INDIAN
NATURE MYTHS
BY
JULIA DARROW COWLES
With Illustrations by
Dorothy Dulin
A. FLANAGAN COMPANY
CHICAGO
COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY A. FLANAGAN COMPANY
[Illustration: Publisher’s device]
INDIAN
NATURE
MYTHS
Books by
Julia Darrow Cowles
THE ROBINSON CRUSOE READER
STORIES TO TELL
GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND
THE QUEER LITTLE TAILOR
INDIAN NATURE MYTHS
Published by
A. Flanagan Company
[Illustration:
Page 121
“THE THUNDER MAIDEN FASTENED HIS PURPLE WINGS TO HIS SHOULDERS AND
BADE HIM GOOD-BYE”]
PREFACE
The stories of this book have been chosen for the purpose of showing
how the early Red Men accounted for the phenomena of nature--the
presence of the birds, the moaning of the wind, the whispering of the
leaves. The nature myths of the North American Indian are full of
poetry, and occasionally of a rich humor. In retelling the stories for
children the author has sought to retain the original spirit of the
tales, and through them to give to the reader a better understanding
of the inner life and thought of the primitive Red Man at his best.
The tales have been gathered from many sources, and are representative
of many tribes.
It is well known that the same tale in varying form is told among many
different tribes, just as the folk tales have been carried in early
times from one nation to another and are variously accredited. It is
not always possible to determine the original source.
Before reading or telling the Indian Nature Myths to the children, it
is best to explain that just as they love to wonder and imagine about
the new and strange sights and sounds of the world, so the early races
of men, the children of time, loved to wonder and imagine. And so
these stories of nature grew out of their imaginings; and some of the
stories are so beautiful, and some of them are so odd, that men have
repeated them from one generation to another, ever since,--for even
when they no longer believed them to be true, they loved them.
CONTENTS
PAGES
How the Seasons Came to Be (Ojibwa) 11
Birth of the Arbutus (Ojibwa) 18
The Maiden with Golden Hair (Chippewa) 24
Origin of the Violet (Iroquois) 29
The Beginning of Birds (Blackfeet) 33
Why the Wind Wails (Algonquin) 37
Story of the Humming Bird (Shoshonee) 43
The Gift of Indian Corn (Chippewa) 48
The Stars That Dance (Iroquois) 56
The Pukwudjee and the Morning Star (Ojibwa) 60
The White Hawk (Shawnee) 65
How Mosquitoes Came to Be (Iroquois) 74
How Birds and Fairies Came to Be (Algonquin) 78
Why the Aspen Leaves Are Never Still (Blackfeet) 83
Why the Baby Says “Goo” (Algonquin) 88
Why the Squirrel Coughs (Algonquin) 93
Why the Frogs Croak (Algonquin) 95
The Rock of the Measuring Worm; El Capitán, in the Yosemite
(California Tribes) 99
How the Flying Squirrel Got His Wings (Iroquois) 103
Why Brother Bear Wears a Stumpy Tail (Ojibwa) 111
The Thunder People (Passamaquoddy) 118
Keepers of the Winds (Algonquin) 123
ILLUSTRATIONS
“The Thunder Maiden Fastened His Purple Wings to His
Shoulders and Bade Him Good-Bye” _Frontispiece_
PAGES
“Omeme Said, ‘I Will Not Shoot You, Tell Me Your Secret’” 13
“‘The Arbutus!’ Cried the Children” 21
“Day After Day ... She Stood and Waited for His Coming” 27
“There Arose a Great Flock of Winged Birds” 35
“The Wind Tried to Catch Her in His Embrace” 41
“He Grappled with the Youth and They Wrestled Together” 51
“‘I Am a Pukwudjee--A Little Man of the Mountains,’ He Said” 63
“Waupee Heard the Strains of the Magic Song” 71
“With a Terrible Cry, the Great Mosquito Flew Down with His
Enormous Wings Outstretched” 75
“The Older Sister Looked on with Scorn” 85
“Wasis Sent Forth Such Piercing Yells and Shrieks, that the
Warrior Stopped in Amazement” 91
“He Was Fat and Ugly, and His Back Was Covered with Green
Slime from the Pool” 97
“Little Jo-nis-gy-ont Had His Own Ideas” 105
“North Wind Saw Him Sitting There with His Eyes Closed and
His Tail Hanging Down in the Water” 115
“Wabun Wooed Her with His Soft Breezes ... and the Songs of
Birds” 125
INDIAN NATURE MYTHS
HOW THE SEASONS CAME TO BE
(Ojibwa)
THERE was once a little Indian boy who wanted above everything else to
become a mighty hunter.
His father, whose name was Ojeeg, the Fisher, was the mightiest hunter
of his tribe, and Omeme wanted to be like his father.
Often he went out into the forest with the little bow and arrows which
his father had made for him, to hunt the small creatures of the woods.
But it was too cold for him to stay long; for in those days there were
no seasons, only cold and snow day after day, moon following moon.
So little Omeme often came back to the lodge with fingers stiff and
numb. As he shivered and held his fingers over the fire of the lodge,
he cried, “There is nothing for Omeme to shoot. The birds fly up to
the sun for warmth. The little creatures hide in the forest: they
hide far down beneath the snow blanket. It is cold. Omeme can get no
game.”
One day Omeme met a squirrel in the forest, and the squirrel said, “Do
not shoot me, Omeme. I will tell you a great secret.”
Then Omeme said, “I will not shoot you. Tell me your secret.”
And the squirrel said, “Away up in the Sky Land it is always warm.
