TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:
Words that were printed in italics are marked with _ _. Printing and
spelling errors have been corrected. A list of these corrections can be
found at the end of the document.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION----BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.
MYTHS
OF
THE IROQUOIS.
BY
ERMINNIE A. SMITH.
CONTENTS.
Page.
CHAPTER I.--GODS AND OTHER SUPERNATURAL BEINGS 51
Hi-nuⁿ destroying the giant animals 54
A Seneca legend of Hi-nuⁿ and Niagara 54
The Thunderers 55
Echo God 58
Extermination of the Stone Giants 59
The North Wind 59
Great Head 59
Cusick's story of the dispersion of the Great Heads 62
The Stone Giant's wife 62
The Stone Giant's challenge 63
Hiawatha and the Iroquois wampum 64
CHAPTER II.--PIGMIES 65
The warrior saved by pigmies 65
The pigmies and the greedy hunters 66
The pigmy's mission 67
CHAPTER III.--PRACTICE OF SORCERY 68
The origin of witches and witch charms 69
Origin of the Seneca medicine 70
A "true" witch story 71
A case of witchcraft 72
An incantation to bring rain 72
A cure for all bodily injuries 73
A witch in the shape of a dog 73
A man who assumed the shape of a hog 73
Witch transformations 74
A superstition about flies 74
CHAPTER IV.--MYTHOLOGIC EXPLANATION OF PHENOMENA 75
Origin of the human race 76
Formation of the Turtle Clan 77
How the bear lost his tail 77
Origin of medicine 78
Origin of wampum 78
Origin of tobacco 79
Origin of plumage 79
Why the chipmunk has the black stripe on his back 80
Origin of the constellations 80
The Pole Star 81
CHAPTER V.--TALES 83
Boy rescued by a bear 83
Infant nursed by bears 84
The man and his step-son 85
The boy and his grandmother 86
The dead hunter 87
A hunter's adventures 88
The old man's lesson to his nephew 89
The hunter and his faithless wife 90
The charmed suit 92
The boy and the corn 96
The lad and the chestnuts 97
The guilty hunters 99
Mrs. Logan's story 100
The hunter and his dead wife 103
A sure revenge 104
Traveler's jokes 107
Kingfisher and his nephew 108
The wild-cat and the white rabbit 110
CHAPTER VI.--RELIGION 112
New Year's festival 112
Tapping the maple trees 115
Planting corn 115
Strawberry festival 115
Green-corn festival 115
Gathering the corn 115
_ILLUSTRATIONS._
PLATE XII.--Returning thanks to the Great Spirit 52
XIII.--Stone giant or cannibal 56
XIV.--Atotarho, war chief 60
XV.--The Flying Head put to flight 64
MYTHS OF THE IROQUOIS.
BY ERMINNIE A. SMITH.
CHAPTER I.
GODS AND OTHER SUPERNATURAL BEINGS.
The principal monuments of the once powerful Iroquois are their myths
and folk-lore, with the language in which they are embodied. As these
monuments are fast crumbling away, through their contact with European
civilization, the ethnologist must hasten his search among them in order
to trace the history of their laws of mind and the records of their
customs, ideas, laws, and beliefs. Most of these have been long
forgotten by the people, who continue to repeat traditions as they have
been handed down through their fathers and fathers' fathers, from
generation to generation, for many centuries.
The pagan Iroquois of to-day (and there are still many) will tell you
that his ancestors worshiped, as he continues to do, the "Great Spirit,"
and, like himself, held feasts and dances in his honor; but a careful
study of the mythology of these tribes proves very clearly that in the
place of one prevailing great spirit (the Indian's earliest conception
of the white man's God) the Iroquois gods were numerous. All the
mysterious in nature, all that which inspired them with reverence, awe,
terror, or gratitude, became deities, or beings like themselves endowed
with supernatural attributes, beings whose vengeance must be
propitiated, mercy implored, or goodness recompensed by thank-offerings.
The latter were in the form of feasts, dances, or incense.
Among the most ancient of these deities, and regarding which the
traditions are the most obscure, were their most remote
ancestors--certain animals who later were transformed into human shape,
the names of the animals being preserved by their descendants, who have
used them to designate their gentes or clans.
