resembling thunder, in repeated peals. When they had got over their
fears, they were shown the large guns which made this noise. Soon after
they saw a vessel smaller than their own, sailing out of a bay, in the
direction toward them. She had flags on her masts, and when she came
near she fired a gun. The large vessel also hoisted her flags, and the
boat came alongside. The master told the person who came in it, to tell
his master or king, that he had six strangers on board, such as had
never been seen before, and that they were coming to visit him. It was
some time after the departure of this messenger before the vessel got up
to the town. It was then dark, but they could see people, and horses,
and odawbons[13] ashore. They were landed, and placed in a covered
vehicle, and driven off. When they stopped, they were taken into a large
and splendid room. They were here told that the great chief wished to
see them. They were shown into another large room, filled with men and
women. All the room was Shonean-cauda.[14] The chief asked them their
business, and the object of their journey. They told him where they were
from, and where they were going, and the nature of the enterprise which
they had undertaken. He tried to dissuade them from its execution,
telling them of the many trials and difficulties they would have to
undergo: that so many days' march from his country dwelt a bad spirit,
or Manito, who foreknew and foretold the existence and arrival of all
who entered into his country. It is impossible, he said, my children,
for you ever to arrive at the object you are in search of.
Iosco replied; "Nosa,"[15] and they could see the chief blush in being
called _father_, "we have come so far on our way, and we will continue
it: we have resolved firmly that we will do so. We think our lives are
of no value, for we have given them up for this object. Nosa," he
repeated, "do not then prevent us from going on our journey." The chief
then dismissed them with valuable presents, after having appointed the
next day to speak to them again, and provided every thing that they
needed or wished for.
Next day they were again summoned to appear before the king. He again
tried to dissuade them. He said he would send them back to their country
in one of his vessels: but all he said had no effect. "Well," said he,
"if you will go, I will furnish you all that is needed for your
journey." He had every thing provided accordingly. He told them, that
three days before they reached the Bad Spirit he had warned them of,
they would hear his Sheshegwun.[16] He cautioned them to be wise, for he
felt that he should never see them all again.
They resumed their journey, and travelled sometimes through villages,
but they soon left them behind and passed over a region of forests and
plains, without inhabitants. They found all the productions of a new
country: trees, animals, birds, were entirely different from those they
were accustomed to, on the other side of the great waters. They
travelled, and travelled, till they wore out all of the clothing that
had been given to them, and had to take to their leather clothing again.
The three days the chief spoke of meant three years, for it was only at
the end of the third year, that they came within the sight of the
spirit's sheshegwun. The sound appeared to be near, but they continued
walking on, day after day, without apparently getting any nearer to it.
Suddenly they came to a very extensive plain; they could see the blue
ridges of distant mountains rising on the horizon beyond it: they pushed
on, thinking to get over the plain before night, but they were overtaken
by darkness: they were now on a stony part of the plain, covered by
about a foot's depth of water: they were weary and fatigued: some of
them said, let us lie down; no, no, said the others, let us push on.
Soon, they stood on firm ground, but it was as much as they could do to
stand, for they were very weary. They, however, made an effort to
encamp, lighted up a fire, and refreshed themselves by eating. They then
commenced conversing about the sound of the spirit's sheshegwun, which
they had heard for several days. Suddenly the instrument commenced; it
sounded as if it was subterraneous, and it shook the ground: they tied
up their bundles and went toward the spot. They soon came to a large
building, which was illuminated. As soon as they came to the door, they
were met by a rather elderly man. "How do ye do," said he, "my
grandsons? Walk in, walk in; I am glad to see you: I knew when you
started: I saw you encamp this evening: sit down, and tell me the news
of the country you left, for I feel interested in it." They complied
with his wishes, and when they had concluded, each one presented him
with a piece of tobacco. He then revealed to them things that would
happen in their journey, and predicted its successful accomplishment. "I
do not say that all of you," said he, "will successfully go through it.
