MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY
AND THE
GREAT LAKES
Selected and Edited by
KATHARINE B. JUDSON
AUTHOR OF "MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF
CALIFORNIA AND THE OLD SOUTHWEST,"
"MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST," ETC., ETC.
ILLUSTRATED
[Illustration]
CHICAGO
A. C. McCLURG & CO.
1914
Copyright
A. C. McCLURG & CO.
1914
Published August, 1914
W. F. Hall Printing Co., Chicago
_BY THE SAME AUTHOR_
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE GREAT PLAINS.
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[Illustration: EARLY INDIAN DRAWING SHOWING A WRESTLING BOUT FOR
A TURKEY.
The Donor, a Hunter, is the Shrouded Figure on the Horse.
_From Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology._]
PREFACE
Mystery, magic, and manitoes abound in the land of Hiawatha, in the
land of the Ojibwas, among the green islands, graceful and beautiful,
lying amidst the dancing blue waters when the sun shines over Gitche
Gomee, the Great Water.[1] Manitoes, great and mighty, lived in the
cool depths of the mighty forests, in the rivers and lakes, and even
in the snows of winter. And adventures there were in those early days
amongst these islands of the North, when manitoes directed the affairs
of men.
[1] Gitche Gomee is Lake Superior.
But the animal fathers lived upon the earth before there came the
"two-legged walkers." There were many animals. There were many
beavers. It was the beavers who made Gitche Gomee, the Great Water.
They made it by building two dams. The first they built at the Grand
Sault, and the second was five leagues below. When Great Hare came up
the river, he said, "This must not be so." Therefore he stepped upon
the first dam. But he was in haste. He did not break it down;
therefore there are now great falls and whirlpools at that place. But
at the second dam, Great Hare stepped upon it mightily; therefore
there are now few falls and only a little swirling water at that
place. Great Hare was very mighty. When he chased Beaver he stepped
across a bay eight leagues wide.
Around Michilimackinack was the land of Great Hare. There, amongst the
green islets, under the cool shade of wide spreading trees, where fish
leaped above the rippling waters, he made the first fish net. He made
it after watching Spider weave a web for catching flies.
It was Wenibojo,[2] who, in Ojibwa land, discovered the wild rice and
taught the Indians to use it. He first pointed out the low grassy
islands in the lakes, waving their bright green leaves and spikes of
yellowish-green blossoms. He showed them how to cut paths through the
wild rice beds before the grain was ripe, and later, to beat it into
their canoes. He told them always to gather the wild rice before a
storm, else the wind would blow it all into the water. Therefore the
Indians use wild rice in all their feasts. They even taught the white
men to use it.
[2] Wenibojo is only a variation of the name also given as
Manabush. Both are identical with Hiawatha.
When the snows of winter lay deep upon the forests of the North, when
ice covered lakes and rivers, then the story tellers of the Ojibwas,
as of all other Indian tribes, told the tales of the olden times, when
manitoes lived upon the earth, and when the animal fathers roamed
through the forest. But such stories are not told in summer. All the
woods and shores, all the bays and islands, are, in summer, the home
of keen-hearing spirits, who like not to have Indians talking about
them. But when the deep snows come, then the spirits are more drowsy.
Then the Indians, when North West rattles the flaps of the wigwams,
and wild animals hide in the shelter of the deep forest, tell their
tales. All winter they tell them, while the fires burn in the
wigwams--tell them until the frogs croak in the spring.
Tales they tell of how Gitche Manito, the Good One, taught the Indians
how to plant the Indian corn, how to strip and bury Mondamin, and how
to gather the corn in the month of falling leaves, that there may be
food in the camps when the snows of winter come. Tales they tell of
Gitche Manedo, the Evil One, who brings only distress and
sickness--tales of the land of Hiawatha. Mystery and magic lay all
about them.
It is a far cry from the stories of the North along the banks of the
Mississippi, from that land of long winters, through the country of
the mound builders, to the sunnier Southland; yet from north to south,
around the glimmering Indian fires, grouped eager men and women and
children, listening to the story tellers.
But quite different are the tales of the Southland--of the Cherokees,
Biloxis, and Chitimachas. They are stories of wild turkeys, of
persimmons and raccoons, and of the spirits which dwell in the
mountain places where none dare go. Stories also are they of Brer
Rabbit and the tar wolf, which came from Indian slaves working in the
fields in early days, through the negro slaves working beside them, to
the children of the white men.
* * * * *
It is a loss to American literature that so much of the legendary
history of these Indian tribes has gone, beyond hope of recovery.
Exquisite in color, poetical in feeling, these legends of sun, moon,
and stars, of snow, ice, lightning, thunders, the winds, the life of
the forest birds and animals about them, and the longing to understand
the why and the how of life--all which we have only in fragments.
Longfellow's work shows the wonderful beauty of these northern
legends, nor has he done violence to any of them in making them
poetical. His picture of the departure of Hiawatha, the lone figure
standing stately and solemn, as the canoe drifted out towards the
glowing sunset, while from the shore, in the shadow of the forest,
came the low Indian chant, mingling with the sighing of the pine
trees, is truely Indian. For the mystical and poetical is strong in
the Indian nature.
As in all the other volumes of this series, no effort has been made to
ornament or amplify these legends in the effort to make them
"literary," or give them "literary charm." They must speak for
themselves. What editing has been done has been in simplifying them,
and freeing them from the verbose setting in which many were found.
For in this section of the country, settled before it was realized
that there was an Indian literature, the original work of noting down
the myths was very imperfectly done.
Thanks are due to the work of Albert E. Jenks, on the wild rice
Indians of the upper lakes; to James Mooney, for the myths of the
Cherokees; to George Catlin, for some of the upper Mississippi
legends; to the well-known but almost inaccessible work of
Schoolcraft, and to others.
