the tribe gave him honor.\n\nFirst of all he had gone forth with his bow and arrow and, taking true\naim with a strong and steady hand, had pierced the heart of the great\nheron flying overhead: the great heron that was the enemy of his\npeople. Often had the bird caught the children of the tribe and\ncarried them away to devour them. And now the young brave, who was\nlittle more than a lad, had slain the great heron.\n\nOn the second occasion he had gone forth alone, and sought out the\ncave of the witches. And from the cave he had brought away the roots\nwhich alone would cure his people of the great sickness which we call\nthe plague. The journey was long and difficult, and food was scarce,\nbut only the witches knew the secret of the roots.\n\nWhen the young brave returned with the medicine and the people were\nmade well, the old men of the tribe gave him honor, and the women of\nthe tribe blessed him.\n\nOn the third occasion the young warrior led a band of his fellows in\ncombat with a tribe of their enemies, and overthrew them. Those who\nwere not killed fled in confusion. And again he was honored by all his\ntribe.\n\nBut now the young warrior\u2019s mind was troubled, and favor and honor no\nlonger satisfied his heart. Among the tribe of the enemy that he had\nconquered, he had seen a maiden who had won his love.\n\nUnknown to her, and hidden, he had watched as she moved about the\nwigwam of her father. He had followed the fleeing enemy, and had come\nsilently to the outskirts of their village, and there he discovered\nthe maiden who alone had stirred his heart.\n\n\u201cI must have her for my very own! She shall be the light of my\nwigwam!\u201d he cried.\n\nSo he stayed in the forest near the village of the enemy, and there he\nsang all the songs that the Indian lover sings, and always they were\nin praise of the graceful maiden whom he loved.\n\nSo sweet and tender were the words, and so rich the music, that the\nbirds of the forest learned to sing them after him. And so often were\nthey repeated that even the roving animals knew the words, and\nwondered of whom the strange warrior sang.\n\nOne day the Indian maiden, enticed by the freshness of the woods and\nthe caroling of the birds, wandered away to the forest alone. Unknown\nto her, a young Indian of her own tribe, who long had loved her,\nfollowed at a distance.\n\nWhen she reached the forest she listened happily to the singing birds,\nand she thought she heard, too, a strong, clear voice that was\ndifferent from the voice of the birds.\n\nFarther into the woods she went, when suddenly a young brave sprang\ntoward her, clasped her in his arms, and ran swiftly away, bearing her\nwith him.\n\nThe maiden, looking into his face, saw that it was strong, and\nfearless, and loving; and with his voice he reassured her, promising\nthat he would do her no harm. And the maiden\u2019s heart went out to him,\nas his had done to her.\n\nThe unseen lover of her own tribe saw what had happened and,\nrecognizing the young brave who had stolen the maiden from him as the\none who had defeated his people, was afraid. He ran back to the\nvillage to tell the men, and to get help for the pursuit.\n\n\u201cAnd you came back!\u201d cried the men of the village in a voice of scorn.\n\u201cYou did not save the maiden you claim to love! Stay here at home with\nthe women while we ride forth and overtake them!\u201d\n\nSo the men mounted their ponies and rode away; and toward evening they\ncame in sight of the brave young warrior, and the maiden of their\ntribe.\n\nBut as they drew nearer they saw that the maiden had braided the long\ntresses of her hair and had bound them about the neck of the young\nwarrior who bore her in his arms. And this was the sign to them that\nshe loved him, and wished to go with him and become his wife.\n\nThen the Indians of her own tribe were doubly angry, and drawing their\nbows they shot both the young warrior and the maiden through the\nheart, and returned to their own village.\n\nAnd where the two fell, there sprang from the earth a new flower, the\npurple violet, which speaks of courage and of love.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BEGINNING OF BIRDS\n\n(Blackfeet)\n\n\nIN very early times, the Red Children believe, there were no birds.\nAnd this is the way they account for their beginning:\n\nAll summer the trees had been full of leaves, shaking, whispering,\ndancing, as the winds blew upon them. \u201cI wish I might fly,\u201d said one\nlittle leaf. \u201cI would go sailing straight up into the heavens. But the\ntree holds me tightly; I cannot get away.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf the tree should let you go, you would only fall to the ground and\ndie,\u201d said a bigger leaf. \u201cIt is better to be content as you are.\u201d\n\nSo the leaves fluttered and danced and whispered one to another, day\nafter day.\n\nOne morning the wind was cold, and the leaves had to dance fast to\nkeep warm. Then the old tree said, \u201cIt is the breath of Po-poon-o-ki.\nHe lives in the ice lodge of the far North. He will soon visit us,\nwith his war paints. I must hold you tightly, little leaves, as long\nas I can.\u201d But the little leaves did not understand what the tree\nmeant.\n\nThen, one still night, Po-poon-o-ki came. He went from tree to tree,\nand over each one he splashed his war paints, till the leaves were no\nlonger green, but dashed with red, and brown, and yellow, and crimson.\n\n\u201cHow beautiful the trees are!\u201d cried the Indian children the next\nmorning. \u201cSee their bright colors.\u201d\n\nFor a few days the leaves danced and whispered, laughing over their\nbeautiful hues. Then Po-poon-o-ki came back, and with his swift, cold\nbreath, he blew against the trees, and the little leaves were tossed\nand torn from the friendly branches. They did not fly up into the\nheavens, but frightened and sobbing they dropped to the earth.\n\n\u201cWe shall die!\u201d they cried. \u201cWe shall die!\u201d\n\nThen a strange thing happened. The guardian spirit of the tree\nwhispered, \u201cNo, little leaves, you shall not die. You shall be changed\ninto living forms. I will give you breath and life.\u201d And instantly\nthere arose from the earth where the leaves had dropped, a great flock\nof winged birds, red, and brown, and yellow, and crimson, all the\nbeautiful colors that Po-poon-o-ki had given the leaves. Then they\nflew away to the South Land, where winter\u2019s breath could not reach\nthem.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cTHERE AROSE A GREAT FLOCK OF WINGED BIRDS\u201d]\n\nBut in the spring, when Ni-poon-o-ki, the spirit of summer, came\nstealing up from the South, and Po-poon-o-ki went back to his ice\nlodge in the far North, then the birds came back, too. There were new\nleaves on the trees, but the birds flew straight to the branches which\nhad been their home, and there, safely sheltered by the new leaves,\nthey built their nests.\n\nAnd after awhile, when there were eggs in all the home nests, the\nhearts of the birds became so full of joy that they could no longer be\nsilent. Their throats swelled, and opening wide their little mouths,\nthey filled all the air with bursts of happy song.\n\n\n\n\nWHY THE WIND WAILS\n\n(Algonquin)\n\n\nWHEN the pale moon looks down from the sky, and when the wind cries\nmournfully around the wigwam, this is the story that the old man of\nthe tribe tells to the Indian children:\n\nMany, many moons ago the great chief of our tribe had a very beautiful\ndaughter.\n\n\u201cShe shall marry a great warrior,\u201d said the Chief, \u201cand a mighty\nhunter. Then she will be well cared for, and I shall be happy.\u201d\n\nSo the great Chief kept watch of the young men of the tribe, to see\nwhich one would prove worthy of his daughter.\n\nOne day, as the Chief sat in the door of his lodge, there came a\nsudden rushing sound, and a young man stood before him. It was the\nWind, who had made himself visible that he might talk with the Chief.\n\nWhen he had saluted, he said, \u201cGreat Chief, I love your daughter. May\nI carry her away to my lodge, and make her my wife?\u201d\n\nThe Chief looked at the Wind, and he answered, \u201cNo. My daughter is\nnot for such as you. You are no warrior. You are no hunter. You love\nto play pranks. You cannot marry my daughter.\u201d\n\nSo the Wind went away sorrowing, for he loved the Indian maiden.\n\nThe next day the maiden came to her father and said, \u201cFather, I love\nthe Wind better than any young warrior of our tribe. May I go to his\nlodge, and be his wife?\u201d\n\nThe Chief looked at his daughter and said, \u201cNo. The Wind is no mate\nfor you. He is no warrior. He is no hunter. He loves only to play\npranks. You cannot marry him.\u201d\n\nThe maiden went away sorrowing, for she loved the Wind.\n\nThe next day when the maiden went out to gather sweet marsh grass for\nher basket weaving, she heard a sudden rushing sound above her head.\nShe looked up, and as she looked the Wind swept down and carried her\nin his arms far away to his lodge.\n\nThere they lived happily together, for the maiden became his wife. But\nthe great Chief was full of wrath. He hunted through all the land for\nthe lodge of the Wind, but he could not find it for many moons. Still\nhe would not give up the search, for his heart was hot with wrath.\n\nOne day the Wind heard a great crashing sound among the trees near his\nlodge, and his heart stood still.\n\n\u201cIt is your father,\u201d he cried, and he hid the Chief\u2019s daughter in a\nthicket, while he made himself invisible, that he might stay close\nbeside her.\n\nThe great Chief looked inside the lodge of the Wind, but he found it\nempty. Then he went through the brush, striking to right and left with\nhis heavy club, and calling, \u201cMy daughter: my daughter!\u201d\n\nAnd when the Wind\u2019s wife heard her father\u2019s voice, she answered, \u201cOh,\nmy father, strike not! We are here.\u201d\n\nBut before her words could reach him, the Chief swung his great club\nonce more, and it fell upon the head of the invisible Wind, who,\nwithout a sound, dropped unconscious upon the ground. And because he\nwas invisible, neither the Chief nor his daughter knew what had\nhappened.\n\nThen the Chief took his daughter in his arms and hastened back to his\ntribe. But each day she grew more and more sorrowful, and longed for\nher husband, the Wind.\n\nFor many hours the Wind lay unconscious beside his lodge. When he\nawakened, the Chief and his daughter had gone. Sorrowfully he set out\nin search of his wife. He traveled to her father\u2019s tribe, and there at\nlast he found her. But she was in a canoe with her father, far out\nupon the lake.\n\nThen the Wind cried, \u201cCome to me, my loved one,\u201d and his voice swept\nout over the water.\n\nThe Chief said, \u201cThe winds are blowing,\u201d but his daughter knew her\nhusband\u2019s voice. She could not see him, for he was still invisible,\nbut she lifted herself up in the canoe and stretched out her hands\ntoward the shore. As she did so a breeze stirred the water, and the\ncanoe overturned.\n\nThe Chief\u2019s daughter threw up her arms, and the Wind tried to catch\nher in his embrace, but he was too late. The Great Spirit bore her far\nup into the sky, and there he gave her a home where she would live\nforever in the lodge of the moon.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cTHE WIND TRIED TO CATCH HER IN HIS EMBRACE\u201d]\n\nThe great Chief was drowned in the waters of the lake.