knew that he was indeed coming to what he sought, for in the deserted
camp he found the embers of a fire, still smoking. Advancing rapidly,
he saw near the next camp Martin, seeking wood to burn. The youth and
the old Dame Bear had been most cruelly treated by Win-pe, and they
were nearly starved, but Martin's clothes were good. [Footnote: There
is a reason for this singular detail. Nancy Jeddore, the Indian from
whom Mr. Rand learned one version of this legend, informed him that the
Martin, thin at all times, always has a fine fur, however starved he
may be. Dying with hunger, he is always well dressed.] And Martin was
so sunk in sorrow that he did not hear Glooskap call him, and not till
the Master threw a small stick at him did he look up, and even then he
thought it had fallen from a tree. Then, seeing him, he cried out with
joy; but Glooskap, who was hiding in the woods, bade him be silent.
"Wait till it is dark," he said, "and I will go to your wigwam. Now you
may go home and tell your grandmother."
In the other story (M.) it is narrated that as Martin with the
grandmother were on the road, and Dame Bear bore him as almost a babe
on her back, he turned his head and saw Glooskap following them, and
cried out,--
"Where, oh where,
Where is my brother?
He who fed me often
On the marrow of the moose!"
And she replied,--
"Alas for thee, boy!
He is far, far away;
You will see him no more."
But the little fellow, seeing him again, sang as before, and Dame Bear,
turning her head and beholding her Master, was so moved that she
fainted and fell to the ground. Then Glooskap raised her in his arms,
and when she had recovered she related how cruelly they had been
treated by Win-pe. And Glooskap said, "Bear with him yet a little
while, for I will soon pay him in full for what he has done."
Then the Master bade the old woman go back to the camp with Martin, and
say nothing. It was the youth's duty to go for water and tend the baby
in its swinging cot. And Glooskap told him all that he should do. When
he should bring water he must mix with it the worst filth, and so offer
it to Win-pe, the sorcerer.
And even as he ordered it was done, and Martin meekly offered the foul
drink to the evil man, who at the smell of it cried aloud, "_Uk
say_!" (M., Oh, horror!) and bade him bring a cleaner cup. But
Martin, bearing the babe, threw it into the fire, and, running to the
spot where Glooskap hid, cried out, "_Nse-sako! nse-sako_!" (M.,
My brother! my brother!) Win-pe, pursuing him, said, "Cry out to him;
your brother cannot help you now. He is far away from here, on the
island where I left him. Cry out well, for now you must die!" All this
had been done that Win-pe's power might be put to sleep by anger, and
his mind drawn to other things. And the Master rose before him in all
his might, and stepped forward, while Win-pe drew backward a pace to
recover his strength. And with great will the Master roused all the
magic within him, and, as it came, he rose till his head was above the
tallest pine; and truly in those days trees were giants beyond those of
this time. But the lord of men and beasts laughed as he grew till his
head was far above the clouds and reached the stars, and ever higher,
till Win-pe was as a child at his feet. And holding the man in scorn,
and disdaining to use a nobler weapon, he tapped the sorcerer lightly
with the end of his bow, like a small dog, and he fell dead.
_How the Story of Glooskap and Pook-jin-skwess, the Evil Pitcher, is
told by the Passamaquoddy Indians_. [Footnote: In this story
Glooskap is called Pogumk, the Black Cat or Fisher, that is, a species
of wild cat, while Martin is a N'mockswess, sable. There seems to be no
settled idea as to what was the _totem_ or innate animal nature of
the lord of men and beasts. I have a series of pictures scraped on
birch-bark illustrating these myths, executed by a Passamaquoddy, in
which Glooskap and the adopted grandmother in the stone canoe are
represented as wood-chucks, or ground-hogs. (Mon-in-kwess, P.)]
(Passamaquoddy.)
There was a village of Indians who were all Black Cats, or Po'gum'k.
One of them, the cleverest and bravest, went forth every day with bow
and arrow, tomahawk and knife, and killed moose and bear, and sent meat
to the poor, and so he fed them all. When he returned they came to him
to know where his game lay, and when he had told them they went forth
with toboggins [Footnote: Toboggin, a sled made very simply by turning
up the ends of one or more pieces of wood to prevent them from catching
in the snow.] and returned with them loaded with meat. And the chief of
the Black Cats was by his mother the son of a bear. [Footnote: A
confused but important point in all these myths.]
