I. THE TWO CHAPPEWEES.
A TRADITION OF THE TRIBE OF THE DOG-RIBS.
Upon a narrow strait, between two tempestuous and stormy seas, lived
the young man Chappewee, whose father, the old man Chappewee, was the
first of men. The old man Chappewee, the first of men, when he first
landed on the earth, near where the present Dog-ribs have their
hunting-grounds, found the world a beautiful world, well stocked with
food, and abounding with pleasant things. There is nothing in the
world now which was not in it then, save red clay, a canoe with twelve
paddles, and the white man's rum. Then, as now, whales were disporting
in the liquid element; musk-oxen filled the glades, and deer, and
bears, and wolves, were browzing on the hills, or prowling about the
forest. But there was at that time no canoe, for there was nobody to
paddle it; no rum, for who would drink it? and red clay was not found
till a long time afterwards, when the young man Chappewee's nose bled,
and coloured the earth, a portion of which has since been red.
When the old man Chappewee came upon the earth, he found no man, woman,
or child, upon it. Knowing that it was not good to be alone, he created
children. To these children he gave two kinds of fruit, the black and
the white, but forbade them to eat the black. Having issued his
commands for the government and guidance of his family, and laid up
plenty of provisions for them, he took leave of them for a time, to go
into a far country where the sun dwelt, for the purpose of conducting
him to the world, which was yet unvisited by his beams. So, taking
with him three thousand large roasted porpoises, oceans of black fish,
thirty large whales, and a good deal of tobacco, that he might do by
the way those necessary things, eat and smoke, he departed for the
residence of the sun. After a very long journey and a long absence, he
returned, bringing with him the glorious orb, which ever since has
lighted the earth, in some countries, for a portion of the hours of
each day, and, in other countries, for a part of the days of each
year. When he returned, he found to his great joy that his children
had remained obedient; had eaten only of the white fruit; and were
therefore, as yet, beyond the reach of disease and death. So he left
them again, to go on another distant expedition. He saw that the great
luminary he had given the world lighted it only for a part of the
hours of each day; and, in the frozen regions of the North, only for a
portion of the days of each year. Now, in the land from which the old
man Chappewee fetched the sun, he saw another orb, formed to be the
lamp of the dark hours. It was to conduct this second sun to the
borders of his land, that he again bade adieu to his children and
dwelling, and departed upon the second expedition.
While the old man Chappewee was absent on his first expedition, his
children ate up all the white fruit, and he forgot, before he left
them on the second, to replenish their stock. For a long time they
resisted the imperious calls of hunger, but, at length, their cravings
for food became so importunate, that they devoured the forbidden
gift--the black fruit. Chappewee soon returned, bringing with him the
beautiful bright round moon, the lamp of the dark hours, and the
glory of the season when the sun is away. He had no sooner come, than
he saw in the eyes of his children that they had transgressed his
commands, and had eaten the fruit of disease and death. He saw it in
the countenance of one stretched out on the bed of sickness; there was
speedy death written in the eyes of another; and the slighter pains
incidental to the human frame on the brow of a third. He was very much
displeased with them, and told them, that in future the earth should
produce bad fruits; that sickness should lay them on beds of leaves,
and pains rack their bones; that their lives should be lives of
fatigue and danger, and their deaths, deaths of doubt and agony--penalties
which have attached to his descendants to this day.
Having brought the sun and moon to the earth, the old man Chappewee
rested from his labours, and made no more distant expeditions. Many,
very many, years he lived, and death came not to him. But, to all
around him, the consequences were what he denounced, and he had the
unhappiness to see his prediction verified. The earth produced bad
fruits; the cranberry and the whortleberry rotted on the frost-nipped
bushes, and the strawberry shrivelled on the mildewed vine. He saw
trees grow up crooked, that, before the disobedience of his children,
grew only straight; and animals, which before were only sleek and
round, now were poor and emaciated. He saw sickness lay his children
on beds of leaves, and pains rack their bones; he saw their lives,
lives of fatigue and danger; and their deaths, deaths of doubt and
agony. He saw their spirits again in the mist of the Falls, and heard
the music of their voices, while their bodies lay in the sacred shed.
Still death came not to him. He had now lived so long, that his throat
was worn out, and he could no longer enjoy life, but he was unable to
die. His teeth had rotted out, and had been renewed a hundred times;
his tongue had been repeatedly chafed out, and replaced; and of eyes,
blue, white, and grey, he had had very many pair. Finding that life
was a gift which he could not part with easily, perhaps, not without
some stratagem, he called to him one of his people--it was not his
son, nor his son's son; no, nor one of the twentieth generation--all
these had passed away.