Many races in that particular stage of savagery when the human intellect
is still in its child-like state, being impressed by the awful and
incomprehensible power of Thunder, have classed it foremost among their
deities, with attributes proportioned to the disposition or status of
the worshiper.
Hi-nuⁿ, the beneficent Thunder God of the Iroquois, compares most
favorably with the same god as worshiped by other races. Ever
accompanied by his equally powerful assistants, his mission was
understood to be only to promote the welfare of that favored people,
though isolated personal offenses might demand from him a just
retribution. It was therefore safe to make unto him, on his near
approach to earth, his most acceptable offering, the burning tobacco,
and so firmly rooted has become that ancient custom, that the aged
superstitious Iroquois of to-day can often be seen making this little
offering on the near approach of every thunder-storm. It is not
difficult to follow the crude reasoning by which was ascribed to
Hi-nuⁿ the goodness and glory of having destroyed the giant monsters
which either poisoned the waters or infested the land. That such had
existed was evident from the bones often discovered, and what power
other than the crashing bolt of Hi-nuⁿ could have accomplished their
destruction? The similarity discoverable in the myths of many peoples
regarding the Thunder God and his mission of destruction to giant
animals, making this an almost universal myth, is probably traceable to
this simple and natural explanation, and presents no argument that the
myth itself has traveled. It may, then, be safely assumed that Hi-nuⁿ
was an indigenous god of the Iroquois, the product of their own crude
reasoning powers.
Brother of the great Hi-nuⁿ was the West Wind, who, with him, brought
from the clouds the vivifying rain, and who finally assisted the
Iroquois in the extermination of the powerful stone giants. Therefore,
the West Wind ranks as a beneficent deity or spirit.
The North Wind brought only calamity in its train, often killing the
unripe corn and freezing the rivers, thus depriving the people of their
needed sustenance, and from the mere touch of his icy fingers the
benighted hunter became stiff in death. This ranked as an evil deity
ever to be feared and propitiated.
Echo, the Mars of the Iroquois, only exercised his power during their
wars with other tribes, in which, by repeating among the hills their
cries of Go-weh, he insured their almost certain victory. He was ever
honored with special thanksgiving.
Of Tă-rhuⁿ-hyiă-wăh-kuⁿ (who bore the important office of Holder of the
Heavens) there is little more known than that he brought out from their
mother earth the six tribes composing the Iroquois.
These are some of the Iroquois gods, a knowledge of whose existence is
contained only in myths, for they belong to the charmed "mythologic
age." As, however, the Iroquois tribes have not entirely passed the
boundaries of that age, it is proper to mention some of their more
modern divinities, in whose worship are intermingled many of their
ancient ceremonies.
The "Great Spirit," so popularly and poetically known as the god of
the red man, and the "Happy Hunting-ground," generally reported to be
the Indian's idea of a future state, are both of them but their ready
conception of the white man's God and Heaven. This is evident from a
careful study of their past as gleaned from the numerous myths of their
prehistoric existence.
[Illustration: PL. XII
RETURNING THANKS TO THE GREAT SPIRIT.]
It may be true that many of the first missionaries found them in
possession of such ideas, but the Indians had long been in contact with
white men from whom those ideas were obtained, and there was no
incongruity in simply adding them to their former beliefs, as no
fundamental change was required. They accepted the Great Spirit, but
retained in many instances their former gods as his attributes,
considering the thunder as his voice and the winds as his breath, and at
the same time they introduced into their pagan worship a form of the
trinity which is still preserved, consisting of the Great Spirit, the
Sun, and Mother Earth.
Good and evil spirits also play an important rôle in Iroquoian
mythology. Among the good spirits are the three sisters who still
continue to preside over the favorite vegetables--corn, beans, and
squashes. They are represented as loving each other very dearly and
dwelling together in peace and unity. The vines of the vegetables grow
upon the same soil and cling lovingly around each other. The spirit of
corn is supposed to be draped with its long leaves and silken tassels.
The sister who guards the bean has a wreath of its velvety pods with
garments of the delicate tendrils, while the spirit of squashes is
clothed with the brilliant blossoms under her care. In bright nights the
sisters can be seen flitting about or heard rustling among the tall
corn. To this day yearly festivals are held in their honor, and they are
appealed to as "Our life, our supporters."