Pook-jin-skwess, the Witch, was a Black Cat. She was a woman or a man
as she willed to be; but in these days she was a man. And she, being
evil, hated the chief, and thought long how she could kill or remove
him, and take his place. Now, one day when all the camp had packed what
they had, being about to travel, Pitcher asked the chief to go with
him, or with her, as you may will, down to the water-side to gather
gulls' eggs. And then they went far out in a canoe, and very far, and
still farther, till they came to an island, and there they landed, and
while Pogumk (who was Glooskap) sought for eggs, the false-hearted
Pitcher stole away in the _akweden_ (P., canoe), and as she
paddled she sang a song--
"Nikhed-ha Pogumk min nekuk,
Netswil sagamawin!" (P)
"I have left the Black Cat on an island,
I shall be the chief of the Fishers now!"
So she came to the village, and the next day they all departed through
the woods; there was not one of them left save the one who was worth
them all. And at night they camped, expecting every day that the chief
would come to them, and till then Pitcher was in his place.
Now on the thirtieth day the chief remembered his friend the Fox, who
had _m'teoulin_ (P.), or magic power. And he sang a song, and the
Fox heard it, although he was miles away, beyond forests and mountains.
And thus knowing all, he went to the shore and swam to the island,
where he found the chief. At this time the Black Cat could not swim
such a distance, [Footnote: The most powerful _manitous_, or
magicians, in the Chippeway tales, as well as in all others of the
Indians, may exhaust their power and be forced to depend on that of
inferiors in the great art. In this tale Glooskap is decidedly under a
cloud.] but the Fox offered to take him to the mainland. Then they
waded into the water, and the Fox said, "Close thine eyes and hold fast
to my tail as tightly as thou canst, and be of good faith, oh, my elder
brother, and we shall soon gain the shore." Saying this, he swam away
and his friend followed. And it went well with them, but the chief grew
weary, and he opened one eye a little, and saw that they were not ten
feet from the shore. And being of little faith he thought, for he spoke
not aloud, "We shall never get to land." But the Fox replied, "Do not
believe it." But the journey lasted long, for what seemed to Pogumk to
be ten feet was ten miles, and the wind was high and the waters were
wild, for Pitcher had called forth a storm. So they swam all day and
all the evening before they landed. "And now, my elder brother," said
the Fox, "you may go your way." And he went to the camp of the Black
Cats.
When he came to the camp it was cold, and there were only ashes, for
the people had gone on. So he followed them, and in one day came near
them. And the first whom he overtook was his mother, bearing his
younger brother Sable ('Nmmok-swess, P.) on her back, so that while she
looked forward he looked behind. And as Pogumk peeped out from among
the leaves, Sable saw him, and said, "Here comes my brother!" And she
turned, but saw nothing, for the chief suddenly hid himself behind a
tree. Then they went on, and Sable cried again, "Indeed, mother, I
behold my elder brother!" And this time the mother, glancing quickly,
caught him, and they all laughed for joy, and she threw Sable down in
the leaves, like a stick. Then the chief bade Sable run to the camp.
"And when you are there," he said, "build up a great fire of hemlock
bark, and take Pitcher's babe, even the babe which she loves, and which
you tend, and throw it into the fire, and run to me as fast as you can,
for verily thou wilt be in dire need to do so."
And as he commanded it was done; and when the fire was hot, Sable threw
the babe into it, and it was burned to death. And Pitcher, being, as
one may well believe, maddened at such a sight, pursued him as a
starving wolf pursues a rabbit. Then Sable, in great fear, cried aloud,
"Oh, my elder brother, my brother!" And Pitcher screamed, "Call aloud
to him, for you must run as far as the island where Pogumk is, to save
yourself!" And at that word Pogumk stepped forward and confronted her,
and said, "Truly, she need not run so far."
And seeing him and hearing this, fear came upon her; but she laughed
aloud to hide it, and said, "I did but chase him in sport, for I love
Sable." But Pogumk replied grimly, "I know thee and thy tricks, thou
the evil one." Then, as his magic had come to him, he used his power,
and put Pitcher with her back against a tree; and there she stayed,
stuck to it, unable to get away. But the chief and Sable went to the
camp. Now Pitcher had a hatchet and wedge, and with much ado she cut
herself away, and the Black Cats heard her pounding and chopping all
night long. And in the morning she came to them, and there was a great
piece of wood sticking to her back, and they laughed her to scorn, and
sang at her,--
"He who made the chief
Stay on a distant island,
He is stuck by the chief
Fast with his back to a tree."