There is no frost, no snow. If we could have some of the warmth of the
Sky Land, we should not always be cold. There would be good hunting
for Omeme. There would be plenty for us all to eat.”
“But the Sky Land is far away,” said Omeme.
“Yes,” replied the squirrel, “but Ojeeg is mighty. Could he not go to
the Sky Land and bring away some of its warmth?”
“My father is mighty,” answered Omeme. “I will ask him.”
He ran home, for he had grown cold while listening to the squirrel’s
secret.
Ojeeg was in the lodge.
“Oh, my father,” exclaimed Omeme, “all we little creatures are so
cold! The squirrel tells me there is warmth in the Sky Land. Could
you not go there and bring some of its warmth to the earth?”
[Illustration: “OMEME SAID, ‘I WILL NOT SHOOT YOU. TELL ME YOUR
SECRET’”]
Ojeeg was silent for a long, long time. He loved Omeme dearly. He was
sorry that Omeme was cold. But the journey to the Sky Land was long.
It was full of dangers.
At length Ojeeg said, “The earth _is_ cold. I will hold a council with
my neighbors.”
So Ojeeg, the Fisher, called together his neighbors, the Otter, the
Beaver, the Badger, the Lynx, and the Wolverine. Long and earnestly
they considered the matter, and at length they decided to undertake
the journey to the Sky Land.
Upon a given day they started. It was a great adventure, and Ojeeg
felt sure that he would never return to his lodge, and never again
would he see the little Omeme.
For a long, long distance they traveled and at last, tired and spent
with hunger, they reached the top of a very high mountain. So high it
was that the sky seemed almost to rest upon it.
There they found meat and a fire, as though some traveler had left
them. So they rested and were refreshed.
Then Ojeeg said to the Otter, “Now we will try to gain entrance to
the Sky Land. It is just above us. Jump, and see if you cannot break
through, and we will follow.”
The Otter tried, but he could not jump high enough, and he fell, and
slid all the way down to the foot of the mountain. So he gave up and
returned to his home.
Then Ojeeg said to the Beaver, “Jump, and see if you cannot do better
than the Otter.” The Beaver jumped; but neither could he jump high
enough, and he too fell, and slid all the way down to the bottom of
the mountain. So the Beaver gave up, and returned to his home.
Then Ojeeg said to the Badger, “Jump. Let us see if you cannot do
better than the Otter and the Beaver.”
The Badger jumped; but neither could he jump high enough, and back he
slid to the bottom of the mountain. So the Badger gave up, and
returned to his home.
Then Ojeeg said to the Lynx, “Surely you are stronger than the Otter,
and the Beaver, and the Badger, and you can jump farther. Try, and see
if you cannot break through into the Sky Land, and we will follow.”
The Lynx jumped; but neither could he break through the Sky, though
he made a deep scratch upon it with one of his sharp claws; and back
he slid to the bottom of the mountain. So the Lynx gave up, and
returned to his home.
Then said Ojeeg to the Wolverine, “You are stronger and more agile
than the others. Jump, and see if you cannot break through, and I will
follow you. Do your best. You must not fail me.”
The Wolverine prepared for a mighty jump. He sprang upward, and
touched the Sky just where the Lynx’s claw had scratched it. He broke
it, and sprang through the opening.
After him sprang Ojeeg, and now they two were in the Sky Land.
It was a beautiful country. There was no snow. The winds blew softly;
the air was balmy; and all about them were flowers, and grass, and
singing birds.
Ojeeg stamped hard with his foot, and a great hole was made where he
stamped. Down through the hole rushed the singing birds, and the warm
air of the Sky Land.
Down went Spring, and after Spring went Summer, and after Summer went
Autumn. But just as Autumn disappeared, Ojeeg heard a great noise and
shouting, for the people of the Sky Land were coming. He knew that
they would punish him for his daring.
The Wolverine slipped through the hole and followed Autumn; but before
Ojeeg could follow, the Sky people came, and the hole was closed.
Ojeeg ran, but the arrows of the Sky people were swift, and overtook
him.
So Ojeeg gave up his life, but he had sent warmth to all the creatures
of the earth, and since that time his people have had the four
seasons, instead of one unbroken season of bitter cold and snow.
The little Omeme was proud of the mighty deed of his father. He was
cold no more: and he grew up to be a mighty hunter, as his father the
great Ojeeg had been before him.
And when the Indians look up at the stars and see the constellation of
the fish, they say, “That is Ojeeg, the Fisher, who gave the summer to
his people.”
BIRTH OF THE ARBUTUS
(Ojibwa)
LONG years ago, when only the red men lived among the hills and
valleys of the land, an old, old man sat shivering over the low fire
of his tepee. The old man was Peboan. He was chief of the winter
spirits.
The outside world was covered with snow. The branches of the trees
bent low with its weight. The sides of the tepee were heavy with snow.
All the tracks of the bear and the rabbit were hidden.
The old man shivered, and bent over his fire. He was clothed in furs,
and furs covered the floor of the tepee. But they could not keep out
the chill winds, for the fire was low. There was no more wood to
replenish it. Snow covered all the fallen branches, and the chief was
old and feeble.
Peboan had been a mighty hunter. He had killed the moose and the bear.
The skins of many deer were about him. But now his hair was white as
the icy fringes of the frozen brook.
He blew upon the coals of his fire and they glowed, bright as the eyes
of a startled deer in the forest. But the glow faded. The old man
shivered.
There was no food in the tepee. The bear and the rabbit were hidden in
the forest. Their tracks were covered with snow. Peboan could not hunt
them.