K. B. J.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
The Earth-Maker _Winnebago_ 1
Creation _Chitimacha_ 5
The Creation _Wyandot_ 8
Creation of the Races _Biloxi_ 12
Story of the Creation _Ojibwa_ 14
Creation (a fragment) _Ojibwa_ 16
Creation of the Mandans _Mandan_ 17
The Flood _Chitimacha_ 19
The Great Flood (a fragment) _Mandan_ 20
The Great Flood _Menomini_ 21
Origin of Fire _Menomini_ 26
The Thunderers and the Origin of Fire _Menomini_ 28
The Origin of Fire _Chitimacha_ 31
The Gifts of the Sky God _Chitimacha_ 32
Mondamin _Ojibwa_ 34
Mondamin _Ottawa_ 37
The Corn Woman _Cherokee_ 40
Discovery of Wild Rice _Ojibwa_ 42
Origin of Wild Rice _Ojibwa_ 44
Origin of Winnebago _Menomini_ 45
The Origin of Tobacco _Menomini_ 49
Origin of Maple Sugar _Menomini_ 51
Manabush and the Moose _Menomini_ 53
Origin of Day and Night _Menomini_ 54
Origin of the Bear _Cherokee_ 56
Origin of the Word Chicago _Ojibwa_ 58
Origin of the Word Chicago _Menomini_ 60
The Coming of Manabush _Menomini_ 61
The Story of Manabush _Menomini_ 62
Manabozho and West _Ojibwa_ 65
Manabush and the Great Fish _Menomini_ 69
The Departure of Manabush _Menomini_ 72
The Return of Manabush _Menomini_ 74
The Request for Immortality _Menomini_ 75
Peboan and Seegwun _Ojibwa_ 77
The Grave Fires _Ojibwa_ 79
The Death Trail _Cherokee_ 82
The Duck and the North West Wind _Ojibwa_ 84
How the Hunter Destroyed Snow _Menomini_ 87
The Pipe of Peace _Ojibwa_ 90
The Thunder's Nest _Ojibwa_ 92
The Pipestone _Sioux_ 93
The Pipestone _Knisteneaux_ 94
Pau-puk-kee-wis _Ojibwa_ 95
Iagoo, the Boaster _Ojibwa_ 102
Ojeeg, the Summer-Maker _Ojibwa_ 104
Rabbit Goes Duck Hunting _Cherokee_ 109
Rabbit and the Tar Baby _Biloxi_ 111
Rabbit and Tar Wolf _Cherokee_ 114
Rabbit and Panther _Menomini_ 116
How Rabbit Stole Otter's Coat _Cherokee_ 118
Rabbit and Bear _Biloxi_ 122
Why Deer Never Eat Men _Menomini_ 125
How Rabbit Snared the Sun _Biloxi_ 128
When the Orphan Trapped the Sun _Ojibwa_ 130
The Hare and the Lynx _Ojibwa_ 134
Welcome to a Baby _Cherokee_ 137
Baby Song _Cherokee_ 139
Song to the Firefly _Ojibwa_ 140
Song of the Mother Bears _Cherokee_ 141
The Man in the Stump _Cherokee_ 143
The Ants and the Katydids _Biloxi_ 144
When the Owl Married _Cherokee_ 145
The Kite and the Eagle 147
The Linnet and the Eagle _Ojibwa_ 148
How Partridge got his Whistle _Cherokee_ 149
How Kingfisher got his Bill _Cherokee_ 151
Why the Blackbird Has Red Wings _Chitimacha_ 153
Ball Game of the Birds and Animals _Cherokee_ 155
Why the Birds Have Sharp Tails _Biloxi_ 158
The Wildcat and the Turkeys _Biloxi_ 159
The Brant and the Otter _Biloxi_ 161
The Tiny Frog and the Panther 163
The Frightener of Hunters _Choctaw_ (_Bayou Lacomb_) 166
The Hunter and the Alligator _Choctaw_ (_Bayou Lacomb_) 167
The Groundhog Dance _Cherokee_ 169
The Racoon _Menomini_ 171
Why the Opossum Plays Dead _Biloxi_ 172
Why the 'Possum's Tail is Bare _Cherokee_ 174
Why 'Possum Has a Large Mouth _Choctaw_ (_Bayou Lacomb_) 176
The Porcupine and the Two Sisters _Menomini_ 177
The Wolf and the Dog _Cherokee_ 179
The Catfish and the Moose _Menomini_ 180
Turtle _Menomini_ 181
The Worship of the Sun _Ojibwa_ 185
Tashka and Walo _Choctaw_ (_Bayou Lacomb_) 189
Sun and Moon _Menomini_ 192
The Moon Person _Biloxi_ 193
The Star Creatures _Cherokee_ 194
Meteors _Menomini_ 195
The Aurora Borealis _Menomini_ 196
The West Wind _Chitimacha_ 197
The Lone Lightning _Ojibwa_ 198
The Thunders _Cherokee_ 200
Months of the Year _Natchez_ 201
Why the Oaks and Sumachs Redden _Fox_ 202
The Man of Ice _Cherokee_ 205
The Nunnehi _Cherokee_ 207
The Little People _Cherokee_ 210
War Song _Ojibwa_ 212
The War Medicine _Cherokee_ 213
The Coming of the White Man _Wyandot_ 214
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Early Indian drawing showing a wrestling bout _Frontispiece_
Early Indian pottery 20
Wild rice tied in bunches or sheaves 42
Wild rice kernels after threshing and winnowing 42
Birch-bark yoke, and sap buckets, used in maple sugar making 52
Picture writing. An Ojibwa Meda song 84
Permanent ash-bark wigwam of the wild rice gathering Ojibwa 104
Shell gorget showing eagle carving 128
Indian jar from the mounds of Arkansas 128
Spider gorgets 158
Shell pins made and used by Indians of the Mississippi Valley 176
Ojibwa dancer's beaded medicine bag 198
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY AND THE GREAT LAKES
THE EARTH-MAKER
_Winnebago_
When Earth-maker came to consciousness, he thought of the substance
upon which he was sitting. He saw nothing. There was nothing anywhere.