Now Pitcher the Witch, being mad with shame and spite, fled from the
face of man, and ran through the woods like a wild wolf. And so she
came to Bar Harbor (Pes'sonkqu', P.), and sat down on a log, and said,
with her heart full of bitterness and malice, "I would that I could
become something which should torment all men." And as she said this
she became a mosquito (T'sis-o, P.), and so it came to pass that
mosquitoes were made. And to this day men see that wherever the Black
Cat is, there too is the Sable not far away. [Footnote: The
Passamaquoddy version relates that Pitcher in her flight pursued a
moose to Bar Harbor, where, having killed him and drawn out the
entrails, she petrified him. A Penobscot woman told me she had often
seen the moose rock there, and the "inments." But she attributed the
deed to Glooskap, to whom it properly belongs, his petrified moose and
dogs and the print of his bow, etc., being still shown in Nova Scotia;
and it is also said that it was at Freshwater, after returning from Bar
Harbor (Maine), that Pitcher was changed into a mosquito. Another story
states that Pook-jin-skwess, having pursued young men all her life,
changed into a mosquito that she might continue to prey on them.]
Of this Pook-jin-skwess it was said that she had children of her own,
begotten by sorcerers and giants and monsters; but as they were all
ugly she stole from the Indian women their fairest babes, and brought
them up as if they were her own, that she might not be entirely put to
shame because of her children. And once she had thus stolen a boy, and
when he grew up some one said to him that he should not believe that
she was his mother, but should question her as to it. Now the youth,
reflecting on this, observed that his brothers and sisters were all as
ugly as evil beasts and no better behaved, while he himself was comely
and good. Then he asked her what this might mean. And she replied,
laughing, "Because they were all begotten (or born) in the night-time,
but you are a child of the day and of light." [Footnote: There is
probably an allusion in this to the Wabanaki, or Children of Light;
that is, the Algonquin. This story was told me by Noel Josephs, a
Passamaquoddy. I have been told by an old Passamaquoddy woman that the
descendants of Pook-jin-skwess were the 'Nmmok-skwess. This stealing
the white boy is related in another tale more folly. It may refer to
the early dark Eskimo.]
_How Glooskap became friendly to the Loons, and made them his
Messengers._
(Micmac.)
When Glooskap was pursuing Win-pe, he one day on Uktukamkw saw from
afar flying over water the Kwe-moo (M.), or Loons. And thrice did their
chief make the circle of the lake, coming near to the land of men and
beasts every time, as if he would fain seek somewhat. Then Glooskap
asking him what he wanted, Kwe-moo replied that he would be his servant
and friend. So Glooskap taught him a strange long cry like the howl of
a dog, and when the loons were in need of him or would pray to him they
were to utter this cry.
And it came to pass that when he was in Newfoundland he came to an
Indian town, and they who dwelt therein were all Kwee-moo-uk, or Loons.
And they, as men, were exceeding glad to see their lord, who had
blessed them as birds, and did their best to please him. So he made
them his huntsmen and messengers, and in all the tales of Glooskap the
Kweemoo ever appears as faithful to him. Whence to this day, when the
Indians hear the cry of the Loon, they say, "_Kwemoo el-komik-too-ajul
Gloocapal_" (He is calling upon Glooskap).
_How Glooskap made his Uncle Mikchich the Turtle into a Great Man,
and got him a Wife. [Footnote: This legend of the tortoise is carefully
compiled from six different versions: the narration of Tomah Josephs, a
Passamaquoddy; the Anglo-Indian manuscript, already cited; two accounts
in the Rand manuscript; the author quoted without credit in _The
Maritime Provinces_; and one by Mrs. W. Wallace Brown. As the totem
of the Tortoise was of the highest rank among the Algonquins, this
account of its origin is of corresponding interest. Having employed an
old Indian to carve the handle of a war or scalping knife for me, such
as was used by his Passamaquoddy ancestors, he carved on it a tortoise.
It was especially the totem of the Lenni-Lenape, called by the
Passamaquoddies _Lel-le-mabe_, "the people."] Of Turtles' Eggs,
and how Glooskap vanquished a Sorcerer by smoking Tobacco._
(Micmac and Passamaquoddy.)