Among the supernatural beings corresponding to good and evil genii were
the Great Heads, with ever watchful eyes, and long hair which served
them as wings to bear them on missions of mercy or of destruction. This
pure product of the Indian imagination figures largely in the unwritten
literature of the Iroquois. There were also in those days stone giants,
always the mortal enemy of man, but whose final extermination furnished
the theme for wonderful stories of daring deeds performed oftentimes
under the influence of charms or magic, but never in too marvelous a
manner to disturb the credulity of the eager listener.
[Illustration: PL. XIII
STONE GIANT OR CANNIBAL.]
Although Atotarho and Hiawatha were contemporary personages, whose names
are still continued in the list of chiefs of the present day, the myths
which have accumulated around their history are so many and varied that
it is impossible to define the vague boundary line separating fact from
fiction. They may, therefore, be properly classed as demigods. The name
of the former, which signifies "the entangled," together with his skill,
cunning, and cruelty in war, soon resulted in his becoming invested with
the title of a wizard. The origin of his name is attributed to his
marvelous hair, which consisted of living snakes, and thus he is
represented by the pictographers of his time. He is still regarded by
his tribe as having been a being with supernatural endowments.
[Illustration: PL. XIV
ATOTARHO--WAR CHIEF.]
Among the same tribe, the Onondagas, are found what may be termed the
"Hiawatha legends." So numerous and yet different are these stories,
that they may be regarded as the histories of a long line of Hiawathas,
the Hiawatha being the official name of one of the most important
functionaries in the tribal government. These stories, in their relation
through many generations, have at last become applied to one person, who
is thus most marvelously endowed, as far surpassing all in goodness as
did Atotarho in the opposite attributes. To him is ascribed the honor of
having established the Great Confederacy of the Iroquois which so long
rendered them invincible in war. His name, which signifies "He who seeks
the wampum belt,"[1] probably led to the superstition of his having
invented wampum. To accomplish his wonderful feats, he was provided with
a magic canoe which obeyed his bidding. The legendary apotheosis
accorded him, in which he is represented as ascending to Heaven in a
white canoe, appears to be of modern origin.
[1] This is the interpretation given by the tribe, the real
meaning, as Père Cuoq suggests, being a "river maker," which
implies alliance between nations, and as wampum was used for
treaties, the original idea seems to have been retained after
the word itself has become denotive.
HI-NUⁿ DESTROYING THE GIANT ANIMALS.
A hunter in the woods was once caught in a thunder-shower, when he heard
a voice calling upon him to follow. This he did until he found himself
in the clouds, the height of many trees from the ground. Beings which
seemed to be men surrounded him, with one among them who seemed to be
their chief. He was told to look below and tell whether he could see a
huge water-serpent. Replying that he could not, the old man anointed his
eyes, after which he could see the monster in the depths below him. They
then ordered one of their number to try and kill this enemy to the human
race. Upon his failing, the hunter was told to accomplish the feat. He
accordingly drew his bow and killed the foe. He was then conducted back
to the place where he had sought shelter from the storm, which had now
ceased.
This was man's first acquaintance with the Thunder God and his
assistants, and by it he learned that they were friendly toward the
human race, and protected it from dragons, serpents, and other enemies.
A SENECA LEGEND OF HI-NUⁿ AND NIAGARA.
A beautiful Indian maiden was about to be compelled by her family to
marry a hideous old Indian.
Despair was in her heart. She knew that there was no escape for her, so
in desperation she leaped into her canoe and pushed it from shore on the
roaring waters of Niagara. She heeded not that she was going to her
death, preferring the angry waters to the arms of her detested lover.
Now, the God of Cloud and Rain, the great deity Hi-nuⁿ, who watches
over the harvest, dwelt in a cave behind the rushing waters. From his
home he saw the desperate launching of the maiden's canoe; saw her going
to almost certain destruction. He spread out his wings and flew to her
rescue, and caught her just as her frail bark was dashing on the rocks
below.
