Many of us think of the American Indians as all one people. We talk of
"the Indian language." There are more than fifty distinct Indian
languages.
There are many other important differences between the various tribes.
The nature of the country, the kinds of game and other foods, the
climate, winds, trees, all have their effect in molding the daily
lives of the people. Their habits and customs are reflected in their
legends and popular tales as in a looking-glass.
The mountains, plains, and seashore are the great natural features of
our country, and corresponding to these we have coast tribes, prairie
tribes, and forest-dwellers or mountaineers among the natives. If you
try, you will soon be able to tell from reading a story what part of
the country it came from. It is an interesting study to read and
compare the legends of different tribes.
The Cherokees lived originally in the South Atlantic States and some
few still have their homes in the mountains of North Carolina, but the
greater part of the tribe was forcibly removed many years ago to the
old Indian Territory. There they developed a civilized government,
established schools and colleges, and are now well educated and
intermixed with white people. The stories repeated here were gathered
from the eastern or parent branch. Their shrewdness and quick wit is
very noticeable. Sequoyah, whose impressive statue stands in bronze
in the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington, was the famous Cherokee
who invented an alphabet.
The Choctaws formerly lived in Mississippi and Louisiana but are now
one of the Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma (once Indian Territory).
The Tsimshians are Indians of the North Pacific coast and in the old
days lived mainly by fishing. They also hunted deer, bears, and other
animals. Their houses and boats were made chiefly of cedar wood, and
they also wove the bark of the cedar into baskets, ropes, mats, and
even clothing. The salmon and the cedar were to them what the buffalo
was to the Indians of the Great Plains, so you will not be surprised
by the many references to them both in these stories. There is a
strong likeness between their customs and those of the Alaskan tribes.
The home of the brave and manly Iroquois was in the valley of the St.
Lawrence, the basins of Lakes Erie and Ontario, and most of what is
now the State of New York. They were an exceptionally gifted people,
wise in state-craft and active in warfare. They believed in the
manlike form and magic power of the creatures and elements.
The Pimas are a gentle, peaceable, brown-skinned people, living in
Arizona, making fine pottery, weaving beautiful mats and baskets, and
raising corn. Like the other desert tribes, their songs and stories
have much to do with the rain clouds, upon which their crops depend.
They formerly stood in great fear of the warlike Apaches, who often
attacked them and carried off women and children captive.
I suppose you all know that these legends were not written down at all
until white people or educated Indians put them into books. They were
made up by unknown story-tellers, far back in the past, and repeated
by old men and women for the amusement and instruction of the young
folks. Thus they were handed down, with some changes or additions,
from one generation to another.
Indians had good memories. There were no libraries or museums or
universities. All their wisdom and their traditions were stored up in
the heads of the people, and a thing once forgotten was lost forever.
They had not even a notebook or memorandum to help out a poor memory.
It is not so simple to invent a short tale that is witty and
ingenious, with as much point and meaning as have most of these we are
giving you, as you will soon find out if you try to make up some
fables or fairy tales of your own. To remember and tell over such a
story in a clear and effective way, without missing any of its
logical or dramatic quality--even this is no very easy matter. The
hearing and repeating of the legends took in large part the place of
both school and story-books to the Indian boy or girl, and it is good
practice for any of us.
It seems likely that every tribe has in its folklore a mischievous
character with supernatural powers, who is at the same time a butt for
jokes and a successful wonder-worker. He is boastful and resourceful,
always trying to outwit other people, and in his turn is often
outwitted. Among the Sioux this character is known as Unktomee, the
Spider; the Tsimshians call him the Raven; the Cherokees the Rabbit.
Besides this clown, as it were, whose tricks and troubles are endless,
every animal has its personal or human side, sometimes one that is
obvious, and again it may be decidedly puzzling. The Turtle, for
instance, is depicted as a famous warrior (we hardly see why) and the
Porcupine as a wise man, which we should scarcely have expected. On
the other hand, it seems quite natural to find the Grizzly Bear the
chief among animals, and the Eagle the leader among birds.
Indian legends are broadly classed as "myths" and "folk tales." The
first tell in a fanciful way how the world was made, how winter,
summer, fire, tides, and many other familiar things or conditions came
into being. They go back to a time which all Indians believed in, when
the animals were real people and could talk as we do. They could do
many wonderful things besides that we cannot do. The Winds, Cold, the
Stars, and so on are personified; that is, they are described and act
as persons, and there are also giants, witches, water sprites and
fairy people who change their nature at will.
In many of the folk tales, which come nearer being a record of actual
or possible happenings, the lovable and domestic qualities of Indians
are brought out very clearly. Notice the loving brothers and the
affectionate husband in "The Woman Who Became a Beaver" and "The
Wooden Wife." The duty of hospitality is taught in the story of
"Grizzly Bear and the Four Chiefs", kindness to animals in "The Feast
of the Mountain Goats", patience with children in "The Naughty
Grandchildren" and "The Stars and the Pine." In every instance the
right-doer is rewarded, the selfish man and the trickster are
punished. I hope that you will enjoy these stories as much as I have
done, and that they may help you to know and like better the first
Americans.