Then, upon his knees, he cried to the Great Spirit for help. He cried
for help, that Peboan, chief of the winter spirits, might not suffer
want and cold.
As he sank once more upon his furs, he felt a warmth in the tepee. He
looked up.
In the doorway stood a youth, whose red cheeks and sparkling eyes told
of health and strength. A wreath of sweet grass was bound about his
curling locks, and in his hands he held a cluster of flowers. Light
and quick was his step as he entered the lodge of Peboan.
He smiled upon Peboan, and the old man felt a warmth enveloping him.
“Enter, my son,” he said, “and welcome. I have no refreshment to
offer. But come to my fire, and tell me who you are.”
Then the youth said, “The Great Spirit has sent me to Peboan. I am
Seegwun, the Spring. But tell me of yourself, Peboan.”
Then Peboan cried, “I am the great winter spirit. When I come to the
Earth, all the Earth’s children tremble. I breathe upon them, and they
cry out. The trees drop their leaves. The birds fly away. The forest
children creep into their holes.”
“Ah,” cried the youth, “when I come to the Earth, the Earth’s children
laugh and clap their hands. I breathe upon them and they dance with
joy. The trees put forth their leaves. The birds come back. The forest
children awake.”
Peboan continued, “When I come to the Earth, I shake my locks and snow
falls from the clouds. The streams grow hard and still. The wind sings
dirges through the naked trees.”
“When I come to the Earth,” laughed Seegwun, “I shake my ringlets and
warm showers fall from the clouds. The grass awakes. The flowers
bloom. Soft breezes blow. The streams are glad, and sing as they dance
along.
“Peboan,” said the youth, “the Great Spirit has sent me to the Earth,
and you must go.”
[Illustration: “‘THE ARBUTUS!’ CRIED THE CHILDREN”]
Seegwun smiled, and the tepee grew warm. Peboan became silent. His
head drooped lower and lower.
The sun shone forth, and the snow melted beneath its rays.
Then Spring waved his hands over the sleeping Peboan, and he sank upon
the ground. Smaller and smaller he grew. His clothing seemed turned to
furry leaves, and covered the floor of the tepee.
The youth smiled, for Peboan was gone.
Softly he lifted the furry leaves, and beneath each cluster he placed
blossoms of white and pink. He breathed upon them with his fragrant
breath, and they became sweet. Their spicy odor filled all the tepee.
Then the youth laughed gladly, and went his way.
The sun shone, and the children of the little Indian village ran from
their homes, and danced and sang in its warmth. A bird was caroling in
the tree top, and they stopped to listen. The stream shook off its icy
covering and went singing down its course. The children followed it.
They came to the spot where the tepee of Peboan had stood. And lo! all
the ground was covered with fragrant flowers.
“The arbutus!” cried the children. “The arbutus!”
They picked the beautiful, fragrant blossoms, and joyously carried
them home. And when the old people of the village saw them, they knew
that the Spirit of the Spring had returned to fill the earth with joy
and gladness.
THE MAIDEN WITH GOLDEN HAIR
(Chippewa)
LEELINAU stood in the door of the lodge, holding in her hand a bunch
of dandelions which had gone to seed. She blew upon them softly, and
the white-winged seeds went floating into the air.
“Shawondasee’s breath was mightier than thine,” said a voice behind
her. She turned to see her grandmother smiling upon her as she worked
upon a deer-skin moccasin.
Leelinau sat down. “Tell me of Shawondasee,” she said coaxingly. So
the grandmother told her the story of the South Wind and the
Dandelion:
Shawondasee lived far away in the South Land where it was always warm
and bright. His father, Kabeyun, the father of the winds, had given
him this part of the earth in which to dwell. The soft, warm winds of
the South were given him.
But Shawondasee was not strong, and quick, and eager, like his
brothers who governed the North Wind, and the West Wind. He was fat,
and lazy, and sluggish. He liked to take life easily, and moved
slowly, when he moved at all.
Sometimes, because he was so fat and heavy, he sighed deeply, and then
his warm breath would travel far across the land to the North, and the
people would cry, “What a balmy day! How soft and warm the air is!”
One day, as Shawondasee looked far away toward the North, he saw upon
the prairie a beautiful maiden. Her body was tall and slender. She
wore a gown of green, and her hair was a wonderful yellow, like
burnished gold.
Shawondasee looked long upon her, for never had he seen a maiden like
her before. The Indian maidens had hair of deepest black, like the
glossy feathers of the crow, and their skins were dark.
“She is fair and beautiful,” sighed Shawondasee. “I should woo her, if
she were not so far away.”
He stirred a little, and sighed, and the air grew warm, and a soft
breeze blew. The beautiful maiden on the prairie swayed in the breeze,
and her green robe fluttered.
“She is very beautiful,” cried Shawondasee. “I will send her a kiss.”
So with his softest breath he sent a kiss to the maiden of the yellow
hair, and again she bowed and swayed.
Still Shawondasee did not leave his home in the South Land to visit
the maiden. He sent soft breezes to blow upon her, and the breezes
carried sighs and kisses to her; but Shawondasee himself remained at
home. Day after day he wished that he might win the maiden with the
golden hair. Day after day he looked toward the North where she stood
and waited for his coming.
Then one morning there was a change. As Shawondasee looked out upon
the prairie he saw that the beautiful golden hair of the maiden he
loved had turned to snowy white. For once he was startled. “What have
I done?” he cried. “I have put off going to her, and now I have lost
her. Her golden beauty has changed to a beauty which is not of this
earth. It is now too late!”
