Will my brother listen? will he hear what a Mohegan has to say of the
manner in which his nation first became acquainted with the white
people?
A great many seasons ago, when men with a white skin had never been
seen in the land of the Mohegans, before the Fire-eater had come to
take the place of the Yagesho(1), or the pale-face had succeeded to
the less destructive Mammoth(2); some men of our nation, who were out
at a place where the sea widens, espied, far away on the bosom of the
Great Lake, a very large creature floating on the water. It was such
an object as they had never seen before. Fear of this creature
immediately filling their bosoms, they hastily returned to the shore.
Having apprised their countrymen of what they had seen, they pressed
them to accompany them, and make further discoveries of its nature and
its purpose in coming thither. Launching their canoes, they hurried
out together, and saw with increased astonishment the wonderful object
which was approaching. Their conjectures were very various as to what
it was; some believed it to be a great fish, or animal; while others
were of opinion that it was a very big house floating on the bosom of
the Great Lake. They were not long in concluding that this wonderful
and mysterious object was moving towards the land, and they also saw
that it was endued with life. Deeming it proper to inform all their
brethren, to whom intelligence could be conveyed, of what was coming,
that they might be on their guard, they dispatched swift runners and
fast rowers in every direction, to the east, west, and north, to carry
the news to the scattered chiefs, and tribes, that they might gather
their warriors together, and prepare to combat, if need were, the
strange creature. Soon, the chiefs and warriors of the neighbouring
tribes were collected in great numbers, at that part of the shore
which the strange creature was clearly approaching. It soon came so
near that they were able to make it out to be a large moving house,
(though they had never beheld such) in which, as they supposed, the
Great Spirit himself was present, and coming to visit them.
Wishing to receive him in a manner which should mark their sense of
his goodness to them and their fathers, to the giver of the corn, and
the meat, and the victory over their enemies, they deliberated in
what manner that object could be best accomplished. The first thing
was to provide plenty of meat for a sacrifice, and with this view the
best hunters were dispatched to the forest, in quest of those animals
supposed to be most acceptable to the mighty guest. The women were
directed to prepare _tasmanane_ and pottage in the best manner. All
the idols were brought out, examined, and put in order. As a grand
dance was always supposed to be an agreeable entertainment to the
Great Spirit, one was ordered, not only for his gratification, but
that it might, with the aid of a sacrifice, appease him, if he were
angry with them, and induce him to stay his hand, rather than slay
them. The priests and _powwows_ were called, and set to work to
determine, if possible, what this remarkable event portended, and what
the possible result might be. They came habited in their robes of
magic, skins of black bears, the head, nose, ears, teeth, as also the
legs, with the long claws, appearing the same as when the animal
lived, with a huge pair of buffalo-horns upon the head, and a large
bushy tail projecting from behind. Some were frightfully painted, some
had the skin of an owl drawn over their heads, and some had snakes
wreathed around their bodies. To them, and to the chiefs and wise men
of the nation, the women and children, and the men of inferior note,
were looking up for advice and protection. And now, filling their
gourds with water from the stump of a fallen cypress, they began their
work of incantation, by muttering over the magic water a charm that
had hitherto been of potent influence, and words that called upon many
spirits to assist in effecting the wishes of the masters of the spell.
The spirits answered not, and the priests became so distracted with
fears at the unusual deafness of those who had given them their power,
that they increased the fever of apprehension they should have
assisted to calm. The gourds, with the charmed water, fell from their
hands, and, though the dance was commenced with fervour and
enthusiasm, yet, such was the alarm, that it did not possess the
regularity and order with which the Great Spirit through songs,
dances, and sacrifices, must be approached.
While in this situation, those men in canoes who had approached
nearest to the strange object returned, and declared that it was a
great house painted of various colours, and crowded with human beings.
They thought it certain that it was the Great Spirit, bringing them
some gift which they did not possess before. Other messengers soon
arrived, who had seen the inhabitants of the house, and made a report
which did not lessen their wonder, fear, or curiosity. They told
their friends that they were men of a different colour from the
Indians, and differently dressed; they were white as the flesh of a
plucked bird, and wore no skins; and one of them, who must be the
Great Spirit himself, was dressed entirely in red. The great house, or
whatever it was, continued to approach. While approaching, some one in
it cried to them in a loud voice, and in a language which they could
not understand, yet they shouted in reply, according to the custom of
the Mohegans. Much frightened at the strange voices, and at the still
stranger creature which floated towards them, many proposed to retreat
to the hills for security; others opposed this, lest offence should be
given to their visiter, who would find them out and destroy them. At
last, the strange creature, which they now found to be a great canoe,
stopped, and, at once, the robes white as snow, which were spread over
its numerous arms, and covered its three heads, fluttered in the winds
like clouds in the season of ripe corn. Soon were many of the strange
men employed in gathering these robes into folds, as Indians pack
skins. Presently a canoe of smaller size approached the shore where
the Indians sat, having in it the man who was dressed in red and many
others. When he had landed, leaving his canoe with some of his men to
guard it, he approached the Mohegan chiefs and warriors who were
assembled in council, and had seated themselves in a circle, as is
their custom when about to receive ambassadors and messengers of
peace. The man in red walked fearlessly into the midst of them, and
saluted them all with great kindness, taking a hand of each, which he
shook very hard. The Indians, on their part, testified their gladness,
and their friendship, and their emotions of joy and satisfaction at
their arrival, by loud shouts, and by rubbing their cheeks against
those of their new acquaintance, and by patting them on the back. Lost
in admiration of the strangers, of their dress, so gay and so
dissimilar to that of the Indians, their manners so unlike, their
features so different, and their language so utterly unknown, the
Mohegans could do nothing but wonder and applaud. A large portion of
their admiration, was however, reserved for the man who wore the
glittering red coat, and who, they doubted not, was the Great Spirit.