"Go," said he, "to the river of the Bear Lake, and fetch me a man of
the Little Wise People.[A] Let it be one with a brown ring round the
end of the tail, and a white spot on the tip of the nose. Let him be
just two seasons old, upon the first day of the coming Frog-Moon, and
see that his belly be not too big, and see that his teeth be sharp.
And make haste, that I may die."
[Footnote A: Little Wise People, the Beavers, so called by the
Assiniboins. The Indians, though they kill this animal whenever they
can, nevertheless esteem him scarcely inferior to man in wisdom. A bit
of his skin, or his paw, or any part of him, is esteemed a very
powerful "medicine" or amulet.]
The man did as he was directed. He went to the river of Bear Lake, and
brought a man of the Wise Four-Legged People. He had a brown ring
round the end of his tail, and a white spot on the tip of his nose. He
was just two seasons old, upon the first day of the Frog-Moon, and his
teeth were very sharp, as any one would find that put his fingers
between them. He brought him by force, for he was very unwilling to
come to the old man Chappewee, who gave the following directions for
his treatment.
"Take the Wise Four-Legged Man," said he, "to the head of the
Coppermine river, and dip his four paws in the bubbling spring which
gives it birth. Give him a little neshcaminnick to drink, and comb his
hair, and scratch his belly, to put him in good temper. Whisper in his
ear words of encouragement. Tell him not to disgrace himself, nor
shame the heroism of his race by cries, nor tears, nor groans, but
bear pain like a man. And, when you have spoken the words of comfort,
pull from his jaws seven of his teeth."
So they did as the old man Chappewee bade them. They went to the
Beaver, and spoke to him thus:
"Wise Little Man of the Four-Legged Race, the old man Chappewee has
commanded us to dip your four paws in the bubbling spring, which gives
rise to the Coppermine, to give you to drink a little cup of the
pleasant juice of the neshcaminnick, and to put you in good temper by
combing your hair and scratching your belly. And he begs that you will
not disgrace yourself, nor shame the boasted sagacity of your race, by
cries, nor tears, nor groans; but bear pain like a man, as you are.
And we are directed, after our words of peace have been spoken, to
pull out seven of your teeth."
To this speech the beaver replied, as every other man in captivity
replies. He professed himself "much pleased to part with seven of his
teeth to oblige the old man Chappewee, and had no objection to dip his
paws in the head waters of the Coppermine, provided he were carried
thither. A draught of neshcaminnick none but a fool would refuse; and
the having his head combed, and his belly scratched, was almost as
good as a feast." Which was all mere stuff, as every body knows.
The things which Chappewee asked being all performed, they brought the
seven sharp teeth of the Wise Four-Legged Man to the old man
Chappewee. He bade them call all his descendants around him; and, when
they were gathered together, he thus addressed them:--
"I am old--the old man Chappewee indeed. My throat is worn out, and I
can no longer enjoy life; my tongue has repeatedly been chafed out,
and renewed; my teeth have been replaced a hundred times; and I have
looked upon the beautiful things of the earth, and the glorious ones
of the sky, upon trees, and flowers, and fruits, and the bright stars,
and the pale moon, and the glorious orb of day, with eyes of many
different colours. But I am tired of life, and wish to sleep the sleep
of death. When I look upon the beings and things around me, and see
the pain, and sickness, and sorrow, and want, which have become the
bitter portion of all, since the disobedience of my children, I lose
the wish for a new pair of eyes, nor ask longer use of the fading
vision of those which are now in their sockets. I will go hence.
Take the seven teeth of the Wise Little Four-Legged Man, and drive
them--one into each temple, and one into the middle of my forehead,
one into each breast, one into the hollow of my back, and one into
the great toe of my right foot." They did as he bade them, and drove
the teeth into his body at the appointed places. The old man gave
three groans when the tooth was driven into his great toe, and then he
died.
* * * * *
Upon a narrow strait, between two noisy and tempestuous seas, lived
the young man Chappewee, whose ancestor was the old man Chappewee, and
with him resided his family. He lived by hunting and fishing, but more
by the latter, because of the great ease with which he caught the
various kinds of fishes, which travelled from one sea to the other,
through the narrow strait. He had but to cast his net into the water,
and to draw it out full; his spear, thrown at random into the strait,
might almost be said to be sure of attaching to it a good fat fish.
