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MIK UM WESS, 
 
 THE INDIAN PUCK, OR ROBIN GOOD-FELLOW. 
 
 From a scraping on birch bark by Tomah Josephs, Indian Governor at Petef 
 
 Dana's Point, Maine. The Mik urn wess always wears a 
 
 red cap like the Norse Goblin. 
 
THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS 
 
 OF NEW ENGLAND 
 
 OR 
 
 Myths and Folk Lore of the Micmac, Passa- 
 maquoddy, and Penobscot Tribes 
 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES G. LELAND 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEAPXE & RIVINGTON, 
 
 Crown Buildings, 188 Fleet Street, 
 
 1884. 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
; 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 When I began, in the summer of 1882, to collect 
 among the Passamaquoddy Indians at Campobello, New 
 Brunswick, their traditions and folk-lore, I expected 
 to find very little indeed. These Indians, few in 
 number, surrounded by white people, and thoroughly 
 converted to Roman Catholicism, promised but scanty 
 remains of heathenism. What was my amazement, 
 however, at discovering, day by day, that there existed 
 among them, entirely by oral tradition, a far grander 
 mythology than that which has been made known 
 to us by either the Chippewa or Iroquois Hiawatha 
 Legends, and that this was illustrated by an incredible 
 number of tales. I soon ascertained that these were 
 very ancient. The old people declared that they had 
 heard from their progenitors that all of these stories 
 were once sung; that they themselves remembered 
 when many of them were poems. This was fully 
 proved by discovering manifest traces of poetry in 
 many, and finally by receiving a long Micmac tale 
 which had been sung by an Indian. I found that all 
 the relaters of this lore were positive as to the an- 
 tiquity of the narratives, and distinguished accurately 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 between what was or was not pre-Columbian. In fact, 
 I came in time to the opinion that the original stock 
 of all the Algonquin myths, and perhaps of many- 
 more, still existed, not far away in the West, but at 
 our very doors ; that is to say, in Maine and New 
 Brunswick. It is at least certain, as the reader may 
 convince himself, that these Wabanaki, or North- 
 eastern Algonquin, legends give, with few exceptions, 
 in full and coherently, many tales which have only 
 reached us in a broken, imperfect form, from other 
 sources. 
 
 This work, then, contains a collection of the myths, 
 legends, and folk-lore of the principal Wabanaki, or 
 Northeastern Algonquin, Indians ; that is to say, of 
 the Passamaquoddies and Penobscots of Maine, and 
 of the Micmacs of New Brunswick. All of this mate- 
 rial was gathered directly from Indian narrators, the 
 greater part by myself, the rest by a few friends ; in 
 fact, I can give the name of the aboriginal authority 
 for every tale except one. As my chief object has 
 been simply to collect and preserve valuable material, 
 I have said little of the labors of such critical writers 
 as Brinton, Hale, Trumbull, Powers, Morgan, Ban- 
 croft, and the many more who have so ably studied 
 and set forth red Indian ethnology. If I have rarely 
 ventured on their field, it is because I believe that 
 when the Indian shall have passed away there will 
 come far better ethnologists than I am, who will be 
 much more obliged to me for collecting raw material 
 than for cooking it. 
 
PREFACE. v 
 
 Two or three subjects have, it is true, tempted me 
 into occasional commenting. The manifest, I may say 
 the undeniable, affinity between the myths and legends 
 of the Northeastern Indians and those of the Eskimo 
 could hardly be passed over, nor at the same time 
 the identity of the latter and of the Shaman religion 
 with those of the Finns, Laplanders, and Samoyedes. 
 I believe that I have contributed material not devoid 
 of value to those who are interested in the study of 
 the relations of the aborigines of America with the 
 Mongoloid races of the Old World. This is a subject 
 which has been very little studied through the rela- 
 tions of these Wabanaki with the Eskimo. 
 
 A far more hazardous venture has been the indicat- 
 ing points of similarity between the myths or tales of 
 the Algonquins and those of the Norsemen, as set 
 forth in the Eddas, the Sagas, and popular tales of 
 Scandinavia. When we, however, remember that the 
 Eskimo once ranged as far south as Massachusetts, 
 that they did not reach Greenland till the fourteenth 
 century, that they had for three centuries intimate 
 relations with Scandinavians, that they were very 
 fond of legends, and that the Wabanaki even now 
 mingle with them, the marvel would be that the 
 Norsemen had not left among them traces of their 
 tales or of their religion. But I do not say that this 
 was positively the case ; I simply set forth in this 
 book a great number of curious coincidences, from 
 which others may draw their own conclusions. I 
 confess that I cannot account for these resemblances 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 save by the so-called "historical theory" of direct 
 transmission ; but if any one can otherwise explain 
 them I should welcome the solution of what still seems 
 to be, in many respects, a problem. 
 
 I am, in fact, of the opinion that what is given 
 in this work confirms what was conjectured by David 
 Crantz, and which is thus expressed in his History 
 of Greenland (London, 1767) : " If we read the ac- 
 counts which have been given of the most northerly 
 American Indians and Asiatic Tartars, we find a 
 pretty great resemblance between their manner of 
 life, morals, usages, and notions and what has been 
 said in this book of the Greenlanders, only with this 
 difference : that the farther the savage nations wan- 
 dered towards the North, the fewer they retained 
 of their ancient conceptions and customs. As for the 
 Greenlanders, if it be true, as is supposed, that a 
 remnant of the old Norway Christians incorporated 
 themselves and became one people with them, the 
 Greenlanders may thence have heard and adopted 
 some of their notions, which they may have new- 
 modeled in the coarse mould of their own brain." 
 
 Among those who have greatly aided me in pre- 
 paring this work I deem it to be a duty to mention 
 Miss Abby Algek, of Boston, to whom it is cordially 
 dedicated; the Eev. Silas T. Rand, of Hantsport, 
 Nova Scotia, who lent me a manuscript collection of 
 eighty-five Micmac tales, and communicated to me, 
 with zealous kindness, much information by letter; 
 and Mrs. W. Wallace Brown, of Calais, Maine. It 
 
PREFACE. vii 
 
 was through this lady that I derived a great proportion 
 of the most curious folk-lore of the Passamaquoddies, 
 especially such parts as coincided with the Edda. 
 With these I would include Mr. E. Jack, of Freder- 
 icton, New Brunswick. When it is remembered that 
 there are only forty-two of the Hiawatha Legends of 
 Schoolcraft, out of which five books have been made 
 by other authors, and that I have collected more 
 than two hundred, it will be seen how these friends 
 must have worked to aid me. 
 
AUTHORITIES. 
 
 The authorities consulted in writing this work were as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 PERSONS. 
 
 Tomah Josephs, Passamaquoddy, Indian Governor at Peter 
 Dana's Point, Maine. 
 
 The Rev. Silas T. Rand, Baptist Missionary among the Mic- 
 mac Indians at Hantsport, Nova Scotia. This gentleman lent 
 me his manuscript collection of eighty-five stories, all taken 
 down from verbal Indian narration. He also communicated 
 much information in letters, etc. 
 
 John Gabriel, and his son Peter J. Gabriel, Passamaquoddy In- 
 dians, of Point Pleasant, Maine. 
 
 Noel Josephs, of Peter Dana's Point, alias Che gach goch, the 
 Raven. 
 
 Joseph Tomah, Passamaquoddy, of Point Pleasant. 
 
 Louis Mitchell, Indian member of the Legislature of Maine. 
 To this gentleman I am greatly indebted for manuscripts, letters, 
 and oral narrations of great value. 
 
 Sapiel Selmo, keeper of the Wampum Record, formerly read 
 every four years at the kindling of the great fire at Canawagha. 
 
 Marie Saksis, of Oldtown, a capital and very accurate narrator 
 of many traditions. 
 
 Miss Abby Alger, of Boston, by whom I was greatly aided in 
 collecting the Passamaquoddy stories, and who obtained several 
 for me among' the St. Francis or Abenaki Indians. 
 
 Edward Jack, of Fredericton, for several Micmac legends 
 and many letters containing folk-lore, all taken down by him 
 directly from Indians. 
 
 Mrs. W. Wallace Brown. Mr. Brown was agent in charge of 
 
x AUTHORITIES. 
 
 the Passamaquoddies in Maine. To this lady, who has a great 
 influence over the Indians, and is much interested in their folk- 
 lore and legends, I am indebted for a large collection of very in- 
 teresting material of the most varied description. 
 Noel Neptune, Penobscot, Oldtown, Maine. 
 
 BOOKS, MANUSCRIPTS, ETC. 
 
 The Story of Glooskap. A curious manuscript in Indian-Eng- 
 lish, obtained for me by Tomah Josephs. 
 
 The Dominion Monthly for 1871. Containing nine Micmac le- 
 gends by Rev. S. T. Rand. 
 
 Indian Legends. (Manuscript of 900 pp. folio.) Collected 
 among the Micmac Indians, and translated by Silas T. Rand, 
 Missionary to the Micmacs. 
 
 A Manuscript Collection of Passamaquoddy Legends and Folk- 
 Lore. By Mrs. W. Wallace Brown, of Calais, Maine. These are 
 all given with the greatest accuracy as narrated by Indians, some 
 in broken Indian-English. They embrace a very great variety of 
 folk-lore. 
 
 Manuscript Fairy Tales in Indian and English. By Louis 
 Mitchell. 
 
 Manuscript : The Superstitions of the Passamaquoddies. In 
 Indian and English. 
 
 A History of the Passamaquoddy Indians. Manuscript of 80 
 pages, Indian and English. All of these were written for me 
 by L. Mitchell, M. L. 
 
 Wampum Records. Read for me by Sapiel Selmo, the only liv- 
 ing Indian who has the key to them. 
 
 David Cusick's Sketches of Ancient History of the Six Nations. 
 Lockport, N. Y., 1848. Printed, but written in Indian-English. 
 
 Manuscript : Six Stories of the St. Francis or Abenaki Indians. 
 Taken down by Miss Abby Alger. 
 
 Osgood's Maritime Provinces. In this work there are seven 
 short extracts relative to Glooskap given without reference to any 
 book or author. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction 1 
 
 Glooskap, the Divinity. 
 
 Of Glooskap's Birth, and of his Brother Malsum, the 
 Wolf 15 
 
 How Glooskap made the Elves and Fairies, and then Man 
 of an Ash-Tree, and last of all the Beasts, and of his 
 Coming at the Last Day ...... 18 
 
 Of the Great Deeds which Glooskap did for Men; how 
 he named the Animals, and who they were that formed 
 his Family 28 
 
 How Win-pe, the Sorcerer, having stolen Glooskap's Fam- 
 ily, was by him pursued. How Glooskap for a Merry 
 Jest cheated the Whale. Of the Song of the Clams, 
 and how the Whale smoked a Pipe . . . .31 
 
 Of the Dreadful Deeds of the Evil Pitcher, who was both 
 Man and Woman ; how she fell in Love with Glooskap, 
 and, being scorned, became his Enemy. Of the Toads 
 and Porcupines, and the Awful Battle of the Giants . 36 
 
 How the Story of Glooskap and Pook-jin-skwess, the Evil 
 Pitcher, is told by the Passamaquoddy Indians . . 44 
 
 How Glooskap became friendly to the Loons, and made 
 them his Messengers ....... 50 
 
 How Glooskap made his Uncle Mikchich, the Turtle, into 
 a Great Man, and got him a Wife. Of the Turtles' 
 Eggs, and how Glooskap vanquished a Sorcerer by 
 smoking Tobacco 51 
 
xii CONTENTS. 
 
 How Glooskap sailed through the Great Cavern of Dark- 
 ness .......... 59 
 
 Of the Great Works which Glooskap made in the Land . 62 
 The Story of Glooskap as told in a few Words by a Woman 
 of the Penobscots ....... 65 
 
 How Glooskap, leaving the World, all the Animals 
 mourned for him, and how, ere he departed, he gave 
 
 Gifts to Men 66 
 
 How Glooskap had a Great Frolic with Kitpooseagunow, 
 
 a Mighty Giant who caught a Whale . . . .74 
 How Glooskap made a Magician of a Young Man, who 
 
 aided another to win a Wife and do Wonderful Deeds . 81 
 How a certain Wicked Witch sought to cajole the Great 
 
 and Good Glooskap, and of her Punishment . . 92 
 
 Of other Men who went to Glooskap for Gifts . . 94 
 
 Of Glooskap and the three other Seekers . . .98 
 Of Glooskap and the Sinful Serpent .... 104 
 
 The Tale of Glooskap as told by another Indian, showing 
 
 how the Toad and Porcupine lost their Noses . . 106 
 How Glooskap changed Certain Saucy Indians into Rattle- 
 snakes .......... no 
 
 How Glooskap bound Wuchowsen, the Great Wind-Bird, 
 
 and made all the Waters in the World stagnant . . Ill 
 How Glooskap conquered the Great Bull-Frog, and in 
 
 what Manner all the Pollywogs, Crabs, Leeches, and 
 
 other Water Creatures were created .... 114 
 How the Lord of Men and Beasts strove with the Mighty 
 
 Wasis, and was shamefully defeated .... 120 
 How the Great Glooskap fought the Giant Sorcerers at 
 
 Saco, and turned them into Fish 122 
 
 How Glooskap went to England and France, and was the 
 
 first to make America known to the Europeans . . 127 
 How Glooskap is making Arrows, and preparing for a 
 
 Great Battle. The Twilight of the Indian Gods . . 130 
 How Glooskap found the Summer ..... 134 
 
CONTENTS. xm 
 
 The Merry Tales of Lox, the Mischief-Maker. 
 
 The Surprising and Singular Adventures of two Water 
 Fairies who were also Weasels, and how they each be- 
 came the Bride of a Star. Including the Mysterious 
 and Wonderful Works of Lox, the Great Indian Devil, 
 who rose from the Dead ...... 140 
 
 Of the Wolverine and the Wolves, or how Master Lox 
 froze to Death ........ 170 
 
 How Master Lox played a Trick on Mrs. Bear, who lost 
 her Eyesight and had her Eyes opened .... 174 
 
 How Lox came to Grief by trying to catch a Salmon . 179 
 
 How Master Lox, as a Raccoon, killed the Bear and the 
 Black Cats, and performed other Notable Feats of Skill, 
 all to his Great Discredit ...... 180 
 
 How Lox deceived the Ducks, cheated the Chief, and be- 
 guiled the Bear 186 
 
 The Mischief-Maker. A Tradition of the Origin of the 
 Mythology of the Senecas. A Lox Legend . .194 
 
 How Lox told a Lie ........ 206 
 
 The Amazing Adventures of Master Rabbit. 
 
 How Master Rabbit sought to rival Keeoony, the Otter 208 
 
 How Mahtigwess, the Rabbit, dined with the Woodpecker 
 Girls, and was again humbled by trying to rival 
 them 210 
 
 Of the Adventure with Mooin, the Bear ; it being the Third 
 and Last Time that Master Rabbit made a Fool of 
 himself ......... 212 
 
 Relating how the Rabbit became Wise by being Original, 
 and of the Terrible Tricks which he by Magic played 
 Loup-Cervier, the Wicked Wild-Cat .... 213 
 
 How Master Rabbit went to a Wedding and won the 
 Bride 223 
 
 How Master Rabbit gave himself Airs .... 225 
 
 The Young Man who was saved by a Rabbit and a Fox . 227 
 
xiv CONTENTS. 
 
 The Chenoo Legends. 
 
 The Chenoo, or the Story of a Cannibal with an Icy Heart 233 
 The Story of the Great Chenoo, as told by the Passania- 
 quoddies ......... 246 
 
 The Girl-Chenoo 251 
 
 Thunder Stories. 
 
 Of the Girl who married Mount Katahdin, and how all 
 
 the Indians brought about their own Ruin . . . 255 
 How a Hunter visited the Thunder Spirits who dwell on 
 
 Mount Katahdin 259 
 
 The Thunder and Lightning Men 263 
 
 Of the Woman who married the Thunder, and of their 
 
 Boy 266 
 
 At-o-sis, the Serpent. 
 
 How Two Girls were changed to Water-Snakes, and of 
 Two others that became Mermaids .... 268 
 
 Ne Hwas, the Mermaid 270 
 
 Of the Woman who loved a Serpent that lived in a Lake . 273 
 
 The Mother of Serpents 275 
 
 Origin of the Black Snakes 278 
 
 The Partridge. 
 
 The Adventures of the Great Hero Pulowech, or the Par- 
 tridge .......... 281 
 
 The Story of a Partridge and his Wonderful Wigwam . 290 
 How the Partridge built Good Canoes for all the Birds, 
 
 and a Bad One for Himself 293 
 
 The Mournful Mystery of the Partridge- Witch ; setting 
 
 forth how a Young Man died from Love . . . 295 
 How one of the Partridge's Wives became a Sheldrake 
 Duck, and why her Feet and Feathers are red . . 300 
 
 The Invisible One 303 
 
 Story of the Three Strong Men 311 
 
 The Weewillmekq'. 
 
 How a Woman lost a Gun for Fear of the Weewillmekq' . 324 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 xv 
 
 Muggahniaht'adem, the Dance of Old Age, or the Magic 
 
 of the Weewillmekq' .... 
 Another Version of the Dance of Old Age 
 Tales of Magic. 
 
 M'tdoulin, or Indian Magic 
 
 Story of the Beaver Trapper . 
 
 How a Youth became a Magician 
 
 Of Old Joe, the M'teoulin 
 
 Of Governor Francis 
 
 How a Chief's Son taught his Friend Sorcery 
 
 Tumilkoontaoo, or the Broken Wing 
 
 Fish-Hawk and Scapegrace 
 
 The Giant Magicians .... 
 
 327 
 330 
 
 334 
 342 
 343 
 345 
 345 
 352 
 359 
 363 
 368 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 MlK UM WESS, THE INDIAN PUCK, OR ROBIN GOOD-FEL- 
 
 low Frontispiece. 
 
 Glooskap killing his Brother, the Wolf 17 
 
 Glooskap looking at the Whale smoking his Pipe . 35 
 Glooskap setting his Dogs on the Witches .... 40 
 The Mud-Turtle jumping over the Wigwam of his 
 
 Father-in-Law 54 
 
 Glooskap and Keanke spearing the Whale ... 75 
 Glooskap turning a Man into a Cedar-Tree ... 98 
 
 lox carried off by culloo 157 
 
 The Indian Boy and the Musk-Rat. Seeps, the Duck 192 
 
 The Rabbit Magician 214 
 
 The Chenoo and the Lizard 237 
 
 The Woman and the Serpent 274 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Among the six chief divisions of the red Indians 
 of North America the most widely extended is the Al- 
 gonquin. This people ranged from Labrador to the 
 far South, from Newfoundland to the Rocky Moun- 
 tains, speaking forty dialects, as the Hon. J. H. 
 Trumbull has shown in his valuable work on the sub- 
 ject. Belonging to this divison are the Micmacs of 
 New Brunswick and the Passamaquoddy and Penob- 
 scot tribes of Maine, who with the St. Francis Indians 
 of Canada and some smaller clans call themselves the 
 Wabanaki, a word derived from a root signifying 
 white or light, intimating that they live nearest to the 
 rising sun or the east. In fact, the French-speaking 
 St. Francis family, who are known par eminence as 
 " the Abenaki," translate the term by point dujour. 
 
 The Wabanaki have in common the traditions of 
 a grand mythology, the central figure of which is a 
 demigod or hero, who, while he is always great, con- 
 sistent, and benevolent, and never devoid of dignity, 
 presents traits which are very much more like those of 
 Odin and Thor, with not a little of Pantagruel, than 
 anything in the characters of the Chippewa Mano- 
 bozho, or the Iroquois Hiawatha. The name of this 
 
2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 divinity is Glooskap, meaning, strangely enough, the 
 Liar, because it is said that when he left earth, like 
 King Arthur, for Fairyland, he promised to return, 
 and has never done so. It is characteristic of the 
 Norse gods that while they are grand they are manly, 
 and combine with this a peculiarly domestic humanity. 
 Glooskap is the Norse god intensified. He is, how- 
 ever, more of a giant ; he grows to a more appalling 
 greatness than Thor or Odin in his battles ; when a 
 KiawaqiC, or Jotun, rises to the clouds to oppose 
 him, Glooskap's head touches the stars, and scorning 
 to slay so mean a foe like an equal, he kills him con- 
 temptuously with a light tap of his bow. But in the 
 family circle he is the most benevolent of gentle 
 heroes, and has his oft-repeated little standard jokes. 
 Yet he never, like the Manobozho-Hiawatha of the 
 Chippewas, becomes silly, cruel, or fantastic. He has 
 his roaring revel with a brother giant, even as Thor 
 went fishing in fierce fim with the frost god, but he is 
 never low or feeble. 
 
 Around Glooskap, who is by far the grandest and 
 most Aryan-like character ever evolved from a sav- 
 age mind, and who is more congenial to a reader 
 of Shakespeare and Rabelais than any deity ever 
 imagined out of Europe, there are found strange 
 giants : some literal Jotuns of stone and ice, sorcerers 
 who become giants like Glooskap, at will ; the terrible 
 Chenoo, a human being with an icy-stone heart, who 
 has sunk to a cannibal and ghoul ; all the weird mon- 
 sters and horrors of the Eskimo mythology, witches 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 and demons, inherited from the terribly black sorcery 
 which preceded Shamanism, and compared to which 
 the latter was like an advanced religion, and all the 
 minor mythology of dwarfs and fairies. The Indian 
 m'tSoul'm, or magician, distinctly taught that every 
 created thing, animate or inanimate, had its indwelling 
 spirit. Whatever had an idea had a soul. Therefore 
 the "Wabanaki mythology is strangely like that of the 
 Rosicrucians. But it created spirits for the terrible 
 Arctic winters of the north, for the icebergs and frozen 
 wastes, for the Northern Lights and polar bears. It 
 made, in short, a mythology such as would be perfectly 
 congenial to any one who has read and understood the 
 Edcla, Beowulf, and the Kalevala, with the wildest 
 and oldest Norse sagas. But it is, as regards spirit 
 and meaning, utterly and entirely unlike anything else 
 that is American. It is not like the Mexican pan- 
 theon ; it has not the same sounds, colors, or feelings ; 
 and though many of its incidents or tales are the 
 same as those of the Chippewas, or other tribes, we 
 still feel that there is an incredible difference in the 
 spirit. Its ways are not as their ways. This Waba- 
 naki mythology, which was that which gave a fairy, an 
 elf, a naiad, or a hero to every rock and river and 
 ancient hill in New England, is just the one of all 
 others which is least known to the New Englanders. 
 When the last Indian shall be in his grave, those who 
 come after us will ask in wonder why we had no 
 curiosity as to the romance of our country, and so 
 much as to that of every other land on earth. 
 
4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Much is allowed to poets and painters, and no fault 
 was found with Mr. Longfellow for attributing to the 
 Iroquois Hiawatha the choice exploits of the Chip- 
 pewa demi-devil Manobozho. It was " all Indian " to 
 the multitude, and one name answered as well in 
 poetry as another, at a time when there was very little 
 attention paid to ethnology. So that a good poem 
 resulted, it was of little consequence that the plot was 
 a melange of very different characters, and character- 
 istics. And when, in connection with this, Mr. Long- 
 fellow spoke of the Chippewa tales as forming an 
 Indian Edda, the term was doubtless in a poetic and 
 very general sense permissible. But its want of literal 
 truth seems to have deeply impressed the not generally 
 over particular or accurate Schoolcraft, since his first 
 remarks in the Introduction to the Hiawatha Legends 
 are as follows : — 
 
 " Where analogies are so general, there is a constant 
 liability to mistakes. Of these foreign analogies of 
 myth-lore, the least tangible, it is believed, is that which 
 has been suggested with the Scandinavian mythology. 
 That mythology is of so marked and peculiar a char- 
 acter that it has not been distinctly traced out of the 
 great circle of tribes of the Indo-Germanic family. 
 Odin and his terrific pantheon of war gods and social 
 deities could only exist in the dreary latitudes of 
 storms and fire which produce a Hecla and a Mael- 
 strom. These latitudes have invariably produced na- 
 tions whose influence has been felt in an elevating 
 power over the world. From such a source the Indian 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 could have derived none of his vague symbolisms and 
 mental idiosyncrasies which have left him as he is found 
 to-day, without a government and without a god." 
 
 This is all perfectly true of the myths of Hiawat'ha- 
 Manobozho. Nothing on earth could be more unlike 
 the Norse legends than the " Indian Edda " of the 
 Chippewas and Ottawas. But it was not known to 
 this writer that there already existed in Northeast- 
 ern America a stupendous mythology, derived from 
 a land of storms and fire more terrible and wonderful 
 than Iceland ; nay, so terrible that Icelanders them- 
 selves were appalled by it. " This country," says the 
 Abbe* Morillot, "is the one most suggestive of su- 
 perstition. Everything there, sea, earth, or heaven, is 
 strange." The wild cries which rise from the depths of 
 the caverned ice-hills, and are reechoed by the rocks, 
 icebergs, or waves, were dreadful to Egbert Olaf- 
 son in the seventeenth century. The interior is a des- 
 ert without parallel for desolation. A frozen Sahara 
 seen by Northern lightning and midnight suns is but a 
 suggestion of this land. The sober Moravian mission- 
 ary Crantz once only in his life rose to poetry, when 
 more than a century ago he spoke of its scenery. Here 
 then was the latitude of storm and fire required by 
 Schoolcraft to produce something wilder and grander 
 than he had ever found among Indians. And here 
 indeed there existed all the time a cycle of mytho- 
 logical legends or poems such as he declared Indians 
 incapable of producing. But strangest of all, this 
 American mythology of the North, which has been the 
 
6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 very last to become known to American readers, is 
 literally so nearly like the Edda itself that, as this 
 work fully proves, there is hardly a song in the Norse 
 collection which does not contain an incident found in 
 the Indian poem-legends, while in several there are 
 many such coincidences. Thus, in the Edda we are 
 told that the first birth on earth was that of a giant 
 girl and boy, begotten by the feet of a giant and born 
 from his armpit. In the Wabanaki legends, the first 
 birth was of Glooskap, the Good principle, and Malsum 
 the Wolf, or Evil principle. The Wolf was born from 
 his mother's armpit. He is sometimes male and some- 
 times female. His feet are male and female, and con- 
 verse. We pass on only twelve lines in the Edda 
 (Vafthrudnismal, 36) to be told that the wind is 
 caused by a giant in eagle's plumage, who sits on a 
 rock far in the north " at the end of heaven." This is 
 simply and literally the Wocliowsen or Windblower 
 of the Wabanaki word for word, — not the " Thunder- 
 Bird " of the Western Indians. The second birth on 
 earth, according to the Edda, was that of man. Odin 
 found Ash and Elm " nearly powerless," and gave 
 them sense. This was the first man and woman. Ac- 
 cording to the Indians of Maine, Glooskap made the 
 first men from the ash-tree. They lived or were in 
 it, " devoid of sense " till he gave it to them. It is 
 to be observed that primevally among the Norse the 
 ash alone stood for man. So it goes on through the 
 whole Edda, of which all the main incidents are to be 
 found among the sagas of the Wabanaki. The most 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1 
 
 striking of these are the coincidences between Lox 
 (lynx, wolf, wolverine, badger, or raccoon, and some- 
 times man) and Loki. It is very remarkable indeed 
 that the only two religions in the world which possess 
 a devil in whom mischief predominates should also 
 give to each the same adventures, if both did not 
 come from the same source. In the Hymiskvida of the 
 Edda, two giants go to fish for whales, and then have 
 a contest which is actually one of heat against cold. 
 This is so like a Micmac legend in every detail that 
 about twenty lines are word for word the same in the 
 Norse and Indian. The Micmac giants end their 
 whale fishing by trying to freeze one another to death. 
 It is to the Rev. Silas T. Rand that the credit be- 
 longs of having discovered Glooskap, and of having 
 first published in the Dominion Monthly several of 
 these Northern legends. After I had collected nearly 
 a hundred among the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot 
 Indians, this gentleman, with unexampled kindness, 
 lent me a manuscript of eighty-four Micmac tales, 
 making in all nine hundred folio pages. Many were 
 similar to others in my collection, but I have never yet 
 received a duplicate which did not contain something 
 essential to the whole. Though the old Indians all 
 declare that most of their lore has perished, especially 
 the more recondite mythic poems, I am confident that 
 much more remains to be gathered than I have given 
 in this work. As it is, I have omitted many tales 
 simply because they were evidently Canadian French 
 stories. Yet all of these, without exception, are half 
 
8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Indian, and it may be old Norse modified; for a 
 French story is sometimes the same with one in the 
 Eddas. Again, for want of room I have not given any 
 Indian tales or chronicles of the wars with the Mo- 
 hawks. Of these I have enough to make a very curi- 
 ous volume. 
 
 These legends belong to all New England. Many 
 of them exist as yet among the scattered fragments 
 of Indian tribes here and there. The Penobscots of 
 Oldtown, Maine, still possess many. In fact, there is 
 not an old Indian, male or female, in New England or 
 Canada who does not retain stories and songs of the 
 greatest interest. I sincerely trust that this work may 
 have the effect of stimulating collection. Let every 
 reader remember that everything thus taken down, 
 and deposited in a local historical society, or sent to 
 the Ethnological Bureau at Washington, will forever 
 transmit the name of its recorder to posterity. Ar- 
 chaeology is as yet in its very beginning ; when the 
 Indians shall have departed it will grow to giant-like 
 proportions, and every scrap of information relative 
 to them will be eagerly investigated. And the man 
 does not live who knows what may be made of it all. 
 I need not say that I should be grateful for such In- 
 dian lore of any kind whatever which may be trans- 
 mitted to me. 
 
 It may very naturally be asked by many how it 
 came to pass that the Indians of Maine and of the 
 farther north have so much of the Edda in their sa- 
 gas ; or, if it was derived through the Eskimo tribes, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 how these got it from Norsemen, who were professedly 
 Christians. I do not think that the time has come 
 for fully answering the first question. There is some 
 great mystery of mythology, as yet unsolved, regard- 
 ing the origin of the Edda and its relations with the 
 faiths and folk-lore of the older Shamanic beliefs, such 
 as Lapp, Finn, Samoyed, Eskimo, and Tartar. This 
 was the world's first religion ; it is found in the 
 so-called Accadian Turanian beginning of Babylon, 
 whence it possibly came from the West. But what 
 we have here to consider is whether the Norsemen did 
 directly influence the Eskimo and Indians. Let us 
 first consider that these latter were passionately fond 
 of stories, and that they had attained to a very high 
 standard of culture as regards both appreciation and 
 invention. They were as fond of recitations as any 
 white man is of reading. Their memories were in this 
 respect very remarkable indeed. They have taken 
 into their repertory during the past two hundred years 
 many French fairy tales, through the Canadians. Is 
 it not likely that they listened to the Northmen ? 
 
 It is not generally noted among our learned men 
 how long the Icelanders remained in Greenland, how 
 many stories are still told of them by the Eskimo, or 
 to what extent the Indians continue to mingle with the 
 latter. During the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth 
 centuries, says the Abbe Morillot, "there were in 
 Greenland, after Archbishop Adalbert, more than 
 twenty bishops, and in the colony were many churches 
 and monasteries. In the Oestrbugd, one of the two 
 
10 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 inhabited portions of the vast island, were one hun- 
 dred and ninety villages, with twelve churches. In 
 Jniianshaab, one may to-day see the ruins of eight 
 churches and of many monasteries." In the fifteenth 
 century all these buildings were in ruins, and the col- 
 ony was exterminated by the pestilence or the natives. 
 But among the latter there remained many traditions 
 of the Scandinavians associated with the ruins. Such 
 is the story of Oren'gortok, given by the Abbe Moril- 
 lot, and several are to be found in Rink's Legends. 
 When we learn that the Norsemen, during their three 
 centuries of occupation of Greenland, brought away 
 many of the marvelous tales of the Eskimo, it is not 
 credible that they left none of their own. Thus we 
 are told in the Floamanna Saga how a hero, aban- 
 doned on the icv coast of Greenland, met with two 
 giant witches (Troldkoner), and cut the hand from 
 one of them. An old Icelandic work, called the Ko- 
 nungs Skuggsjo (Danish, Kongespeilet), has much to 
 say of the marvels of Greenland and its monsters of 
 the sea. On the other hand, Morillot declares that 
 the belief in ghosts was brought to Greenland by the 
 Icelanders and Scandinavians. The sagas have not 
 been as yet much studied with a view to establiphing 
 how much social intercourse there was between the na- 
 tives and the colonists, but common experience would 
 teach that during three centuries it must have been 
 something. 
 
 There has always been intercourse between Green- 
 land and Labrador, and in this latter country we find 
 
INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 the first Algonquin Indians. Even at the present day- 
 there are men among the Micmacs and Passamaquod- 
 dies who have gone on their hunting excursions even 
 to the Eskimo. I myself know one of the latter who 
 has done so, and the Rev. S. T. Rand, in answer to a 
 question on the subject, writes to me as follows : — 
 
 " Nancy Jeddore, a Micmac woman, assures me that 
 her father, now dead, used to go as far as the wild 
 (heathen) Eskimo, and remained once for three years 
 among the more civilized. She has so correctly de- 
 scribed their habits that I am satisfied that her state- 
 ments are correct." 1 
 
 These Eskimo brought from the Old World that 
 primeval gloomy Shaman religion, or sorcery, such 
 as is practiced yet by Laplanders and Tartars, such 
 as formed the basis of the old Accadian Babylo- 
 nian cultus, and such as is now in vogue among all 
 our own red Indians. I believe that it was from the 
 Eskimo that this American Shamanism all came. In 
 Greenland this faith assumed its strangest form ; it 
 made for itself a new mythology. The Indians, their 
 neighbors, borrowed from this, but also added new 
 elements of an only semi- Arctic character. Thus there 
 is a series of steps, but every one different, from the 
 
 1 The word Eskimo is Algonquin, meaning to eat raw fish, 
 Eskumoga in Micmac, and people who eat raw flesh, or Es- 
 kimook, that is, eski, raw, and moo-uk, people. This word re- 
 calls in-noo-uk, people, and spirits, in Eskimo, Innue, which has 
 the same double meaning. This was all suggested to me by 
 an Indian. 
 
12 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Eskimo to the Wabanaki, of Labrador, New Bruns- 
 wick, and Maine, from tlie Wabanaki to the Iroquois, 
 and from the Iroquois to the more western Indians. 
 And while they all have incidents in common, the 
 character of each is radically different. 
 
 It may be specially noted that while there is hardly 
 an important point in the Edda which may not be 
 found, as I have just shown, in Wabanaki legends, 
 there is very little else in the latter which is in com- 
 mon with such Old World mythology as might have 
 come to the Indians since the discovery by Columbus. 
 Excluding French Canadian fairy tales, what we have 
 left is chiefly Eskimo and Eddaic, and the proportion 
 of the latter is simply surprising. There are ac- 
 tually more incidents taken from the Edda than there 
 are from lower sources. I can only account for this 
 by the fact that, as the Indians tell me, all these tales 
 were once poems, handed down from generation to 
 generation, and always sung. Once they were re- 
 ligious. Now they are in a condition analogous to 
 that of the German Heldenbuch. They have been 
 cast into a new form, but they are not as yet quite 
 degraded to the nursery tale. 
 
 It may be objected that if the Norsemen in Green- 
 land were Christians it is most unlikely that they 
 would have taught the legends of the Edda to the 
 heathen ; to which I reply that some scholar a few 
 centuries hence may declare it was a most improbable 
 thing that Christian Roman Catholic Indians should 
 have taught me the tales of Glooskap and Lox. But 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 the truth is, we really know very little as to how soon 
 wandering Vikings went to America, or how many 
 were here. 
 
 I would say in conclusion that, while these legends 
 of the Wabanaki are fragmentary and incomplete, 
 they still read like the fragments of a book whose 
 subject was once broadly and coherently treated by a 
 man of genius. They are handled in the same bold 
 and artistic manner as the Norse. There is nothing- 
 like them in any other North American Indian rec- 
 ords. They are, especially those which are from the 
 Passamaquoddy and Penobscot, inspired with a genial 
 cosmopolite humor. While Glooskap is always a gen- 
 tleman, Lox ranges from Punch to Satan, passing 
 through the stages of an Indian Mephistopheles and 
 the Norse Loki, who appears to have been his true 
 progenitor. But neither is quite like anything to be 
 found among really savage races. When it is borne 
 in mind that the most ancient and mythic of these 
 legends have been taken down from the trembling 
 memories of old squaws who never understood their 
 inner meaning, or from ordinary senaps who had not 
 thought of them since boyhood, it will be seen that 
 the preservation of a mass of prose poems, equal in 
 bulk to the Kalevala or Heldenbuch, is indeed almost 
 miraculous. 
 
THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS OF NEW 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 
 
 Of Glooskap's Birth, and of his Brother Malsum the 
 
 Wolf. 
 
 Now the great lord Glooskap, who was worshiped 
 in after-days by all the Wabanaki, or children of light, 
 was a twin with a brother. As he was good, this 
 brother, whose name was Malsumsis, or Wolf the 
 younger, was bad. Before they were born, the babes 
 consulted to consider how they had best enter the 
 world. And Glooskap said, " I will be born as others 
 are." But the evil Malsumsis thought himself too 
 great to be brought forth in such a manner, and de- 
 clared that he would burst through his mother's side. 1 
 And as they planned it so it came to pass. Glooskap 
 
 1 The reader of Rabelais cannot fail to recall here the remarks 
 of the author as to the extraordinary manner in which it pleased 
 the giant Gargantua to come into the world. The Armenians 
 believe that Christ was born through the right side of the Virgin. 
 The Buddhists say the same of Buddha's birth. (Heth and Moab, 
 London, 1883.) Another and as I believe the correct account de- 
 clares that Malsum the Wolf was born from his mother's armpit. 
 
16 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 as first came quietly to light, while Malsumsis kept 
 his word, killing his mother. 
 
 The two grew up together, and one day the younger, 
 who knew that both had charmed lives, asked the 
 elder what would kill him, Glooskap. Now each had 
 his own secret as to this, and Glooskap, remembering 
 how wantonly Malsumsis had slain their mother, 
 thought it would be misplaced confidence to trust his 
 life to one so fond of death, while it might prove 
 to be well to know the bane of the other. So they 
 agreed to exchange secrets, and Glooskap, to test his 
 brother, told him that the only way in which he him- 
 self could be slain was by the stroke of an owl's 
 feather, 1 though this was not true. And Malsumsis 
 said, " I can only die by a blow from a fern-root." 
 
 It came to pass in after-days that Kwah-beet-a-sis, 
 the son of the Great Beaver, or, as others say, Miko 
 the Squirrel, or else the evil which was in himself, 
 tempted Malsumsis to kill Glooskap ; for in those days 
 all men were wicked. So taking his bow he shot 
 Ko-ko-kkas the Owl, and with one of his feathers he 
 struck Glooskap while sleeping. Then he awoke in 
 anger, yet craftily said that it was not by an owl's 
 feather, but by a blow from a pine-root, that his life 
 would end. 
 
 1 There are different readings of this incident. In Mr. Rand's 
 manuscript the alleged means of Glooskap's death is described as 
 being a cat-tail flag (liaw-kwee-usqu\ Passamaquoddy), while a 
 handful of bird's down is the bane of Malsuni the Wolf. The 
 termination sis is a diminutive, here meaning the younger. 
 
GLOOSKAP KILLING HIS BROTHER, THE WOLF, 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 17 
 
 Then the false man led his brother another day far 
 into the forest to hunt, and, while he again slept, 
 smote him on the head with a pine-root. But Gloos- 
 kap arose unharmed, drove Malsumsis away into the 
 woods, sat down by the brook-side, and thinking over 
 all that had happened, said, " Nothing but a flowering- 
 rush can kill me." But the Beaver, who was hidden 
 among the reeds, heard this, and hastening to Mal- 
 sumsis told him the secret of his brother's life. For 
 this Malsumsis promised to bestow on Beaver what- 
 ever he should ask ; but when the latter wished for 
 wings like a pigeon, the warrior laughed, and scorn- 
 fully said, " Get thee hence ; thou with a tail like a 
 file, what need hast thou of wings ? " 
 
 Then the Beaver was angry, and went forth to the 
 camp of Glooskap, to whom he told what he had clone. 
 Therefore Glooskap arose in sorrow and in anger, 
 took a fern-root, sought Malsumsis in the deep, dark 
 forest, and smote him so that he fell down dead. And 
 Glooskap sang a song over him and lamented. 
 
 The Beaver and the Owl and the Squirrel, for what 
 they did and as they did it, all come again into 
 these stories ; but Malsumsis, being dead, was turned 
 into the Shick-shoe mountains in the Gaspe peninsula. 
 
 For this chapter and parts of others I am indebted 
 to the narrative of a Micmac Indian, taken down by 
 Mr. Edward Jock ; also to another version in the 
 Kand MS. The story is, in the main points, similar 
 to that given by David Cusick in his History of 
 
18 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 the Six Nations, of Enigorio the Good Mind, and 
 Enigonhahetgea, Bad Mind, to which I shall refer 
 anon. 
 
 It is very evident that in this tradition Glooskap 
 represents the Good principle, and Malsumsis, the lit- 
 tle wolf, — that is the Wolf who is the Younger, rather 
 than little or small, — the Evil one. Malsuni typifies 
 destruction and sin in several of these tales. He will 
 arise at the last day, when Glooskaj) is to do battle 
 with all the giants and evil beasts of olden time, and 
 will be the great destroyer. Malsum is the Wolf 
 Fenris of this the true Indian Edda. 
 
 For a further comment on tins birth of the twins 
 and its resemblance to a passage in the Edda, the 
 reader is referred to the notes on the next chapter. 
 
 How Glooskap made the Elves and Fairies, and then Man 
 of an Ash Tree, and last of all, Beasts, and of his Com- 
 ing at the Last Day. 
 
 (Passamaquodcly.) 
 
 Glooskap came first of all into this country, into 
 Nova Scotia, Maine, Canada, into the land of the 
 Wabanaki, next to sunrise. There were no Indians 
 here then (only wild Indians very far to the west). 
 
 First born were the Mikumwess, the Oonabgemes- 
 suk, the small Elves, little men, dwellers in rocks. 
 
 And in this way he made Man : He took his bow 
 and arrows and shot at trees, the basket-trees, the 
 Ash. Then Indians came out of the bark of the Ash- 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 19 
 
 trees. And then the Mikumwees said . . . called 
 tree-man. 1 . . . 
 
 Glooskap made all the animals. He made them 
 at first very large. Then he said to Moose, the great 
 Moose who was as tall as Ketawkqu's, 2 " What would 
 you do should you see an Indian coming ? " Moose 
 replied, " I would tear down the trees on him." Then 
 Glooskap saw that the Moose was too strong, and 
 made him smaller, so that Indians could kill him. 
 
 Then he said to the Squirrel, who was of the size 
 of a Wolf, " What would you do if you should meet 
 an Indian ? " And the Squirrel answered, " I would 
 scratch down trees on him." Then Glooskap said, 
 " You also are too strong," and he made him little. 3 
 
 Then he asked the great White Bear what he 
 would do if he met an Indian ; and the Bear said, 
 " Eat him." And the Master bade him go and live 
 among rocks and ice, where he would see no Indians. 
 
 So he questioned all the beasts, changing their size 
 or allotting their lives according to their answers. 
 
 He took the Loon for his dog ; but the Loon ab- 
 sented himself so much that he chose for this service 
 two wolves, — one black and one white. 4 But the 
 Loons are always his tale-bearers. 
 
 1 The relater, an old woman, was quite unintelligible at this 
 point. 
 
 2 A giant, high as the tallest pines, or as the clouds. 
 
 3 Another account states that Glooskap took the Squirrel in 
 his hands and smoothed him down. 
 
 4 Dogs are used for beasts of burden, to draw sledges, in the 
 North. 
 
20 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Many years ago a man very far to the North wished 
 to cross a bay, a great distance, from one point to 
 another. As he was stepping into his canoe he saw 
 a man with two dogs, — one black and one white, — 
 who asked to be set across. The Indian said, " You 
 may go, but what will become of your dogs ? " Then 
 the stranger replied, " Let them go round by land." 
 " Nay," replied the Indian, " that is much too far." 
 But the stranger saying nothing, he put him across. 
 And as they reached the landing place there stood 
 the dogs. But when he turned his head to address 
 the man, he was gone. So he said to himself, " I have 
 seen Glooskap." 
 
 Yet again, — but this was not so many years ago, — 
 far in the North there were at a certain place many 
 Indians assembled. And there was a frightful com- 
 motion, caused by the ground heaving and rumbling ; 
 the rocks shook and fell, they were greatly alarmed, 
 and lo ! Glooskap stood before them, and said, " I go 
 away now, but I shall return again ; when you feel 
 the ground tremble, then know it is I." So they will 
 know when the last great war is to be, for then Gloos- 
 kap will make the ground shake with an awful noise. 
 
 Glooskap was no friend of the Beavers ; he slew 
 many of them. Up on the Tobaic are two salt-water 
 rocks (that is, rocks by the ocean-side, near a fresh- 
 water stream). The Great Beaver, standing there 
 one day, was seen by Glooskap miles away, who had 
 forbidden him that place. Then picking up a large 
 rock where he stood by the shore, he threw it all that 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 21 
 
 distance at the Beaver, who indeed dodged it ; but 
 when another came, the beast ran into a mountain, and 
 has never come forth to this day. But the rocks 
 which the master threw are yet to be seen. 
 
 This very interesting tradition was taken down by 
 Mrs. W. Wallace Brown from a very old Passama- 
 quoddy Indian woman named Molly Sepsis, who could 
 not speak a word of English, with the aid of another 
 younger woman named Sarah. 
 
 It will be observed that it is said in the beginning 
 that Glooskap produced the first human beings from 
 the ash-tree. Ash and Elm in the Edda were the 
 Adam and Eve of the human race. There were no 
 intelligent men on earth — 
 
 " Until there came three 
 mighty and benevolent 
 Aesir to the world 
 from their assembly 
 nearly powerless, 
 Ash and Embla (Ash and Elm), 
 void of destiny. 
 
 " Spirit they possessed not, 
 sense they had not, 
 blood nor motive powers, 
 nor goodly color. 
 Spirit gave Odin, 
 sense gave Hoenir, 
 blood gave Lodur 
 and good color." x 
 
 1 The Edda of Saemund, translated by Benjamin Thorpe. 
 London : Trubner & Co. 1866. Voluspa, v. 17, 18. 
 
22 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 It is certain, however, that the ash was the typic 
 tree of all life, since the next verse of the Voluspa is 
 devoted to Yggdrasil, the tree of existence, or of the 
 world itself. It may be observed that in the Finnish 
 poem of Kalevala it is by the destruction of the 
 great oak that Wainamoien, aided by the hero of the 
 sea, causes all things to grow. The early clearing 
 away of trees, as a first step towards culture, may be 
 symbolized in the shooting of arrows at the ash. 
 
 The wolf, as a beast for the deity to ride, is strongly 
 
 Eddaic. 
 
 " Magic songs they sung, 
 rode on wolves, 
 the god (Odin) and gods. 1 
 
 We have here within a few lines, accordingly, the 
 elm as the parent of mankind, and wolves as the 
 beasts of transport for the supreme deity, both in 
 the Indian legend and in the Edda. 
 
 As Glooskap is directly declared in one tradition to 
 keep by him as an attendant a being who is the course 
 of the sun and of the seasons, it may be assumed that 
 the black and white wolf represent day and night. 
 
 Again, great stress is laid in the Glooskap legend 
 upon the fact that the last great clay of battle with 
 Malsum the Wolf, and the frost-giants, stone-giants, 
 and other powers of evil, shall be announced by an 
 earthquake. 
 
 1 Rognir og regin. Odin and the Powers. Note by B. Thorpe 
 to the Hrafnagalar Odins, in Edda, p. 30. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 23 
 
 " Trembles Yggdrasil's 
 Ash yet standing, 
 groans that aged tree . . . 
 and the Wolf runs . . . 
 The monster's kin goes 
 all with the Wolf. . . . 
 The stony hills are dashed together, 
 The giantesses totter. 
 Then arises Hlin's second grief 
 When Odin goes 
 with the wolf to fight." 
 
 Word for word, asli-tree, giantesses, the supreme 
 god fighting with a wolf, and falling hills, are given in 
 the Indian myth. This is not the Christian Day of 
 Judgment, but the Norse. 
 
 In this myth Glooskap has two wolves, one black 
 and the other white. This is an indication of day 
 and night, since he is distinctly stated to have as an 
 attendant Kulpejotei, who typifies the course of the 
 seasons. In the Edclas (Ragnarok) we are told that 
 one wolf now follows the sun, another the moon ; one 
 Fenris, the other Moongarm : — 
 
 " The moon's devourer 
 In a troll's disguise." 
 