Now when Glooskap left Uktukamkw, or Newfoundland, it was in a canoe,
and he came to Piktook (M. for Pictou), which means the bubbling up of
air, because there is much bubbling in the water near that place. And
here there was an Indian village, and in that place the Master met with
a man whom he loved all his life.
And this was not because this man, whose name in Micmac is Mikchich and
in Passamaquoddy Chick-we-notchk, meaning the Turtle, was great, or
well favored, or rich. For truly he was none of these, being very poor
and lazy, no longer young, and not very clever or wise in any way. It
is said that he was indeed Glooskap's uncle, but others think that this
was by adoption. However, this old fellow bore all his wants with such
good nature that the Master, taking him in great affection, resolved to
make of him a mighty man. Which came to pass, and that in a strange
manner, as we shall see.
For coming to Piktook, where there were above a hundred wigwams,
Glooskap, being a very handsome, stately man, with the manner of a
great chief, was much admired, and that not a little by all the women,
so that every one wished to have him in the house. Yet he gave them all
the go-by, and dwelt with his old uncle, in whose quaint ways and
old-time stories he took great delight. And there was to be a great
feast with games, but Glooskap did not care to go, either as a guest
or a performer in the play.
Still he inquired of Mikchich if he would not take part in it, telling
him that all the maidens would be there, and asking him why he had
never married, and saying that he should not live alone. Then the uncle
said: "Poor and old and plain am I; I have not even garments fit for a
feast; better were it for me to smoke my pipe at home." "Truly, if that
be all, uncle," replied Glooskap, "I trow I can turn tailor and fit you
to a turn; and have no care as to your outside or your face, for to him
who knows how, 't is as easy to make a man over as a suit of clothes."
"Yes; but, nephew," said Mikchich, "how say you as to making over the
inside of a mortal?" "By the great Beaver!" answered the Master, "that
is something harder to do, else I were not so long at work in this
world. But before I leave this town I shall do that also for you; and
as for this present sport, do but put on my belt." And when he had done
that, Mikchich became so young and handsome that no man or woman ever
saw the like. And then Glooskap dressed him in his own best clothes,
and promised him that to the end of his days, whenever he should be a
man, he would be the comeliest of men; and because he was patient and
tough, he should, as an animal, become the hardest to kill of all
creatures on the face of the earth, as it came to pass.
So Mikchich went to the feast. Now the chief of Piktook had three
beautiful daughters, and the youngest was the loveliest in the land.
And on her he cast his eyes, and returning said, "I have seen one whom
I want." Now all the young men in Piktook desired this girl, and would
kill any one who would win her.
So the next day Glooskap, taking a bunch of _wawbap_ (P., wampum),
went, to the chief and proposed for Mikchich, [Footnote: All invitations
to festivals, or formal ceremonies, proposals of marriage, etc., were
preceded among these tribes by a gift of wampum.] and the mother at
once said "Yes." So the girl made up a bed of fresh twigs and covered
it with a great white bear-skin, and went to Mikchich, and they
returned and had dried meat for supper. So they were married.
Now Turtle seemed to be very lazy; and when others hunted he lounged at
home. One day his young wife said to him that if this went on thus they
must soon starve. So he put on his snow-shoes and went forth, and she
followed him to see what he would do. And he had not gone far ere he
tripped and fell down, and the girl, returning, told her mother that he
was worthless. But the mother said, "He will do something yet. Be
patient."
One day it came to pass that Glooskap said to Mikchich, "To-morrow
there will be a great game at ball, and you must play. But because you
have made yourself enemies of all the young men here, they will seek to
slay you, by crowding all together and trampling upon you. And when
they do this it will be by your father-in-law's lodge, and to escape
them I give you the power to jump high over it. This you may do twice,
but the third time will be terrible for you, and yet it must be."
All this happened as he foretold; for the young men indeed tried to
take his life, and to escape them Mikchich jumped over the lodge, so
that he seemed like a bird flying. But the third time he did this he
was caught on the top of the tent-poles, and hung there dangling in the
smoke which rose from below.
[Illustration: THE MUD TURTLE JUMPING OVER THE WIGWAM OF HIS
FATHER-IN-LAW.]