Shawondasee heaved a mighty sigh as he spoke--a sigh that stirred all
the winds of the South Land--and behold! the air was filled with the
silvery white locks of the Dandelion maiden.
[Illustration: “DAY AFTER DAY ... SHE STOOD AND WAITED FOR HIS
COMING”]
Far and wide they floated, and wherever one fell, there a new flower
sprang up, and it was called the Dandelion.
The old grandmother had finished her story and her moccasin at the
same time.
“And so Shawondasee never married the Dandelion maiden?” questioned
Leelinau.
“No,” answered the grandmother. “He was far too fat and lazy to win a
maiden of spirit. But then,” she added, “it was no great loss to
either. No Indian of good sense would wed a maiden with yellow hair.”
ORIGIN OF THE VIOLET
(Iroquois)
THREE wonderful deeds had the Indian youth performed: three deeds for
which the older men of the tribe gave him honor.
First of all he had gone forth with his bow and arrow and, taking true
aim with a strong and steady hand, had pierced the heart of the great
heron flying overhead: the great heron that was the enemy of his
people. Often had the bird caught the children of the tribe and
carried them away to devour them. And now the young brave, who was
little more than a lad, had slain the great heron.
On the second occasion he had gone forth alone, and sought out the
cave of the witches. And from the cave he had brought away the roots
which alone would cure his people of the great sickness which we call
the plague. The journey was long and difficult, and food was scarce,
but only the witches knew the secret of the roots.
When the young brave returned with the medicine and the people were
made well, the old men of the tribe gave him honor, and the women of
the tribe blessed him.
On the third occasion the young warrior led a band of his fellows in
combat with a tribe of their enemies, and overthrew them. Those who
were not killed fled in confusion. And again he was honored by all his
tribe.
But now the young warrior’s mind was troubled, and favor and honor no
longer satisfied his heart. Among the tribe of the enemy that he had
conquered, he had seen a maiden who had won his love.
Unknown to her, and hidden, he had watched as she moved about the
wigwam of her father. He had followed the fleeing enemy, and had come
silently to the outskirts of their village, and there he discovered
the maiden who alone had stirred his heart.
“I must have her for my very own! She shall be the light of my
wigwam!” he cried.
So he stayed in the forest near the village of the enemy, and there he
sang all the songs that the Indian lover sings, and always they were
in praise of the graceful maiden whom he loved.
So sweet and tender were the words, and so rich the music, that the
birds of the forest learned to sing them after him. And so often were
they repeated that even the roving animals knew the words, and
wondered of whom the strange warrior sang.
One day the Indian maiden, enticed by the freshness of the woods and
the caroling of the birds, wandered away to the forest alone. Unknown
to her, a young Indian of her own tribe, who long had loved her,
followed at a distance.
When she reached the forest she listened happily to the singing birds,
and she thought she heard, too, a strong, clear voice that was
different from the voice of the birds.
Farther into the woods she went, when suddenly a young brave sprang
toward her, clasped her in his arms, and ran swiftly away, bearing her
with him.
The maiden, looking into his face, saw that it was strong, and
fearless, and loving; and with his voice he reassured her, promising
that he would do her no harm. And the maiden’s heart went out to him,
as his had done to her.
The unseen lover of her own tribe saw what had happened and,
recognizing the young brave who had stolen the maiden from him as the
one who had defeated his people, was afraid. He ran back to the
village to tell the men, and to get help for the pursuit.
“And you came back!” cried the men of the village in a voice of scorn.
“You did not save the maiden you claim to love! Stay here at home with
the women while we ride forth and overtake them!”
So the men mounted their ponies and rode away; and toward evening they
came in sight of the brave young warrior, and the maiden of their
tribe.
But as they drew nearer they saw that the maiden had braided the long
tresses of her hair and had bound them about the neck of the young
warrior who bore her in his arms. And this was the sign to them that
she loved him, and wished to go with him and become his wife.
Then the Indians of her own tribe were doubly angry, and drawing their
bows they shot both the young warrior and the maiden through the
heart, and returned to their own village.
And where the two fell, there sprang from the earth a new flower, the
purple violet, which speaks of courage and of love.
THE BEGINNING OF BIRDS
(Blackfeet)
IN very early times, the Red Children believe, there were no birds.
And this is the way they account for their beginning:
All summer the trees had been full of leaves, shaking, whispering,
dancing, as the winds blew upon them. “I wish I might fly,” said one
little leaf. “I would go sailing straight up into the heavens. But the
tree holds me tightly; I cannot get away.”
“If the tree should let you go, you would only fall to the ground and
die,” said a bigger leaf. “It is better to be content as you are.”
So the leaves fluttered and danced and whispered one to another, day
after day.
One morning the wind was cold, and the leaves had to dance fast to
keep warm. Then the old tree said, “It is the breath of Po-poon-o-ki.
He lives in the ice lodge of the far North. He will soon visit us,
with his war paints. I must hold you tightly, little leaves, as long
as I can.” But the little leaves did not understand what the tree
meant.
Then, one still night, Po-poon-o-ki came. He went from tree to tree,
and over each one he splashed his war paints, till the leaves were no
longer green, but dashed with red, and brown, and yellow, and crimson.
“How beautiful the trees are!” cried the Indian children the next
morning. “See their bright colors.”
For a few days the leaves danced and whispered, laughing over their
beautiful hues. Then Po-poon-o-ki came back, and with his swift, cold
breath, he blew against the trees, and the little leaves were tossed
and torn from the friendly branches. They did not fly up into the
heavens, but frightened and sobbing they dropped to the earth.
“We shall die!” they cried. “We shall die!”