\n\nNight after night his daughter looks down upon the earth, hoping for a\nsight of her lost lover. But though the Wind still roams about the\nearth in search of his bride, he has never, since the Chief\u2019s blow\nfell upon his head, had the power to become visible to men.\n\nAnd now you will understand why the voice of the Wind is so mournful\nas it wails about the wigwam; and why the Moon Maiden\u2019s pale face is\nalways turned downward toward the earth.\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE HUMMING BIRD\n\n(Shoshonee)\n\n\n\u201cSEE!\u201d said the Indian grandfather, as he sat in the opening of his\ntepee. \u201cSee the little Fire Bird! How swiftly it darts! Now it drinks\nhoney from the flowers. How fast its wings move!\u201d\n\nA little Indian boy stood quietly at his grandfather\u2019s side. \u201cI see\nthe fire on its throat,\u201d he said softly, and then, as the bird darted\naway, he begged, \u201cTell me the story of the little Fire Bird,\ngrandfather. I like the story.\u201d\n\nThen the grandfather told this tale, which his grandfather had told to\nhim:\n\nLong, long ago the Indian people lived in a country where it was cold,\nand the snow fell for many, many days. The falling snow covered the\ntracks of the forest children, so the hunters could find little meat.\nMany times the Indian children cried to the Great Spirit for warmth,\nand for better hunting.\n\nFar to the west of the Indian village there was a high mountain; and\noften the people watched the red sun as he sank from sight beyond the\nmountain, and all the sky was filled with brightness.\n\nOne night a little child went running about the tepees calling, \u201cCome,\ncome; see the sun! See the sun!\u201d\n\nThe people looked toward the west. All the sky was bright; and they\nsaid, \u201cThe sun is touching the mountain top.\u201d\n\nBut the brightness did not fade away as they watched. Instead, while\ndarkness fell all about the village, the red fire burned brighter and\nbrighter at the top of the mountain. The people cried, \u201cThe sun is\nresting. He does not move. He does not sink behind the mountain!\u201d Then\nthey were frightened, for they knew not what to think.\n\nAll night they watched, and still the bright light shone above the\nmountain top. It flashed, and threw fiery darts far into the heavens;\nand the Indians said, \u201cThe sun is angry. Perhaps he will destroy the\nearth\u2019s children.\u201d\n\nThen their wonder grew as far away in the east a light began to glow.\nIt grew brighter and brighter,--and then the sun arose on the eastern\nhorizon! The people knew then that the light upon the mountain was not\nthe light of the sun.\n\n\u201cThere is _fire_ in the mountain,\u201d they cried, \u201cand fire is warm. It\nis beckoning to us with its hands. Let us move nearer to the fire\nmountain. It will not be so cold there.\u201d\n\nSo the people of the village marched westward toward the mountain. The\nbright light had gone, but a cloud of smoke hung above it.\n\nFor several days they journeyed, and at last they reached the foot of\nthe mountain, and there they camped.\n\nThen two of their bravest warriors climbed up the mountain, until they\ncame to its very top, and there they looked down into a great opening,\nshaped like a mammoth bowl, and it was full of fire! Then they\nhastened down and told the people.\n\nThe people rejoiced, and said, \u201cThe fire in the mountain will keep us\nwarm. It will be good to live here.\u201d And they made them a new village\nat the foot of the mountain.\n\nFor many moons the people dwelt there, hunting and fishing, making\ntheir beads and moccasins. Then one day a strange noise was heard. It\nwas as though the mountain coughed--a great, hoarse, rumbling cough,\nlike that of some huge giant.\n\nThe people stood still and listened! There was another sound like the\nfirst, but heavier, more convulsive.\n\nThen a great flash of fire shot up from the mountain top, and fell\nagain. Then another, and another, and each time the fire leaped\nhigher.\n\n\u201cLet us run!\u201d cried the people. \u201cLet us run!\u201d Even as they spoke there\nwas a great burst of fire and smoke, and huge stones were thrown high\nin the air, and a stream came pouring down the side of the mountain--a\nstream that looked like liquid fire.\n\nThen the Indians ran, indeed, and there was no time to save anything\nbut their own lives!\n\nMany streams followed the first one, coming like fiery serpents down\nthe mountain side, and above were heavy smoke clouds, shot with\nbursting rocks.\n\nFar away the Indian people ran, crying, \u201cThe Fire Spirit is angry!\nWhat have we done that he should destroy our homes?\u201d\n\nAt last they stopped, and turned to look back at the fire mountain.\nThe flames were gone: only a cloud of smoke hung about. But the fiery\nstreams had burned all that was in their way; and rocks and ashes had\nburied what the fire streams had not destroyed.\n\nThen the people prayed to the Great Spirit, and as the Great Spirit\nlooked down upon the mountain and saw what destruction had been\nwrought, he said, \u201cYour flames shall be put out; your fires shall be\nquenched.\u201d And even as the Great Spirit spoke, the fires grew ashen in\ncolor, and the flames trembled and sank away.\n\nBut in the center of the great bowl of the mountain, where the fires\nhad been, one little flame hung quivering. The Great Spirit saw it,\nand he said, \u201cLittle flame, you alone shall stay. But I will give to\nyou a new form. You shall have wings, and live among the earth\u2019s\npeople, and drink the honey of its flowers. Little flame, you shall\ncarry the color of the fire upon your throat. You shall be known as\nthe Humming Bird, and every child will love you.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE GIFT OF INDIAN CORN\n\n(Chippewa)\n\n\nIN the far back days, before the white men lived upon this side of the\nearth, a young Indian lad stood at the door of his father\u2019s tepee and\ngazed out over the far-waving prairie grass.\n\nHe was thinking of the morrow when he would begin his fast; for this\nwas the custom among the Indians. When a youth reached a given age he\nwent away by himself, and for seven days he ate no food, but spent the\ntime in prayer to the Great Spirit that his part in life might be made\nclear to him, and that it might prove a worthy one.\n\nNow Wunzh, who stood in the tepee door, was an unusually thoughtful\nlad, for his father had so taught him; and he was filled with high and\nwith grave thoughts as he looked across the waving grass.\n\nBeyond his sight, in a thicket, he knew that his father and younger\nbrother were clearing the ground and raising the little tepee wherein\nhe would spend the days of his fasting.\n\nWunzh knew full well what his prayer to the Great Spirit would be, but\nhow would it be answered? He thought of this long and often.\n\nAs he had run about the prairie or made his way through the forests\nwhen a little lad, he had wondered how it was that the grass and the\ntrees sprang up out of the dark earth. He had wondered why some of the\nflowers smelled sweet while others were offensive; why some of the\nroots were good for healing, while others caused sickness or even\ndeath, though all came from the same soil. But to none of these\nquestions could he find an answer.\n\nWunzh\u2019s father was poor, and so were many other Indians; and some of\nthem were ill, or very old. But in order to live they must hunt or\nfish, for game and fish were their only food. And so life was hard for\nmany of the Indians.\n\nSince Wunzh was thoughtful and had considered all these things, he\nknew full well what his prayer to the Great Spirit would be.\n\nOn the following day he left the tepee of his father and went to the\nlittle clearing in the thicket, where he would fast for seven days.\nAnd there he prayed that in some way which the Great Spirit would show\nhim, he might bring a great blessing to his people and make their\nlives less hard. He knew full well that most of his comrades prayed\nthat they might become great warriors, or that they should be mighty\nmen of the chase. But Wunzh prayed not for these.\n\nFor four days he fasted and prayed, and each day he grew weaker from\nlack of food, but his faith and his courage grew stronger.\n\nOn the fifth day, as he lay upon his bed of skins, there appeared\noutside the door of his tepee a strong, bright youth, clad all in\nshimmering greens and golden yellows, and wearing upon his head a\nplume of waving green.\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d cried the youth, \u201clet us wrestle, and see who shall overcome.\u201d\n\nThen Wunzh sprang from his bed, for though his body was weak, his\nspirit was strong, and he grappled with the youth and they wrestled\ntogether.\n\nAt length the youth said, \u201cThat will do for to-day. You have wrestled\nwell, though neither of us has overcome. I will return to-morrow.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cHE GRAPPLED WITH THE YOUTH AND THEY WRESTLED\n    TOGETHER\u201d]\n\nAnd no sooner had he finished speaking than he vanished from the\nsight of Wunzh who dropped exhausted upon his bed.\n\nThe next day, at exactly the same hour, the youth came again, and so\nsuddenly that it seemed to Wunzh he must have dropped from the sky.\n\nWunzh had less strength in his body than on the previous day, but he\nfelt sure the stranger had been sent by the Great Spirit, and so he\ngrappled with him again and wrestled well.\n\nBut as Wunzh\u2019s strength was nearly gone, the young man said once more,\n\u201cThat will do for to-day. To-morrow I will return. \u2019Tis the last day\nof your fast. Be ready.\u201d\n\nAgain the stranger disappeared, and Wunzh, trembling with weakness of\nbody, prayed the Great Spirit that he might yet overcome. And as he\nprayed he fell asleep.\n\nThen, as Wunzh slept, he dreamed. And it seemed to him that he again\nwrestled with the strange youth, and he overcame and threw him to the\nground. And a voice spoke to him and said: \u201cStrip off the clothing of\nthe youth and wear it for your own. Bury his body, and protect the\nspot where he is buried. Make the earth soft and mellow; keep it clear\nof weeds; and water it day by day. Do all this, and your prayer to\nthe Great Spirit shall be answered.\u201d\n\nWunzh slept long, but when he wakened he remembered his dream and the\nwords that had been spoken.\n\nThat morning his father came to the tepee to offer food, but Wunzh\nsaid, \u201cLet me alone until the evening.\u201d So his father went away.\n\nAt the same hour, on this day, the stranger once more appeared outside\nthe door of the tepee, and once more Wunzh went forth to wrestle. He\nwas weaker than before, but his dream had given him such courage that\nhe grasped the strange youth and with a supreme effort threw him\nprostrate upon the earth.\n\n\u201cI have overcome,\u201d cried Wunzh, for the youth lay dead at his feet.\n\nThen Wunzh stripped off his clothing as he had been told in his dream,\nand he dressed himself in the garments of green and yellow, and he\nplaced the plume of green upon his head.\n\nThen, kneeling, he tenderly buried the body of the youth, and his\ntears fell as he did so, for he said, \u201cHe was my friend.\u201d\n\nWhen Wunzh returned to the tepee of his father he was received with\ngreat rejoicing, and given food. His new clothing was looked upon in\nwonder, but he did not tell its story.\n\nDay by day he went to the little spot of ground where his own little\ntepee had been, and he kept the earth soft and moist and free from\nweeds.