Therefore his tears flowed. He wept. But not long did he think of it.
He took some of the substance upon which he was sitting; so he made a
little piece of earth for our fathers. He cast this down from the high
place on which he sat. Then he looked at what he had made. It had
become something like our earth. Nothing grew upon it. Bare it was,
but not quiet. It kept turning.
"How shall I make it become quiet?" thought Earth-maker. Then he took
some grass from the substance he was sitting upon and cast it down
upon the earth. Yet it was not quiet.
Then he made a man. When he had finished him, he called him Tortoise.
At the end of all his thinking, after he came to consciousness, he
made the two-legged walkers.
Then Earth-maker said to this man, "The evil spirits are abroad to
destroy all I have just created. Tortoise, I shall send you to bring
order into the world." Then Earth-maker gave him a knife.
But when Tortoise came to earth, he began to make war. He did not look
after Earth-maker's creation. So Earth-maker took him back.
Then he sent Hare down to earth to restore order. He said, "See,
Grandmother, I have done the work my father directed me to do. The
lives of my uncles and aunts, the two-legged walkers, will be endless
like mine."
His grandmother said, "Grandson, how could you make the lives of your
uncles and aunts endless like yours? How could you do something in a
way Earth-maker had not intended it to be? Earth-maker could not make
them thus."
Hare thought, "My grandmother must be related to some of the evil
spirits I have killed. She does not like what I have done, for she is
saying that I killed the evil spirits."
Now grandmother heard him think. "No, Grandson, I am not thinking of
that. I am saying that our father made death so there should not be a
lack of food on earth. He made death to prevent overcrowding. He also
made a spirit world in which they should live after death."
Hare did not like what she said. "Grandmother surely does not like
it," he thought. "She must be related to the evil spirits."
"No, Grandson, it is not so. But to quiet you, your uncle and aunts
will live to be very old." Then she spoke again, "Now, Grandson, stand
up. The two-legged walkers shall follow me always. I shall follow you
always. Therefore try to do what I tell you. Remember you are a man.
Do not look back after you have started."
Then they started to go around the earth.
"Do not look back," she said.
"I wonder why she says that," thought Hare. Then he turned his head
the least little bit to the left, and looked back to the place from
which they had started. Instantly everything caved in.
"Oh, my! Oh, my!" exclaimed grandmother. "Grandson, a man you are; but
I thought you were a great man, so I greatly encouraged you. Now even
if I wished to, I could not prevent death."
This she meant, so they say.
Then they went around the earth, to the edge of the fire which
encircles the earth. That way they went, so they say.
CREATION
_Chitimacha_
There was a Creator of All Things. This Great Mystery understood all
things. He had no eyes, yet he could see. He had no ears, yet he could
hear. He had a body, but it could not be seen.
When the earth was first made, the Creator of All Things placed it
under the water. The fish were first created. But when the Creator
wanted to make men, there was no dry land. Therefore Crawfish was sent
down to bring up a little earth. He brought up mud in his claws.
Immediately it spread out and the earth appeared above the waters.
Then the Great Mystery made men. He made the Chitimachas. It was at
Natchez that he first made them.
He gave them laws but the people did not follow the laws. Therefore
many troubles came, so that the Creator could not rest. Therefore the
Creator made tobacco. Then men could become quiet and rest. Afterwards
he made women, but at first they were like wood. So he directed a
chief to teach them how to move, and how to cook, and to sew skins.
Now when the animals met the Chitimachas, they ridiculed them. For
these men had no fur, and no wool, and no feathers to protect them
from storms, or rain, or the hot sun. The Chitimachas were sad because
of this.
Then the Creator gave them bows and arrows, and taught them how these
things should be used. He told them that the flesh of the animals was
good for food, and their skins for covering. Thus the animals were
punished.
The Creator taught them also how to draw fire from two pieces of wood,
one flat and the other pointed; thus they learned to cook their food.
The Creator taught them also to honor the bones of their relatives;
and so long as they lived, to bring them food.
Now in those days, the animals took part in the councils of men. They
gave advice to men, being wiser. Each animal took especial care of the
Chitimachas. Therefore the Indians respect the animals which gave good
advice to their ancestors, and this aids them even today in time of
need.
The Creator also made the moon and the stars. Both were to give life
and light to all things on earth. Moon forgot the sacred bathing,
therefore he is pale and weak, giving but little light to man. But Sun
gives light to all things. Sun often stops on her trail to give more
time to the Indians when they are hunting, or fighting their enemies.
Moon does not, but always pursues his wife over the sky trail. Yet he
can never catch up with her.
The mounds in the Chitimacha country are the camping places of the
spirit sent down by the Creator to visit the Indians. This spirit
taught the men how to cook their food and to cure their wounds. He is
still highly honored.
THE CREATION
_Wyandot_
There was, in olden days, something the matter with the earth. It has
changed. We think so. We think the Great Mystery made it and made men
also. He made them at a place called Mountains. It was eastward. When
he had made the earth and these mountains, he covered the earth over
with something. He did it with his hands.