 The magic arrows of Glooskap are of course world- 
 wide, and date from the shafts of Abaris and those 
 used among the ancient Jews for divination. But it 
 may be observed that those of the Indian hero are 
 like the " Guse arrows," described in Oervarodd's 
 
24 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Saga, which always hit their mark and return to the 
 one who shoots them. 1 
 
 It is important here to compare this old Algonquin 
 account of the Creation with that of the Iroquois, or 
 Six Nations, as given by David Cusick, himself an 
 Indian : — 
 
 " There was a woman who was with child, with 
 twins. She descended from the higher world, and 
 was received on the turtle. While she was in the dis- 
 tress of travail, one of the infants in her womb was 
 moved by an evil desire, and determined to pass out 
 under the side of the parent's arm, and the other in- 
 fant endeavored in vain to prevent his design. They 
 entered the dark world by compulsion, and their 
 mother expired in a few minutes. One of them pos- 
 sessed a gentle disposition, and was named Enigorio, 
 the Good Mind. The other possessed an insolence of 
 character, and was called Enigonhahetgea ; that is, 
 the Bad Mind. The Good Mind was not content to 
 remain in a dark situation, and was desirous to create 
 a great light in the dark world ; but the Bad Mind 
 was desirous that the world should remain in its orig- 
 inal state. The Good Mind, determined to prosecute 
 his design, began the work of creation. Of his moth- 
 er's head he made the sun, of her body the moon. 
 After he had made creeks and rivers, animals and 
 fishes, he formed two images of the dust of the ground 
 in his own likeness, male and female, and by his 
 
 1 The Primitive Inhabitants of Scandinavia. By Sven Nilsson. 
 Edited by Sir John Lubbock. 1868. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 25 
 
 breathing into their nostrils he gave them living souls, 
 and named them ea gwe hoive, that is a real people ; 
 and he gave the Great Island all the animals — of 
 game for the inheritance of the people. . . . The Bad 
 Mind, while his brother was making the universe, 
 went through the island, and made numerous high 
 mountains and falls of water and great steeps, and 
 also created reptiles which would be injurious to man- 
 kind; but the Good Mind restored the island to its 
 former condition. The Bad Mind made two images 
 of clay in the form of mankind, but while he was 
 giving them existence they became apes. The Good 
 Mind discovered his brother's contrivances, and aided 
 in giving them living souls. 
 
 " Finding that his brother continually thwarted 
 him, the Good Mind admonished him to behave bet- 
 ter. The Bad Mind then offered a challenge to his 
 brother, on condition that the victor should rule the 
 universe. The Good Mind was willing. He falsely 
 mentioned that whipping with flags [bulrushes] would 
 destroy his temporal life, and earnestly solicited his 
 brother to observe the instrument of death, saying 
 that by using deer-horns he would expire. [This is 
 very obscure in Cusick's Indian-English.] On the 
 day appointed the battle began ; it lasted for two days ; 
 they tore up the trees and mountains ; at last the Good 
 Mind gained the victory by using the horns. The last 
 words uttered by the Bad Mind were that he would 
 have equal power over the souls of mankind after 
 their death, and so sank down to eternal doom and 
 became the Evil Spirit." 
 
26 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Contrasted with this hardly heathen cosmogony, 
 which shows recent Bible influence throughout, the 
 Algonquin narrative reads like a song from the Edda. 
 That the latter is the original and the older there can 
 be no doubt. Between the " Good Mind," making 
 man " from the dust of the earth," and Glooskap, 
 rousing him by magic arrows from the ash-tree, there 
 is a great difference. It may be observed that the 
 fight with horns is explained in another legend in this 
 book, called the Chenoo, and that these horns are the 
 magic horns of the Chepitch calm, or Great Serpent, 
 who is somewhat like the dragon. 
 
 In the Algonquin story, two Loons are Glooskap's 
 " tale-bearers," which occasion him great anxiety by 
 their prolonged absences. This is distinctly stated in 
 the Indian legend, as it is of Odin's birds in the Edda. 
 Odin has, as news-bringers, two ravens. 
 
 " Hugin and Mnnin 
 Fly each day 
 over the spacious earth. 
 I fear for Hugin 
 that he comes not back, 
 yet more anxious am I 
 for Munin." 
 
 The Loons, indeed, occasioned Glooskap so much 
 trouble by absences that he took wolves in their place. 
 The ravens of the Edda are probably of biblical 
 origin. But it is a most extraordinary coincidence 
 that the Indians have a corresponding perversion of 
 Scripture, for they say that Glooskap, when he was in 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 27 
 
 the ark, that is as Noah, sent out a white dove, which 
 returned to him colored black, and became a raven. 
 This is not, however, related as part of the myth. 
 
 The Ancient History of the Six Nations, by David 
 Cusick, gives us in one particular a strange coinci- 
 dence with the Edda. It tells us that the Bad Mind, 
 the principle of Evil, forced himself out into life, as 
 Cusick expresses it in his broken Indian-English, 
 " under the side of the parent's arm ; " that is, through 
 the armpit. In the Edda (Vafthrudnismal, 33) we 
 are told of the first beings born on earth that they 
 were twins, begotten by the two feet of a giant, and 
 born out of his armpit. 
 
 " Under the armpit grew, 
 't is said of the Hrimthurs, 
 a girl and boy together ; 
 foot with foot begat, 
 of that wise Jotun, 
 a six-headed son." 
 
 There are in these six lines six coincidences with 
 red Indian mythology: (1.) The Evil principle as a 
 Jotun's first-born in the one and the Bad Mind in the 
 other are born of the mother's armpit. (2.) In one of 
 the tales of Lox, the Indian devil, also a giant, we are 
 told that his feet are male and female. (3.) In both 
 faiths this is the first birth on earth. (4.) The six- 
 headed demon appears in a Micmac tale. (5.) There 
 is in both the Eddaic and the Wabanaki account a 
 very remarkable coincidence in this : that there is a 
 Titanic or giant birth of twins on earth, followed by 
 
28 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 the creation of man from the ash-tree. (6.) The Evil 
 principle, whether it be the Wolf-Lox in the Waba- 
 naki myths, or Loki in the Norse, often turns himself 
 into a woman. Thus the male and female sex of the 
 first-born twins is identified. 
 
 According to the Edda, the order of births on 
 earth was as follows : — 
 
 First, two giants were born from the mother's 
 armpit. 
 
 Secondly, the dwarfs were created. 
 
 Thirdly, man was made from the ash-tree. 
 
 According to the Wabanaki, this was the order : — 
 
 First, two giants were born, one from his mother's 
 armpit. 
 
 Secondly, the dwarfs (Mikumwessuk) were created 
 from the bark of the ash-tree. 
 
 Thirdly, man was made from the trunk of the ash. 
 
 The account of the creation of the dwarfs is want- 
 ing in the present manuscript. 
 
 Of the Great Deeds which GloosJcap did for Men ; hoiv he 
 
 named the Animals, and who they were that formed his 
 
 Family. 
 
 (Passamaquoddy.) 
 
 Woodenit atdk-hagen Gloosehap : 1 this is a story 
 of Glooskap. It is told in traditions of the old time 
 that Glooskap was born in the land of the Wabanaki, 
 which is nearest to the sunrise ; but another story says 
 that he came over the sea in a great stone canoe, and 
 that this canoe was an island of granite covered with 
 1 Passamaquoddy. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 29 
 
 trees. When the great man, of all men and beasts 
 chief ruler, had come down from this ark, he went 
 among the Wabanaki. 1 And calling all the animals 
 he gave them each a name : unto the Bear, mooin ; 
 and asked him what he would do if he should meet 
 with a man. The Bear said, " I fear him, and I should 
 run." Now in those days the Squirrel (mi-ho) was 
 greater than the Bear. Then Glooskap took him in 
 his hands, and smoothing him down he grew smaller 
 and smaller, till he became as we see him now. In 
 after-days the Squirrel was Glooskap's dog, and when 
 he so willed, grew large again and slew his enemies, 
 however fierce they might be. But this time, when 
 asked what he would do should he meet with a man, 
 Mi-ko replied, " I should run up a tree.' 5 
 
 Then the Moose, being questioned, answered, stand- 
 ing still and looking down, " I should run through the 
 woods." And so it was with Kwah-beet the Beaver, 2 
 and Glooskap saw that of all created beings the first 
 and greatest was Man. 
 
 Before men were instructed by him, they lived in 
 
 1 This part of the legend is from a very singular and I may- 
 add almost unintelligible manuscript, Storey about Glooscap, writ- 
 ten in English by a Passamaquoddy Indian. The word ark 
 which occurs in it reminds me that the Indian from whom I ob- 
 tained it once asked me if I did not think that Glooskap was the 
 same as Noah. This sentence is as follows in the Indian-Eng- 
 lish of the original : " Gloosecap hat left from ark come crosse 
 even wiht wabnocelel." 
 
 2 This is very obscure in the original manuscript. It reads 
 " Herask beaber did do anything just look behager." 
 
30 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 darkness ; it was so dark that they could not even see 
 to slay their enemies. 1 Glooskap taught them how to 
 hunt, and to build huts and canoes and weirs for fish. 
 Before he came they knew not how to make weapons 
 or nets. He the Great Master showed them the hid- 
 den virtues of plants, roots, and barks, and pointed out 
 to them such vegetables as might be used for food, as 
 well as what kinds of animals, birds, and fish were to 
 be eaten. And when this was done he taught them 
 the names of all the stars. He loved mankind, and 
 wherever he might be in the wilderness he was never 
 very far from any of the Indians. He dwelt in a 
 lonely land, but whenever they sought him they found 
 him. 2 He traveled far and wide : there is no place in 
 all the land of the Wabanaki where he left not his 
 name ; hills, rocks and rivers, lakes and islands, bear 
 witness to him. 
 
 Glooskap was never married, yet as he lived like 
 other men he lived not alone. There dwelt with him 
 an old woman, who kept his lodge ; he called her 
 Noogumee, " my grandmother." (Micmac.) With her 
 was a youth named Abistariaooch, or the Martin. (M.) 
 And Martin could change himself to a baby or a lit- 
 
 1 This was read to me by an Indian from a wampum record, 
 now kept at Sebayk. I do not think I am mistaken in the 
 phrase. It probably refers to ignorance of warlike weapons. 
 
 2 This is from the Rand manuscript. The writer remarks 
 that these expressions were the very words of a Micmac Indian 
 named Stephen Flood, " who had no idea that he was using al- 
 most the identical expressions of Holy Writ with reference to 
 God." 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 31 
 
 tie boy, a youth or a young man, as befitted the time 
 in which he was to act ; for all things about Glooskap 
 were very wonderful. This Martin ate always from 
 a small birch -bark dish, called witch-kwed - lakun- 
 cheech (M.), and when he left this anywhere Gloos- 
 kap was sure to find it, and could tell from its ap- 
 pearance all that had befallen his family. And 
 Martin was called by Glooskap Uch-keen (M.), " my 
 younger brother." The Lord of men and beasts had 
 a belt which gave him magical power and endless 
 strength. And when he lent this to Martin, the 
 younger brother could also do great deeds, such as 
 were only done in old times. 
 
 Martin lived much with the Mikumwess or Elves, or 
 Fairies, and is said to have been one of them. 
 
 Row Win-pe the Sorcerer, having stolen Glooskap 's Family^ 
 was by him pursued, and how Glooskap for a Merry 
 Jest cheated the Whale. Of the Song of the Clams, and 
 how the Whale smoked a Pipe. . 
 
 (Micmac.) 
 N'kah-ne-oo. In old times (P.), in the beginning 
 of thino-s, men were as animals and animals as men; 
 how this was, no one knows. But it is told that all 
 were at first men, and as they gave themselves up to 
 this and that desire, and to naught else, they became 
 beasts. But before this came to pass, they could 
 change to one or the other form ; yet even as men 
 there was always something which showed what they 
 were. 
 
32 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Now Glooskap lived on an island named Aja-lig- 
 un-nieckk, and with him were many Indians with the 
 names and natures of animals and birds. 
 
 These men, but most of all Puloweeh, the Partridge, 
 having acquired power themselves, became jealous of 
 Glooskap, and made up their minds to depart when 
 he was away, taking with them Martin and the grand- 
 mother. For they had great hope that Glooskap, 
 being left alone on the island, would perish, because 
 they knew not his power. There is another story 
 which says that he was living at the mouth of the 
 Oolostook, at a place called Menogwes (St. John, 
 N. B.), and went away into the forest as far as Gool- 
 wahgik (Juan), and had been gone six weeks, when 
 he returned home and found the old woman, whose 
 name was Mooinarkw, 1 and Martin had been taken 
 away. Following their tracks to the shore he saw 
 one of his greatest enemies, a terrible sorcerer named 
 Win-pe, just pushing off in his canoe. And with him 
 were his wife and child and Dame Bear and Martin. 
 They were still within call, and Glooskap cried from 
 the shore to the grandmother to send back his dogs, 
 which were not larger than mice, and, as some stories 
 tell us, were squirrels. So she took a woltes-takun, 
 which is a small wooden platter, and on such Indian 
 dice are tossed. This she put in the water, and placed 
 the dogs on it, and it floated to the shore, and Gloos- 
 kap took it up. Win-pe with his family and prisoners 
 pushed on to Passamoogwaddy (M.), and thence to 
 
 1 Mr. Rand translates this Micniac word as Mrs. Bear. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 33 
 
 Grand Manan ; and after remaining there a while he 
 crossed over to Kes-poog-itk (Yarmouth), and so went 
 slowly along the southern coast through Oona-mahgik 
 (Cape Breton), and over to Uktukkamkw (New- 
 foundland), where he was slain. 
 
 Now whether it was to gain magical power, or to 
 weaken that of Win-pe, or to chasten the others by 
 suffering, who knows? But Glooskap rested seven 
 years alone before he pursued the enemy, though 
 some say it was seven months. And when the time 
 had come, he took his dogs and went to the shore, and 
 looked far out to sea over the waves, and sang the 
 magic song which the whales obey. 1 Soon there rose 
 in the distance a small whale, who had heard the call, 
 and came to Glooskap ; but he was then very great, 
 and he put one foot on the whale to test his weight, 
 and the fish sank under him. So he sent it away. 
 
 Then the lord of men and beasts sang the song 
 again, and there came the largest, a mighty female, 
 and she bore him well and easily over to Kes-poog- 
 itk. But she was greatly afraid of getting into shoal 
 water, or of running ashore, and this was what Gloos- 
 kap wished her to do that he might not wet his feet. 
 So as she approached she asked him if land were in 
 sight. But he lied, and said " No." So she went on 
 rapidly. 
 
 1 In the Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo, by Dr. Henry 
 Rink, we are told in the story of Akigsiak that an old man 
 taught the hero a magic lay for luring a whale to him. In an- 
 other, Katersparsuk sings such a song to the walrus. 
 3 
 
34 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 However, she saw shells below, and soon the water 
 grew so shoal that she said in fear, " Moon-as-tabd- 
 kdn-kwi-jean-nook f (M.) Does not the land show 
 itself like a bow-string ? " And he said, " We are 
 still far from land." 
 
 Then the water grew so shoal that she heard the 
 song of the Clams as they lay under the sand, singing 
 to her that she should throw him off and drown him. 
 For these Clams were his deadly enemies. But Bootup 
 the Whale did not understand their language, so she 
 asked her rider — for he knew Clam — what they 
 were chanting to her. And he replied in a song : — 
 
 " They tell you to hurry (cussal) (M.), 
 To hurry, to hurry him along, 
 Over the water, 
 Away as fast as you can ! " 
 
 Then the Whale went like lightning, and suddenly 
 found herself high on the shore. Then she lamented 
 and sang : — 
 
 " Alas, my grandchild (noojecch), 
 Ah, you have been my death; 
 I can never leave the land, 
 I shall swim in the sea no more." 
 
 But Glooskap sang : — 
 
 "Have no fear, noogumee, 
 You shall not suffer, 
 You shall swim in the sea once more." 
 
 Then with a push of his bow against her head he 
 sent her off into deep water. And the Whale re- 
 
AiM^VKV^^S^VjaJ^hg ^SSg' 
 
 GLOOSKAP LOOKING AT THE WHALE SMOKING HIS PIPE. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 35 
 
 joiced greatly. But ere she went she said, " Oh, my 
 grandson, " KHeen penabskwass riaga tomaive f " 
 (P.). Hast thou not such a thing as an old pipe and 
 some tobacco ? " He replied, — 
 
 " Ah yes. 
 You want tobacco, 
 I behold you." 
 
 So he gave her a short pipe and some tobacco, and 
 thereunto a light. And the Whale, being of good 
 cheer, sailed away, smoking as she went, while Gloos- 
 kap, standing silent on the shore, and ever leaning on 
 his maple bow, beheld the long low cloud which fol- 
 lowed her until she vanished in the far away. 
 
 In a Passamaquoddy tale of Pook-jin-skwess the 
 Witch, the Clams sing a song deriding the hero. The 
 words are : — 
 
 " Mow chow nut-pess sell 
 Peri marm-hole wett." 
 
 These words are not Indian, but they are said to 
 mean, — 
 
 You look very funny with your long hair streaming in the wind, 
 And sailing on a snail's horn. 
 
 The large Clams sing this in a bass voice, the 
 small ones in falsetto. The gypsies say that a Snail, 
 when put on a pie, utters four cries, or squeaks ; hence 
 in Germany the Romany call it Stargoli : that is, 
 shtor-godli, four cries. 
 
36 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Of the Dreadful Deeds of the Evil Pitcher, who was both 
 Man and Woman, and how she fell in love with Gloos- 
 kap, and, being scorned, became his Enemy. Of the 
 Toads and Porcujrines, and the Awful Battle of the 
 
 Giants. 
 
 (Passaniaquoddy.) 
 
 When Glooskap came into the world it abounded in 
 giants, monsters, sorcerers and witches, fiends and 
 devils. Among the witches there was one whom the 
 Passaniaquoddy call Pook-jin-skwess, or the Pitcher. 1 
 And they have a legend that she once fell in love with 
 Glooskap when he was young and had not gained the 
 power of his riper age. He fled before her, and she 
 pursued him. It was a dreadful flight, since to make 
 rapid steps both took the form of giants by their mlte- 
 oulin (P.)i or magic power. It was like an awful 
 storm in winter, the wind chasing the cloud ; it was 
 like a frightful tempest in summer, the lightning chas- 
 ing the thunder. As the snow lay deep, both had 
 snow-shoes on. When they came to the shore Gloos- 
 kap leaped from the main-land to the island of Grand 
 Manan, 2 and so escaped her. Now the snow-shoes of 
 Glooskap were sams 'ooh (P.), or round, while those 
 of Pook-jin-skwess were long and pointed, 3 and the 
 marks of them as they jumped are to be seen deep in 
 the rocks to this day. 
 
 1 It is not impossible that this well-known Indian witch gave 
 her name to Moll Pitcher, the famous fortune-teller of Lynn. 
 
 2 A leap of about nine miles. 
 
 3 The Penobscots give the long shoes to Glooskap. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 37 
 
 When Glooskap came to the camp, which was at 
 Ogumkegeak (M.), now called Liverpool, he found no 
 one. But there lay the witch-hwed-lakun-cheech (M.), 
 or birch-bark dish of Martin, and from it, or, as an- 
 other legend states, from an old man and woman 
 who dwelt hard by, he learned that Win-pe and the 
 families had been gone for seven years, along a road 
 guarded by wicked and horrible beings, placed by 
 Win-pe to prevent the Great Master from finding him. 
 For it was a great triumph for him to keep Glooskap's 
 friends as slaves, and all the land spoke thereof. 
 
 And these monsters were Pook-jin-skwess, or the 
 Evil Pitcher herself, in many forms ; for she could be 
 man or woman, 1 or many of them, and also several 
 girls, when she willed it. Now it is a great part of 
 Indian rrfteoulin (P.) to know what one's enemies 
 are planning and plotting, and all their tricks and 
 darkened paths ; and in this Glooskap went beyond 
 them all, for before his time every one went his own 
 way, even in wickedness. But Glooskap first of all 
 threw out his soul unto others. 
 
 And when he came to Ogumkeok he found a hut, 
 
 1 In the Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo, we are told that 
 a woman named Arnakuak, being apparently gifted by magic 
 with the ability to change her sex, had her daughter-in-law, 
 Ukuamak, for a wife, and, having eloped with her, was followed 
 and killed by her own son. As this is almost immediately 
 followed by a story of a man who gave birth to a child, it would 
 appear that the idea was common to both Eskimo and Indians. 
 Only the wicked magicians in Indian tales change their sex, 
 like Loki in the Edda. 
 
38 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 and in it, seated over a fire, the ugliest old hag he had 
 ever seen, trembling in every limb, as if near death, 
 dirty, ragged, and loathsome in all ways. Looking 
 up at him with bleared eyes, she begged him to 
 gather her a little firewood, which he did. And then 
 she prayed him to free her from the %oah gook (M.), or 
 vermin, with which she was covered, and which were 
 maddening her with their bites. These were all 
 devils in disguise, the spirits of foul poison, such as 
 she deemed must kill even the Master. Now Gloos- 
 kap, foreseeing all this, had taken with him, as he 
 came, from a bog many cranberries. And bidding 
 Pook-jin-skwess bend over, he began to take from her 
 hair the hideous vermin, and each, as he took it, be- 
 came a horrid porcupine or toad. 1 Then the hag 
 asked, "Have you found one?" "I have," replied 
 the Master. " Bdsp ! " (M.) " Crush it ! " was her 
 answer, and Glooskap crushed a cranberry ; and she, 
 hearing the noise, thought that he had done as she bid, 
 and that the poison on his fingers would penetrate to 
 his life. But he put the imps, one by one, under the 
 
 1 In the Eskimo mythology, Arnarkuagsdk, the old woman of 
 the sea, is tormented by vermin about her head. These are 
 really the souls of still-born or murdered infants, who have be- 
 come imps. The first thing which the angakbk or sorcerer, who 
 visits her must do is to free her from these pests. The de- 
 scent of the sorcerer to this mother of all the monsters of the 
 sea, who are at the same time giants, when they choose to assume 
 the human form, recalls that of Odin to Hela. Both make this 
 journey to hell, not for themselves, but in the interests of man- 
 kind. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 39 
 
 wooden platter, which lay before him. As this went 
 on he put the witch to sleep. When she awoke he 
 was gone. The foul porcupines and toads were swarm- 
 ing all over the ground, having upset their hive. And 
 filled with fury at being made a jest of, since it was a 
 great despite that he had not even found it worth 
 while to kill her when asleep, she burst out into her 
 own form, which was beautiful as sin, wild as the 
 devil, and gathering up all her imps, and making her- 
 self far more magical by fiercer will, went onward to 
 encounter him again. 
 
 Then Glooskap came to a narrow pass in the hills. 
 Here were two terrible beasts, as one story has it, or 
 two monstrous clogs, 1 as it is told in another. And 
 they attacked him ; but he set his own at them, and 
 they, growing to tremendous size, killed the others. 
 His do«'S were so trained that when called to come 
 off they went on, and the more they were bid to be 
 quiet the more they bit. 
 
 Soon he came to the top of a high hill, and look- 
 ing thence over all the land saw afar off a large wig- 
 wam, and knew in his heart that an enemy dwelt 
 therein. And coming to it he found an old man and 
 his two daughters. 2 Now the girls came out greeting 
 
 1 The Indians had dogs before the coming of the whites. 
 They were wolf-like. 
 
 2 In another account, an old sorceress and her daughters ; 
 also an old man and his wife and daughters. According to two 
 versions, these are all separate wizards, but the whole spirit of 
 the Passamaquoddy legends make them Pook-jin-skwess alone. 
 
40 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 him with very pleasant glances, wooing softly and 
 sweetly ; they offered him a string of sausages, such 
 as the Indians make from the entrails of the bear 
 by only turning them inside out. For the fat, which 
 clings to the outside, fills the skin. When these are 
 washed and dried and smoked, many deem them de- 
 licious. But these which the girls offered, as girls 
 do, to show their love, by casting the string round the 
 neck of the favored youth, were enchanted, and had 
 they once put the necklace upon him he would have 
 been overpowered. However, they knew not of this 
 new magic which the Master had brought into the 
 . land, by which one can read the heart ; so, as they 
 sidled up unto him with smiles and blandishments, 
 waving in the wind as they danced their garlands of 
 enchanted sausages, he looked as if he wanted to be 
 won. And when his dogs growled at them he cried, 
 " Cuss ! " (M.), which means Stop / but which the 
 dogs only knew as " Hie, at them ! " So they flew at 
 the witches, and these flashed up like fire into their 
 own dreadful forms of female fiends. Then there 
 was a terrible tumult, for never before in the land of 
 the Wabanaki had there been such a battle. All the 
 earth and rocks around were torn up. All the while 
 the Master cried to the dogs, " Stop ! These are 
 
 In the story of the Rabbit and Lnsifee the sorcerer singly twice 
 assumes the form of an old man and his two daughters. There is 
 yet another story, in which a magician thus triples himself with 
 two daughters. It is, I believe, Eskimo, but I cannot distinctly 
 remember as to this. 
 
GLOOSKAP SETTING HIS DOGS ON THE WITCHES. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 41 
 
 my sisters. Come off, ye evil beasts ! Let them 
 alone ! Cease, oh cease ! " Yet the more he ex- 
 horted them to peace the more they inclined to war, 
 and the more fiercely they fought, until the witches 
 fled. 
 
 Then he entered the wigwam where the old sor- 
 cerer sat, waiting for him as food. And the Master 
 said, " Are you hungry ? Or do you love sausages ? 
 Here they are ! " Instantly casting the links around 
 his neck, he was taken, and Glooskap slew him with 
 one blow. 
 
 Then, going on, he reached the Strait of Cam- 
 soke 1 (M.), or Canso, and to cross over again sang 
 the song which wins the whales, and one of these ris- 
 ing, carried him to the opposite shore. Thence he 
 made the circle of Oona-mah-gik, keeping round by 
 the southern coast, and coming to the old camps 
 where his enemy had been. From the ivitch-kwed- 
 lakun-cheech, or birch-bark dish, left by Martin, he 
 learned how long they had been gone. 2 When he 
 came to Uk-tu-tun (M., Cape North) he found they 
 had rowed to Uk-tuk-amqw (M., Newfoundland), and 
 had left three days before. 
 
 1 Canisoke means, " There is a high bluff on the opposite side 
 of the river." — S. T. Rand. 
 
 2 As the gypsy leaves his patteran, or sign, so the Indian 
 makes marks which set forth clearly enough how long he has 
 camped at any place, and how many were in the party, etc. It 
 may be supposed that Martin, not daring to attract Win-pe's at- 
 tention, effected this by a few secret scratches. Thus three lines 
 and a crescent or moon would mean three nights. 
 
42 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Then again he sang, and once more a whale carried 
 him over. And now he knew that he was indeed 
 coming to what he sought, for in the deserted camp 
 he found the embers of a fire, still smoking. Ad- 
 vancing rapidly, he saw near the next camp Martin, 
 seeking wood to burn. The youth and the old Dame 
 Bear had been most cruelly treated by Win-pe, and 
 they were nearly starved, but Martin's clothes were 
 good. 1 And Martin was so sunk in sorrow that he 
 did not hear Glooskap call him, and not till the Mas- 
 ter threw a small stick at him did he look up, and 
 even then he thought it had fallen from a tree. Then, 
 seeing him, he cried out with joy ; but Glooskap, who 
 was hiding in the woods, bade him be silent. " Wait 
 till it is dark," he said, " and I will go to your wig- 
 wam. Now you may go home and tell your grand- 
 mother." 
 
 In the other story (M.) it is narrated that as Mar- 
 tin with the grandmother were on the road, and Dame 
 Bear bore him as almost a babe on her back, he 
 turned his head and saw Glooskap following them, 
 and cried out, — 
 
 " Where, oh where, 
 Where is my brother ? 
 He who fed me often 
 On the marrow of the moose ! " 
 
 1 There is a reason for this singular detail. Nancy Jeddore, the 
 Indian from whom Mr. Rand learned one version of this legend, 
 informed him that the Martin, thin at all times, always has a fine 
 fur, however starved he may be. Dying with hunger, he is al- 
 ways well dressed. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 43 
 
 And she replied, — 
 
 " Alas for thee, boy ! 
 He is far, far away ; 
 You will see him no more." 
 
 But the little fellow, seeing him again, sang as before, 
 and Dame Bear, turning her head and beholding her 
 Master, was so moved that she fainted and fell to the 
 ground. Then Glooskap raised her in his arms, and 
 when she had recovered she related how cruelly they 
 had been treated by Win-pe. And Glooskap said, 
 " Bear with him yet a little while, for I will soon pay 
 him in full for what he has done." 
 
 Then the Master bade the old woman go back to 
 the camp with Martin, and say nothing. It was the 
 youth's duty to go for water and tend the baby in its 
 swinging cot. And Glooskap told him all that he 
 should do. When he should bring water he must 
 mix with it the worst filth, and so offer it to Win-pe, 
 the sorcerer. 
 
 And even as he ordered it was done, and Martin 
 meekly offered the foul drink to the evil man, who at 
 the smell of it cried aloud, " Uk say / " (M., Oh, hor- 
 ror !) and bade him bring a cleaner cup. But Martin, 
 bearing the babe, threw it into the fire, and, running 
 to the spot where Glooskap hid, cried out, " Nse-sako I 
 nse-salco ! " (M., My brother ! my brother !) Win-pe, 
 pursuing him, said, " Cry out to him ; your brother 
 cannot help you now. He is far away from here, on 
 the island where I left him. Cry out well, for now 
 you must die ! " All this had been done that Win-pe's 
 
44 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 power might be put to sleep by anger, and his mind 
 drawn to other things. And the Master rose before 
 him in all his might, and stepped forward, while 
 Win-pe drew backward a pace to recover his strength. 
 And with great will the Master roused all the magic 
 within him, and, as it came, he rose till his head was 
 above the tallest pine ; and truly in those days trees 
 were giants beyond those of this time. But the lord 
 of men and beasts laughed as he grew till his head 
 was far above the clouds and reached the stars, and 
 ever higher, till Win-pe was as a child at his feet. 
 And holding the man in scorn, and disdaining to use 
 a nobler weapon, he tapped the sorcerer lightly with 
 the end of his bow, like a small dog, and he fell 
 dead. 
 
 How the Story of Glooskap and Pook-jin-skwess, the Evil 
 Pitcher, is told by the Passamaquoddy Indians. 1 
 
 (Passamaquoddy.) 
 
 There was a village of Indians who were all Black 
 Cats, or Po'gum'k. One of them, the cleverest and 
 bravest, went forth every day with bow and arrow, tom- 
 
 1 In this story Glooskap is called Pogunik, the Black Cat or 
 Fisher, that is, a species of wild cat, while Martin is a N'mock- 
 swess, sable. There seems to be no settled idea as to what was 
 the totem or innate animal nature of the lord of men and beasts. 
 I have a series of pictures scraped on birch-bark illustrating 
 these myths, executed by a Passamaquoddy, in which Glooskap 
 and the adopted grandmother in the stone canoe are represented 
 as wood-chucks, or ground-hogs. (Mon-in-kwess, P.) 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 45 
 
 ahawk and knife, and killed moose and bear, and sent 
 meat to tlie poor, and so lie fed them all. When he 
 returned they came to him to know where his game 
 lay, and when he had told them they went forth with 
 toboggans 1 and returned with them loaded with meat. 
 And the chief of the Black Cats was by his mother 
 the son of a bear. 2 
 
 Pook-jin-skwess, the Witch, was a Black Cat. She 
 was a woman or a man as she willed to be ; but in 
 these days she was a man. And she, being evil, hated 
 the chief, and thought long how she could kill or re- 
 move him, and take his place. Now, one day when 
 all the camp had packed what they had, being about 
 to travel, Pitcher asked the chief to go with him, or 
 with her, as you may will, down to the water-side to 
 gather gulls' eggs. And then they went far out in a 
 canoe, and very far, and still farther, till they came to 
 an island, and there they landed, and while Pogunik 
 (who was Glooskap) sought for eggs, the false-hearted 
 Pitcher stole away in the akweden (P., canoe), and as 
 she paddled she sang a song — 
 
 " Nikhed-ha Pogumk min nekuk, 
 Netswil sagamawin ! " (P.) 
 
 " I have left the Black Cat on an island, 
 I shall be the chief of the Fishers now ! " 
 
 1 Toboggin, a sled made very simply by turning up the ends 
 of one or more pieces of wood to prevent them from catching in 
 the snow. 
 
 2 A confused but important point in all these myths. 
 
46 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 So she came to the village, and the next day they 
 all departed through the woods ; there was not one of 
 them left save the one who was worth them all. And 
 at night they camped, expecting every day that the 
 chief would come to them, and till then Pitcher was 
 in his place. 
 
 Now on the thirtieth day the chief remembered his 
 friend the Fox, who had m'tSoulin (P.)? or magic 
 power. And he sang a song, and the Pox heard it, 
 although he was miles away, beyond forests and moun- 
 tains. And thus knowing all, he went to the shore 
 and swam to the island, where he found the chief. At 
 this time the Black Cat could not swim such a dis- 
 tance, 1 but the Pox offered to take him to the main- 
 land. Then they waded into the water, and the Pox 
 said, " Close thine eyes and hold fast to my tail as 
 tightly as thou canst, and be of good faith, oh, my 
 elder brother, and we shall soon gain the shore." 
 Saying this, he swam away and his friend followed. 
 And it went well with them, but the chief grew weary, 
 and he opened one eye a little, and saw that they were 
 not ten feet from the shore. And being of little faith 
 he thought, for he spoke not aloud, " We shall never 
 get to land." But the Fox replied, " Do not believe 
 it." But the journey lasted long, for what seemed to 
 Pogumk to be ten feet was ten miles, and the wind 
 
 1 The most powerful manitous, or magicians, in the Chippeway 
 tales, as well as in all others of the Indians, may exhaust their 
 power and be forced to depend on that of inferiors in the great 
 art. In this tale Glooskap is decidedly under a cloud. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 47 
 
 was high and the waters were wild, for Pitcher had 
 called forth a storm. So they swam all day and all 
 the evening before they landed. " And now, my elder 
 brother," said the Fox, " you may go your way." And 
 he went to the camp of the Black Cats. 
 
 When he came to the camp it was cold, and there 
 were only ashes, for the people had gone on. So he 
 followed them, and in one day came near them. And 
 the first whom he overtook was his mother, bearing 
 his younger brother Sable ('Nmmok - swess, P.) on 
 her back, so that while she looked forward he looked 
 behind. And as Pogumk peeped out from among 
 the leaves, Sable saw him, and said, " Here comes my 
 brother ! " And she turned, but saw nothing, for the 
 chief suddenly hid himself behind a tree. Then they 
 went on, and Sable cried again, " Indeed, mother, I 
 behold my elder brother! " And this time the mother, 
 glancing quickly, caught him, and they all laughed 
 for joy, and she threw Sable down in the leaves, like 
 a stick. Then the chief bade Sable run to the camp. 
 "And when you are there," he said, "build up a great 
 fire of hemlock bark, and take Pitcher's babe, even the 
 babe which she loves, and which you tend, and throw 
 it into the fire, and run to me as fast as you can, for 
 verily thou wilt be in dire need to do so." 
 
 And as he commanded it was done ; and when the 
 fire was hot, Sable threw the babe into it, and it was 
 burned to death. And Pitcher, being, as one may 
 well believe, maddened at such a sight, pursued him 
 as a starving wolf pursues a rabbit. Then Sable, in 
 
48 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 great fear, cried aloud, " Oh, my elder brother, my 
 brother ! " And Pitcher screamed, "Call aloud to 
 him, for you must run as far as the island where Po- 
 gumk is, to save yourself ! " And at that word Po- 
 gumk stepped forward and confronted her, and said, 
 " Truly, she need not run so far." 
 
 And seeing him and hearing this, fear came upon 
 her ; but she laughed aloud to hide it, and said, " I 
 did but chase him in sport, for I love Sable." But 
 Pogumk replied grimly, " I know thee and thy tricks, 
 thou the evil one." Then, as his magic had come 
 to him, he used his power, and put Pitcher with her 
 back against a tree; and there she stayed, stuck to 
 it, unable to get away. But the chief and Sable 
 went to the camp. Now Pitcher had a hatchet and 
 wedge, and with much ado she cut herself away, and 
 the Black Cats heard her pounding and chopping all 
 night long. And in the morning she came to them, 
 and there was a great piece of wood sticking to her 
 back, and they laughed her to scorn, and sang at 
 her, — 
 
 " He who made the chief 
 
 Stay on a distant island, 
 
 He is stuck by the chief 
 
 Fast with his back to a tree." 
 
 Now Pitcher the Witch, being mad with shame and 
 spite, fled from the face of man, and ran through the 
 woods like a wild wolf. And so she came to Bar 
 Harbor (Pes'sonkqu', P.), and sat down on a log, 
 and said, with her heart full of bitterness and malice, 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 49 
 
 " I would that I could become something which should 
 torment all men." And as she said this she became 
 a mosquito (T'sis-o, P.), and so it came to pass that 
 mosquitoes were made. And to this day men see that 
 wherever the Black Cat is, there too is the Sable not 
 far away. 1 
 
 Of this Pook-jin-skwess it was said that she had 
 children of her own, begotten by sorcerers and giants 
 and monsters ; but as they were all ugly she stole 
 from the Indian women their fairest babes, and 
 brought them up as if they were her own, that she 
 might not be entirely put to shame because of her 
 children. And once she had thus stolen a boy, and 
 when he grew up some one said to him that he should 
 not believe that she was his mother, but should ques- 
 tion her as to it. Now the youth, reflecting on this, 
 observed that his brothers and sisters were all as ugly 
 as evil beasts and no better behaved, while he himself 
 was comely and good. Then he asked her what this 
 
 1 The Passamaquoddy version relates that Pitcher in her 
 flight pursued a moose to Bar Harbor, where, having killed 
 him and drawn out the entrails, she petrified him. A Penobscot 
 woman told me she had often seen the moose rock there, and the 
 " inments." But she attributed the deed to Glooskap, to whom 
 it properly belongs, his petrified moose and dogs and the print of 
 his bow, etc., being still shown in Nova Scotia; and it is also said 
 that it was at Freshwater, after returning from Bar Harbor 
 (Maine) , that Pitcher was changed into a mosquito. 
 
 Another story states that Pook-jin-skwess, having pursued 
 young men all her life, changed into a mosquito that she might 
 continue to prey on them. 
 4 
 
50 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 might mean. And she replied, laughing, "Because 
 they were all begotten (or born) in the night-time, 
 but you are a child of the day and of light." x 
 
 How Glooskap became friendly to the Loons, and made 
 them his Messengers. 
 
 (Micrnac.) 
 
 When Glooskap was pursuing Wiu-pe, he one day 
 on Uktukamkw saw from afar flying over water the 
 Kwe-moo (M.), or Loons. And thrice did their chief 
 make the circle of the lake, coming near to the land 
 of men and beasts every time, as if he woidd fain 
 seek somewhat. Then Glooskap asking him what he 
 wanted, Kwe-moo replied that he would be his ser- 
 vant and friend. So Glooskap taught him a strange 
 long cry like the howl of a dog, and when the loons 
 were in need of him or would pray to him they were 
 to utter this cry. 
 
 And it came to pass that when he was in New- 
 foundland he came to an Indian town, and they who 
 dwelt therein were all Kwee-moo-uk, or Loons. And 
 they, as men, were exceeding glad to see their lord, 
 who had blessed them as birds, and did their best to 
 
 1 There is probably an allusion in this to the Wabanaki, or 
 Children of Light ; that is, the Algonquin. This story was told 
 me by Noel Josephs, a Passamaquoddy. 
 
 I have been told by an old Passamaquoddy woman that the 
 descendants of Pook-jin-skwess were the 'Nmmok-skwess. This 
 stealing the white boy is related in another tale more fully. It 
 may refer to the early dark Eskimo. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 51 
 
 please him. So lie made them his huntsmen and mes- 
 sengers, and in all the tales of Glooskap the Kwee- 
 moo ever appears as faithful to him. Whence to this 
 day, when the Indians hear the cry of the Loon, they 
 say, " Kwemoo el-komih-too-ajul Gloocapal " (He 
 is calling upon Glooskap). 
 
 Hoiv Glooskap made his Uncle Mikchich the Turtle into 
 a Great Man, and got him a Wife. 1 Of Turtles' Eggs, 
 and how Glooskap v ana wished a Sorcerer by smoking 
 Tobacco. 
 
 (Micmac and Passamaquoddy.) 
 
 Now when Glooskap left Uktukamkw, or New- 
 foundland, it was in a canoe, and he came to Piktook 
 (M. for Pictou), which means the bubbling up of air, 
 because there is much bubbling in the water near that 
 place. And here there was an Indian village, and in 
 that place the Master met with a man whom he loved 
 all his life. 
 
 1 This legend of the tortoise is carefully compiled from six 
 different versions : the narration of Tomah Josephs, a Passama- 
 quoddy ; the Anglo-Indian manuscript, already cited ; two ac- 
 counts in the Rand manuscript ; the author quoted without credit 
 in The Maritime Provinces • and one by Mrs. W. Wallace Brown. 
 As the totem of the Tortoise was of the highest rank among the 
 Algonquins, this account of its origin is of corresponding interest. 
 Having employed an old Indian to carve the handle of a war 
 or scalping knife for me, such as was used by his Passamaquoddy 
 ancestors, he carved on it a tortoise. It was especially the totem 
 of the Lenni-Lenape, called by the Passamaquoddies Lel-le-mabe, 
 " the people." 
 
52 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 And this was not because this man, whose name in 
 Micmac is Mikchich and in Passamaquoddy Chick- 
 we-notchk, meaning the Turtle, was great, or well 
 favored, or rich. For truly he was none of these, 
 being very poor and lazy, no longer young, and not 
 very clever or wise in any way. It is said that he 
 was indeed Glooskap's uncle, but others think that 
 this was by adoption. However, this old fellow bore 
 all his wants with such good nature that the Master, 
 taking him in great affection, resolved to make of him 
 a mighty man. Which came to pass, and that in a 
 strange manner, as we shall see. 
 
 For coming to Piktook, where there were above a 
 hundred wigwams, Glooskap, being a very handsome, 
 stately man, with the manner of a great chief, was 
 much admired, and that not a little by all the women, 
 so that every one wished to have him in the house. 
 Yet he gave them all the go-by, and dwelt with his 
 old uncle, in whose quaint ways and old-time stories 
 he took great delight. And there was to be a great 
 feast with games, but Glooskap did not care to go, 
 either as a guest or a performer in the play. 
 
 Still he inquired of Mikchich if he would not take 
 part in it, telling him that all the maidens would be 
 there, and asking him why he had never married, and 
 saying that he should not live alone. Then the uncle 
 said, " Poor and old and plain am I ; I have not even 
 garments fit for a feast ; better were it for me to smoke 
 my pipe at home." " Truly, if that be all, uncle," re- 
 plied Glooskap, " I trow I can turn tailor and fit you 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 53 
 
 to a turn ; and have no care as to your outside or 
 your face, for to him who knows how, 't is as easy to 
 make a man over as a suit of clothes." " Yes ; but, 
 nephew," said Mikchich, " how say you as to making 
 over the inside of a mortal ? " " By the great Beaver ! " 
 answered the Master, " that is something harder to 
 do, else I were not so long at work in this world. But 
 before I leave this town I shall do that also for you ; 
 and as for this present sport, do but put on my belt." 
 And when he had done that, Mikchich became so 
 young and handsome that no man or woman ever saw 
 the like. And then Glooskap dressed him in his own 
 best clothes, and promised him that to the end of his 
 days, whenever he should be a man, he would be the 
 comeliest of men ; and because he was patient and 
 tough, he should, as an animal, become the hardest to 
 kill of all creatures on the face of the earth, as it came 
 to pass. 
 
 So Mikchich went to the feast. Now the chief of 
 Piktookhad three beautiful daughters, and the young- 
 est was the loveliest in the land. And on her he cast 
 his eyes, and returning said, " I have seen one whom 
 I want." Now all the young men in Piktook desired 
 this girl, and would kill any one who would win her. 
 
 So the next day Glooskap, taking a bunch of waw- 
 haj) (P., wampum), went to the chief and proposed for 
 Mikchich, 1 and the mother at once said " Yes." So 
 
 1 All invitations to festivals, or formal ceremonies, proposals 
 of marriage, etc., were preceded among these tribes by a gift of 
 wampum. 
 
54 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 the girl made up a bed of fresh twigs and covered it 
 with a great white bear-skin, and went to Mikchich, 
 and they returned and had dried meat for supper. So 
 they were married. 
 
 Now Turtle seemed to be very lazy, and when 
 others hunted he lounged at home. One day his 
 young wife said to him that if this went on thus they 
 must soon starve. So he put on his snow-shoes and 
 went forth, and she followed him to see what he 
 would do. And he had not gone far ere he tripped 
 and fell down, and the girl, returning, told her mother 
 that he was worthless. But the mother said, " He will 
 do something yet. Be patient." 
 
 One day it came to pass that Glooskap said to Mik- 
 chich, " To-morrow there will be a great game at ball, 
 and you must play. But because you have made your- 
 self enemies of all the young men here, they will seek 
 to slay you, by crowding all together and trampling 
 upon you. And when they do this it will be by your 
 father-in-law's lodge, and to escape them I give you 
 the power to jump high over it. This you may do 
 twice, but the third time will be terrible for you, and 
 yet it must be." 
 
 All this happened as he foretold ; for the young men 
 indeed tried to take his life, and to escape them Mik- 
 chich jumped over the lodge, so that he seemed like 
 a bird flying. But the third time he did this he was 
 caught on the top of the tent-poles, and hung there 
 dangling in the smoke which rose from below. 
 
 Then Glooskap, who was seated in the tent, said, 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 55 
 
 " Uncle, I will now make yon the sogmo, or great 
 chief of the Tortoises, and you shall bear up a great 
 nation." Then he smoked Mikchich 1 so long that his 
 skin became a hard shell, and the marks of the smoke 
 may be seen thereon to this day. And removing his 
 entrails he destroyed them, so that but one short one 
 was left. And he cried aloud, " Milooks I (M.) My 
 nephew, you will kill me! ,: But the nephew replied, 
 " Not so. I am giving you great life. From this 
 time you may roll through a flame and never feel it, 
 and live on land or in the water. And though your 
 head be cut off, it will live for nine days, and your 
 heart, even, shall beat as long when taken from your 
 body." So Mikchich rejoiced greatly. 
 
 And this came betimes, for he soon had need of it 
 all. For the next day all the men went on a hunt, 
 and the Master warned him that they would seek to 
 slay him. Now the young men went on before, and 
 Turtle lingered behind; but all at once he made a 
 magic flight far over their heads, unseen, and deep 
 in the forest he slew a moose. Then he drew this to 
 the snow-shoe track or road, and when his foes came 
 up there he sat upon the moose, smoking, and wait- 
 ing for them. Now Glooskap had told them that 
 they would see some one come out ahead of them 
 
 1 In a verbal Passamaquoddy narrative (John Gabriel), and 
 in one given in The Maritime Provinces, this was effected by 
 Glooskap with tobacco-smoke from his pipe. In Mr. Rand's 
 manuscript it is the smoke of the tent-fire. The Passamaquoddy 
 narrations are invariably more spirited and humorous than the 
 Micmac. 
 
56 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 all that day, and when this came to pass they were 
 more angered in their hearts than ever. 
 
 So they plotted to kill Turtle, and his nephew, who 
 was about to leave, told him how it would be. " First 
 of all, they will build a mighty fire and throw you 
 in it. But do thou, O uncle, go cheerfully, for by 
 my power thou wilt in nowise suffer. Then they will 
 speak of drowning, but thou must beg and pray that 
 this may not be ; and then they will the more seek to 
 do so, and thou shalt fight them to the bitter end, and 
 yet it shall be." 
 
 And as he said, so it came to pass ; and Mikchich, 
 being of good cheer, bade farewell to his nephew. 1 
 And they seized him and threw him into a great fire, 
 but he turned over and went to sleep in it, being very 
 lazy ; and when the fire had burnt out he awoke, and 
 called for more wood, because it was a cold night. 
 
 Then they seized him yet again, and spoke of 
 drowning. But, hearing this, he, as if he were in 
 mortal dread, begged them not to do this thing. And 
 he said they might cut him to pieces, or burn him, as 
 they would, but not to throw him into the water. 2 
 
 1 This is amusingly, though not very clearly, set forth in the 
 Indian manuscript as follows : " Make believe but you dond want 
 be trown. So he shaken hands witt is nuncel kick hororch good 
 by do him. Tell is uncle you — I shall not be kill and I am going 
 Lever (to live) — we may meet again." 
 
 2 This in the original is extremely like Brer Rabbit's prayer 
 not to be thrown into the brier-bush. As this legend is one of 
 the oldest of the Algonquin, and certainly antedating the com- 
 ing of the whites, I give it the priority over the negro. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 57 
 
 Therefore they resolved to do so, and dragged him 
 on. Then he screamed horribly and fought lustily, 
 and tore up trees and roots and rocks like a madman ; 
 but they took him into a canoe and paddled out into 
 the middle of the lake (or to the sea), and, throw- 
 ing him in, watched him sink as he vanished far down 
 below. So they thought him dead, and returned re- 
 joicing. 
 
