thinking of his own affairs. He did not know it, but a bear was coming
along the same trail towards him. Neither the bear nor the skunk knew
that the other was on the trail until suddenly they met. They both
stopped. Then the skunk said to the bear, "You are on my road. Turn
out and let me pass!" The bear replied, "Not so. It is you who are on
my road. Get out of my way!" But the skunk said, "You, yourself must
turn aside." The bear then said, "Unless you do as I tell you I shall
eat you at once. I tell you that you are on my road and must stand
aside. I wonder how skunk meat would taste if I should eat some."
The skunk said, "I wonder how bear flesh would taste if I should eat
some." Then suddenly the skunk threw up his brush and sprinkled the
bear full in the face with his dreadful scent. The bear tumbled out of
the path, howling in misery, and clawing at his nose and eyes. He
could not see, and was almost suffocated.
As for the skunk, he passed on his way as if nothing had happened.
THE SONG OF THE OLD WOLF
There is a story told among the people of the Dakota nation that once
on a time an old man went out, to be alone upon a high hill above the
Missouri River to give himself to meditation and prayer. He chose this
situation because of the grandeur and majesty of the view, of the
great sweep of the prairie plains and hills, one hill beyond another
away and away to the far horizon. Below flowed the wonderful and
mysterious river, whose waters came down from the mighty mountains at
the west and rolled on and on past the villages of many different
nations, finally reaching the great salt water.
As the old man thus sat meditating and considering all the
manifestations of life and power and mystery of earth and sky, he
espied out upon the prairie a group of wolves trotting toward the
river. When they reached the river they plunged in and swam across to
the other side; all but one old one who was now too enfeebled by age
to dare try his strength against the swift and powerful current of the
river.
This old wolf sat down upon the bank of the river and watched his
companions as they swam across and trotted away out of sight on the
other side. When they had disappeared from sight he raised his muzzle
towards the sky and mournfully sang in a man's voice the following
song:
All o'er the earth I've roamed,
I've journeyed far and wide;
My spirit haste and go,
I'm nothing, nothing now,
I'm nothing, nothing now.
Missouri River, flow,
Thou sacred water flow;
My spirit haste and go,
I'm nothing, nothing now,
I'm nothing, nothing now.
After the old wolf had sung this song he wearily made his way to the
top of a hill and lay down in the warm sunshine, in the shelter of a
rock and there waited until his spirit went away.
And so now, when old men of the Dakota nation feel the infirmities of
age creeping upon them, and as though they had been left behind in
life's march, when they feel the depression of loneliness, will often
go out alone to the summit of some high hill overlooking the Missouri
River, and sitting there in solitude will muse upon their activities
and noteworthy deeds in the past, of their companions of former days
now long gone from them, and contrast all this with their present
inactivity and loneliness. Then they will sadly and quaveringly sing
this "Song of the Old Wolf."
* * * * *
Note.--The English translation and rendering into verse is the work of
Dr. A. McG. Beede, of Fort Yates, North Dakota. The original song in
the Dakota language is as follows:
Maka takomni
Tehan omawani;
Minagi yayayo,
Wana matakuni,
Mni-shoshe yayo
Mni wakan yayo;
Minagi yayayo,
Wana matakuni,
Wana matakuni,
O he-he-he!
Stories of the People of the Air
FOLK SAYINGS ABOUT THE MEADOWLARK
The cheerful animation and lively manner of the meadowlark have made
it a favourite with all people who are acquainted with it, both whites
and Indians. And both whites and Indians attach words of their several
languages to the notes of the bird. Among sayings in the English
language attributed to the notes of the meadowlark are some
expressions of banter and raillery. Farmers say that early in
springtime the meadowlark perches jauntily upon the top of a
fence-post and calls mockingly to them "You sowed your wheat too soon!
You sowed your wheat too soon!" Another taunting expression fitted to
the meadowlark's notes is addressed to girls and young women; it is
"You think you're pretty, don't you?"