Under this, he put men. All the different tribes were there. One of
the young men climbed up and found his way to the surface. It was very
beautiful. Then a deer ran past, with an arrow in its side. He
followed it to where it fell and died. He looked back to see its
tracks, and he soon saw other tracks. They were the footprints of the
person who shot the deer. He soon came up. It was the Maker of Men.
Thus he taught the Indians what they must do when they came out of the
earth. The creator showed the Indian how to skin the deer, and prepare
it for food, and how to use the skin for dress.
When everything was ready, he said, "Make a fire."
The Indian said, "I do not know how."
Therefore the creator made the fire. Then he said, "Put the meat on
the fire. Roast it."
The Indian did this, but he did not turn the stick. Therefore it was
burned on one side and not roasted on the other. So the creator showed
him how to turn the stick.
Then the Great Mystery called all the Indians up out of the earth.
They came out by tribes. To each tribe he gave a chief. Then he made a
head chief over all the tribes, who should teach them what they should
do.
The Great Mystery also made Good and Evil. They were brothers. One
made pleasant things grow. The other spent all his time spoiling his
brother's work. He made stony places, and rocks, and made bad fruits
to grow. He made great trouble among men. He annoyed them very much.
Good had to go back and do his work over again. It kept him very busy.
Then Good decided to destroy Evil.
Therefore Good proposed to run a race with Evil. When they met, Good
said, "Tell me first--what do you most fear?"
"Bucks' horns," said Evil. "What do you most fear?"
"Indian grass braided," said Good.
Then Evil at once went to his grandmother, who braided Indian grass.
He got a great deal of it. He put the grass in the trail, and put it
in the limbs of the trees along the trail where Good was to run. Good
also filled the path, where his brother Evil was to run, with bucks'
horns.
They said, "Who shall run first?" They argued about it. At last Good
said, "Well, I will, because I proposed the race." So he started off
and Evil followed him. When Good became tired, he pulled down a strand
of braided green grass and chewed it. Thus he ran rapidly. But Evil
became tired. Yet Good would not stop until he reached the end of the
trail.
The next day Evil started on his trail. Everywhere he was stopped by
the branches of bucks' horns. They greatly annoyed him. He said to
Good, "Let me stop." Good said, "No, you must go on." At last, towards
evening, Evil fell in the trail. At once Good took bucks' horns and
killed him.
Then Good returned to his grandmother. She was very angry. She loved
Evil. That night Good was awakened by a sound. The spirit of Evil was
talking with his grandmother. Then when Evil knew Good was awake, he
said, "Let me into the wigwam." But Good always said, "No."
At last Evil said, "I go to the northwest land. You will never see me
more. Those who follow me will never come back. Death will keep them."
CREATION OF THE RACES[3]
_Biloxi_
[3] Obviously influenced by missionary teaching, but a most
curious myth.
Kuti Mankdce, the One Above, made people. He made one person, an
Indian. While the Indian was sleeping, he made a woman. Then the One
Above went away to find food for the man and woman.
After he left, something was standing there upright. It was a tree. A
person said, "Why do you not eat the fruit of this tree? I think he
made it for you to eat."
So the woman pulled off some fruit and stewed it and she and the
Indian ate it. Shortly after, the One Above returned. Now he had gone
away to find food for them. When he found they had stewed this fruit,
he was very angry. He said, "Work for yourself. Find your own food,
else you shall be hungry."
When the One Above had been a long time gone, he sent back a letter to
the Indians. But the Indians did not receive it, because the Americans
took it. That is why Americans know how to read and write.
Now after the letter came, the people found a very clear stream of
water. The American found it first and lay down in it; therefore he is
very white all over. Next came the Frenchman, but the water was not so
clear. Then came the Indians; therefore Indians are not of light
complexion, because they did not find the water when it was clear.
Afterwards came the Spaniard, and he was not white, because the water
had become very muddy.
Some time after the Negro was made. The One Above thought he should
attend to work, so he made the Negro's nose flat. And by this time the
water was very muddy, and the stream was very low. So the Negro washed
only the palms of his hands. Therefore Negroes are very black except
on the palms of their hands.
STORY OF THE CREATION
_Ojibwa_
When Gitche Manito, the Good Mystery, created the earth-plain, it was
bare, without trees or shrubs. Then he created two Indians, a man and
a woman. Now when there were ten persons on the earth-plain, death
happened. The first man lamented, and went back and forth over the
plain, complaining.
He said, "Why did the Good Spirit send death so soon?" The Good
Mystery heard this. He called a great council. He said, "Man is not
happy. I have made him very frail, therefore death happens. What shall
we do?"
The council lasted six days, and there was not a breath of air to
disturb the waters. The seventh was the _nageezhik_, the excellent
day. The sky was blue and there were no clouds. On that day Gitche
Manito sent down a messenger to earth. In his right hand was a piece
of white hare's skin, and in the left the head of a white-headed
eagle. On each was the blue stripe of peace.
The messenger said, "Gitche Manito sent me. He has heard your words.
You must obey his commands." Then he gave to the Indians the hare's
skin, the eagle's head, and a white otter skin with the blue stripe of
peace.
Thus Gitche Manito taught the Indians how to make magic and how to be
strong.
CREATION
(A fragment)
_Ojibwa_
Long ago, Nokomis came down from Sky-land, but remained fluttering in
mid air. There was no place on which to rest her foot.
The Fishes at once held a great council. Now Tortoise had a
shell-covered back, very broad. After the council, he rose to the
surface so that Nokomis might rest upon his back. Then the
drift-masses of the sea gathered about the Tortoise. Thus the land was
made.