 Now the next day at noon there was a hot sun- 
 shine, and something was seen basking on a great 
 rock, about a mile out in the lake. So two young 
 men took a canoe and went forth to see what this 
 might be. And when they came to the edge of the 
 rock, which was about a foot high, there lay Mik- 
 chich sunning himself ; but seeing them coming to 
 take him, he only said, " Good-by," and rolled over 
 plump into the water, where he is living to this day. 
 In memory whereof all turtles, when they see any 
 one coming, tip-tilt themselves over into the water at 
 once. 
 
 And Turtle lived happily with his wife, and she 
 had a babe. Now it happened in after-days that 
 Glooskap came to see his uncle, and the child cried. 
 " Dost thou know what he says ? " exclaimed the Mas- 
 ter. " Truly, not I," answered Mikchich, " unless it 
 be the language of the Mu-se-gisk (P., Spirits of the 
 Air), which no man knoweth." " Well," replied 
 Glooskap, " he is talking of eggs, for he says 4 Hoo~ 
 wah ! hoo-wah ! ' which methinks is much the same 
 as ' Waw-wun, waw-wim.' And this in Passama- 
 
58 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 quodcly means egg. " But where are there any ? " 
 asked Mikchich. Then Glooskap bade him seek in 
 the sand, and he found many, and admired and mar- 
 veled over them greatly ; and in memory of this, and 
 to glorify this jest of Glooskap, the Turtle layeth eggs 
 even to this day. 
 
 The great Glooskap was a right valiant smoker ; in 
 all the world was no man who loved a pipe of good 
 tobacco so much as he. In those days the summers 
 were longer in the land of the Wabanaki, the sun 
 was warmer, and the Indians raised tomawe (tobacco, 
 P.), and solaced themselves mightily therewith. 1 And 
 there came to Glooskap a certain evil-minded magi- 
 cian, who sought to take his life, as the Master very 
 well knew, for he read the hearts of men as if they 
 had been strings of wampum. And this rriteoidin 
 (P., magician), believing himself to be greatest in all 
 things, thought to appall Glooskap by outdoing him 
 at first in something at which he excelled ; for a fish 
 is frightened when another swims faster, but not till 
 then. 
 
 And the man sat down to smoke with an exceeding 
 long pipe with a great bowl, but that of Glooskap 
 grew to be much greater. Then, having filled his 
 pipe, the sorcerer exhausted and burnt it out at one 
 
 1 I have met with an old Indian woman in New Brunswick 
 who told me that her grandmother remembered to have seen to- 
 bacco raised there by the Passamaquoddy. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 59 
 
 pull, and then blew all the smoke out of his nose at one 
 puff. So he sat and looked at the Master. But Gloos- 
 kap, whose pipe held ten times as much tobacco, did 
 the same, and blowing it out split the rocky ground, 
 so that a great chasm opened before them. Then they 
 were silent awhile, till the Master said, " If you can 
 do that you may kill me." But he could not, and so 
 went back with shame to those who had sent him. 1 
 
 How Glooskap sailed through the great Cavern of Dark- 
 ness. 
 (Micmac.) 
 
 Now it is told in another tradition — and men tell 
 even this differently — that pitche, in these old times 
 (P.) Glooskap's seven neighbors, who were all so many 
 different animals, took away his family, and that he 
 followed them, even as it has been written, unto New- 
 foundland. And when he came there it was night, 
 and, finding Marten alone, he took him forth into the 
 forest to seek food, putting his belt on the boy, which 
 gave him such power that he hunted well and got 
 much meat. 
 
 So it came to pass that the next morning Dame 
 Kah-kah-gooch, the Crow, 2 observed that Marten was 
 
 1 In this " tale of tobacco," told me by John Gabriel, the 
 evil-minded magician is described as a Black Cat. This is prob- 
 ably an error, as Glooskap himself appears as chief of the Black 
 Cats in another tale. It may be, however, that this was Pook- 
 jin-skwess in disguise. 
 
 2 Kah-lah-gooch, Micmac, Kah-kah-goos, Passamaquoddy. The 
 Crow is represented in several stories as always peeping, spy- 
 
60 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 drying meat on his wigwam. And this she spread 
 abroad. But when the people learned that the child 
 had done this, a great fear came upon them all, and 
 they sat every man in his lodge and awaited death, 
 for they knew that the Master had come. 
 
 And he indeed came ; but when he saw them all as 
 frightened as rabbits before the wild-cat, he laughed 
 aloud and forgave them, for he was noble and gen- 
 erous. And as they were hungry — for he had come 
 in hard times — he gave them much venison, and sor- 
 row departed from their wigwams. But as they had 
 left him of old, he now left them. When they knew 
 him not they left him to die ; now that they knew him 
 they feared lest they should perish without him. But 
 he turned his steps towards other paths. 
 
 Now having made a canoe, the Master, with Marten 
 and Dame Bear, went upon a mighty river. As the 
 story says, it was broad and beautiful at first, and so 
 they sailed away down towards its mouth. Then they 
 came to great cliffs, which gathered round and closed 
 over them. But the river ran on beneath these, and 
 ever on far underground, deeper and deeper in the 
 earth, till it dashed headlong into rapids, among rocks 
 and ravines, and under cataracts which were so hor- 
 rible that death seemed to come and go with every 
 plunge of the canoe. And the water grew narrower 
 and the current more dreadful, and fear came upon 
 
 ing, begging, pilfering, and tale-bearing about a town. The 
 Passamaquoddy Indians have peculiar superstitions as regards 
 killing the crow. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 61 
 
 Marten and the woman, so that they died. But the 
 Master sat with silent soul, though he sang the songs 
 of magic, and so passed into the night, but came 
 forth again into sunlight. And there was a lonely 
 wigwam on the bank, into which he bore Marten and 
 the grandmother, and saying, " Numchahse ! arise ! " 
 lo, they arose, and deemed they had only slept. And 
 now Glooskap had gained the greatest power. 1 
 
 This incident of passing through darkness, on a 
 roaring stream in a frail bark, before emerging to 
 sunlight or illumination, was not only in the ancient 
 heathen myths. We are reminded of it by the storm 
 through which Jesus passed with the disciples. That 
 it made a great impression upon the Indians is shown 
 by its being told of Pulewech, the Partridge, who is 
 a type of Glooskap, and who, like him, makes war 
 on the powers of evil, set forth in the Porcupines. 
 The Indians, who imagined and selected so many 
 wild and terrible tests to form the Shaman, or sor- 
 cerer, as well as the warrior, would hardly neglect 
 that of de profandis clamavi, the storm, the waves, 
 darkness, and the roaring flood. 
 
 If there is really any Norse influence in this tale, 
 this river must be the one mentioned in the Vaf- 
 thrudnismal, — 
 
 1 This incident of the passage underground is deeply sugges- 
 tive of Wabeno mystery and initiation. It will strike every stu- 
 dent of classic lore as almost identical with much that he has 
 read. If it has not the same symbolical meaning here, it has ap- 
 parently none whatever. 
 
62 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 " Ifing the stream is called 
 which earth divides between 
 the Jotuns and the gods. 
 Open it shall run 
 throughout all time. 
 On that stream no ice shall be." 
 
 It will be observed that, having gone down or across 
 this stream, Pulewech finds himself in the country of 
 the Evil sorcerers ; that is, Jotunheim. To conquer 
 a river among the Norse, in a dream, was a sign of 
 victory ; to be carried away by one was a terrible 
 omen. 
 
 " Methought a river ran 
 Through the whole house, 
 that it roared violently, 
 rushed over the benches, 
 brake the feet of yon 
 brothers twain ; 
 Nothing the water spared ; 
 Something that will portend." 
 
 (Atlamal, in Groenlewzku, 25.) 
 
 Of the Great Works ivhich GloosTcap made in the Land. 
 (Micmac, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot.) 
 
 Over all the Land of the Wabanaki there is no 
 place which was not marked by the hand of the Mas- 
 ter. And it is to be seen on hills and rivers and 
 great roads, as well as mighty rocks, which were in 
 their day living monsters. 
 
 For there is a very wonderful highway from Cwes- 
 owra legek 1 to Parrsborough, running parallel with 
 1 Hardwood Point, Fort Cumberland. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 63 
 
 the river now called Hebert, and this road is called 
 by Indians Ou-wokun, the Causeway, but by white 
 men, or the Iglesmani, the Boar's Back. For it is 
 said that he meant to visit Partridge Island and 
 Cape Blomidon, but they who were with him had got 
 tired of the sea, and wished to cross over by land. 
 And while they were resting and getting ready for 
 their trip across, the Master, raising his magic power 
 to a great deed to be spoken of forever, went away a 
 little time, and cast up a great and beautiful level 
 ridge, throwing it over bogs and streams ; and on this 
 they traveled, rejoicing, and, having reached the isl- 
 and, awaited him. 
 
 And yet again the Master did a mighty deed. It 
 came to pass in those days that the Beavers had built 
 a dam across from Utkoguncheek, or Cape Blomidon, 
 to the opposite shore, and thereby made a pond that 
 filled all the valley of Annapolis. Now in those 
 times the Beavers were monstrous beasts, and the 
 Master, though kind of heart, seems to have had but 
 little love for them ever since the day when Qwah- 
 beetsis, the son of the Great Beaver, tempted Malsum 
 to slay his brother. Now the bones of these Beavers 
 may be found to this day, and many there are on 
 Oonamahgik, and their teeth are six inches across, 
 and there are no such qwah-beet to-day. 1 And these 
 are the remains of the Beavers who built the dam at 
 Cape Blomidon and forded the Annapolis Valley. 
 
 1 Both Mr. Rand and myself have been solemnly assured by 
 Indians who had seen these antediluvian remains that they are 
 the petrified relics of Glooskap's victims. 
 
64 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Now Glooskap would have a hunt and do a deed 
 which should equal the great whale-fishing of Kit- 
 pooseeog-unow. So he cut the great dam near the 
 shore, and bade Marten watch ; for he said, " I mis- 
 trust that there is a little Beaver hiding hereabouts." 
 And when the dam was cut from where it joined the 
 shore there was a mighty rush of many waters, so that 
 it swung round to the westward, yet it did not break 
 away from the other shore. Therefore the end of it 
 lodged with a great split therein when the flood had 
 found a free course, and the whole may be seen there 
 still, even to this day, and may be seen by all of those 
 who pass up the bay ; and this point, or Cape Split, 
 is called by the Micmacs Pleegun, which, being inter- 
 preted, means the opening of a beaver dam. 
 
 Then, to frighten the Beaver, Glooskap threw at it 
 a few handfuls of earth, and these, falling somewhat 
 to the eastward of Partridge Island, became the Five 
 Islands. And the pond which was left was the Basin 
 of Minas. 
 
 And yet another tradition tells that, after cutting 
 the dam, Glooskap sat and watched, but no beaver 
 came out ; 1 for Qivah-beet had gone out of a back 
 door. So he took a rock and threw it afar, 2 — one 
 hundred and fifty miles, — to scare the Beaver back 
 again ; but the Beaver had gone over the Grand Falls, 
 and the stone remaineth there even to this day. 
 
 1 This is the Anglo-Indian manuscript, already referred to. 
 
 2 " He tock Rock tructed 150 miles ip River to sker beaber 
 bock down, but beaber has gone ober granfalls." 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 65 
 
 The Story of Glooskap as told in a few Words by a Woman 
 of the Penobscots. 
 
 " Glus-gahbe gave names to everything. He made 
 men and gave them life, and made the winds to make 
 the waters move. The Turtle was his uncle ; the 
 Mink, Uk-see-meezel, his adopted son ; and Monin- 
 kivessos, the Woodchuck, his grandmother. The 
 Beaver built a great dam, and Glus-gahbe turned it 
 away and killed the Beaver. At Moose-tchick he 
 killed a moose ; the bones may be seen at Bar Har- 
 bor turned to stone. He threw the entrails of the 
 Moose across the bay to his dogs, and they, too, may 
 be seen there to this day, as I myself have seen them ; 
 and there, too, in the rock are the prints of his bow 
 and arrow." 1 
 
 1 Many a place is pointed out as the locality of the same 
 legend. In addition to those in New Brunswick and Bar Har- 
 bor, Thoreau found another in Maine, which he thus de- 
 scribes : — 
 
 " While we were crossing this bay " (that is, the mouth of Moose 
 River), " where Mount Kineo rose dark before us, within two or 
 three miles, the Indian repeated the tradition respecting this 
 mountain's having been anciently a cow moose, — how a mighty 
 Indian hunter, whose name I forget, succeeded in killing this 
 queen of the moose tribe with great difficulty, while her calf was 
 killed somewhere among the islands in Penobscot Bay ; and to 
 his eyes this mountain had still the form of the moose in a re- 
 clining posture, its precipitous side presenting the outline of her 
 head. He told this at some length, though it did not amount to 
 much, and with apparent good faith, and asked us how we sup- 
 posed the hunter could have killed such a mighty moose as that ; 
 5 
 
66 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 How Glooskap, leaving the World, all the Animals 
 
 mourned for him, and how, ere he departed, he gave 
 
 Gifts to Men. 
 
 (Micmac.) 
 
 Now Glooskap had freed the world from all the 
 mighty monsters of an early time : the giants wan- 
 dered no longer in the wilderness ; the cullo terrified 
 man no more, as it spread its wings like the cloud be- 
 how we could do it. Whereupon a man-of-war to fire broad- 
 sides into her was suggested, etc. An Indian tells such a story 
 as if he thought it deserved to have a good deal said about it, 
 only he has not got it to say; and so he makes up for the de- 
 ficiency by a drawling tone, long-windedness, and a dumb won- 
 der which he hopes will be contagious." 
 
 This concluding criticism is indeed singularly characteristic 
 of Mr. Thoreau's own nasal stories about Nature, but it is as 
 utterly untrue as ridiculous when applied to any Indian story- 
 telling to which I have ever listened, and I have known the near 
 relatives of the Indians of whom he speaks, and heard many 
 of them tell their tales. This writer passed months in Maine, 
 choosing Penobscot guides expressly to study them, to read In- 
 dian feelings and get at Indian secrets, and this account of 
 Glooskap, whose name he forgets, is a fair specimen of what 
 he learned. Yet he could in the same book write as follows : 
 " The Anglo-American can indeed cut down and grub up all 
 this waving forest, and make a stump and vote for Buchanan 
 on its ruins ; but he cannot converse with the spirit of the tree 
 he fells, he cannot read the poetry and mythology which retires 
 as he advances." 
 
 If Mr. Thoreau had known the Indian legend of the spirit of 
 the fallen tree — and his guide knew it well — he might have 
 been credited with speaking wisely of the poetry and mythology 
 which he ridicules the poor rural Yankees for not possessing. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 67 
 
 tween him and the sun ; the dreadful Chenoo of the 
 North devoured him not ; no evil beasts, devils, and 
 serpents were to be found near his home. And the 
 Master had, moreover, taught men the arts which 
 made them happier ; but they were not grateful to him, 
 and though they worshiped him they were not the less 
 wicked. 
 
 " Now when the ways of men and beasts waxed evil 
 they greatly vexed Glooskap, and at length he could 
 no longer endure them, and he made a rich feast by 
 the shore of the great Lake Minas. All the beasts 
 came to it, and when the feast was over he got into 
 a great canoe, and the beasts looked after him till 
 they saw him no more. And after they ceased to 
 see him, they still heard his voice as he sang ; but 
 the sounds grew fainter and fainter in the distance, 
 and at last they wholly died away ; and then deep 
 silence fell on them all, and a great marvel came 
 to pass, and the beasts, who had till now spoken but 
 one language, were no longer able to understand each 
 other, and they fled away, each his own way, and 
 never again have they met together in council. Until 
 the day when Glooskap shall return to restore the 
 Golden Age, and make men and animals dwell once 
 
 Such a writer can, indeed, peep and botanize on the grave of 
 Mother Nature, but never evoke her spirit. 
 
 The moving the island is evidently of Eskimo origin, since 
 Crantz (History of Greenland) heard nearly the same story of 
 some magician- giant. It was probably suggested by the very 
 common floating away of ice-islands. 
 
68 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 more together in amity aucl peace, all Nature mourns. 
 And tradition says that on his departure from Acadia 
 the Great Snowy Owl retired to the deep forests, to 
 return no more until he could come to welcome Gloos- 
 kap ; and in those sylvan depths the owls even yet re- 
 peat to the night Koo-koo-skoos ! which is to say in the 
 Indian tongue, ' Oh, I am sorry ! Oh, I am sorry ! ' 
 And the Loons, who had been the huntsmen of Gloos- 
 kap, go restlessly up and down through the world, 
 seeking vainly for their master, whom they cannot 
 find, and wailing sadly because they find him not." 1 
 
 But ere the Master went away from life, or ceased 
 to wander in the ways of men, he bade it be made 
 known by the Loons, his faithful messengers, that be- 
 fore his departure years would pass, and that whoever 
 would seek him might have one wish granted, what- 
 ever that wish might be. Now, though the journey 
 was long and the trials were terrible which those must 
 endure who would find Glooskap, there were still many 
 men who adventured them. 2 
 
 Now ye shall hear who some of these were and 
 
 1 This passage is one of seven on the subject of Glooskap, cited 
 in Osgood's Maritime Provinces, without giving either the name 
 of the author or the book from which they were taken. 
 
 2 There is a great embarrassment of riches, or rather a great 
 wealth of embarrassment, as regards this chapter. In the Rand 
 manuscript there are three histories of the adventures of the pil- 
 grims who sought Glooskap. Another and very different was 
 given to me by John Gabriel. In one account there are three 
 travelers, in another four ; others speak of seven and twelve. 
 Finally, there are many incidents which apparently belong to 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 69 
 
 what happened to them. And this is the first tale as 
 it was told me in the tent of John Gabriel, the Passa- 
 maquoddy. 
 
 When all men had heard that Glooskap would grant 
 a wish to any one who would come to him, three In- 
 dians resolved to try this thing ; and one was a Mali- 
 seet from St. John, and the other two were Penobscots 
 from Old Town. And the path was long and the way 
 was hard, and they suffered much, and they were seven 
 years on it ere they came to him. But while they 
 were yet three months' journey from his dwelling, 
 they heard the barking of his dogs, and as they drew 
 nearer, day by day, it was louder. And so, after great 
 trials, they found the lord of men and beasts, and he 
 made them welcome and entertained them. 
 
 But, ere they went, he asked them what they want- 
 ed. And the eldest, who was an honest, simple man, 
 and of but little account among his people, because 
 he was a bad hunter, asked that he might excel in the 
 killing and catching of game. Then the Master gave 
 him a flute, or the magic pipe, which pleases every 
 ear, and has the power of persuading every animal to 
 follow him who plays it. And he thanked the lord, 
 and left. 
 
 Now the second Indian, being asked what he would 
 
 this part of the Glooskap cycle, scattered here and there in dif- 
 ferent disconnected legends. 
 
 Mrs. W. Wallace Brown was told by the Passamaqnoddy In- 
 dians that when Glooskap departed he took with him the king of 
 each of the different kinds of animals ; so that the wolves, loons, 
 etc., mourn not only for the lord, but for their masters. 
 
70 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 have, replied, The love of many women. And when 
 Glooskap asked how many, he said, " I care not how 
 many, so that there are but enough of them, and more 
 than enough." At hearing this the Master seemed 
 displeased, but, smiling anon, he gave him a bag which 
 was tightly tied, and told him not to open it until he 
 had reached his home. So he thanked the lord, and 
 left. 
 
 Now the third Indian was a gay and handsome but 
 foolish young fellow, whose whole heart was set on 
 making people laugh, and on winning a welcome at 
 every merry-making. And he, being asked what he 
 would have or what he chiefly wanted, said that it 
 would please him most to be able to make a certain 
 quaint and marvelous sound or noise, 1 which was fre- 
 quent in those primitive times among all the Waba- 
 naki, and which it is said may even yet be heard in a 
 few sequestered wigwams far in the wilderness, away 
 from men ; there being still here and there a deep ma- 
 gician, or man of mystery, who knows the art of pro- 
 ducing it. And the property of this wondrous sound 
 is such that they who hear it must needs burst into a 
 laugh; whence it is the cause that the men of these 
 our modern times are so sorrowful, since that sound is 
 no more heard in the land. And to him Glooskap was 
 also affable, sending Marten into the woods to seek a 
 certain mystical and magic root, which when eaten 
 would make the miracle the young man sought. But 
 he warned him not to touch the root ere he got to his 
 1 Pedere, crepitare. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 71 
 
 home, or it would be the worse for him. And so he 
 kindly thanked the lord, and left. 
 
 It had taken seven years to come, but seven days 
 were all that was required to tread the path returning 
 to their home, that is, for him who got there. Only 
 one of all the three beheld his lodge again. This was 
 the hunter, who, with his pipe in his pocket, and not a 
 care in his heart, trudged through the woods, satisfied 
 that so long as he should live, there would always be 
 venison in the larder. 
 
 But he who loved women, and had never won even 
 a wife, was filled with anxious wishfulness. And he 
 had not gone very far into the woods before he opened 
 the bag. And there flew out by hundreds, like white 
 doves, swarming all about him, beautiful girls, with 
 black burning eyes and flowing hair. And wild with 
 passion the winsome witches threw their arms about 
 him, and kissed him as he responded to their em- 
 braces ; but they came ever more and more, wilder 
 and more passionate. And he bade them give way, 
 but they would not, and he sought to escape, but he 
 could not ; and so panting, crying for breath, smoth- 
 ered, he perished. And those who came that way 
 found him dead, but what became of the girls no man 
 knows. 
 
 Now the third went merrily onward alone, when 
 all at once it flashed upon his mind that Glooskap 
 had given him a present, and without the least heed 
 to the injunction that he was to wait till he had 
 reached his home drew out the root and ate it ; and 
 
72 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 scarce had lie done this ere he realized that he pos- 
 sessed the power of uttering the weird and mystic 
 sound to absolute perfection. And as it rang o'er many 
 a hill and dale, and woke the echoes of the distant 
 hills, until 't was answered by the solemn owl, he felt 
 that it was indeed wonderful. So he walked on gayly, 
 trumpeting as he went, over hill and vale, happy as a 
 bird. 
 
 But by and by he began to weary of himself. See- 
 ing a deer he drew an arrow and stealing silently to 
 the game was just about to shoot, when despite him- 
 self the wild, unearthly sound broke forth like a de- 
 mon's warble. The deer bounded away, and the young 
 man cursed ! And when he reached Old Town, half 
 dead with hunger, he was worth little to make laugh- 
 ter, though the honest Indians at first did not fail to 
 do so, and thereby somewhat cheered his heart. But 
 as the days went on they wearied of him, and, life 
 becoming a burden, he went into the woods and slew 
 himself. And the evil spirit of the night-air, even 
 Bumole, 1 or Pamola, from whom came the gift, swooped 
 down from the clouds and bore him away to 'Lalmi- 
 kekqu', the dwelling place of darkness, and he was no 
 more heard of among men. 
 
 As regards the destruction of the giants by Gloos- 
 kap, it may be observed that the same tradition ex- 
 ists among the Six Nations. Cusick tells us that 
 
 1 For an account of Bumole, or Pamola, see the chapter on 
 Supernatural Beings. Bumole seems to have been the personi- 
 fication of the night-hawk. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 73 
 
 about 1250 years before Columbus discovered Amer- 
 ica a powerful tribe called Otne-yar-heh, that is, Stone 
 Giants, who were ravenous cannibals, overran the 
 country, and nearly exterminated the inhabitants. 
 These Stone Giants practiced themselves in rolling on 
 the sand; by this means their bodies became hard. 
 Then Tas-enyawa-gon, the Holder of the Heavens, 
 came to earth as a giant, and, being made their chief, 
 led them into a hollow, where he overwhelmed them 
 with rocks. Only one escaped to the far North. The 
 reader will recognize in these the Chenoos, or Ke% 
 wahqu', who cover themselves with pitch and roll on 
 the ground. But no one can deny that, while that 
 which Cusick narrates has much in common with the 
 mythology of the Wabanaki, it is much less like that 
 of the Edda; that Indian grotesqueness has in it 
 greatly perverted an original ; and finally, that it cer- 
 tainly occupies a position midway between the mythol- 
 ogy of the Northeastern Algonquins and that of the 
 Chippewas, Ottawas, and other Western tribes. Ex- 
 amination shows this in every story. Thus the Waba- 
 naki warrior makes his bow infallible in aim by string- 
 ing it with a cord made of his sister's hair. This is 
 Norse, as it was of old Latin. But in the Iroquois 
 the young man " adorns his arms with the hairs of 
 his sister." Here the tradition has begun to weaken. 
 It may be interesting to visitors to Niagara to know 
 that the army of Stone Giants crossed the river dur- 
 ing their journey just below the Falls. 
 
74 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 How Glooskap had a great Frolic with Kitpooseagunow, a 
 Mighti/ Giant who caught a Whale. 
 
 (Micmac.) 
 
 N'kah-nee-oo. In the old time (P.) Glooskap came 
 to Pulewech Munegoo (M., Partridge Island), and 
 here he met with Kitpooseagunow, 1 whose mother had 
 been slain by a fearful cannibal giant. And it was 
 against these that he made war all his life long, as 
 did Glooskap. Whence it came to pass that they 
 loved one another, which did not at all hinder them 
 from having a hearty and merry encounter, in which 
 they missed but little of killing one or the other, and 
 all in the best natured way in the world. 
 
 Now, having come to Pulewech Munegoo, the lord 
 
 1 Kitpooseagunow, " one born after his mother's death," is a 
 magician-giant, who plays in the Algonquin mythology a part 
 only inferior to that of Glooskap, whom he in every way resem- 
 bles. Both are benevolent, both make war on wicked sorcerers 
 and evil wild beasts, and both, finally, are much like Gargantua 
 and Pantagruel in their sense of humor. They are sometimes 
 made the heroes of the same adventure in different stories. The 
 true origin of the name, according to Mr. Rand, is as follows : 
 " After a cow moose or caribou has been killed, her calf is some- 
 times taken out alive, and reared by hand. As may be supposed, 
 the calf is very easily tamed. The animal thus born is called 
 Kitpooseagunow, and from this a verb is formed which denotes 
 the act." — Legends of the Mic Macs, Old Dominion Monthly, 
 1871. 
 
 This giant was also called the Protector of the Oppressed. He 
 probably represents the Glooskap myth in another form. 
 
>Cv^?^>^^w>^^^S^?^> ^ 
 
 GLOOSKAP AND KEANKE SPEARING THE WHALE. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 75 
 
 of men and beasts was entertained by Kitpooseagu- 
 now. And when the night came, he who was born 
 after his mother's death said to his guest, " Let us go 
 on the sea in a canoe and catch whales by torchlight ; " 
 to which Glooskap, nothing loath, consented, for he 
 was a mighty fisherman, as are all the Wabanaki of 
 the seacoast. 1 
 
 Now when they came to the beach there were only 
 great rocks, lying here and there ; but Kitpoosea- 
 gunow, lifting the largest of these, put it on his head, 
 and it became a canoe. And picking up another, it 
 turned to a paddle, while a long splinter which he 
 split from a ledge seemed to be a spear. Then Gloos- 
 kap asked, " Who shall sit in the stern and paddle, 
 and who will take the spear ? " Kitpooseagunow 
 said, " That will I." So Glooskap paddled, and soon 
 the canoe passed over a mighty whale ; in all the great 
 sea there was not his like ; but he who held the spear 
 sent it like a thunderbolt down into the waters, and as 
 the handle rose again to sight he snatched it up, and 
 the great fish was caught. And as Kitpooseagunow 
 whirled it on high, the whale, roaring, touched the 
 clouds. Then taking him from the point, the fisher 
 
 1 Glooskap would seem to have been the prototype of the 
 giant fisher so well known in song : — 
 
 " His rod was made of a sturdy oak, 
 His line, a cable, in storms ne'er broke ; 
 He baited his hook with a dragon's tail, 
 And sat on a rock and bobbed for whale. ' 
 
 A fabulous monster, apparently identical with the dragon, is 
 common in Micmac stories. 
 
76 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 tossed him into the bark as if he had been a trout. 
 And the giants laughed ; the sound of their laughter 
 was heard all over the land of the Wabanaki. And 
 being at home, the host took a stone knife and split 
 the whale, and threw one half to the guest Glooskap, 
 and they roasted each his piece over the fire and ate it. 
 
 Now the Master, having marked the light, which 
 was long in the heaven after the sun went down, said, 
 " The sky is red ; we shall have a cold night." And 
 his host understood him well, and saw that he would 
 make it cold by magic. So he bade Marten .bring in 
 all the fuel he could find, and all there was of the oil 
 of a porpoise ; and this oil he so multiplied by magic 
 that there was ten times more of it. And they sat 
 them down and smoked, and told tales of old times ; 
 but it grew ever colder and colder. And at midnight, 
 when all was burnt out, Marten froze to death, and 
 then the grandmother, but the two giants smoked on, 
 and laughed and talked. Then the rocks out-of-doors 
 split with the cold, the great trees in the forest split ; 
 the sound thereof was as thunder, but the Master and 
 he who was born after his mother's death laughed even 
 louder. And so they sat until the sun rose. Then 
 Glooskap said to the dead woman, " Noogume, 
 numcliahse ! " (M.) Grandmother, arise ! " and to his 
 boy, " Abistanooch numchahse I " " Marten, arise ! " 
 and they arose, and went about their work. 
 
 And the morning being bright, they went forth far 
 into the forest to find game. But they got very little, 
 for they caught only one small beaver, and Glooskap 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 77 
 
 gave up his share of this to Kitpooseagunow. And 
 he, taking the skin, fastened it to his garter, whence 
 it dangled like the skin of a mouse at the knee of a 
 tall man. But as he went on through the woods the 
 skin grew larger and larger and larger, till it broke 
 away by its own weight. Then the giant twisted a 
 mighty sapling into a withe, and fastened it around 
 his waist. But it still grew apace as he went on, till, 
 trailing after, it tore down all the forest, pulling away 
 the trees, so that Kitpooseagunow left a clean, fair 
 road behind him. 1 
 
 And when the night came on they fished again, as 
 they had done before ; and again it was said, but this 
 time by the host, " The sky is red ; we shall have a 
 cold night." So they heaped up wood more than the 
 first time, but now it was far colder. And soon the 
 boy was dead, and the grandmother also lay frozen. 
 But when the sun rose the Master brought them back 
 to life, and, bidding good -by to Kitpooseagunow, 
 went his way. 2 
 
 1 Many of these stories have received later additions, which 
 can be detected by their occurring only in single versions of 
 them. In the story of Kitpooseagunow (Rand's manuscript) the 
 giants arrive at a " large town," and go to a " store," where they 
 sell the skin for all the money, goods, houses, and lands which 
 the merchant possesses. " And the skin was so heavy that it took 
 the greater part of the day to weigh it." 
 
 2 It is possible that there is a version of this story in which 
 Glooskap kills his friend with frost, and then revives him. In 
 one story it is a, frozen stream, incarnate as a man, which attempts 
 in vain to freeze Glooskap. 
 
 The extraordinary manner in which host and guest, or even 
 
78 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 The most striking feature, however, of this legend 
 is its Norse-like breadth or grandeur and its genial 
 humor, which are very remarkable characteristics for 
 the fictions of savages. Its resemblance to the Scan- 
 dinavian tales is, if accidental, very remarkable. The 
 two heroes are, like Thor and Odin, giant heroes who 
 make war on Jotuns and Trolls; that is, giant-like 
 sorcerers. It is their profession; they live in it. No 
 one can read Beowulf or the Eddas without being 
 struck by the great resemblance between Grendel, the 
 hideous, semi-human night prowler, and the Kewahqu', 
 a precisely similar monster, who rises from the depths 
 of waters to wantonly murder man. I do not recall 
 any two beings in any other two disconnected mythol- 
 ogies so strangely similar. The fishing for the whale 
 recalls that which is told in the Older Edda (Hymis- 
 kricla, 21), where Hymir succeeds in hooking two of 
 these fish : — 
 
 " Then he and Hymir rowed out to sea. Thor 
 rowed oft with two oars, and so powerfully that the 
 giant was obliged to acknowledge they were speeding 
 very fast. He himself rowed at the prow." 
 
 If the reader will compare this account of the 
 Edda with the Micmac story, he cannot fail to be 
 struck with the great resemblance between them. It 
 
 intimate friends, endeavor to hill one another in the most good- 
 natured rivalry, is of constant occurrence in the Eskimo legends. 
 It is not infrequent among our own backwoods or frontier-men. 
 
 The stone-canoe occurs in Eskimo legends (vide Rink), as it 
 does in those of all American Indians. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 79 
 
 is even specified in both that the hero, though a guest, 
 paddles. And in both instances the host catches a 
 whale. Now compare with this the legend of Mano- 
 bozho-Hiawatha, who merely catches the great sun- 
 fish, and is swallowed by it. Does it not seem as if 
 the Western Indians had here borrowed from the 
 Micmacs, and the Micmacs from the Norse ? Whether 
 this was done directly or through the Eskimo is as yet 
 a problem. It may also be noted that both in the 
 Edda and in the Micmac story, it is declared that one 
 of the giants picked up the boat and carried it. 
 
 It may be observed that most of these Indian tra- 
 ditions were originally poems. It is probable that all 
 were sung, while they still retained the character of 
 serious mythical or sacred narrative. Now they are 
 in the transition state of heroic tales. But they un- 
 questionably still retain many passages of very great 
 antiquity, and it is not impossible that Eskimo and 
 even Norse songs are still preserved in them. In this 
 tale the following coincidences with passages in the 
 Elder Edda (Hymiskrida) are remarkable. In both 
 the host asks his guest to go with him to catch 
 whales, to which the latter assents. 
 
 " ' We three to-morrow night 
 Shall be compelled 
 On what we catch to live.' 
 Thor said he would 
 On the sea row." 
 
 Kitpooseagunow picks up the heavy canoe, with its 
 oars and a spear, and carries them. 
 
80 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 " Thor went, 
 grasped the prow 
 quickly with its hold-water, 
 lifted the boat 
 together with its oars 
 and scoop ; 
 bore to the dwelling 
 the curved vessel." 
 
 Glooskap asks which of the two shall take the paddle, 
 and which sit in the stern. Hymir inquires, — 
 " Wilt thou do 
 
 half the work with me ? 
 
 either the whales 
 
 home to the dwelling bear, 
 
 Or the boat 
 
 fast bind ? " 
 
 Kitpooseagunow drew up a whale. 
 
 " The mighty Hymir, 
 He alone 
 two whales drew 
 up with his hook." 
 
 After this whale-fishing, the Scandinavian giants at 
 
 home have a trial of strength and endurance. Thor 
 
 throws a cup at Hymir. This cup can only be broken 
 
 on Hymir's head, which is of ice, and intensely hard. 
 
 " That is harder 
 
 than any cup." 
 
 This is therefore an effort on the part of Thor to 
 overcome Cold. Hymir is the incarnation of Cold 
 
 itself. 
 
 " The icebergs resoimded 
 
 as the churl approached ; 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 81 
 
 the thicket ou his cheeks 
 was frozen. 
 
 In shivers flew the pillars 
 At the Jotun's glance." 
 
 That is, the frost cracks the stones and rocks. In 
 the Indian tale the two giants try to see which can 
 freeze the other. In both there is distinctly a con- 
 test. In the Norse tale Strength or Heat fights Frost ; 
 in the American, Frost is battled with by Frost as a 
 rival. 
 
 It may be observed that the Indian tale is far from 
 being perfect, and that in all probability the whole of 
 it includes a fishing for the sea-serpent. 
 
 It is plainly set forth in the Edda that Cold may 
 be overcome by a magic spell. Thus Groa (Grou- 
 galdr, 12) promises her son a rune to effect this : — 
 
 " A seventh (charm) I will sing thee : 
 If on a mountain high 
 frost should assail thee, 
 deadly cold shall not 
 thy body injure, 
 nor draw it to thy limbs." 
 
 How Glooskap made a Magician of a Young Man, who 
 aided another to win a Wife and do Wonderful Deeds. 
 
 (Miemac.) 
 
 It is well known unto all Indians who still keep the 
 
 true faith of the olden time that there are wondrous 
 
 dwellers in the lonely woods, such as elves and fairies^ 
 
 called by the Micmacs Ifikumwessos, and by the 
 
 Passamaquoddies Oonahgawessos. And these can 
 6 
 
 %L>*W 
 
82 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 work great wonders, and also sing so as to charm 
 the wildest beasts. From them alone come the magic 
 pipes or flutes, which sometimes pass into possession 
 of noted sorcerers and great warriors ; and when these 
 are played upon, the woman who hears the melody is 
 bewitched with love, and the moose and caribou follow 
 the sound even to their death. And when the Megu- 
 mawessos are pleased with a mortal they make him 
 a fairy, even like themselves. 
 
 N' Kamayoo. In old times there was an Indian 
 village, and in it were two young men, 1 who had heard 
 that Glooskap, ere he left the world, would bestow on 
 those who came to him whatever they wanted. So 
 they went their way, an exceeding long pilgrimage, 
 until they came to a great island, where he dwelt. 
 And there they first met with Dame Bear and Marten, 
 and next with the Master himself. Then they all, 
 sitting down to supper, had placed before them only 
 one extremely small dish, and on this there was a 
 tiny bit of meat, and nothing more. But being a bold 
 and jolly fellow, the first of the pilgrims, thinking 
 himself mocked for sport, cut off a great part of the 
 meat, and ate it, when that which was in the dish 
 grew in a twinkling to its former size; and so this 
 went on all through the supper, every one eating his 
 fill, the dish at the end being as full as ever. 
 
 Of these two, one wished to become a Mikum- 
 
 1 According to another Micmac version of this legend, the 
 elder of these pilgrims was Keekwahjoo, the Badger, and the 
 younger Caktoogwasees, or Little Thunder. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 83 
 
 wess, and the other to win a very beautiful girl, the 
 daughter of a great chief, who imposed such cruel 
 tasks on all who came for her, that they died in at- 
 tempting them. 
 
 And the first was taken by Glooskap ; and after he 
 had by a merry trick covered him with filth and put 
 him to great shame, he took him to the river, and after 
 washing him clean and combing his hair gave him a 
 change of raiment and a hair string of exceeding 
 great magic virtue, since when he had bound it on he 
 became a Mikumwess, having all the power of the 
 elfin-world. And also because he desired to excel 
 in singing and music, the Master gave him a small 
 pipe, and it was that which charmed all living beings ; 1 
 and then singing a song bade him join in with him. 
 And doing this he found that he could sing, and ever 
 after had a wondrous voice. 
 
 Now to seek the beautiful girl it was necessary to 
 sail afar over the sea ; and during this adventure the 
 Mikumwess was charged to take care of the younger 
 pilgrim. So he begged the Master to lend him his 
 canoe. And Glooskap answered, " Yes, I will do this 
 for thee, if thou wilt honestly return it when thou 
 needest it no more. Yet in very truth I did never 
 
 1 The identity of these incidents with those of " classic " times 
 is worth noting. There is a lustration and the clothing the 
 neophyte in a new garment, and he receives the magic fillet, as 
 in the Mysteries of the old world. Nor is the resemblance of the 
 pipe to that of Orpheus less striking. In many respects this is 
 the most remarkable old Indian myth I have ever met with. 
 
84 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 yet lend it to mortal man but tliat I had to go after 
 it myself." 2 
 
 Thereupon the young man promised most faithfully 
 that he would indeed return the canoe, and with this 
 they got them ready for the journey. But when they 
 came to the bay there was no canoe, and they knew 
 not what was to be done. But Glooskap pointed to a 
 small island of granite which rose amid the waves, 
 and it was covered with tall pine-trees. "There is 
 my canoe ! " said he ; 2 and when he had taken them 
 unto it, it became a real canoe, with masts, and they 
 set sail on it, rejoicing. 
 
 So they came in time to a very large island, where 
 they drew up the canoe and hid it in the bushes. 
 Then they went forward to seek for people, and found 
 
 1 One of the traits of bonhomie and common humanity which 
 continually occur in the Glooskap tales, even in the most serious 
 situations and solemn myths. In this respect the resemblance 
 of the Northwest Algonquin tales to the Norse is truly strik- 
 ing. The canoe is among all Indians, even in Central America, 
 exactly what the umbrella is in civilized society. With all his 
 immense originality Glooskap had a number of " old Joes," of 
 which he never seems to have tired. One was the inexhaustible 
 dish, and another the giant skunk set upon end to salute his vis- 
 itors, and this of the canoe was probably the commonest of all. 
 He is a true Indian divinity, shining like the lightning and striking 
 only when there is a storm, but appearing like the Aurora Bo- 
 realis, or even the Robin Goodfellow-Will-o'-the-Wisp at others. 
 
 2 Another standard " piece of witt " with the incorrigible 
 joker. Glooskap's " floating island " was served up as a dessert 
 to all guests, and I doubt not that if the double meaning of the 
 word had been known to him, they would have had that too. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 85 
 
 a village in which, dwelt the chief who had the beauti- 
 ful daughter, in seeking whom so many had lost their 
 lives. 
 
 And having found him, they went into his wigwam, 
 and were placed on the seat of honor. Now when an 
 Indian seeks a wife, he or his mutual friend makes 
 no great ado about it, but utters two words, which tell 
 the whole story. And these are Sewin-coadoo-gwah- 
 loogwet\ which mean in Micmac, " I am tired of liv- 
 ing alone." And the chief, hearing this, consented 
 that the young man should marry her whom he 
 sought, but on one condition : and this was that he 
 should slay and bring unto him the head of a. certain 
 horned dragon, called in Micmac Chepichcalm. 1 So 
 this was agreed upon, and the two strangers went to 
 the wigwam which was assigned them. 
 
 Now in the night he that was Mikumwess arose and 
 went alone and afar until he came to the den of the 
 dragon, and this was a great hole in the ground. And 
 over this he laid a mighty log, and then began the 
 magic dance around the den. So the serpent, or the 
 great Chepichcalm, hearing the call, came forth, put- 
 ting out his head after the manner of snakes, wav- 
 ing it all about in every way and looking round him. 
 
 1 Vide " Supernatural Beings." The Chepichcalm (M.) is an 
 immense horned serpent or wingless dragon. It is probably 
 identical with the Wiwillmekq' (P. and Pen.), which is a singu- 
 lar horned worm found on trees or by water. It is believed to 
 be capable of assuming a vast size and to be gifted with super- 
 natural powers. 
 
86 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 While doing this he rested his neck upon the log, when 
 the Indian with a blow of his hatchet severed it. Then 
 taking the head by one of the shining yellow horns he 
 bore it to his friend, who in the morning gave it to 
 the chief. And the old man said to himself, " This 
 time I fear me I shall lose my child." 
 
 Yet the young man had more to do ; for the chief 
 said, " I would fain see my son coast down yonder 
 hill on a hand-sled." Now this lull was an exceed- 
 ing high mountain ; the sides thereof were ragged 
 with rocks and terrible with trees and ice. Then 
 two toboggins l were brought out, one of them for 
 the two strangers, and this he that was Mikumwess 
 was to direct. And on the other were two powerful 
 men, and these were both boo-oinak, 2 who hoped to 
 see the former soon fall out, and then to run over 
 them. And at the word they went flying fearfully 
 down the mountain, and yet ever faster, as if to 
 death. And soon he that sought the girl went whirl- 
 ing headlong from the sled, and the two boo-oinak 
 gave a loud hurrah ; for they knew not that this had 
 been done with intent by the Mikumwess, that he 
 might get them before him. So he put forth his 
 hand, and, seizing the younger man, turned a little 
 aside, but in an instant went on after ; and erelong 
 the sled of the boo-oinak stopped, but the other, 
 bounding upwards from a mighty wall of ice, flew far 
 
 1 Toboggin : a sled or sledge. 
 
 2 Magicians, the original of pow-wow-in. It is apparently the 
 same in meaning as the angakok of the neighboring Eskimo. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 87 
 
 over their heads onwards ; nor did it stop in the val- 
 ley, but, running with tremendous speed up the op- 
 posite hill and into the village, struck the side of the 
 chief's wigwam, ripping it up from end to end ere it 
 stopped. And the old man, seeing this, said, " This 
 time I have lost my daughter ! " 
 
 Yet the young man had more to do ; for the chief 
 said, " There is here a man who has never been 
 beaten in running, and thou must strive with him 
 in that and overcome him, to win thy wife." And 
 the race was appointed ; but ere it came off he that 
 was Mikumwess lent to his friend the magic pipe to 
 give him power. 1 And when he that was the racer 
 of the village met the young man, the youth said, 
 " Who art thou ? " and he replied, " I am Wey-ad- 
 esk " (the Northern Lights, M.) ; " but who art 
 thou ? " And he answered, " I am Wosogwodesk " 
 (the Chain Lightning). And they ran. In an in- 
 stant they were no longer in sight ; they were far 
 away over the most distant hills. Then all sat and 
 waited, and ere it was noon he that was the Chain 
 Lightning returned, and he was not out of breath, 
 nor weary, and he had gone round the world. And 
 at evening they saw the Northern Lights return, and 
 he trembled and quivered with fatigue ; yet for all 
 
 1 It may be observed that Indian magic depends on fetich, or 
 objects having innate power. Glooskap himself relies on his 
 belt, and when he lends it to Marten, the boy becomes " mani- 
 too," as the more Western Indians term it. There is in the 
 early red Indian mythology really no God ; only more or less 
 powerful magicians. 
 
88 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 that lie had not been round the world, but had turned 
 back. And the old chief, seeing hiA beaten, ex- 
 claimed, " This time I shall lose my child ! " 
 
 And yet there was another trial of the young man 
 ere he could win her whom he wanted. For the 
 chief had a man whom no one could overcome in 
 swimming and diving, and it was chiefly in this last 
 thing that he excelled. And the young man must 
 strive with him. And when they met he asked the 
 man of the village his name, and he replied, u I am 
 an Ukcliigumooech " (a Sea Duck, M.) ; " but who 
 are you ? " And he answered, " I am a Kweemoo " 
 (a Loon, M.). So they dived, and after a time the 
 Sea Duck rose again for breath, but those who waited 
 waited long indeed ere they saw the Loon. And an 
 hour passed, and he came not, and yet another ere they 
 beheld him; but when he at last rose the old chief 
 said, " This is the end of all our weary work, for 
 this time truly I have lost my child." 
 
 Yet it was not the end of the wonderful deeds 
 which were done in that village by the power of the 
 great Glooskap. For the Mikumwess, at the great 
 dance which was held that evening at the wedding, 
 astonished all who beheld him. As he danced around 
 the circle, upon the very hard beaten floor, they saw 
 his feet sink deeper at every step, and ever deeper as 
 the dance went on; ploughing the ground up into 
 high, uneven ridges, forming a trench as he went, 
 until at length only his head was to be seen. 1 And 
 1 This is very characteristic of the true magician, both in the 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 89 
 
 this ended the dancing for that night, since the ground 
 was no longer to be danced upon by anybody except 
 wizards and witches. 
 
 Then the young man and his wife and the Mikum- 
 wess entered their canoe and sailed boosijk (home- 
 wards, M.). And yet their trials were not over. 1 For 
 they had not gone far ere they saw an awful storm 
 coming to meet them ; and he that had the Elfin 
 spells knew that it was raised by boo-oin, or sorcery, 
 since these storms are the worst of all. Then, with- 
 out fear, he rose, and, filling his lungs and puffing 
 his cheeks, he blew against the tempest, wind against 
 wind, until he blew the wind away, and the great 
 water was aoobuneak\ as calm and smooth as be- 
 fore. 
 
 So they sailed on over the sunlit sea, but it was 
 not long before the Elf -gifted saw rising among the 
 
 Algonquin and Eskimo folk-lore. " The angakok," or sorcerer 
 of Greenland, " after meeting with tomarsuk, or guardian spirits, 
 sometimes manifested it by his feet sinking into the rocky ground 
 just as if into snow." (Rink.) This phrase indicates the Northern 
 origin of the idea, which occurs in many Indian stories. I have 
 been assured in all faith that there is a Passamaquoddy mheou- 
 lin, or sorcerer, now living, who can walk up to his knees in a 
 floor or in the paved street, and an honest and trustworthy In- 
 dian assured me that he had seen him do it. 
 
 1 These subsequent trials were not inflicted by the old chief, 
 but were, as appears by comparison with other legends, simply 
 jokes played by the incorrigible Glooskap. It is most probable 
 that in its original form this remarkable myth was all maya, or 
 illusion, and the whole a series of illusions, caused by the arch- 
 conjurer, typifying natural phenomena. 
 
90 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 waves far before them a dark mass, which soon proved 
 to be a tremendous beast coming to attack them. And 
 as he drew near they saw it was Quahbeet, the giant 
 beaver, and his eyes were angry. 1 But the Mikum- 
 wess, seeing this, steered straight to meet the monster, 
 and, coming to him, said, " I am the great hunter of 
 beavers ; lo, I am their butcher ; many a one has 
 fallen by my hand." 2 Now the Beaver had placed 
 himself under water, with his tail out of it and rising 
 upwards, that he might sink the canoe with a blow 
 thereof ; for the Beaver strikes mightily in such wise, 
 as is his wont. But he of the magic power, with one 
 blow of his tomahawk, cut the tail from the body, and 
 sailed onward. 
 