The curiosity of the people was expressed in a thousand different
ways; the priests wondered whether the Great Spirit knew and
recognised them as old acquaintances; the warriors, whether the men
who accompanied him were fleet, and courageous as themselves; and the
women were very curious to know if the men were like our own men, and
loudly expressed their determination to ascertain the fact. All
agreed in this, that whether beings of this world, or of the land of
dreams, they must be treated with great kindness(3), and fed upon the
choicest viands of the tribe.
Meanwhile, a large hackhack, or gourd, was brought to the man in red
by one of his servants, from which he poured an unknown liquor
resembling rain-water, into a small cup of such an appearance as the
Indians had never before seen. He drank the liquor from this cup, and,
filling it again, he handed it to the Mohegan chief standing next him.
The chief received it, smelt to it, and passed it untested to the
chief standing by him, who did the same, till it had been handled and
smelt to by all the Indians in the circle, while not one had tasted
it. The man who last took the cup was upon the point of returning it
to the supposed Manitou in red; when the Bender of the Pine Bow, one
of the bravest Mohegans, and the stoutest warrior in the nation, rose
and spoke to his brothers thus:
"It is not right for us to return the cup with its contents untested.
It is handed to us by the Manitou, that we may drink as he has done.
To follow his example will be pleasing to him; it will show our
confidence in him, and the courage which we have been told is highly
valued by him. To return the cup with its contents untasted, will
give him reason to think that we believe it to be the juice of the
poison-tree; it will provoke his anger and bring destruction upon us
all. It is for the good of the nation that the contents of the cup
should be swallowed, and, as no one else will do it, the Bender of the
Pine Bow devotes himself to the killing draught. It is better that one
man should perish than that a whole nation should be destroyed."
The Bender of the Pine Bow then took the glass, and, giving many
directions, and bidding a solemn farewell to his family and friends,
resolutely drank its fearful contents. Every eye was fixed upon the
brave man, to see what effect the strange liquor would produce. Soon
he began to stagger, to whine fearfully, to roll up the whites of his
eyes, to loll out his tongue, to shout, and to act a thousand other
extravagancies. At last, he fell prostrate on the ground, and a deep
sleep came over him. His companions, supposing him dead, fell to
bemoaning his fate, and his wife set up the death-howl; all thought
him a martyr to his valour and his love for his nation. But the man in
red only laughed at their grief, and by signs gave them to understand
that he would rise again. He told them true: the chief awoke, and
declared to his friends that he had enjoyed, while apparently lifeless,
the most delicious sensations, and that he had never before felt so
happy as after he had drunk the cup. He asked the stranger in red for
more; his wish was granted: the other Indians made the same request,
and so was theirs; the whole assembly tasted the contents of the cup,
and all became as mad and intoxicated as their leader. Soon was the
Mohegan camp a scene of noise and tumult, brawl and bloodshed.
After the general madness had ceased, the man in red and his
associates, who, while it lasted, had confined themselves to their
canoe, returned to the shore, and distributed presents, such as beads
and axes, among the Indians. The two nations soon became familiar with
each other, and a conversation ensued, wherein the wants and wishes of
each, as far as they could be made intelligible, were conveyed by
signs. The strangers gave them to understand that they must recross
the Great Salt Lake, to the vales which contained their wives and
little ones; but that they would be back again when the season of
snows should have passed, and would bring with them more and richer
presents. With these promises, they departed.
When the season of flowers came round again, it brought with it the
man in red, and a great band of followers. The Indians were very glad
to see the pale faces, who appeared equally pleased at the meeting.
But the latter were much diverted, and made a great laugh at the uses
to which the Indians had put their presents, for they had suspended
the axes and hoes around their necks, and used the stockings for
tobacco-pouches. The visiters now taught them the proper use of those
implements. Having put handles to the axes and hoes, with the former
they felled great trees, making the forest ring with their blows; with
the latter they cut up the weeds which choked the maize. The various
benefits conferred upon the Indians by their visiters confirmed them
in the belief that they were indeed spiritual beings, he in red being
in their estimation the Supreme Manitou, and his attendants, the
inferior Manitous. The visiters did not this time all go back in the
canoes; many of them continued to abide with the Indians, who gave or
sold them land(4), and lived very contentedly with them until they
wished to dispossess them of the very grounds where they had buried
the bones of their fathers. Wars were then commenced, and the Indians
were soon dispossessed of the soil which was theirs by their birthright.