The grateful Indian girl lived for many weeks in Hi-nuⁿ's cave. He
taught her many new things. She learned from him why her people died so
often--why sickness was always busy among them. He told her how a snake
lay coiled up under the ground beneath the village, and how he crept out
and poisoned the springs, because he lived upon human beings and craved
their flesh more and more, so that he could never get enough if they
died from natural causes.
Hi-nuⁿ kept the maiden in till he learned that the ugly old suitor was
dead. Then he bade her return and tell her tribe what she had learned of
the great Hi-nuⁿ.
She taught them all he had told her and begged them to break up their
settlement and travel nearer to the lake; and her words prevailed. For a
while sickness ceased, but it broke out again, for the serpent was far
too cunning to be so easily outwitted. He dragged himself slowly but
surely after the people, and but for Hi-nuⁿ's influence would have
undermined the new settlement as he had the former one. Hi-nuⁿ watched
him until he neared the creek, then he launched a thunderbolt at him. A
terrible noise awoke all the dwellers by the lake, but the snake was
only injured, not killed. Hi-nuⁿ was forced to launch another
thunderbolt, and another and another, before, finally, the poisoner was
slain.
The great dead snake was so enormous that when the Indians laid his body
out in death it stretched over more than twenty arrow flights, and as he
floated down the waters of Niagara it was as if a mountain appeared
above them. His corpse was too large to pass the rocks, so it became
wedged in between them and the waters rose over it mountains high. As
the weight of the monster pressed on the rocks they gave way and thus
the horseshoe form, that remains to this day, was fashioned. But the
Indians had no more fever in their settlement.
THE THUNDERERS.
The following story, as related to me by Horatio Hale, who received it
from an Indian chief, shows that sustained imaginative power which seems
to distinguish the myths of the Iroquoian family.
On one occasion in the ancient time three warriors set out on an
expedition. When they were far distant from their own land, one of them
had the misfortune to break his leg. By the Indian law it became the
duty of the others to convey their injured comrade back to his home.
They formed a rude litter, and, laying him upon it, bore him for some
distance.
At length they came to a ridge of mountains. The way was hard and the
exertion severe. To rest themselves, they placed their burden on the
ground. They withdrew to a little distance and took evil counsel
together. There was a deep hole, or pit, opening into the ridge of the
mountain at a little distance from the place where they were sitting.
Returning to the litter, they took up their helpless load, carried him
near the brink of the pit, and suddenly hurled him in. Then they set off
rapidly for their own country. When they arrived they reported that he
had died of wounds received in fight. Great was the grief of his mother,
a widow, whose only support he had been. To soothe her feelings they
told her that her son had not fallen into the enemy's hands. They had
rescued him, they said, from that fate, had carefully tended him in his
last hours, and had given his remains a becoming burial.
They little imagined that he was still alive. When he was thrown down by
his treacherous comrades he lay for some time insensible at the bottom
of the pit. When he recovered his senses, he observed an old gray-headed
man seated near him, crouching into a cavity on one side of the pit.
"Ah, my son," said the old man, "what have your friends done to you?"
"They have thrown me here to die, I suppose," he replied, with true
Indian stoicism. "You shall not die," said the old man, "if you will
promise to do what I require of you in return for saving you." "What is
that?" asked the youth. "Only that when you recover you will remain here
and hunt for me and bring me the game you kill." The young warrior
readily promised, and the old man applied herbs to his wound and
attended him skillfully until he recovered. This happened in the autumn.