 Yet they had not gone far ere, on rounding a 
 point, they saw before them another animal of giant 
 size, who likewise had his tail in the air, waiting to 
 overcome them, and this was A-bekk-thee-lo (M.), 
 the Skunk. Yet ere he made his hideous attack the 
 Mikumwess, ever on the watch, caught up his spear, 
 and, hurling it, pierced A-bekk-thee-lo, who did but 
 kick two or three times ere he died. And, stepping 
 ashore, he who had slain him took a pole, a long dead 
 pine, which lay upon the sand, and, transfixing the 
 Skunk, lifted him high in air, and, planting the tree 
 
 1 From the beginning, when Quahbeetsis, the son of the Beaver, 
 inspired Malsumsis with hatred of Glooskap, this quadruped ap- 
 pears as an enemy. 
 
 2 This is oddly like the speech of the beaver-killer in The 
 Hunting of the Snark. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 91 
 
 on the ground, left him, saying scornfully, as he left, 
 " Lihcho je ncdn!" which, being interpreted, mean- 
 eth, " And now show your tail there ! " * 
 
 So they returned safely. And Glooskap met them 
 at the landing, and his first words were, " Well, my 
 friends, I see that you have brought back my canoe." 
 And they answered, " We have, indeed." Then he 
 inquired, " Has all gone well with ye ? " And they 
 replied that it had. Then Glooskap, laughing, let 
 them know that in all they had experienced he had 
 been busy, and that in all their triumphs he had had 
 a hand. And to the Mikumwess he said, " Go now 
 thy ways, thou and these, and ever lead happy lives : 
 thou amid the Elfin, they among mankind. And be 
 sure of this, that if danger or trouble should come 
 to you, you have but to think of me, and verily aid 
 will come. So they rose and went to their wigwams. 2 
 
 1 The Skunk is here a parody on the Beaver. 
 
 2 In its earlier form this must have been a very remarkable 
 narrative, or poem. That the two combatants in the race were 
 originally the personified Northern Lights and Lightning, and 
 that these were not merely names assumed for boasting, is shown 
 by the incident that the Lightning actually passed round the world, 
 while the Aurora Borealis only covered a portion of it. The 
 diving is either a later addition, or it represents the same stu- 
 pendous spirits taking on the appearance of mastering the ele- 
 ment of water as well as that of fire. Without carrying the Solar 
 myth theory to extremes, it cannot be denied that Glooskap ap- 
 pears in several of these stories as Spring, or as the melter of ice, 
 the conqueror of the frozen stream and of the iceberg. In this 
 narrative he is active and creative Nature itself, directing and 
 sporting with the warring elements. His vast practical joking 
 
92 TEE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 How a Certain Wicked Witch sought to cajole the Great 
 
 and Good Glooskap, and of her Punishment. 
 
 (Micruac.) 
 
 Wkamayoo, of old time. Once it came to pass 
 that Glooskap met with an evil witch, and she had 
 made herself like unto a fair young girl, and believed 
 that he could not know who she was. And she asked 
 him to take her with him in his canoe. So they sailed 
 out over a summer sea : and as they went the witch 
 
 cannot fail to remind the reader yet again of the Norse deities 
 and their jovial household godhood. 
 
 This tradition is Micmac, and taken almost entirely from Mr. 
 Rand's manuscript. It should be borne in mind that it is not 
 from a single story of this collection, but from a careful analysis 
 and comparison of them all, that their entire value is to be as- 
 certained. 
 
 Certain incidents in this tale deserve special attention. The 
 young men go to a land of evil sorcerers, of boo-oin. When one 
 is required to run a race he conquers because he is really the 
 Lightning. When Thor visits Utgard Loki, there is also a race, 
 in which Hugi wins, because he is Thought disguised as a man. 
 Glooskap has a canoe, which is sometimes immensely large, but 
 which at other times shrinks to a very small size. In the Edda, 
 Odin is said to have had made for him by the dwarfs a boat, 
 Skidbladnir, which, like Glooskap's bark, expanded or dimin- 
 ished. Sigurd, in the New Edda, is obliged to kill a dragon, 
 and it is very remarkable that he does it by a special previous 
 preparation. That is to say, he digs a little ditch, and when the 
 dragon crawls over it the hero pierces him with his sword. In 
 this story the Indian lays a log over the dragon's hole, to enable 
 him to chop his head off. The dragon, or horned snake, is an 
 old-time tradition in America, or pre-Columbian. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 93 
 
 sought to beguile him with sweet words ; but he an- 
 swered naught, for he wist well what kind of passenger 
 he had on board. And as they went on she played her 
 cajoleries, but he remained grim as a bear. Then 
 she, being angry, showed it, and there arose a great 
 storm. The wind howled over the waves as they 
 rose and fell, like white wolves jumping while they 
 run, the first lightnings flashed, and the sky grew 
 dark as night. The Master was angered that so mean 
 a creature dared to play him such tricks, and, pad- 
 dling the canoe to the beach, he leaped ashore. Then 
 giving the bark, with the witch in it, a push out to 
 sea, he cried to her, " Sail thou with the devil ! But 
 never be in human form again, O she-beast ! " 
 
 Then she, being frightened, said, "Master, what 
 wilt thou that I become ? " And he replied, u What- 
 ever thou wilt ; that grace alone I give thee." And 
 in despair she plunged into the waters, and became a 
 keegunibe, a ferocious fish, which has upon its back a 
 great fin, which it shows like a sail when swimming 
 through the water. So the canoe and the witch be- 
 came one in the evil fish, and the Indians to this day 
 when they see it, cry, " See the witch, who was pun- 
 ished by the great Master ! " 
 
 Now of sinful men, evil beasts, foul sorcerers, 
 witches, and giants, there were in those days many 
 who sought to do great harm to Glooskap ; but of 
 them all there did not escape any ; verily, no, not one. 1 
 
 1 A Micmac story, from the Rand manuscript. I believe that 
 the fish here spoken of is a shark. 
 
94 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Of other Men who ivent to Glooskap for Gifts. 
 (Micmac.) 
 
 N'karnayoo : wood-enit-atokhagen Glooskap. Of 
 the old times : this is a story of Glooskap. Xow 
 there went forth many men nnto Glooskap, hearing 
 that they could win the desires of their hearts ; and all 
 got what they asked for, in any case ; but as for hav- 
 ing what they wanted, that depended on the wisdom 
 with which they wished or acted. 
 
 The good Glooskap liked it not that when he had 
 told any one evenly and plainly what to do, that man 
 should then act otherwise, or double with him. And 
 it came to pass that a certain fool, of the kind who 
 can do nothing unless it be in his own way, made a 
 long journey to the Master. And his trials were in- 
 deed many. For he came to an exceeding high moun- 
 tain in a dark and lonely land, where he heard no 
 sound. And the ascent thereof was like a smooth 
 pole, and the descent on the other side far worse, for 
 it hung over the bottom. Yet it was worse beyond, 
 for there the road lay between the heads of two huge 
 serpents, almost touching each other, who darted their 
 terrible tongues at those who went between. And yet 
 again the path passed under the "Wall of Death. Now 
 this wall hung like an awful cloud over a plain, rising 
 and falling at times, yet no man knew when. And 
 when it fell it struck the ground, and that so as to 
 crush all that was beneath it. 
 
 But the young man escaped all these trials, and 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 95 
 
 came to the island of the Great Master. And when 
 he had dwelt there a certain time, and was asked 
 what he would have, he replied, " If my lord will, 
 let him give me a medicine which will cure all dis- 
 ease." More than this he asked not. So the Mas- 
 ter gave him a certain small package, and said, 
 " Herein is that which thou seekest ; but I charge 
 thee that thou lettest not thine eyes behold it until 
 thou shalt reach thy home." So he thanked the Mas- 
 ter, and left. 
 
 But he was not far away ere he desired to open 
 the package and test the medicine, and, yet more, the 
 truth of the Master. And he said to himself, " Truly, 
 if this be but a deceit it was shrewdly devised to- bid 
 me not open it till I returned. For he knew well 
 that once so far I would make no second journey to 
 him. Tush! if the medicine avail aught it cannot 
 change in aught." So he opened it, when that 
 which was therein fell to the ground, and spread it- 
 self like water everywhere, and then dried away like 
 a mist. And when he returned and told his tale, men 
 mocked him. 
 
 Then again there were three brothers, who, having 
 adventured, made known their wishes. Now the first 
 was very tall, far above all his fellows, and vain of 
 his comeliness. For he was of those who put bark or 
 fur into their moccasins, that they may be looked up 
 to by the little folk and be loved by the squaws ; and 
 his hair was plastered to stand up on high, and on the 
 summit of it was a very long turkey-tail feather. And 
 
96 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 this man asked to become taller than any Indian in 
 all the land. 1 
 
 And the second wished that he might ever remain 
 where he was to behold the land and the beauty of it, 
 and to do naught else. 
 
 And the third wished to live to an exceeding old 
 age, and ever to be in good health. 
 
 Now the three, when they came to the island, had 
 found there three wigwams, and in two of these were 
 dwellers, not spoken of in other traditions. In one 
 lived Cool-puj-ot, a very strange man. For he has no 
 bones, and cannot move himself, but every spring and 
 autumn he is rolled over with handspikes by the 
 order of Glooskap, and this is what his name means 
 in the Micmac tongue. And in the autumn he is 
 turned towards the west, but in the spring towards 
 the east, and this is a figure of speech denoting the 
 revolving seasons of the year. With his breath he 
 can sweep down whole armies, and with his looks alone 
 he can work great wonders, and all this means the 
 weather, — frost, snow, ice, and sunshine. 2 
 
 1 This story has been told to me in three different forms. I 
 have here given it with great care in what I conceive to be the 
 original. In one version it is the pine, in another the cedar-tree. 
 
 2 Mr. Rand (manuscript, p. 471) says that all of this explana- 
 tion was given verbatim by a Micmac named Stephen Flood, who 
 was a " very intelligent and reliable Indian." Cool-puj-ot is al- 
 most identical with Shawandasee, the guardian of the South. 
 " He is represented as an affluent, plethoric old man, who has 
 grown unwieldy from repletion, and seldom moves. He keeps 
 his eyes steadfastly fixed on the north. When he sighs in au- 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 97 
 
 And in the other wigwam dwelt Cuhkw (M.), which 
 means Earthquake. And this mighty man can pass 
 along under the ground, and make all things shake 
 and tremble by his power. 
 
 Now when Giooskap had heard what these visitors 
 wished for, he called Earthquake, and bid him take 
 them all three and put them with their feet in the 
 ground. And he did so, when they at once became 
 three trees : as one tradition declares, pines ; and an- 
 other, cedars. 
 
 So that he that would be tall became exceeding tall, 
 for his head rose above the forest ; and even the tur- 
 key-feather at the top thereof is not forgotten, since 
 to this day it is seen waving in the wind. And he 
 who will listen in a pine-wood may hear the tree mur- 
 muring all day long in the Indian tongue of the olden 
 
 time, — 
 
 " Ee nil Etuclii nek m'kilaskitopp 
 Ee nil Etuche wiski nek n'kil ooskedjin." x 
 
 Oh, I am such a great man ! 
 Oh, I am such a great Indian ! 
 
 And the second, who would remain in the land, re- 
 mains there ; for while his roots are in the ground he 
 cannot depart from it. 
 
 tumn, we have those balmy southern airs, which communicate 
 warmth and delight over the northern hemisphere, and make 
 the Indian summer." The " affluence " and " grown unwieldy 
 from repletion," in this account, are probably due to Schoolcraft's 
 florid style. {Hiawatha Legends.) Shawandasee is identical 
 with Svasud of the Edda. (Vafthrudnismal, 27.) 
 1 Passamaquoddy. 
 
98 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 And the third, who would live long in health, un- 
 less men have cut him down, is standing as of yore. 1 
 
 Of Glooskap and the Three Other Seekers. 
 (Micmac.) 
 Of old time. Now when it was noised abroad that 
 whoever besought Glooskap could obtain the desire of 
 his heart, there were three men who said among them- 
 selves, " Let us seek the Master." So they left their 
 home in the early spring when the bluebird first sang, 
 and walked till the fall frosts, and then into winter, 
 and ever on till the next midsummer. And having 
 come to a small path in a great forest, they followed 
 it, till they came out by a very beautiful river ; so fair 
 a sight they had never seen, and so went onward till 
 it grew to be a great lake. And so they kept to the 
 path which, when untrodden, was marked by blazed 
 trees, the bark having been removed, in Indian fash- 
 
 1 In another version of this tale, Glooskap transformed him 
 into an old gnarled and twisted cedar, with limbs growing out 
 rough and ugly all the way from the bottom. " There," he said 
 to the cedar-tree, " I cannot say how long you will live ; only 
 the Great Spirit above can tell that ; but you will not be dis- 
 turbed for a good while, as no one can have any object in cut- 
 ting you down. You are yourself unfit for any earthly purpose, 
 and the land around you is useless for cultivation. I think you 
 will stand there for a long while." (Rand manuscript.) 
 
 It should be added that in one version we are told that the 
 seeds from these cedars or pines were blown by the wind, and so 
 spread forth all over the earth. The planting of the cedar by 
 Earthquake possibly indicates the storms by which seeds are 
 blown afar. 
 
GLOOSKAP TURNING A MAN INTO A CEDAR-TREE- 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 99 
 
 ion, on the side of the trunk which is opposite the 
 place where the wigwam or village lies towards which 
 it turns. So the mark can be seen as the traveler 
 goes towards the goal, but not while leaving it. 
 
 Then after a time they came to a long point of land 
 running out into the lake, and, having ascended a high 
 hill, they saw in the distance a smoke, which guided 
 them to a large, well-built wigwam. And, entering, 
 they found seated on the right side a handsome, 
 healthy man of middle age, and by the other a woman 
 so decrepit that she seemed to be a hundred years 
 old. Opposite the door, and on the left side, was a 
 mat, which seemed to show that a third person had 
 there a seat. 
 
 And the man made them welcome, and spoke as if 
 he were weleda'asit kesegvou (M.) — well pleased to 
 see them, but did not ask them whence they came or 
 whither they were going, as is wont among Indians 
 when strangers come to their homes or are met in 
 travel. Erelong they heard the sound of a paddle, 
 and then the noise of a canoe being drawn ashore. 
 And there came in a youth of fine form and features 
 and well clad, bearing weapons as if from hunting 
 who addressed the old woman as ITejoo, or mother, 
 and told her that he had brought game. And with 
 sore ado — for she was feeble — the old dame tottered 
 out and brought in four beavers ; but she was so much 
 troubled to cut them up that the elder, saying to the 
 younger man Uoh-keenf (M.), " My brother," bade 
 him do the work. And they supped on beaver. 
 
100 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 So they remained for a week, resting themselves, 
 for they were sadly worn with their wearisome journey, 
 and also utterly ragged. And then a wondrous thing 
 came to pass, which first taught them that they were 
 in an enchanted land. For one morning the elder 
 man bade the younger wash their mother's face. And 
 as he did this all her wrinkles vanished, and she be- 
 came young and very beautiful ; in all their lives the 
 travelers had never seen so lovely a woman. Her 
 hair, which had been white and scanty, now hung to 
 her feet, dark and glossy as a blackbird's breast. 
 Then, having been clad in fine array, she showed a 
 tall, lithe, and graceful form at its best. 
 
 And the travelers said to themselves, " Truly this 
 man is a great magician ! " They all walked forth to 
 see the place. Never was sunshine so pleasantly tem- 
 pered by a soft breeze ; for all in that land was fair, 
 and it grew fairer day by day to all who dwelt there. 
 Tall trees with rich foliage and fragrant flowers, but 
 without lower limbs or underbrush, grew as in a grove, 
 wide as a forest, yet so far apart that the eye could 
 pierce the distance in every direction. 
 
 Now when they felt for the first time that they were 
 in a new life and a magic land, he that was host asked 
 them whence they came and what they sought. So 
 they said that they sought Glooskap. And the host 
 replied, " Lo, I am he ! " And they were awed by his 
 presence, for a great glory and majesty now sat upon 
 him. As the woman had changed, so had he, for all 
 in that place was wonderful. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 101 
 
 Then the first, telling what he wanted, said, " I am 
 a wicked man, and I have a bad temper. I am prone 
 to wrath and reviling, yet I woidd fain be pious, meek, 
 and holy." 
 
 And the next said, "lam very poor, and my life is 
 hard. I toil, but can barely make my living. I 
 would fain be rich." 
 
 Now the third replied, " I am of low estate, being 
 despised and hated by all my people, and I wish to be 
 loved and respected." And to all these the Master 
 made answer, " So shall it be ! " 
 
 And taking his medicine-bag (UpsaJcumoode, M.) 
 he gave unto each a small box, and bade them keep it 
 closed until they should be once more at home. 1 And 
 on returning to the wigwam he also gave to each of 
 them new garments ; in all their lives they had never 
 seen or heard of such rich apparel or such ornaments 
 as they now had. Then when it was time to depart, 
 as they knew not the way to their home, he arose and 
 went with them. Now they had been more than a 
 year in coming. But he, having put on his belt, went 
 forth, and they followed, till in the forenoon he led 
 them to the top of a high mountain, from which in 
 the distance they beheld yet another, the blue outline 
 of which could just be seen above the horizon. And 
 having been told that their way was unto it, they 
 
 1 In this version (Rand manuscript) there is a fourth Indian 
 introduced, — he who would fain be tall and long-lived, and is 
 changed to a tree. As it is precisely the same tale as that of the 
 three who became cypresses or pines, I have not repeated it. 
 
102 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 thought it would be a week's journey to reach it. But 
 they went on, and in the middle of the afternoon of 
 the same day they were there, on the summit of the 
 second mountain. And looking from this afar, all 
 was familiar to them — hill and river, and wood and 
 lakes ; all was in their memory. " And there," said 
 the Master, pointing unto it, — " there is your own 
 village ! " So he left them alone, and they went on 
 their way, and before the sun had set were safe at 
 home. 
 
 Yet when they came no one knew them, because of 
 the great change in their appearance and their fine 
 attire, the like of which had never been seen by man 
 in those days. But having made themselves known to 
 their friends, all that were there of old and young 
 gathered together to gaze upon and hear what they 
 had to say. And they were amazed. 
 
 Then each of them, having opened his box, found 
 therein an unguent, rich and fragrant, and with this 
 they rubbed their bodies completely. And they were 
 ever after so fragrant from the divine anointing that 
 all sought to be near them. Happy were they who 
 could but sniff at the blessed smell which came from 
 them. 
 
 Now he who had been despised for his deformity 
 and weakness and meanness became beautiful and 
 strong and stately as a pine-tree. There was no man 
 in all the land so graceful or of such good behavior. 
 
 And he who had desired abundance had it, in all 
 fullness, his wish. For the moose and caribou came 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 103 
 
 to him in the forest, the fish leaped into his nets, all 
 men gave unto him, and he gave unto all freely, to 
 the end. 
 
 And he that had been wicked and of evil mind, 
 hasty and cruel, became meek and patient, good and 
 gentle, and he made others like himself. And he 
 had his reward, for there was a blessing upon him as 
 upon all those who had wished wisely even unto the 
 end of their days. 1 
 
 1 This beautiful story, in its original simplicity, reminds one of 
 the tenderest biblical narratives. There is in it nothing reflected 
 or second-hand ; it is a very ancient or truly aboriginal tale. I 
 can but sincerely regret my utter inability to do justice to it. 
 The pen of a great master would be required to describe the 
 fairyland freshness and light of Glooskap's home as it is felt m 
 the original by men far more familiar with the forest in all its 
 loveliness at all seasons than any white writer can be. The, 
 naivete or simplicity of the pilgrims is as striking as that of the 
 narrator or poet, to whom fine clothes — a Homeric trait — are 
 as wonderful as all the deeds of magic which he describes. 
 
 In this and other tales a man is represented as being punished 
 by being turned into a tree, so that he can never leave a certain 
 spot. This is a kind of imprisonment. In the Edda the Ash 
 Yggdrasil is the prison of Iduna. 
 
 " She ill brooked 
 her descent 
 under the hoar tree's 
 trunk confined." 
 
 (Hrofnagaldr Odins, 7.) 
 
 It is to keep a man or a woman in a certain place, as prisoner, 
 that the characters described in the Indian and JSForse myths are 
 put into trees. 
 
 This was related to Mr. Rand by Benjamin Brooks, a Micmac. 
 
104 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS, 
 
 Of Glooskap and the Sinful Serpent. 
 (Passamaquodcly.) 
 
 Of old time it befell that Glooskap had an enemy, 
 an evil man, a sinful beast, a great sorcerer. And 
 this man, after trying many things, made himself a 
 great serpent, hoping so to slay the Master. 
 
 Of old time Glooskap met a boy whose name was 
 ' 'JV?nmoksivess, the Sable. 1 And the boy had a flute : 
 whoever played on it could entice unto him all the 
 animals. And once, when the Master was afar, the 
 boy broke the flute, and in his great sorrow he would 
 not return home, but wandered away into the wil- 
 derness. Now Glooskap knew in his heart that the 
 flute was broken: he who is a magician knows at 
 once of a great evil. And coming home, he asked 
 of the grandmother where the boy was, and she could 
 only weep. Then the Master said, " Though I roam 
 forever, yet will I find the boy." So he went forth, 
 and he tracked him in the snow for three days ; 
 and on the third night he heard some one singing in 
 a hollow; and it was a magic song, that which the 
 m'teoulin sings when he is in dire need and death is 
 near. And making a circle round about the place, 
 Glooskap looked down and saw a wigwam, and heard 
 the voice more distinctly as he drew nearer; and it 
 was the voice of the boy, and he was singing a song 
 
 1 Evidently no other than Marten, or the Abistanooch of the 
 Micmac mythology. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 105 
 
 against all of the snake kind. And he was wandering 
 about the wigwam, seeking a straight stick. 
 
 Then Glooskap understood all the thing, and how 
 the boy had been enticed into the wilderness by the 
 evil arts of At-o-sis, the Snake, and that the Great 
 Serpent was in the wigwam, and had sent him out to 
 seek a straight stick. Then Glooskap, singing again 
 softly, bade him get a very crooked one, and told 
 what more to do. So the boy got an exceedingly 
 crooked one ; and when he entered, the Snake, seeing 
 it, said, " Why hast thou got such a bad stick ? " 
 And the boy, answering, said, "Truly, it is very 
 crooked, but that which is crookedest may be made 
 straightest, and I know a charm whereby this can be 
 done ; for I will but heat this stick in the fire, and 
 then I will make it quite straight, as you shall see." 
 Now At-o-sis was very anxious to behold this wonder- 
 ful thing, and he looked closely ; but the boy, as soon 
 as the end of the stick was red-hot, thrust it into his 
 eyes and blinded him, and ran forth. Yet the Snake 
 followed him ; but when he was without the wigwam 
 he met the Master, who slew him out of hand. 1 
 
 Of old times. This is an end of the story. 
 
 1 This curious legend is suggestive of Ulysses and the Cyclops. 
 The enemies of Glooskap are all cannibals ; the boy is sent out 
 for a straight stick to serve as a spit to roast him on. It is not im- 
 possible that the Snake, in some perfect version of the tale, has 
 but a single eye, since many of the evil creatures of red Indian 
 mythology are half stone lengthwise. But the whole story is 
 full of strange hints. It was told me by Tomah Josephs, at Cam- 
 pobello, N. B. 
 
106 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 The Tale of Glooskap as told hy another Indian. Show- 
 ing how the Toad and Porcupine lost their Noses. 
 (Micmac.) 
 
 In the old time. Far before men knew themselves, 
 in the light before the sun, Glooskap and his brother 
 were as yet unborn; they waited for the day to ap- 
 pear. Then they talked together, and the youngest 
 said, " Why should I wait ? I will go into the world 
 and begin my life at once." Then the elder said, 
 " Not so, for this were a great evil." But the younger 
 gave no heed to any wisdom : in his wickedness he 
 broke through his mother's side, he rent the wall ; his 
 beginning of life was his mother's death. 
 
 Now, in after j^ears, the younger brother would 
 learn in what lay the secret of the elder's death. And 
 Glooskap, being crafty, told the truth and yet lied; 
 for his name was the Liar, yet did he never lie for 
 evil or aught to harm. So he told his brother that 
 the blow of a ball, or handful of the down of feath- 
 ers, would take away his life ; and this was true, for 
 it would stun him, but it would not prevent his re- 
 turning to life. Then Glooskap asked the younger for 
 his own secret. And he, being determined to give the 
 elder no time, answered truly and fearlessly, " I can 
 only be slain by the stroke of a cat-tail or bulrush." 
 
 And then the younger, having gathered the down 
 of bird's feathers, struck the elder, so that he fell 
 dead, and therein he told the truth. But he soon re- 
 covered, and in that was his deceit. Howbeit it was 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 107 
 
 well for the world and well for him that he then 
 gathered bulrushes and smote his younger brother, so 
 that he died. But the plant never grew that could 
 harm the Master, wherefore he is alive to this day. 
 
 Who was his mother ? The female Turtle was his 
 mother. 
 
 The Master was the Lord of Men and Beasts. 
 Beasts and Men, one as the other, he ruled them all. 
 Great was his army, his tribe was All. In it the 
 Great Golden Eagle was a chief ; he married a female 
 Caribou. The Turtle was Glooskap's uncle ; he mar- 
 ried a daughter of the Golden Eagle and Caribou. Of 
 all these things there are many and long traditions. 
 Our people tell them in the winter by the fire : the 
 old people know them ; the young forget them and 
 the wisdom which is in them. 
 
 When the Turtle married, the Master bade him 
 make a feast, and wished that the banquet should be 
 a mighty one. To do this he gave him great power. 
 He bade him go down to a point of rocks by the sea, 
 where many whales were always to be found. He 
 bade him bring one ; he gave him power to do so, but 
 he set a mark, or an appointed space, and bade him not 
 go an inch beyond it. So the Turtle went down to 
 the sea ; he caught a great whale, he bore it to camp ; 
 it seemed to him easy to do this. But like all men 
 there was in him vain curiosity ; the falsehood of dis- 
 obedience was in him, and to try the Master he went 
 beyond the mark ; and as he did this he lost his magic 
 strength ; he became as a man ; even as a common 
 
108 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 mortal his nerves weakened, and lie fell, crushed flat 
 beneath the weight of the great fish. 
 
 Then men ran to Glooskap, saying that Turtle was 
 dead. But the Master answered, " Cut up the Whale ; 
 he who is now dead will revive." So they cut it up ; 
 (and when the feast was ready) Turtle came in yawn- 
 ing, and stretching out his leg he cried, " How tired 
 I am ! Truly, I must have overslept myself." Now 
 from this time all men greatly feared Glooskap, for 
 they saw that he was a spirit. 
 
 It came to pass that the Turtle waxed mighty in 
 his own conceit, and thought that he could take Gloos- 
 kap's place and reign in his stead. So he held a 
 council of all the animals to find out how he could be 
 slain. The Lord of Men and Beasts laughed at this. 
 Little did he care for them ! 
 
 And knowing all that was in their hearts, he put on 
 the shape of an old squaw and went into the council- 
 house. And he sat down by two witches : one was the 
 Porcupine, the other the Toad ; as women they sat 
 there. Of them the Master asked humbly how they 
 expected to kill him. And the Toad answered sav- 
 agely, " What is that to thee, and what hast thou to 
 do with this thing ? " " Truly," he replied, " I meant 
 no harm," and saying this he softly touched the tips 
 of their noses, and rising went his way. But the two 
 witches, looking one at the other, saw presently that 
 their noses were both gone, and they screamed aloud 
 in terror, but their faces were none the less flat. And 
 so it came that the Toad and the Porcupine both lost 
 their noses and have none to this day. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 109 
 
 Glooskap had two dogs. One was the Loon (Kwe- 
 moo), the other the Wolf (Malsum). Of old all ani- 
 mals were as men ; the Master gave them the shapes 
 which they now bear. But the Wolf and the Loon 
 loved Glooskap so greatly that since he left them 
 they howl and wail. He who hears their cries over 
 the still sound and lonely lake, by the streams where 
 no dwellers are, or afar at night in the forests and 
 hollows, hears them sorrowing for the Master. 
 
 I am indebted for this legend to Mr. Edward Jack, 
 of Fredericton, N. B. " I give it to you," he writes, 
 " just as it came from an Indian's lips, as he sat be- 
 fore the fire in my room this evening, smoking his to- 
 bacco mixed with willow bark. He has an endless 
 store of Indian lore." It may be observed that this 
 story gives a far more ingenious reason for Glooskap's 
 telling his brother what would be his bane than ap- 
 pears in the other version. For he tells him what 
 would indeed deprive him of life, but not forever. 
 
 No one can compare the story of Glooskap with that 
 of Manobozho - Hiawatha and the like, as given by 
 Schoolcraft or Cusick, and not decide that the latter 
 seems to be a second-hand version of the former. In 
 one we have the root of the bulrush, — not the light, 
 feathery rush itself. In this story, as in that of Balder 
 and Loki, it is the very apparent harmlessness of the 
 bane which points the incident. Manobozho's father 
 says that a black rock will kill him ; but it does not, 
 although he flies before it. Glooskap declares that a 
 
110 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 handful of down will cause his death. The double 
 entendre of the swoon is entirely wanting in the West- 
 ern tale, as is the apparent harmlessness of the me- 
 dium of death. In the Edda the mistletoe, the softest, 
 and apparently the least injurious, of plants, kills 
 Balder; in the Wabanaki tale it is a ball of down 
 or a rush. The Chippewas change it, like savages, to 
 a substantial root and a black rock, thereby manifest- 
 ing an insensibility to the point of the original, which 
 is that the most trifling thing may be the cause of the 
 most terrible events. 
 
 Hoiv GloosJcap changed Certain Saucy Indians into Rattle- 
 snakes. 
 
 (Passamaquoddy.) 
 
 You know At-o-sis, the Snake ? Well, the worst of 
 all is Rattlesnake. Long time ago the Rattlesnakes 
 were saucy Indians. They were very saucy. They 
 had too much face. They could not be put down by 
 much, and they got up for very little. 
 
 When the great Flood was coming Glooskap told 
 them about it. They said they did not care. He told 
 them the water would come over their heads. They 
 said that would be very wet. He told them to be 
 good and quiet, and pray. Then those Indians hur- 
 rahed. He said, " A great Flood is coming." Then 
 they gave three cheers for the great Flood. He said, 
 " The Flood will come and drow r n you all." Then 
 these Indians hurrahed again, and got their rattles, 
 made of turtle-shells, in the old fashion, fastened to- 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. Ill 
 
 gether, filled with pebbles, and rattled them and had 
 a grand dance. Afterwards, when the white men 
 brought cows and oxen into the country, they made 
 rattles of horns. 
 
 Yes, they had a great dance. The rain began to 
 fall, but they danced. The thunder roared, and they 
 shook their rattles and yelled at it. Then Glooskap 
 was angry. He did not drown them in the Flood, 
 however, but he changed them into rattlesnakes. 
 Nowadays, when they see a man coming, they lift up 
 their heads and move them about. That 's the way 
 snakes dance. And they shake the rattles in their 
 tails just as Indians shake their rattles when they 
 dance. How do you like such music ? 
 
 A Passamaquodcly tale related by an old woman 
 to Mrs. W. Wallace Brown. These Indians still keep 
 up a very curious snake-dance. 
 
 Hoiv Glooskap bound Wuchoivsen, the Great Wind-Bird, 
 and made all the Waters in all the World Stagnant. 
 
 (Passamaquodcly.) 
 
 The Indians believe in a great bird called by them 
 Wochowsen or Wuchowsen, meaning Wind-Blow or 
 the Wind-Blower, who lives far to the North, and 
 sits upon a great rock at the end of the sky. And it 
 is because whenever he moves his wings the wind 
 blows they of old times called him that. 
 
 When Glooskap was among men he often went out 
 in his canoe with bow and arrows to kill sea-fowl. 
 
112 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 At one time it was every day very windy ; it grew 
 worse ; at last it blew a tempest, and he could not 
 go out at all. Then he said, " Wuchowsen, the Great 
 Bird, has done this ! " 
 
 He went to find him ; it was long ere he reached 
 his abode. He found sitting on a high rock a large 
 white Bird. 
 
 " Grandfather,*' said Glooskap, " you take no com- 
 passion on your IToosesek, your grandchildren. You 
 have caused this wind and storm; it is too much. 
 Be easier with your wings ! " 
 
 The Giant Bird replied, " I have been here since 
 ancient times ; in the earliest days, ere aught else 
 spoke, I first moved my wings ; mine was the first 
 voice, — and I will ever move my wings as I will." 
 
 Then Glooskap rose in his might ; he rose to the 
 clouds ; he took the Great Bird-giant Wuchowsen as 
 though he were a duck, and tied both his wings, and 
 threw him down into a chasm between deep rocks, 
 and left him lying there. 
 
 The Indians could now go out in their canoes all 
 day long, for there was a dead calm for many weeks 
 and months. And with that all the waters became 
 stagnant. They were so thick that Glooskap could 
 not paddle his canoe. Then he thought of the Great 
 Bird, and went to see him. 
 
 As he had left him he found him, for Wuchowsen 
 is immortal. So, raising him, he put him on his rock 
 again, and untied one of his wings. Since then the 
 winds have never been so terrible as in the old time. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 113 
 
 The reader will find the main incident of this story 
 repeated in " Tumilkoontaoo, the Broken Wing," 
 from the Micmac, in which there is no mention of 
 Glooskap. This of Wuchowsen is from the Passa- 
 maquoddy manuscript collection by Louis Mitchell. 
 It is unquestionably the original. Glooskap, as the 
 greatest magician, most appropriately subdues the 
 giant eagle of the North, the terrible god of the 
 storm. 
 
 No one who knows the Edda will deny that Wu- 
 chowsen, or the Wind-blower, as he appears in the 
 Passamaquoddy tale, is far more like the same bird 
 of the Norsemen than the grotesque Thunder Bird 
 of the Western tribes. He is distinctly spoken of by 
 the Indians of Maine as a giant and a bird in one, 
 sitting on a high cliff at the end of the sky, the wind 
 — not thunder — coming from Ms pinions : — 
 
 " Tell me ninthly, 
 Since thou art called wise, 
 Whence the wind comes, 
 That over ocean passes, 
 Itself invisible to man. 
 
 " Hraesvelg he is called 
 Who at the end of heaven sits, 
 A Jotun (giant) in eagle's plumage : 
 From his wings comes, 
 It is said, the wind 
 That over all men passes." 
 (The Lay of Vafthrudnir. The Edcla, trans, by B. Thorpe.) 
 
114 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 How Glooskap conquered the Great Bull-Frog, and in what 
 Manner all the Pollyivogs, Crabs, Leeches, and other 
 Water Creatures were created. 
 
 (Passainaquoddy aud Micmac.) 
 
 N'kamayoo, of old times, there was an Indian 
 village far away among the mountains, little known 
 to other men. And the dwellers therein were very 
 comfortable : the men hunted every day, the women 
 did the work at home, and all went well in all things 
 save in this. The town was by a brook, and except 
 in it there was not a drop of water in all the country 
 round, unless in a few rain-puddles. No one there 
 had ever found even a spring. 
 
 Now these Indians were very fond of good water. 
 The brook was of a superior quality, and they be- 
 came dainty over it. 
 
 But after a time they began to observe that the 
 brook was beginning to run low, and that not in the 
 summer time, but in autumn, even after the rains. 
 And day by day it diminished, until its bed was as 
 dry as a dead bone in the ashes of a warm fire. 
 
 Now it was said that far away up in the land where 
 none had ever been there was on this very stream 
 another Indian village ; but what manner of men 
 dwelt therein no one knew. And thinking that these 
 people of the upper country might be in some way 
 concerned in the drought, they sent one of their num- 
 ber to go and see into the matter. 
 
 And after he had traveled three days he came to 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 115 
 
 the place ; and there he found that a dam had been 
 raised across the rivulet, so that no water could pass, 
 for it was all kept in a pond. Then asking them why 
 they had made this mischief, since the dam was of no 
 use to them, they bade him go and see their chief, by 
 whose order this had been built. 
 
 And when he came to him, lo, there lay lazily in 
 the mud a creature who was more of a monster than 
 a man, though he had a human form. For he was 
 immense to measure, like a giant, fat, bloated, and 
 brutal to behold. His great yellow eyes stuck from 
 his head like pine-knots, his mouth went almost from 
 ear to ear, and he had broad, skinny feet with long 
 toes, exceeding marvelous. 
 
 The messenger complained to this monster, who at 
 first said nothing, and then croaked, and finally re- 
 plied in a loud bellow, — 
 
 " Do as you choose, 
 Do as you choose, 
 Do as you choose. 
 
 " What do I care ? 
 What do I care ? 
 What do I care ? 
 
 " If you want water, 
 If you want water, 
 If you want water, 
 Go somewhere else." 
 
 Then the messenger remonstrated, and described 
 the suffering of the people, who were dying of thirst. 
 
116 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 And this seemed to please the monster, who grinned. 
 At last he got up, and, making a single spring to the 
 dam, took an arrow and bored a hole in it, so that a 
 little water trickled out, and then he bellowed, — 
 
 " Up and begone ! 
 Up and begone ! 
 Up and begone ! " 
 
 So the man departed, little comforted. He came 
 to his home, and for a few days there was a little 
 water in the stream ; but this soon stopped, and there 
 was great suffering again. 
 
 Now these Indians, who were the honestest fellows 
 in all the world, and never did harm to any one save 
 their enemies, were in a sorry pickle. For it is a bad 
 thing to have nothing but water to drink, but to want 
 that is to be mightily dry. And the great Glooskap, 
 who knew all that was passing in the hearts of men 
 and beasts, took note of this, and when he willed it he 
 was among them ; for he ever came as the wind comes, 
 and no man wist how. 
 
 And just before he came all of these good fellows 
 had resolved in council that they would send the bold- 
 est man among them to certain death, even to the vil- 
 lage which built the dam that kept the water which 
 filled the brook that quenched their thirst, whenever 
 it was not empty. And when there he was either to 
 obtain that they should cut the dam, or do something 
 desperate, and to this intent he should go armed, and 
 sing his death-song as he went. And they were all 
 agog. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 117 
 
 Then Glooskap, who was much pleased with all 
 this, for he loved a brave man, came among them look- 
 ing terribly ferocious ; in all the land there was not 
 one who seemed half so horrible. For he appeared 
 ten feet high, with a hundred red and black feathers 
 in his scalp-lock, his face painted like fresh blood with 
 green rings round his eyes, a large clam-shell hanging 
 from each ear, a spread eagle, very awful to behold, 
 flapping its wings from the back of his neck, so that 
 as he strode into the village all hearts quaked. Being 
 but simple Indians, they accounted that this must be, 
 if not Lox the Great Wolverine, at least Mitche-hant, 
 the devil himself in person, turned Wabanaki ; and 
 they admired him greatly, and the squaws said they 
 had never seen aught so lovely. 
 
 Then Glooskap, having heard the whole story, bade 
 them be of good cheer, declaring that he would soon 
 set all to rights. And he without delay departed up 
 the bed of the brook ; and coming to the town, sat 
 down and bade a boy bring him water to drink. To 
 which the boy replied that no water could be had in 
 that town unless it were given out by the chief. " Go 
 then to your chief," said the Master, " and bid him 
 hurry, or, verily, I will know the reason why." And 
 this being told, Glooskap received no reply for more 
 than an hour, during which time he sat on a log and 
 smoked his pipe. Then the boy returned with a small 
 cup, and this not half full, of very dirty water. 
 
 So he arose, and said to the boy, " I will go and 
 see your chief, and I think he will soon give me bet- 
 
118 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 ter water than this." And having come to the mon- 
 ster, he said, " Give me to drink, and that of the best, 
 at once, thou Thing of Mud ! " But the chief reviled 
 him, and said, " Get thee hence, to find water where 
 thou canst." Then Glooskap thrust a spear into his 
 belly, and lo ! there gushed forth a mighty river ; 
 even all the water which should have run on while in 
 the rivulet, for he had made it into himself. And 
 Glooskap, rising high as a giant pine, caught the chief 
 in his hand and crumpled in his back with a mighty 
 grip. And lo ! it was the Bull-Frog. So he hurled 
 him with contempt into the stream, to follow the cur- 
 rent. 
 
 And ever since that time the Bull-Frog's back has 
 crumpled wrinkles in the lower part, showing the 
 prints of Glooskap's awful squeeze. 
 
 Then he returned to the village ; but there he found 
 no people, — no, not one. For a marvelous thing had 
 come to pass during his absence, which shall be heard 
 in every Indian's speech through all the ages. For the 
 men, being, as I said, simple, honest folk, did as boys 
 do when they are hungry, and say unto one another, 
 " What would you like to have, and what you ? ' : 
 " Truly, I would be pleased with a slice of hot veni- 
 son dipped in maple-sugar and bear's oil." " Nay, 
 give me for my share succotash and honey." Even 
 so these villagers had said, " Suppose you had all the 
 nice cold, fresh, sparkling, delicious water there is in 
 the world, what w r ould you do ? " 
 
 And one said that he would live in the soft mud, 
 and always be wet and cool. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 119 
 
 And another, that he would plunge from the rocks, 
 and take headers, diving into the deep, cold water, 
 drinking as he dived. 
 
 And the third, that he would be washed up and 
 down with the rippling waves, living on the land, yet 
 ever in the water. 
 
 Then the fourth said, " Verily, you know not how 
 to wish, and I will teach you. I would live in the 
 water all the time, and swim about in it forever." 
 
 Now it chanced that these things were said in the 
 hour which, when it passes over the world, all the 
 wishes uttered by men are granted. And so it was 
 with these Indians. For the first became a Leech, the 
 second a Spotted Frog, the third a Crab, which is 
 washed up and down with the tide, and the fourth a 
 Fish. Ere this there had been in all the world none 
 of the creatures which dwell in the water, and now 
 they were there, and of all kinds. And the river 
 came rushing and roaring on, and they all went head- 
 long down to the sea, to be washed into many lands 
 over all the world. 1 
 
 1 This was told by Tomali Josephs. It is given much more im- 
 perfectly in the tale of Kitpooseagunow in the Rand manuscript, 
 and in the Anglo-Indian " Storey of Glooscap." I have taken 
 very great pains in this, as in all the tales written down from 
 verbal narration, to be accurate in details, and to convey as well 
 as I could the quaint manner and dry humor which characterized 
 the style of the narrator. Even white men do not tell the same 
 story in the same way to everybody ; and if Tomahquah and 
 others fully expressed their feelings to me, it was because they 
 had never before met with a white man who listened to them 
 
120 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 How the Lord of Men and Beasts strove with the Mighty 
 Wasis, and was shamefully defeated. 
 
 (Penobscot.) 
 
 Now it came to pass when Glooskap had conquered 
 all his enemies, even the Kewahqu\ who were giants 
 and sorcerers, and the m'teoulin, who were magicians, 
 and the Pamola, who is the evil spirit of the night 
 air, and all manner of ghosts, witches, devils, canni- 
 bals, and goblins, that he thought upon what he had 
 done, and wondered if his work was at an end. 
 
 And he said this to a certain woman. But she re- 
 plied, "Not so fast, Master, for there yet remains 
 One whom no one has ever conquered or got the bet- 
 ter of in any way, and who will remain unconquered 
 to the end of time." 
 
 with such sympathy. It may be observed that the Indians com- 
 monly say that wherever the bull-frog is to be found in summer 
 there is always water. It is not to be understood, in this tale, 
 that the bull-frog is supposed to have merely drunk up the river. 
 It is the river which has become incarnate in him. It is the ice 
 of winter penetrated by the spear of the sun ; that is, Glooskap. 
 Thus, in another tale, a frozen river tries, as a man, to destroy 
 the hero, but is melted by him. The conception of the hour when 
 all wishes are granted, and the abrupt termination of the whole 
 in a grand transformation scene, are both very striking. There 
 is something like the former in Rabelais, in his narrative of 
 the golden hatchet ; as regards the latter, it is like the ending 
 of a Christmas pantomime. Indeed, the entire tale is perfectly 
 adapted to such a " dramatization." 
 
 I have been told by an old Passamaquoddy woman that the 
 name of the monster who swallowed the stream was Hahk-lee- 
 be-mo. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 121 
 
 " And who is he ? " inquired the Master. 
 
 " It is the mighty Wasis" she replied, " and there 
 he sits ; and I warn you that if you meddle with him 
 you will be in sore trouble." 
 
 Now Wet sis was the Baby. And he sat on the 
 floor sucking a piece of maple -sugar, greatly con- 
 tented, troubling no one. 
 
 As the Lord of Men and Beasts had never married 
 or had a child, he knew naught of the way of manag- 
 ing children. Therefore he was quite certain, as is 
 the wont of such people, that he knew all about it. 
 So he turned to Baby with a bewitching smile and 
 bade him come to him. 
 
 Then Baby smiled again, but did not budge. And 
 the Master spake sweetly and made his voice like that 
 of the summer bird, but it was of no avail, for Wasis 
 sat still and sucked his maple-sugar. 
 
 Then the Master frowned and spoke terribly, and 
 ordered Wasis to come crawling to him immediately. 
 And Baby burst out into crying and yelling, but did 
 not move for all that. 
 
 Then, since he could do but one thing more, the 
 Master had recourse to magic. He used his most 
 awful spells, and sang the songs which raise the dead 
 and scare the devils. And Wasis sat and looked on 
 admiringly, and seemed to find it very interesting, but 
 all the same he never moved an inch. 
 
 So Glooskap gave it up in despair, and Wasis, sit- 
 ting on the floor in the sunshine, went goo ! goo ! and 
 crowed. 
 
122 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 And to this clay when yon see a babe well con- 
 tented, going goo ! goo ! and crowing, and no one 
 can tell why, know that it is because he remembers 
 the time when he overcame the Master who had con- 
 quered all the world. For of all the beings that have 
 ever been since the beginning, Baby is alone the only 
 invincible one. 1 
 
 How the great Glooskap fought the Giant Sorcerers at 
 Saco, and turned them into Fish. 
 
 (Penobscot.) 
 N'karnayoO) of old times : Woodenit atok hagen 
 
 1 I am indebted for this " m'archen " to Maria Saksis, a very 
 intelligent Penobscot woman, a widow of a former governor, 
 wliom I met at North Conway, in the White Mountains, N. H. 
 In her dialect Glooskap is invariably called Glus-gah-be. She 
 told it with that admirable dry drollery, characteristic of a good 
 story-teller in a race where there are no bad ones. The exquisite 
 humor and humanity of this little legend, placed as a pendant to 
 the stupendous successes of the giant hero, are such as to entitle 
 its Indian author to rank as a genius. I have frequently asserted 
 that these Wabanaki or Northeastern Algonquin tales bore to 
 those of the West the apparent relation of originals to poor 
 copies. Let the reader compare this, which is given as nearly 
 word for word as was possible from the Indian narrative, with 
 that of Manobozho-Hiawatha's effort to compete with a baby. 
 The Cherokee account is that, seeing an infant sucking its own 
 toe, he tried to do the same, and failed. It is in accounting for 
 the unaccountable crowing of Baby that the point of the Penob- 
 scot story lies. Of this there is no mention made in the Western 
 tale, which is utterly wanting in any feeling as to the power of 
 childhood or its charm over the strongest. A real Indian tale 
 may always be assumed to be ancient when it is told to set forth 
 an origin. This gives the origin of a baby's crowing. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 123 
 
 Glusgalibe. This is a story of Glooskap (P.)* There 
 was a father who had three sons and a daughter: 
 they were m'teoulin, or mighty magicians ; they were 
 giants ; they ate men, women, and children ; they did 
 everything that was wicked and horrible ; and the 
 world grew tired of them and of all their abomina- 
 tions. Yet when this family was young, Glooskap had 
 been their friend ; he had made the father his adopted 
 father, the brothers his brothers, the sister his sister. 1 
 Yet as they grew older, and he began to hear on every 
 side of their wickedness, he said : " I will go among 
 them and find if this be true. And if it be so, they 
 shall die. I will not spare one of those who oppress 
 and devour men, I do not care who he may be." 
 
 This family was at Samgadihawk, or Saco, on the 
 sandy field which is in the Intervale or the summer 
 bed of the Saco River, in the El-now-e-bit, the White 
 Mountains, between Geh - sit - wah - zuch 2 and K'tchee 
 penahbesk, 3 and near Oonahgemessuk weegeet, the 
 Home of the Water Fairies. 4 
 
 1 The Indians make formal adoptions of relatives of every 
 grade, and in addition to this use all the terms of relationship as 
 friendly greetings. This is in fact made apparent in all the sto- 
 ries in this collection. 
 
 2 Geh-sit-wah-zuch, " many mountains " (Pen.). Mount Kear- 
 sarge, so called from the several lesser peaks around it. 
 
 3 K'tchee penabesk, "the great rock," a much more sensible 
 and appropriate name than that of " Cathedral Rocks," which 
 has been bestowed upon it ; also chee penabsk. 
 