\n\nAnd after many days had gone by, green plumes came up through the\nearth; and they grew, and became sturdy stalks.\n\nAnd still they grew, and after many days and weeks the broad green\nleaves held ears of juicy grain.\n\nDay by day the ears grew full and the grain ripened; the green plumes\nat their ends turned to yellow, and then to brown, and the ground was\ncovered with the many stalks.\n\nThen Wunzh said to his father, \u201cCome with me. I have something to show\nyou.\u201d And his father went with him, and he showed him the clearing\nwhere his tepee had stood. And it was all a field of green and yellow,\nlike the clothing which Wunzh had worn, when he came from his fast.\n\nThen he told his father of the stranger\u2019s visit, and of his dream, and\nof his overcoming the youth.\n\n\u201cAnd now, my father,\u201d he added, \u201cthe Great Spirit has answered my\nprayer. From this time on life will be less hard for the Indian, for\nhe shall have other food than game and fish. The Great Spirit has\ncaused this grain to grow, and it is good for man to eat. Taste it, my\nfather, and see.\u201d\n\nAnd this is the story the Red Men tell of the gift of the maize, or\nIndian corn.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STARS THAT DANCE\n\n(Iroquois)\n\n\nMANY years ago in the Indian country a company of eleven young men\nwent out from the village of their fathers. They were going to prepare\nthemselves for the war dances, and for battle with their foes.\n\nAway into the forest they went, but before they left the lodges of\ntheir people, their leader said, \u201cYou, our parents, must prepare food,\nthat we may have strength for the trial that is before us.\u201d\n\nThen they went away, singing the war songs of their nation, while\ntheir leader beat upon the water drum to give them courage and\nendurance.\n\nOn they marched until they came to the part of the forest where they\nwere to begin their training, and there they stopped and prepared a\nrude lodge for shelter.\n\nMany days they stayed, practising the light step of the hunter which\nfalls as softly as a falling leaf, or dancing the war dance to the\nbeating of the drum.\n\nBut at length they grew weary and faint, for day after day had passed,\nand no food had been sent them from the lodges of their fathers.\n\nThen their leader sent one of their number back to the village, and he\ntold the people that the young men were faint and weary, and in need\nof food. Yet the people sent them no food, and the young man went\nback, weak, and empty-handed.\n\nOnce more the young men began their dancing, for their hearts were\nfull of courage, and Indian youths are strong to endure. Then, once\nmore, they sent to the people asking for food, but still no food was\ngiven them.\n\nThen a third time they sent, and yet in vain.\n\nThat night, as the youths slept, quite exhausted, in their lodge,\ntheir leader was awakened by the sound of singing. Slow, and soft, and\nalluring were the voices; and they seemed far above the earth.\n\nThe leader wakened his companions, and together they listened. Then,\none by one, the young men arose, and new strength seemed to come into\ntheir limbs, and new courage into their hearts, and dancing, they\nfollowed the sound of the singing. On and on they went, and then they\nseemed to be lifted from off the earth, but still they danced as\nhigher and higher they arose. Now they were past the tree tops, now\nthey were above the mountain tops, and now high up among the clouds.\nAnd still they danced the war dance of their nation, faster and\nfaster, as the music led them on.\n\nThe Night Wind saw them. \u201cThey follow the song of the Sky Witches,\u201d he\ncried in alarm, and he hastened to overtake them and turn them back.\nBut they paid no heed to the Night Wind, for the song of the Sky\nWitches had charmed them, and they followed on dancing.\n\nThe people of their village caught sight of them as they passed far\nover their heads, and they ran from their lodges and called to them.\n\u201cCome back! Come back!\u201d they cried. \u201cLook down upon us, and the spell\nwill be broken. Heed not the song of the Sky Witches!\u201d\n\nBut still the young men followed on,--all but one, their leader, who,\nhearing the voice of his mother, turned his head and looked back. The\nspell of the Sky Witches was broken, and down, down he sped to the\nearth.\n\nThe other ten followed on, and the Mother Moon, quite dizzy with the\nsight of their dancing, turned aside from her steady course and begged\nthem to heed her voice.\n\n\u201cThe Sky Witches are seeking victims for their feasts,\u201d she warned\nthem. \u201cTurn away; turn away! They will destroy you!\u201d\n\nYet in spite of her warning the witchery of the music led the youths\non. And then the Mother Moon cried, \u201cI will save you from their wicked\nspell in spite of yourselves!\u201d With that she waved her girdle of\nvapors, and the ten youths were changed into fixed stars, and set\nforever in the heavens.\n\nSeven of the youths were large and strong, and three were small and\nless sturdy; and so they were as stars. When the people of their\nvillage looked once more up into the sky, they saw seven bright stars\ndancing and twinkling above them. But those whose eyes were very\nstrong, when the night was clear, could see ten.\n\nAnd to this day these stars still dance and twinkle in the\nheavens--and this is the Indian legend of their origin.\n\nWe call these stars the Pleiades, but the Indians call them \u201cThe Stars\nThat Dance.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE PUKWUDJEE AND THE MORNING STAR\n\n(Ojibwa)\n\n\nONCE upon a time, in the Indian country, two children were left alone\nin a village. All the other people had gone to a far-away country.\n\nThe sister, who was the older, thought, \u201cI must take good care of my\nbaby brother,\u201d though she was not much more than a baby herself. And\nthis she did. She cooked food for him, and she made him little\nmoccasins, and crooned a song for him when it was time for him to\nsleep.\n\nShe grew up rapidly, but the baby brother seemed scarcely to grow at\nall. He became strong and sturdy, however, though he was so small a\nmite.\n\nThe sister watched over him carefully, and as soon as he could run\nabout she made him a tiny bow and arrows, and taught him how to\nshoot. At the same time she hung a shell about his neck, for a charm,\nand she named him He-of-the-Little-Shell.\n\nFor all his small size, he soon learned to use the bow and arrow, and\nhis aim was very true. He brought home birds and squirrels for food,\nand after a time he was able to bring down bigger game, so that they\nfared very well.\n\nBut He-of-the-Little-Shell did not grow. When he stood beside his\nsister he looked no bigger than a squirrel.\n\nWhile the boy was out hunting, his sister busied herself about their\nlodge, but she looked often toward the east, for she loved the clouds\nand the sky and the morning sun. She was always outside the lodge in\nthe early morning, that she might watch the sunrise, for she thought\nthe eastern sky more beautiful than any other part of the heavens.\n\nSo the two lived on very happily, for the little brother was a merry\nfellow, full of tricks and mischief.\n\nOne morning, as he was hunting, he saw a man fishing for beaver through\na hole in the ice. He watched him, and when the man had caught several\nhe loaded them upon a sled which he drew away. He-of-the-Little-Shell\nfollowed. He ran up close to the load and, with a slash of his shell,\ncut off the tail of one of the beavers, and ran away home with it.\n\nFor several days he played the same trick, and the man was very much\npuzzled to know how it was that one of his beavers always lost its\ntail before he reached home. At length He-of-the-Little-Shell followed\nthe man home, and when the beavers were unloaded he stepped out and\nspoke to the man.\n\nThe hunter was astonished to see so tiny a fellow. \u201cIs it you who has\ncut my beavers\u2019 tails?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered He-of-the-Little-Shell.\n\n\u201cI have a mind to kill you!\u201d exclaimed the hunter, angrily.\n\n\u201cOh, but you could not do it,\u201d said the boy quickly, and before the\nman could think, he had disappeared.\n\nOne day when he came home from the hunt he said to his sister, \u201cThe\ntime has come when I must go away from our lodge. I must go to the\nmountains and live among the rocks and caves. That is my true home,\nfor I am a Pukwudjee,--a little man of the mountains. But,\u201d he\nadded, \u201cI shall not leave you here alone. You shall go to the home you\nwould love best of all. Tell we where it shall be.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201c\u2018I AM A PUKWUDJEE--A LITTLE MAN OF THE MOUNTAINS,\u2019 HE\n    SAID\u201d]\n\nThen the sister answered, \u201cI love the eastern sky best of all. I\nshould love to live there.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall be so,\u201d replied her brother. \u201cI will go up the mountain,\nwhere the little people dwell. You shall be carried to the eastern\nsky; the four winds of heaven shall lift you. I will look up often and\nsee you there.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd I,\u201d said his sister, \u201cwill look down upon you and watch over you\nevery morning. When you see the rosy clouds you will say, \u2018My sister\nis painting her face\u2019.\u201d\n\nThey bade each other good-bye, and He-of-the-Little-Shell ran up the\nmountain side, for he was a Pukwudjee, a \u201clittle man of the\nmountains,\u201d as the Indians call them.\n\nThe four winds of heaven carried the sister to the eastern sky, where\nshe became the Morning Star, and there she watches over her brother\nand all his people.\n\n\n\n\nTHE WHITE HAWK\n\n(Shawnee)\n\n\nWAUPEE was an Indian youth, and a mighty hunter. The meaning of his\nname was White Hawk. He was tall, and strong as the great oaks of the\nforest. He was fleet of foot, and keen of sight. When he drew his bow,\nhis arrow went swiftly to the mark.\n\nThe Chief of the tribe said, \u201cWhite Hawk will provide well for the\nmaiden he chooses as his wife. He has the flesh of every animal for\nfood. He has the skin of every animal for his lodge and for his\nclothing.\u201d\n\nBut Waupee lived alone in his lodge. He loved the chase, but as yet he\ncared for no maiden.\n\nOne day, as he followed a deer through the forest, he went far away\nfrom his lodge; far away from his usual hunting ground. Beyond the\nforest he saw an open space where the grass grew green, and yellow\nblossoms studded it like stars in the sky.\n\nWaupee passed swiftly through the forest until he came to the open\nspace, and there, as he looked about, he discovered a curious thing.\nIt was a circle, where the grass bent down as though many feet had\npassed lightly over it. He wondered what dancing feet could have made\nthis circle in the grass. And he wondered still more when he looked\nall about and could find no trace of a footstep outside it.\n\n\u201cHow did they come? How did they go?\u201d questioned Waupee in amazement.\n\u201cI must know more of this.\u201d\n\nSo he hid himself among the trees in the edge of the forest and\nwaited.\n\nHe had hunted long: the drowsy insects droned about him, and at length\nWaupee fell asleep. Soon he was aroused by the sound of tinkling\nmusic. It was like the ringing of a silver bell.\n\nHe started up and listened. It seemed to come from the sky. He looked\nup; then he stood still and waited.