A story of old times. There was once a woman who travelled constantly
through the woods. Every bush she saw she bit off, and from one of
these she came to be with child. She grew bigger and bigger until at
last she could travel no longer, but built a wigwam near the mouth of
a stream. The woman gave birth to a child in the night. She thought it
best to kill the child, but did not wish to murder her offspring.[27]
[Footnote 27: By combining this story with some given by Leland it
would seem that the child was Glooscap. If that is so, this is the
only account in Passamaquoddy lore in which his parthenogenetic origin
is traced. Mrs. Brown insists, however, that the medicine man was not
Glooscap.]
At last she decided to make a canoe of bark, and in it she put her
child and let it float down the river. The water of the river was
rough, but the child was not harmed, or even wet.[28] It floated down
to an Indian village, and was stranded on the shore near a group of
wigwams. A woman of the village found the baby on the shore and
brought it to her home. Every morning, after the baby had been brought
to the place, a baby of the village died. The Indians did not know
what the matter was until they noticed that the waif which the woman
had found in the bark on the river bank went to the river every night
and returned shortly after. A woman watched to see what this had to do
with the death of the babes, and she saw the child, when it returned
to the wigwam, bring a tongue of a little child, roast and eat it.
Then it laid down to sleep. The next morning another child died, and
then the Indian knew that its tongue had been cut out. It was
therefore believed that the strange child had killed the baby. They
deliberated as to what they should do with the murderer. Some said,
cut him in pieces and cast the fragments into the river. Others said,
cut him up and burn the fragments. This, after much consultation, they
did. They burnt the fragments of the child until nothing but the ashes
remained. Everybody thought it dead, but the next morning it came back
to camp again, with a little tongue as before, roasted and ate the
morsel. The next morning another child was found to have died the
night before. After the weird child had roasted and eaten the tongue
of its victim he laid down to sleep in the same place he had laid
before he had been cut up into fragments and cremated. But in the
morning the child said that it would never kill any more children. He
had now, in fact, become a big boy. He said he would take one of his
bones out of his side. This he tried to do, and as he did it all the
bones came out of his body at the same time. Then he closed his eyes
by drawing his fingers over his eyelids so that his eyes were hidden
(not necessarily blind). He could not move, because he had no bones
and had grown very fat. He became a great medicine man, and told the
Indians that whatever they asked of him he would grant them. Then the
Indians moved away from the place and left the medicine man behind in
a nice wigwam which they built for him. But they were accustomed to go
back when they wished anything, and to ask the conjurer for it. The
Indians used to go to him for medicine of all kinds. When he granted
their request he said, "Turn me over and you will find the medicine
under me."[29]
[Footnote 28: The resemblance of this story to the tale of Moses is
very great. Whether or not it is derived from the early teaching of
the church through Catholic priests, or from still earlier Norse
legends, I leave others to decide.]
[Footnote 29: Dr. Rand (_American Antiquarian_, p. 8, vol. xii. No. 1)
mentions a personage (Koolpejot) as "rolled over by means of a
handspike." He is a great medicine man: he has no bones, always lies
out in the open air, and is rolled over from one side to the other
twice a year, during spring and fall. He adds that an intelligent
Indian once suggested that this was a figurative representation of the
revolution of the seasons.]
Once upon a time a young man who wished the love of women went to him
and asked for a love potion. The old man said, "Turn me over." The
young man turned the conjurer over and found under him an herb. The
old man told him he must not give this away or throw it away. The
young man went home to his wigwam. On his return home all the women of
the place followed him, everywhere and at all times. He longed to be
alone, and did not like to have the women so much about him. At last
he was so much troubled by them that he went back to the conjurer and
gave back the medicine to the medicine man, who took the herb, and the
young man went away without it. Another man went to the conjurer for
medicine. The old man said, "What do you want?" He said, "I want to
live as long as the world stands." The old man said the request was
hard to grant, but he would try to answer it. The conjurer, as was his
wont, said, "Turn me over," and underneath his body was the herb. Then
the conjurer told the man who wished to live forever to go to a place
which was bare of everything, so bare indeed that it was destitute of
all vegetation, and to stand there. He pointed out the place to him.
This the man did, and, looking back at the conjurer, branches grew out
all over him, and he was changed into a cedar tree. He is useless to
every one, and there he will stand forever.
The first part of this story strongly reminds one of the story of
Moses, and may have been due to contact with Europeans. It is to be
remarked that the mother of the child became pregnant by eating an
herb. The child is therefore parthenogenetic. According to Leland, the
medicine man who turned the man into a cedar tree is Glooscap.
Glooscap performed many such miracles, as in the case of the story of
the animals. In another story the father of Glooscap is mentioned as a
being who lives under a great fall of water down in the earth. His
face is half red, and he has a single eye. In another he can give to
any one coming to him medicine to grant him whatever he wishes, and in
still another Glooscap is now sharpening his arrows way off in some
distant place. He will return to earth and make war.
"On whom will he make war?" "He will make war on all, kill all: there
will be no more world; world all gone. Dunno how quick,--mebbe long
time: all be dead then, mebbe--guess it will be long time."
"Are any to be saved by any one?" "Dunno. Me hear some say world all
burn up some day; water all will take fire. Some good ones be taken up
in good heavens, but me dunno; me just hear that. Only hear so."[30]
[Footnote 30: Quoted from Leland's _Algonquin Legends_.]
In their stories the Passamaquoddies tell the old stories as true; but
they speak of other stories as what they hear. The part of the above
account, of the return of Glooscap and the destruction of the world,
they say is true. The last portion shows its modern origin in the
statement that they hear that it is so.
The stories of the birth of Glooscap,[31] his power to work miracles,
and his ultimate return to earth, are very suggestive.
[Footnote 31: According to Leland's story.]
The belief of the Indians in a Great Spirit is a figment of the
imagination on the part of the whites. It is now extremely difficult
to discover what the original belief of the Passamaquoddies was, as
they are now Christianized and have been for many years.
From a scientific standpoint much has been lost by this change. There
are several customs which are undoubtedly modifications of older
observances which they probably replace. That these customs are
secondary modifications, their general character seems to demonstrate.
Still they have certain Indian features, and as such merit record.
There are doubtless certain religious observances which have been
changed by the influence of the whites. If these were rightly
interpreted they might tell some very interesting story of the ancient
beliefs of this people, but many of these observances have been so
modified that their meaning, if they have any, is wholly obliterated.
Among these might be mentioned a common burial custom, an account of
which has never been recorded. I am informed by Mrs. Brown that when
an Indian dies a gun is fired. The coffin is enveloped with fine white
sheeting, and cords are tied around the sheeting to keep the cotton in
place. When the coffin is lowered into the grave the cords are
removed, and the cotton is given to the grave-digger. Possibly this
custom may have been derived from some older one, or may have
originated from contact with the whites. The mode of burial in coffins
and the use of cotton sheeting are certainly modern customs, but may
be modifications of some older ceremonial when other material was
used.