What a splendid lodge it was, and how grand War Eagle looked leaning
against his back-rest in the firelight! From the tripod that supported
the back-rest were suspended his weapons and his medicine-bundle, each
showing the wonderful skill of the maker. The quiver that held the
arrows was combined with a case for the bow, and colored quills of the
porcupine had been deftly used to make it a thing of beauty. All about
the lodge hung the strangely painted linings, and the firelight added
richness to both color and design. War Eagle's hair was white, for he
had known many snows; but his eyes were keen and bright as a boy's, as
he gazed in pride at his grandchildren across the lodge-fire. He was
wise, and had been in many battles, for his was a warlike tribe. He
knew all about the world and the people in it. He was deeply
religious, and every Indian child loved him for his goodness and brave
deeds.
About the fire were Little Buffalo Calf, a boy of eleven years;
Eyes-in-the-Water, his sister, a girl of nine; Fine Bow, a cousin of
these, aged ten, and Bluebird, his sister, who was but eight years old.
Not a sound did the children make while the old warrior filled his
great pipe, and only the snapping of the lodge-fire broke the
stillness. Solemnly War Eagle lit the tobacco that had been mixed with
the dried inner bark of the red willow, and for several minutes smoked
in silence, while the children's eyes grew large with expectancy.
Finally he spoke:
"Napa, OLD-man, is very old indeed. He made this world, and all that
is on it. He came out of the south, and travelled toward the north,
making the birds and animals as he passed. He made the perfumes for
the winds to carry about, and he even made the war-paint for the people
to use. He was a busy worker, but a great liar and thief, as I shall
show you after I have told you more about him. It was OLD-man who
taught the beaver all his cunning. It was OLD-man who told the bear to
go to sleep when the snow grew deep in winter, and it was he who made
the curlew's bill so long and crooked, although it was not that way at
first. OLD-man used to live on this world with the animals and birds.
There was no other man or woman then, and he was chief over all the
animal-people and the bird-people. He could speak the language of the
robin, knew the words of the bear, and understood the sign-talk of the
beaver, too. He lived with the wolves, for they are the great hunters.
Even to-day we make the same sign for a smart man as we make for the
wolf; so you see he taught them much while he lived with them. OLD-man
made a great many mistakes in making things, as I shall show you after
a while; yet he worked until he had everything good. But he often made
great mischief and taught many wicked things. These I shall tell you
about some day. Everybody was afraid of OLD-man and his tricks and
lies--even the animal-people, before he made men and women. He used to
visit the lodges of our people and make trouble long ago, but he got so
wicked that Manitou grew angry at him, and one day in the month of
roses, he built a lodge for OLD-man and told him that he must stay in
it forever. Of course he had to do that, and nobody knows where the
lodge was built, nor in what country, but that is why we never see him
as our grandfathers did, long, long ago.
"What I shall tell you now happened when the world was young. It was a
fine summer day, and OLD-man was travelling in the forest. He was
going north and straight as an arrow--looking at nothing, hearing
nothing. No one knows what he was after, to this day. The birds and
forest-people spoke politely to him as he passed but he answered none
of them. The Pine-squirrel, who is always trying to find out other
people's business, asked him where he was going, but OLD-man wouldn't
tell him. The woodpecker hammered on a dead tree to make him look that
way, but he wouldn't. The Elk-people and the Deer-people saw him pass,
and all said that he must be up to some mischief or he would stop and
talk a while. The pine-trees murmured, and the bushes whispered their
greeting, but he kept his eyes straight ahead and went on travelling.
"The sun was low when OLD-man heard a groan" (here War Eagle groaned to
show the children how it sounded), "and turning about he saw a warrior
lying bruised and bleeding near a spring of cold water. OLD-man knelt
beside the man and asked: 'Is there war in this country?'
"'Yes,' answered the man. 'This whole day long we have fought to kill
a Person, but we have all been killed, I am afraid.'
"'That is strange,' said OLD-man; 'how can one Person kill so many men?
Who is this Person, tell me his name!' but the man didn't answer--he
was dead. When OLD-man saw that life had left the wounded man, he
drank from the spring, and went on toward the north, but before long he
heard a noise as of men fighting, and he stopped to look and listen.
Finally he saw the bushes bend and sway near a creek that flowed
through the forest. He crawled toward the spot, and peering through
the brush saw a great Person near a pile of dead men, with his back
against a pine-tree. The Person was full of arrows, and he was pulling
them from his ugly body. Calmly the Person broke the shafts of the
arrows, tossed them aside, and stopped the blood flow with a brush of
his hairy hand. His head was large and fierce-looking, and his eyes
were small and wicked. His great body was larger than that of a
buffalo-bull and covered with scars of many battles.