These locutions in English are in accord with the tone of many sayings
ascribed to the notes of the meadowlark by the Hidatsa tribe of North
Dakota, and with their name of the bird, =wia-akumakihishe=, which
means "scolding or shrewish woman," for they say that the meadowlark
says such taunting, tormenting and aggravating things. One of these
taunting expressions is "=Kitho karishtiditore=," which is a most
exasperating saying. =Kitho= means "that insignificant one," and
=karishtiditore= means "good-for-nothing fellow."
The Omahas also put words of their language to the notes of the
meadowlark. One of these is =Snite thingthi tegaze=, which means
"winter will not come back." A little mixed-blood girl in the Omaha
tribe was named Marguerite. Now the Omaha language does not contain
the sound of the letter "r," so in trying to pronounce the foreign
name of Marguerite they make it =Magathiche=. One day a friend of this
little girl's father was at their house, and he was playfully teasing
her because he was very fond of her. He said, of course speaking in
the Omaha language, "Listen! do you hear that bird telling about you?
He says: '=Magathiche hthitugthe!='" The word =hthitugthe= in the
Omaha language means "of a bad disposition," so her old friend was
teasing her by putting words to the bird notes which meant "Marguerite
is of a bad disposition," or "Marguerite is naughty!"
One of the sayings which the Pawnees fit to the notes of the
meadowlark in their language is "=Kichikakikuridu!=" which means "I am
not afraid!"
The meadowlark is a great favourite with the people of the Dakota
nation. An old man of that nation was asked if his people ever used
the meadowlark for food. He said they did not. When it was said that
white men sometimes eat them, he said he knew that. Then, when asked
why Dakotas would not eat the meadowlark, he said, "We think too much
of them. They are our friends." They call the meadowlark "the bird of
promise," and "the bird of many gifts," for they say it promises good
things to its friends, the Dakotas. They apply words of the Dakota
language to the songs of the bird. They say it calls to the people
with promises and with words of encouragement and good cheer, and that
it gives counsel and advice on all manner of subjects. One of the
things which it used to sing out to the people was "=Koda, pte
kizhozho=," i. e., "Friends, I whistle for the buffalo," that is to
say, it would whistle to call the buffalo in order that its friends,
the Dakotas, might supply their needs of meat and clothing.
A touch of Dakota humour is shown in one saying attributed to the
meadowlark's notes in these later times since the government has
established schools on the reservations to teach the Dakota children
in the ways of the white men. They say that ofter now the meadowlark
is to be seen flitting about the school grounds and singing, "One,
two, three, epedo! One, two, three, epedo!" The Dakota word =epedo=
means "You shall say."
The white people speak of the United States government as "Uncle Sam,"
but the people of the Dakota nation call the government
"=Tunkashila=," which means "Grandfather," a title of the highest
respect. In the summer of 1918, while the United States was at war
with Germany, many of the Dakotas said they heard "the bird of
promise" singing "=Tunkashila ohiyelo!=" The Dakota word "ohiyelo"
means "will be victorious" or "will have the victory;" so the
meadowlark, "the bird of promise," was singing to them "The United
States will have the victory!"
HOW THE MEADOWLARK WON THE RACE
A young man named Piya had a beautiful and lovely young wife and she
was carried away by an evil monster who kept her hidden in his
dwelling. The young man's grandmother was a very wise old woman. She
had great knowledge of the birds and beasts and of the trees and other
plants, and she had mysterious powers and could do many wonderful
things. Also she had taught her grandson many things, so that he too
had uncommon knowledge and powers.
Now when the monster stole his wife away he came to his grandmother to
ask her to help him recover his wife. Before he came to her his
grandmother knew he was in trouble, so when he came he found her
waiting for him. She said "I will prepare you for this quest; but
first bring to me a wolf, a turtle and a meadowlark." Then she brought
him food; and after he had eaten and rested he set out to find the
wolf, the turtle and the meadowlark. As he journeyed he found all of
them, one after another, and invited them to eat with him. Then he
told of his grandmother's wish to have them to aid him in his quest.