 4 Also called from a legend, Oonahgemessuk fc'tubbee, the Water 
 Fairies' Spring. This appropriate and beautiful name has been 
 
124 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Now the old man, the father of the evil magicians 
 and his adopted father, had only one eye, and was 
 half gray. 1 And Glooskap made himself like him, — 
 there was not between them the difference of a hair ; 
 and having this form, he entered the wigwam and sat 
 down by the old man. And the brothers, who killed 
 everybody, not sparing one living soul, hearing a talk- 
 ing, looked in slyly, and seeing the new-comer, so like 
 their father that they knew not which was which, said, 
 " This is a great magician. But he shall be tried ere 
 he goes, and that bitterly." 
 
 Then the sister took the tail of a whale, and cooked 
 it for the stranger to eat. But as it lay before him, 
 on the platter and on his knees, the elder brother en- 
 tered, and saying rudely, " This is too good for a beg- 
 gar like you," took it away to his own wigwam. Then 
 Glooskap spoke : " That which was given to me was 
 mine ; therefore I take it again." And sitting still he 
 simply wished for it, and it came flying into the plat- 
 ter where it was before. So he ate it. 
 
 Then the brothers said, " Indeed, he is a great ma- 
 gician. But he shall be tried ere he goes, and that 
 bitterly." 
 
 rejected in favor of the ridiculously rococo term " Diana's Bath." 
 As there is a " Diana's Bath " at almost every summer watering 
 place in America, North Conway must of course have one. The 
 absolute antipathy which the majority of Americans manifest for 
 the aboriginal names, even in a translation, is really remarkable. 
 1 This would directly connect him with the beings which are 
 half stone, like the Oonahgemessuk, or water-goblins, the dwellers 
 in Katahdin, and the Eskimo elves. This will be referred to 
 ajrain. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 125 
 
 When lie had eaten, they brought in a mighty bone, 
 the jaw of a whale, and the eldest brother, with great 
 ado, and using both his arms and all his strength, bent 
 it a little. Then he handed it to Glooskap, who with 
 his thumb and fingers snapped it like a pipe-stem. 
 And the brothers said again, " Truly, this is a great 
 magician. But he shall for all that be tried ere he 
 goes, and that bitterly." 
 
 Then they brought a great pipe full of the strongest 
 tobacco ; no man not a magician could have smoked 
 it. And it was passed round : every one smoked ; the 
 brothers blew the smoke through their nostrils. But 
 Glooskap filled it full, and, lighting it, burnt all the 
 tobacco to ashes at one pull, and blew all the smoke 
 through his nostrils at one puff. Then the brothers 
 said again in anger, " This is indeed a great magician. 
 Yet he shall be tried again ere he goes, and that bit- 
 terly." But they never said it again. 
 
 And they still tried to smoke with him, and the 
 wigwam was closed ; they hoped to smother him in 
 smoke, but he sat and puffed away as if he had been 
 on a mountain-top, till they could bear it no longer. 
 And one said, " This is idle ; let us go and play at 
 ball." The place where they were to play was on the 
 sandy plain of Samgadihawk, or Saco, on the bend of 
 the river. 1 And the game begun ; but Glooskap found 
 that the ball with which they played was a hideous 
 skull ; it was alive and snapped at his heels, and had 
 
 1 I have an Indian stone pestle, or hominy pounder, which I 
 picked up on the site of this ball-play. 
 
126 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 he been as other men and it had bitten him, it would 
 have taken his foot off. Then Glooskap laughed, and 
 said, " So this is the game you play. Good, but let 
 us all play with our own balls." So he stepped up to 
 a tree on the edge of the river-bed and broke off the 
 end of a bough, and it turned into a skull ten times 
 more terrible than the other. And the magicians ran 
 before it as it chased them as a lynx chases rabbits ; 
 they were entirely beaten. Then Glooskap stamped 
 on the sand, and the waters rose and came rushing 
 fearfully from the mountains adown the river-bed ; the 
 whole land rang with their roar. Now Glooskap sang 
 a magic song, which changes all beings, and the three 
 brothers and their father became the cJiinahmess, a 
 fish which is as long and large as a man, and they 
 went headlong down on the flood, to the deep sea, to 
 dwell there forever. And the magicians had on, each 
 of them, a wampum collar ; wherefore the chinahmess 
 has beneath its head, as one may say, round its neck, 
 the wampum collar, as may be seen to this day. And 
 they were mighty m'tSoulin, in their time ; but they 
 were tried before they went, and that bitterly. 
 
 Yes, seeicass, my brother, this is a true story. For 
 Glus-gah-be was a great man in his day, and the day 
 will come when I shall go to him and see him. 1 
 
 1 This legend is from a single authority, Maria Saksis. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 127 
 
 How Glooskap went to England and France, and was the 
 
 first to make America .'known to the Europeans. 
 
 (Passaniaquoddy.) 
 
 There was an Indian woman : she was a Woodchuck 
 (Mon-in-kwess, P.). She had lost a boy; she always 
 thought of him. Once there came to her a strange 
 boy ; he called her mother. 
 
 He had a pipe with which he could call all the ani- 
 mals. He said, " Mother, if you let any one have this 
 pipe we shall starve." 
 
 " Where did you get it ? " 
 
 " A stranger gave it to me." 
 
 One day the boy was making a canoe. The woman 
 took the pipe and blew it. There came a deer and a 
 qwah-beet, — a beaver. They came running ; the deer 
 came first, the beaver next. The beaver had a stick 
 in his mouth ; he gave it to her, and said, " When- 
 ever you wish to kill anything, though it were half a 
 mile off, point this stick at it." She pointed it at the 
 deer ; it fell dead. 
 
 The boy was Glooskap. He was building a stone 
 canoe. Every morning he went forth, and was gone 
 all clay. He worked a year at it. The mother had 
 killed many animals. When the great canoe was fin- 
 ished he took his (adopted) mother to see it. He said 
 that he would make sails for it. She asked him, " Of 
 what will you make them ? " He answered, " Of 
 leaves." She replied, " Let the leaves alone. I have 
 something better." She had many buffalo skins al- 
 
128 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 ready tanned, and said, " Take as many as you 
 need." 
 
 He took his pipe. He piped for moose ; lie piped for 
 elk and for bear : they came. He pointed his stick at 
 them : they were slain. He dried their meat, and so 
 provisioned his great canoe. To carry water he killed 
 many seals ; he filled their bladders with water. 
 
 So they sailed across the sea. This was before the 
 white people had ever heard of America. The white 
 men did not discover this country first at all. Gloos- 
 kap discovered England, and told them about it. He 
 got to London. The people had never seen a canoe 
 before. They came flocking down to look at it. 
 
 The Woodchuck had lost her boy. This boy it was 
 who first discovered America (England ?). This boy 
 could walk on the water and fly up to the sky. 1 He 
 took his mother to England. They offered him a 
 large ship for his stone canoe. He refused it. He 
 feared lest the ship should burn. They offered him 
 servants. He refused them. They gave him presents 
 which almost overloaded the canoe. They gave him 
 an anchor and an English flag. 
 
 He and his mother went to France. The French 
 people fired cannon at him till the afternoon. They 
 could not hurt the stone canoe. In the night Gloos- 
 kap drew all their men-of-war ashore. Next morning 
 the French saw this. They said, "Who did this?" 
 He answered, " I did it." 
 
 1 This tale was taken down in very strange and confused Eng- 
 lish. The first part is in my notes almost unintelligible. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 129 
 
 They took him prisoner. They put him into a great 
 cannon and fired it off. They looked into the cannon, 
 and there he sat smoking his stone pipe, knocking the 
 ashes out. 
 
 The king heard how they had treated him. He said 
 it was wrong. He who could do such deeds must be 
 a great man. He sent for Glooskap, who replied, " I 
 do not want to see your king. I came to this country 
 to have my mother baptized as a Catholic." They 
 sent boats, they sent a coach ; he was taken to the 
 king, who put many questions to him. 
 
 He wished to have his mother christened. It was 
 done. They called her Molly. 1 Therefore to this day 
 all woodchucks are called Molly. They went down to 
 the shore ; to please the king Glooskap drew all the 
 ships into the sea again. So the king gave him what 
 he wanted, and he returned home. Since that time 
 white men have come to America. 
 
 This is an old Eskimo tale, greatly modernized and 
 altered. The Eskimo believe in a kind of sorcerers 
 or spirits, who have instruments which they merely 
 point at people or animals, to kill them. I think that 
 the Indian who told me this story (P.) was aware 
 of its feebleness, and was ashamed to attribute such 
 nonsense to Glooskap, and therefore made the hero an 
 Indian named Woodchuck. But among Mr. Rand's 
 
 1 Tbe Indians pronounce the word Marie Malili or Molly. 
 Mahlinskwess, " Miss Molly," sounds like Mon-in-kwess, a wood- 
 chuck. Hence this very poor pun. 
 9 
 
130 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Micmac tales it figures as a later tribute to the mem- 
 ory of the great hero. 
 
 One version of this story was given to me by Tomah 
 Josephs, another by Mrs. W. Wallace Brown. In the 
 latter Glooskaj)'s canoe is a great ship, with all kinds 
 of birds for sailors. In the Shawnee legend of the 
 Celestial Sisters (Hiawatha Legends), a youth who 
 goes to the sky must take with him one of every kind 
 of bird. This indicates that the Glooskap voyage 
 meant a trip to heaven. 
 
 Hoiv Glooskap is making Arroivs, and i^reparing for a, 
 
 Great Battle. The Twilight of the Indian Gods. 
 
 (Passamaquoddy.) 
 
 "Is Glooskap living yet?" " Yes, far away ; no 
 one knows where. Some say he sailed away in his 
 stone canoe beyond the sea, to the east, but he will re- 
 turn in it one day ; others, that he went to the west. 
 One story tells that while he was alive those who 
 went to him and found him could have their wishes 
 given to them. But there is a story that if one travels 
 long, and is not afraid, he may still find the great 
 sagamore (sogmo). Yes. He lives in a very great, a 
 very long wigwam. He always making arrows. One 
 side of the lodge is full of arrows now. They so 
 thick as that. When it is all quite full, he will come 
 forth and make war. He never allows any one to 
 enter the wigwam while he is making these arrows." 
 
 " And on whom will he make icar f " " He will 
 make war on all, kill all ; there will be no more world, 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 131 
 
 — world all gone. Dunno how quick, — mebbe long 
 time ; all be dead then, mebbe, — guess it will be 
 long time." 
 
 " Are any to be saved by any one f ' " Dunno. 
 Me hear how some say world all burn up some day, 
 water all boil all fire ; some good ones be taken up in 
 good heavens, but me dunno, — me just hear that. 
 Only hear so." 
 
 It was owing to a mere chance question that this 
 account of the Last Day was obtained from an Indian. 
 It was related to Mrs. W. Wallace Brown, of Calais, 
 Maine, by Mrs. Le Cool, an old Passamaquoddy In- 
 dian. It casts a great light on the myth of Glooskap, 
 since it appears that a day is to come when, like Ar- 
 thur, Barbarossa, and other heroes in retreat, he is to 
 come forth at a new twilight of the gods, exterminate 
 the Iglesmani, and establish an eternal happy hunt- 
 ing-ground. This preparing for a great final battle is 
 more suggestive of Norse or Scandinavian influence 
 than of aught else. It is certainly not of a late date, 
 or Christian, but it is very much like the Edda and 
 Ragnarok. Heine does not observe, in the Twilight 
 of the Gods, that Jupiter or Mars intend to return 
 and conquer the world. But the Norsemen expected 
 such a fight, when arrows would fly like hail, and 
 Glooskap is supposed to be deliberately preparing 
 for it. 
 
 A very curious point remains to be noted in this 
 narration. When the Indians speak of Christian, or 
 
132 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 white, or civilized teachings, they say, " I heard," or, 
 " I have been told." This they never do as regards 
 their own ancient traditions. When Mrs. Le Cool 
 said that she " had heard " that some were to be 
 taken up into good heavens, she declared, in her way, 
 that this was what Christians said, but that she was 
 not so sure of it. The Northeastern Algonquin al- 
 ways distinguish very accurately between their an- 
 cient lore and that derived from the whites. I have 
 often heard French fairy tales and ^Esop's fables In- 
 dianized to perfection, but the narrator always knew 
 that they were not N'Kamayoo, "of the old time." 
 
 Glooskap is now living in a Norse-like Asa-heim ; 
 but there is to come a day when the arrows will be 
 ready, and he will go forth and slay all the wicked. 
 Malsum the Wolf, his twin brother, the typical colos- 
 sal type of all Evil, will come to life, with all the 
 giant cannibals, witches, and wild devils slain of old ; 
 but the champion will gird on his magic belt, and the 
 arrows will fly in a rain as at Ragnarok : the hero will 
 come sailing in his wonderful canoe, which expands to 
 hold an army. Thus it will be on 
 
 " That day of wrath, that dreadful day, 
 When heaven and earth shall pass away," 
 
 with all things, in blood and death and fire. Then 
 there will come the eternal happy hunting-grounds. 
 
 If this was derived from Christian priests, it must 
 be admitted that it has changed wonderfully on the 
 way. It is to me very heathen, grimly archaic, and 
 with the strong stamp of an original. Its resem- 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 133 
 
 blance to the Norse is striking. Either the Norse- 
 men told it to the Eskimo and the Indians, or the lat- 
 ter to the Norsemen. None know, after all, what was 
 going on for ages in the early time, np about Jotun- 
 heim, in the North Atlantic ! Vessels came to New- 
 foundland to fish for cod since unknown antiquity, 
 and, returning, reported that they had been to Tar- 
 tary. 
 
 It may be assumed at once that this Indian Last 
 Battle of the Giants, or of the good hero giants against 
 the Evil, led by the Malsum-Fenris Wolf, was not de- 
 rived from the Canadian French. The influence of 
 the latter is to be found even among the Chippewas, 
 but they never dealt in myths like this. 
 
 It is very remarkable indeed that the one great 
 principle of the Norse mythology is identical with that 
 of the Indian. So long as man shall make war and 
 heroism his standard, just so long his hero god exists. 
 But there will come a day when mankind can war no 
 more, — when higher civilization must prevail. Then 
 there will be a great final war, and death of the he- 
 roes, and death of their foes, and after all a new 
 
 world. 
 
 " Then shall another come 
 
 yet mightier, 
 although I dare not 
 his name declare. 
 Few may see 
 further forth 
 than when Odin 
 meets the wolf." 
 
 (Hyndluloid, 42.) 
 
134 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 The Norsemen may have drawn this from a Chris- 
 tian source ; but the Indian, to judge by form, spirit, 
 and expression, would seem to have taken it from the 
 Norse. 
 
 How Glooskap found the Summer. 
 
 In the long ago time when people lived always in 
 the early red morning, before sunrise, before the 
 Squid to neck was peopled as to-day, Glooskap went 
 very far north, where all was ice. 
 
 He came to a wigwam. Therein he found a giant, 
 a great giant, for he was Winter. Glooskap entered ; 
 he sat down. Then Winter gave him a pipe ; he 
 smoked, and the giant told tales of the old times. 
 
 The charm was on him ; it was the Frost. The giant 
 talked on and froze, and Glooskap fell asleep. He 
 slept for six months, like a toad. Then the charm 
 fled, and he awoke. He went his way home ; he went 
 to the south, and at every step it grew warmer, and 
 the flowers began to come up and talk to him. 
 
 He came to where there were many little ones 
 dancing in the forest ; their queen was Summer. I 
 am singing the truth : it was Summer, the most beau- 
 tiful one ever born. He caught her up ; he kept her 
 by a crafty trick. The Master cut a moose-hide into 
 a long cord ; as he ran away with Summer he let the 
 end trail behind him. 
 
 They, the fairies of Light, pulled at the cord, but 
 as Glooskap ran, the cord ran out, and though they 
 pulled he left them far away. So he came to the lodge 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 135 
 
 of Winter, but now lie had Summer in his bosom ; 
 and Winter welcomed him, for he hoped to freeze him 
 again to sleep. I am singing the song of Summer. 
 
 But this time the Master did the talking. This 
 time his mHSoulin was the strongest. And ere long 
 the sweat ran down Winter's face, and then he melted 
 more and quite away, as did the wigwam. Then every- 
 thing awoke; the grass grew, the fairies came out, 
 and the snow ran down the rivers, carrying away the 
 dead leaves. Then Glooskap left Summer with them, 
 and went home. 
 
 This poem — for it is such — was related to Mrs. 
 W. Wallace Brown by an Indian named Neptune. It 
 appears to be the completer form of the beautiful 
 allegory of Winter and Spring given in the Hiawatha 
 Legends as Peboan and Seegwum (Odjibwa). The 
 struggle between Spring and Winter, Summer and 
 Winter, or Heat and Cold, represented as incarnate 
 human or mythic beings, forms the subject of several 
 Indian legends, as it does a part of the Hymiskrida, 
 in the Edda. The German J. B. Friedreich (Symbo- 
 lik der Natur, Wurzburg, 1859) remarks that in the 
 Bible, Job xxxviii. 28, and in the Song of the Three 
 in the Fiery Furnace, Ice and Snow are spoken of as 
 intelligences. 
 
 Heat and cold, in classic times, were supposed to be 
 united, yet in conflict, in the lightning and hail (Virgil, 
 M\\. VIII. 429), the symbol for this being a twisted 
 horn. In the legend of the Culloo the frost giantess 
 
186 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 can only be killed by a crooked horn thrust into her 
 ear. The horn darts out at once into incredible, 
 irregular length, and evidently means lightning. In 
 the Edda the he-goat is, on account of his horns, the 
 symbol of lightning and storm. (Schwenk, Sinnbil- 
 den der alten Volker.) The Giala-horn of the Edda 
 (Nyer up. Diet. Scan. Mythol.) is the thunder which 
 summons the Elves. " Miolner, the hammer of Thor, 
 with which he kills frost giants, is the lightning." 
 (Kirchner, Thor's Donnerkeil, Neu Strelitz, 1853, p. 
 60.) The coincidence of the symbols in the Edda 
 with that of the lightning horn in the Indian legend 
 is very curious, if nothing more. 
 
 The cord which Glooskap unrolls, and with which 
 he deceives the fairies, who think they have him fast, 
 while he is escaping, means delusive speech or plau- 
 sible talk. To " talk like paying out rope " is an old 
 simile. 
 
 " Speech runes thou must know, 
 If thou wilt that no one 
 for injury with hate requite thee. 
 Those thou must wind, 
 Those thou must wrap round (thee), 
 Those thou must altogether place 
 in the assembly, 
 where people have 
 into full court to go." (Sigrdrifumal.) 
 
 This is a merely accidental coincidence, but it illus- 
 trates the meaning of the myth. In both cases it is 
 " wound or wrapped around " and rapidly unrolled, 
 and the same simile. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY. 137 
 
 The following poem on Glooskap may, be appropri- 
 ately placed in this work. The allusion to the agates 
 of Cape Blomidon refers to a tradition given by S. T. 
 Eand, which states that when Glooskap would make 
 his adopted grandmother young again he created the 
 brilliant stones, which are still found at that place, to 
 adorn her. 1 
 
 THE LEGEND OF GLOOSKAP. 
 
 Bathed in the sunshine still as of yore 
 Stretches the peaceful Acadian shore ; 
 Fertile meadows and fields of grain 
 Smile as they drink the summer rain. 
 
 There like a sentinel, grim and gray, 
 Blomidon stands at the head of the bay, 
 And the famous Fundy tides, at will, 
 Sweep into Minas Basin still. 
 
 With wondrous beauty the Gaspereaux 
 Winds its way to the sea below, 
 And the old Acadian Grand Pre 
 Is the home of prosperous men to-day. 
 
 The place where Basil the blacksmith wrought, 
 In the glow of his forge, is a classic spot, 
 And every summer tourists are seen 
 In the fairy haunts of Evangeline. 
 
 But the old Acadian woods and shores, 
 Rich in beautiful legend stores, 
 Were once the home of an older race, 
 Who wove their epics with untaught grace. 
 
 1 Youth's Companion. 
 
138 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Long ere the dikes that guard for aye 
 From the merciless tides the old Grand Pre', 
 Built by the Frenchman's tireless hands, 
 Grew round the rich Acadian lands, 
 
 The Micmac sailed in his birch canoe 
 Over the Basin, calm and blue ; 
 Speared the salmon, his heart's desire, 
 Danced and slept by his wigwam fire ; 
 
 Far in the depth of the forest gray 
 Hunted the moose the livelong day, 
 While the mother sang to her Micmac child 
 Songs of the forest, weird and wild. 
 
 Over the tribe, with jealous eye, 
 Watched the Great Spirit from on high, 
 While on the crest of Blomidon 
 Glooskap, the God-man, dwelt alone. 
 
 No matter how far his feet might stray 
 From the favorite haunts of his tribe away, 
 Glooskap could hear the Indian's prayer, 
 And send some message of comfort there. 
 
 Glooskap it was who taught the use 
 
 Of the bow and the spear, and sent the moose 
 
 Into the Indian hunter's hands ; 
 
 Glooskap who strewed the shining sands 
 
 Of the tide-swept beach of the stormy bay 
 With amethysts purple and agates gray, 
 And brought to each newly wedded pair 
 The Great Spirit's benediction fair. 
 
GLOOSKAP THE DIVINITY, 139 
 
 But the white man came, and with ruthless hand 
 Cleared the forests and sowed the land, 
 And drove from their haunts by the sunny shore 
 Micmac and moose, forevermore. 
 
 And Glooskap, saddened and sore distressed, 
 Took his way to the unknown West, 
 And the Micmac kindled his wigwam fire 
 Far from the grave of his child and his sire ; 
 
 Where now, as he weaves his basket gay, 
 And paddles his birch canoe away, 
 He dreams of the happy time for men 
 When Glooskap shall come to his tribe again. 
 
 Arthur Wentworth Eaton. 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX, THE MIS- 
 CHIEF MAKER, 
 
 COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE INDIAN DEVIL. 
 
 Of the Surprising and Singular Adventures of tivo Water 
 Fairies ivho were also Weasels, and how they each be- 
 came the Bride of a Star. Including the Mysterious 
 and Wonderful Works of Lox, the Great Indian Devil, 
 who rose from the Dead. 
 
 (Micmac and Passamaquocldy.) 
 
 Wee-?dg-yiJc-JeeseyooJc. " Of old times." Far back 
 in the forest, by a brook, dwelt two young men, Abis- 
 tanooch, the Marten, and Team, the Moose. Of these 
 each had a wigwam, and therewith a grandmother who 
 kept house. And Team hunted and worked industri- 
 ously, but Master Marten was greatly moalet (M.), 
 which signifies one who livetli upon his neighbors, de- 
 pending on their good nature, even as he that planteth 
 corn and beans depends upon the pleasant smiles of 
 the sun ; whence it came to pass that wherever vict- 
 uals were in store there too his presence did greatly 
 abound. 
 
 Now it happened that one day Team, the Moose, had 
 killed a bear, and brought home a single load of the 
 meat, leaving the rest to be looked after anon. And 
 being thrifty, and not caring to feed those who fed 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 141 
 
 him not, neither did they thank, he said unto himself, 
 and also to his grandmother, " Truly, the eyes of Mar- 
 ten shall not see this thing, his nose shall not smell 
 thereof, neither shall his tongue taste it ; so let not the 
 tidings of our good luck go forth from the wigwam." 
 " Yes," replied the old woman, " and well and wisely 
 thou speakest, my son. But we have this day broken 
 our kettle, while Marten has brought in a new one. 
 Behold, I will go and borrow it, and having cooked in 
 it I will wash and wipe it, so that there shall be no 
 sign of what we did therewith, and so return it." 
 
 Now this was done, but he who is moalet and a 
 haunter of feasts is like a hunter of beasts : he knows 
 well from a small sign where there is a large load, 
 and the borrowing of kettles means the boiling of 
 victuals therein. So having in him somewhat of 
 sorcery, he did but step to his friend's wigwam, and, 
 peeping through a crevice, saw a great store of bear's 
 meat. And when the grandmother of Moose came 
 unto him to return the kettle, just as she entered the 
 lodge there arose from it a savory steam, and look- 
 in <r in it was full of well-cooked food. And Marten 
 thanked her greatly, yet she, being put to shame, fled 
 to her own home. But Moose said it was no matter, 
 so the next day they went to the woods together, and 
 all was well. 
 
 Now it befell Marten, as it might have befallen any 
 other man, that one day he came to a distant and 
 lonely lake in the mountains. Yet there, stepping 
 softly as a cat behind the rocks hung with grapevines, 
 
142 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 he heard laughing and splashing, and a pleasant sound 
 as of girls' voices. So, peeping carefully, he saw many 
 maids merrily bathing in the lake : and these were of 
 the fairy race, who dwell in deep waters and dark 
 caves, and keep away from mankind. And seeing 
 their garments lying on the shore, and beholding 
 among the damsels one whom he desired to obtain, 1 
 Marten quietly slipped along unseen, as all of his 
 species can do, till he had the clothes in his hands. 
 For being tinctured with magic and learned in the 
 lore of all kind of goblins, elves, and witches, Master 
 Marten knew that when Naiads are naked and a man 
 has their garments he holds them at his mercy. For 
 in the apparel lies their fairy power; and if you 
 doubt it, do but give it a trial and see for yourself ! 
 
 And having done this, the merry fellow ran inland 
 with a brave whoop, which the fairies hearing, they 
 in a great rage ran after the ravisher of their robes. 
 But she whom he desired outstripped the rest, and 
 when she approached him he did but tap her lightly 
 on the head with a small stick, according to a certain 
 ancient prescription followed in Fairy -land, which 
 makes of a woman a wife ; whereupon she, according 
 
 1 There are many of these stories which indicate passionate 
 and deeply seated attachment, but I never once heard a real In- 
 dian say that man or woman loved, though they have words 
 which fully express it. " He wanted her " is the nearest ap- 
 proach to tenderness which I have ever heard from them. This 
 is not the result of a want of feeling, but of the suppression of all 
 manifestation of it, to which every red man is trained from 
 earliest infancy. 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 143 
 
 to the antique rite, being astonished to find herself so 
 suddenly married, fainted dead away, and was carried 
 off in peace. And as for the clothes of the others, the 
 Marten gave them back without taking fee or re- 
 wards. 
 
 Then Team, the Moose, who was a good soul, but 
 not wise above all the world, coming home and find- 
 ing Marten married, wished also for a wife. And 
 having heard all the tale, he said, " Well, if it is no 
 harder than that, 't is as easy as sucking a honey- 
 suckle, and I am as good as married." And going 
 to the pond in the mountains, among the rocks and 
 behind the grapevines, he too beheld the virgins jump- 
 ing, flapping, splashing, and mischieving merrily, like 
 mad minxes, in the water ; whereat he, being all of a 
 rage, as it were, caught up the clothes of these poor 
 maids and ran ; she whom he most admired catching 
 up with him. And being resolved to do the thing 
 thoroughly, he grappled up a great club and gave her 
 a bang on her small head, which stunned her indeed, 
 and that forever, inasmuch as she was slain outright. 
 So the Moose remained unmarried. 
 
 Now Team was one of the kind not uncommon in 
 this world, who hold that if any other man has or gets 
 more than they have, then they are deeply wronged. 
 And it had come to pass that Master Marten, finding 
 that his wife yearned greatly for the society of her 
 sisters, offered to take yet another of them in mar- 
 riage, merely to oblige his wife ; for in such a kind 
 of benevolence he was one of the best souls that ever 
 
144 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 lived, and rather than have trouble in the family he 
 would have wedded all the pretty girls in the coun- 
 try. So going as before to the pond in the moun- 
 tains, among the rocks and behind the grapevines, 
 he, by the same device, captured yet another fairy, 
 whom, taking home, he wedded. 
 
 Yet Team took this sadly to heart, and willed that 
 Marten should give him this last spouse, to which 
 Marten would in nowise agree. Truly, Team argued 
 earnestly that as he had no wife, and no wisdom 
 wherewith to win one, of course he must have one 
 of Marten's, or that Marten should go and get him 
 one. To which Marten replied that Moose might 
 skin his own skunks, and fish for his own minnows, 
 and also paddle his own canoe to the devil, if it so 
 pleased him, — all of these being approved Indian 
 sayings of high and racy antiquity. Whereupon Team 
 sought to persuade Marten with a club, who gave a 
 soft answer by shooting a flint-headed arrow through 
 Team's scalp-lock ; and this friendship they continued 
 for many days, passing their evenings in manufactur- 
 ing missiles, and the mornings in sending them one at 
 the other. 
 
 Now the fairy water-wives, not being accustomed to 
 this kind of intimacy, sought to subtract themselves 
 from it. So one morning, when Marten and Team 
 were most industriously endeavoring to effect mutual 
 murder, the two wives of the former fled afar to seek 
 fortune, and succeeded therein to perfection. And it 
 came to pass when the sun had set and the voice of 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 145 
 
 Bumole, the Spirit of Night, was heard afar on high, 
 and Nibanchset (P.) , the Night- Walker, shone over 
 all, that the two brides lay in an oak opening of the 
 forest, and looked at P'ses'muk, the Stars, and talked 
 about them even as children might do. And one 
 said to the other, " If those Stars be men, which 
 would you have for a husband ? " " By my faith," 
 replied the other, " it should be that little red, twin- 
 kling fellow, for I like the little stars best." " And 
 I," said the other, " will wed the Wisawaioo P'ses'm 
 (P.), the Great Yellow Star, for I love the large 
 stars." And, saying this in jest, they fell asleep. 
 
 But many a word spoken in jest is recalled in ear- 
 nest, as these brides learned when they awoke, and 
 found themselves married again in the Indian man- 
 ner, at only a word. For she who had wished for the 
 Great Yellow Shining Star, as she opened her eyes, 
 heard a man's voice say, " Take care, or you will up- 
 set my war-paint ! " 1 And lo, there lay by her side a 
 great and handsome man, very noble, with large and 
 lustrous eyes. 2 Then the other, as she awoke and 
 stirred, heard a little feeble, cracked voice crying, 
 
 1 Sekroon (red ochre). 
 
 2 In the Passamaquoddy version of this tale, given me by 
 Tomah Josephs, the brides awake in Star-Land. The husbands 
 are both elderly men, and he who is the Yellow Star has bright 
 yellow corners to his eyes, while the other has red. In another 
 the Yellow Star is called Wdbeyu, the White. While they are all 
 distinctly forms of one tale, the three differ so much that I have 
 had great difficulty in reconstituting what appears to be the 
 original legend. 
 
 10 
 
146 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 " Take care, or you will spill my eye-water ! " l And 
 by her was the smaller star, whom she had chosen ; 
 but he was a weak-looking old fellow, with little red, 
 twinkling eyes. And as they had chosen so it came 
 unto them. 
 
 But yellow or red, young or old, in a few days they 
 both grew a-weary of the star country to which they 
 were taken, and wished to return to the earth. And 
 then that came to pass which made them yearn with 
 tenfold longing ; for their husbands, who were absent 
 all day hunting, had pointed out to them a large flat 
 stone, which they were on no account to lift ; which 
 they obeyed in this wise, that they did not both lift 
 the stone, but only the younger, who, as soon as the 
 Stars had gone to the greenwood, rushed to the slab, 
 and, lifting it up, gazed greedily down into the hole 
 beneath. And what she saw was wonderful, for it was 
 the sky itself, and directly under them was the world 
 in which they had lived, and specially in sight was 
 the home of their childhood, with all its woods and 
 rivers. And then the elder having looked, both al- 
 most broke their hearts with weeping. 
 
 Now the Stars were by no means such evil-minded 
 men as you may have deemed ; for having perceived 
 by magic that their wives had looked through the 
 hole in the sky, and knowing that they were lying 
 when they denied it, they gave them leave to go back 
 to earth. Yet there were conditions, and those not 
 easy to such fidgety damsels as these ; for they said, 
 1 Nebijegwode (eye medicine, M.). 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 147 
 
 " Ye shall lie together all this night, and in the morn- 
 ing when ye awake ye shall be in no haste to open 
 your eyes or to uncover your faces. Wait until ye 
 shall have heard the song of the Ktsee-gee-gil-lassis 
 (P.), or chick-a-dee-dee. And even then ye shall not 
 arise, but be quiet until the song of the red squirrel 
 shall be heard. And even then ye must wait and 
 keep your faces covered and your eyes closed until ye 
 hear the striped squirrel sing. And then ye may 
 leave your bed and look around." 
 
 Now the younger wife was ever impatient, and when 
 the chick-a-dee-dee sang she would have leaped up at 
 once, but the elder restrained her. " Wait," she said, 
 " my sister, until we hear the AbalkaJcmooech" 1 
 And she lay still till the Adoo-doo-decli 2 began his 
 early chatter and his morning's work. Then, without 
 waiting, she jumped up, as did the elder, when they 
 found themselves indeed on earth, but in the summit 
 of a tall, spreading hemlock-tree, and that in such a 
 manner that they could not descend without assist- 
 ance. And it had come to pass in this wise : for as 
 each song was sung by the bird and the squirrels, they 
 had come nearer and nearer to the earth, even as the 
 light of day drew near, but as they could not delay 
 they had been deserted. 3 
 
 1 Ground squirrel. 2 Red squirrel. 
 
 3 A want of patience or of dignity, and restlessness, are more 
 scorned by every Indian than any other fault. This is not the 
 only story in which people are represented as being punished for 
 being unable to bide their time. Glooskap was specially severe 
 on all such sinners. 
 
148 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 And as they sat there and day dawned, men of the 
 different Indian families went by, and unto all of 
 these they cried for help. It is true that their star 
 husbands had made for them in the tree a bed of 
 moss, but they cared not to rest in the hemlock, for 
 all that. 1 And of all the beasts of the forest or men 
 of the clearing, who should be the first to appear but 
 Team, or Master Moose, himself. And to him they 
 cried, " W sesenen-apkwahlin, 71'sesenen ! " " Oh, our 
 elder brother, let us free ; take us down, and we will 
 be your two dear little wives, and go home with you." 
 But he, looking up scornfully, said, " I was married 
 this autumn." And so he went his way. 
 
 And he who next came was the shaggy Bear, or 
 mooin, to whom they made the same request, offering 
 themselves for no higher price than to be taken down 
 safely out of their nest. But he growled out that he 
 had been married in the spring, and that one wife was 
 enough for any man. So he went his way. 2 
 
 1 In another very full version of this legend (M.), the water- 
 wives are called Weasels (Uskoolsk), "from their great white- 
 ness." This, however, indicates supernatural fairness or beauty. 
 In the same story the tree is a pine, not a hemlock. Insignifi- 
 cant as these differences may appear, they are of primary im- 
 portance in the elucidation of a myth. 
 
 2 N. B. — There is a joke here. The animals who pass by the 
 tree each mate at the season of the year when they declare that 
 they were married. The "White Ladies, weasels or ermines, there- 
 fore, came at the wrong time. The fickle, variable nature as- 
 cribed to woman, varium et mutabile semper femina, is supposed 
 to be most decidedly expressed by such slender, slippery, active 
 little animals. 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 149 
 
 And then who should come along but Marten him- 
 self, even the Abistanooch, whom they had deserted! 
 And they cried out for joy, begging him to take them 
 back. But he, behaving as if they were utter stran- 
 gers, replied that he had been married in the early 
 spring to one of his own tribe, and unto a damsel 
 whose name was Marten, and that it was not seemly 
 for animals to wed out of their own kind. So he 
 scampered off, leaving the little Weasels all alone. 
 
 And last of all came Lox, whom hunters call the 
 Indian Devil, 1 and others the Wolverine, who is ex- 
 ceeding subtle above the beasts of the forest, and who 
 is gifted with more evil mischief than all of them in 
 one. And when the Weasels called to him for help 
 he tarried, for it came into his heart that he might in 
 some way torment and tease them. But verily he had 
 to deal with those who were not much more virtuous 
 than himself, and quite as cunning, for what with trav- 
 
 1 In the Micmac it is the Badger, Keekivajoo, who is the rogue 
 and teaser of the tale. But in the Passamaquoddy versions it is 
 the dreaded and mysterious Lox, who appears to be a species of 
 Lynx or Wolverine. The Lox is said, by trustworthy white trav- 
 elers as well as Indians, to follow hunting parties for weeks, in- 
 spired apparently only by an incredible niania for mischief, much 
 like that of a monkey or a revengeful savage, but guided by re- 
 markable intelligence. He will find his way into a camp and 
 destroy every object made by the hand of man with a thorough- 
 ness akin to genius, and what he cannot destroy he will carry to 
 a great distance and carefully conceal. As his ferocity is equal 
 to his craftiness, he is very appropriately termed the Indian 
 Devil. 
 
150 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 eling from the earth to the heavens and changing hus- 
 bands, these fair minevers were learning wisdom rap- 
 idly. So the elder sister, who had not the least idea of 
 keeping her promise unless it suited her fancy, played 
 a trick, and that quickly anon. For she at once took 
 off her hair-string * and tied it into a few less than a 
 hundred knots among the twigs of the trees, tangling 
 it so that you would have deemed it a week's work 
 before a man could loosen it again without injury. 
 
 NoW Master Lox, having taken down the younger 
 sister with all the politeness in the world, came for the 
 other, and aided her also to descend. And when on 
 the ground she indeed said, " Willee-oon" " I thank 
 you " (P.), but begged him to go up the tree again and 
 bring down a great treasure which she had left there, 
 her hair-string ; beseeching him for all their lives not 
 to break or injure it in any way, but to most care- 
 fully untie every knot, for thus doing it would bring 
 untold felicity on them all ; and that they, the Weasels, 
 would meantime build a beautiful bridal bower, or a 
 wigwam, and that so furnished as he had never seen 
 the like before, — in which verily they kept their word. 
 
 For they speedily built the wigwam, but the furni- 
 ture thereof was of this rare kind. The Weasels had, 
 it seems, certain sworn friends, — for birds of a feather 
 
 1 The Hair-String, Saggalobee (M.), occurs very often in Indian 
 legends, generally as gifted with magic. The Indian women al- 
 lowed their hair to grow long, then doubled it upon the back of 
 the head, often making additions of something to enlarge the 
 roll. It was then bound in a bunch with the string. 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 151 
 
 flock together, — and these were not far to seek, as they 
 were the Thorns, Burrs, and Briers of all kinds, Hor- 
 nets and other winged and and stinged insects, besides 
 the Ants. And they were, moreover, intimate with 
 all the sharp-edged Flints in the land, which was a 
 goodly company. So when the bower was built it had 
 therein a hornet's nest for a bridal bed, thorns for a 
 carpet, flints for a floor, and an ant's nest for a seat, 
 which for a bare-footed and bare-breeched Indian is 
 indeed a sore essay. Now it had taken Master Lox 
 the entire day to untie the hair-string, so when he 
 came down it was dark, and he was glad when he 
 saw the hut and thought of resting therein. 
 
 But, as he entered, he ran among the Thorns, which 
 pierced his nose, and Flints, which cut his feet, so that 
 he roared aloud. Then he heard a voice, which seemed 
 to be that of the younger Miss Weasel, crying " Names- 
 cole " (M.), " Go to my sister, yonder ! " So he went, 
 and trod in an ant-hill, and this was worse than the 
 Briers. And then he heard another voice on that side 
 which cried, laughing, " Wkwech-kale ! " (M.), " Go 
 to my sister, who is younger than I." And plunging 
 furiously through the darkness, he fell on the hornet's 
 nest ; and verily the last state of that Indian was worst 
 of all. Thus, seeing himself mocked, he became furi- 
 ous ; so that he who has by nature the very worst tem- 
 per of all beasts or men was never so angry before, and, 
 seeking the tracks of the Weasels, he pursued them as 
 they fled in the night and through the thick forest. 
 
 Now it came to pass that by daybreak the two girls, 
 
152 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 even the Misses Weasel, had come to a broad river 
 
 which they could not cross. But in the edge of the 
 
 water stood a large Crane, motionless, or the Tum-gwo- 
 
 lig-unach, who was the ferryman. Now truly this is 
 
 esteemed to be the least beautiful of all the birds, for 
 
 which cause he is greedy of good words and fondest 
 
 of flattery. And of all beings there were none who 
 
 had more bear's oil ready to anoint every one's hair 
 
 with — that is to say, more compliments ready for 
 
 everybody — than the Weasels. So, seeing the Crane, 
 
 they sang : — 
 
 " Wa wela quis kip pat kasqu', 
 Wa wela quis kip pat kasqu'. " (P.) 
 
 The Crane has a very beautiful long neck, 
 The Crane has a very beautiful long neck. 
 
 This charmed the old ferryman very much, and when 
 they said, " Please, grandfather, hurry along," he came 
 quickly. Seeing this, they began to chant in chorus, 
 sweetly as the Seven Stars themselves : — 
 
 " Wa wela quig nat kasqu', 
 
 Wa wela quig nat kasqu'." (P.) 
 
 The Crane has very beautiful long legs, 
 The Crane has very beautiful long legs. 
 
 Hearing this, the good Crane wanted more ; so 
 when they asked him to give them a lift across, he 
 answered slowly that to do so he must be well paid, 
 but that good praise woidd answer as well. Now 
 they who had abundance of this and to spare for 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 153 
 
 everybody were these very girls. " Have I not a 
 beautiful form ? " lie inquired ; and they both cried 
 aloud, " Oh, uncle, it is indeed beautiful ! " " And 
 my feathers ? " " Ah, pegeakopcliu " (M.), " Beauti- 
 ful and straight feathers indeed ! " " And have I not 
 a charming long, straight neck ? " " Truly our uncle 
 has it straight and long." " And will ye not acknowl- 
 edge, oh, maidens, that my legs are fine ? " " Fine ! 
 oh, uncle, they are perfection. Never in this life did 
 we see such legs ! " So being well pleased, the Crane 
 put them across, and then the two little Weasels scam- 
 pered like mice into the bush. 
 
 And scarcely were they concealed, or the Crane 
 well again in his place, ere Master Lox appeared. 
 And being in no good temper he called to Uncle Crane 
 to set him across, and that speedily. Now the Crane 
 had been made mightily pleased and proud by the 
 winsome words of the Weasels, and was but little in- 
 clined to be rudely addressed. So he said to Lox, 
 " I will bear thee over the river if thou wilt bear wit- 
 ness to my beauty. Are not my legs straight?" 
 " Yea " replied the Lox, " and beautifully painted, 
 too." Now the color thereof was little pleasing to 
 poor Uncle Crane. " Are not my feathers very smooth 
 and fine?" "Yea, smooth and fine; what a pity, 
 though, that they are mildewed and dusty ! " " And 
 my straight neck?" "Yes, wonderfully straight, — 
 straight as this" said Lox to himself, taking up a 
 crooked stick. And then he sang : — 
 
 "Media guiskipat kasqu', 
 Mecha quig nat kasqu'." 
 
154 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 The Crane lias a very ugly neck, 
 The Crane has dirty, ugly legs. 
 
 "Come, mooso me (grandfather), hurry up! 
 
 Oh, the Crane has a very ugly neck, 
 The Crane has dirty, ugly legs. 
 
 I wish you to be quick, mooso me. Hurry up, I 
 say!" 1 
 
 And all of this ill-temper and insincerity was deeply 
 and inwardly detected by Uncle Crane, but he said 
 not a word, and only meekly bent him down to take 
 the traveler on his back. But when in the stream, 
 and where it was deepest and most dangerous, he 
 gave himself a shake, and in another instant Lox was 
 whirling round and round like a chip in the rapids. 
 And yet a little time he was dashed against the rocks, 
 and then anon was thrown high and dry on the shore, 
 but dead as a seven-year-old cedar cone. 
 
 Now the Lox is a great magician at certain times 
 and seasons, albeit his power fails him at others. 2 
 
 1 This dialogue, including the songs, is from a very curious 
 Passaniaquoddy version of the tale, sent to me by Louis Mitchell. 
 As in all such cases, there is far more humor in the Passania- 
 quoddy narratives than in the Micmac or Eskimo. 
 
 2 From this point of the legend onward there is an inextricable 
 confusion as regards the four different versions. While the hero 
 is decidedly a Badger in the Micmac, I regard the great ferocity, 
 craft, and above all the vitality which he displays as far more 
 characteristic of the Lox or Wolverine of the Passaniaquoddy. 
 What is almost decisively in favor of the latter theory is that 
 in all the stories, despite his craft and power, he is always get- 
 ting himself into trouble through them. This is eminently char- 
 acteristic of the Lox, much less so of the Badger. 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 155 
 
 And he is one of those who rise from the dead. Now 
 it came to pass that some days after two boys of the 
 Kwedech or Mohawk race found the Lox lying dead 
 on a rock in the sunshine, and the worms were crawl- 
 in^ from him. But when they touched him he arose 
 as if from sleep, and stood before them as a proud and 
 fierce warrior. But he was scarce alive ere he sought 
 to do them who had roused him to life a mischief ; for 
 having noted that they had fine bows, he got them into 
 his hands, and broke them, yet all as if he meant it 
 not. 1 And then by magic making a sound as of many 
 children at play, afar off across the next point of 
 land by the river, he bade them run and join the pleas- 
 ant games. And when he had got them a space on- 
 ward, lo, the sound seemed ever farther on, mingled 
 with the murmur of the stream ; and so they went 
 without him, seeking it, and yet it wandered ever far 
 away» 
 
 Now he had learned from the boys that they were 
 of a Cullo family ; and the Culloos are certain mon- 
 strous birds, exceeding fierce. But Master Lox, having 
 seen in the cabin plenty of fine meat, desired greatly 
 to become one of the family, and having been much 
 about in life knew something of the ways of every 
 one. So putting on the Culloo style, he, seeing a 
 
 1 In the Passamaquoddy version of this tale, when Lox is thus 
 dismembered, the ants, pitying him, bring his scattered members 
 together. As soon as he recovers, the Wolverine, with charac- 
 teristic ingratitude, amuses himself by trampling his benefactors 
 to death beneath his feet. 
 
156 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 babe, began to sing with the most natural air in the 
 world a Culloo nursery-song : — 
 
 " Agoo ge abeol, 
 Wetkusanabeol." 1 
 
 A seal- skin strap, 
 A shoulder-strap. 
 
 Now it costs very little to fall into the humor of a 
 man ; but this the woman would not do, and told him 
 plainly that he could not deceive her. On hearing 
 which Master Lox, in a great rage, seized his toma- 
 hawk and slew her. Then seeing a kettle boiling on 
 the fire, he cut off her head and put it into the pot, 
 hiding the body. And this was a merry jest after his 
 own heart, so that it greatly solaced him. But after 
 a time, the two boys, returning, missed their mother, 
 and looking into the kettle, found her head. Then 
 they knew well who had done this. And, being fear- 
 less, they pursued him, but having no bows they could 
 do him no harm ; however, they took from him his 
 gloves, and with these they returned. 
 
 And anon there came also an uncle of the boys, or 
 Kah-hah-goos (P.)> the Crow. So he gave chase to 
 Lox, yet all that he could do was to snatch away his 
 cap as he ran. Yet without shame he cried aloud, 
 " Well, my head was getting warm, and now I am 
 cooler. Thank you ! " 
 
 Then came another relative, Kitpoo, the Eagle (M.). 
 And he, pursuing Lox, took from him his coat. Yet 
 
 1 Micinac. 
 
^g^^^sss 
 
 ^^^■^^ 
 
 LOX CARRIED OFF BY CULLOO. 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 157 
 
 all unabashed lie replied, " Thanks unto you also ; for 
 I was just wishing that my younger brother were here 
 to carry my coat for me." But he who now arrived, 
 hearing of the deadly deed, was the great Culloo him- 
 self, the most terrible of all created creatures, and he, 
 pursuing Lox, caught him up, and carrying him in his 
 claws, even to the summit of the sky itself, let him 
 drop, and he was a whole day in falling ; even from the 
 first dawn unto sunset he went down ere he touched 
 the earth. But before he was let drop, and when on 
 high, he burst into a mocking song on what he saw, 
 and the words were as follows : — 
 
 u Kumut kenovek, 
 Telap tumun ek, 
 Stugach' kesenagasikel, 
 
 Yog wa egen' 
 
 Yog wa egeno 
 Telap tuinen ek 
 Kumut ken ooik' 
 Stuga 'mkudonioos koon." 
 
 Our country all lost 
 
 Seems clearly to us 
 
 As though it were all spread with boughs. 
 
 Heigh ho, hay hum ! 
 
 Heigh ho, hay hum ! 
 Our country now lost 
 Seems now unto us 
 To be blue like the clear blue sky. 
 
 Hum, hum — tol de rol ! 
 
 And when let fall, this graceless jackanapes in no- 
 wise ceased his ribaldry ; for while pretending to flap 
 
158 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 with his arms as if they were wings, he imitated with 
 his mouth, mockingly, the wish ! wish ! of the wide 
 wings of the Culloo. Yet just ere he touched the 
 earth he uttered one little magic spell, " Oh, spare my 
 poor backbone ! " And with that all the trouble of 
 all the birds went for nothing. Truly he was mashed 
 to a batter, and his blood and brains flew in every 
 direction, like raspberry pudding ; but among the re- 
 mains his backbone lay whole, and this was his life. 
 