Once upon a time, having constructed a weir to catch fish, such a vast
quantity were caught, that the strait was choked up, and the water
rose and overflowed the whole face of the earth. To save himself and
his family from the dreadful deluge, he embarked them all in his great
canoe, taking with him all manner of beasts and birds. The water
covered the earth for many moons, and their food was nearly exhausted,
a few roasted sharks, and a little boiled sea-ooze, being all that was
left them. Still there was no sign of the abating of the victorious
element from the face of the conquered earth. No land was visible, and
the sun, which sometimes by his beams upon the waves indicates where
land lies sunk beneath the ocean, gave not now the evidence of
subsiding waters. The young man Chappewee, finding how matters were
going, said to his family, "We cannot live thus, we must find land
again, or we shall die; we and all the animals we have with us." So he
called a great council of all the creatures, and proposed that one of
them should dive into the great abyss, and fetch up some mud to make a
world of. The ox, being asked to undertake the hazardous service,
declined, because, he said, his tail was in the way; the mammoth
refused because of his trunk; the elk and deer pleaded their horns;
the legs of the musk-ox, were 'too short'; in fact, all the animals
made some excuse except the beaver. He professed his willingness to
encounter a risk, which must be encountered by some one, and, without
any ado, down he went, amidst the applauses of all the animals. Soon
his carcase was seen floating on the surface of the waters, and they
knew that he had fallen a victim to his courage and intrepidity.
Another attempt was necessary, and, after much persuasion, the
musk-rat was induced to make it. He was gone a long, very long time,
and was supposed by them to have met the same fate as the unfortunate
beaver; but, just as they had given him over, and were preparing to
chuse by lot a third animal for the same errand, he appeared, nearly
dead with fatigue, but he had a little earth in his paws. The sight of
the earth very much rejoiced the young man Chappewee; but his first
care was about the safety of his faithful servant, the rat, which he
rubbed gently with his hands, and cherished in his bosom until it
revived. He next took up the earth, and, moulding it with his fingers
into a ball, he placed it on the waters, where it increased by
degrees, until it formed a little island in the ocean. His next care
was to furnish this island with man, beast, and bird. A wolf, which he
was anxious to put out of the way, he being a sad snarler, was the
first animal which the young man Chappewee placed on the infant earth;
but the weight of the creature was so great, that it began to sink
upon one side, and was in danger of turning over. To prevent this
accident, the wolf was directed to keep moving with a quick step round
the island, which he did for a whole year; and, in that time, the
earth increased so much in size, that all on board the canoe were able
to disembark upon it. After a long and perilous drifting of the canoe
hither and thither, its voyagers were at length able to lay their
heads down at night upon solid land, and to sleep unrocked by the
tempestuous billow.
Chappewee, on landing, saw that there were no trees on the earth: he
would have some. He stuck a piece of a stick into the ground; it
became a fir-tree, and grew with such amazing rapidity, that its top
soon reached the skies. Once upon a time, Chappewee being out hunting,
saw a squirrel, and gave chase to it. The nimble animal ran up the
fir-tree, pursued by the hunter, who endeavoured to knock it down, but
he could not overtake it. He continued the chase, however, until he
reached the country of the stars. As he went, he saw many curious
things, meteors, comets, departed friends dancing their dances in the
Northern sky; clouds of every kind and colour; spirits flying about
the air. Now he felt keen winds, and now warm breezes; now he passed a
company of storms marching down upon the earth; or a lightning or two
straggling back again to the skies; or a thunder riding a cloud; or a
troop of hail rushing to battle with a deal of bluster and fury; or a
crowd of snows looking for colder weather and a roosting-place. At
last, he reached the country of the stars. He found a land far more
beautiful than that he had left behind him, upon the narrow strait,
between the two tempestuous and stormy seas. He found it one vast
plain, over which led a wide and smooth-beaten road, but he did not
see the squirrel. After feasting his eyes awhile upon the surrounding
splendours, and regaling his ears with soft music, which came he knew
not whence, nor from whom, he bethought him of setting, in the road,
with a view to catch the squirrel, a snare made of his sister's hair.
This done, he descended the tree till he came to the earth. The next
morning the sun appeared as usual in the heavens; but, at noon, it was
caught by the snare which Chappewee had set for the squirrel, and the
sky was instantly darkened. This, never having happened before,
created much surprise and consternation among the people that dwelt at
the narrow strait, between the two tempestuous and stormy seas.
Chappewee's wife said to him, "You must have done something very wrong
when you were up the tree, for we no longer enjoy the light of the
day. The glorious orb, which the old man Chappewee brought to us,
before his children ate of the black fruit, has disappeared. Alas, for
us, who have lost our best friend, the sun! Alas, for us, who, it may
be, are involved in a night that will never know an end!"
The young man Chappewee replied to his wife, "I have indeed done
something very wrong, but it was not intentionally. I see through the
whole business. The sun is caught in the snare I set for the squirrel.
It must be liberated, and enabled again to light our steps, for a
certain number of the months of the year, and a portion of the hours
of each day."
With a view to repair the fault he had committed, he called to him the
carcajou, and bade him go up the tree, and release the sun by cutting
the snare.
The courageous cat of the mountains readily obeyed, but the heat of
that luminary was so intense, that it reduced him to ashes. After him
the bear, the wolverine, the wolf, and the panther, were severally
sent, but they all experienced the same fate. The efforts of the more
active animals being thus frustrated, Chappewee knew not what to do,
nor could any one in the great council tell him. After a long period
of silence, the ground-mole got up, and said he would make the attempt.