They each consented to help him provided the old woman would give him
the thing most desired. The wolf said he wished to have a better fur
coat so that the cold breath of old Waziya, the Old Man Winter, would
not chill him. The turtle said, "Insects bite me, but I will help you
if I shall be given protection from insects which suck my blood." The
meadowlark said "My voice is harsh and I can sing but one note and the
magpie laughs at me. I will help you if I may be given a pleasing
voice so that I can make the magpie ashamed." So the young man Piya,
the wizard, together with his three friends, the wolf, the turtle and
the meadowlark came back to the tipi of his grandmother.
She was waiting and expecting him, and said, "Grandson I knew you
would come and bring with you those whom I want." She invited them
into her tipi and prepared food and set it before them. The next
morning Piya told his grandmother that these friends he had brought
had promised to help him if they should each be given what he most
desired. Then she told them if they would help her grandson she would
give each one what he most wished. So they were all agreed. She told
the wolf she wished him to give her grandson the cunning by which he
could follow a hidden trail and find hidden things; she asked the
turtle to give him the sense by which he could locate water, so that
he should be able to avoid perishing of thirst in a desert land; and
the lark was to give him power to hide himself without covering in the
open prairie. In return for these gifts the wolf was to have for
himself and all his people warm fur clothing so that they could laugh
at Waziya when he would blow his cold breath upon them. The turtle was
promised that he should have the hard tough covering which he asked,
so that insects could not bite him. The meadowlark was given a
pleasing voice so that his songs would make the magpie ashamed.
After the agreement was made the Old Woman told them that the quest on
which they had to go would take them into a country where there would
be no trees, nor much grass nor open trail, and but little water in
the hidden springs.
So the wizard, Piya, and his companions, the wolf, the turtle and the
meadowlark set out upon the quest after the Old Woman had instructed
them. The wolf taught him how to find hidden trails; the meadowlark
taught him how to be hidden without covering, and the turtle taught
him how to find hidden watersprings.
So the help of these friends, together with the powers he already
possessed, enabled Piya finally to discover where his wife was hidden
by the monster, and to rescue her.
So they all came back to the tipi of the Old Woman. They all rejoiced;
the young woman because she had been rescued from the power of the
monster; the young man Piya because he had found his wife; and the
wolf, the turtle and the meadowlark because they were to have the
gifts which they had most desired. The Old Woman prepared a feast and
they feasted until far into the night.
Next morning the Old Woman gave to the wolf, the turtle and the
meadowlark each the gift for which he had asked as a reward for
helping the young man, and they set out together on the trail to
return to their homes. As they journeyed they talked about the gifts
which they had received. As they talked they fell into argument, each
claiming that his gift was the best, and soon they were quarreling
and were about to fight. But just then a young man came along the
trail and he asked them why they were quarreling. They told him. He
said that quarreling was foolish and would decide nothing, but that
the only way to determine whose gift was the best was to find out
which would help most in a trial of skill. The wolf proposed a trial
in hunting, but the meadowlark and the turtle said they could not
hunt. The turtle proposed a swimming contest, but the wolf and the
meadowlark said they could not swim. Then the meadowlark in his turn
proposed a contest in singing, for he was very proud of his gift, but
the wolf and the turtle protested that they could not sing.
The young man suggested that they run a race. To this they all agreed.
The young man told them they must run past a plum thicket, across a
marsh and up to the top of a certain hill. There they would find white
clay and colored clay. The winner of the race would be the one that
first brought back to him some of the white clay. They set out upon
the race. The wolf and turtle were running side by side; but the
meadowlark fell far behind.
When he came near the plum thicket he saw a bundle laid up in the
forks of a plum bush. He paused and sniffed toward it and the scent of
it was strange to him, and he became curious about it, and wanted to
find out what was in the bundle. He asked the turtle to wait. The
turtle said he would wait for him at the marsh. The wolf walked all
round the bush and looked carefully at the bundle. Then he rose up
against the bush and sniffed at the bundle, but still he could not
make out what was in it. He could not quite reach the bundle, so he
leaped to try to pull it down. But as he did so the thorns pricked
him. He jumped again and missed the bundle, but was pricked again by
the thorns. Now he became angry and determined he would get the
bundle. After jumping many times and being always pricked by the
thorns so that he had many wounds on his sides and back he finally
pulled down the bundle. He was so angry that in his vexation he
energetically shook it about so that it was shaken open and its
contents smeared his wounds. This made his wounds itch so severely
that he had to scratch himself, but this made him itch the more. He
was in such torment that he scratched madly and tore his fur coat and
was bleeding, so he forgot the race.