Then a strange thing happened. The guardian spirit of the tree
whispered, “No, little leaves, you shall not die. You shall be changed
into living forms. I will give you breath and life.” And instantly
there arose from the earth where the leaves had dropped, a great flock
of winged birds, red, and brown, and yellow, and crimson, all the
beautiful colors that Po-poon-o-ki had given the leaves. Then they
flew away to the South Land, where winter’s breath could not reach
them.
[Illustration: “THERE AROSE A GREAT FLOCK OF WINGED BIRDS”]
But in the spring, when Ni-poon-o-ki, the spirit of summer, came
stealing up from the South, and Po-poon-o-ki went back to his ice
lodge in the far North, then the birds came back, too. There were new
leaves on the trees, but the birds flew straight to the branches which
had been their home, and there, safely sheltered by the new leaves,
they built their nests.
And after awhile, when there were eggs in all the home nests, the
hearts of the birds became so full of joy that they could no longer be
silent. Their throats swelled, and opening wide their little mouths,
they filled all the air with bursts of happy song.
WHY THE WIND WAILS
(Algonquin)
WHEN the pale moon looks down from the sky, and when the wind cries
mournfully around the wigwam, this is the story that the old man of
the tribe tells to the Indian children:
Many, many moons ago the great chief of our tribe had a very beautiful
daughter.
“She shall marry a great warrior,” said the Chief, “and a mighty
hunter. Then she will be well cared for, and I shall be happy.”
So the great Chief kept watch of the young men of the tribe, to see
which one would prove worthy of his daughter.
One day, as the Chief sat in the door of his lodge, there came a
sudden rushing sound, and a young man stood before him. It was the
Wind, who had made himself visible that he might talk with the Chief.
When he had saluted, he said, “Great Chief, I love your daughter. May
I carry her away to my lodge, and make her my wife?”
The Chief looked at the Wind, and he answered, “No. My daughter is
not for such as you. You are no warrior. You are no hunter. You love
to play pranks. You cannot marry my daughter.”
So the Wind went away sorrowing, for he loved the Indian maiden.
The next day the maiden came to her father and said, “Father, I love
the Wind better than any young warrior of our tribe. May I go to his
lodge, and be his wife?”
The Chief looked at his daughter and said, “No. The Wind is no mate
for you. He is no warrior. He is no hunter. He loves only to play
pranks. You cannot marry him.”
The maiden went away sorrowing, for she loved the Wind.
The next day when the maiden went out to gather sweet marsh grass for
her basket weaving, she heard a sudden rushing sound above her head.
She looked up, and as she looked the Wind swept down and carried her
in his arms far away to his lodge.
There they lived happily together, for the maiden became his wife. But
the great Chief was full of wrath. He hunted through all the land for
the lodge of the Wind, but he could not find it for many moons. Still
he would not give up the search, for his heart was hot with wrath.
One day the Wind heard a great crashing sound among the trees near his
lodge, and his heart stood still.
“It is your father,” he cried, and he hid the Chief’s daughter in a
thicket, while he made himself invisible, that he might stay close
beside her.
The great Chief looked inside the lodge of the Wind, but he found it
empty. Then he went through the brush, striking to right and left with
his heavy club, and calling, “My daughter: my daughter!”
And when the Wind’s wife heard her father’s voice, she answered, “Oh,
my father, strike not! We are here.”
But before her words could reach him, the Chief swung his great club
once more, and it fell upon the head of the invisible Wind, who,
without a sound, dropped unconscious upon the ground. And because he
was invisible, neither the Chief nor his daughter knew what had
happened.
Then the Chief took his daughter in his arms and hastened back to his
tribe. But each day she grew more and more sorrowful, and longed for
her husband, the Wind.
For many hours the Wind lay unconscious beside his lodge. When he
awakened, the Chief and his daughter had gone. Sorrowfully he set out
in search of his wife. He traveled to her father’s tribe, and there at
last he found her. But she was in a canoe with her father, far out
upon the lake.
Then the Wind cried, “Come to me, my loved one,” and his voice swept
out over the water.
The Chief said, “The winds are blowing,” but his daughter knew her
husband’s voice. She could not see him, for he was still invisible,
but she lifted herself up in the canoe and stretched out her hands
toward the shore. As she did so a breeze stirred the water, and the
canoe overturned.
The Chief’s daughter threw up her arms, and the Wind tried to catch
her in his embrace, but he was too late. The Great Spirit bore her far
up into the sky, and there he gave her a home where she would live
forever in the lodge of the moon.
[Illustration: “THE WIND TRIED TO CATCH HER IN HIS EMBRACE”]
The great Chief was drowned in the waters of the lake.
Night after night his daughter looks down upon the earth, hoping for a
sight of her lost lover. But though the Wind still roams about the
earth in search of his bride, he has never, since the Chief’s blow
fell upon his head, had the power to become visible to men.
And now you will understand why the voice of the Wind is so mournful
as it wails about the wigwam; and why the Moon Maiden’s pale face is
always turned downward toward the earth.
STORY OF THE HUMMING BIRD
(Shoshonee)
“SEE!” said the Indian grandfather, as he sat in the opening of his
tepee. “See the little Fire Bird! How swiftly it darts! Now it drinks
honey from the flowers. How fast its wings move!”
A little Indian boy stood quietly at his grandfather’s side. “I see
the fire on its throat,” he said softly, and then, as the bird darted
away, he begged, “Tell me the story of the little Fire Bird,
grandfather. I like the story.”