\n\nDirectly over the circle upon the prairie grass there was descending\nsomething--Waupee knew not what. It was like a boat, but its colors\nwere like the colors of a sea shell, changing from silver to green, to\npink, and to blue.\n\nThe wonderful boat came to rest in the center of the circle, and out\nof it stepped twelve maidens, more beautiful than any Waupee had seen\nbefore.\n\nTaking hold of hands, they danced lightly round and round, while the\nsilver bells kept time to their steps. Their eyes were bright as the\nstars, and a star rested upon the breast of each maiden. But though\nall were beautiful, Waupee was attracted by one alone, and she was the\nyoungest.\n\n\u201cI must have this maiden for my own!\u201d cried Waupee. He ran from the\nshelter of the trees and would have clasped her in his arms, but he\nwas too late.\n\nThe startled maidens sprang into their boat, which lifted instantly\nand carried them away.\n\nWaupee watched until they disappeared among the clouds. Then slowly he\nreturned to his lodge, but he could think only of the beautiful maiden\nwith eyes like stars, and he determined to use all his powers to win\nher.\n\nThe next day, at the same hour, he was again at the edge of the\nforest, but this time he had changed to the form of the white hawk,\nwhose name he bore.\n\n\u201cI will wait until they dance,\u201d he said to himself, \u201cand then I will\nfly to the maiden of my choice. I will change to my own form and clasp\nher in my arms.\u201d\n\nSo Waupee waited, and as before he heard music like the tinkling of\nsilver bells, and the boat with its changing silvery colors floated\ndown within the circle.\n\nOut stepped the twelve maidens and began their dance.\n\nWaupee was too eager to wait, and he flew at once from the tree. But\nthe moment the maidens heard the sound of his wings, they sprang into\ntheir boat and were carried swiftly back to the sky.\n\nWaupee, resuming his form as a man, sat down in the forest, and drew\nhis blanket over his head, as the Indians do when they mourn. He\nfeared that the maidens would nevermore return.\n\nBut after a time his courage and hope came back, and he determined\nthat he would not give up until he had captured the maiden who had won\nhis heart.\n\nOn the third day he was again at the edge of the forest, and there he\nnoticed the half-decayed stump of a tree. In and out, about the\nstump, a dozen field mice were playing.\n\n\u201cNow you must help me, little brothers,\u201d said Waupee. He lifted the\nstump and set it down near the magic circle in the field. The little\nfield mice continued to play about it as before. Waupee changed\nhimself into the form of a field mouse, and began running about with\nthe others.\n\nHe soon heard the tinkling music, and looking up saw once more the\nsilvery boat floating down from the sky.\n\nWhen it touched the earth the star maidens sprang out and began their\ndance. But one of them saw the old stump.\n\n\u201cThat was not there before!\u201d she cried, and running from the circle\nshe looked closely at it.\n\n\u201cLet us return!\u201d said the youngest maiden, but the others replied,\n\u201cBut look! Here are field mice running about. Let us chase them!\u201d\n\nThe little mice ran in all directions, and the maidens ran after them,\nlaughing, and threatening them with their silver wands.\n\nAnd the one that the youngest maiden chased ran far from the others.\nThen, just as the maiden reached him, and would have struck him with\nher wand, the little field mouse changed suddenly to the form of a\nman,--and it was Waupee.\n\nHe caught the maiden in his arms, and he told her how she had won his\nheart by her loveliness, and begged her to stay with him.\n\nThe other maidens, frightened at the sight of Waupee, sprang into\ntheir boat, and it rose and bore them away.\n\nThen the youngest maiden wept, but Waupee comforted her, for he was\nstrong and brave, and a mighty hunter. And her heart was won, and she\nwent with him to the village.\n\nSo Waupee was wedded to the Star Maiden, and she was the loveliest\nmaiden in all the tribe.\n\nThe next year Waupee and his bride were made still happier by the\ncoming of a baby boy, and the White Hawk was the proudest father in\nall the tribe.\n\nBut after many moons had passed, the Star Maiden grew lonely for her\nfather, and for the scenes of her star home in the sky. And so, one\nday, she took her little son by the hand and led him to the magic\ncircle in the grass of the prairie. In the center of the circle she\nplaced a boat which she had woven from the grass and rushes of the\nmeadow, and she and her little son stepped into it. Then she sang the\nsong of the silvery bells which had been always in her heart, and the\nboat of woven rushes began to rise.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cWAUPEE HEARD THE STRAINS OF THE MAGIC SONG\u201d]\n\nUp and up it went until it carried the Star Maiden and her son far\naway to the Sky Land.\n\nWaupee, far away at the chase, heard the strains of the magic song and\nran to the spot, but he was too late. He saw the boat with its\noccupants disappear among the clouds, and then he sat down upon the\nprairie, covered his head with his blanket, and mourned. And no one in\nall the tribe could comfort him.\n\nThe Star Maiden and her son were welcomed by her father, and for some\ntime they were happy. Then the boy began to long for his father, the\nWhite Hawk, who was so strong and brave. And his mother, too, secretly\nlonged for Waupee and the home he had made for her.\n\nOne day her father, who had noticed, said to her, \u201cGo, my daughter,\nback to the Earth country. Tell your husband that I want him to visit\nme in the land of stars, and bring him here to dwell with you and your\nson. But before he comes have him shoot one of every kind of bird and\nbeast, and bring a specimen of each to our Sky Land.\u201d\n\nSo the Star Maiden gladly took her son and stepped into her boat. Then\nsinging the magic song which was always in her heart, they were\ncarried back to Earth.\n\nWaupee\u2019s heart leaped up like a deer when he heard the music of the\nsong, and running to the magic circle he clasped his wife and his son\nin his strong, loving arms.\n\nThe Star Maiden gave him the message from her father, and though\nWaupee loved the forests and the prairies, he prepared to go to the\nSky Land. He hunted day after day, and from each bird or animal that\nhe shot he cut a wing, or a foot, or a tail, to carry with him. At\nlast he was ready, and with the Star Maiden and their son, he stepped\ninto the magic boat and was carried far up to the land of stars.\n\nAll the people of that far-off country gathered to greet him, and to\nwelcome the return of the Star Maiden and her boy. Her father took the\ngreat bundle of strange objects that Waupee had brought, and he said\nto his people: \u201cCome, I will let you choose! Those of you who wish to\nstay in the Star Land may remain as you are. The others may select one\nobject from this strange bundle, and according to your choice, so\nshall you be in the future.\u201d\n\nMany of the people crowded forward, and one took the tail of a deer,\nand immediately he was changed into a deer, and bounded away to the\nEarth country. Another took the claw of a bear, and at once he became\na bear, and shuffled off to find his way to the Earth. And so it was\nwith the choice of every one. Some became birds and flew away.\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d said Waupee, to the Star Maiden, \u201clet me choose the wing of\nthe White Hawk, and do you the same, and our son. Then we may visit\nboth the Earth and the Sky, and be always together.\u201d\n\nSo they chose. And so they have lived, ever since.\n\n\n\n\nHOW MOSQUITOES CAME TO BE\n\n(Iroquois)\n\n\nIN the long-ago time, the Red Men tell us that their fathers were\ngreatly troubled by the visits of an enormous bird called Mosquito. No\none knew whence it came, or where it went. But always it brought\nterror and destruction.\n\nSometimes it would fly over the growing corn and with the great force\nof its wings beat it all to the earth. Sometimes it would swoop down\nand strike a child playing beside the lodge. Again it would come\nswiftly and throw a man or a woman of the tribe to the earth, and\nleave them bleeding and torn.\n\nAt length its visits became so frequent that the people were afraid to\nleave their lodges, and so a great council was called, to see what\ncould be done to get rid of the monster.\n\nAt this council one of the young braves said, \u201cI will go out and try\nto snare the bird. I will offer my life to save my people.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cWITH A TERRIBLE CRY THE GREAT MOSQUITO FLEW DOWN WITH\n    HIS ENORMOUS WINGS OUTSTRETCHED\u201d]\n\nThe young man cut strong bands of rawhide. He said, \u201cI will try to\nthrow one of these bands about the great bird, and snare him before he\nends my life. Then you must come and kill him.\u201d\n\nSo the young brave started out, and when he reached a bare place on\nthe mountain side he sat down on the ground and sang his death-song\nwhile he waited.\n\nPresently, with a terrible cry, the great Mosquito flew down with his\nenormous wings outstretched, and just as he buried his talons in the\nyoung warrior\u2019s flesh, the brave youth sprang erect, threw one of the\nrawhide thongs about the foot of the bird and bound him to the rock.\n\nThe men of the tribe who had watched the conflict ran to the mountain\nside and let fly their arrows. Soon the great Mosquito lay dead upon\nthe rocks.\n\nThere was great rejoicing in the village. The news was spread by\nrunners, so that braves both young and old came from neighboring\ntribes to see the body of the monstrous bird.\n\n\u201cThe body should be burned,\u201d counseled one of the old men of the\ntribe; but so proud were they of the young warrior who had given his\nlife to free the Red Men of this great foe, and so eager were they to\nshow the huge size of the monster, that they gave no heed to his\nadvice.\n\nOne day they noticed that small stinging flies began to buzz about.\nNothing like them had ever been seen before. Their number increased,\nand then the people noticed that they came from the body of the great\nbird. And the insects bit and stung them.\n\n\u201cIt is a new plague,\u201d said the Indians. \u201cWe should have given heed to\nthe counsel of the old man of the tribe, and burned the body, for we\nknow that all evil things are cleansed by fire.\u201d\n\nAnd so the little stinging insects were called mosquitoes, and to this\nday they are a trouble and an annoyance to mankind.\n\n\n\n\nHOW BIRDS AND FAIRIES CAME TO BE\n\n(Algonquin)\n\n\nONCE--oh, a very long time ago--there were no birds and no fairies\nupon the earth. Now I will tell you a story of their beginning, as the\nIndian grandmothers tell it to the Red children.\n\nTen beautiful sisters lived in the lodge of their father, and no\nmaidens in all the tribe were so good to look upon as they.\n\nYoung warriors came and sought them in marriage, and one by one the\nsisters went away to the lodges of their husbands, until only one was\nleft in the lodge of her father.\n\nThis one was Oweenee, the youngest of all, and the most beautiful.\nMany warriors had sought her favor, but she was not easily won. Her\nsisters mocked her, but she cared not for that. \u201cI shall know when the\nright suitor comes,\u201d she said to her own heart, and went about her\nduties in her father\u2019s lodge.\n\nOne day an old man came to the lodge door and talked with the\nyoungest sister, and though he seemed old and bent with years, her\nheart told her, \u201cHe is the one for whom you have waited.