Then Nokomis found herself alone on the land. So she married a manido
from the Sky-land. Two sons had Nokomis--twin brothers. But the
brothers were not friends. One was a good huntsman; the other could
kill no game at all. So they disputed. Then one brother rose to the
Sky-land. He caused the Thunders to roar over his brother's head.
Now the sister of these twin brothers was the ancestor of the Ojibwas.
CREATION OF THE MANDANS
_Mandan_
The Mandans were the People of the Pheasants. They were the first
people in the world. At first they lived in the earth. Now, in the
dark Earth-land, they had many vines. Then at last one vine grew up
through a hole in the Earth-plain, far above their heads. One of their
young men at once went up the vine until he came out on the
Earth-plain. He came out on the prairies, on the bank of a river, just
where the Mandan village now stands.[4]
[4] 1834.
He looked all about him. The Earth-plain was very beautiful. There
were many buffaloes there. He killed one with his bow and arrow, and
found it was good for food.
Then the young man returned to his people under the ground. He told
them all he had seen. They held a council, and then they began to
climb up the vine to the Earth-plain. Some of the chiefs, and the
young warriors, and many of the women went up. Then came a very fat
woman. The chiefs said, "Do not go up." But she did, so the vine
broke.
The Mandans were very sorry about this. Because no more could go up,
the tribe on the Earth-plain is not very large. And no one could
return to his village in the ground. Therefore the Mandans built their
village on the banks of the river. But the rest of the people remained
underground.
THE FLOOD
_Chitimacha_
Long, long ago, a great storm came. At once the people baked a great
earthen pot, and in this two of them saved themselves. The pot was
held up on the surface of the water. Now two rattlesnakes were also
saved in the earthen jar, because in the olden days rattlesnakes were
the friends of man. In those days, when an Indian left his lodge the
rattlesnake entered it and protected it until he returned.
When all the land was flooded, the red-headed woodpecker hooked his
claws into the sky and so hung above the waters. But the flood rose so
high that part of his tail was wet. You can see the marks even to this
day.
When the waters sank, he was sent to find land. He could find none.
Then a dove was sent and came back with a grain of sand. This sand was
placed on top of the great waters and immediately it stretched out. It
became dry land. Therefore the dove is called "Ground Watcher."
THE GREAT FLOOD
(A fragment)
_Mandan_
The earth is a large tortoise. It moves very slowly and carries a
great deal of earth on its back. Long ago there was a tribe which is
now dead. They used to dig deep down in the earth for badgers. They
dug with knives. One day they stuck a knife far down into the earth.
It cut through the shell of Tortoise.
Therefore Tortoise at once began to sink into the water. The water
rose through the knife cut until it covered all the ground. All the
people were drowned except one man.
But some of the old people say it was this way. They say there were
four Tortoises, one in the East, one in the West, one in the South,
and another in the North. Each Tortoise made it rain for ten days.
Therefore the water covered the earth and all the people were drowned.
[Illustration: EARLY INDIAN POTTERY.
_From Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology._]
THE GREAT FLOOD
_Menomini_
Manabush[5] wanted to punish the evil manidoes, the Ana maqkiu who had
destroyed his brother Wolf. Therefore he invented the ball game.
[5] The Manabozho of the Ojibwas.
The place selected by Manabush for a ball ground was near a large sand
bar on a great lake near Mackinac. He asked the Thunderers to play
against the Ana maqkiu. These evil manidoes came out of the ground as
Bears. One chief was a silvery white bear, and the other a gray bear.
They played the ball game all day. Manabush watched the game from a
tree on a knoll.
When night came, Manabush went to a spot between the places where the
Bear chiefs had played ball. He said, "I want to be a pine tree, cut
off halfway between the ground and the top, with two strong branches
reaching out over the places where the Bear chiefs lie down." At once
he became just such a tree.
Now when the players came to the ball game the next morning, the Bear
chiefs at once said, "This tree was not standing there yesterday."
The Thunderers at once said, "Oh, yes. It was there." Thus they
argued. At last one Bear chief said, "This tree is Manabush. Therefore
we will kill him." At once they sent for Grizzly Bear. They said,
"Climb this tree. Tear off the bark. Scratch it." Grizzly Bear did so.
He also bit the branches.
Then the Bear chiefs called to Serpent. They said, "Ho, Serpent! Come
climb this tree. Bite it. Strangle it in your coils." Serpent at once
did so. It was very hard for Manabush; yet he said nothing at all.
Then the Bear chiefs said, "No, it is not Manabush. Therefore we will
finish the game."
Now when they were playing, someone carried the ball so far that the
Bear chiefs were left entirely alone. At once Manabush drew an arrow
from his quiver and shot the White Bear chief. Then he shot another
arrow at Gray Bear chief. He wounded both of them. Then Manabush
became a man again and ran for the sand bar. Soon the underground Ana
maqkiu came back. They saw the two Bear chiefs were wounded. They
immediately called for a flood from the earth to drown Manabush. It
came very quickly and followed that one. Then Badger came. He hid
Manabush in the earth. As he burrowed, he threw the earth behind him,
and that held the water back. So the Ana maqkiu could not find
Manabush. Therefore they gave up the search just as the water began to
fill Badger's burrow. So Manabush and Badger returned above ground.
Now the underground people carried their chiefs to a wigwam. They said
to an old woman, "Take care of them." Then Manabush followed them. He
met the old woman. He took her skin and hid himself in it. So he went
into the wigwam. He killed both the Bear chiefs. Then he took the
skins of the bears. When he came out of the wigwam he shook a network
of basswood twigs, so that the Ana maqkiu might know he had been
there.
At once they pursued him. Water poured out of the earth in many
places. A great flood came.