All through the winter the youth hunted in the service of the old man,
who told him that whenever he killed any game too large for one man to
carry, he would come himself and help to convey it to the pit, in which
they continued to reside. When the spring arrived, bringing melting
snows and frequent showers, he continued his pursuit of the game, though
with more difficulty. One day he encountered an enormous bear, which he
was lucky enough to kill. As he stooped to feel its fatness and judge of
its weight, he heard a murmur of voices behind him. He had not imagined
that any human beings would find their way to that lonely region at that
time of the year. Astonished, he turned and saw three men, or figures in
the shape of men, clad in strange cloud-like garments, standing near
him. "Who are you?" he asked. In reply they informed him that they were
the Thunderers (Hi-nuⁿ). They told him that their mission was to keep
the earth and everything upon it in good order for the benefit of the
human race. If there was a drought, it was their duty to bring rain;
if there were serpents or other noxious creatures, they were
commissioned to destroy them, and, in short, to do away with everything
injurious to mankind. They told him that their present object was to
destroy the old man to whom he had bound himself, and who, as they would
show him, was a very different sort of being from what he pretended to
be. For this they required his aid. If he would assist them he would do
a good act, and they would convey him back to his home, where he would
see his mother and be able to take care of her. This proposal and their
assurances overcame any reluctance the young man might have felt to
sacrifice his seeming benefactor. He went to him and told him that he
had killed a bear and needed his help to bring it home. The old man was
anxious and uneasy. He bade the youth examine the sky carefully and see
if there was the smallest speck of cloud visible. The young man replied
that the sky was perfectly clear. The old man then came out of the
hollow and followed the young hunter, urging him constantly to make
haste, and looking upward with great anxiety. When they reached the bear
they cut it up hurriedly with their knives, and the old man directed the
youth to place it all on his shoulders. The youth complied, though much
astonished at his companion's strength. The old man set off hastily for
the pit, but just then a cloud appeared and the thunder rumbled in the
distance. The old man threw down his load and started to run. The
thunder rumbled nearer, and the old man assumed his proper form of an
enormous porcupine, which fled through the bushes, discharging its
quills like arrows backward as it ran. But the thunder followed him,
with burst upon burst, and finally a bolt struck the huge animal, which
fell lifeless into its den.
Then the Thunderers said to the young man, "Now, that we have done our
work here, we will take you to your home and your mother, who is
grieving for you all the time."
They gave him a dress like that which they wore, a cloud-like robe,
having wings on its shoulders, and told him how these were to be moved.
Then he rose with them in the air, and soon found himself in his
mother's cornfield. It was night. He went to her cabin, and drew aside
the mat which covered the opening. The widow started up and gazed at him
in the moonlight with terror, thinking that she saw her son's ghost. He
guessed her thoughts. "Do not be alarmed, mother," he said; "it is no
ghost. It is your son come back to take care of you." As may be
supposed, the poor woman was overjoyed, and welcomed her long-lost son
with delight. He remained with her, fulfilling his duties as a son, for
the rest of the year. What was done to his treacherous comrades is not
recorded. They were too insignificant to be further noticed in the
story, which now assumes a more decided mythological character.
When the Thunderers bade farewell to the young man they said to him, "We
will leave the cloud-dress with you. Every spring, when we return, you
can put it on and fly with us to be witness to what we do for the good
of man." Accordingly, the youth hid the dress in the woods, that no one
might see it, and waited until the spring. Then the Thunderers returned,
and he resumed the robe, and floated with them in the clouds over the
earth. As they passed above a mountain he became thirsty, and seeing
below him a pool he descended to drink of it. When he rejoined his
companions they looked at him, and saw that the water with which his
lips were moist had caused them to shine as if smeared with oil. "Where
have you been drinking?" they asked him eagerly. "In yonder pool," he
answered, pointing to where it lay still in sight. They said, "There is
something in that pool which we must destroy. We have sought it for
years, and now you have happily found it for us." Then they cast a
mighty thunderbolt into the pool, which presently became dry. At the
bottom of it, blasted by the thunder, was an immense grub, of the kind
which destroys the corn and beans and other products of the fields and
gardens; but this was a vast creature ("as big as a house," said the
chief), the special patron and representative of all grubs. After
accompanying his spirit friends to some distance, and seeing more of
their good deeds of the like sort, the youth returned home and told his
friends that the Thunder was their divine protector, and narrated the
proofs which he had witnessed of this benignant character. Thence
originated the honor in which the Thunder is held among the Indians.
Many Iroquois still call Hi-nuⁿ their grandfather.
ECHO GOD.
When engaged in wars with different nations the voice of the Echo God
served for signals, as it would only respond to the calls of Iroquois.
At the coming of evening it was used by them to call in those who were
out on the war-path. When the warrior would whoop the Echo God would
take it up and carry it on through the air, the enemy not being able to
hear it, as this was the special god of the Six Nations. Therefore when
they had gained a great victory a dance was held to give praise to this
god. When enemies were killed their victors called out as many times as
there were persons killed, the cry being "Goh-weh! Goh-weh!" "I'm
telling you!" These words the Echo God took up and repeated. But if one
of their own tribe was killed they called out, "Oh-weh! Oh-weh!" meaning
"Our own!"