\u201d And so, when\nhe asked her to go to his lodge and be his wife, she consented.\n\nHer sisters mocked her more than before, but they and their husbands\nwent with Oweenee and the old man along the path.\n\nThe married sisters led the way, and the old man, whose name was\nOsseo, and the youngest sister, Oweenee, walked behind, and the girl\nwas kind and thoughtful, and watched the steps of Osseo with care.\n\nBut what was her surprise, as they were about to pass a hollow log, to\nsee him suddenly dart into its open end and almost immediately come\nfrom the farther end--not old and bent, but the youngest, the\nstrongest, and the most active of all the warriors in the company.\nThen he took the hand of the youngest sister, and together they led\nthe way to his lodge.\n\nThe eyes of the youngest sister were bright with happiness, but the\nolder sisters were dumb with astonishment.\n\nWhen they entered the lodge of Osseo, they found a feast prepared. The\nfood was plain, and the dishes were of wood. The lodge, too, seemed\nshabby and poor. But while they ate, the lodge began gently to rise\nfrom the ground. Up and up it went, and its shabby sides began to\ngleam like silver. The food became the richest and choicest, and the\ndishes became like shells of radiant colors.\n\nUp and up the lodge continued to go, until at last it reached the Sky\nLand, and stopped before the doorway of the Evening Star.\n\nThe Evening Star greeted them and spoke to Osseo. Then the sisters and\ntheir husbands, who had scoffed at Oweenee, knew that the old man whom\nshe had married was no other than Osseo, the Son of the Evening Star.\n\nAnd Evening Star said, \u201cYou and your beautiful bride are welcome to my\nlodge, but these others who have scoffed at her and at you may not\ncome inside. They may stay at the lodge door.\u201d\n\nThen the lodge of Osseo became a wonderful silver cage, and the\nsisters and their husbands were changed into singing birds, with\nplumage of brightest colors, blue, and red, and orange, and scarlet.\nAnd they flew about in their silver cage, and sang to Osseo and his\nbride.\n\nNow Osseo grew stronger and more manly day by day, and his bride grew\nsweeter and lovelier to look upon. After many moons had come and gone\nthere came to Osseo and his wife a little son. As the boy grew he\nseemed brighter than the starlight, and Osseo and Oweenee loved him\ndearly; but his grandfather, the Evening Star, loved him best of all.\n\nOne day Evening Star said to Osseo, \u201cYou must be careful not to let\nthe light beams from the small Star that dwells near by fall upon the\ncage of singing birds, or upon yourself, or your wife, or your son.\nThe Star is an evil spirit, and the light beams are his enchanted\narrows. They change the form of all those upon whom they fall.\u201d\n\nSo Osseo promised to be careful. But after many moons had passed, he\nforgot about the light beams of the Star neighbor.\n\nHe made a bow and arrows for his little son, who loved to play at\nshooting. Then one day the boy said, \u201cI want to shoot some living\nthing. How shall I learn to be a hunter if I have no game to shoot?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will open the silver cage,\u201d said Osseo, \u201cand you may shoot at the\nflying birds.\u201d\n\nThen the little boy was pleased, and he drew his bow, and Osseo\nopened the door of the cage.\n\nOut flew the birds, glad to stretch their wings, and the boy sped his\narrow after them. But swifter than his arrow was the light beam of the\nlittle Star, and it fell upon the birds and the boy.\n\nImmediately they became enchanted. The birds flew swiftly down to\nearth and lighted upon an island in the midst of a green sea, and the\nlittle boy, the grandson of Evening Star, floated softly down after\nthem.\n\nThen Osseo was full of sorrow, and he said to his father, \u201cOh, father!\nlet us go also, my wife and I, that we may not be separated from our\nson.\u201d\n\nSo Evening Star permitted Osseo and Oweenee to enter the silver cage,\nand silver wings were given it, and it flew down to the island in the\nmidst of the green sea.\n\nAnd then the enchantment of the little Star changed all of them to\nFairies, and joining hands they danced and sang in the starlight,\nwhile the Evening Star looked down upon them from his far-away home in\nthe sky.\n\n\n\n\nWHY THE ASPEN LEAVES ARE NEVER STILL\n\n(Blackfeet)\n\n\n\u201cWHY are the leaves on the aspen tree never still, Grandmother?\u201d asked\none of the Indian children of the old basket weaver. \u201cI have watched\nthem so many times, and they always talk together.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are right, my daughter. When there is no breath in the heavens,\nthe aspen leaves still talk.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs there a story about the aspen tree, grandmother?\u201d asked the little\ngirl. \u201cWill you tell it to me, if there is?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes daughter,\u201d replied the old woman, \u201cthere is a story about the\naspen tree which it is good that you should hear.\u201d\n\nTaking her basket upon her knees and continuing her weaving, the\ngrandmother told her story:\n\n\u201cMany, many moons ago there was a young warrior who was lonely in his\nfather\u2019s lodge, and he said to himself, \u2018I will seek a maiden to wed,\nand make ready a lodge of my own.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo he watched the maidens of the village, and he found two sisters\nwho seemed so modest, and kind, and good, that he knew not which of\nthem to choose.\n\n\u201cWhen he went to their father\u2019s lodge, he was kindly treated by both.\nThey gave him words of welcome, they smiled upon him, and they\nprepared food and set it before him. Both could weave fine baskets for\nthe lodge, and make rich embroidery of quills.\n\n\u201cMany times the young brave went to the lodge, but he could not tell\nwhich maiden would make the better wife. And at last he said to\nhimself, \u2018I will try magic. I will get the medicine man to help me.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo he visited the lodge of the Medicine Man, and after a time there\ncame away from the Medicine Man\u2019s lodge an old man, bent, and leaning\nupon a stick. He walked feebly, and his garments were ragged. His hair\nwas white, and his chin quivered with age.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cTHE OLDER SISTER LOOKED ON WITH SCORN\u201d]\n\n\u201cThe old man went to the lodge of the two maidens and begged a bit of\nfood. The younger sister asked him to come inside the lodge and\nrest. Then she prepared some nourishing food and gave to him, and\nwhile he ate it she noticed that his feet were barely covered with\npieces of skins tied about the ankle. She hastened to finish the\nmoccasins that she was embroidering, and gave them to him, so that his\nfeet should not be bruised with walking.\n\n\u201cThe older sister looked on with scorn, and made unkind remarks. She\nasked her sister why she should spend time upon a forlorn old man who\ncould never repay her. She laughed at his ragged garments and at his\nquivering chin and feeble knees. Then in a sharp voice she bade him\nbegone before her lover should come from the hunt.\n\n\u201cThe old man went away, after thanking the younger sister for her\nkindness.\n\n\u201cA short time later, the young warrior came to the door of the lodge,\nbearing upon his shoulders a deer which he had shot. Both sisters\nsmiled at him and bade him enter. He passed the older sister without a\nglance, and laid the deer at the feet of the younger.\n\n\u201cAs they looked down at the deer, both sisters discovered that the\nyoung man had upon his feet the moccasins that the younger sister had\njust given to the strange old man.\n\n\u201c\u2018I seek a maiden to be the light of my lodge,\u2019 he said, \u2018and by magic\nI have found that one. I was the old man who came hither for shelter\nand comfort, and so I learned how to escape a sharp tongue and bitter\nwords.\n\n\u201c\u2018But the Medicine Man\u2019s charm has not yet finished its work,\u2019 he\nadded. \u2018I do not want another to suffer the fate I have so narrowly\nescaped.\u2019\n\n\u201cHe took the younger sister by the hand and led her from the lodge.\nThe older sister followed, and as she stepped outside, her feet became\nrooted to the ground, and she was turned into an aspen tree.\n\n\u201cThe younger sister became the light of the young warrior\u2019s lodge; but\nthe aspen tree, like the older sister, while beautiful to look upon,\nhas since that day had a whispering and unruly tongue.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nWHY THE BABY SAYS \u201cGOO\u201d\n\n(Algonquin)\n\n\nMANY, many moons ago there lived among the Red people a warrior who\nwas greatly respected and admired by all his tribe.\n\nWhen an enemy came to attack them, this warrior was always the first\nto resist. His arm was strong, and his arrows went true and straight\nto the mark. He had gone alone on many a daring hunt, and had\ncontended with the fiercest beasts of the forest and slain them. But\ngreatest of all, he had fought alone with mighty giants, and overcome\nthem, so that his tribe was rid of their evil magic. It was no wonder\nthat the people thought him great.\n\nBut then, as so often follows, the warrior became puffed up with\nthoughts of his own courage and power, and he was filled with pride,\nand boastings.\n\n\u201cThere is no one, among men or beasts,\u201d he said, \u201cwho does not fear\nme. All men obey me. They tremble at the sound of my voice.\u201d\n\nNow there was in the tribe of this warrior an old grandmother to whom\nage had given great wisdom. And she thought within her heart, \u201cOur\nwarrior is becoming puffed up. He thinks too well of himself. It would\nbe good for him to be humbled.\u201d So among the women she said, \u201cThere is\none whom I know, who is greater than the mighty warrior. _He_ would\nnot tremble at his voice, nor obey his word.\u201d\n\nThis saying was repeated to the men of the tribe, and in time it came\nto the ears of the great warrior himself. Immediately he went to the\nlodge of the grandmother.\n\n\u201cWhat is this, that I hear?\u201d he enquired. \u201cShow me who it is that will\nnot obey my voice! Tell me his name!\u201d\n\n\u201cHis name is Wasis,\u201d replied the grandmother, \u201cand he sits inside my\nlodge.\u201d\n\nThe warrior threw back the hanging of deer skin covering the entrance\nof the lodge, and strode within. There, upon the ground, sucking a\npiece of maple sugar, sat Wasis, the baby. The warrior looked at him\nin surprise. He knew nothing about babies, having been too busy all\nhis life with battles and adventures to pay any attention to the\nlittle people of the tribe. But here was just a tiny fellow. It would\nbe no trouble to get him to obey!\n\nSo without any ado, the warrior said, \u201cHo, baby, come here to me!\u201d\n\nThe baby looked at him, but did not move. He repeated his command. The\nbaby stopped sucking his maple sugar long enough to say \u201cGoo, goo,\u201d\nbut he did not move.\n\nThen the warrior said, \u201cI will show him that I am to be feared, and\nthen he will obey me.\u201d So he began a war dance, and uttered fierce war\ncries, and Wasis opened his mouth and sent forth such piercing yells\nand shrieks, that the warrior stopped in amazement. And when he had\nstopped the baby began sucking his maple sugar again.