Then the grandfather told this tale, which his grandfather had told to
him:
Long, long ago the Indian people lived in a country where it was cold,
and the snow fell for many, many days. The falling snow covered the
tracks of the forest children, so the hunters could find little meat.
Many times the Indian children cried to the Great Spirit for warmth,
and for better hunting.
Far to the west of the Indian village there was a high mountain; and
often the people watched the red sun as he sank from sight beyond the
mountain, and all the sky was filled with brightness.
One night a little child went running about the tepees calling, “Come,
come; see the sun! See the sun!”
The people looked toward the west. All the sky was bright; and they
said, “The sun is touching the mountain top.”
But the brightness did not fade away as they watched. Instead, while
darkness fell all about the village, the red fire burned brighter and
brighter at the top of the mountain. The people cried, “The sun is
resting. He does not move. He does not sink behind the mountain!” Then
they were frightened, for they knew not what to think.
All night they watched, and still the bright light shone above the
mountain top. It flashed, and threw fiery darts far into the heavens;
and the Indians said, “The sun is angry. Perhaps he will destroy the
earth’s children.”
Then their wonder grew as far away in the east a light began to glow.
It grew brighter and brighter,--and then the sun arose on the eastern
horizon! The people knew then that the light upon the mountain was not
the light of the sun.
“There is _fire_ in the mountain,” they cried, “and fire is warm. It
is beckoning to us with its hands. Let us move nearer to the fire
mountain. It will not be so cold there.”
So the people of the village marched westward toward the mountain. The
bright light had gone, but a cloud of smoke hung above it.
For several days they journeyed, and at last they reached the foot of
the mountain, and there they camped.
Then two of their bravest warriors climbed up the mountain, until they
came to its very top, and there they looked down into a great opening,
shaped like a mammoth bowl, and it was full of fire! Then they
hastened down and told the people.
The people rejoiced, and said, “The fire in the mountain will keep us
warm. It will be good to live here.” And they made them a new village
at the foot of the mountain.
For many moons the people dwelt there, hunting and fishing, making
their beads and moccasins. Then one day a strange noise was heard. It
was as though the mountain coughed--a great, hoarse, rumbling cough,
like that of some huge giant.
The people stood still and listened! There was another sound like the
first, but heavier, more convulsive.
Then a great flash of fire shot up from the mountain top, and fell
again. Then another, and another, and each time the fire leaped
higher.
“Let us run!” cried the people. “Let us run!” Even as they spoke there
was a great burst of fire and smoke, and huge stones were thrown high
in the air, and a stream came pouring down the side of the mountain--a
stream that looked like liquid fire.
Then the Indians ran, indeed, and there was no time to save anything
but their own lives!
Many streams followed the first one, coming like fiery serpents down
the mountain side, and above were heavy smoke clouds, shot with
bursting rocks.
Far away the Indian people ran, crying, “The Fire Spirit is angry!
What have we done that he should destroy our homes?”
At last they stopped, and turned to look back at the fire mountain.
The flames were gone: only a cloud of smoke hung about. But the fiery
streams had burned all that was in their way; and rocks and ashes had
buried what the fire streams had not destroyed.
Then the people prayed to the Great Spirit, and as the Great Spirit
looked down upon the mountain and saw what destruction had been
wrought, he said, “Your flames shall be put out; your fires shall be
quenched.” And even as the Great Spirit spoke, the fires grew ashen in
color, and the flames trembled and sank away.
But in the center of the great bowl of the mountain, where the fires
had been, one little flame hung quivering. The Great Spirit saw it,
and he said, “Little flame, you alone shall stay. But I will give to
you a new form. You shall have wings, and live among the earth’s
people, and drink the honey of its flowers. Little flame, you shall
carry the color of the fire upon your throat. You shall be known as
the Humming Bird, and every child will love you.”
THE GIFT OF INDIAN CORN
(Chippewa)
IN the far back days, before the white men lived upon this side of the
earth, a young Indian lad stood at the door of his father’s tepee and
gazed out over the far-waving prairie grass.
He was thinking of the morrow when he would begin his fast; for this
was the custom among the Indians. When a youth reached a given age he
went away by himself, and for seven days he ate no food, but spent the
time in prayer to the Great Spirit that his part in life might be made
clear to him, and that it might prove a worthy one.
Now Wunzh, who stood in the tepee door, was an unusually thoughtful
lad, for his father had so taught him; and he was filled with high and
with grave thoughts as he looked across the waving grass.
Beyond his sight, in a thicket, he knew that his father and younger
brother were clearing the ground and raising the little tepee wherein
he would spend the days of his fasting.
Wunzh knew full well what his prayer to the Great Spirit would be, but
how would it be answered? He thought of this long and often.
As he had run about the prairie or made his way through the forests
when a little lad, he had wondered how it was that the grass and the
trees sprang up out of the dark earth. He had wondered why some of the
flowers smelled sweet while others were offensive; why some of the
roots were good for healing, while others caused sickness or even
death, though all came from the same soil. But to none of these
questions could he find an answer.
Wunzh’s father was poor, and so were many other Indians; and some of
them were ill, or very old. But in order to live they must hunt or
fish, for game and fish were their only food. And so life was hard for
many of the Indians.
Since Wunzh was thoughtful and had considered all these things, he
knew full well what his prayer to the Great Spirit would be.
On the following day he left the tepee of his father and went to the
little clearing in the thicket, where he would fast for seven days.
And there he prayed that in some way which the Great Spirit would show
him, he might bring a great blessing to his people and make their
lives less hard. He knew full well that most of his comrades prayed
that they might become great warriors, or that they should be mighty
men of the chase. But Wunzh prayed not for these.