 And in a few days after his younger brother came 
 by, who, seeing the dire mess, exclaimed, " Hey, what 
 is all this ? " x Whereupon a Voice came from the 
 bone, crying, " ]Nuloogoo?i, ba ho ! " " Ho, my leg, 
 come hither ! " and a leg came unto the spine. Then 
 the Voice cried, " N^petunacjiun, ba ho I " " Ho, my 
 arm, come hither ! ' : And when the last fragment 
 had come he arose, the same indomitable Lox as ever, 
 even the Indian Devil, or Wolverine, who never says 
 Die, and whom nothing can kill, and who is hard to 
 put away. 
 
 Now the two brothers went on till they came to the 
 top of a high mountain, where there lay a very great 
 round rock, or a mighty boulder. And, being full of 
 fun, they turned it over with great sticks, saying to it, 
 
 1 The dead body of a sorcerer must lie until addressed by 
 some human being. Then it revives. This is suggestive of vam- 
 pirism, which is well known to the Indians. There is some- 
 thing strangely ghastly in the idea of the Voice calling separately 
 to each dead limb to come to it. The Culloo is an emblem of 
 the cloud, and Lox let fall from one probably signified fire, or 
 the lightning. 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 159 
 
 " Now let us run a race ! " Then it rolled downhill 
 till it stopped at the foot, they rushing along by it all 
 the time. And when it rested they jeered it, and 
 bade it race with them again, when it so listed. 
 
 And truly they had not long to wait, for soon after, 
 as they sat cooking their food, they heard a mighty 
 commotion as of something coming with dreadful speed 
 through the forest. And lo ! it was the stone in dire 
 wrath, which, having rested a little while, came rush- 
 ing through the forest, crashing the mighty trees like 
 grass, with a roar like thunder, leaving a smooth road 
 behind it in the roughest wilderness. Up and after 
 the sorcerers flew the stone, and the younger slipped 
 aside like a snake, but the elder had scarcely time to 
 utter his magic charm, " Noo-goon ooskudeskuch I " 
 " Let my backbone remain uninjured ! " ere the awful 
 rock rolled down upon him, crushing his bones and 
 mashing his flesh. Yet the spine was unhurt ; it re- 
 mained sound as ever. 
 
 And the stone went on and ever on, till the sound 
 of its roar died away in the breeze and afar in the 
 wilderness. 
 
 Then the younger brother turned to the Backbone 
 and said, " Cagooee wejis?nooF tumun f " (M.) " Why 
 are you lying there ? " And hearing this charm the 
 Bone called aloud, " Ntenin ba ho ! " " My body, ho ! " 
 and " Nuloogoon ba ho! " " My leg, ho ! " and so with 
 the rest of the members as before, until he that was 
 decomposed was now recomposed ; yes, and composed 
 perfectly. And then he that was dead, but was now 
 
160 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 alive, arose, and said as one awaking, " What have I 
 been doing ? " So his brother told him all. 
 
 Then he was greatly angered, and when the Wol- 
 verine is angry it is not a little. And he said in his 
 wrath, " Shall I that am the devil of the woods him- 
 self be slain by birds and stones, and not be re- 
 venged?" So they went onwards through the woods 
 till they found the Great Rock : they followed in the 
 path of the broken trees ; even by the trees did they 
 track it. Which having found, they built a fire around 
 it ; with great stones for hammers they broke it, and 
 ever more and still smaller, till it was all mere dust, 
 for their souls were sore for revenue. 
 
 When lo, a great wonder ! For the Spirit of the 
 Old Rock, even that which was itself, turned all the 
 dust to black flies, into the stinging and evil things 
 which drive men and beasts mad, so that its hatred 
 and spite might be carried out on all living creatures 
 unto the end of time. 
 
 And having had their ill-will of the Rock and seen 
 it become Flies, the two went through the forest, and 
 so on till they came to a village of good, honest folk ; 
 and knowing what manner of men they were, Lox re- 
 solved to forthwith play them an evil trick, for in all 
 life there was nothing half so dear to him as to make 
 mischief, the worse the better. 
 
 And this time it came into his head that it would 
 be a fine piece of wit to go into the town as a gay girl 
 and get married, and see what would come of it, trust- 
 ing to luck to fashion a sad fool out of somebody. So 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 161 
 
 having made himself into a delicate young beauty, 
 richly attired, he entered the place ; and truly the town 
 was soon agog over the new guests. And the young 
 chief of the tribe, wanting her, won her without waste 
 of time. Truly there lieth herein some mystery. I 
 know not what, only this I know : that there are in all 
 towns certain folk who, by means of magic or med- 
 dling, always find out everything about everybody, and 
 then tittle-tattle thereof. Now, albeit Lox had ut- 
 terly abjured all the sinfulness of manhood, and had 
 made a new departure in an utterly new direction, say- 
 ing not a word thereof to any one, yet in a brief meas- 
 ure of time, one here, another there, Jack in a corner 
 and Jane by the bush, began to whisper of a strange 
 thing, and hint that all was not as it should be, and, 
 whatever the chief might think, that in their minds 
 matters were going wrong in his wigwam. 
 
 Now Lox, knowing all this thread as soon as it was 
 spun, began to think it high time to show his hand 
 in the game. And what was the amazement of all 
 the town to hear, one fine evening, that the chief's 
 wife would soon be a mother. And when the time 
 came Dame Lox informed her husband that, accord- 
 ing to the custom of her people, she must be left ut- 
 terly alone till he was a father and the babe born. 
 And when in due time the cry of a small child was 
 heard in the lodge the women waiting ran in, and re- 
 ceived from the mother the little one, abundantly 
 rolled in many wrappers, which they took to the chief. 
 
 But what was his amazement, when having unrolled 
 11 
 
162 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 the package, he found under one skin after another, 
 tied up hard, yet another sewed up, and yet again, as 
 the inmost kernel of this nut, the little withered, wiz- 
 ened, dead, and dried shrivelment of an unborn moose 
 calf. Which pleased the chief so much that, dashing 
 Master Moose into the fire, he seized his tomahawk 
 and ran to his lodge to make his first morning call on 
 the mother. 
 
 But Master Lox was now a man again, and expect- 
 ing this call, and not wishing to see visitors, had with 
 his brother fled to the woods, and that rapidly. And 
 in the rush he came to a river, and, seeing a very high 
 waterfall, thought of a rare device whereby he might 
 elude pursuit. For he with his brother soon built a 
 dam across the top with trees and earth, so that but 
 little water went below. And lying in a cave, con- 
 cealed with care, he imitated the boo-oo-oo of a fall- 
 ing stream with quaint and wondrous skill. And 
 there he lay, and no man wist thereof. 
 
 But verily the wicked one is caught in his own 
 snare, and even so it befell Master Lox. For as he 
 hid, the water above, having gathered to a great lake, 
 burst the dam, so that it all came down upon him at 
 once and drowned him ; nor was there any great 
 weeping for him that ever I heard of. So here he 
 passes out of this story, and does not come into it 
 again. But whether he went for good and all out of 
 this life is doubtful, since I find him living again in 
 so many rare, strange histories that it has become a 
 proverb that Lox never dies. 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 163 
 
 Now the tale returns to the two little Weasels, or 
 Ermines, or Water-Maids, poor souls, who had such a 
 hard life ! And it happened that, fleeing from Master 
 Lox, they came at evening to a deserted village, and 
 entered a wigwam to pass the night. But the elder, 
 being the wiser, and somewhat of a witch in the bud, 
 mistrusted the place, deeming it not so empty as it 
 seemed. And beholding by the door, lying on the 
 ground, the Neckbone of a man or some other animal, 
 she warned her sister that she should in nowise offend 
 it or treat it lightly, to which the younger replied by 
 giving it a kick which sent it flying, and by other- 
 wise treating it with scorn and disdain. 
 
 Then they laid them down to sleep ; but before their 
 slumber came they heard a doleful, bitter voice chant- 
 ing aloud and shouting, and it was Chamach keg 
 ivech, or the Neckbone, bewailing the scorn that had 
 been put upon him, and reviling them with all manner 
 of curses. Then the elder said, " There, truly, I said 
 it. I knew you would be our death if you did not 
 mind me : " it being in all cases an esteemed solace 
 for every woman and most men to say, " I told you 
 so ! " But the younger, being well-nigh frightened to 
 a corpse, in a soft whisper implored the elder to let 
 her hide herself in her roll of hair, 1 which the Voice, 
 mocking her, repeated ; adding thereto all the reviling 
 and railing that Mitche-hant, the devil, himself ever 
 yet invented, and abusing her so for her past life, and 
 
 1 That is, the elder should retain the human form, and the 
 younger become a weasel. 
 
164 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 exhorting her so for all the sins, slips, and slaps 
 therein (of which there were many), that even the 
 impenitent little Weasel repented and wept bitterly. 
 Howbeit no further harm came to them beyond this, 
 so that the next morning they went their way in 
 peace ; and I warrant you Master Neckbone got no 
 kicks that day from them, departing. 1 
 
 Then, coming to a river, they saw on the other side 
 a handsome young man holding a bow, and to him 
 they called, making their usual offer to become his 
 wives, and all for no greater thing than to carry them 
 over the ferry. And this man's name was See-witch, 2 
 and to please them he did indeed pass them over in 
 his canoe ; but as for taking them home, he said that 
 he had housekeepers in store, and as many as he 
 needed just then, and that of a kind who kept him 
 very busy. So they went their way onwards. 
 
 And coming anon to the great sea, they beheld yet 
 another canoe with two men therein, and these were 
 Kwe-moo, the Loon, and Mahgwis, the Scapegrace. 
 And embarking with them, Loon soon began to ad- 
 mire the girls greatly. And saying many sweet things, 
 he told them that he dwelt in the Wigem territory, or 
 in the land of the Owealkesk, 3 of which he himself 
 
 1 This incident of the Neckbone is very much like the com- 
 mon nursery tale of Teeny Tiny, in which an old woman takes 
 home a human bone and puts it in the cupboard. It torments her 
 all night by its cries. 
 
 2 A kind of small sea-duck. 
 
 8 A very beautiful species of sea-duck. 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 165 
 
 was one. But the Mahgwis whispered to them aside 
 that they should put little trust in what he told them, 
 for Loon was a great liar. Now when they came to 
 the land of the Owealkesk, they were amazed at the 
 beauty of the people, and saw that all in that land 
 was lovely, nor did they themselves seem less marvel- 
 ously fair to the men therein. Indeed, the poor little 
 Weasels began to see the end of their sorrows, for, 
 being water-fairies, these sea-birds were nigh akin to 
 them. And there was a great feast, a great dance, 
 and great games held in honor of their arrival, and 
 the two finest young Sea-Duck men, utterly unheeding 
 the old Loon, who believed indeed that they were his 
 own wives, carried them off, and nothing loath wedded 
 them. 
 
 And it was in this wise. There was a canoe-race, 
 and Kwe-moo, being bitterly angry that he was held 
 of so little account in the Sea-Duck land, went forth 
 with the rest, and, paddling far outside, upset his 
 canoe, and making as if he were drowning called to 
 the Weasels to come and save him. But the Sea- 
 Ducks laughed, and said, " Let him alone. Truly he 
 will never drown. We know him." And the race 
 ended they went ashore in peace. 1 
 
 And that night they danced late, and the Weasels, 
 
 1 Here the Micmac narrative ends. The rest is as it was given 
 to me by Noel Josephs, or Chi gatch gok, the Raven, a Passa- 
 maquoddy. It would not be a complete Indian tale if a man 
 having received a slight or injury did not take a bloody revenge 
 for it. 
 
166 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 being better pleased with the two handsome Sea- 
 Ducks than with Loon, forthwith divorced themselves 
 out of hand, and at once married them, going to where 
 their canoe lay, to pass the bridal night. Now Loon 
 had not gone to the dance, but sat at home nursing 
 his vengeance till he was well-nigh mad. And as the 
 Weasels did not return, he went forth and sought 
 them ; and this he did so carefully that at last he 
 found all four by the sea, sound asleep. Whereupon 
 he, with his knife, slew the young men, and being in 
 great fear of their friends took his canoe and went 
 down the river to kill a deer. But not daring to 
 return, and being mad for loss of the Weasels, and 
 fearing to fall into the hands of the enemy,- he in de- 
 spair took his knife and killed himself. 
 
 Yet the Weasels, who had seen the deed done, did 
 not betray him, for there was at least so much truth 
 left in them. And they lived with the Sea-Ducks, 
 and I doubt me not went on marrying and mischief- 
 making after their wont even unto the end of their 
 days. And their kind are not dead as yet in any 
 land. 
 
 This is a fair specimen of many Indian legends. 
 So much of it as is Micmac was told to Mr. Rand by 
 a highly intelligent Indian, named Benjamin Brooks, 
 who was certain that the story was of great antiquity. 
 As I at first heard it, it was limited to the adventure 
 with the Stars, but I was told that this formed only a 
 part of an extremely long narrative. It consists, in 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 167 
 
 fact, of different parts of other tales connected, and I 
 doubt not that there is much more of it. It cannot 
 escape the reader versed in fairy-lore that the incident 
 of the water-maiden captured by her clothes is com- 
 mon to all European nations, but that it is especially 
 Norse ; while the adventures of the Wolverine, and 
 indeed his whole character, are strangely suggestive of 
 Loki, the Spirit of mere Mischief, who becomes evil. 
 The fact that both Loki and Lox end their earthly 
 career at a waterfall is very curious. The two also 
 become, in wizard fashion, women at will. But it is 
 chiefly in the extreme and wanton devilishness of their 
 tricks that they are alike. Many other resemblances 
 will suggest themselves to those who know the Eddas. 
 In the Passamaquoddy version of this tale, it is See- 
 witch, and not the Loon, who plays the part of the 
 jealous husband at the end. The career of the Wea- 
 sels seems to set forth the adventures of a couple of 
 Indian Becky Sharps, very much in the spirit of an 
 Indian Thackeray. The immorality of these damsels, 
 the sponging of Marten, the deviltry of Lox, the ser- 
 vile follies and ferocious vindictiveness of the Loon, 
 all seem to impress the composer of the tale as so many 
 bubbles rising and falling on the sea of life, only 
 remarkable for the sun-gleam of humor which they 
 reflect. Outside these tales I know of nothing which 
 so resembles the inner spirit of Aristophanes, Rabelais, 
 and Shakespeare. I do not say that the genius of 
 these great masters is in them, but their manner of 
 seeing; humor and wickedness combined. The cause 
 
168 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 of this lies in the cultivated stoicism with which every 
 Indian trains himself to regard life. The inevitable 
 result of such culture is always in some way a kind of 
 humor, either grim or gay. 
 
 A re-perusal of the Eddas has impressed me with 
 the remarkable resemblance of Lox, the Wolverine, to 
 Loki. The story begins with the incident of a bird 
 maiden caught by a trick, and married. This is dis- 
 tinctly Scandinavian. It is known in all lands, but 
 the Norse made the most of it. Then the two girls sit 
 and choose the kind of stars they will have. In the 
 Eskimo (Rink, No. 8), two girls sitting on a beach, 
 talking in the same way, seeing eagles' and whales' 
 bones by them, declare that they would like to marry, 
 the one an eagle, the other a whale, and both get their 
 wishes. In the Norse legends stars are like human 
 beings. Lox is pursued by a giant bird ; Loki is 
 chased by Thiassi, the giant, in eagle plumage. Again, 
 in the Edda a giant eagle drags and trails Loki over 
 woods and mountains, till he screams for pity. The 
 Wolverine's race with a stone giant also recalls this 
 race, the eagle being really one of the Jotuns, who 
 were also all mountains and rocks. The Wolverine 
 wizard becomes a girl, merely to make mischief. Loki 
 took the form of a woman in Fensal, where he 
 schemed to kill Balder. This is certainly a strange 
 coincidence ; for as in the Edda, Loki's becoming a 
 woman led to all the subsequent tragedy and to his 
 own doom, so in the Indian tale the very same thing 
 caused the Wolverine to be chased to the high water- 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 169 
 
 fall, where, owing to his own tricks, he perished, just 
 as Loki came to grief in Franangursfors, the bright 
 and glistening cataract. But the most remarkable 
 point is that the general immoral character of the 
 Lox, 1 or Wolverine, is so much like that of Loki, con- 
 sisting of evil or mischief of the worst kind, always 
 tempered by humor, which provokes a laugh. Now 
 to find a similar and very singular character supported 
 by several coincidences of incident is, if nothing more, 
 at least very remarkable. 
 
 Loki is fire, and Lox, when killed in another tale, is 
 revived by heat. He is carried oif by the Culloo, or 
 cloud, and let fall, typifying fire or lightning coming 
 from a cloud. Again, in another story he dies for 
 want of fire. And he twice dies by drowning ; that is, 
 the fire is quenched by water. 
 
 In one of the Passamaquoddy versions of this tale, 
 which is, though less detailed, far superior in humor 
 to the Micmac, the Loon is cheated by his two 
 nephews, the Assoojjs, a species of loon, who steal 
 the Weasels from him. He revenges himself, not by 
 murdering, but by merely frightening them. He fills 
 a bladder with blood, puts it under his shirt, and then 
 stabs himself. They, thinking he is killed, lament, 
 when he grandly comes to life, and is regarded as a 
 great magician. 
 
 1 The coincidence of name amounts to nothing, as Lox is not, 
 I believe, an Indian word. 
 
170 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Of the Wolverine and the Wolves, or how Master Lox 
 Froze to Death. 
 
 (Passamaquoddy.) 
 
 Of old times it came to pass that Master Lox, the 
 Wolverine, or Indian Devil, he who was slain many- 
 times and as often rose from the dead, found him- 
 self deeply down in luck ; for he was crossing a wide 
 and dismal heath in winter-time, being but poorly 
 provided in any way for travel. The wind blew 
 like knives ; the snow fell ; sleet, frost, hail, and rain 
 seemed to come all together in bad company, and still 
 Lox was not happy, although he had no blanket or 
 fur coat beyond his own. Yet this evil-minded jolly 
 companion with every vice had one virtue, and that 
 was that of all the beasts of the forest or devils in 
 P'lamhik' he was the hardest hearted, toughest, and 
 most unconquerable, being ever the first to fight and 
 the last to give in, which even then he did not, never 
 having done it and never intending to ; whence it 
 happened that he was greatly admired and made 
 much of by all the blackguardly beasts of the back- 
 woods, — wherein they differed but little from many 
 among men. 
 
 Now as of all rowdies and rascals the wolves are 
 the worst, we may well believe that it was with great 
 joy Lox heard, as the darkness was coming on, a 
 long, sad howl, far away, betokening the coming of a 
 pack of these pleasant people ; to which he raised his 
 own voice in the wolf tongue, — for he was learned in 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 171 
 
 many languages, — and soon was surrounded by some 
 fifteen or sixteen lupine land-loafers, who danced, roll- 
 ing over, barking and biting one another, all for very 
 joy at meeting with him. And the elder, he who was 
 captain, or the sogmo, 1 said, " Peradventure thou wilt 
 encamp with us this night, for it is ill for a gentle- 
 man to be alone, where he might encounter vulgar 
 fellows." And Lox thanked him as if he were doing 
 him a favor, and accepted the best of their dried 
 meat, and took the highest place by their fire, and 
 smoked the chief's choicest tomawe out of his best 
 pipe, and all that with such vast condescension that 
 the wolves grinned with delight. 
 
 And when they laid them down to sleep he that 
 was the eldest, or the sogmo, bade the younger cover 
 their guest Lox over very carefully. Now the tail 
 of the wolf has broad-spreading, shaggy hair, and 
 Lox, being sleepy, really thought it was a fur blanket 
 that they spread, and though the night was cold 
 enough to crack the rocks he threw the covering off ; 
 twice he did this, and the chief who looked after him, 
 with all the rest, admired him greatly because he 
 cared so little for the cold or for their care. 
 * And having eaten after they arose, when in the 
 morning they would wend away, the Wolf Chief said 
 unto Lox, " Uncle, thou hast yet three days' hard 
 travel before thee in a land where there is neither 
 home, house, nor hearth, and it will be ill camping 
 without a fire. Now I have a most approved and ex- 
 
 1 Sogmo, sagamore, a chief ; the word corrupted into sachem. 
 
172 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 cellent charm, or spell, by which I can give thee three 
 fires, but no more ; yet will they suffice, one for each 
 night, until thou gettest to thy journey's end. And 
 this is the manner thereof : that thou shalt take unto 
 thee dry wood, even such as men commonly burn, and 
 thou shalt put them together, even as boys build little 
 wigwams for sport, and then thou shalt jump over it. 
 And truly, uncle, this is an approved and excellent 
 charm of ripe antiquity, kept as a solemn secret among 
 the wolves, and thou art the first not of our holy 
 nation to whom it hath been given." So they parted. 
 
 Now Lox trudged on, and as he went westwards 
 kept thinking of this great secret of the pious and 
 peculiar people, and wondering if it were even as the 
 Wolf said, or only a deceit ; for however kindly he 
 was treated by people, he always suspected that they 
 mocked him to scorn, or were preparing to do so ; for 
 as he ever did this thing himself to every condition 
 of mankind or beasts, he constantly awaited to have it 
 done to him. And being curious withal, and anxious 
 to see some new thing, he had not walked half an 
 hour ere he said, " Tush ! let me try it. Yea, and I 
 will ! " So building up the sticks, he jumped over 
 them, and at once they caught fire and blazed up ; 
 and it came to pass even as the Wolf had prophesied. 
 
 Now having solaced himself by the heat, Lox went 
 on. And anon it grew cold again, and he began to 
 think how pleasant it was to be warm ; and being, like 
 most evil people, wanting in a corner of wisdom, he 
 at once put the sticks together again and jumped over 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 173 
 
 them, and as before there rose a blaze, and he was 
 happy. And this was the second fire, and he had still 
 three cold nights before him before he could reach 
 his home. 
 
 And yet this Wolverine, who was so wise in all 
 wickedness and witty in evil-doing, had not walked 
 into the afternoon before he began to think of the 
 third fire. " Truly," he said to himself, " who knows 
 but the weather may take a turn to a thaw, and give 
 us a warm night ? Hum ! ha ! methinks by the look 
 of the clouds the wind will soon be southwesterly. 
 Have I not heard my grandmother say that such a 
 color, even the red, meant something ? — I forget 
 what, but it might be a warm change. Luck be on 
 me, I will risk the odds." And, saying this, he set 
 up the sticks again ; and this was the last fire, though 
 it was not even the first night. 
 
 And when he came after dark to the first camping 
 place it grew cold in earnest. Howbeit Lox, think- 
 ing that what was good for once must be good forever, 
 made him his little pile of sticks and jumped over 
 them. It was of no avail. Finally, when he had 
 jumped twenty or thirty times more, there arose a lit- 
 tle smoke, and, having his heart cheered by this, he 
 kept on jumping. Now it is said that there can be 
 no smoke without fire, but this time it went not beyond 
 smoke. Then Lox jumped again, and this time the 
 Indian Devil came up within him, and he swore by it 
 that he would jump till it blazed or burst. So he 
 kept on, and yet there came no comfort, not even a 
 
174 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 spark; and being at last aweary he fell clown in a 
 swoon, and so froze to death. And so the Devil was 
 dead, and that was the last of him for that turn ; but 
 I think he got over it, for he has been seen many a 
 time since. 
 
 In two stories Lox (once as the loup cervief) is in- 
 timate with the wolves. Loki was the father of the 
 wolves. Loki is fire ; here Lox dies for want of fire. 
 Since I wrote the foregoing, Mrs. W. Wallace Brown 
 has learned that Lox is definitely the king or chief 
 of the wolves, and that many Indians deny that he is 
 really an animal at all, though he assumes the forms 
 of certain animals. He is a spirit, and the Mischief 
 Maker. It will be admitted that this brings the Lox 
 much nearer to Loki. 
 
 It is said that when Glooskap left the world, as he 
 took away with him the kings of all the animals, Lox 
 went with him as king of the Wolves. This is an 
 identification of him with Malsum, the Wolf, himself. 
 
 How Master Lox played & Trick on Mrs. Bear, ivho lost 
 her eyesight and had her eyes opened. 
 
 (Micmac.) 
 
 Don't live with mean people if you can help it. 
 They will turn your greatest sorrow to their own ac- 
 count if they can. Bad habit gets to be devilish sec- 
 ond nature. One dead herring is not much, but one 
 by one you may make such a heap of them as to stink 
 out a whole village. 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 175 
 
 As it happened to old Mrs. Bear, who was easy as 
 regarded people, and thought well of everybody, and 
 trusted all. So she took in for a house-mate another 
 old woman. Their wigwam was all by itself, and the 
 next neighbor was so far off that he was not their 
 neighbor at all, but that of some other folks. 
 
 One night the old women made up a fire, and lay 
 down and went to sleep Indian-fashion, — witkusoodi- 
 jih, — heads and points, so that both could lie with 
 their back to the fire. 
 
 Now while they were sound asleep, Lox, the Wol- 
 verine, or Indian Devil, came prowling round. Some 
 people say it was Hespuns, the Raccoon ; and it is a 
 fact that Master Coon can play a very close game of 
 deviltry on his own account. However, this time it 
 must have been Lox, as you can see by the tracks. 
 
 While they were both sound asleep Lox looked in. 
 He found the old women asleep, heads and points, and 
 at once saw his way to a neat little bit of mischief. 
 So, going into the woods, he cut a fine long sapling- 
 pole of oiv-bo-goos, and poked one end of it into the 
 fire till it was a burning coal. Then he touched the 
 soles of Mrs. Bear ; and she, waking, cried out to 
 the other, " Take care ! you are burning me ! " which 
 the other denied like a thunder-clap. 
 
 Then Master Lox carefully applied the end of the 
 hot pole to the feet of * the other woman. First she 
 dreamed that she was walking on hot sand and roast- 
 ing rocks in summer-time, and then that the Mohawks 
 were cooking her at the death-fire ; and then she woke 
 
176 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 up, and, seeing where she was, began to blame Mrs. 
 Bear for it all, just as if she were a Mohawk. 
 
 Ah, yes. Well, Master Lox, seeing them fighting 
 in a great rage, burst out laughing, so that he actually 
 burst himself, and fell down dead with delight. It 
 was a regular side-splitter. When my grandfather 
 said that we always laughed. 
 
 In the morning, when the women came out, there 
 lay a dead devil at the door. He must indeed have 
 looked like a Raccoon this time ; but whatever he 
 was, they took him, skinned him, and dressed him for 
 breakfast. Then the kettle was hung and the water 
 boiled, and they popped him in. But as soon as it 
 began to scald he began to come to life. In a minute 
 he was all together again, alive and well, and with 
 one good leap went clear of the kettle. Rushing out 
 of the lodge, he grabbed his skin, which hung on a 
 bush outside, put it on, and in ten seconds was safe 
 in the greenwood. He just saved himself with a 
 whole skin. 
 
 Now Master Lox had precious little time, you will 
 say, to do any more mischief between his coming to 
 life and running away ; yet, short as the allowance 
 was, he made a great deal of it. For even while 
 jumping out his wits for wickedness came to him, 
 and he just kicked the edge of the pot, so that, it 
 spilled all the scalding hot water into the fire, and 
 threw up the ashes with a great splutter. They flew 
 into the eyes of Dame Bear and blinded her. 
 
 Now this was hard on the old lady. She could not 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 177 
 
 go out hunting, or set traps, or fish any more ; and 
 her partner, being mean, kept all the nice morsels for 
 herself. Mrs. Bear only got the leanest and poorest 
 of the meat, though there was plenty of the best. As 
 my grandfather used to say, Mrs. Bear might have 
 fared better if she had used her eyes earlier. 
 
 One day, when she was sitting alone in the wigwam, 
 Mrs. Bear began to remember all she had ever heard 
 about eyes, and it came into her head that sometimes 
 they were closed up in such a way that clever folk 
 could cut them open again. So she got her knife and 
 sharpened it, and, carefully cutting a little, saw the 
 light of day. Then she was glad indeed, and with a 
 little more cutting found that she could see as well as 
 ever. And as good luck does not come single, the 
 very first thing she beheld was an abundance of beau- 
 tiful fat venison, fish, and maple-sugar hung up over- 
 head. 
 
 Dame Bear said nothing about her having recov- 
 ered her eyesight. She watched all the cooking going 
 on, and saw the daintiest dinner, which all went into 
 one platter, and a very poor lot of bones and scraps 
 placed in another. Then, when she was called to eat, 
 she simply said to the other woman, who kept the 
 best, " Well, you have done well for yourself ! " 
 
 The other saw that Mrs. Bear had recovered her 
 sight. She was frightened, for Dame Bear was by 
 far the better man of the two. So she cried out, 
 " Bless me I what a mistake I 've made ! Why, I 
 gave you the wrong dish. You know, my dear sis- 
 
 12 
 
178 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 ter, that I always give you the best because you are 
 blind." 
 
 My grandfather said that after this Mrs. Bear kept 
 her eyes open on people in two ways. And it always 
 made us laugh, that did. 
 
 The Spirit of Mischief in these stories is sometimes 
 Lox, the Wolverine; at others the Eaccoon, or the 
 Badger. Their adventures are interchangeable. But 
 the character is always the same, and it is much like 
 that of Loki. Now Loki is Fire ; and it may be ob- 
 served in this legend that the wolverine or raccoon 
 comes to life when thrown into scalding water, and 
 that in another narrative Lox dies for want of fire ; 
 in another he is pricked by thorns and stung by ants. 
 " We must," says C. F. Keary, in his Mythology of the 
 Eddas, " admit that the constant appearance of thorn- 
 hedges, pricking with a sleep-thorn (Lox's thorns are 
 his bed), in German and Norse legends, is a mythical 
 way of expressing the idea of the funeral fire." 
 
 The first tiling that the Lox-Eaccoon does in this 
 tale, on coining to life, is to upset a pot into the ashes 
 for mischief's sake. And the very first exploit of the 
 magic deer, made by the evil spirits and sorcerers in 
 the Kalevala (Eunes XIII.), is thus set forth: — 
 
 " Then the Hiisi stag went bounding, 
 Bounding to the land of Pohja, 
 Till he reached the fields of Lapland. 
 Passing there before a cabin (goatte), 
 With a single kick while running 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 179 
 
 He upset the boiling kettle, 
 
 So that all the meat went rolling, 
 
 Rolling ruined in the ashes, 
 
 And the soup upon the hearth-stone." 
 
 This is, in both cases, the very first act of an ani- 
 mal, created and living only for mischief, on coming 
 to a magic or artificial life. 
 
 The legends of Finland and Lapland are as impor- 
 tant as the Norse to explain the origin of our Indian 
 mythology. 
 
 How Lox came to Grief by trying to catch a Salmon. 
 (Passamaquoddy.) 
 
 Kusk, the Crane, had two brothers. One of these 
 was Lox, the Wolverine, or Indian Devil. And his 
 other brother was Koskomines, the Blue Jay. 
 
 Kusk was very lazy, and one day, being hungry, 
 thought he would go and get a dinner from Lox. Lox 
 served him a kind of pudding-soup in a broad, flat 
 platter. Poor Kusk could hardly get a mouthful, 
 while Lox lapped it all up with ease. 
 
 Soon after, Kusk made a fine soup, and invited Lox 
 to dinner. This he served up in a jug, a long cylinder. 
 None of it had Lox. Kusk ate it all. 
 
 The next day the pair went to dine with Blue Jay. 
 Blue Jay said, " Wait till I get our food." Then he 
 ran out on a bough of a tree which spread over a 
 river, and in a minute fished out a large salmon. 
 " Truly," thought Lox, " that is easy to do, and I can 
 do it." 
 
180 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 So the next day lie invited the Blue Jay and Crane 
 to feed with him. Then he, too, ran down to the 
 river and out on a tree, and, seeing a fine salmon, 
 caught at it with his claws. But he had not learned 
 the art, and so fell into the river, and was swept away 
 by the rushing current. 
 
 This is one of Esop's fables Indianized and oddly 
 eked out with a fragment from a myth attributed to 
 both Manobozho and the Wabanaki Rabbit. As the 
 Wolverine has a great resemblance to Loki, it may be 
 here observed that, while he dies in trying to catch a 
 salmon, " Loki, in the likeness of a salmon, cast him- 
 self into the waterfall of Franangr," which was effec- 
 tively his last act in life before being captured by the 
 gods, as told in the Edda. Otter, in the Edda, caught 
 a salmon, and was then caught by Loki. There is, of 
 course, great confusion here, but the Indian tale is a 
 mere fragment, carelessly pieced and indifferently told. 
 Lox is, like Loki,^re, and perishes by water. 
 
 How Master Lox as a Raccoon killed the Bear and the 
 Black Cats, and performed other Notable Feats of Skill, 
 all to his Great Discredit. 
 
 (Passamaquoddy.) 
 
 Now of old time there is a tale of Hespuns, the 
 Raccoon, according to the Passamaquoddy Indians, 
 but by another record it is Master Lox, to whom all 
 Indian deviltry truly belongs. And this is the story. 
 One fine morning Master Lox started off as a Rac- 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 181 
 
 coon ; 1 for lie walked the earth in clivers disguises, to 
 take his usual roundabouts, and as he went he saw a 
 huge bear, as the manuscript reads, "right straight 
 ahead of him." 
 
 Now the old Bear was very glad to see the Rac- 
 coon, for he had made up his mind to kill him at 
 once if he could : firstly, to punish him for his sins ; 
 and secondly, to eat him for breakfast. Then the 
 Raccoon ran into a hollow tree, the Bear following, 
 and beginning to root it up. 
 
 Now the Coon saw that in a few minutes the tree 
 would go and he be gone. But he began to sing as if 
 he did not care a bean, and said, " All the digging and 
 pushing this tree will never catch me. Push your 
 way in backwards, and then I must yield and die. 
 But that you cannot do, since the hole is too small for 
 you." Then Mooin, the Bruin, hearing this, believed 
 it, but saw that he could easily enlarge the hole, which 
 he did, and so put himself in arrear ; upon which 
 the Raccoon seized him, and held on till he was 
 slain. 2 
 
 Then he crawled out of the tree, and, having made 
 himself a fine pair of mittens out of the Bear's skin, 
 started off again, and soon saw a wigwam from which 
 rose a smoke, and, walking in, he found a family of 
 Begemkessisek, or Black Cats. So, greeting them, he 
 
 1 The same stories are attributed to the Wolverine, Badger, 
 and Raccoon. 
 
 2 As Reynard, the Fox, won the victory in the famous tale ver- 
 sified by Goethe. Vide Reinecke Fuchs. 
 
182 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 said, "Young folks, comb me down and make me 
 nice, and I will give you these beautiful bear-skin mit- 
 tens." So the little Black Cats combed him down, 
 and parted his hair, and brushed his tail, and while 
 they were doing this he fell asleep ; and they, being- 
 very hungry, took the fresh bear -skin mitts, and 
 scraped them all up, and cooked and ate them. Then 
 the Coon, waking up, looked very angry at them, and 
 said in an awful voice, "Where are my bear-skin 
 mitts ? " And they, in great fear, replied, " Please, 
 sir, we cooked and ate them." Then the Coon flew 
 at them and strangled them every one, all except the 
 youngest, who, since he could not speak as yet, the 
 Kaccoon, or Lox, thought could not tell of him. 
 Then, for a great joke, he took all the little dead 
 creatures and set them up by the road-side in a row ; 
 as it was a cold day they all froze stiff, and then he 
 put a stick across their jaws, so that the little Black 
 Cats looked as if they were laughing for joy. Then 
 he made off at full speed. 
 
 Soon the father, the old Black Cat, came home, 
 and, seeing his children all grinning at him, he said, 
 "How glad the dear little things are to see me." But 
 as none moved he saw that something was wrong, and 
 his joy soon changed to sorrow. 1 
 
 Then the youngest Black Cat, the baby, came out 
 
 1 This trick is so precisely in the style of Lox that it seems a 
 gross mistake to attribute it to the Raccoon. Those who have 
 seen a wild cat grin will appreciate the humor of Lox on this 
 occasion. 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 183 
 
 of some hole where he had hid himself. Now the baby- 
 was too young to speak, but he was very clever, and, 
 picking up a piece of charcoal, he made a mark from 
 the end of his mouth around his cheek. 1 Then the 
 father cried, " Ah, now I know who it was, — the Rac- 
 coon, as sure as I live ! " And he started after him 
 in hot pursuit. 
 
 Soon the Raccoon saw the fierce Black Cat, as an 
 Indian, coming after him with a club. And, looking 
 at him, he said, " No club can kill me ; nothing but a 
 bulrush or cat-tail can take my life." Then the Black 
 Cat, who knew where to get one, galloped off to a 
 swamp, and, having got a large cat-tail, came to the 
 Coon and hit him hard with it. It burst and spread 
 all over the Raccoon's head, and, being wet, the fuzz 
 stuck to him. And the Black Cat, thinking it was 
 the Coon's brains and all out, went his way. 
 
 The Raccoon lay quite still till his foe was gone, 
 and then went on his travels. Now he was a great 
 magician, though little to other folks' good. And he 
 came to a place where there were many women nurs- 
 ing their babes, and said, " This is but a slow way you 
 have of raising children." To which the good women 
 replied, " How else should we raise them ? " Then he 
 answered, " I will show you how we do in our country. 
 When we want them to grow fast, we dip them into 
 cold water over night. Just lend me one, and I will 
 show you how to raise them in a hurry." They gave 
 
 1 The reader cannot fail to recall the peculiar mustache of the 
 Raccoon so well indicated by the infant artist. 
 
184 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 him one : he took it to the river, and, cutting a hole in 
 the ice, put the child into it. The next morning he 
 went to the place, and took out a full-grown man, alive 
 and well. The women were indeed astonished at this. 
 All hastened to put their babes that night under the 
 ice, and then the Raccoon rushed away. So they all 
 died. 
 
 Then he came to another camp, where many women 
 with fine stuff and furs were making bags. " That 
 is a very slow way you have of working," he said 
 to the goodwives. " In our country we cook them 
 under the ashes. Let me see the stuff and show you 
 how ! " They gave him a piece : he put it under the 
 hot coals and ashes, and in a few minutes drew out 
 from them a beautiful bag. Then they all hurried to 
 put their cloth under the fire. Just then he left in 
 haste. And when they drew the stuff out it was 
 scorched or burned, and all spoiled. 
 
 Then he came to a great river, and did not know 
 how to get across. He saw on the bank an old Wi- 
 willmehq\ a strange worm which is like a horned al- 
 ligator ; but he was blind. " Grandfather," said the 
 Raccoon, "carry me over the lake." "Yes, my grand- 
 son," said the Wiwillmekq', and away he swam ; the 
 Ravens and Crows above began to ridicule them. 
 " What are those birds saying ? " inquired the Old 
 One. " Oh, they are crying to you to hurry, hurry, 
 for your life, with that Raccoon ! " So the Wiwill- 
 mekq', not seeing land ahead, hurried with such speed 
 that the Raccoon made him run his head and half his 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 185 
 
 body into the bank, and then jumped off and left 
 him. But whether the Wiwillmekq' ever got out 
 again is more than he ever troubled himself to know. 
 
 So he went on till he came to some Black Berries, 
 and said, " Berries, how would you agree with me if 
 I should eat you ? " " Badly indeed, Master Coon," 
 they replied, " for we are Choke-berries." " Choke- 
 berries, indeed ! Then I will have none of you." And 
 then further he found on some bushes, Rice-berries. 
 " Berries," he cried, " how would you agree with me 
 if I should eat you ? " " We should make you itch, for 
 we are Itch-berries." " Ah, that is what I like," he 
 replied, and so ate his fill. Then as he went on he 
 felt very uneasy : he seemed to be tormented with 
 prickles, he scratched and scratched, but it did not 
 help or cure. So he rubbed himself on a ragged rock ; 
 he slid up and down it till the hair came off. 
 
 Now the Raccoon is bare or has little fur where he 
 scratched himself, to this very day. This story is at 
 an end. 
 
 This story is from the Passamaquoddy Indian-Eng- 
 lish collection made for me by Louis Mitchell. In 
 the original, the same incident of boiling the hero in 
 a kettle and of his springing out of it occurs as in 
 the tale of Mrs. Bear and the Raccoon. This I have 
 here omitted. The Mephistophelian and mocking 
 character of Lox is strongly shown when he says, 
 " Nothing but a cat-tail or bulrush can kill me," this 
 being evidently an allusion to Glooskap. This is to 
 
186 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 an Indian much like blasphemy. Lox, or Raccoon, or 
 Badger, — for they are all the same, — in his journey- 
 ings after mere mischief reminds us of an Indian Tyll 
 Eulenspiegel. But the atrocious nature of his jokes 
 is like nothing else, unless it be indeed the homicide 
 Punch. It is the indomitable nature of both which 
 commends them respectively to the Englishman and 
 to the Red Indian. In this tale Lox appears as the 
 spirit of fire by drawing a bag from it. The itching 
 or pricking from which he suffers is also significant of 
 that element, as appears, according to Keary, in many 
 Norse, etc., legends. 
 
 In the Seneca tale of the Mischief Maker, the Ber- 
 ries are distinctly declared to have souls. 
 
 How Lox deceived the Ducks, cheated the Chief, and be- 
 guiled the Bear. 
 
 (Miemac and Passamaquocldy.) 
 
 Somewhere in the forest lived Lox, with a small 
 boy, his brother. When winter came they went far 
 into the woods to hunt. And going on, they reached 
 at last a very large and beautiful lake. It was cov- 
 ered with water-fowl. There were wild geese and brant, 
 black ducks and wood -ducks, and all the smaller 
 kinds down to teal and whistlers. 
 
 The small boy was delighted to see so much game. 
 He eagerly asked his brother how he meant to catch 
 them. He answered, " We must first go to work and 
 build a large wigwam. It must be very strong, with 
 a heavy, solid door." This was done; and Lox, being 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 187 
 
 a great magician, thus arranged his plans for taking 
 the wild-fowl. He sent the boy out to a point of land, 
 where he was to cry to the birds and tell them that 
 his brother wished to give them a kingly reception. 
 (JVakamit, to act the king.) He told them their king 
 had come. Then Lox, arraying himself grandly, sat 
 with dignity next the door, with his eyes closed, as if 
 in great state. Then the little boy shouted that they 
 might enter and hear what the great sagamore had 
 to say. They flocked in, and took their seats in the 
 order of their size. The Wild Geese came nearest 
 and sat down, then the Ducks, and so on to the small- 
 est, who sat nearest the door. Last of all came the 
 boy, who entering also sat down by the door, closed it, 
 and held it fast. So the little birds, altumabedajik 
 (M.), sat next to him. 
 
 Then they were all told " Sj^egioedajik ! " " Shut 
 your eyes ! " and were directed to keep them closed 
 for their very lives, until directed to open them again. 
 Unless they did this first, their eyes would be blinded 
 forever when they beheld their king in all his magnif- 
 icence. So they sat in silence. Then the sorcerer, 
 stepping softly, took them one by one, grasping each 
 tightly by the wings, and ere the bird knew what he 
 was about it had its head crushed between his teeth. 
 And so without noise or fluttering he killed all the 
 Wild Geese and Brant and Black Ducks. Then the 
 little boy began to pity the poor small wild-fowl. He 
 thought it was a shame to kill so many, having al- 
 ready more than they needed. So stooping down, he 
 
188 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 whispered to a very little bird to open its eyes. It 
 did so, but very cautiously indeed, for fear of being 
 blinded. 
 
 Great was his horror to see what Lox was doing ! 
 He screamed, " Kedmneds'lk! " "We are all being 
 killed ! " Then they opened their eyes, and flew about 
 in the utmost confusion, screaming loudly in terror. 
 The little boy dropped down as if he had been knocked 
 over in the confusion, so that the door flew wide open, 
 and the birds, rushing over him, began to escape, while 
 Lox in a rage continued to seize them and kill them 
 with his teeth. Then the little boy, to avoid suspi- 
 cion, grasped the last fugitive by the legs and held 
 him fast. But he was suspected all the same by the 
 wily sorcerer, who caught him up roughly, and would 
 have beaten him cruelly but that he earnestly pro- 
 tested that the birds knocked him down and forced 
 the door open, and that he could by no means help it : 
 which being somewhat slowly believed, he was for- 
 given, and they began to pluck and dress the game. 
 The giblets were preserved, the fowls sliced and dried 
 and laid by for the winter's store. 
 
 Then having plenty of provisions, Lox gave a 
 feast. Among the guests were Marten and Mahti- 
 gwess, the Rabbit, who talked together for a long 
 time in the most confidential manner, the Rabbit con- 
 fiding and the Marten attending to him. 
 
 Now while this conversation had been going on, Lox, 
 who was deeply addicted to all kinds of roguery and 
 mischief, had listened to it with interest. And when 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 189 
 
 the two little guests had ceased he asked them where 
 their village was, and who lived in it. Then he was 
 told that all the largest animals had their homes 
 there : the bear, caribou or reindeer, deer, wolf, wild 
 cat, to say nothing of squirrels and mice. And having 
 got them to show him the way, he some time after 
 turned himself into a young woman of great beauty, 
 or at least disguised himself like one, and going to the 
 village married the young chief. And having left lit- 
 tle Marten alone in a hollow tree outside the village, 
 the boy, getting hungry, began to howl for food ; 
 which the villagers hearing were in a great fright. 
 But the young chief's wife, or the magician Lox, 
 soon explained to them what it meant. " It is," she- 
 he said, " Owoolakumooejit, the Spirit of Famine. 
 He is grim and gaunt ; hear how he howls for food ! 
 Woe be unto you, should he reach this village ! Ah, 
 I remember only too well what happened when he 
 once came among us. Horror ! starvation ! " 
 
 " Can you drive him back ? " cried all the villagers. 
 
 " Yes, 't is in my power. Do but give me the well- 
 t aimed hide of a yearling moose and a good supply 
 of moose-tallow, 1 then the noise will cease." And 
 seizing it, and howling furiously the name of his 
 brother after a fashion which no one could under- 
 stand, — Aa-choiuwcCn! — and bidding him begone, 
 he rushed out into the night, until he came to Mar- 
 ten, to whom he gave the food, and, wrapping him up 
 well in the moose-skin, bade him wait a while. And 
 1 A great delicacy among these semi- Arctic Indians. 
 
190 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 the villagers thought the chief's wife was indeed a 
 very great conjurer. 
 
 And then she-he announced that a child would soon 
 be born. And when the day came Badger handed out 
 a bundle, and said that the babe was in it. " JVool- 
 musugakelaimadijul" " They kiss it outside the blan- 
 ket." But when the chief opened it what he found 
 therein was the dried, withered embryo of a moose- 
 calf. In a great rage he flung it into the fire, and 
 all rushed headlong in a furious pack to catch Badger. 
 They saw him and Marten rushing to the lake. They 
 pursued him, but when he reached the bank the wily 
 sorcerer cast in a stick ; it turned into a canoe, and 
 long ere the infuriated villagers could reach them 
 they were on the opposite shore and in the woods. 
 
 Now it came to pass one day that as Lox sat on a 
 log a bear came by, who, being a sociable fellow, sat 
 down by him and smoked a pipe. While they were 
 talking a gull flew over, and inadvertently offered to 
 Lox what he considered, or affected to consider, as a 
 great insult. And wiping the insult off, Lox cried 
 to the Gull, " Oh, ungrateful and insolent creature, 
 is this the way you reward me for having made you 
 white ! " 
 
 Now the Bear woidd always be white if he could, 
 for the White Bear (wabeyu mooin) is the aristocrat 
 of Beardom. So he eagerly cried, " Ha ! did you 
 make the Gull white ? " 
 
 " Indeed I did," replied Lox. " And this is what 
 I get for it." 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 191 
 
 " Could you, my dear friend, — could you make me 
 white?" 
 
 Then Lox saw his way, and replied that he could 
 indeed, but that it would be a long and agonizing 
 process ; Mooin might die of it. To be sure the Gull 
 stood it, but could a Bear ? 
 
 Now the Bear, who had a frame as hard as a rock, 
 felt sure that he could endure anything that a gull 
 could, especially to become a white bear. So, with 
 much ceremony, the Great Enchanter went to work. 
 He built a strong wigwam, three feet high, of stones, 
 and having put the Bear into it he cast in red-hot 
 stones, and poured water on them through a small 
 hole in the roof. Erelong the Bear was in a terrible 
 steam. 
 
 " Ah, Doctor Lox," he cried, " this is awfully hot ! 
 I fear I am dying ! " 
 
 44 Courage," said Lox ; " this is nothing. The Gull 
 had it twice as hot." 
 
 " Can't stand it any more, doctor. O-o-o-oh ! " 
 
 Doctor Lox threw in more hot stones and poured 
 more water on them. The Bear yelled. 
 
 " Let me out ! O-o-h ! let me out ! O-o-o-oh ! " 
 
 So he came bursting through the door. The doc- 
 tor examined him critically. 
 