After any of these signals were given all assembled together to hold
council and make arrangements for an attack or pursuit. Then were sent
out runners, who also proclaimed. If no response was made by the Echo
God it was an omen that they should not start, but they continued
calling, and if the god still remained silent, a service was held to ask
the cause of his anger.
When a warfare was ended victoriously a dance was held to the Echo God
and the nations assembled to rejoice--but first to mourn for the dead
and decide on the fate of the captives. As the Echo God was never called
upon except in emergencies during warfare, now since wars are over the
feast and dance to the Echo God have ceased to be a part of the Iroquois
ceremonies.
EXTERMINATION OF THE STONE GIANTS.
Related by MR. O'BEILLE BEILLE, grandson of Cornplanter.
The stone giants, who principally inhabited the far West, resolved to
come East and exterminate the Indians. A party of Senecas, just starting
out on the war-path, were warned of their impending danger and were
bidden to accept the challenge to fight the stone giants and appoint a
time and place. This they did. At the appointed time the giants appeared
at the place, which was near a great gulf. Then there came a mighty wind
from the west which precipitated the whole race of giants down into the
abyss, from which they were never able to extricate themselves, and the
God of the West Wind was ever after held in reverence by the Senecas.
THE NORTH WIND.
It was the custom at a certain season for the medicine men to go about
demanding gifts of the people; but an icy figure had also appeared,
demanding a man as a sacrifice; whereupon the Thunder God was appealed
to, and he came to the rescue with his assistants and chased the figure
far into the north, where they doomed the icy demon to remain. To this
day his howling and blustering are heard, and when any venturesome
mortal dares to intrude too far towards his abode his frosty children
soon punish the offender. He is termed Kă-tăsh-hŭaht, or North Wind, and
ranks as an evil spirit.
GREAT HEAD.
It was a common belief among Indians that there was a strange,
human-like creature, consisting simply of a head made terrific with
large eyes and covered with long hair. His home was upon a huge rock,
a rifted promontory, over which his long hair streamed in shaggy
fierceness.
Seen or unseen, if he saw anything that had the breath of life he
growled: "Kûⁿñ´´-kuⁿ, Kuⁿñ´´-kuⁱⁿ, wă´´-h-tci´-ha´´-i-h"; that is,
"I see thee, I see thee, thou shalt die," or "thou shalt suffer."
In a distant wilderness there lived a man and his wife with ten
children, all boys. In the course of events the father died, and was
soon followed by the mother of the boys, who were now left alone with
their uncle. They were greatly afflicted by the loss of both parents
but after a while resumed their hunting for support.
As was customary, the older brothers went to their hunting grounds and
the younger ones staid at home. One day they looked for the return of
their elder brother in vain; they also looked in vain for the second
brother's return. Then the oldest of those at home said, "I will go to
look them up"; and he went off, but did not return that night. The next
brother then went to hunt for his lost brothers. He also did not return,
and thus it was with all until the youngest brother was left alone with
his aged uncle.
The youngest brother was forbidden to go away from home lest he too
should be lost. One day the two were out in the woods, when the younger
one, stepping over a log, heard a noise like a groan, which seemed to
come from the earth. The groan being repeated, they concluded to dig
into the earth, where they discovered a man covered with mould, and
taking him and setting him up they saw some signs of life and were
convinced that he was alive. Then the old man said to the lad, "Run for
the bear's oil." When brought, they rubbed it over him, and at last were
well pleased to see returning consciousness.
In caring for him they at first fed him on oil until he began to move
his eyes and talk. The strange man then told them that he did not know
how long he had been there, that all he knew was that the last time he
went out was to hunt. They persuaded him to stay with them, whereupon he
related the story of the nine brothers who had so mysteriously
disappeared. They then discovered that the stranger was somewhat
supernatural, for he told them very strange things.