For four days he fasted and prayed, and each day he grew weaker from
lack of food, but his faith and his courage grew stronger.
On the fifth day, as he lay upon his bed of skins, there appeared
outside the door of his tepee a strong, bright youth, clad all in
shimmering greens and golden yellows, and wearing upon his head a
plume of waving green.
“Come,” cried the youth, “let us wrestle, and see who shall overcome.”
Then Wunzh sprang from his bed, for though his body was weak, his
spirit was strong, and he grappled with the youth and they wrestled
together.
At length the youth said, “That will do for to-day. You have wrestled
well, though neither of us has overcome. I will return to-morrow.”
[Illustration: “HE GRAPPLED WITH THE YOUTH AND THEY WRESTLED
TOGETHER”]
And no sooner had he finished speaking than he vanished from the
sight of Wunzh who dropped exhausted upon his bed.
The next day, at exactly the same hour, the youth came again, and so
suddenly that it seemed to Wunzh he must have dropped from the sky.
Wunzh had less strength in his body than on the previous day, but he
felt sure the stranger had been sent by the Great Spirit, and so he
grappled with him again and wrestled well.
But as Wunzh’s strength was nearly gone, the young man said once more,
“That will do for to-day. To-morrow I will return. ’Tis the last day
of your fast. Be ready.”
Again the stranger disappeared, and Wunzh, trembling with weakness of
body, prayed the Great Spirit that he might yet overcome. And as he
prayed he fell asleep.
Then, as Wunzh slept, he dreamed. And it seemed to him that he again
wrestled with the strange youth, and he overcame and threw him to the
ground. And a voice spoke to him and said: “Strip off the clothing of
the youth and wear it for your own. Bury his body, and protect the
spot where he is buried. Make the earth soft and mellow; keep it clear
of weeds; and water it day by day. Do all this, and your prayer to
the Great Spirit shall be answered.”
Wunzh slept long, but when he wakened he remembered his dream and the
words that had been spoken.
That morning his father came to the tepee to offer food, but Wunzh
said, “Let me alone until the evening.” So his father went away.
At the same hour, on this day, the stranger once more appeared outside
the door of the tepee, and once more Wunzh went forth to wrestle. He
was weaker than before, but his dream had given him such courage that
he grasped the strange youth and with a supreme effort threw him
prostrate upon the earth.
“I have overcome,” cried Wunzh, for the youth lay dead at his feet.
Then Wunzh stripped off his clothing as he had been told in his dream,
and he dressed himself in the garments of green and yellow, and he
placed the plume of green upon his head.
Then, kneeling, he tenderly buried the body of the youth, and his
tears fell as he did so, for he said, “He was my friend.”
When Wunzh returned to the tepee of his father he was received with
great rejoicing, and given food. His new clothing was looked upon in
wonder, but he did not tell its story.
Day by day he went to the little spot of ground where his own little
tepee had been, and he kept the earth soft and moist and free from
weeds.
And after many days had gone by, green plumes came up through the
earth; and they grew, and became sturdy stalks.
And still they grew, and after many days and weeks the broad green
leaves held ears of juicy grain.
Day by day the ears grew full and the grain ripened; the green plumes
at their ends turned to yellow, and then to brown, and the ground was
covered with the many stalks.
Then Wunzh said to his father, “Come with me. I have something to show
you.” And his father went with him, and he showed him the clearing
where his tepee had stood. And it was all a field of green and yellow,
like the clothing which Wunzh had worn, when he came from his fast.
Then he told his father of the stranger’s visit, and of his dream, and
of his overcoming the youth.
“And now, my father,” he added, “the Great Spirit has answered my
prayer. From this time on life will be less hard for the Indian, for
he shall have other food than game and fish. The Great Spirit has
caused this grain to grow, and it is good for man to eat. Taste it, my
father, and see.”
And this is the story the Red Men tell of the gift of the maize, or
Indian corn.
THE STARS THAT DANCE
(Iroquois)
MANY years ago in the Indian country a company of eleven young men
went out from the village of their fathers. They were going to prepare
themselves for the war dances, and for battle with their foes.
Away into the forest they went, but before they left the lodges of
their people, their leader said, “You, our parents, must prepare food,
that we may have strength for the trial that is before us.”
Then they went away, singing the war songs of their nation, while
their leader beat upon the water drum to give them courage and
endurance.
On they marched until they came to the part of the forest where they
were to begin their training, and there they stopped and prepared a
rude lodge for shelter.
Many days they stayed, practising the light step of the hunter which
falls as softly as a falling leaf, or dancing the war dance to the
beating of the drum.
But at length they grew weary and faint, for day after day had passed,
and no food had been sent them from the lodges of their fathers.
Then their leader sent one of their number back to the village, and he
told the people that the young men were faint and weary, and in need
of food. Yet the people sent them no food, and the young man went
back, weak, and empty-handed.
Once more the young men began their dancing, for their hearts were
full of courage, and Indian youths are strong to endure. Then, once
more, they sent to the people asking for food, but still no food was
given them.
Then a third time they sent, and yet in vain.
That night, as the youths slept, quite exhausted, in their lodge,
their leader was awakened by the sound of singing. Slow, and soft, and
alluring were the voices; and they seemed far above the earth.
The leader wakened his companions, and together they listened. Then,
one by one, the young men arose, and new strength seemed to come into
their limbs, and new courage into their hearts, and dancing, they
followed the sound of the singing. On and on they went, and then they
seemed to be lifted from off the earth, but still they danced as
higher and higher they arose. Now they were past the tree tops, now
they were above the mountain tops, and now high up among the clouds.