You have passed over three-fourths of your way, and I will tell you how
to proceed after you get to the edge of the earth. Soon after you leave
this place, you will hear a deafening sound: it is the sky descending on
the edge, but it keeps moving up and down; you will watch, and when it
moves up, you will see a vacant space between it and the earth. You must
not be afraid. A chasm of awful depth is there, which separates the
unknown from this earth, and a veil of darkness conceals it. Fear not.
You must leap through; and if you succeed you will find yourselves on a
beautiful plain, and in a soft and mild light emitted by the moon." They
thanked him for his advice. A pause ensued.
"I have told you the way," he said; "now tell me again of the country
you have left; for I committed dreadful ravages while I was there: does
not the country show marks of it? and do not the inhabitants tell of me
to their children? I came to this place to mourn over my bad actions,
and am trying, by my present course of life, to relieve my mind of the
load that is on it." They told him that their fathers spoke often of a
celebrated personage called Manabozho, who performed great exploits. "I
am he," said the Spirit. They gazed with astonishment and fear. "Do you
see this pointed house?" said he, pointing to one that resembled a
sugar-loaf; "you can now each speak your wishes and will be answered
from that house. Speak out, and ask what each wants, and it shall be
granted." One of them, who was vain, asked with presumption, that he
might live for ever, and never be in want. He was answered, "Your wish
shall be granted." The second made the same request, and received the
same answer. The third asked to live longer than common people, and to
be always successful in his war excursions, never losing any of his
young men. He was told, "Your wishes are granted." The fourth joined in
the same request, and received the same reply. The fifth made an humble
request, asking to live as long as men generally do, and that he might
be crowned with such success in hunting as to be able to provide for his
parents and relatives. The sixth made the same request, and it was
granted to both, in pleasing tones, from the pointed house.
After hearing these responses they prepared to depart. They were told by
Manabozho, that they had been with him but one day, but they afterward
found that they had remained there upward of a year. When they were on
the point of setting out, Manabozho exclaimed, "Stop! you two, who asked
me for eternal life, will receive the boon you wish immediately." He
spake, and one was turned into a stone called Shingauba-wossin,[17] and
the other into a cedar-tree. "Now," said he to the others, "you can go."
They left him in fear, saying, we were fortunate to escape so, for the
king told us he was wicked, and that we should not probably escape from
him. They had not proceeded far, when they began to hear the sound of
the beating sky. It appeared to be near at hand, but they had a long
interval to travel before they came near, and the sound was then
stunning to their senses; for when the sky came down, its pressure would
force gusts of wind from the opening, so strong that it was with
difficulty they could keep their feet, and the sun passed but a short
distance above their heads. They, however, approached boldly, but had to
wait some time before they could muster courage enough to leap through
the dark veil that covered the passage. The sky would come down with
violence, but it would rise slowly and gradually. The two who had made
the humble request, stood near the edge, and with no little exertion,
succeeded, one after the other, in leaping through, and gaining a firm
foothold. The remaining two were fearful and undecided: the others spoke
to them through the darkness, saying, "leap! leap! the sky is on its way
down." These two looked up and saw it descending, but fear paralyzed
their efforts; they made but a feeble attempt, so as to reach the
opposite side with their hands; but the sky at the same time struck on
the earth with great violence and a terrible sound, and forced them into
the dreadful black chasm.
