[1] _Kay-óshk_ is the Ojibway name for the sea-gull.
[2] _Gitchee_--great,--_Gumee_--sea or lake,--Lake Superior; also often
called _Ochipwè Gitchee Gúmee_, Great lake (or sea) of the Ojibways.
[3] _Né-mè-Shómis_--my grandfather. "In the days of my grandfather" is
the Ojibway's preface to all his traditions and legends.
[4] _Waub_--white--_O-jeeg_--fisher, (a furred animal). White Fisher was
the name of a noted Ojibway chief who lived on the south shore of Lake
Superior many years ago. Schoolcraft married one of his descendants.
[5] _Ma-kwa_ or _mush-kwa_--the bear.
[6] The _Te-ke-nâh-gun_ is a board upon one side of which a sort of basket
is fastened or woven with thongs of skin or strips of cloth. In this the
babe is placed and the mother carries it on her back. In the wigwam the
_tekenagun_ is often suspended by a cord to the lodge-poles and the
mother swings her babe in it.
[7] _Wabóse_ (or _Wabos_)-the rabbit. _Penáy_, the pheasant. At certain
seasons the pheasant drums with his wings.
[8] _Kaug_, the porcupine. _Kenéw_, the war-eagle.
[9] _Ka-be-bon-ik-ka_ is the god of storms, thunder, lightning, etc. His
home is on Thunder-Cap at Thunder-Bay, Lake Superior. By his magic the
giant that lies on the mountain was turned to stone. He always sends
warnings before he finally sends the severe cold of winter, in order to
give all creatures time to prepare for it.
[10] _Kewáydin_ or _Kewáytin_, is the North wind or North-west wind.
[11] _Algónkin_ is the general name applied to all tribes that speak the
Ojibway language or dialects of it.
[12] This is the favorite "love-broth" of the Ojibway squaws. The warrior
who drinks it immediately falls desperately in love with the woman who
gives it to him. Various tricks are devised to conceal the nature of the
"medicine" and to induce the warrior to drink it; but when it is mixed
with a liberal quantity of "fire-water" it is considered irresistible.
[13] Translation:
Woe-is-me! Woe-is-me!
Great Spirit, behold me!
Look, Father; have pity upon me!
Woe-is-me! Woe-is-me!
[14] Snow-storms from the North-west.
[15] The Ojibways, like the Dakotas, call the _Via Lactea_ (Milky Way) the
Pathway of the Spirits.
[16] _Shinge-bis_, the diver, is the only water-fowl that remains about
Lake Superior all winter.
[17] _Waub-èsé_--the white swan.
[18] _Pé-boân_, Winter, is represented as an old man with long white hair
and beard.
[19] _Según_ is Spring (or Summer). This beautiful allegory has been "done
into verse" by Longfellow in _Hiawatha_. Longfellow evidently took his
version from Schoolcraft. I took mine originally from the lips of
_Pah-go-nay-gie-shiek_--"Hole-in-the-day"--(the elder) in his day
head-chief of the Ojibways. I afterward submitted it to _Gitche
Shabásh-Konk_, head-chief of the _Misse-sah-ga-é-gun_--(Mille Lacs band
of Ojibways), who pronounced it correct.
"Hole-in-the-day," although sanctioned by years of unchallenged use, is
a bad translation of _Pah-go-nay-gie-shiek_, which means a _clear spot
in the sky_.
[Illustration: HOLE-IN-THE-DAY. _From an original photograph in the
author's possession._]
He was a very intelligent man; had been in Washington several times on
business connected with his people, and was always shrewd enough to
look out for himself in all his treaties and transactions with the
Government. He stood six feet two inches in his moccasins, was
well-proportioned, and had a remarkably fine face. He had a
nickname--_Que-we-zánc_--(Little Boy) by which he was familiarly called
by his people.