And still they danced the war dance of their nation, faster and
faster, as the music led them on.
The Night Wind saw them. “They follow the song of the Sky Witches,” he
cried in alarm, and he hastened to overtake them and turn them back.
But they paid no heed to the Night Wind, for the song of the Sky
Witches had charmed them, and they followed on dancing.
The people of their village caught sight of them as they passed far
over their heads, and they ran from their lodges and called to them.
“Come back! Come back!” they cried. “Look down upon us, and the spell
will be broken. Heed not the song of the Sky Witches!”
But still the young men followed on,--all but one, their leader, who,
hearing the voice of his mother, turned his head and looked back. The
spell of the Sky Witches was broken, and down, down he sped to the
earth.
The other ten followed on, and the Mother Moon, quite dizzy with the
sight of their dancing, turned aside from her steady course and begged
them to heed her voice.
“The Sky Witches are seeking victims for their feasts,” she warned
them. “Turn away; turn away! They will destroy you!”
Yet in spite of her warning the witchery of the music led the youths
on. And then the Mother Moon cried, “I will save you from their wicked
spell in spite of yourselves!” With that she waved her girdle of
vapors, and the ten youths were changed into fixed stars, and set
forever in the heavens.
Seven of the youths were large and strong, and three were small and
less sturdy; and so they were as stars. When the people of their
village looked once more up into the sky, they saw seven bright stars
dancing and twinkling above them. But those whose eyes were very
strong, when the night was clear, could see ten.
And to this day these stars still dance and twinkle in the
heavens--and this is the Indian legend of their origin.
We call these stars the Pleiades, but the Indians call them “The Stars
That Dance.”
THE PUKWUDJEE AND THE MORNING STAR
(Ojibwa)
ONCE upon a time, in the Indian country, two children were left alone
in a village. All the other people had gone to a far-away country.
The sister, who was the older, thought, “I must take good care of my
baby brother,” though she was not much more than a baby herself. And
this she did. She cooked food for him, and she made him little
moccasins, and crooned a song for him when it was time for him to
sleep.
She grew up rapidly, but the baby brother seemed scarcely to grow at
all. He became strong and sturdy, however, though he was so small a
mite.
The sister watched over him carefully, and as soon as he could run
about she made him a tiny bow and arrows, and taught him how to
shoot. At the same time she hung a shell about his neck, for a charm,
and she named him He-of-the-Little-Shell.
For all his small size, he soon learned to use the bow and arrow, and
his aim was very true. He brought home birds and squirrels for food,
and after a time he was able to bring down bigger game, so that they
fared very well.
But He-of-the-Little-Shell did not grow. When he stood beside his
sister he looked no bigger than a squirrel.
While the boy was out hunting, his sister busied herself about their
lodge, but she looked often toward the east, for she loved the clouds
and the sky and the morning sun. She was always outside the lodge in
the early morning, that she might watch the sunrise, for she thought
the eastern sky more beautiful than any other part of the heavens.
So the two lived on very happily, for the little brother was a merry
fellow, full of tricks and mischief.
One morning, as he was hunting, he saw a man fishing for beaver through
a hole in the ice. He watched him, and when the man had caught several
he loaded them upon a sled which he drew away. He-of-the-Little-Shell
followed. He ran up close to the load and, with a slash of his shell,
cut off the tail of one of the beavers, and ran away home with it.
For several days he played the same trick, and the man was very much
puzzled to know how it was that one of his beavers always lost its
tail before he reached home. At length He-of-the-Little-Shell followed
the man home, and when the beavers were unloaded he stepped out and
spoke to the man.
The hunter was astonished to see so tiny a fellow. “Is it you who has
cut my beavers’ tails?” he asked.
“Yes,” answered He-of-the-Little-Shell.
“I have a mind to kill you!” exclaimed the hunter, angrily.
“Oh, but you could not do it,” said the boy quickly, and before the
man could think, he had disappeared.
One day when he came home from the hunt he said to his sister, “The
time has come when I must go away from our lodge. I must go to the
mountains and live among the rocks and caves. That is my true home,
for I am a Pukwudjee,--a little man of the mountains. But,” he
added, “I shall not leave you here alone. You shall go to the home you
would love best of all. Tell we where it shall be.”
[Illustration: “‘I AM A PUKWUDJEE--A LITTLE MAN OF THE MOUNTAINS,’ HE
SAID”]
Then the sister answered, “I love the eastern sky best of all. I
should love to live there.”
“It shall be so,” replied her brother. “I will go up the mountain,
where the little people dwell. You shall be carried to the eastern
sky; the four winds of heaven shall lift you. I will look up often and
see you there.”
“And I,” said his sister, “will look down upon you and watch over you
every morning. When you see the rosy clouds you will say, ‘My sister
is painting her face’.”
They bade each other good-bye, and He-of-the-Little-Shell ran up the
mountain side, for he was a Pukwudjee, a “little man of the
mountains,” as the Indians call them.
The four winds of heaven carried the sister to the eastern sky, where
she became the Morning Star, and there she watches over her brother
and all his people.
THE WHITE HAWK
(Shawnee)
WAUPEE was an Indian youth, and a mighty hunter. The meaning of his
name was White Hawk. He was tall, and strong as the great oaks of the
forest. He was fleet of foot, and keen of sight. When he drew his bow,
his arrow went swiftly to the mark.
The Chief of the tribe said, “White Hawk will provide well for the
maiden he chooses as his wife. He has the flesh of every animal for
food. He has the skin of every animal for his lodge and for his
clothing.”