The turtle ran on to the marsh and waited there as he had promised.
After he had waited a long time he concluded the wolf had deceived him
and had gone on to the hill. Then he saw a small white puffball. It
looked like a lump of white clay, so the thought came to him that he
could deceive the young man with it and get even with the wolf for the
trick he supposed the wolf had played upon him. So he took the
puffball back and showed it to the young man. Neither the meadowlark
nor the wolf had returned yet, so the young man told the turtle he was
the first to return bringing something to show that he had been to the
top of the hill.
Now when the meadowlark ran by the plum thicket he saw the wolf
jumping about one of the bushes trying to reach something which was
there, so the meadowlark was encouraged to think he might still have
some chance in the race. He ran on to the marsh, and there he saw the
turtle waiting, so he was still more encouraged. He then ran on all
the way to the top of the hill. He was so anxious and flustered when
he reached there that instead of the white clay which the young man
had specified as the token of having been to the goal, he made a
mistake and picked up a lump of the yellow clay and turned to carry it
back to the young man. As he was crossing back over the marsh again he
stumbled and dropped the lump of clay into the black mud. He picked it
up and hurried on, not stopping to clean off the black mud. When he
came near to the young man he saw the turtle sitting there and smiling
and looking very satisfied. The meadowlark then thought he had lost
the race. He was so disappointed and discouraged that he wept. His
tears washed the black mud off from the lump of clay and made a black
stripe, while the yellow clay itself was washed down over the whole
front of his clothes.
At last the wolf came back scratching and howling in his misery. Great
patches of fur were torn from his clothes and his skin was raw and
sore. The turtle taunted the wolf for his crying. He swaggered about
and boasted that nothing could make him whimper and cry. The young man
said that the turtle was the first to return, but that he must make
good his boast that nothing could make him whimper if he should lose.
The turtle declared that he would prove all he said in any way the
young man should require. The young man then placed the puffball upon
the turtle's back. The puffball very quickly increased in size and
weight so that it was all the turtle could bear. It continued to
increase in size until the turtle was borne down by it to the ground
and his legs were bent. Still the puffball continued to grow until the
turtle's body was pressed flat by it, and his breath was pressed out
of his body and he lay as if he were dead. Then the puffball became as
light as a feather and turned black. The turtle recovered his breath a
little, but he was unable to straighten his legs or to regain the form
of his body, so he was ashamed and drew in his head under his thick
skin.
Then the young man laughed loud and long at the plight of the wolf,
the turtle and the meadowlark, and told them now who he really was. He
told them that he was Iktomi, the Trickster. He told them that because
they had foolishly quarreled about the good gifts which the Old Woman
had given to them, instead of making good use of them, they had given
him the opportunity to play this trick upon them, the marks of which
would be upon them, and upon their people forever. He said that
because the wolf had meddled with something which was none of his
affair he had brought upon himself the torments of the mange, and so
it would always be with his people whenever they should do as he had
done. He said that because the turtle had attempted to win by
cheating, his legs and the legs of all his people should always be
short and bent and their bodies should be flattened, so they could
never run in a race. And because he had lied in saying the puffball
was white clay, therefore he and his people should never again be able
to speak, and they should always hide their heads for shame. As for
the meadowlark, the young man said he had won the race, but because he
had brought back the yellow clay instead of the white, therefore his
clothes and the clothes of his people should always be yellow in front
and there should be a black stripe over the yellow.
INDIAN FOLKLORE OF THE HORNED LARK
The name of this little bird in the Dakota language is
=ishtaniche-tanka= (big eye-tufts) from the tuft of feathers which it
has over each eye. It is for the same reason that we call it "horned"
lark.