Whereupon, there was a loud and general titter among all the beasts,
that such an awkward and grovelling creature as he was should propose
to himself such a dangerous and distant task. The wolf laughed in the
shape of a hideous growl; the fox chuckled as much as if he had
committed a successful theft; the horse neighed and kicked, as usual
with him in moments of extravagant joy or anger; and the bear shook
his sides till they nearly split.
"Week, week, week, what a fool!" squeaked the pig.
"Bah, what a nincompoop!" cried the sheep.
"Bow, wow, wow, where's my tail?" cried the dog, running round to find
it, as he always does when much delighted. All the animals, in some
way or other, testified their scorn of the good little creature who
had kindly made the offer. But, awkward and grovelling as he was, and
much as they laughed at him, he succeeded in performing it, by
burrowing under the road in the sky, until he reached and cut asunder
the snare which bound the sun. He lost his eyes, however, the instant
he thrust his head into the light, and his nose and teeth have ever
since been brown, as if burnt. During these transactions, Chappewee's
island had continued growing, till it had increased to the present
size of the great island.
And now the young man Chappewee prepared his island for the residence
of creatures. He first traced out the courses of the rivers, by
drawing his fingers through the earth, and scraped out the lakes with
his spoon. When he came to the mountains, he made a stop. "What shall
I do with these heaps of earth?" demanded he of himself. After
reflecting a long time upon the labour which would attend their
removal, he concluded to let them remain. Hitherto, all the animals,
beasts, fishes, &c. had dwelt indifferently on the land or in the
water. The shark and the porpoise, though very clumsy and easily
tired, could nevertheless walk some, and the whale, though his
waddling gait would have made you laugh, yet contrived to go over a
considerable piece of dry ground in a short time. Chappewee now
allotted to the quadrupeds, birds, and fishes, their proper stations
and habitations, and, endowing them with certain capacities, he told
them that they were in future to provide for their own safety, because
man would destroy them whenever he found their tracks; but, to console
them, he said to them kindly, "when you die, you shall be as a seed of
grass, which, when thrown into water, springs again into life." The
animals objected to this arrangement, and the hog who did the talking
said, "No, let us when we die be as a stone, which, when thrown into a
lake, disappears for ever from the sight of man." So it was ordered
that the ceasing of the beast to breathe should be his utter
annihilation, and that the dog only should be the companion of man
after death.
The family of the young man Chappewee complained of the penalty of
death, entailed upon them by the old man Chappewee for eating the
black fruit, and they petitioned for an alteration of the sentence; on
which he granted, that such of them as dreamed certain dreams should
be men of medicine, capable of curing certain diseases and of
prolonging life. In order to preserve this virtue, they were directed
not to tell their dreams until a certain period had elapsed. To
acquire the power of foretelling events, to gain the eye which should
see the dark secrets of futurity, to hear the words of fate in the cry
of the winds, and to see the character of unknown things in the aspect
of the heavens, they were ordered to insert a live ant under the skin
of the left hand, without letting any one know that they had done so.
And, whenever they felt it stirring in the flesh, they were commanded
to bind over their eyes the skin of a young badger, lay down their
heads upon a bundle of the leaves of the black hornbeam, and sleep as
soon as possible. The first dream which they should have thereafter
would always prove true.
For a long time, Chappewee's descendants were united as one family,
but at length, some young men being killed in a game, a quarrel
ensued, and a general dispersion of mankind took place. Some--a great
many--went beyond the mountains, which the young man Chappewee
neglected to level. Others went to the brink of the ocean, where the
walrusses dwelt; others again to the lands which have the beams of the
sun from the Buck-Moon till it comes again. Some went to the shores of
the sea that is never thawed; and some to the brink of the waters that
never freeze. One Indian fixed his residence on the borders of the
Great Bear Lake, taking with him only a dog big with young. In due
time, this dog brought forth eight pups. Whenever the Indian went out
to fish, he tied up the pups, to prevent the straying of the litter.
Several times, as he approached his tent, he heard noises proceeding
from it, which sounded like the talking, the laughing, the crying, the
wail, and the merriment of children; but, on entering it, he only
perceived the pups tied up as usual. His curiosity being excited by
the noises he had heard, he determined to watch and learn whence those
sounds proceeded, and what they were. One day he pretended to go out
to fish, but, instead of doing so, he concealed himself in a
convenient place. In a short time he again heard voices, and, rushing
suddenly into the tent, beheld some beautiful children sporting and
laughing, with the dog-skins lying by their side. He threw the
dog-skins into the fire, and the children, retaining their proper
forms, grew up, and were the ancestors of the Dog-rib nation.