The two successful adventurers found themselves in a beautiful country,
lighted by the moon, which shed around a mild and pleasant light. They
could see the moon approaching as if it were from behind a hill. They
advanced, and an aged woman spoke to them; she had a white face and
pleasing air, and looked rather old, though she spoke to them very
kindly: they knew from her first appearance that she was the moon: she
asked them several questions: she told them that she knew of their
coming, and was happy to see them: she informed them that they were half
way to her brother's, and that from the earth to her abode was half the
distance. "I will, by and by, have leisure," said she, "and will go and
conduct you to my brother, for he is now absent on his daily course: you
will succeed in your object, and return in safety to your country and
friends, with the good wishes, I am sure, of my brother." While the
travellers were with her, they received every attention. When the proper
time arrived, she said to them, "My brother is now rising from below,
and we shall see his light as he comes over the distant edge: come,"
said she, "I will lead you up." They went forward, but in some
mysterious way, they hardly knew how: they rose almost directly up, as
if they had ascended steps. They then came upon an immense plain,
declining in the direction of the sun's approach. When he came near, the
moon spake--"I have brought you these persons, whom we knew were
coming;" and with this she disappeared. The sun motioned with his hand
for them to follow him. They did so, but found it rather difficult, as
the way was steep: they found it particularly so from the edge of the
earth till they got halfway between that point and midday: when they
reached this spot, the sun stopped, and sat down to rest. "What, my
children," said he, "has brought you here? I could not speak to you
before: I could not stop at any place but this, for this is my first
resting-place--then at the centre, which is at midday, and then halfway
from that to the western edge."[18] "Tell me," he continued, "the object
of your undertaking this journey and all the circumstances which have
happened to you on the way." They complied. Iosco told him their main
object was to see him. They had lost four of their friends on the way,
and they wished to know whether they could return in safely to the
earth, that they might inform their friends and relatives of all that
had befallen them. They concluded by requesting him to grant their
wishes. He replied, "Yes, you shall certainly return in safety; but your
companions were vain and presumptuous in their demands. They were
Gug-ge-baw-diz-ze-wug.[19] They aspired to what Manitoes only could
enjoy. But you two, as I said, shall get back to your country, and
become as happy as the hunter's life can make you. You shall never be in
want of the necessaries of life, as long as you are permitted to live;
and you will have the satisfaction of relating your journey to your
friends, and also of telling them of me. Follow me, follow me," he said,
commencing his course again. The ascent was now gradual, and they soon
came to a level plain. After travelling some time he again sat down to
rest, for we had arrived at Nau-we-qua.[20] "You see," said he, "it is
level at this place, but a short distance onwards, my way descends
gradually to my last resting place, from which there is an abrupt
descent." He repeated his assurance that they should be shielded from
danger, if they relied firmly on his power. "Come here quickly," he
said, placing something before them on which they could descend; "keep
firm," said he, as they resumed the descent. They went downward as if
they had been let down by ropes.
In the meantime the parents of these two young men dreamed that their
sons were returning, and that they should soon see them. They placed
the fullest confidence in their dreams. Early in the morning they left
their lodges for a remote point in the forest, where they expected to
meet them. They were not long at the place before they saw the
adventurers returning, for they had descended not far from that place.
The young men knew they were their fathers. They met, and were happy.
They related all that had befallen them. They did not conceal any thing;
and they expressed their gratitude to the different Manitoes who had
preserved them, by feasting and gifts, and particularly to the sun and
moon, who had received them as their children.
* * * * *
[The foregoing tale was related by Chusco, an Ottowa chief, converted to
Christianity a few years ago. He was born at L'arbre Croche, in
Michigan, some years after the taking of Fort Mackinac, in 1763,--an
event of such notoriety in Indian tradition, that it is generally
referred to by them as an era. He was present at the treaty of
Greenville, in 1793, and received an annuity during the last few years
of his life in consequence of a promise understood to have been made to
him by General Wayne.]
Chusco was a man of small stature; he appears to have possessed great
bodily activity in his youth, united to a mind of quick observation. He
embraced, at an early period of his life, the profession of a seer, and
practised it with the approbation of his tribe till within a few years.