\n\n\u201cHo, baby, come here to me!\u201d he repeated once more, but at that the\nbaby again opened his mouth and cried so lustily that the great\nwarrior covered his ears and ran from the lodge. \u201cIt is worse than the\nwar cries of the Frost Giants!\u201d he exclaimed.\n\n\u201cDid he obey you?\u201d asked the grandmother.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the warrior. \u201cHe is a little fellow, but he is mightier\nthan I.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cWASIS SENT FORTH SUCH PIERCING YELLS AND SHRIEKS, THAT\n    THE WARRIOR STOPPED IN AMAZEMENT\u201d]\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered the grandmother, \u201cWasis, the baby, conquers us all,\nand no one can resist him.\u201d\n\nAnd the baby, left alone in the lodge with his maple sugar, stopped\nnow and then to say, \u201cGoo, goo!\u201d For had he not conquered the mighty\nwarrior, the great brave of the tribe?\n\n\n\n\nWHY THE SQUIRREL COUGHS\n\n(Algonquin)\n\n\nA GREAT trickster was Manabozho. He loved to play jokes upon his\nfriends of the forest.\n\nOne day he invited them all to a feast in his wigwam. And every one\ncame, from the woodpecker and the tiny mouse, to the great moose with\nbranching horns.\n\nIt was a time of scarcity of food, and all were glad to be asked to a\nbanquet.\n\nBut the meat that Manabozho had ready for his guests, he had prepared\nby magic--though of that no one knew except himself.\n\nWhen all had assembled, Manabozho gave to each a portion of meat. The\nwoodpecker was the first to taste of his, and as he took the delicious\nlooking morsel in his mouth, it turned to ashes on his tongue, so that\nhe was choked and began to cough. But the meat looked so good, and he\nwas so hungry that he tasted again, and again it turned to ashes and\nchoked him.\n\nEvery guest had the same experience. The little mouse, the otter, the\nbadger, the fox, the wolf, and even the moose tasted his portion and\nit turned to ashes on his tongue.\n\nIn vain the guests tried to be courteous and to stifle their coughing,\nbut it grew worse and worse as first one and then another ate of the\nmeat.\n\nAt length there was such a deafening noise in the wigwam, caused by\nthe chorus of coughing and strangling from so many throats great and\nsmall, that Manabozho picked up a club in pretended anger. Threatening\nthem with it, he drove them out of doors, where he changed them all to\nsquirrels.\n\nAnd that, the Indians tell us, is the reason that the squirrel coughs.\n\n\n\n\nWHY THE FROGS CROAK\n\n(Algonquin)\n\n\n\u201cMO-O-O-O-RE, mo-o-o-o-re!\u201d croaked a big frog in the marshes. \u201c\u2019Tis\nenough, \u2019tis enough, \u2019tis enough!\u201d answered a smaller frog.\n\nBut the big frog called again, \u201cMo-o-o-o-re, mo-o-o-o-re!\u201d And again\nthe smaller frog answered, \u201c\u2019Tis enough! \u2019Tis enough!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is it the frogs are quarreling about, grandmother?\u201d asked a\nlittle Indian girl, and the grandmother replied, \u201cAbout the water, I\nsuppose.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy do they quarrel about the water? Is it a story, grandmother?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the grandmother, \u201cit is a story. Listen and I will tell it\nto you!\n\n\u201cIn the long-time-ago all the waters of the land were tied up. The\nIndian people grew thirsty, and more thirsty. Their fields were drying\nup. The flowers withered. The people said, \u2018We shall die!\u2019\n\n\u201cThen there came to one of the villages the giant, Rabbit, and he\nsaid, \u2018What is this I hear about the waters being tied up?\u2019\n\n\u201cThe Chief answered, \u2018For many days there has been no water. The\nstreams are empty. No little rivers come down the mountain side. Our\ncorn is drying up. Our people\u2019s throats are parched.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe giant, Rabbit, said, \u2018I will go into the mountains and see who\nhas tied up the water.\u2019 Then he strode away, taking such great steps\nthat he was out of sight in a moment.\n\n\u201cUp the mountain went the giant, and when he came to the top he found\na tribe of men there, and they had tied up the water so that it stood\nin great pools which had grown green and slimy, because it was no\nlonger fresh.\n\n\u201c\u2018What are you doing with the water?\u2019 asked the Rabbit, and his voice\nrolled down the mountain like thunder. \u2018Do you not know that the\ntribes below you are dying for want of it?\u2019\n\n\u201cThe Chief of the strange tribe came out to answer the Rabbit. He was\nfat and ugly, and his back was covered with green slime from the pool.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cHE WAS FAT AND UGLY, AND HIS BACK WAS COVERED WITH\n    GREEN SLIME FROM THE POOL\u201d]\n\n\u201c\u2018We need the water for ourselves. It was running away down the\nmountain, so we stopped it,\u2019 said the Chief.\n\n\u201cRabbit reached out and caught the Chief by the back of his neck and\nshook him. The giant\u2019s grasp was strong, and the Chief\u2019s eyes bulged\nfrom his head, and he swelled up till he was puffed out all over, from\ntrying to get his breath.\n\n\u201c\u2018So shall you look, you and all your tribe, hereafter,\u2019 said Rabbit,\nholding him off and looking at him. Then he threw him into the green\npool, and all his tribe with him.\n\n\u201cAfter that Rabbit untied the water, and all the little streams began\nto flow down the mountain. Our people, at the foot of the mountain,\nsaw them coming, and they gave thanks to the Great Spirit, because he\nhad helped the giant, Rabbit, to give them water again, that they\nmight live.\n\n\u201cThe tribe at the top of the mountain became frogs, as you see them\nnow, and they have traveled to many parts of the land; but wherever\nthey go they keep on quarreling about the water, as you have heard\nthem this day.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE ROCK OF THE MEASURING WORM\n\nEL CAPIT\u00c1N, IN THE YOSEMITE\n\n(California Tribes)\n\n\nTWO small Indian boys were seated before the tepee fashioning bows and\narrows.\n\n\u201cMine is not good!\u201d exclaimed one of the boys, throwing aside the\nstick with which he had been working. \u201cBesides, I am tired of sitting\nstill. Let us go for a swim in the river.\u201d\n\nAway they dashed, running swiftly, as the Indian child is taught to\nrun. Into the water they jumped, swimming, diving, splashing, and\nstopping now and then for a water battle.\n\nAt length they had had enough of the water, so out upon the bank they\ncame.\n\n\u201cLet us climb upon this rock to dry ourselves. Its top is flat, and\nthe sun is warm upon it.\u201d\n\nSo they climbed upon the flat rock, and in a few moments both boys\nwere fast asleep. Then a strange thing began to occur. The rock slowly\nand gradually commenced to stretch itself up, up, up, higher, and\nhigher, and higher. And the boys continued to sleep.\n\nTaller, and taller grew the rock, carrying the boys upward on its flat\nsurface until at last their faces were bathed by the clouds that\nfloated in the sky. And still they slept.\n\nFor many moons they slept; for a whole snow.\n\nIn the meantime the people of their village missed them and began to\nsearch. They searched by the river, and in the forest, but no one\ncould find the missing boys. There was great sorrow in the village.\n\nNone of the people knew of the great rock. Only the animals knew.\n\nThen one day the animals came together, and they said, \u201cWhat is to be\ndone? The people are sorrowing because of the boys that are lost. Can\nwe not return them to their friends?\u201d\n\nSo the animals decided to try to get the boys off the great rock.\n\n\u201cYou are littlest,\u201d said the lion to the mouse, \u201cyou try first.\u201d\n\nSo the mouse made ready and sprang as high as she could up the side of\nthe rock. Just a hand-breadth she jumped, and fell back into the\nvalley.\n\nSo the rat tried next, and he made a mighty effort, and jumped two\nhand-breadths, and then he too fell back into the valley.\n\nAlter that every sort of animal jumped in turn, the otter, and the\nbadger, the fox, and the wolf, and the bear, and though each one\njumped as high as he could, he jumped only against the side of the\nrock, and went tumbling back into the valley.\n\nLast of all came the lion. With a mighty roar he sprang--but it was of\nno use: he too struck the side of the great rock and fell back with\nthe others.\n\nThey were about to give up and go back to their homes in the river and\nin the forest, when a tiny measuring-worm came creeping over the\ngrass. \u201cBy your leave,\u201d she said quite humbly, addressing the lion, \u201cI\nshould like to try and see what I can do.\u201d\n\n\u201cHo-ho,\u201d laughed all the animals together. \u201cHo-ho!\u201d\n\nBut without waiting for their consent, the measuring-worm made her way\nslowly to the foot of the great rock, and then, little by little,\nlittle by little, she drew herself up, up, up the side of the mighty\nrock.\n\nUp, and up, and up she went, until she was lost to sight of the\nanimals waiting below.\n\nAt last she reached the top, and drew herself over the edge. And there\nlay the two boys, still sleeping.\n\nThen the measuring-worm took the two boys, and started back. She\nclimbed with them down the side of the rock, little by little, down,\nand down, and down.\n\nAt last she came within sight of the waiting animals.\n\nDown, and down still she climbed until she was in their midst.\n\nSo mighty was the noise made by the assembled animals that it wakened\nthe sleeping boys, and brought the men and women of the village to the\nfoot of the great rock.\n\nAnd so the boys were restored to their people.\n\nBut the great rock with its almost perpendicular sides stands to-day,\nlofty and imposing.\n\n\n\n\nHOW THE FLYING SQUIRREL GOT HIS WINGS\n\n(Iroquois)\n\n\nLONG ago, in the Indian country, Nuk-da-go was chief of the squirrel\ntribe. One day he was passing through the woods to see how all the\nlittle squirrels were faring, and how they prospered in laying up\ntheir store of nuts for the winter.\n\nNow when Nuk-da-go went about the woods he often made himself\ninvisible, for by this means he heard and saw many things which would\nnot have been said or done if the woods people had known that he was\nnear.\n\nOn this day Nuk-da-go chanced to pass by the home of a little\nsquirrel, Jo-nis-gy-ont, who had worked very hard all the autumn\nlaying up nuts for his winter\u2019s food.\n\nLittle Jo-nis-gy-ont lived all alone in a hollow tree close beside a\ngreat pine. On one side, near the edge of a bit of marsh, lived\nBrother Frog, and on the other side, under some rocks near the pine,\nlived Brother Woodchuck.\n\nNow for some days Jo-nis-gy-ont had been noticing that his stock of\nnuts, instead of growing bigger, was growing smaller, though he worked\nhard every day.\n\nThe big hickory-nut tree, from which he carried his stores, was a\nhalf-hour\u2019s journey away from the hollow tree. To be sure, there were\nacorns and cone seeds much nearer home, but, as every one knows, the\nhickory nut is the sweetest nut of the woods.\n\nBut of late, when Jo-nis-gy-ont returned from one of his long trips\nwith his cheeks bulging with hickory nuts, he would find _fewer_ nuts\nin his storehouse in the hollow tree than he had left there when he\nstarted away. Little Jo-nis-gy-ont had his own ideas, but he thought\nit best to be frank and friendly.