The Dakotas say that this little bird foretells the weather. They say
that when a hot dry time is coming in the summer the bird sounds a
single sharp little note; but when rain is coming the bird is glad and
continuously sings loudly and joyously, "=magazhu, magazhu, magazhu!="
In the Dakota language the word for rain is =magazhu=. Thus the bird
is singing its joy for the rain which is coming.
The name of this bird is =hupa-hishe= in the Hidatsa language. In that
language the word for moccasin is =hupa=, and the word =hishe= means
wrinkled. This bird is called "wrinkled moccasin" because of its
appearance in its characteristic habit of crouching upon the ground,
where, by its grayish-brown color and its black markings it is made
inconspicuous and hardly distinguishable, suggesting the appearance of
a ragged, useless old moccasin.
The Hidatsas have a story of this bird that it was once acting as a
spy in enemy country. So while it sat in its characteristic attitude
of inconspicuousness, two of the enemy were coming along, when one
thought he saw something. He stopped and said to his companion, "Wait,
what is that over there?" His companion glanced over and saw what
appeared to him like nothing but a ragged, rotten old fragment of a
worn out moccasin, and answered, "O, that is just an old wrinkled
moccasin." So the bird escaped his enemies, and it is from that that
the people call him "hupa-hishe."
HOW IT CAME ABOUT THAT GEESE MIGRATE
The Teton-Dakota have a story which says that "Long, long time ago"
(lila ehanna) the goose nation did not migrate to the south in the
autumn, but remained here throughout the winter time. Because of the
rigor of the winter most of the people of the goose nation perished so
that they were always a small and weak nation. At last one goose had a
dream of the south-land, that it was pleasant even in winter, that the
winter there was mild and that there was plenty of food there. So she
began teaching the other geese that they should practice flying more
and thus make their wings strong so they could fly to the south-land
before winter time. Some people of the goose nation believed the
vision and began to practice flying to make their wings strong for the
autumn journey. This caused discussion and dissension in the nation,
and a law was made which banished the goose which had the vision. So
they drove her out from among them. She practiced flying all summer
and made her wings strong so that in the autumn she was able to fly to
the pleasant south-land of which she had dreamed. The Mysterious Power
which had given her the vision guided her on the long journey and she
lived pleasantly through the winter time. After the first thunder in
the springtime she flew back north to her nation. As always before,
many of them had died during the cold winter-time from the fury of the
storms and the scarcity of food. But she told them how pleasantly she
had passed the time in the south-land, and they saw in what good
health she was, so many more of them now believed her vision and her
teaching. It was in this way that the geese learned to fly away to the
south-land in the autumn to escape the storms and cold of winter in
this land.
THE CAPTIVE BIRD: A TRUE STORY OF CHILDHOOD IN THE OMAHA TRIBE OF
NEBRASKA
Indians in general have a close sympathy with nature and with all
living creatures and aspects of nature. And the term living creatures
includes plants as well as animals, all are living children of Mother
Earth and have their rights to life according to Indian thought. They
do not think of humankind as being above and separate from all other
creatures, but as fellow creatures in a world of life.
The following incident, which took place about fifty years ago on the
prairies of Nebraska among a group of children of the Omaha tribe,
will serve to show the attitude quite commonly held by Indians toward
other forms of life. It might be well, also to mention in this
connection that Indian children were taught by their parents to be not
wasteful and destructive of wild flowers, that they should not
wantonly pluck them, for, they were told, if they did so they would
thus destroy the flower babies and the flower nations would then be
exterminated. Indians feel a fearful dread of the consequences of
interfering with the nice balance and adjustment of nature.
It was a bright, warm summer afternoon in northern Nebraska. The wild
grass, waving in the summer breeze, was like a shimmering emerald sea,
flecked with varied colour of the many different tribes of wild
flowers. Overhead was a brilliantly blue sky with here and there
slow-sailing white clouds whose soft shadows came and passed, silent
and entrancing, over the greenth of the prairie. And in all this scene
the living creatures were moving, intent upon affairs of their own;
the crickets and grasshoppers, and the small mammals among the grass,
the butterfly flitting from flower to flower, the antelope grazing in
groups, and now and then a hawk might be seen circling high overhead.