About 1827 his mind was arrested by the truths of revelation, which were
first brought to his notice by his wife, who had been instructed at a
mission on the island of Mackinac. He made a profession of religion
within a year or two after, renounced his idolatry, gave up the use of
ardent spirits and every species of fermented drink, and exhibited a
consistent Christian life, to the period of his death, in 1837. He is
buried at Round Island, in lake Huron, where a neat paling has been
placed over his grave. The story itself, so far as respects the object,
is calculated to remind the reader of South American history, of the
alleged descent of Manco Capac and the Children of the Sun. But I am not
prepared to say, that an examination of the traditional history of the
Algics will sustain the comparison.
The tale does not appear to be of great comparative antiquity. The
introduction of ships, and guns, and axes, is sufficient to indicate
this. It is interesting, however, as revealing their notions of
cosmogony, the division of the day into quartads, and their impressions
of general geography. It would appear that they believe the earth to be
_globular_; they speak of but a single sea. The tradition of Manabozho
is attested, and he is here represented, as in all other known
instances, to be a Bad, and not a Good Spirit, and there is no
countenance given to the verbal opinion, sometimes expressed, that this
personage partakes of any of the characters of a Saviour.
The moral bearing of the story is, perhaps, to indicate the danger of
ambition. Ambition and presumption, in human wishes, are very clearly
rebuked by the results of the oracular response, and by the immediate
fulfilment of the predictions.
FOOTNOTES:
[10] The East--i. e. place of light.
[11] Ship and boat. These terms exhibit the simple and the diminutive
forms of the name for ship or vessel. It is also the term for a woman's
needlework, and seems to imply a tangled thready mass, and was perhaps
transferred in allusion to a ship's ropes.
[12] Wewaquonidjig, a term early and extensively applied to whiteman, by
our Indians, and still frequently used.
[13] Odawbon comprehends all vehicles between a dog train and a coach,
whether on wheels or runners. The term is nearest allied to vehicle.
[14] Massive silver.
[15] My father.
[16] A rattle.
[17] A hard primitive stone, frequently found along the borders of the
lakes and water-courses, generally fretted into image shapes. Hardness
and indestructibility are regarded as its characteristics by the
Indians. It is often granite.
[18] This computation of time separates the day into four portions of
six hours each--two of which, from 1 to 6, and from 6 to 12, A. M.
compose the _morning_, and the other two, from 1 to 6, and from 6 to 12,
P. M. compose the _evening_.
[19] This is a verbal form, plural number, of the transitive
adjective--foolish.
[20] Midday, or middle line.
THE TWO JEEBI-UG,[21]
OR
A TRIAL OF FEELING.
FROM THE ODJIBWA.
There lived a hunter in the north who had a wife and one child. His
lodge stood far off in the forest, several days' journey from any other.
He spent his days in hunting, and his evenings in relating to his wife
the incidents that had befallen him. As game was very abundant he found
no difficulty in killing as much as they wanted. Just in all his acts,
he lived a peaceful and happy life.
One evening during the winter season, it chanced that he remained out
later than usual, and his wife began to feel uneasy, for fear some
accident had befallen him. It was already dark. She listened attentively
and at last heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Not doubting it
was her husband, she went to the door and beheld two strange females.
She bade them enter, and invited them to remain.
She observed that they were total strangers in the country. There was
something so peculiar in their looks, air, and manner, that she was
uneasy in their company. They would not come near the fire; they sat in
a remote part of the lodge, were shy and taciturn, and drew their
garments about them in such a manner as nearly to hide their faces. So
far as she could judge, they were pale, hollow-eyed, and long-visaged,
very thin and emaciated. There was but little light in the lodge, as the
fire was low, and served by its fitful flashes, rather to increase than
dispel their fears. "Merciful spirit!" cried a voice from the opposite
part of the lodge, "there are two corpses clothed with garments." The
hunter's wife turned around, but seeing nobody, she concluded the sounds
were but gusts of wind. She trembled, and was ready to sink to the
earth.
Her husband at this moment entered and dispelled her fears. He threw
down the carcass of a large fat deer. "Behold what a fine and fat
animal," cried the mysterious females, and they immediately ran and
pulled off pieces of the whitest fat,[22] which they ate with
greediness. The hunter and his wife looked on with astonishment, but
remained silent. They supposed their guests might have been famished.