One night he said, "I cannot sleep; hearken to the great noise in this
direction. I know what it is--it is my brother, the Great Head, who is
howling through this hurricane. He is an awful being, for he destroys
those who go near him." "Is he your brother?" "Yes, own brother." "If
you sent for him would he come here?" "No," he replied; "but perhaps I
might entice him to come here. I will try; but if he comes you must make
great provision for him; you must cut a huge maple tree into blocks, for
that is what he eats." The stranger inquired how far he would be obliged
to go to find the home of the "Head." The uncle replied, "You would get
there about noon." Early the next morning he took his bow and started.
When he came to a hickory tree he pulled it up, and from its roots he
made arrows, and then ran onward until he came to a place answering the
description given him, near which he was to find the end of his journey.
Remembering that he was warned to look out for the "Great Eyes,"
which would be sure to see him, he called for a mole, to which he said,
"I am going in this direction and I want you to creep down under the
grass where you will not be seen." Having gone into the mole, he at last
saw the Great Head through the blades of grass. Ever watchful, the head
cried out "Kuⁿñ-kuⁿ," "I see thee." The man in the mole saw that the
"Head" was watching an owl, then drawing his bow, he shot an arrow into
the Great Head, crying, "I came after you." The arrow as it flew to its
mark became very large, but as it was returning became as small as when
it left the bow. Thereupon, taking the arrow, he ran swiftly toward
home; but he had not gone far when he heard a great noise like the
coming of a storm. It was the Great Head riding on a tempest. Unshaken
by this, he continued to run until he saw that the Great Head was coming
down to the spot where he was, when he drew his bow again, and as the
arrow left the bow it became larger as it sped, and it drove the Great
Head away as before it had done. These maneuvers were repeated many
times. In the meanwhile the uncle had prepared a mallet, and now he
heard the rush and roar of the coming hurricane and said, "The stranger
has allured him home." He now went to the door and said, "We must hammer
him; here, take this mallet." As the Great Head came bursting through
the door, the two men industriously plied their mallets to it. At this
proceeding, the Great Head began to laugh, thus: "Si-h si-h si-h," for
he was pleased to see his brother. When the tumult had subsided, the
uncle asked the Great Head to remain, and gave him to eat the blocks
which had been prepared for him. Then the two men told the Great Head
about the brothers who were lost and about the stranger. Then the Great
Head said, "I know where they have gone; they have gone to a place where
lives a woman who is a witch and who sings continually."
Now, the Great Head said, "I have been here long enough; I want to go
home; this young man is pretty bright, and if he wishes to go to see
this witch, I will show him her abode and all the bones of his
brothers." The young man consenting, he and the Great Head started on
the morrow, and finally came to a place where they heard this song:
"Dy-giñ-nyă-de, he´´-oñ-we, he´-oñ-we-ni´´-ă-h gi-di-oñ-ni-ăh," which
the witch was singing. At length she spoke and said, "Schis-t-ki-añ";
this was the magical word at which, when heard, all turned to dry bones.
Upon hearing this the Great Head said, "I will ask the question, 'How
long have you been here?' and the hair will fall from my head and you
must replace it, and it will grow fast, and then I will bite her flesh
and pull it from her, and as it comes off you must take it from my mouth
and throw it off, saying 'Be a fox, a bird, or anything else,' and it
will then run off never to return."
They did as they had planned, and when the witch begged for mercy the
Great Head said, "You had no mercy; see the dry bones; you must die":
and so they killed her, and her flesh was turned into animals, and
birds, and fish.
When she had died, the Head said, "Let us burn her to ashes." When this
was done, the Head said, "Let us search for the year-old bones and cause
them to lie in rows," and they worked together selecting those they
thought were bones of the nine brothers, and placed them together. When
this was done, the Great Head said, "I am going to my old home in the
great mountain, and when I fly over here on a tempest then you say to
these bones, 'All arise,' and they all will rise and you may go home
with them." Great Head departed, and then arose a storm and a terrific
hurricane, and the Great Head out of the wind called to the nine
brothers to awake, and they all arose to life, shouting for joy at
seeing each other and their youngest brother again.
CUSICK'S STORY OF THE DISPERSION OF THE GREAT HEADS.
An old squaw who resided at Onondaga was alone in her wigwam one
evening. While sitting by the fire parching some acorns one of the
monstrous heads made its appearance at the door. Thinking that the
woman was eating coals of fire, by which these monsters were put to
flight, it suddenly disappeared, and none of its kind have been seen
since that day.