Then Glooskap, who was seated in the tent, said, "Uncle, I will now
make you the _sogmo_, or great chief of the Tortoises, and you
shall bear up a great nation." Then he smoked Mikchich [Footnote: In a
verbal Passamaquoddy narrative (John Gabriel), and in one given in
_The Maritime Provinces_, this was effected by Glooskap with
tobacco-smoke from his pipe. In Mr. Rand's manuscript it is the smoke
of the tent-fire. The Passamaquoddy narrations are invariably more
spirited and _humorous_ than the Micmac.] so long that his skin
became a hard shell, and the marks of the smoke may be seen thereon to
this day. And removing his entrails he destroyed them, so that but one
short one was left. And he cried aloud, "_Milooks_! (M.) My
nephew, you will kill me!" But the nephew replied, "Not so. I am giving
you great life. From this time you may roll through a flame and never
feel it, and live on land or in the water. And though your head be cut
off, it will live for nine days, and your heart, even, shall beat as
long when taken from your body." So Mikchich rejoiced greatly.
And this came betimes, for he soon had need of it all. For the next day
all the men went on a hunt, and the Master warned him that they would
seek to slay him. Now the young men went on before, and Turtle lingered
behind; but all at once he made a magic flight far over their heads,
unseen, and deep in the forest he slew a moose. Then he drew this to
the snow-shoe track or road, and when his foes came up there he sat
upon the moose, smoking, and waiting for them. Now Glooskap had told
them that they would see some one come out ahead of them all that day,
and when this came to pass they were more angered in their hearts than
ever.
So they plotted to kill Turtle, and his nephew, who was about to leave,
told him how it would be. "First of all, they will build a mighty fire
and throw you in it. But do thou, O uncle, go cheerfully, for by my
power thou wilt in nowise suffer. Then they will speak of drowning, but
thou must beg and pray that this may not be; and then they will the
more seek to do so, and thou shalt fight them to the bitter end, and
yet it shall be."
And as he said, so it came to pass; and Mikchich, being of good cheer,
bade farewell to his nephew. [Footnote: This is amusingly, though not
very clearly, set forth in the Indian manuscript as follows: "Make
believe but you dond want be trown. So he shaken hands witt is nuncel
kick hororch good by do him. Tell is uncle you--I shall not be kill and
I am going Lever (to live)--we may meet again."] And they seized him
and threw him into a great fire, but he turned over and went to sleep
in it, being very lazy; and when the fire had burnt out he awoke, and
called for more wood, because it was a cold night.
Then they seized him yet again, and spoke of drowning. But, hearing
this, he, as if he were in mortal dread, begged them not to do this
thing. And he said they might cut him to pieces, or burn him, as they
would, but not to throw him into the water. [Footnote: This in the
original is extremely like Brer Rabbit's prayer not to be thrown into
the brier-bush. As this legend is one of the oldest of the Algonquin,
and certainly antedating the coming of the whites, I give it the
priority over the negro.] Therefore they resolved to do so, and dragged
him on. Then he screamed horribly and fought lustily, and tore up trees
and roots and rocks like a madman; but they took him into a canoe and
paddled out into the middle of the lake (or to the sea), and, throwing
him in, watched him sink as he vanished far down below. So they thought
him dead, and returned rejoicing.
Now the next day at noon there was a hot sunshine, and something was
seen basking on a great rock, about a mile out in the lake. So two
young men took a canoe and went forth to see what this might be. And
when they came to the edge of the rock, which was about a foot high,
there lay Mikchich sunning himself; but seeing them coming to take him,
he only said, "Good-by," and rolled over plump into the water, where he
is living to this day. In memory whereof all turtles, when they see any
one coming, tip-tilt themselves over into the water at once.
And Turtle lived happily with his wife, and she had a babe. New it
happened in after-days that Glooskap came to see his uncle, and the
child cried. "Dost thou know what he says?" exclaimed the Master.
"Truly, not I," answered Mikchich, "unless it be the language of the
Mu-se-gisk (P., Spirits of the Air), which no man knoweth." "Well," replied
Glooskap, "he is talking of eggs, for he says '_Hoo-wah! hoo-wah_!'
which methinks is much the same as '_Waw-wun, waw-wun_.' And
this in Passamaquoddy means egg." "But where are there any?" asked
Mikchich. Then Glooskap bade him seek in the sand, and he found many,
and admired and marveled over them greatly; and in memory of this, and
to glorify this jest of Glooskap, the Turtle layeth eggs even to this
day.
* * * * *