Next day, however, the same unusual conduct was repeated. The strange
females tore off the fat and devoured it with eagerness. The third day
the hunter thought he would anticipate their wants by tying up a portion
of the fattest pieces for them, which he placed on the top of his load.
They accepted it, but still appeared dissatisfied, and went to the
wife's portion and tore off more. The man and his wife felt surprised at
such rude and unaccountable conduct, but they remained silent, for they
respected their guests, and had observed that they had been attended
with marked good luck during the residence of these mysterious visiters.
In other respects the deportment of the females was strictly
unexceptionable. They were modest, distant, and silent. They never
uttered a word during the day. At night they would occupy themselves in
procuring wood, which they carried to the lodge, and then returning the
implements exactly to the places in which they had found them, resume
their places without speaking. They were never known to stay out until
daylight. They never laughed or jested.
The winter had nearly passed away, without anything uncommon happening,
when, one evening the hunter staid out very late. The moment he entered
and laid down his day's hunt as usual before his wife, the two females
began to tear off the fat, in so unceremonious a way, that her anger was
excited. She constrained herself, however, in a measure, but did not
conceal her feelings, although she said but little. The guests observed
the excited state of her mind, and became unusually reserved and uneasy.
The good hunter saw the change, and carefully inquired into the cause,
but his wife denied having used any hard words. They retired to their
couches, and he tried to compose himself to sleep, but could not, for
the sobs and sighs of the two females were incessant. He arose on his
couch and addressed them as follows:
"Tell me," said he, "what is it that gives you pain of mind, and causes
you to utter those sighs. Has my wife given you offence, or trespassed
on the rights of hospitality?"
They replied in the negative. "We have been treated by you with kindness
and affection. It is not for any slight we have received, that we weep.
Our mission is not to you only. We come from the land of the dead to
test mankind, and to try the sincerity of the living. Often we have
heard the bereaved by death say that if the dead could be restored, they
would devote their lives to make them happy. We have been moved by the
bitter lamentations which have reached the place of the dead, and have
come to make proof of the sincerity of those who have lost friends.
Three moons were allotted us by the Master of life to make the trial.
More than half the time had been successfully past, when the angry
feelings of your wife indicated the irksomeness you felt at our
presence, and has made us resolve on our departure."
They continued to talk to the hunter and his wife, gave them
instructions as to a future life, and pronounced a blessing upon them.
"There is one point," they added, "of which we wish to speak. You have
thought our conduct very strange in rudely possessing ourselves of the
choicest parts of your hunt. _That_ was the point of trial selected to
put you to. It is the wife's peculiar privilege. For another to usurp
it, we knew to be the severest trial of her, and consequently of your
temper and feelings. We know your manners and customs, but we came to
prove you, not by a compliance with them, but a violation of them.
Pardon us. We are the agents of him who sent us. Peace to your dwelling,
adieu!"
When they ceased total darkness filled the lodge. No object could be
seen. The inmates heard the door open and shut, but they never saw more
of the two JEEBI-UG.
The hunter found the success which they had promised. He became
celebrated in the chase, and never wanted for any thing. He had many
children, all of whom grew up to manhood, and health, peace, and long
life were the rewards of his hospitality.
FOOTNOTES:
[21] Ghosts.
[22] The fat of animals is esteemed by the N. A. Indians among the
choicest parts.
PAH-HAH-UNDOOTAH,
OR
THE RED HEAD.
A SIOUX TALE.
As spring approaches, the Indians return from their wintering grounds to
their villages, engage in feasting, soon exhaust their stock of
provisions, and begin to suffer for the want of food. Such of the
hunters as are of an active and enterprising cast of character, take the
occasion to separate from the mass of the population, and remove to some
neighbouring locality in the forest, which promises the means of
subsistence during this season of general lassitude and enjoyment.