Manabush at once ran to the top of the highest mountain. The waters
followed him closely. He climbed a great pine tree on the mountain
top, but the waters soon reached him. Manabush said to the pine, "Grow
twice as high." At once it did so. Yet the waters rose higher.
Manabush said again to the tree, "Grow twice as high."
He said this four times, yet the waters kept rising until they
reached his arm pits. Then Manabush called to Kisha Manido for help.
The Good Mystery at once commanded the waters to stop.
Manabush looked around. There were only a few animals in the water. He
called, "Ho, Otter! Come to me and be my brother. Dive down into the
water. Bring up some earth that I may make a new world." Otter dived
down into the water and was gone a long time. When he appeared again
on the surface, Manabush saw he was drowned.
Then he called again, "Ho, Mink! Come to me and be my brother. Dive
down into the water. Bring me some earth." Then Mink dived into the
water. He was gone a long time. He also was drowned.
Manabush looked about him again. He saw Muskrat. He called, "Ho,
Muskrat! Come to me and be my brother. Dive down into the water. Bring
me up earth from below." Muskrat immediately dived into the water. He
was gone a very long time. Then when he came up, Manabush went to him.
In his paw was a tiny bit of mud. Then Manabush held Muskrat up, and
blew on him, so he became alive again.
Then Manabush took the earth. He rubbed it between the palms of his
hands and threw it out on the water. Thus a new world was made and
trees appeared on it.
Manabush told Muskrat that his tribe should always be numerous, and
that wherever his people should live they should have enough to eat.
Then Manabush found Badger. To him he gave the skin of the Gray Bear
chief. But he kept for himself the skin of the silvery White Bear
chief.
ORIGIN OF FIRE
_Menomini_
While Manabush was still a young man, he said to Nokomis, the Earth,
"Grandmother, it is cold here and we have no fire. I shall go and get
some."
Nokomis said, "Oh, no! It is too dangerous."
But Manabush said, "Yes, we must have fire."
At once Manabush made a canoe of birch bark. Then he became a rabbit.
So he started eastward, across the great water, to a land where lived
an old man who had fire. He guarded the fire carefully so that people
might not steal it.
Now the old man had two daughters. One day they came out of the sacred
wigwam where the fire was kept. Behold! There was a little rabbit, wet
and cold and trembling. They took it up at once in their arms. They
carried it into the wigwam. They set it down near the fire.
So Manabush sat by the fire while the two girls were busy. The old man
was asleep. Then Rabbit hopped nearer the fire. When he hopped, the
whole earth shook. The old man roused. He said, "My daughters, what
has happened?"
The girls answered, "Nothing at all. We picked up a little wet rabbit
and are letting him dry by the fire." Then again the old man fell
asleep. The girls were busy.
Suddenly Rabbit seized a stick of burning wood and ran out of the
wigwam. He ran with great speed towards his canoe. The old man and the
two girls followed him closely. But Rabbit reached his canoe and
paddled quickly away, to the wigwam of Nokomis. He paddled so quickly
that the fire stick burned fiercely. Sparks flew from it and burned
Rabbit.
At once Rabbit and Nokomis gave fire to the Thunderers. They have had
the care of fire ever since.
THE THUNDERERS AND THE ORIGIN OF FIRE
_Menomini_
When the Great Mystery created the earth, he made also many manidos.
Those of animal form were People of the Underground, and evil. But the
bird manidos were Eagles and Hawks. They were the Thunderers. The
golden eagle was the Thunder-which-no-one-could-see.
Now when Masha Manido, the Good Mystery, saw that Bear was still an
animal, he permitted him to change his form. Thus Bear became an
Indian, with light skin. All this happened near Menomini River, near
where it empties into Green Bay. At this place also Bear first came
out of the ground.
Bear found himself alone, so he called to Eagle, "Ho, Eagle! come to
me and be my brother." So Eagle came down to earth and became an
Indian.
While the Thunderers stood there, Beaver came near. Now as Beaver was
a woman, she became a younger brother of the Thunderers. Soon after,
as Bear and Eagle stood on a river bank, they saw a stranger,
Sturgeon. They called to him. Therefore Sturgeon became Bear's younger
brother and his servant. So also Elk was adopted by the Thunderers. He
became a younger brother and water carrier.
At another time, Bear was going up Wisconsin River and sat down to
rest. Out from beneath a waterfall came Wolf.
Wolf said, "What are you doing in this place?"
Bear said, "I am traveling to the source of the river. I am resting."
Just then Crane came flying by. Bear called, "Ho, Crane. Carry me to
my people at the head of the river. Then will I make you my younger
brother."
Crane stopped and took Bear on his back. As he was flying off, Wolf
called, "Ho, Bear. Take me also as your younger brother. I am alone."
Bear said, "I will take Wolf as my younger brother."
This is how Wolf and Crane became younger brothers of Bear. Wolf
afterwards let Dog and Deer join him, having seats in the council.
Now Big Thunder lived at Winnebago Lake, near Fond du Lac. The
Thunderers were all made by Masha Manido to be of benefit to the whole
world. When they return from the Southwest in the spring, they bring
with them the rains which make the earth green and the plants and
trees to grow. If it were not for the Thunderers, the earth would be
dry and all things would perish.
Masha Manido gave to the Thunderers squaw corn, which grows on small
sticks and has ears of several colors.
The Thunderers were also the Makers-of-Fire. Manabush first gave it to
them, but he had stolen it from an old man living on an island in the
middle of a great lake.
Bear and Sturgeon owned rice, which grew abundantly in the waters near
Bear's village. One day the Thunderers visited Bear's village and
promised to give corn and fire, if Bear would give them rice.