The Pillagers--_Nah-kánd-tway-we-nin-ni-wak_--who live about Leech Lake
(_Kah-sah-gah-squah-g-me-cock_) were opposed to _Pa-go-nay-gie-shiek_,
but he compelled them through fear to recognize him as Head-Chief. At
the time of the "Sioux outbreak" in 1862 "Hole-in-the-day" for a time
apparently meditated an alliance with the _Po-áh-nuck_ (Dakotas) and war
upon the whites. The Pillagers and some other bands urged him strongly
to this course, and his supremacy as head-chief was threatened unless he
complied. Messengers from the Dakotas were undoubtedly received by him,
and he, for a time at least, led the Dakotas to believe that their
hereditary enemies, the Ojibways, would bury the hatchet and join them
in a war of extermination against the whites. "Hole-in-the-day," with a
band of his warriors, appeared opposite Fort Ripley (situated on the
west bank of the Mississippi River between Little Falls and Crow Wing),
and assumed a threatening attitude toward the fort, then garrisoned by
volunteer troops. The soldiers were drawn up on the right bank and
"Hole-in-the-day" and his warriors on the left. A little speech-making
settled the matter for the time being and very soon thereafter a new
treaty was made with "Hole-in-the-day" and his head men, by which their
friendship and allegiance were secured to the whites. It was claimed by
the Pillagers that "Hole-in-the-day" seized the occasion to profit
personally in his negotiations with the agents of the Government.
In 1867 "Hole-in-the-day" took "another wife." He married Helen McCarty,
a white woman, in Washington, D.C., and took her to his home at Gull
Lake (_Ka-ga-ya-skúnc-cock_) literally, _plenty of little gulls_.
She bore him a son who is known as Joseph H. Woodbury, and now (1891)
resides in the city of Minneapolis. His marriage with a white woman
increased the hatred of the Pillagers, and they shot him from ambush and
killed him near _Ninge-tá-we-de-guá-yonk_--Crow Wing--on the 27th day of
June, 1868.
At the time of his death, "Hole-in-the-day" was only thirty-seven years
old but had been recognized as Head-Chief for a long time. He could
speak some English, and was far above the average of white men in
native shrewdness and intelligence. He was thoroughly posted in the
traditions and legends of his people.
The Ojibways have for many years been cursed by contact with the worst
elements of the whites, and seem to have adopted the vices rather than
the virtues of civilization. I once spoke of this to "Hole-in-the-day."
His reply was terse and truthful--"_Mádgè tche-mó-ko-mon, mádgè
a-nische-nábé: menógé tche-mó-ko-mon, menó a-nischè-nábè_.--Bad white
men, bad Indians: good white men, good Indians."
[20] _Nah_--look, see. _Nashké_--behold.
[21] _Kee-zis_--the sun,--the father of life. _Waubúnong_--or
_Waub-ó-nong_--is the White Land or Land of Light,--the Sun-rise, the
East.
[22] The Bridge of Stars spans the vast sea of the skies, and the sun and
moon walk over on it.
[23] The _Miscodeed_ is a small white flower with a pink border. It is the
earliest blooming wild flower on the shores of Lake Superior, and
belongs to the crocus family.
[24] The _Ne-be-naw-baigs_, are Water-spirits; they dwell in caverns in
the depths of the lake, and in some respects resemble the _Unktéhee_ of
the Dakotas.
[25] _Ogema_, Chief,--_Oge-má-kwá_--female Chief. Among the Algonkin
tribes women are sometimes made chiefs. _Net-nó-kwa_, who adopted Tanner
as her son, was _Oge-mâ-kwá_ of a band of Ottawas. See _John Tanner's
Narrative_, p. 36.
[26] The "Bridge of Souls" leads from the earth over dark and stormy
waters to the spirit-land. The "Dark River" seems to have been a part of
the superstitions of all nations.
[27] The _Jossakeeds_ of the Ojibways are soothsayers who are able, by the
aid of spirits, to read the past as well as the future.