 Now there is on an old bear a small white or light 
 spot on his upper breast, which he cannot see. 1 And 
 Doctor Lox, looking at this, said, — 
 
 " What a pity ! You came out just as you were be- 
 
 1 This is very white on the Japanese bears. 
 
192 TEE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 ginning to turn white. Here is the first spot. Five 
 minutes more and you 'd have been a white bear. 
 Ah, you have n't the pluck of a gidl ; that I can see." 
 
 Now the Bear was mortified and disappointed. He 
 had not seen the spot, so he asked Lox if it was really 
 there. 
 
 " Wait a minute," said the doctor. He led the 
 Bear to a pool and made liim look in. Sure enough, 
 the spot was there. Then he asked if they could not 
 begin again. 
 
 " Certainly we can," replied the doctor. " But it 
 will be much hotter and harder and longer this time. 
 Don't try it if you feel afraid, and don't blame me if 
 you die of it." 
 
 The Bear went in again, but he never came out 
 alive. The doctor had roast bear meat all that win- 
 ter, and much bear's oil. He gave some of the oil to 
 his younger brother. The boy took it in a measure. 
 Going along the creek, he saw a Muskrat (ITeuchus, 
 Pass.). He said to the Muskrat, " If you can harden 
 this oil for me, I will give you half." The Muskrat 
 made it as hard as ice. The boy said, " If my brother 
 comes and asks you to do this for him, do you keep 
 it all." And, returning, he showed the oil thus har- 
 dened to his brother, who, taking a large measure of 
 it, went to the Muskrat and asked him to harden it. 
 The Muskrat indeed took the dish and swam away 
 with it, and never returned. 
 
 Then the elder, vexed with the younger, and re- 
 membering the ducks in the wigwam, and believing 
 now that he had indeed been cheated, slew him. 
 
m^&wwm^m 
 
 THE INDIAN BOY AND THE MUSK-RAT. SEEPS, THE DUCK. 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 193 
 
 This confused and strange story is manifestly pieced 
 together out of several others, each of which have in- 
 cidents in common. A part of it is very ancient. 
 Firstly, the inveigling the ducks into the wigwam is 
 found in the Eskimo tale of Avurungnak (Rink, p. 
 177). The Eskimo is told by a sorcerer to let the 
 sea-birds into the tent, and not to begin to kill them 
 till the tent is full. He disobeys, and a part of them 
 escape. In Schoolcraft's Hiawatha Legends, Mano- 
 bozho gets the mysterious oil which ends the fore- 
 going story from a fish. He fattens all the animals 
 in the world with it, and the amount which they con- 
 sume is the present measure of their fatness. When 
 this ceremony is over, he inveigles all the birds into 
 his power by telling them to shut their eyes. At 
 last a small duck, the diver, suspecting something, 
 opens one eye, and gives the alarm. 
 
 The sorcerer's passing himself off for a woman and 
 the trick of the moose abortion occurs in three tales, 
 but it is most completely given in this. To this point 
 the narrative follows the Micmac, Passamaquoddy, 
 and Chippewa versions. After the tale of the chief 
 is at an end it is entirely Passamaquoddy ; but of the 
 latter I have two versions, one from Toniak Josephs 
 and one from Mrs. W. Wallace Brown. 
 
 I can see no sense in the account of the bear's oil 
 hardened by ice, but that oil is an essential part of 
 the duck story appears from the Chippewa legend 
 (Hiawatha L. p. 30). In the latter it is represented 
 as giving size to those who partake of it. 
 
 13 
 
194 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 The Mischief Maker. A Tradition of the Origin of the 
 Mythology of the Seneeas. A Lox Legend. 
 
 (Seneca.) 
 
 An Indian mischief maker was once roving about. 
 He saw that he was approaching a village, and said, 
 " How can I attract attention ? " 
 
 Seeing two girls coming from the wigwams, he 
 pulled up a wild plum-bush and placed it upon his 
 head, the roots clasping about his chin. 
 
 " It will be strange to see a plum-tree on my head, 
 bearing ripe fruit. These girls will want trees also." 
 So he thought. 
 
 The tree shook as he walked, and many plums fell 
 to the ground. 
 
 The girls wondered greatly at the strange man with 
 the tree. They admired it, and said they, too, would 
 like to be always supplied with fruit in such a man- 
 ner. 
 
 " I can manage that," he replied. So he pulled 
 up a bush for each, and planted them on their heads. 
 The plums were delicious, and grew as fast as they 
 were plucked ; and the girls stepped along proudly, 
 for they had something which certainly no girls ever 
 had before. 
 
 The Mischief Maker went on to the village. On 
 the way he reflected, " There is no such thing in the 
 world as a plum-tree growing on a man's head. I 
 will take this off." He did so, and, on entering the 
 village, gave a loud signal (a whoop). All the peo- 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. . 195 
 
 pie listened, and the chiefs sent messengers to inquire 
 what news he brought. 
 
 He said, " I have seen a very strange sight. As I 
 was coming hither I saw two girls walking. Trees 
 grew on their heads ; the boughs were covered with 
 plums, and the roots, which came through their hair, 
 were fastened about their necks. They were beauti- 
 ful, and seemed to be very happy." 
 
 " We will go and see them ! " cried the women. 
 
 They had not gone far before they saw one of the 
 girls lying on the ground, while the other pulled at 
 the tree on her head. The roots gave way and the 
 tree came out, but all the hair came with it also. 
 Then the other lay down, and her friend in turn 
 pulled the tree from her head. They were very an- 
 gry, and said, " If we meet with the man who played 
 us this trick we will punish him." 
 
 When the women who had gathered round them 
 learned how the trees had been fastened by magic 
 upon the girls' heads, they returned to the village, re- 
 solved to chastise the man who had played the trick. 
 But when they reached home he was gone. 
 
 Gone far and away to another town. Before reach- 
 ing it he sat down, and said, " Now I will show these 
 people also what I can do." He went a little distance 
 into the woods, where he found a wigwam. A woman 
 with a bucket in her hand came from it. He saw that 
 as she passed along she reached high with one hand, 
 and felt her way by a thong which ran from tree to 
 tree till it ended at a spring of cold water. She 
 
196 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 went on, filled her bucket, and so returned. Then 
 another woman after her did the same. 
 
 " They must be blind," said the Mischief Maker. 
 " I will have some fun with them." And so it was. 
 There lived in that wigwam five blind sisters. 
 
 Then he untied the thong from the tree near the 
 spring and fastened it to another, where there was no 
 water. Then a third blind woman came with a bucket, 
 and followed the line to the end, but found no water. 
 She returned to the wigwam, and said, " The spring 
 is dried up." 
 
 " No, it is n't," replied one of the sisters, who was 
 stirring pudding over the fire. " You say that be- 
 cause you are too lazy to bring water ; you never 
 work. Here, do you stir the pudding, and let me go 
 for water." 
 
 The Mischief Maker heard all this, and made haste 
 to tie the end of the thong where it belonged. The 
 blind woman filled her bucket, and when she returned 
 said to her sister, " There, you lazy creature, I found 
 the water ! " 
 
 By this time the Mischief Maker was in the house, 
 and slipping quietly up to the fire he dipped out some 
 of the pudding and threw it, scalding hot, into the 
 face of the scolding woman, who cried in a rage, — 
 
 " You throw hot pudding at me, do you ? " 
 
 "No, I did not throw any at you," replied the 
 sister. 
 
 Then the Mischief Maker threw some into her face. 
 She screamed, being very angry. 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 197 
 
 " You mean thing ! You threw hot pudding at me, 
 when I did you no harm." 
 
 " I did n't throw any ! " said the other, in a rage. 
 
 " Yes, you did, you mean thing ! " 
 
 " Stop ! stop ! " cried the others. Just then hot 
 pudding flew in all their faces ; they had a terrible 
 quarrel, and the Mischief Maker left them to settle 
 it among themselves as they could. 
 
 He entered the village near by, and gave the usual 
 signal for news. The runners came out and met him ; 
 the chiefs and all the people assembled, lining the 
 path on both sides for a long way. They asked, 
 " What news do you bring ? " 
 
 He replied, "I come from a village where there 
 is great distress. A pestilence visited the people. The 
 medicine man could not cure the sick; till I came 
 there was no remedy ; the tribe was becoming very 
 small. But I told them the remedy, and now they 
 are getting well. I have come to tell you to prepare 
 for the pestilence : it will soon be here ; it is flying 
 like the wind, and there is only one remedy." 
 
 "What is it? what is it? what is it?" interrupted 
 the people. 
 
 He answered, " Every man must embrace the wo- 
 man who is next to him at this very instant; kiss 
 her, quick, immediately ! " 
 
 They all did so on the spot, he with the rest. 
 
 As he was leaving them an elderly man came to 
 him and whispered, " Are you going to do this thing 
 again at the next village ? If you are I shoidd like 
 
198 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 to be on hand. I did n't get any girl myself here. 
 The woman I went for dodged me, and said she had 
 rather have the pestilence, and death too, than have 
 me kiss her. Is the operation to be repeated ? " 
 
 The Mischief Maker said that it certainly would 
 be, about the middle of the morrow forenoon. 
 
 " Then I will start now," said the middle-aged 
 man, " for I am lame, and it will take me all night 
 to get there." 
 
 So he hurried on, and at daylight entered the vil- 
 lage. He found a wigwam, by which several beauti- 
 ful Indian girls were pounding corn in a great wooden 
 mortar. He sat down by them. He could hardly 
 take his eyes from them, they were so charming, and 
 they wondered at his strange behavior. 
 
 He talked with them, and said, " My eyelids 
 quiver, and by that I know that some great and 
 strange news will soon be brought to this tribe. 
 Hark ! " — here he moved up towards the one whom 
 he most admired, — " did you not hear a signal ? " 
 
 " Xo," they replied. 
 
 The middle-aged man became very uneasy. Sud- 
 denly the girls gave a cry, and dropped their corn 
 pestles. A voice was heard afar ; the runners leaped 
 and flew, the chiefs and people went forth. TV r ith 
 them went the girls and the middle-aged man, who 
 took great pains to keep very near his chosen one, 
 so as to lose no time in applying the remedy for the 
 pestilence when the Mischief Maker should give the 
 signal. He was determined that a life should not be 
 lost if he could prevent it. 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 199 
 
 The Stranger went through his story as at the other 
 village. The people became very much excited. They 
 cried out to know the remedy, and the old bachelor 
 drew nearer to the pretty girl. 
 
 " The only remedy for the pestilence is for every 
 woman to knock down the man who is nearest herT 
 
 The women began to knock down, and the first to 
 fall was the too familiar old bachelor. So the Mis- 
 chief Maker waited no longer than to see the whole 
 town in one general and bitter fight, tooth and nail, 
 tomahawk and scalper, and then ran at the top of 
 his speed far away and fleet, to find another village. 
 Then the people, finding they had been tricked, said, 
 as people generally do on such occasions, " If we had 
 that fellow here, would n't we pay him up for this ? " 
 
 The Mischief Maker was greatly pleased at his suc- 
 cess. It was nearly dark when he stopped, and said, 
 " I will not enter the next village to-night ; I will 
 camp here in the woods." So he had piled up logs 
 for a fire, and was just about to strike a light, when 
 he saw a stranger approaching. " Camp with me here 
 over night," said the Mischief Maker, " and we will 
 go to the village in the morning." 
 
 So they ate and smoked their pipes, and told stories 
 till it was very late. But the stranger did not seem 
 to tire ; nay, he even proposed to tell stories all night 
 long. The Mischief Maker looked at him aslant. 
 
 " My friend," he said, " can you tell me of what 
 wood my back-log is ? " 
 
 " Hickory ? " inquired the stranger. 
 
200 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 " No, not hickory." 
 
 " Maple ? " 
 
 " No, not maple." 
 
 " White oak ? " 
 
 " No, not white oak." 
 
 " Black walnut ? " 
 
 " No, not black walnut." 
 
 " Moosewood ? " 
 
 " No, not moosewood." 
 
 "Ash?" 
 
 " No, not ash." 
 
 "Pine?" 
 
 " No, not pine." 
 
 "Cedar?" 
 
 " No, not cedar." 
 
 "Birch?" 
 
 The stranger began to 3 r awn, but he kept on guess- 
 ing. Then his head nodded. By the time he had 
 found out that it was slippery elm he was sound 
 asleep. 
 
 " This fellow deserves punishment," remarked the 
 Mischief Maker. "He is an enemy to mankind." 
 Here he adroitly put some sticky clay on the sleep- 
 er's eyes, and departed. When the stranger awoke 
 he thought himself still fast asleep in darkness, and 
 then that he was blind. 
 
 "If ever I meet with that fellow again," he said, 
 "I '11 punish him!" 
 
 The Mischief Maker played so many pranks that 
 all the tribes sent out runners to catch him. He heard 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 201 
 
 their whoops in every forest. He knew that he was 
 being hunted down. He hurried on, and once at 
 night hid in a cave under a rock. The runners did 
 not quite overtake him, but they saw that his tracks 
 were fresh, and thought they might catch him in the 
 morning. In the morning he was up and far away 
 long before they awoke. The next night he hid again 
 in a hollow log. In the middle of the afternoon of 
 the next day he heard the whoops of the pursuers 
 very near, and knew that they were gaining fast on 
 him. He climbed a thickly limbed tree, and hid in 
 the top. Here the runners lost his track, because he 
 had broken the weeds and bushes down beyond the 
 tree, as if he had gone further on. They ran for a 
 long distance. Then they returned, and camped and 
 built a fire under the tree. 
 
 The smoke crept up among the branches and curled 
 above, and rose in a straight column to the sky. The 
 fugitive sailed away on the smoke, going up and up, 
 — past beautiful lakes and hunting-grounds stocked 
 with deer, large fields of corn and beans, tobacco and 
 squashes ; past great companies of handsome Indians, 
 whose wigwams were hung full of dried venison and 
 bear's meat. And so he went on and up to the wig- 
 wam of the Great Chief. 
 
 Here he rested. He remained for a hundred moons 
 observing the customs of the people and learning 
 their language. One morning the Great Chief told 
 him that he must return to his own people. He dis- 
 liked to do this, for he was very happy in the new 
 
202 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 place. The Chief said, " These are the happy hunt- 
 ing-grounds. We have admitted you that you may 
 know how and what to teach your people, that they 
 may get here. Go, and if you do what I tell you, you 
 may return to remain forever. You have not been 
 allowed to come here to remain, but only to observe. 
 When you come again, you shall join us in all things. 
 You shall hunt and fish then, and have whatever you 
 wish. But return now, and teach what you have 
 learned here." 
 
 A cloud of smoke in the form of a great eagle came 
 to him, and, seated on its back, he was borne down 
 to the top of the tree from which he had risen. He 
 opened his eyes. The sun was shining. His pursuers 
 had gone away. He descended and traveled on. His 
 mind was filled with what he had seen. He said, " I 
 will no longer play tricks, but tell the people about 
 what I learned in the happy hunting-grounds." 
 
 After a long journey he drew near a village. He 
 gave the common signal. Runners came to meet him. 
 The head chief and all the people came to hear. He 
 was asked, " What news do you bring us ? " 
 
 He said, " I that was the Mischief Maker am the 
 Peace Maker now. The Great Spirit took me to the 
 happy hunting-grounds, and I am sent back to tell 
 you how to get there." Then the Peace Maker de- 
 scribed all he had seen. The people built a great fire 
 and danced around it, and shouted as they had never 
 done before. Then he said, " This is the message I 
 bring you." 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 203 
 
 So the people sat in a great circle round the fire 
 and listened. He spoke : — 
 
 " The Great Spirit is unseen, but he is about us. 
 He will not forsake us. He rules all things for us. 
 He will take care of us. He told me that we should 
 return thanks to him, for he changes the seasons, and 
 makes corn and beans and squashes grow for us. He 
 is displeased when we kill our brothers. He hopes 
 that we will not forget him. He will never die. His 
 name is Ha-wen-ni-yu, — the Ruler. He bids us 
 keep away from his wicked brother, whose name is 
 Ha-ne-go-ate-geh, the Evil-Minded. He is very bad. 
 He brings pestilence and fevers, and lizards and 
 poisonous weeds. He destroys peace, and brings war. 
 Ha-wen-ni-yu will care for us if we trust in him. 
 Obey his words, and Ha-ne-go-ate-geh will never 
 harm us. 
 
 " The Great Spirit, has messengers, who aid him in 
 his work. They watch over the people. They take 
 care of the mother and her new-born babe, that they 
 receive no harm ; they watch over those whom the 
 Evil-Minded has troubled with disease. The Evil- 
 Minded has messengers who do his work. They scat- 
 ter pestilence, and whisper in our ears, and tell us 
 to go against Ha-wen-ni-yu. 
 
 " The Great Spirit has messengers. Heno has a 
 pouch filled with thunderbolts. Heno gathers the 
 clouds and sends the rain. He is a friend to the corn 
 and beans and squashes. He also punishes witches 
 and evil persons. Pray to Heno when you plant, and 
 
204 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 thank him when you gather your crop. Pray also 
 to Ha-wen-ni-yu, who will send Heno to care for you. 
 Let Heno be called Grandfather. 
 
 " Ga-oh is the Spirit of the Winds. He moves the 
 winds, but he is chained to a rock. The winds trouble 
 him, and he tries very hard to get free. When he 
 struggles the winds are forced away from him, and 
 they blow upon the earth. Sometimes he suffers 
 terrible pain, and then his struggles are violent. This 
 makes the winds wild, and they do damage on the 
 earth. Then he feels better and goes to sleep, and the 
 winds become quiet also. 
 
 " There is a spirit for the corn, another for beans, 
 another for squashes. They are sisters, and are very 
 kind to each other. They dwell together, and live in 
 the fields. They shall be known as De-o-ha-Jca, — the 
 keepers of our life. 
 
 " There are spirits in the water, in fire, in all the 
 trees and berries, in herbs and in tobacco, in the grass. 
 They assist the Great Spirit. 
 
 " Always return thanks to Ho-noh-che-noh-keh, the 
 Guardian Spirits. 
 
 " Ha-ne-go-ate-geh has messengers. These are the 
 spirits of disease, of fever, of witches, weeds, and 
 murder. But the Great Spirit will keep them away 
 from his children. 
 
 " This is the message I bring from the happy hunt- 
 ing-grounds. Obey these words, and the Great 
 Spirit will give you a place there." 
 
 So Peace Maker taught the people. They threw 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 205 
 
 tobacco on the fire, according to his instructions, and 
 on the column of its smoke he was borne away to the 
 happy hunting-grounds. And the people danced and 
 sang around the dying embers of the council fire. 
 
 This is probably an ancient legend with a modern 
 moral. The idea of an Indian Tyl Eulenspiegel 
 going about the country making mischief recalls a 
 great part of the adventures of Hiawatha or Mano- 
 bozho; in fact, it could not fail to suggest itself to a 
 believer in Shamanism, or pow-wow, according to 
 which evil spirits and men like them are continually 
 teasing mankind, out of sheer malice. The reform of 
 the wicked man, under the influence of the " Great 
 Spirit," is of later days. I do not believe that the 
 idea of a Great Spirit, in the sense in which it is 
 generally used by Indians, or is attributed to them, 
 was ever known till learned from the whites. Noth- 
 ing is more natural than that during the two hundred 
 years past intelligent Indians, who felt that there were 
 many evils in the old barbaric state, yet who were still 
 under the influence of its myths and poetry, should 
 have made up legends like this purporting to be revela- 
 tions. There is one of the kind given in the Hiawatha 
 Legend, as " Eroneniera, an Indian visit to the Great 
 Spirit," which bears on its face every mark of modern 
 manufacture for a purpose. For these very reasons, 
 however, the tale here given is of great interest to the 
 impartial historian. I am indebted for it to the kind- 
 ness of Colonel T. Wentworth Higginson. This is 
 the only story in my collection of which I cannot give 
 
206 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 the name and residence of the original Indian nar- 
 rator. 
 
 In the first part we have in the Mischief Maker 
 the same character or principle who appears as Lox, 
 the Wolverine, the Raccoon, and Badger among the 
 Wab'anaki. The setting the blind women together by 
 the ears, and the dashing of hot pudding, soup, or water 
 in their faces, is another form of a Lox story, which 
 occurs again in the Kalevala. But the entire spirit of 
 the tricks is that of Lox, as those of Lox are like 
 those of Loki. The Rev. D. Moncure Conway once 
 said to me, as Miss E. Robins has also said in an 
 article in the Atlantic Monthly, that it is only in the 
 Norse mythology that the Evil One, or devil, is repre- 
 sented as growing up from or inspired solely by reck- 
 less wanton mischief, — the mischief of a bad boy or 
 a monkey. But the very same is as true of so much 
 of a devil as there is in the Wabanaki mythology. It 
 is as a grotesque shadow of Loki, but still it is his. 
 The Germans say the devil is God's ape ; the Indian 
 Lox is the Norse devil's. 
 
 How Lox told a Lie. 
 (Passamaquoddy.) 
 
 Lox had a brother, who had married a red squaw. 
 When she was touched the red color rubbed off. The 
 brother kept this wife in a box. 
 
 One day, returning, the brother saw that Lox had 
 red fingers. " Aha ! " he cried, in a rage, " you have 
 taken my wife out of the box." But Lox denied it, 
 so that his brother believed him. 
 
THE MERRY TALES OF LOX. 207 
 
 The next time the husband returned, Lox's fingers 
 were again red. And again he was accused, and once 
 more he denied it. But as he swore with all his 
 might that he was innocent, something, as if on the 
 floor, laughed, and said, " You lie. I was with you ; 
 I helped you." 
 
 Lox thought it was his right foot. So he cut off the 
 toes, and then the foot, but the accusation continued. 
 Thinking it was the other foot, he cut that off ; yet as 
 the testimony was continued, he found that it was Ta- 
 loose, even he himself, the bodily offender in person, 
 testifying against his lying soul. So in a rage he 
 struck himself such a blow with his war-club that he 
 fell dead. 
 
 I cannot give in full all the adventures of Lox. I 
 may, however, observe one thing of great importance. 
 Lox, in these tales, is the Evil Principle, that is, a 
 giant by birth. His two feet in this story are male 
 and female ; they talk as if they were human. In the 
 Edda, a giant's two feet beget together a six-headed 
 son (Yafthrudnismal) : — 
 
 " Foot with foot begot 
 
 Of that wise Jotim, 
 
 A six-headed son." 
 
 This six-headed son reappears as a demon in the 
 Passamaquoddy tale of the Three Strong Men. 
 
 Taloose, literally translated, is the phallus. The 
 red squaw refers to the Newfoundland Indians, cov- 
 ered with red ochre. They are believed to be now 
 extinct. 
 
THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF MASTER 
 
 RABBIT 
 
 WITH THE OTTER, THE WOODPECKER GIRLS, AND MOOIN 
 
 THE BEAR. 
 
 ALSO A FULL ACCOUNT OF THE FAMOUS CHASE, IN WHICH HE 
 FOOLED LUSIFEE, THE WILD CAT. 
 
 I. How Master Rabbit sought to rival Keeoony, the 
 
 Otter. 
 
 Of old times, Mahtigwess, the Rabbit, who is 
 called in the Micmac tongue Ableegumooch, lived 
 with his grandmother, waiting for better times ; and 
 truly he found it a hard matter in midwinter, when 
 ice was on the river and snow was on the plain, to 
 provide even for his small household. And running 
 through the forest one day he found a lonely wigwam, 
 and he that dwelt therein was Keeoony, the Otter. 
 The lodge was on the bank of a river, and a smooth 
 road of ice slanted from the door down to the water. 
 And the Otter made him welcome, and directed his 
 housekeeper to get ready to cook; saying which, he 
 took the hooks on which he was wont to string fish 
 when he had them, and went to fetch a mess for din- 
 ner. Placing himself on the top of the slide, he 
 coasted in and under the water, and then came out 
 
ADVENTURES OF MASTER RABBIT. 209 
 
 with a great bunch of eels, which were soon cooked, 
 and on which they dined. 
 
 " By my life," thought Master Rabbit, " but that 
 is an easy way of getting a living ! Truly these fish- 
 ing-folk have fine fare, and cheap ! Cannot I, who 
 am so clever, do as well as this mere Otter ? Of 
 course I can. Why not ? " Thereupon he grew so 
 confident of himself as to invite the Otter to dine with 
 him — adamadusk ketkewop — on the third day after 
 that, and so went home. 
 
 " Come on ! " he said to his grandmother the next 
 morning ; "let us remove our wigwam down to the 
 lake." So they removed ; and he selected a site such 
 as the Otter had chosen for his home, and the weather 
 being cold he made a road of ice, or a coast, down 
 from his door to the water, and all was well. Then 
 the guest came at the time set, and Rabbit, calling his 
 grandmother, bade her get ready to cook a dinner. 
 " But what am I to cook, grandson ? " inquired the 
 old dame. 
 
 " Truly I will see to that," said he, and made him 
 a nahogun, or stick to string eels. Then going to the 
 ice path, he tried to slide like one skilled in the art, 
 but indeed with little luck, for he went first to the 
 right side, then to the left, and so hitched and jumped 
 till he came to the water, where he went in with a 
 bob backwards. And this bad beginning had no bet- 
 ter ending, since of all swimmers and divers the Rab- 
 bit is the very worst, and this one was no better than 
 his brothers. The water was cold, he lost his breath, 
 
 he struggled, and was well-nigh drowned. 
 14 
 
210 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 " But what on earth ails the fellow ? " said the Ot- 
 ter to the grandmother, who was looking on in amaze- 
 ment. 
 
 " Well, he has seen somebody do something, and is 
 trying to do likewise," replied the old lady. 
 
 " Ho ! come out of that now," cried the Otter, 
 " and hand me your nabogun ! ' And the poor Rab- 
 bit, shivering with cold, and almost frozen, came from 
 the water and limped into the lodge. And there he 
 required much nursing from his grandmother, while 
 the Otter, plunging into the stream, soon returned 
 with a load of fish. But, disgusted at the Rabbit 
 for attempting what he could not perform, he threw 
 them down as a gift, and went home without tasting 
 the meal. 
 
 II. How Mahtigivess, the Rabbit dined with the Wood- 
 pecker Girls, and was again humbled by trying to rival 
 them. 
 
 Now Master Rabbit, though disappointed, was not 
 discouraged, for this one virtue he had, that he never 
 gave up. 1 And wandering one day in the wilderness, 
 he found a wigwam well filled with young women, all 
 wearing red head-dresses; and no wonder, for they 
 were Woodpeckers. Now, Master Rabbit was a well- 
 bred Indian, who made himself as a melody to all 
 voices, and so he was cheerfully bidden to bide to din- 
 ner, which he did. Then one of the red-polled pretty 
 
 1 It will be seen in the end that this great Indian virtue of 
 never giving in eventually raised Rabbit to power and prosper- 
 ity. II y ade morale ici. 
 
ADVENTURES OF MASTER RABBIT. 211 
 
 girls, taking a woltes, or wooden dish, lightly climbed 
 a tree, so that she seemed to rim ; and while ascend- 
 ing, stopping here and there and tapping now and 
 then, took from this place and that many of those in- 
 sects called by the Indians apchel-mocd-timpkawal, or 
 rice, because they so much resemble it. And note 
 that this rice is a dainty dish for those who like it. 
 And when it was boiled, and they had dined, Master 
 Rabbit again reflected, " La ! how easily some folks 
 live ! What is to hinder me from doing the same ? 
 Ho, yon girls ! come over and dine with me the day 
 after to-morrow ! " 
 
 And having accepted this invitation, all the guests 
 came on the day set, when Master Rabbit undertook 
 to play woodpecker. So having taken the head of an 
 eel-spear and fastened it to his nose to make a bill, he 
 climbed as well as he could — and bad was the best — 
 up a tree, and tried to get his harvest of rice. Truly 
 he got none ; only in this did he succeed in resem- 
 bling a Woodpecker, that he had a red poll ; for his 
 pate was all torn and bleeding, bruised by the fishing- 
 point. And the pretty birds all looked and laughed, 
 and wondered what the Rabbit was about. 
 
 "Ah ! " said his grandmother, " I suppose he is 
 trying again to do something which he has seen some 
 one do. 'T is just like him." 
 
 " Oh, come down there ! " cried Miss Woodpecker, 
 as well as she could for laughing. "Give me your 
 dish ! " And having got it she scampered up the 
 trunk, and soon brought down a dinner. But it was 
 
212 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Ions: ere Master Rabbit heard the last of it from 
 these gay tree-tappers. 
 
 III. Of the Adventure with Mooin, the Bear ; it being 
 the Third and Last Time that Master Rabbit made a 
 Fool of himself. 
 
 Now, truly, one would think that after all that had 
 befallen Master Mahtigwess, the Eabbit, that he 
 would have had enough of trying other people's 
 trades ; but his nature was such that, having once 
 set his mighty mind to a thing, little short of sudden 
 death would cure him. And being one day with the 
 Bear in his cave, he beheld with great wonder how 
 Mooin fed his folk. For, having put a great pot on 
 the fire, he did but cut a little slice from his own foot 
 and drop it into the boiling water, when it spread 
 and grew into a mess of meat which served for all. 1 
 Nay, there was a great piece given to Rabbit to take 
 home to feed his family. 
 
 " Now, truly," he said, " this is a thing which I can 
 indeed do. Is it not recorded in the family wampum 
 that whatever a Bear can do well a Rabbit can do bet- 
 ter?" So, in fine, he invited his friend to come and 
 dine with him, Ketkeivopk\ the day after to-morrow. 
 
 And the Bear being there, Rabbit did but say, 
 " Noogume' huesawaT tvohn ! " " Grandmother, set 
 your pot to boiling ! " And, whetting his knife on a 
 
 1 Mr. Rand observes that this is evidently an allusion to the 
 bear's being supposed to live during the winter by sucking his 
 own paws. 
 
ADVENTURES OF MASTER RABBIT. 213 
 
 stone, he tried to do as the Bear had done ; but little 
 did he get from his small, thin soles, though he cut 
 himself madly and sadly. 
 
 "What can he be trying to do?" growled the 
 guest. 
 
 " Ah ! " sighed the grandmother, " something which 
 he has seen some one else do." 
 
 " Ho ! I say there ! Give me the knife," quoth 
 Bruin. And, getting it, he took a slice from his sole, 
 which did him no harm, and then, what with magic 
 and fire, gave them a good dinner. But Master Rab- 
 bit was in sad case, and it was many a day ere he 
 got well. 
 
 IV. Relating hoiv the Rabbit became Wise by being Origi- 
 nal, and of the Terrible Tricks ivhich he by Magic played 
 Loup-Cervier, the Wicked Wild Cat. 
 
 There are men who are bad at copying, yet are good 
 originals, and of this kind was Master Rabbit, who, 
 when he gave up trying to do as others did, succeeded 
 very well. And, having found out his foible, he ap- 
 plied himself to become able in good earnest, and stud- 
 ied m'teoulin, or magic, so severely that in time he 
 grew to be an awful conjurer, so that he could raise 
 ghosts, crops, storms, or devils, whenever he wanted 
 them. 1 For he had perseverance, and out of this may 
 
 1 The three previous chapters of the Rabbit legend are from 
 the Micinac. The rest is Passamaquoddy, as told by Tomah Jo- 
 sephs, who in his narration not only often interpolated jocose re- 
 marks, but was wont to ejaculate " By Jolly ! " especially in the 
 most striking scenes. I think that with him the interjection had 
 become refined and dignified. 
 
214 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 come anything, if it be only brought into the right 
 road. 
 
 Now it qame to pass that Master Rabbit got into 
 great trouble. The records of the Micmacs say that it 
 was from his stealing a string of fish from the Otter, 
 who pursued him ; but the Passamaquoddies declare 
 that he was innocent of this evil deed, probably be- 
 cause they make great account of him as their ances- 
 tor and as the father of the Wabanaki. Howbeit, 
 this is the way in which they tell the tale. 
 
 Now the Rabbit is the natural prey of the Loup- 
 Cervier, or Lusifee, who is a kind of wild cat, none 
 being more obstinate. And this Wild Cat once went 
 hunting with a gang of wolves, and they got nothing. 
 Then Wild Cat, who had made them great promises 
 and acted as chief, became angry, and, thinking of the 
 Rabbit, promised them that this time they should in- 
 deed get their dinner. So he took them to Rabbit's 
 wigwam ; but he was out, and the Wolves, being vexed 
 and starved, reviled Wild Cat, and then rushed off 
 howling through the woods. 
 
 Now I think that the Rabbit is mteoulin. Yes, 
 he must be, for when Wild Cat started to hunt him 
 alone, he determined with all his soul not to be caught, 
 and made himself as magical as he could. So he 
 picked up a handful of chips, and threw one as far as 
 possible, then jumped to it, — for he had a charm for 
 a long jump ; and then threw another, and so on, for a 
 great distance. This was to make no tracks, and when 
 he thought he had got out of scent and sight and 
 sound he scampered away like the wind. 
 
THE RABBIT MAGICIAN. 
 
ADVENTURES OF MASTER RABBIT. 215 
 
 Now, as I said, when the wolves got to Master Bab- 
 bit's house and found nothing, they smelt about and 
 left Wild Cat, who swore by his tail that he would 
 catch Kabbit, if he had to hunt forever and run him- 
 self to death. So, taking the house for a centre, he 
 kept going round and round it, all the time a little 
 further, and so more around and still further. 1 Then 
 at last having found the track, he went in hot haste 
 after Mr. Eabbit. And both ran hard, till, night 
 coming on, Rabbit, to protect himself, had only just 
 time to trample down the snoiv a little, and stick up 
 a spruce twig on end and sit on it. But when Wild 
 Cat came up he found there a fine wigwam, and put 
 his head in. All that he saw was an old man of 
 very grave and dignified appearance, whose hair was 
 gray, and whose majestic Qsogmoye) appearance was 
 heightened by a pair of long and venerable ears. And 
 of him Wild Cat asked in a gasping hurry if he had 
 seen a Rabbit running that way. 
 
 " Rabbits! " replied the old man. " Why, of course 
 I have seen many. They abound in the woods about 
 here. I see dozens of them every day." With this 
 he said kindly to Wild Cat that he had better tarry 
 with him for a time. " I am an old man," he re- 
 marked with solemnity, — " an old man, living alone, 
 
 1 While telling this, Tomah described a spiral line. It is evi- 
 dent that if the volute were only continued long enough it must 
 inevitably end in finding any trail, if the point of departure be 
 only known. This device is familiar to all Indians, and it is 
 mentioned in other stories. 
 
216 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 and a respectable guest, like you, sir, comes to me like 
 a blessing." And the Cat, greatly impressed, re- 
 mained. After a good supper he lay down by the 
 fire, and, having run all day, was at once asleep, and 
 made but one nap of it till morning. But how aston- 
 ished, and oh, how miserable he was, when he awoke, 
 to find himself on the open heath in the snow and al- 
 most starved ! The wind blew as if it had a keen will 
 to kill him ; it seemed to go all through his body. 
 Then he saw that he had been a fool and cheated by 
 magic, and in a rage swore again by his teeth, as well 
 as his tail, that the Rabbit shoidd die. There was no 
 hut now, only the trampled snow and a spruce twig, 
 and yet out of this little, Rabbit had conjured up so 
 great a delusion. 
 
 Then he ran again all day. And when night came, 
 Master Rabbit, having a little more time than before, 
 again trampled down the snow, but for a greater space, 
 and strewed many branches all about, for now a huge 
 effort was to be made. And when Wild Cat got there 
 he found a great Indian village, with crowds of people 
 going to and fro. The first building he saw was a 
 church, in which service was being held. And he, en- 
 tering, said hastily *to the first person he saw, " Ha ! 
 ho ! have you seen a Rabbit running by here ? " 
 
 " Hush — sh, sh ! " replied the man. " You must 
 wait till meeting is over before asking such ques- 
 tions." 1 Then a young man beckoned to him to come 
 
 1 Though this story is very old, the incident of the church 
 (sogmoye wigwam, or chief house) is manifestly modern. 
 
ADVENTURES OF MASTER RABBIT. 217 
 
 in, and he listened till the end to a long sermon on the 
 wickedness of being vindictive and rapacious ; and the 
 preacher was a gray ancient, and his ears stood up 
 over his little cap like the two handles of a pitcher, 
 yet for all that the Wild Cat's heart was not moved 
 one whit. And when it was all at an end he said to 
 the obliging young man, " But have you seen a Rab ? 
 bit running by ? " 
 
 " Rabbits ! Rab-bits ! ' replied the young man. 
 "Why, there are hundreds racing about in the cedar 
 swamps near this place, and you can have as many as 
 you want." " Ah ! " replied Wild Cat, " but they are 
 not what I seek. Mine is an entirely different kind." 
 The other said that he knew of no sort save the wild 
 wood - rabbits, but that perhaps their Governor, or 
 Chief, who was very wise, could tell him all about them. 
 Then the Governor, or Sagamore, came up. Like the 
 preacher, he was very remarkable and gray, with the 
 long locks standing up one on either side of his head. 
 And he invited the stranger to his house, where his 
 two very beautiful daughters cooked him a fine sup- 
 per. And when he wished to retire they brought out 
 blankets and a beautiful ivhite bear's shin, and made 
 up a bed for him by the fire. Truly, his eyes were 
 closed as soon as he lay down, but when he awoke 
 there had been a great change. For now he was in a 
 wet cedar swamp, the wind blowing ten times worse 
 than ever, and his supper and sleep had done him little 
 good, for they were all a delusion. All around him 
 were rabbits' tracks and broken twigs, but nothing 
 more. 
 
218 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Yet lie sprang up, more enraged than ever, and 
 swearing more terribly by his tail, teeth, and claws 
 that he would be revenged. So he ran on all day, and 
 at night, when he came to another large village, he was 
 so weary that he could just gasp, " Have — you — 
 seen a Kab — bit run this way?" With much con- 
 cern and kindness they all asked him what was the 
 matter. So he told them all this story, and they 
 pitied him very much; yea, one gray old man, — and 
 this was the Chief, — with two beautiful daughters, 
 shed tears and comforted him, and advised him to 
 stay with them. So they took him to a large hall, 
 where there was a great fire burning in the middle 
 thereof. And over it hung two pots with soup and 
 meat, and two Indians stood by and gave food to all 
 the people. And he had his share with the rest, and 
 all feasted gayly. 
 
 Now, when they had done eating, the old Governor, 
 who was very gray, and from either side of whose 
 head rose two very venerable, long white feathers, rose 
 to welcome the stranger, and in a long speech said it 
 was, indeed, the custom of their village to entertain 
 guests, but that they expected from them a song. 
 Then Wild Cat, who was vain of his voice, uplifted it 
 in vengeance against the Rabbits : — 
 
 " Oh, hew I hate them ! 
 How I despise them ! 
 How I laugh at them ! 
 May I scalp them all ! " 
 
 Then he said that he thought the Governor should 
 
ADVENTURES OF MASTER RABBIT. 219 
 
 sing. And to this the Chief consented, hut declared 
 that all who were present should bow their heads while 
 seated, and shut their eyes, which they did. Then 
 Chief Rabbit, at one bound, cleared the heads of his 
 guests, and drawing his timheyen, or tomahawk, as he 
 jumped, gave Wild Cat a wound which cut deeply into 
 his head, and only fell short of killing him by entirely 
 stunning him. When he recovered, he was again in 
 snow, slush, and filth, more starved than ever, his head 
 bleeding from a dreadful blow, and he himself almost 
 dead. Yet, with all that, the Indian devil was stronger 
 in him than ever, for every new disgrace did but bring 
 more resolve to be revenged, and he swore it by his 
 tail, claws, teeth, and eyes. 
 
 So he tottered along, though he could hardly walk ; 
 nor could he, indeed, go very far that day. And when 
 almost broken down with pain and weariness, he came 
 about noon to two good wigwams. Looking into one, 
 he saw a gray-haired old man, and in the other a 
 young girl, apparently his daughter. And they re- 
 ceived him kindly, and listened to his story, saying 
 it was very sad, the old man declaring that he must 
 really remain there, and that he would get him a doc- 
 tor, since, unless he were well cared for at once, he 
 would die. Then he went forth as if in great con- 
 cern, leaving his daughter to nurse the weary, wounded 
 stranger. 
 
 Now, when the Doctor came, he, too, was an old 
 gray man, with a scalp-lock strangely divided like two 
 horns. But the Wild Cat had become a little suspi- 
 
220 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 cious, having been so often deceived, for much abuse 
 will cease to amuse even the most innocent ; and truly 
 he was none of these. And, looking grimly at the Doc- 
 tor, 1 he said : "I was asking if any Rabbits are here, 
 and truly you look very much like one yourself. How 
 did you get that split nose ? " " Oh, that is very sim- 
 ple," replied the old man. " Once I was hammering 
 wampum beads, and the stone on which I beat them 
 broke in halves, and one piece flew up, and, as you see, 
 split my nose." " But," persisted the Wild Cat, "why 
 are the soles of your feet so yellow, even like a Rab- 
 bit's ? " " Ah, that is because I have been preparing 
 some tobacco, and I had to hold it down with my 
 feet, for, truly, I nedeed both my hands to work with. 
 So the tobacco stained them yellow." Then the Wild 
 Cat suspected no more, and the Doctor put salve on 
 his wound, so that he felt much better, and, ere he de- 
 parted, put by him a platter of very delicate little 
 round biscuits, or rolls, and a beautiful pitcher full 
 of nice wine, and bade him refresh himself from 
 these during the night, and so, stealing away softly, 
 he departed. 
 
 But oh, the wretchedness of the awaking in the 
 morning ! For then Wild Cat found himself indeed 
 in the extreme of misery. His head was swollen and 
 aching to an incredible degree, and the horrible wound, 
 which was gaping wide, had been stuffed with hem- 
 
 1 This cross-examination of the Doctor is taken from an Abe- 
 naki version, narrated by a St. Francis Indian to Miss Alger. 
 This Indian is the well-known Josep Cappino. 
 
ADVENTURES OF MASTER RABBIT. 221 
 
 lock needles and pine splinters, and this was the cool 
 salve which the Doctor had applied. And as a last 
 touch to his rage and shame, thinking in his deadly 
 thirst of the wine, he beheld on the ground, still left 
 in the snow, a last summer's pitcher-plant, half full 
 of what might indeed pass for wine by the mere sight 
 thereof, though hardly to the taste. While seeking for 
 the biscuits on a platter, he found only certain small 
 pellets, such as abound about a rabbit warren. And 
 then he swore by all his body and soul that he would 
 slay the next being he met, Rabbit or Indian. Verily 
 this time he would be utterly revenged. 
 
 Now Mahtigwess, the Rabbit, had almost come to an 
 end of his m'teoulin, or wizard power, for that time, 
 yet he had still enough left for one more great effort. 
 And, coming to a lake, he picked up a very large chip, 
 and having seamed it with sorcery and magnified it 
 by magic threw it into the water, where it at once 
 seemed to be a great ship, such as white men build. 
 And when the Wild Cat came up he saw it, with 
 sails spread and flags flying, and the captain stood so 
 stately on the deck, with folded arms, and he was a 
 fine, gray-haired, dignified man, with a cocked hat, the 
 two points of which were like grand and stately horns. 
 But the Wild Cat had sworn, and he was mindful of 
 his great oath ; so he cried, " You cannot escape me 
 this time, Rabbit ! I have you now ! " Saying this he 
 plunged in, and tried to swim to the ship. And the 
 captain, seeing a Wild Cat in the water, being en- 
 gaged in musket drill, ordered his men to fire at it, 
 
222 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 which they did with a bang ! Now this was caused by 
 a party of night-hawks overhead, who swooped down 
 with a sudden cry like a shot ; at least it seemed so to 
 Wild Cat, who, deceived and appalled by this volley, 
 deeming that he had verily made a mistake this time, 
 turned tail and swam ashore into the dark old for- 
 est, where, if he is not dead, he is running still. 1 
 
 1 This expression, very common among the Indians, appears to 
 have been taken from the Canadians. II court encore ends many 
 of their stories. This was related to me by Tomah Josephs, 
 September 2, 1882. I have four versions of it. In one, the 
 Chippewa, given by Schoolcraft, the wretched efforts to rival 
 the woodpeckers and bear are attributed to a no less personage 
 than Hiawatha, or Manobozho, himself, when under a cloud. 
 But Hiawatha as a poem deals only with the better part of the 
 hero's character. In the Rand manuscript, the most amusing 
 portion of the adventures of the Rabbit, or those with the Wild 
 Cat, are much abbreviated. Tomah's tale supplies this missing 
 portion, but consists of nothing else. The Abenaki tale is 
 slightly different in its beginning : " Rabbit was making maple- 
 sugar in the woods, but he was very pious, and rested on the 
 Sabbath. While praying on this day by his hearth, there came a 
 great black fierce man, who glared at him, but Mahtigwess 
 kept saying ' Peace ! peace ! peace ! ' for that is the way the 
 Rabbit prays. Then the stranger was angry because he would 
 not cease praying and talk to him, but the Rabbit said, ' Would 
 you have me break the Sabbath ? ' Then he went and brought 
 the stranger, who was a Wild Cat, refreshments." These refresh- 
 ments were the same, as those given by the Doctor. Here the 
 chase begins. 
 
 There is probably much more of this story. 
 
ADVENTURES OF MASTER RABBIT. 223 
 
 V. How Master Rabbit went to a Wedding and won the 
 
 Bride. 
 
 (Passaniaquoddy.) 
 
 Chee malitigwess, or the Great Rabbit, was once 
 very stout or large of body, having a very long tail. 
 And one day in the old times, as he sat on the rock, 
 with his fine long tail trailing afar into the bushes, an 
 old man came by who asked the way. And Master 
 Rabbit, being as usual obliging, offered to show it to 
 him. So they talked together and grew intimate, but 
 as the old man went very slowly, while Rabbit was 
 always running, he said, " Go on before, and I will 
 follow." So the guide was soon out of sight, and then 
 the old man, hurrying without heeding, fell down into 
 a deep pit or chasm, where he cried out aloud for help, 
 but was not heard. After a time, Rabbit, missing his 
 follower, turned back and tracked him till he found 
 the pit. Yet they could not between them manage to 
 bring the traveler up again, until Rabbit said, " Catch 
 hold of my tail ; " and when this was done he gave a 
 jump, but alas ! the fine tail broke off short within an 
 inch of the root. 
 
 One would think that by this time Master Rabbit 
 must have had enough of helping, but all the stories 
 of him show that he never gave up anything which 
 he had once begun. So he simply said to the old 
 man, " Catch hold of me round the waist ; " and 
 when this was done he gave another leap, and brought 
 the prisoner out. But the man, being heavy, had 
 
224 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 slipped down, and almost broken Rabbit's back. So 
 it came to pass that since that day Master Rabbit has 
 had a very short tail and a slender waist. 
 
 The old man was on his way to marry a young 
 girl. But she was in love with Mikumwess, the forest 
 fairy. However, the old man married her, and invited 
 Master Rabbit to the dance, which in old times made 
 the ceremony. And the guest dressed for the occasion 
 by putting ear-rings on his heels — for Rabbits or Hares 
 dance on their tip-toes — and a beautiful bangle round 
 his neck, and he danced opposite the bride. Now the 
 bride had on only a very short skirt, and in crossing a 
 brook it had got wet. So that as she danced, it began 
 to shrink and shrink, until Master Rabbit, pitying the 
 poor girl, ran out and got a deer-skin, and hastily 
 twisted a cord to tie it with. But it seemed as if 
 Master Rabbit's efforts to oblige people always got 
 him into trouble, for he twisted this string so rapidly 
 and earnestly, holding one end of it in his teeth as 
 he did so, that he cut his upper lip through to the 
 nose, for which reason his descendants all have hare- 
 lips to this day. 
 
 Now having dressed the bride, she was so grateful to 
 Rabbit that she danced with him all the night. The 
 old man, seeing this, was so angry at her fickleness 
 that, without saying a word, he walked away, and left 
 her to Mahtigwess, with whom she lived very happily 
 until she ran away with Mikumwess ; with whom, if 
 she has not run away again, she is living yet. This 
 story is at an end. 
 
ADVENTURES OF MASTER RABBIT. 225 
 
 VI. How Master ^Rabbit gave himself Airs. 
 (Micmac.) 
 
 It happened once that Lox was living in great lux- 
 ury. He had a wigwam full of hundreds of dried sea- 
 ducks, moose meat, maple-sugar, and corn. He gave 
 a dinner, and among the guests invited Marten and 
 Mahtigwess, the Rabbit. 
 
 Now it is a great weakness of Master Rabbit that 
 he is much given to hinting at one minute, and saying 
 pretty plainly the next, that he has been in better so- 
 ciety than that around him, and has lived among 
 great people, and no one was quicker than the Marten 
 to find out that wherein any one was foolish or feeble. 
 So when Master Rabbit, smoothing down his white 
 fur, said it was the only kind of a coat worn by the 
 aristocracy, Marten humbly inquired, " if that were 
 so, how he came by it." 
 
 " It shows," replied Master Rabbit, " that I have 
 habitually kept company with gentlemen." 
 
 " How did you get that slit in your lip ? " inquired 
 Marten, who knew very well what this Indian really 
 was. 
 