"OLD-man went to the creek, and with his buffalo-horn cup brought some
water to the Person, asking as he approached:
"'Who are you, Person? Tell me, so I can make you a fine present, for
you are great in war.'
"'I am Bad Sickness,' replied the Person. 'Tribes I have met remember
me and always will, for their bravest warriors are afraid when I make
war upon them. I come in the night or I visit their camps in daylight.
It is always the same; they are frightened and I kill them easily.'
"'Ho!' said OLD-man, 'tell me how to make Bad Sickness, for I often go
to war myself.' He lied; for he was never in a battle in his life. The
Person shook his ugly head and then OLD-man said:
"'If you will tell me how to make Bad Sickness I will make you small
and handsome. When you are big, as you now are, it is very hard to
make a living; but when you are small, little food will make you fat.
Your living will be easy because I will make your food grow everywhere.'
"'Good,' said the Person, 'I will do it; you must kill the fawns of the
deer and the calves of the elk when they first begin to live. When you
have killed enough of them you must make a robe of their skins.
Whenever you wear that robe and sing--"now you sicken, now you sicken,"
the sickness will come--that is all there is to it.'
"'Good,' said OLD-man, 'now lie down to sleep and I will do as I
promised.'
"The Person went to sleep and OLD-man breathed upon him until he grew
so tiny that he laughed to see how small he had made him. Then he took
out his paint sack and striped the Person's back with black and yellow.
It looked bright and handsome and he waked the Person, who was now a
tiny animal with a bushy tail to make him pretty.
"'Now,' said OLD-man, 'you are the Chipmunk, and must always wear those
striped clothes. All of your children and their children, must wear
them, too.'
"After the Chipmunk had looked at himself, and thanked OLD-man for his
new clothes, he wanted to know how he could make his living, and
OLD-man told him what to eat, and said he must cache the pine-nuts when
the leaves turned yellow, so he would not have to work in the winter
time.
"'You are a cousin to the Pine-squirrel,' said OLD-man, 'and you will
hunt and hide as he does. You will be spry and your living will be
easy to make if you do as I have told you.'
"He taught the Chipmunk his language and his signs, showed him where to
live, and then left him, going on toward the north again. He kept
looking for the cow-elk and doe-deer, and it was not long before he had
killed enough of their young to make the robe as the Person told him,
for they were plentiful before the white man came to live on the world.
He found a shady place near a creek, and there made the robe that would
make Bad Sickness whenever he sang the queer song, but the robe was
plain, and brown in color. He didn't like the looks of it. Suddenly
he thought how nice the back of the Chipmunk looked after he had
striped it with his paints. He got out his old paint sack and with the
same colors made the robe look very much like the clothes of the
Chipmunk. He was proud of the work, and liked the new robe better; but
being lazy, he wanted to save himself work, so he sent the South-wind
to tell all the doe-deer and the cow-elk to come to him. They came as
soon as they received the message, for they were afraid of OLD-man and
always tried to please him. When they had all reached the place where
OLD-man was he said to them:
"'Do you see this robe?'
"'Yes, we see it,' they replied.
"'Well, I have made it from the skins of your children, and then
painted it to look like the Chipmunk's back, for I like the looks of
that Person's clothes. I shall need many more of these robes during my
life; and every time I make one, I don't want to have to spend my time
painting it; so from now on and forever your children shall be born in
spotted clothes. I want it to be that way to save me work. On all the
fawns there must be spots of white like this (here he pointed to the
spots on Bad Sickness's robe) and on all of the elk-calves the spots
shall not be so white and shall be in rows and look rather yellow.'
Again he showed them his robe, that they might see just what he wanted.
"'Remember,' he said, 'after this I don't want to see any of your
children running about wearing plain clothing, because that would mean
more painting for me. Now go away, and remember what I have said, lest
I make you sick.'
"The cow-elk and the doe-deer were glad to know that their children's
clothes would be beautiful, and they went away to their little ones who
were hidden in the tall grass, where the wolves and mountain-lions
would have a hard time finding them; for you know that in the tracks of
the fawn there is no scent, and the wolf cannot trail him when he is
alone. That is the way Manitou takes care of the weak, and all of the
forest-people know about it, too.
"Now you know why the Chipmunk's back is striped, and why the fawn and
elk-calf wear their pretty clothes.
"I hear the owls, and it is time for all young men who will some day be
great warriors to go to bed, and for all young women to seek rest, lest
beauty go away forever. Ho!"