I succeeded in getting upon the phonograph several war songs, typical
of a large number known to the Passamaquoddies. The words of many are
improvised, though there is no doubt that the tunes are ancient. The
words of one of these songs are given below.
I will arise with tomahawk in my hand, and I must have
revenge on that nation which has slain my poor people. I
arise with war club in my hand, and follow the bloody track
of that nation which killed my people. I will sacrifice my
own life and the lives of my warriors. I arise with war club
in my hand, and follow the track of my enemy. When I
overtake him I will take his scalp and string it on a long
pole, and I will stick it in the ground, and my warriors
will dance around it for many days; then I will sing my song
for the victory over my enemy.
"M' TOULIN."
Passamaquoddy Indians are believers in a power by which a song, sung
in one place, can be heard in another many miles away. This power is
thought to be due to _m' toulin_, or magic, which plays an important
part in their belief. Several instances were told me, and others have
published similar observations. Leland, in his "Algonquin Legends of
New England," pp. 517, 518, gives a weird account of an Indian who was
so affected by _m' toulin_ that he left his home and travelled north
to find a cold place. Although lightly clad and bare-footed, he
complained that it was too hot for him, and hastened away to find a
climate more congenial to his tastes. In this account one is led to
believe that the man was insane, and that to the Indian insanity is
simply the result of _m' toulin_.