\n\nOne evening, as he and Brother Frog and Brother Woodchuck were sitting\nat the doors of their houses, little Brother Squirrel said,\n\u201cNeighbors, I have found that there is a thief about. My store of nuts\nis being robbed.\u201d Then he looked hard at Brother Frog and Brother\nWoodchuck--for in those days, you must know, the frog tribe and the\nwoodchuck tribe were also eaters of nuts.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cLITTLE JO-NIS-GY-ONT HAD HIS OWN IDEAS\u201d]\n\nBrother Frog tried to look very much surprised as he said, \u201cWho would\nbe so mean as to steal from little Jo-nis-gy-ont\u2019s store of hickory\nnuts? Such a thing would be a shame!\u201d Then he managed to squeeze two\nbig tears from his eyes and let them roll slowly down his fat cheeks.\n\nAnd Brother Woodchuck said, \u201cSurely no one in the forest would steal\nfrom you, little Brother Squirrel! There must be some mistake. Should\nI see any robber taking your store of nuts, it would go hard with\nhim!\u201d\n\nBut little Jo-nis-gy-ont had his own ideas still,--and so did\nNuk-da-go, chief of the squirrel tribe, who was listening, unseen.\n\nThat night Nuk-da-go came back to the forest to look into the matter.\nHe found little Jo-nis-gy-ont fast asleep; and down beside the rocks,\nwhere Brother Woodchuck had his home, he could see the dirt flying\nfast. Brother Woodchuck was digging for dear life. Nuk-da-go watched,\nand as soon as the hole was big enough, Brother Woodchuck began\nfilling it with hickory nuts. Then he ran to the hollow tree, and in a\nfew minutes was back with more nuts, which he dropped into the hole\nand covered carefully from sight.\n\nThen Nuk-da-go went over to the edge of the marsh, where there was a\nstirring in the thick moss. Nuk-da-go watched. Soon he saw Brother\nFrog carefully lifting the moss, while he pushed under it a quantity\nof hickory nuts. Then Brother Frog hopped away in the direction of the\nhollow tree, and soon he was back, with his cheeks bulging. Then he\ndropped more hickory nuts, which he pushed carefully under the moss.\n\n\u201cThe hickory-nut tree is a half-hour\u2019s journey away,\u201d said the wise\nNuk-da-go. \u201cI will look into this matter further.\u201d\n\nThe next day Nuk-da-go went about among all the forest people and told\nthem that little Jo-nis-gy-ont\u2019s store of nuts was being robbed.\n\u201cShall we call a council?\u201d he asked. \u201cShall we bring all the forest\npeople together to find out who is the robber?\u201d\n\nAnd all the forest people said, \u201cYes, yes.\u201d\n\nThat night the council was held, and all the forest people came except\nBrother Frog and Brother Woodchuck, who begged to be excused.\n\n\u201cNo one can be excused from the council,\u201d declared Nuk-da-go, who had\nbeen appointed Chief. \u201cJo-nis-gy-ont, as you are their nearest\nneighbor, I appoint you to go and bring them.\u201d\n\nJo-nis-gy-ont hastened back, but when he told his errand, Brother Frog\njumped far out into the marsh and pretended not to hear, and Brother\nWoodchuck slipped into his home under the rocks, out of sight.\n\nBut Nuk-da-go would be obeyed, so he went after them himself, and,\nbeing Chief of the Council and Chief of the tribe, Brother Frog and\nBrother Woodchuck had to come out when he called them, and they\nfollowed him along to the council, looking very meek and very mean\nindeed.\n\nThen Nuk-da-go stood up before all the woods people and told them why\nhe had called them together, and what he had seen. And when he had\nfinished telling them about little Jo-nis-gy-ont\u2019s store of nuts, and\nabout the nuts that were under the rocks, and under the moss, the\nwoods people looked at Brother Frog and Brother Woodchuck and they\nsaid, \u201cWe will go and look into this, too.\u201d\n\nSo all the company of woods people went to the hollow tree near the\npine and looked at Jo-nis-gy-ont\u2019s poor little pile of nuts. Then they\nwent and uncovered the nuts by the rock, and the nuts that were tucked\nbeneath the moss. Then they looked at Brother Woodchuck and Brother\nFrog, and asked, \u201cWhat have you to say?\u201d\n\nBut Brother Woodchuck and Brother Frog hadn\u2019t a word to say! They just\nlooked mean, and ashamed.\n\nThen the woods people decided that Nuk-da-go should be the judge. So\nhe told Brother Frog to sit before him, and he said, \u201cI pronounce you\nguilty of stealing your neighbor\u2019s nuts, and you must be punished. You\nare fat and lazy. Your food flies past your door, and you have only to\nput out your tongue and catch it. Your little neighbor has to travel\nfar for his food. You sleep all winter and have no need to store\nsupplies. Jo-nis-gy-ont stays awake, and must eat. So your crime is\ndoubly bad, and this shall be your punishment: Hereafter you shall not\nbe able to eat nuts, for you shall lose all your teeth. Go to your\nhome now, and steal no more.\u201d\n\nBrother Frog hopped away, very sad and very much ashamed, and with the\nfirst hop every one of his teeth dropped out,--and the frog tribe have\nhad no teeth from that day to this.\n\nThen Nuk-da-go turned to Brother Woodchuck, and said, \u201cYou, too, are\nfound guilty of stealing your neighbor\u2019s nuts, and you shall be\npunished. Like Brother Frog, you are fat and lazy. You sleep through\nthe winter and need no food, while Jo-nis-gy-ont must work hard for\nhis. Go home. You shall not lose your teeth--for Brother Woodchuck was\nholding his paws tightly over his mouth and quaking with fear--but\nfrom this day on you and your tribe shall live upon leaves and grain\nand the growing things of the fields and forests, but no more shall\nyou enjoy the taste of flesh, or the sweet meat of nuts.\u201d\n\nSad and ashamed, Brother Woodchuck turned away when Nuk-da-go finished\nspeaking, for this was a hard punishment indeed.\n\nThen Nuk-da-go turned to little Brother Squirrel and said,\n\u201cJo-nis-gy-ont, you should have been more watchful of your store of\nnuts, and not have slept so soundly when robbers were about. But the\nwoods people are sorry for you, and so I shall give you something that\nwill help you to go quickly from tree to tree, and to hasten home in\ntime of danger.\u201d\n\nThen Nuk-da-go spread a web of skin from the fore legs to the back\nlegs of Jo-nis-gy-ont, to form wings when he leaped, so that he could\njump swiftly and far.\n\nFrom that day to this the tribe of Jo-nis-gy-ont has had wings, and\nthis is the Indians\u2019 account of the first flying squirrel.\n\n\n\n\nWHY BROTHER BEAR WEARS A STUMPY TAIL\n\n(Ojibwa)\n\n\nIN times long past Brother Bear was a famous fisherman. He had a large\nstock of patience, and great good nature. He was never in a hurry.\n\nBut Brother Bear was honest as he was slow, and always ready to\nbelieve what others told him, and so he was often imposed upon by the\nslyer animals--Brother Fox, for instance.\n\nOne day as Brother Fox was walking beside a stream, he saw a group of\nplump little animals slip into the water and disappear from sight.\n\n\u201cYoung otters, I do believe!\u201d cried Brother Fox, smacking his lips.\n\u201cWhat a meal they would make!\u201d Then he sat down beside the stream and\nbegan to think. He did want those otters so badly! He could not think\nof anything else that would taste half so good. But how to get them!\nThat was the question.\n\nPresently, while he was thinking, along came Brother Bear shuffling\ndown the path with a load of nuts and honey.\n\n\u201cGood morning, Brother Bear,\u201d said Brother Fox. \u201cI see you have a load\nof excellent food--excellent for you, I mean. My tribe never eats nuts\nor honey. But perhaps you would not mind adding a bit of tender meat\nto your load.\u201d\n\n\u201cMeat? No, indeed,\u201d replied Brother Bear. \u201cBut where am I to find it?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d said Brother Fox with his craftiest smile, \u201cthere are some\nyoung otters in this stream. I just saw them slip into the water. It\nseems to me that they would make very good eating for you and your\nfamily.\u201d\n\nBrother Bear smacked his lips. \u201cBut how am I to get them?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cI am no fisherman, as you well know,\u201d said Brother Fox, \u201cbut you are\na famous fisherman. Why can you not fish for them?\u201d\n\nBrother Bear thought for a moment. \u201cBut I have no bait,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cThat is true,\u201d replied Brother Fox, \u201cbut I will tell you what to do.\nJust go out upon that log that lies near the shore and drop your fine\nlong tail into the water. I feel sure the otters will think your tail\ngood bait, and when one comes to nibble it, you can jerk up your tail\nand just whip the otter over to the shore. I will guard your game for\nyou until you finish fishing.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery good,\u201d agreed Brother Bear, \u201cI will try that.\u201d\n\nSo Brother Bear laid down his load of nuts and honey, made his way to\nthe log, and climbed upon it. Then he let his fine long tail drop down\ninto the water--for this was in times long past, you must remember,\nwhen the tails of the bears were long--and then he closed his eyes and\nsat very still.\n\nPresently he felt a nibble at his tail, and he whipped it up, as\nBrother Fox had told him. Sure enough, a fine young otter went flying\nacross to the bank where Brother Fox lay waiting behind a bush.\n\n\u201cThat was pretty well done!\u201d thought Brother Bear, as he dropped his\ntail into the water again and waited. Presently he felt another\nnibble, and another otter went flying across to the bank. And soon it\nwas followed by a fish, and then by another fish.\n\n\u201cWhat a fine dinner I shall take home to my family,\u201d thought Brother\nBear to himself, as he began trying to count the number of times his\ntail had been nibbled, and he had sent something flying across for\nBrother Fox to guard.\n\nWhile he was trying to count, North Wind came along and saw him\nsitting there with his eyes closed, and his tail hanging down in the\nwater.\n\n\u201cI shall have to play a trick on Brother Bear, I do believe!\u201d chuckled\nNorth Wind to himself, and he sent a cold breath over the water, so\nthat it became quite still. Then he sent another breath, and a cold,\nshining crust formed all across its top. After that he sent another\nbreath, and another, and the cold, shining crust grew thicker and\nthicker.\n\nPresently Brother Bear stopped trying to count and opened his eyes.\n\u201cBrother Fox,\u201d he called, \u201cthere seems to be no more game in the\nriver. I have not felt a nibble for a long time.\u201d\n\nBut Brother Fox was just finishing a nice bone, and he called back\nearnestly, \u201cOh, be patient, Brother Bear! I am sure you will catch\nmore game if you wait a little longer.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cNORTH WIND SAW HIM SITTING THERE WITH HIS EYES CLOSED\n    AND HIS TAIL HANGING DOWN IN THE WATER\u201d]\n\nSo Brother Bear closed his eyes again and sat still for several\nminutes. Then he called, \u201cBrother Fox, I am sure there is no more game\nin the river. I am coming ashore now.\u201d\n\nThere was no answer from Brother Fox, so Brother Bear moved a little\non the log, but it was a very little, for his tail felt heavy as lead.\n\u201cWhy,\u201d he exclaimed, \u201cI must have an enormous fish now, my tail is so\nheavy!\u201d And with that he gave a great jump, intending to carry the\ngame with him to shore, when, snap! his tail broke right off short,\nfor it was frozen fast in the ice. And that was the trick that North\nWind had played.