[Illustration: PL. XV
THE FLYING HEAD PUT TO FLIGHT.]
THE STONE GIANT'S WIFE.
In the olden days the hunters always took their wives with them on their
expeditions. It was a wife's duty to fetch home the game that was killed
and prepare and cook it.
A great hunter set forth upon a hunting excursion and took his wife with
him. He found so much game that finally he built a wigwam and settled
down. One day he had gone hunting in one direction while his wife was
sent in another to collect the game he had killed the previous day.
When she returned towards home one evening, laden with game, she was
surprised at hearing a woman's voice, and as she entered her surprise
changed to fear, for she saw a stone giant woman nursing the chief's
child. "Do not be afraid," said the giantess; "come in." And as the wife
obeyed she told her that she had run away from her cruel husband, who
wanted to kill her, and that she wished to stay a while with the
hunter's family. She had come from very far, from the land of the Stone
Giants, and was very tired, and added that they must be careful what
food they gave her. She could not eat raw food, but it must be well
cooked, so thoroughly cooked, indeed, that she could not taste the
blood, for if she once tasted blood she might wish to kill them and the
child and eat them. She knew that the woman's husband was a mighty
hunter, and she knew that his wife brought in the game, but now she
would do it instead; then she said that she knew where to find it and
would start after it at once.
After a while she returned, bringing in one hand a load which four
ordinary men could not have carried. The woman cooked it, and they dined
together.
As evening came on the Stone Giantess bade the woman go out and meet her
husband and tell him of her visit; so she started, and the hunter was
much pleased to hear of the help she had given.
In the morning, after he had gone on his hunting expedition, the
giantess said, "Now I have a secret for you: My husband is after me. In
three days he will be here. We shall have a terrible fight when he
comes, and you and your husband must help me to kill him."
In two days afterwards she said, "Now your husband must remain at home,
for mine is coming. But do not be afraid; we shall kill him, only you
must help catch and hold him. I will show you where to strike him so
that the blow will go right through to his heart." The hunter and his
wife were both frightened at this, but she reassured them, and they all
three awaited the coming of the giant. So she placed herself in the
entrance, and as he came in sight she was ready. She seized him and
threw him on the ground. "Now," she said, "strike him on the arms, now
on the back of the neck"; and so he was finally killed. Then said she,
"I will take him out and bury him," which she did.
She staid a while quietly with the hunter and his wife, fetching in the
game and being useful until they were ready to leave and return to the
settlement. Then she said, "Now I must go home to my people, for I need
fear nothing." So she bade them farewell.
And this is the end of the story of the Stone Giantess.
THE STONE GIANT'S CHALLENGE.
A Stone Giant challenged a Seneca chief to a race. The challenge was
accepted, and the time for the start appointed two days later.
The hunter employed the time in making a pair of moccasins, and in due
time the race began. The hunter was in advance; he led the way over
cornfields and through bushes, over and around brooks, and went a weary
distance until he was very tired and his moccasins were nearly worn off
his feet. At last he began to climb rocks. Now, the Stone Giant had no
power to raise his head and could not tell where the hunter was when
once he was above him, and in this dilemma he had recourse to a charm,
and took from his pocket a human finger. He placed it upright upon his
hand, and it immediately pointed the way for him to go.
Now, the hunter had turned and seen him do it, so he stooped and
snatched the charm from him, whereupon the giant commenced crying and
said: "You have won. You have taken my charm, and now you can always
find game and all you want, for the finger will direct you to it."
HIAWATHA AND THE IROQUOIS WAMPUM.
In one of his missions into the country of the Mohawks, Hiawatha once
came upon the borders of a lake. While deliberating in what manner he
should cross it, the whole sky became filled with wild ducks, all of
which finally alighted upon the surface of the water. After quenching
their thirst and soaking their plumage they ascended again into the air
in one great mass, and lo! the lake had become dry, while its bed was
filled with shells.
From these the wise chief and counselor proceeded to make the wampum
which afterward so firmly cemented the union of the six tribes, thereby
forming the great Iroquois Confederacy.