The Thunderers are the war chiefs and have charge of the lighting of
the fire. So Bear gave rice to them. Then he built a long tepee and a
fire was kindled in the center by the Thunderers. From this all the
people of the earth received fire. It was carried to them by the
Thunderers. When the people travel, the Thunderers go ahead to the
camping place and start the fire which is used by all.
THE ORIGIN OF FIRE
_Chitimacha_
Fire first came from the Great Being, Kutnakin. He gave it into the
care of an Indian so old that he was blind.
Now the Indians all knew that fire was good, therefore they tried to
steal it. The old man could not see them when they came stealthily to
his wigwam, but he could feel the presence of anyone. Then he would
beat about him with his stick until he drove away the seekers for
fire.
Now one day an Indian seized the fire suddenly. At once the Watcher of
the Fire began beating about him with his stick, until the thief
dropped the fire. But the old man did not know he had dropped it. He
still beat about him so fiercely with his stick that he pounded some
of the fire into a log.
That is why fire is in wood.
THE GIFTS OF THE SKY GOD
_Chitimacha_
Long, long ago, many Indians started to reach the Sky-world. They
walked far to the north until they came to the edge of the sky, where
it is fitted down over the Earth-plain. When they came to this place,
they tried to slip through a crack under the edge, but the Sky-cover
came down very tightly and quickly, and crushed all but six. These six
had slipped through into the Sky-land.
Then these men began to climb up, walking far over the sky floor. At
last they came to the lodge of Kutnakin. They stayed with him as his
guests. At last they wished to go back to their own lodges on the
Earth-plain.
Kutnakin said, "How will you go down to the Earth-plain?"
One said, "I will go down as a squirrel." So he started to spring down
from the Sky-land. He was dashed to pieces.
Kutnakin said to the next, "How will you go down to the Earth-plain?"
And this man also went as an animal. And so the next one also. They
were dashed to pieces. Then the others saw that they were crushed by
their fall.
Therefore the fourth said, "I will go down as a spider." And he spun a
long line down which he climbed safely to earth.
The fifth said, "I will go down as an eagle," and he spread his wings
and circled through the air until he alighted on a tree branch.
The last one said, "I will go down as a pigeon," and so he came softly
to earth.
Now each one brought back a gift from Kutnakin. The one who came back
as a spider had learned how to howl and sing and dance when people
were sick. He was the first medicine man. But one Indian had died
while these six men were up in the Sky-land. He died before the shaman
came down to earth as a spider. Therefore death came among the
Indians. Had the shaman come back to earth in time to heal this
Indian, there would have been no death.
The one who came back as an eagle taught men how to fish. And the
pigeon taught the Indians the use of wild maize.
MONDAMIN
_Ojibwa_
When the springtime came, long, long ago, an Indian boy began his
fast, according to the customs of his tribe. His father was a very
good man but he was not a good hunter, and often there was no food in
the wigwam.
So, as the boy wandered from his small tepee in the forest, he thought
about these things. He looked at the plants and shrubs and wondered
about their uses, and whether they were good for food. He thought, "I
must find out about these things in my vision."
One day, as he lay stretched upon his bed of robes in the solitary
wigwam, a handsome Indian youth came down from Sky-land. He was gaily
dressed in robes of green and yellow, with a plume of waving feathers
in his hands.
"I am sent to you," said the stranger, "by the Great Mystery. He will
teach you what you would know." Then he told the boy to rise and
wrestle with him. The boy at once did so. At last the visitor said,
"That is enough. I will come tomorrow."
The next day the beautiful stranger came again from the Sky-land.
Again the two wrestled until the stranger said, "That is enough. I
will come tomorrow."
The third day he came again. Again the fasting youth found his
strength increase as he wrestled with the visitor. Then that one said,
"It is enough. You have conquered." He sat himself down in the wigwam.
"The Great Mystery has granted your wish," he said. "Tomorrow when I
come, after we have wrestled and you have thrown me down, you must
strip off my garments. Clear the earth of roots and weeds and bury my
body. Then leave this place; but come often and keep the earth soft,
and pull up the weeds. Let no grass or weeds grow on my grave." Then
he went away, but first he said, "Touch no food until after we wrestle
tomorrow."
The next morning the father brought food to his son; it was the
seventh day of fasting. But the boy refused until the evening should
come.
Again came the handsome youth from the Sky-land. They wrestled long,
until he fell to the earth. Then the Indian boy took off the green and
yellow robes, and buried his friend in soft, fresh earth. Thus the
vision had come to him.
Then the boy returned to his father's lodge, for his fasting was
ended. Yet he remembered the commands of the Sky-land stranger. Often
he visited the grave, keeping it soft and fresh, pulling up weeds and
grass. And when people were saying that the Summer-maker would soon go
away and the Winter-maker come, the boy went with his father to the
place where his wigwam had stood in the forest while he fasted. There
they found a tall and graceful plant, with bright silky hair, and
green and yellow robes.
"It is Mondamin," said the boy. "It is Mondamin, the corn."[6]
[6] Then Nokomis, the old woman,
Spake, and said to Minnehaha:
"'Tis the Moon when leaves are falling;
All the wild rice has been gathered,
And the maize is ripe and ready;
Let us gather in the harvest,
Let us wrestle with Mondamin,
Strip him of his plumes and tassels,
Of his garments green and yellow."
--_Hiawatha_
MONDAMIN
_Ottawa_
When the Ottawas lived on the Manatoline Islands, in Lake Huron, they
had a very strong medicine man. His name was Mass-wa-wei-nini, Living
Statue. Then the Iroquois came and drove the Ottawas away. They fled
to Lac Court Oreilles, between Lake Superior and the Mississippi
River. But Living Statue remained in the land of his people. He
remained to watch the Iroquois, so that his people might know of their
plans. His two sons stayed with him.