\n\nBrother Bear felt terribly at losing his tail, it had been such a\nbeautiful, long one! But at last he comforted himself by thinking,\n\u201cWell, at any rate, I have a wonderful feast to carry home to the\nfamily: nuts, and honey, and fish, and game.\u201d So he licked his lips,\nin spite of the loss of his tail.\n\nBut when Brother Bear reached the shore, he could not find Brother Fox\nanywhere! And neither could he find the fish, nor the tender young\notters. Instead, he found a heap of fresh bones back of the bush where\nBrother Fox had been lying. And then he knew that Brother Fox had\nplayed a bad trick upon him, too.\n\nHe gathered up his load of nuts and honey and went sadly home. And\nfrom that day to this Brother Bear has refused to do any more fishing,\nand has worn a stumpy tail.\n\n\n\n\nTHE THUNDER PEOPLE\n\n(Passamaquoddy)\n\n\nONCE upon a time a young Indian warrior was hunting with his bow and\narrows. He followed far after a fleet deer, until he found himself\nstanding upon a great rock, high above the plains.\n\nThe clouds were gathering thickly. The sky was black with clouds. The\nIndian youth was far away from his lodge.\n\nAgain he saw the deer, and he drew his bow. But as he did so the deer\nwas changed into the form of a maiden, standing against the rock.\n\nThe youth dropped his bow in wonder. He looked at the maiden. In the\ndistance he heard the voice of the thunder.\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d he asked in amazement.\n\nAnd the maiden answered, \u201cI am the sister of the Thunder Men. Will you\ncome with me and visit our home?\u201d The youth consented, and the maiden\nstruck the great rock against which she had stood.\n\nThere was a flash, like a flash of lightning, and the rock opened and\nmade a passage for them.\n\nThe maiden led the way, and the youth followed; and when they had\npassed through the rock, they came into a strange country--to the home\nof the Thunder Maiden. The floors and walls were of clouds, and the\nclouds were of every shade, from silver gray to the deepest purple\nblack. They were soft to walk upon, and smooth as the smoothest\nvelvet. And their changing shades were more wonderful than any artist\ncould paint.\n\nThe maiden\u2019s robes were of trailing silver, and her hair was black as\nmidnight.\n\nShe led the youth to her father, who sat upon a throne formed from the\ndeepest purple clouds. His hair and beard were white like the mists\nthat float across the sky. But his robe was black, with here and there\na dash of brilliant gold.\n\n\u201cWelcome, my son,\u201d said the old man. \u201cHave you come to dwell among\nus?\u201d\n\nThe youth looked at the beautiful maiden, and he answered, \u201cYes, my\nfather.\u201d\n\nSo he became one of the Thunder People.\n\nAfter a time the brothers of the maiden returned home. And when they\nsaw the youth and knew that he had come to dwell among them, they\nproposed a game of ball.\n\nNow their balls were big and black, and very heavy; and they did not\nthrow them, but rolled them back and forth across the clouds. And the\nnoise was very great.\n\nWhen the father of the Thunder Men saw that the youth was strong, and\ncould roll the ball well, he said, \u201cYou shall go with my sons\nto-morrow. You shall see greater sport than this.\u201d\n\nIn the morning, when the Thunder Men put on their great purple wings,\nthe maiden brought forth another pair and fastened them upon the\nshoulders of the youth. Then they all flew away to the south. They\ncarried bows, and their arrows were of gold.\n\nTheir wings made a mighty roaring and crashing as they flew, and the\npeople on the earth said, \u201cListen, how the thunder roars and crashes!\u201d\n\nThen they shot their golden arrows from their bows, and the earth\npeople cried, \u201cSee, how the lightning flashes across the sky!\u201d And\nsome of the earth people ran and hid, for they were afraid.\n\nBut the old man of the Thunder World had said to his sons: \u201cShoot your\narrows only at the great bird of the south, which is our enemy.\nDestroy not the people of the earth. And fly not too low. Touch not\nthe trees, for they are our friends.\u201d\n\nSo they flew about for a time, taking care where they sent their\narrows. And when they had grown tired of their sport, they flew back\nto their home in the clouds and took off their great purple wings.\n\nFor many moons the youth enjoyed the company of the Thunder Maiden,\nand took part in the sports of her brothers. But at last there took\npossession of him a great longing to visit again his brothers and\nsisters of the earth. He longed to chase the deer in the forest, to\nfollow his chief in battle, to smell the fire of his lodge.\n\nHe told his longing to the old man of the Thunder World, and the old\nman said he should have his way. So for the last time the Thunder\nMaiden fastened his purple wings to his shoulders, handed him the\ngolden arrows, and bade him good-bye. Then away he flew with the\nThunder Men.\n\nCloser and closer to the earth they went, and the people covered their\nears to keep out the crash and roar of the thunder; and they covered\ntheir eyes to keep out the sight of the dazzling, flashing lightning.\n\n\u201cOh, what a storm!\u201d cried the earth people, as they looked toward a\nhill outside their village where the noise seemed most deafening, and\nthe glare seemed most blinding.\n\nAnd there, on the hill, the Thunder Men left their Indian brother;\nthen, with many a rumble and flash, they flew away back to their home\nin the clouds.\n\nWhen the people looked again, the storm had lifted, and a warrior was\nseen descending from the hill to the village. They recognized him as\nthe youth who had been lost for many, many moons.\n\nAs they sat together around the fire of the lodge, the youth told them\nthe tale that I have told you, of the Thunder People who dwell in the\npurple clouds.\n\n\n\n\nKEEPER OF THE WINDS\n\n(Algonquin)\n\n\nMUDJEKEEWIS, father of the four winds of heaven, had three sons. Their\nnames were Wabun, Kabibonokka, and Shawondasee. Mudjekeewis said to\nthe chiefs of his people, \u201cYou have named me Kabeyun, the West Wind,\nand have given to me all the four winds of the heavens. I will appoint\nmy three sons to be keepers of the north wind, the east wind, and the\nsouth wind.\u201d\n\nSo to Kabibonokka he gave the north wind, to Wabun he gave the east\nwind, and to Shawondasee he gave the south wind.\n\nWabun was a hunter. He liked to rise early and to leap upon the\nmountains in pursuit of the wild deer. He liked to shoot with his bow\nand arrows. He was glad that the east wind had been given to him, for\nhe loved to watch the heavens in the early morning when the sun shot\nits first rays across the mountain tops where he hunted. He said to\nMudjekeewis, \u201cI am most grateful, my father, that the east wind has\nbeen given into my keeping. When I hunt in the early morning I will\nshoot away the clouds of darkness with my silver arrows; I will chase\naway the shadows.\u201d\n\nSo Wabun cared for the east wind, and each morning he painted the sky\nwith wonderful colors. He sent his silver arrows down to the earth to\nwaken the people, and to light up the lakes and meadows.\n\nAt last Wabun grew lonely in his home in the eastern sky, and he began\nto watch day by day for a beautiful maiden who walked upon the prairie\ngathering grasses for her baskets. And Wabun wooed her with his soft\nbreezes, and with sweet flowers, and with the songs of birds. And when\nhe had won her heart he changed her into a beautiful star, which he\nset in his home in the heavens.\n\nKabibonokka, the second son, was very different from Wabun. He was\ncold and cruel, and he was glad that the north wind had been given to\nhim. When he sent his winds across the earth the leaves upon the trees\nturned to crimson and gold, and were very lovely, but they whirled and\ntwisted in the wind and said to each other, \u201cOur days will soon be\nat an end. We shall soon turn dry and brown and fall to the earth.\nKabibonokka laughs when we put on our beautiful colors.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cWABUN WOOED HER WITH HIS SOFT BREEZES ... AND THE\n    SONGS OF BIRDS\u201d]\n\nThen Kabibonokka sent icy blasts, and the waters of the lakes froze,\nand the snows fell, and the winds came through the door of the tepee,\nand life became hard for the people. And Kabibonokka laughed, and his\nlaugh was like the whistling of the wind through the bare tree tops.\nThe fish were deep beneath the frozen waters; the snow covered the\ntracks of the animals of the forest. Food was scarce, and hard to\nobtain.\n\nOnly the bravest of the Indians could fish and hunt when the north\nwind blew its coldest. Shingebis was one of these, and he never lacked\nfor fish or fuel.\n\n\u201cI will get the best of Shingebis,\u201d said Kabibonokka, and so one\nmorning he went to Shingebis\u2019 tepee. And Shingebis asked him to eat\nwith him, and he gave him a meal of fish. And Kabibonokka ate\ngreedily. But the warmth of Shingebis\u2019 tepee was too great for him,\nand he had to go away. As he left he tried to put out the tepee fire,\nbut Shingebis blew upon it and it burned more brightly, so that\nKabibonokka had to hasten. In revenge he froze the waters more deeply,\nbut Shingebis only laughed, for no weather was too cold for him to\nfind fish for his dinner.\n\nBut the Indians did not love Kabibonokka, for he was cold and cruel.\n\nShawondasee was not like either of his brothers. He was fat and lazy.\nHe loved to lie upon green banks under shady trees. He loved the sweet\nflowers, and the warmth of the South Land. He was far too lazy to send\nstrong winds such as came from the North Land. His breezes were soft\nand traveled slowly, and they were sweet with the perfume of southern\ngroves and meadows.\n\nShawondasee, like his brother Wabun, saw a beautiful maiden that he\nloved. Do you remember the story? Her hair was of golden yellow, and\nshe nodded and swayed in the breeze. Her home was in the meadows, and\nShawondasee looked for her day by day, and wafted sweet odors and fair\nflowers to her, and he won her love, even as Wabun won the love of the\nprairie maiden. But he was too sluggish to go himself to win her, and\nto bring her to his home in the South Land. Instead he said to\nhimself each morning, \u201cTo-day I will go and seek the golden-haired\nmaiden, and bring her to my home,\u201d but each day he was too indolent.\n\nThe days went by, and at last the golden hair of the maiden turned\nsilvery white, and when Shawondasee saw this he heaved a great sigh,\nso great a sigh that it reached even to the maiden, and lo, all the\nsilver white of her hair was scattered over the meadow!\n\nSo Shawondasee still lives alone in the South Land, and sends gentle\nsighing breezes to the meadows of the North.\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Note\n\nMinor punctuation errors have been repaired.\n\nPukwudjee was also spelled as Puckwudjee in the table of contents and\nillustration captions. These have been amended to Pukwudjee for\nconsistency with the story _The Pukwudjee and the Morning Star_.\n\nOn page 15, be amended to he--... but neither could he break ...\n\nThe list of other books by the author and the frontispiece have been\nmoved to follow the title page. Other illustrations have been moved\nwhere necessary so that they are not in the middle of a paragraph.","title":"Indian Nature Myths","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":19652}