At night, the medicine man paddled softly around the island, in his
canoe. He paddled through the water around the beautiful green island
of his people. One morning he rose early to go hunting. His two boys
were asleep. So Living Statue followed the game trail through the
forest; then he came to a wide green plain. He watched keenly for the
enemy of his people. Then he began to cross the plain.
When Living Statue was in the middle of the plain, he saw a small man
coming towards him. He wore a red plume in his hair.
"Where are you going?" asked Red Plume.
"I am hunting," said Living Statue.
Red Plume drew out his pipe and they smoked together.
"Where does your strength come from?" asked Red Plume.
"I have the strength common to all men," said Living Statue.
"We must wrestle," said Red Plume. "If you can make me fall, you will
cry, 'I have thrown you, _Wa ge me na_!'"
Now when they had finished smoking, they began to wrestle. They
struggled long. Red Plume was small, but his medicine was strong.
Living Statue grew weaker and weaker, but at last, by a sudden effort,
he threw Red Plume. At once he cried, "I have thrown you, _Wa ge me
na_!"
Immediately Red Plume vanished. When Living Statue looked at the place
where he had fallen, he saw only _Mondamin_, an ear of corn. It was
crooked. There was a red tassel at the top.
Someone said, "Take off my robes. Pull me in pieces. Throw me over the
plain. Take the spine on which I grew and throw it in shady places
near the edge of the wood. Return after one moon. Tell no one."
Mass-wa-wei-nini did as the voice directed. Then he returned into the
woods. He killed a deer. So he returned to his wigwam.
Now after one moon, he returned to the plain. Behold! There were
blades and spikes of young corn. And from the broken bits of spine,
grew long pumpkin vines.
When summer was gone, Living Statue went again to the plain with his
sons. The corn was in full ear. Also the large pumpkins were ripe.
Thus the Ottawas received the gift of corn.
THE CORN WOMAN
_Cherokee_
One day a hunter could find no game. He had but a few grains of corn
with him. He was very hungry. In the night a dream came to him and he
heard the sound of singing.
Early the next morning the hunter rose, but again he found no game.
When he slept again the dream came to him, and again came the sound of
singing, but this time it was nearer. Yet again he could find no game.
The third night the dream came to the hunter, and when he awoke, he
still heard the song. Then he rose quickly and followed the song. At
last he came to a single green stalk of Selu.
The stalk spoke to him. It said, "Take off my roots, and take them
with you to your wigwam. Tomorrow morning you must chew them before
anyone awakes. Then go again into the woods. So will you always be
successful in hunting."
The green stalk gave him many directions for hunting the elk and the
deer. So it talked until the sun rose to the very top of the sky
trail. Immediately the green stalk became a woman. She rose gracefully
into the air and vanished.
Then all the people knew that the hunter had seen Selu, the Corn, wife
of Kanati. Therefore the hunter was always successful.
DISCOVERY OF THE WILD RICE
_Ojibwa_
Long ago, Wenibojó[7] made his home with his grandmother, Nokomis. One
day Nokomis said to her grandson, "Prove yourself a man. Take a long
journey. Go through the great forests. Fast you. Prepare for the
hardships of life."
[7] Another form of the Ojibwa Manabozho, or the Menomini
Manabush.
So Wenibojó took his bow and arrow from his wigwam. He wandered
out into the forest. Many days he wandered. Then at last he
reached a broad lake, covered thick with heavy-headed stalks. But
Wenibojó knew not that the grain was food.
So Wenibojó went back to his grandmother, Nokomis. He told her of the
broad, quiet lake, with the heavy-headed stalks. So Nokomis came, and
in their canoe they gathered the wild rice and sowed it in another
lake.
[Illustration: WILD RICE TIED IN BUNCHES OR SHEAVES.
_From Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology._]
[Illustration: WILD RICE KERNELS AFTER THRESHING AND WINNOWING.
_From Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology._]
Again Wenibojó left Nokomis. With his bow and arrow he wandered far
into the forest. Then some little bushes spoke as he walked.
"Sometimes they eat us," they said. Wenibojó made no answer. Again
the bushes spoke, "Sometimes they eat us."
"Who are you talking to?" he asked.
"To Wenibojó," they said. So he bent down and dug up the bushes by the
roots. The roots were long, like an arrow. They were good to eat, but
Wenibojó had fasted too long.
After a while, Wenibojó wandered on. He was very hungry. Many bushes
spoke to him. Many said, "Sometimes they eat us," but he made no
answer.
One day he followed the river trail, when the sun was high. Many
little bunches of straw were growing out of the water. They spoke to
him. They said, "Wenibojó, sometimes they eat us."
So Wenibojó picked some of the grains from the heavy-headed stalks and
ate.
"You are good to eat," he said. "What do they call you?"
"They call us _manomin_," answered the wild rice.
Then Wenibojó waded far out into the water. He beat out grains and ate
many. They were good for food.
Then Wenibojó remembered the grain which Nokomis had sown, and he
returned to his grandmother and the _manomin_ lake.
ORIGIN OF WILD RICE
_Ojibwa_
Now one evening Wenibojó returned to his wigwam from hunting. He had
found no game. As he came towards his fire, he saw a duck sitting on
the edge of a kettle of boiling water. Immediately the duck flew away.
Wenibojó looked in the kettle. Behold! Grains were floating upon the
water. Then he ate the broth made with the grains. It was good.
So Wenibojó followed the trail of the duck. He came to a lake of
_manomin_. All the birds and the ducks and geese were eating the
grain. Therefore Wenibojó learned to know _manomin_, the wild rice.
ORIGIN OF WINNEBAGO
_Menomini_