 " Ah ! " replied the Rabbit, " where I live they 
 use knives and forks. And one day, while eating with 
 some great sagamores, my knife slipped, and I cut my 
 lip." 
 
 "And why are your mouth and whiskers always 
 going when you are still ? Is that high style ? " 
 
 " Yes ; I am meditating, planning, combining great 
 
 15 
 
226 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 affairs ; talking to myself, you see. That 's the way 
 we do." 
 
 " But why do you always hop ? Why don't you 
 sometimes walk, like other people ? " 
 
 " Ah, that 's our style. We gentlemen don't rim, 
 like the vulgar. We have a gait of our own, don't 
 you know ? " 
 
 " Indeed ! Well, if you don't mind a question, I 
 would like to know why you always scamper away so 
 suddenly, and jump so far and so rapidly when you 
 run." 
 
 " Aw ! don't you know ? I used to be emplo}^ed 
 in very genteel business ; public service, — in fact, 
 diplomatic. I carried dispatches (weegadigunn, Mic- 
 mac ; icigJiiggin, Pass.) — books, letters, papers, and 
 so I got in the way of moving nimbly. Now it 
 comes naturally to me. One of my old aristocratic 
 habits." 1 
 
 Upon this Marten gave it up. He had seen some- 
 thing of good society himself, as he lived habitually 
 with Glooskap, but Master Rabbit was too much for 
 him. 
 
 1 This droll dialogue occurs in the middle of the Micmac story 
 of Lox, or Badger, and the Ducks and Bear, where it evidently 
 does not belong, or has been interpolated to make length. In the 
 original, Marten carries his inquiries much further into certain 
 physiological details, all of which Master Rabbit naively explains 
 as the result of the delicate diet and the wine to which he as a 
 gentleman had been accustomed. 
 
ADVENTURES OF MASTER RABBIT. 227 
 
 VII. The Young Man who ivas Saved by a Rabbit and a 
 
 Fox. 
 (Passamaquoddy.) 
 
 There dwelt a couple in the woods, far away from 
 other people, — a man and his wife. They had one 
 boy, who grew up strong and clever. One day he 
 said, " Father and mother, let me go and see other 
 men and women." They grieved, but let him go. 
 
 He went afar. All night he lay on the ground. In 
 the morning he heard something coming. He rose 
 and saw it was a Rabbit, who said, " Ha, friend, where 
 go you ? " The boy answered, " To find people." 
 "That is what I want," replied the Rabbit. "Let 
 us go together." 
 
 So they went on for a long time, till they heard 
 voices far off, and walking quietly came to a village. 
 " Now," said the Rabbit, " steal up unseen, and listen 
 to them ! " The boy did so, and heard the people 
 saying that a kewahqu\ a cannibal monster, was to 
 come the next clay to devour the daughter of their 
 sagamore. And having returned and reported this 
 to the Rabbit, the latter said to the boy, " Have no 
 fear ; go to the people and tell them that you can save 
 her." He did so, but it was long before they would 
 listen to him. Yet at last it came to the ears of the 
 old chief that a strange young man insisted that he 
 could save the girl ; so the chief sent for him, and 
 said, "They tell me that you think you can deliver my 
 daughter from death. Do so, and she shall be yours." 
 
228 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Then he returned to the Rabbit, who said, " They 
 did not send the girl far away because they know that 
 the demon can follow any track. But I hope to make 
 a track which he cannot follow. Now do you, as soon 
 as it shall be dark, bring her to this place." The 
 young man did so, and the Rabbit was there with a 
 sled, and in his hand he had two squirrels. These 
 he smoothed down, and as he did so they grew to be 
 as large as the largest sled-dogs. Then all three 
 went headlong, like the wind, till they came to an- 
 other village. 
 
 The Rabbit looked about till he found a certain 
 wigwam, aud then peered through a crevice into it. 
 " This is the place," he said. " Enter." They did 
 so ; then the Rabbit ran away. They found in the 
 cabin an old woman, who was very kind, but who, on 
 seeing them, burst into tears. " Ah, my dear grand- 
 children," 1 she cried, " your death is following you 
 rapidly, for the kewakqu' is on your track, and will 
 soon be here. But run down to the river, where you 
 will find your grandfather camping." 
 
 They went, and were joined by the Rabbit, who 
 had spent the time in making many divergent tracks 
 in the ground. The kewahqu' came. The tracks 
 delayed him a long time, but at last he found the 
 right one. Meanwhile the young couple went on, and 
 found an old man by the river. He said, " Truly 
 
 1 The terms grandchildren, grandmother, etc., do not here 
 signify actual relationship, but only friendship between elderly 
 and young people. 
 
ADVENTURES OF MASTER RABBIT. 229 
 
 you are in great danger, for the kewahqu' is coming. 
 But I will help you." Saying this, he threw himself 
 into the water, where he floated with outstretched 
 limbs, and said, " Now, my children, get on me." The 
 girl feared lest she should fall off, but being reas- 
 sured mounted, when he turned into a canoe, which 
 carried them safely across. But when they turned to 
 look at him, lo ! he was no longer a canoe, but an old 
 Duck. " Now, my dear children," he said, " hasten 
 to the top of yonder old mountain, high among the 
 gray rocks. There you will find your friend." They 
 fled to the old gray mountain. The kewahqu' came 
 raging and roaring in a fury, but however he pur- 
 sued they were at the foot of the precipice before 
 him. 
 
 There stood the Eabbit. He was holding up a very 
 long pole; no pine was ever longer. "Climb this," 
 he said. And, as they climbed, it lengthened, till they 
 left it for the hill, and then scrambled up the rocks. 
 Then the kewahqu' came yelling and howling horri- 
 bly. Seeing the fugitives far above, he swarmed up 
 the pole. With him, too, it grew, and grew rapidly, 
 till it seemed to be half a mile high. Now the ke- 
 wahqu' was no such sorcerer that he could fly ; neither 
 had he wings ; he must remain on the pole ; and when 
 he came to the top the young man pushed it afar. 
 It fell, and the monster was killed by the fall thereof. 
 
 They went with the squirrel - sledge ; they flew 
 through the woods on the snow by the moonlight; 
 they were very glad. And at last they came to the 
 
230 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 girl's village, when the Rabbit said, " Now, friend, 
 o-ood-by. Yet there is more trouble coming, and when 
 it is with you I and mine will aid you. So farewell." 
 And when they were home again it all appeared like 
 a dream. Then the wedding feast was held, and all 
 seemed well. 
 
 But the young men of the village hated the youth, 
 and desired to kill him, that they might take his wife. 
 They persuaded him to go with them fishing on the 
 sea. Then they raised a cry, and said, " A whale is 
 chasing us ! he is under the canoe ! " and suddenly 
 they knocked him overboard, and paddled away like 
 an arrow in flight. 
 
 The young man called for help. A Crow came, and 
 said, " Swim or float as long as you can. I will bring 
 you aid." He floated a long time. The Crow re- 
 turned with a strong cord; the Crow made himself 
 very large ; he threw one end of the cord to the youth ; 
 by the other he towed him to a small island. " I can 
 do no more," he said ; " but there is another friend." 
 So as the youth sat there, starving and freezing, there 
 came to him a Fox. " Ha, friend," he said, " are you 
 here ? " " Yes," replied the youth, " and dying of 
 hunger." The Fox reflected an instant, and said, 
 " Truly I have no meat ; and yet there is a way." 
 So he picked from the ground a blade of dry grass, 
 and bade the youth eat it. He did so, and found 
 himself a moose (or a horse). Then he fed richly 
 on the young grass till he had enough, when the Fox 
 gave him a second straw, and he became a man 
 
ADVENTURES OF MASTER RABBIT. 231 
 
 again. " Friend," said the Fox, " tliere is an Indian 
 village on the main-land, where there is to be a great 
 feast, a grand dance. Would you like to be there ? " 
 " Indeed I would," replied the youth. " Then wait till 
 dark, and I will take you there," said the Fox. And 
 when night came he bade the youth close his eyes and 
 enter the river, and take hold of the end of his tail, 
 while he should draw. So in the tossing sea they 
 went on for hours. Thought the youth, " We shall 
 never get there." Said the Fox, " Yes, we will, but 
 keep your eyes shut." So it went on for another 
 hour, when the youth thought again, " We shall never 
 reach land." Said the Fox, " Yes, we shall." How- 
 ever, after a time he opened his eyes, when they were 
 only ten feet from the shore, and this cost them more 
 time and trouble than all the previous swim ere they 
 had the beach under foot. 
 
 It was his own village. The festival was for the 
 marriage of his own wife to one of the young men 
 who had pushed him overboard. Great was his magic 
 power, great was his anger ; he became strong as 
 death. Then he went to his own wigwam, and his 
 wife, seeing him, cried aloud for joy, and kissed him 
 and wept all at once. He said, " Be glad, but the 
 hour of punishment for the men who made these 
 tears is come." So he went to the sagamore and 
 told him all. 
 
 The old chief called for the young men. " Slay 
 them all as you choose," he said to his son-in-law ; 
 " scalp them." But the youth refused. He called 
 
232 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 to the Fox, and got the straws which gave the power 
 to transform men to beasts. He changed his enemies 
 into bad animals, — one into a porcupine, one into 
 a hog, — and they were driven into the woods. Thus 
 it was that the first hog and the first porcupine came 
 into the world. 
 
 This story, narrated by Tomah Josephs, is partly 
 old Indian and partly European, but whether the lat- 
 ter element was derived from a French Canadian or 
 a Norse source I cannot tell, since it is common to 
 both. The mention of the horse and the hog, or of 
 cattle, does not prove that a story is not pre-Colum- 
 bian. The Norsemen had brought cattle of various 
 descriptions even to New England. It is to be very 
 much regretted that the first settlers in New England 
 took no pains to ascertain what the Indians knew of 
 the white men who had preceded them. But modern 
 material may have easily been added to an old le- 
 gend. 
 
THE CHENOO LEGENDS. 
 
 /. The Chenoo, or the Story of a Cannibal with an Icy 
 
 Heart. 
 
 (Micmac and Passamaquoddy.) 
 
 Of the old time. An Indian, with his wife and 
 their little boy, went one autumn far away to hunt in 
 the northwest. And having found a fit place to pass 
 the winter, they built a wigwam. The man brought 
 home the game, the woman dressed and dried the 
 meat, the small boy played about shooting birds with 
 bow and arrow ; in Indian-wise all went well. 
 
 One afternoon, when the man was away and the 
 wife gathering wood, she heard a rustling in the 
 bushes, as though some beast were brushing through 
 them, and, looking up, she saw with horror something 
 worse than the worst she had feared. It was an awful 
 face glaring at her, — a something made of devil, man, 
 and beast in their most dreadful forms. It was like 
 a haggard old man, with wolfish eyes ; he was stark 
 naked ; his shoulders and lips were gnawed away, as 
 if, when mad with hunger, he had eaten his own flesh. 
 He carried a bundle on his back. The woman had 
 heard of the terrible Chenoo, the being who comes 
 from the far, icy north, a creature who is a man 
 grown to be both devil and cannibal, and saw at once 
 that this was one of them. 
 
234 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Truly she was in trouble ; but dire need gives quick 
 wit, as it was with this woman, who, instead of show- 
 ing fear, ran up and addressed him with fair words, 
 as "My dear father," pretending surprise and joy, 
 and, telling him how glad her heart was, asked where 
 he had been so long. The Chenoo was amazed be- 
 yond measure at such a greeting where he expected 
 yells and prayers, and in mute wonder let himself be 
 led into the wigwam. 
 
 She was a wise and good woman. She took him 
 in ; she said she was sorry to see him so woe-begone ; 
 she pitied his sad state; she brought a suit of her 
 husband's clothes ; she told him to dress himself and 
 be cleaned. He did as she bade. He sat by the side 
 of the wigwam, and looked surly and sad, but kept 
 quiet. It was all a new thing to him. 
 
 She arose and went out. She kept gathering sticks. 
 The Chenoo rose and followed her. She was in great 
 fear. " Now," she thought, " my death is near ; now 
 he will kill and devour me." 
 
 The Chenoo came to her. He said, " Give me the 
 axe ! " She gave it, and he began to cut down the 
 trees. Man never saw such chopping ! The great 
 pines fell right and left, like summer saplings ; the 
 boughs were hewed and split as if by a tempest. 
 She cried out, " Noo, tabeagul boohsoogul ! " " My 
 father, there is enough ! " 2 He laid down the axe ; 
 he walked into the wigwam and sat down, always in 
 
 1 The tremendous pine chopper is a character in another In- 
 dian tale. 
 
THE CHENOO LEGENDS. 235 
 
 grim silence. The woman gathered her wood, and 
 remained as silent on the opposite side. 
 
 She heard her husband coming. She ran out and 
 told him all. She asked him to do as she was doino*. 
 He thought it well. He went in and spoke kindly. 
 He said, "N'chilch," " My father-in-law," and asked 
 where he had been so long. The Chenoo stared in 
 amazement, but when he heard the man talk of all 
 that had happened for years his fierce face grew 
 gentler. 
 
 They had their meal; they offered him food, but 
 he hardly touched it. He lay down to sleep. The 
 man and his wife kept awake in terror. When the 
 fire burned up, and it became warm, the Chenoo asked 
 that a screen should be placed before him. He was 
 from the ice ; he could not endure heat. 
 
 For three days he stayed in the wigwam ; for three 
 days he was sullen and grim ; he hardly ate. Then 
 he seemed to change. He spoke to the woman ; he 
 asked her if she had any tallow. She told him they 
 had much. He filled a large kettle ; there was a gal- 
 lon of it. He put it on the fire. When it was scald- 
 ing hot he drank it all off at a draught. 
 
 He became sick ; he grew pale. He cast up all the 
 horrors and abominations of earth, things appalling to 
 every sense. When all was over he seemed changed. 1 
 
 1 The Chenoo is not only a cannibal, but a ghoul. He preys 
 on nameless horrors. In this case, " having yielded to the power 
 of kindness, he has made up his mind to partake of the food and 
 hospitality of his hosts," "to change his life; but to adapt his 
 
236 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 He lay down and slept. When lie awoke he asked 
 for food, and ate much. From that time he was kind 
 and good. They feared him no more. 
 
 They lived on meat such as Indians prepare. 1 The 
 Chenoo was tired of it. One day he said, " NHoos " 
 (my daughter), " have you no pela zveoos f " (fresh 
 meat). She said, " No." When her husband re- 
 turned the Chenoo saw that there was black mud on 
 his snow-shoes. He asked him if there was a spring 
 of water near. The friend said there was one half 
 a day's journey distant. " We must go there to-mor- 
 row," said the Chenoo. 
 
 And they went together, very early. The Indian 
 was fleet in such running. But the old man, who 
 seemed so wasted and worn, went on his snow-shoes 
 like the wind. They came to the spring. 2 It was 
 large and beautiful ; the snow was all melted away 
 around it ; the border was flat and green. 3 
 
 system to the new regimen, he must thoroughly clear it of the 
 old." — Rand manuscript. This is a very naive and curious 
 Indian conception of moral reformation. It appears to be a very 
 ancient Eskimo tale, recast in modern time by some zealous 
 recent Christian convert. 
 
 1 That is, cured, dried, smoked, and then packed and pressed 
 in large blocks. 
 
 2 " The Micmacs have two words for a spring of water : one 
 for summer, utkuboh, which means that the water is cool ; the 
 other for winter, keesoobok, indicating that it is warm." — S. T. 
 Rand. 
 
 3 Not uncommon round warm springs even in midwinter, and 
 among ice and snow. 
 
Q 
 < 
 
 O 
 
 O 
 
 UJ 
 
 X 
 
 u 
 
 LJ 
 
 I 
 I- 
 
THE CHENOO LEGENDS. 237 
 
 Then the Chenoo stripped himself, and danced 
 around the spring his magic dance ; and soon the water 
 began to foam, and anon to rise and fall, as if some 
 monster below were heaving in accord with the steps 
 and the song. The Chenoo danced faster and wilder ; 
 then the head of an immense Taktalok, or lizard, 
 rose above the surface. The old man killed it with a 
 blow of his hatchet. Dragging it out he began again 
 to dance. He brought out another, the female, not 
 so large, but still heavy as an elk. They were small 
 spring lizards, but the Chenook had conjured them ; 
 by his magic they were made into monsters. 
 
 He dressed the game ; he cut it up. He took the 
 heads and feet and tails and all that he did not want, 
 and cast them back into the spring. " They will grow 
 again into many lizards," he said. When the meat 
 was trimmed it looked like that of the bear. He 
 bound it together with withes ; he took it on his shoul- 
 ders ; he ran like the wind ; his load was nothing. 
 
 The Indian was a great runner; in all the land 
 was not his like ; but now he lagged far behind. 
 " Can you go no faster than that ? " asked the Che- 
 noo. " The sun is setting ; the red will be black 
 anon. At this rate it will be dark ere we get home. 
 Get on my shoulders." 
 
 The Indian mounted on the load. The Chenoo 
 bade him hold his head low, so that he could not be 
 knocked off by the branches. " Brace your feet," he 
 said, " so as to be steady." Then the old man flew 
 like the wind, — nebe soJcano'vjal samastukteskugul 
 
238 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 did wegwasumug wegul ; the bushes whistled as they 
 flew past them. They got home before sunset. 
 
 The wife was afraid to touch such meat. 1 But her 
 husband was persuaded to eat of it. It was like bear's 
 meat. The Chenoo fed on it. So they all lived as 
 friends. 
 
 Then the spring was at hand. One day the Chenoo 
 told them that something terrible would soon come to 
 pass. An enemy, a Chenoo, a woman, was coming like 
 wind, yes — on the wind — from the north to kill him. 
 There could be no escape from the battle. She would 
 be far more furious, mad, and cruel than any male, 
 even one of his own cruel race, could be. He knew 
 not how the battle would end ; but the man and his 
 wife must be put in a place of safety. To keep from 
 hearing the terrible war-whoops of the Chenoo, which 
 is death to mortals, their ears must be closed. They 
 must hide themselves in a cave. 
 
 Then he sent the woman for the bundle which he 
 had brought with him, and which had hung untouched 
 on a branch of a tree since he had been with them. 
 And he said if she found aught in it offensive to her 
 to throw it away, but to certainly bring him a smaller 
 bundle which was within the other. So she went and 
 opened it, and that which she found therein was a 
 pair of human legs and feet, the remains of some ear- 
 lier horrid meal. She threw them far away. The 
 small bundle she brought to him. 
 
 1 " The Indians are much less particular than white men as to 
 food, but they avoid choojeeck, or reptiles." — Rand manuscript. 
 
THE CI1EN00 LEGENDS. 239 
 
 The Clienoo opened it and took from it a pair of 
 horns, — horns of the chepitchcalm, or dragon. One 
 of them has two branches ; the other is straight and 
 smooth. 1 They were golden-bright. He gave the 
 straight horn to the Indian ; he kept the other. He 
 said that these were magical weapons, and the only 
 ones of any use in the coming fight. So they waited 
 for the foe. 
 
 And the third day came. The Chenoo was fierce 
 and bold ; he listened ; he had no fear. He heard 
 the long and awful scream — like nothing of earth — 
 of the enemy, as she sped through the air far away in 
 the icy north, long ere the others could hear it. And 
 the manner of it was this : that if they without harm 
 should live after hearing the first deadly yell of the 
 enemy they could take no harm, and if they did but 
 hear the answering shout of their friend all would be 
 well with them. 2 But he said, " Should you hear me 
 call for help, then hasten with the horn, and you may 
 save my life." 
 
 They did as he bade : they stopped their ears ; they 
 hid in a deep hole dug in the ground. All at once 
 the cry of the foe burst on them like screaming 
 thunder ; their ears rang with pain : they were well- 
 
 1 In the winter of 1882-1883, Tomah Josephs killed a deer 
 whose horns were precisely like those of the chepitchcalm as 
 regarded shape. 
 
 2 In all this we clearly perceive the horrible scream of the 
 angakok, or Eskimo Shaman, trained through years and genera- 
 tions to utter sounds which terrify even brave men. 
 
240 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 nigh killed, for all the care they had taken. But then 
 they heard the answering cry of their friend, and were 
 no longer in danger from mere noise. 
 
 The battle begun, the fight was fearful. The mon- 
 sters, by their magic with their rage, rose to the size of 
 mountains. The tall pines were torn up, the ground 
 trembled as in an earthquake, rocks crashed upon 
 rocks, the conflict deepened and darkened ; no tem- 
 pest was ever so terrible. Then the male Chenoo was 
 heard crying : " N'loosooh ! choogooye ! abog unu- 
 mooe ! " " My son-in-law, come and help me ! " 
 
 He ran to the fight. What he saw was terrible ! 
 The Chenoos, who upright would have risen far above 
 the clouds as giants of hideous form, were struggling 
 on the ground. The female seemed to be the con- 
 queror. She was holding her foe down, she knelt on 
 him, she was doing all she could to thrust her dragon's 
 horn into his ear. And he, to avoid death, was mov- 
 ing his head rapidly from side to side, while she, 
 mocking his cries, said, "You have no son-in-law to 
 help you." JSfeen nabujjcole, " I '11 take your cursed 
 life, 1 and eat your liver." 
 
 1 It is generally said that there can be no swearing in Indian, 
 but Mr. Rand corrects this gross error. " It is a mistake," he 
 writes, " to suppose that the red man cannot swear in his own 
 tongue." It cannot, of course, be expected that simple savages 
 can swear like cultivated Christians, but they do the best they 
 can. They introduce the venom into their speech by inserting 
 an extra syllable. Thus nabole or nciboV means, " I will kill 
 you," but nabujeoV is the equivalent of " I '11 take your cursed 
 life," though it has not that literal meaning. Having only one 
 
THE CHENOO LEGENDS. 241 
 
 The Indian was so small by these giants that the 
 stranger did not notice him. " Now," said his friend, 
 " thrust the horn into her ear ! " He did this with a 
 well-directed blow ; he struck hard ; the point entered 
 her head. At the touch it sprouted quick as a flash 
 of lightning, it darted through the head, it came out 
 of the other ear, it had become like a long pole. It 
 touched the ground, it struck downward, it took deep 
 and firm root. 
 
 The male Chenoo bade him raise the other end of 
 the horn and place it against a large tree. He did so. 
 It coiled itself round the tree like a snake, it grew 
 rapidly ; the enemy was held hard and fast. Then the 
 two began to dispatch her. It was long and weary 
 work. Such a being, to be killed at all, must be 
 hewed into small pieces ; flesh and bones must all be 
 utterly consumed by fire. Should the least fragment 
 remain unburnt, from it would spring a grown Chenoo, 
 with all the force and fire of the first. 1 
 
 The fury of battle past, the Chenoos had become of 
 their usual size. The victor hewed the enemy to 
 small pieces, to be revenged for the insult and threat 
 
 small syllable to swear with, the Indians are, however, not so 
 profuse and wasteful of profanity as their more gifted and pious 
 white brethren. 
 
 1 The idea is common to both Eskimo and Indian that so long 
 as a fragment of a body remains unburned, the being, man or 
 beast, may, by magic, be revived from it. It was probably sug- 
 gested by observing the great vitality and power of self-produc- 
 tion inherent in many lower forms of life, and may have given 
 rise to the belief in vampires. 
 16 
 
242 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 as to eating his liver. He, having roasted that part 
 of his captive, ate it before her ; while she was yet 
 alive he did this. He told her she was served as she 
 would have served him. 
 
 But the hardest task of all was to come. It was to 
 burn or melt the heart. It was of ice, and more than 
 ice : as much colder as ice is colder than fire, as much 
 harder as ice is harder than water. When placed in 
 the fire it put out the flame, yet by long burning it 
 melted slowly, until they at last broke it to fragments 
 with a hatchet, and then melted these. So they re- 
 turned to the camp. 
 
 Spring came. The snows of winter, as water, ran 
 down the rivers to the sea ; the ice and snow which 
 had encamped on the inland hills sought the shore. 
 So did the Indian and his wife ; the Chenoo, with 
 softened soul, went with them. Now he was becom- 
 ing a man like other men. Before going they built a 
 canoe for the old man : they did not cover it with 
 birch bark ; they made it of moose-skin. 1 In it they 
 placed a part of their venison and skins. The Chenoo 
 took his place in it ; they took the lead, he followed. 
 
 And after winding oh with the river, down rapids 
 and under forest-boughs, they came out into the sun- 
 
 1 " The Indians have several names for a canoe : Kwedun (M.) ; 
 A'kweden (P.); NHooal (M.), my canoe or my water-craft of any 
 kind ; Mooseoolk, a canoe covered with moose-skin (M.) ; Skogu- 
 moolk (M.), a new canoe ; N'ca?ioolk (M.), an old canoe." — Rand 
 manuscript. To these may be added the different patterns of 
 canoes peculiar to different tribes, as for instance the Mohawk, 
 which is broad, with peculiar ends, etc. 
 
THE CHENOO LEGENDS. 243 
 
 shine, on a broad, beautiful lake. But suddenly, when 
 midway in the water, the Chenoo laid flat in the canoe, 
 as if to hide himself. And to explain this he said that 
 he had just then been discovered by another Chenoo, 
 who was standing on the top of a mountain, whose dim 
 blue outline could just be seen stretching far away to 
 the north. " He has seen me," he said, " but he can- 
 not see you. Nor can he behold me now ; but should 
 he discover me again, his wrath will be roused. Then 
 he will attack me ; I know not who might conquer. I 
 prefer peace." 
 
 So he lay hidden, and they took his canoe in tow. 
 But when they had crossed the lake and come to the 
 river again, the Chenoo said that he could not travel 
 further by water. He would walk the woods, but 
 sail on streams no more. So they told him where 
 they meant to camp that night. He started over 
 mountains and through woods and up rocks, a far, 
 round-about journey. And the man and his wife 
 went down the river in a spring freshet, headlong with 
 the rapids. 1 But when they had paddled round the 
 point where they meant to pass the night, they saw 
 smoke rising among the trees, and on landing they 
 found the Chenoo sleeping soundly by the fire which 
 had been built for them. 
 
 1 One should be familiar with the almost impassable forests 
 of Maine and Canada, even as they are at the present day, to 
 properly appreciate the Chenook's journey. As for the speed of 
 the canoe, I have myself gone down the Kenawha River (Va.), in 
 a dug-out, at the rate of one hundred miles in a day. 
 
244 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 This lie repeated for several days. But as they 
 went south a great change came over him. He was a 
 being of the north. Ice and snow had no effect on 
 him, but he could not endure the soft airs of summer. 
 He grew weaker and weaker ; when they had reached 
 their village he had to be carried like a little child. 
 He had grown gentle. His fierce and formidable 
 face was now like that of a man. His wounds had 
 healed ; his teeth no longer grinned wildly all the time. 
 The people gathered round him in wonder. 
 
 He was dying. This was after the white men had 
 come. They sent for a priest. He found the Chenoo 
 as ignorant of all religion as a wild beast. At first 
 he would repel the father in anger. Then he listened 
 and learned the truth. So the old heathen's heart 
 changed ; he was deeply moved. He asked to be 
 baptized, and as the first tear which he had ever shed 
 in all his life came to his eyes he died. 1 
 
 1 This strange and touching tale was told to Mr. Rand by a 
 Micmac Indian, Louis Brooks, who heard it from his grandfather, 
 Samuel Paul, a chief, who died in 1843, at the age of eighty. 
 He was a living chronicle of ancient traditions. The Chenoo 
 can be directly identified with the so-called Inlander of the 
 Greenland Eskimo. He is a cannibal, a giant, a mysterious 
 being who haunts the horrible and almost unexplored interior. 
 He assumes different forms ; in one shape he is supposed to be a 
 man who has become a recluse and a misanthrope. But no such 
 being as a Chenoo could ever have been imagined out of an 
 arctic couutry. The conception of the heart of hardest ice and 
 the gradual civilization of the savage by kindness ; the tact with 
 which this is done, as only a woman could do it ; the indication 
 of the old nature, as shown by eating the liver of his conquered 
 
THE CHENOO LEGENDS. 245 
 
 As there is actually a tribe of Indians in the North- 
 west called Chenoo, there can be little doubt as to the 
 derivation of the name. Such a character could have 
 originated, as I have said, only in the icy north ; it 
 could never have grown in the milder regions of the 
 west and south. But the Chenoo, the monstrous, fero- 
 cious cannibal giant, with an icy heart, is the central 
 figure of the evil supernatural beings of the north. 
 The Schoolcraft traditions and Hiawatha have little to 
 say of Titans whose heads top the clouds, who tear up 
 forests and rend rocks, and change the whole face of 
 Nature in their hideous battles or horrible revels. But 
 such scenes are continually described by the Passama- 
 quoddy and Micmac story-tellers, and they would be 
 natural enough to Greenlanders, familiar with whales, 
 icebergs, frozen wastes, long winter nights, and all the 
 frozen desolation of the north. 
 
 There is a mystery connected with the eating of the 
 liver, which is to be explained, like many other Indian 
 mysteries, by having' recourse to the Eskhno Shaman- 
 ism. " In Greenland a man who has been murdered 
 can revenge himself by rushing into him," that is, 
 entering his soul, " which can only be prevented by 
 eating a piece of his liver." (Rink, T. and T. of the 
 Eskimo, page 45.) The Chenoo is in all essentials 
 identical with the Kimgtok of Greenland, " a man who 
 has fled mankind, and acquired extraordinary mental 
 and physical powers. The story which I have here 
 
 foe, and his final conversion, display a genius which is greatly 
 heightened by the simplicity of the narrative. 
 
246 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 given is probably that of the Eskimo tale of the 
 Blind Man who recovered his sight (Rink, page 99), 
 in which a Kimcjtok, after becoming incredibly old, re- 
 turns to mankind to seek a Shaman priest and repent. 
 In both stories there is a " Chenoo," and in both there 
 is atonement with mankind and the higher powers. 
 
 It may be observed that while the Chenoo is a giant 
 with a heart of ice as hard as stone, the giant Hrmig- 
 nir, of the Edda, has a heart of stone. The Chenoo 
 agrees with the Jotuns in many respects. 
 
 The Story of the Great Chenoo, as told by the Passama- 
 
 quoddies. 
 
 (Passaniaquoddy) . 
 
 What the Micmacs call a Chenoo is known to the 
 Passamaquoddies as a Iiewahqu 9 or Kewoqit. And 
 this is their origin. When the Ivtchi mHeoulin, or 
 Great Big Witch, 1 is conquered by the smaller witches, 
 or MHeoulinssish, they can kill him or turn liim into 
 a Kewahqu\ He still fights, however, with the other 
 Kewaquiyck. When they get ready to fight, they 
 suddenly become as tall as the highest trees; their 
 weapons are the trees themselves, which they uproot 
 with great strength. And this strength depends upon 
 the quantity or size of the piece of ice which makes 
 the heart of the Kewahqii '. This piece of ice is like 
 
 1 When legends from the Anglo-Indian manuscript collection 
 of Mitchell are given, many of the phrases or words in the 
 original are retained, without regard to style or correctness. 
 Wizard is here placed for witch. 
 
THE CHENOO LEGENDS. 247 
 
 a little human figure, with hands, feet, head, and 
 every member perfect. 
 
 The female Kewahqu' is more powerful than the 
 male. They make a noise like a roaring lion (pee'A- 
 ta7do% but sharper (shriller) and more frightful. 
 Their abode is somewhere in ITas mu das doosek, in 
 some cold region in far Northern Canada. 
 
 In summer time they rub themselves all over with 
 poo-pooha-wigu, or fir balsam, and then roll themselves 
 on the ground, so that everything adheres to the body, 
 — moss, leaves, and even small sticks. This was often 
 seen of old by Indian hunters. 
 
 Once a newly married Indian couple had, accord- 
 ing to Indian custom, gone on the long fall and win- 
 ter hunt. One day when the man was away an old 
 Kewahqu' came and looked into the wigwam. The 
 wife was frightened, but she made up her mind at 
 once : she called him Mittunhsl, or " my father." 
 The old Kewahqu' was very proud to be called father. 
 When she heard her husband returning she ran out 
 and told him that a great Kewahqu' was in the camp, 
 and that he must call him 3fsil hose, or " father- 
 in-law." So going in he did this, and the Kewahqu' 
 was still more pleased. So they lived with him, 
 and hunted with him. He was very skillful in the 
 chase. When they came to broad and deep waters 
 the Kewahqu' would swim them with his son-in-law 
 on his back. He could run faster than any wild an- 
 imal. 
 
 One day he told his children to go away to a great 
 
248 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 distance. ." There is a great female Kewahqu' coming 
 to fight me. In the struggle I may not know you, and 
 may hurt you." So they went away as fast and as far 
 as they could, but they heard the fighting, the most 
 frightful noises, howls, yells, thundering and crashing 
 of wood and rocks. After a time the man determined 
 to see the fight. When he got to the place he saw 
 a horrible sight: big trees uprooted, the giants in a 
 deadly struggle. Then the Indian, who was very brave, 
 and who was afraid that his father-in-law would be 
 killed, came up and helped as much as he could, and in 
 fact so much that between them they killed the enemy. 
 The old Kewahqu' was badly but not fatally hurt, 
 and the woman was very glad her father came off vic- 
 torious. She had always heard that a Kewahqu' had 
 a piece of ice for a heart. If this can be taken out, 
 the Kewahqu' can be tamed and cured. So she made 
 a preparation or medicine, and offered it to him. 
 He did not know what it was, nor its strength, so he 
 swallowed it, and it gave him a vomit. She saw some- 
 thing drop, so quietly picked it up : it was the figure 
 of a man of ice ; it was the Kewahqu's heart. She, 
 not being seen or noticed, put it in the fire, when he 
 cried, " Daughter, you are killing me now ; you destroy 
 my strength." Yet she made him take more of the 
 medicine, and a second heart came out. This she 
 also put on the fire. But when a third came he 
 grabbed it from her hand, and swallowed it. How- 
 ever, he was almost entirely cured. 
 
 Another time an Indian village was visited by a 
 
THE CHENOO LEGENDS. 249 
 
 Kewahqu', but he was driven away by magic. The 
 people marked crosses on the trees where they ex- 
 pected the Kewahqu' to come. There was a great ex- 
 citement among the Indians, expecting to hear their 
 strange visitor with his frightful noises. It was the 
 old people who gave the advice to mark crosses on 
 the trees. 
 
 Another time an Indian of either the Passama- 
 quoddy or Mareschite tribe was turned to a Kewahqu'. 
 The last time he was seen was by a party of Indian 
 hunters, who recognized him. He had only small 
 strips of clothing. " This country," he said, " is too 
 warm for me. I am going to a colder one." 
 
 This story from the Passamaquoddy Anglo-Indian 
 manuscript of Mitchell supplies some very important 
 deficiencies in the preceding Micmac version. We 
 are told that the heart of the Chenoo is of ice in 
 human figure. This human figure is that of the Ke- 
 wahqu' himself, or rather his very self, or microcosm. 
 It is this, and not the liver, which is swallowed by the 
 victor, who thus adds another frozen " soul " to his 
 own. Of the three vomited by the Kewahqu', two 
 were the hearts of enemies whom he had conquered. 
 He could not give up his own, however. It is much 
 more according to common sense that the woman 
 should have given the cannibal the magic medicine 
 which made him yield his heart than that he should 
 voluntarily have purged himself. In the Micmac tale 
 he merely relieves his stomach ; in the Passamaquoddy 
 version he, by woman's influence, loses his icy heart. 
 
250 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 It is interesting to observe that the use of the Chris- 
 tian cross is in the additional anecdote described as 
 magic. 
 
 It is the main point in the Chenoo stories that this 
 horrible being, this most devilish of devils, is at first 
 human ; perhaps an unusually good girl, or youth. 
 From having the heart once chilled, she or he goes 
 on in cruelty, until at last the sufferer eats the heart 
 of another Chenoo, especially a female's. Then utter 
 wickedness ensues. It is more than probable that 
 this leads us back to some dark and terrible Shaman 
 superstition, older than we can now fathom. There is 
 a passage in the Edda which its translator, Thorpe, 
 thinks can never be explained. " I believe," he writes, 
 " the difficulty is beyond help." The lines are as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 "Loki scorched up 1 
 
 In his heart's affections, 
 
 Had found a half -burnt 
 
 Woman's heart. 
 
 Loki became guileful 
 
 from that wicked woman : 
 
 thence in the world 
 
 are all giantesses come." 
 
 Of which Thorpe writes, " The sense of this and the 
 following line is not apparent. They stand thus in 
 the original: Loki ofhiarta lyrdi brendu^fann hann 
 hdlfsvidthin hugstein konu, for which Grimm (Myth. 
 Vorrede 37) would read Loki dt hiarta lundi brenda> 
 etc., Lokius comedit cor in nemore assum> invenit 
 i The Edda, p. 112. 
 
THE CHENOO LEGENDS. 251 
 
 semiustum mentis lapidem mulieris" Whatever ob- 
 scurity exists here, it is evident that it means that 
 Loki, having* become bad, grew worse after having 
 got the half-burnt stone of a woman's soul. That is, 
 his own heart, half ruined, became utterly so after he 
 had added to it the demoralized hugstein, soul-stone, 
 thought-stone, or heart of a woman. If we assume 
 that stone and heart are the same, the difficulty van- 
 ishes. And they are one in the Chenoo, who, like 
 Loki, illustrates or symbolizes the passage from good 
 to evil, which a German writer declares is quicker 
 than thought, or that very same Hugi which the Norse 
 myth puts forwards as swiftest of all runners. Loki, 
 not as yet lost, gets the stone heart of a giantess, and 
 becomes an utter devil at once. The Chenoo becomes 
 an utter devil when he has swallowed the thought- 
 stone of a giantess, and so does Loki. 
 
 The Girl-Chenoo. 
 (Micmac.) 
 
 Of the old time. Far up the Saguenay River a 
 branch turns off to the north, running back into the 
 land of ice and snow. Ten families went up this 
 stream one autumn in their canoes, to be gone all 
 winter on a hunt. Among them was a beautiful girl, 
 twenty years of age. A young man in the band wished 
 her to become his wife, but she flatly refused him. 
 Perhaps she did it in such a way as to wound his 
 pride; certainly she roused all that was savage in 
 him, and he gave up all his mind to revenge. 
 
252 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 He was skilled in medicine, or in magic, so he went 
 into the woods and gathered an herb which makes 
 people insensible. Then stealing into the lodge when 
 all were asleep, he held it to the girl's face, until she 
 had inhaled the odor and could not be easily awak- 
 ened. Going out he made a ball of snow, and return- 
 ing placed it in the hollow of her neck, in front, just 
 below the throat. Then he retired without being dis- 
 covered. So she could not awake, while the chill 
 went to her heart. 1 
 
 When she awoke she was chilly, shivering, and 
 sick. She refused to eat. This lasted long, and her 
 parents became alarmed. They inquired what ailed 
 her. She was ill-tempered ; she said that nothing was 
 the matter. One day, having been sent to the spring 
 for water, she remained absent so long that her mother 
 went to seek her. Approaching unseen, she observed 
 her greedily eating snow. And asking her what it 
 meant, the daughter explained that she felt within a 
 burning sensation, which the snow relieved. More 
 than that, she craved the snow ; the taste of it was 
 pleasant to her. 
 
 After a few days she began to grow fierce, as 
 
 1 The Eskimo Shamans and the Indian boo-oin are familiar 
 with many very ingenious and singular ways of producing pro- 
 longed illness and death. There is one known to a very few old 
 gypsies, of gradually inducing insanity and death, which I have 
 never seen noted in any work on toxicology. In a work which 
 I lately read, it was positively denied that there was any such 
 thing as a " lingering poison " ! 
 
THE CHENOO LEGENDS. 253 
 
 though she wished to kill some one. At last she 
 begged her parents to kill her. Hitherto she had 
 loved them very much. Now she told them that un- 
 less they killed her she would certainly be their death. 
 Her whole nature was being changed. 
 
 " How can we kill you ? " her mother asked. 
 
 "You must shoot at me," she replied, "with seven 
 arrows. 1 And if you can kill me with seven shots 
 all will be well. But if you cannot, I shall kill you." 
 
 Seven men shot at her, as she sat in the wigwam. 
 She was not bound. Every arrow struck her in the 
 breast, but she sat firm and unmoved. Forty-nine 
 times they pierced her ; from time to time she looked 
 up with an encouraging smile. When the last arrow 
 struck she fell dead. 
 
 Then they burned the body, as she had directed. 
 It was soon reduced to ashes, with the exception of 
 the heart, which was of the hardest ice. This re- 
 quired much time to melt and break. At last all was 
 over. 
 
 She had been brought under the power of an evil 
 spirit ; she was rapidly being changed into a Chenoo, 
 a wild, fierce, unconquerable being. But she knew it 
 all the while, and it was against her will. So she 
 begged that she might be killed. 
 
 The Indians left the place ; since that day none have 
 ever returned to it. They feared lest some small part 
 of the body might have remained unconsumed, and 
 
 1 The Micmac version gives guns. But the Chenoo stories are 
 evidently very ancient, and refer to terrors of the olden time. 
 
254 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 that from it another Chenoo would rise, capable of 
 killing all whom she met. 1 
 
 1 Mr. Rand (manuscript) gives a detailed account of an In- 
 dian who went mad during the winter, ran away naked into the 
 wilderness among the snows, and was unaniinously declared to 
 have turned into a Chenoo. I agree with Mr. Rand that " the 
 historical basis of these tales, if they have any, may be the 
 same, — a case of lunacy ; fiction and figure adding the incred- 
 ible details." 
 
THUNDER STORIES. 
 
 Of the Girl who married Mount Katahdin, and how all 
 the Indians brought about their own Ruin, 
 
 (Penobscot.) 
 
 Of the old time. There was once an Indian girl 
 gathering blueberries on Mount Katahdin. And, be- 
 ing lonely, she said, " I would that I had a hus- 
 band ! " And seeing the great mountain in all its 
 glory rising on high, with the red sunlight on the top, 
 she added, " I wish Katahdin were a man, and would 
 marry me ! " 
 
 All this she was heard to say ere she went onward 
 and up the mountain, but for three years she was 
 never seen again. Then she reappeared, bearing a 
 babe, a beautiful child, but his little eyebrows were of 
 stone. For the Spirit of the Mountain had taken her 
 to himself ; and when she greatly desired to return 
 to her own people, he told her to go in peace, but for- 
 bade her to tell any man who had married her. 
 
 Now the boy had strange gifts, and the wise men 
 said that he was born to become a mighty magician. 
 For when he did but point his finger at a moose, 
 or anything which ran, it would drop dead ; and 
 when in a canoe, if he pointed at the flocks of wild 
 ducks or swans, then the water was at once covered 
 
256 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 with the floating game, and they gathered them in as 
 they listed, and through that boy his mother and every 
 one had food and to spare. 
 
 Now this was the truth, and it was a great wonder, 
 that Katahdin had wedded this girl, thinking with 
 himself and his wife to bring up a child who should 
 build up his nation, and make of the Wabanaki a 
 mighty race. And he said, " Declare unto these peo- 
 ple that they are not to inquire of thee who is the 
 father of thy child; truly they will all know it by see- 
 ing him, for they shall not grieve thee with imperti- 
 nence." Now the woman had made it known that she 
 would not be questioned, and she gave them all what 
 they needed ; yet, for all this, they could not refrain 
 nor restrain themselves from talking to her on what 
 they well knew she would fain be silent. And one 
 day when they had angered her, she thought, " Truly 
 Katahdin was right ; these people are in nowise wor- 
 thy of my son, neither shall he serve them ; he shall 
 not lead them to victory ; they are not of those who 
 make a great nation." And being still further teased 
 and tormented, she spake and said, " Ye fools, who 
 by your own folly will kill yourselves ; ye mud-wasps, 
 who sting the fingers which would pick ye out of the 
 water, why will ye ever trouble me to tell you what 
 you well know ? Can you not see who was the father 
 of my boy ? Behold his eyebrows ; do ye not know 
 Katahdin by them ? But it shall be to your exceed- 
 ing great sorrow that ever ye inquired. From this 
 day ye may feed yourselves and find your own veni- 
 son, for this child shall do so no more for you." 
 
THUNDER STORIES. 257 
 
 And she arose and went her way. into the woods and 
 up the mountain, and was seen on earth no more. 
 And since that day the Indians, who should have been 
 great, have become a little people. Truly it would 
 have been wise and well for those of early times if 
 they could have held their tongues. » 
 
 This remarkable legend was related to me by Mrs. 
 Marie Sakis, a Penobscot, a very clever story-teller. 
 It gives the Fall of Man from a purely Indian stand- 
 point. Nothing is so contemptible in Indian eyes as 
 a want of dignity and idle, loquacious teasing ; there- 
 fore it is made in the myth the sin which destroyed 
 their race. The tendency of the lower class of Amer- 
 icans, especially in New England, to raise and empha- 
 size the voice, to speak continually in italics and small 
 and large capitals, with a wide display, and the con- 
 stant disposition to chaff and tease, have contributed 
 more than any other cause to destroy confidence and 
 respect for them among the Indians. 
 
 Since writing the foregoing paragraph, I have read 
 The Abnakis, by Rev. Eugene Vetromile. In his 
 chapter on the Religion and Superstition of these In- 
 dians he gives this story, but, as I think, in a cor- 
 rupted form. Firstly, he states that Pamola (that is, 
 Bumole), who is the evil spirit of the night air, was 
 the Spirit of Mount Katahdin. Now these are cer- 
 tainly at present two very distinct beings, which are 
 described as being personally quite unlike. Secondly, 
 
 in Vetromile's story the mother and child disappear 
 17 
 
258 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 in consequence of the child having inadvertently killed 
 an Indian by pointing at him. It will be seen that 
 this feeble, impotent conclusion utterly spoils the man- 
 ifest meaning of the whole legend. 
 
 Of this story Vetromile remarks that "it is, of 
 course, a superstitious tale, made up by the prolific 
 imagination of some Indians, yet we can perceive in 
 it some vestiges of the fall of the first man in having 
 transgressed the command of God, and how it could 
 be repaired only by God. We can also trace some 
 ideas of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of 
 God in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, mixed 
 with fables, superstitions, and pagan errors. The ap- 
 pearance of God to Moses in the Burning Bush may 
 be glimpsed in Pamole appearing to the Indian on 
 Mount Katahdin, and so forth." 
 
 The pilgrims in Rabelais did not point out scriptu- 
 ral coincidences with greater ingenuity than this. It 
 is deeply to be regretted that the reverend father's en- 
 tire knowledge of the mythology of the Abenakis was 
 limited to this single story. (Vide Bumole, in chap- 
 ter on Supernatural Beings.) It may be, however, 
 observed, that if the name Bumole or Pamola really 
 means " he curses on the mountain," or curse on 
 mountain, it was natural that the evil spirit should be 
 supposed to be on the mountain. Pamola was per- 
 haps at an early period the spirit of lightning, and 
 might thus be very easily confused with Katahdin. 
 
THUNDER STORIES. 259 
 
 Hoiv a Hunter visited the Thunder Spirits who dwell in 
 Mount Katahdin. 
 
 (Passamaquoddy.) 
 
 N'karnayoo. Of old times. Once an Indian went 
 forth to hunt. And he departed from the east branch 
 of the Penobscot, and came to the head of another 
 branch that leads into the east branch, and this he 
 followed even to the foot of Mount Katahdin. 1 And 
 there he hunted many a day alone, and met none, till 
 one morning in midwinter he found the track of snow- 
 shoes. So he returned to his camp ; but the next day 
 he met with it again in a far-distant place. And thus 
 it was that, wherever he went, this track came to him 
 every day. Then noting this, as a sign to be ob- 
 served, he followed it, and it went up the mountain, 
 Katahdin, which, being interpreted, means " the great 
 mountain," until at last it was lost in a hard snow- 
 shoe road made by many travelers. And since it was 
 hard and even, he took off his agahmooh (P.), or 
 snow-shoes, and went ever on and up with the road ; 
 and it was a strange path and strange was its ending, 
 for it stopped just before a high ledge, like an im- 
 mense wall, on a platform at its foot. And there 
 
 1 This minuteness of needless detail is very characteristic of 
 Indian tales. I do not think that it is introduced for the sake of 
 local color, or to give an air of truthful seeming, because the In- 
 dian simply believes the whole, as it is. I think the reason may 
 be that, owing to their love of adventure, they enjoy the mere 
 recitation of topographical details. 
 
260 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 were many signs there, as of many people, yet he saw 
 no one. And as he stayed it seemed to grow stranger 
 and stranger. At last he heard a sound as of foot- 
 steps coming, yet within the wall, when lo ! a girl 
 stepped" directly out of the precipice upon the plat- 
 form. But though she was beautiful beyond belief, 
 he was afraid. And to his every thought she an- 
 swered in words, and that so sweetly and kindly and 
 cleverly that he was soon without fear, though he saw 
 that she had powerful mteoulin, or great magic 
 power. And they being soon pleased one with the 
 other, and wanting each other, she bade him accom- 
 pany her, and that by walking directly through, the 
 rock. " Have no fear," said she, "but advance bold- 
 ly! " So he obeyed, and lo ! the rock was as the 
 air, and it gave way as he went on. And ever as 
 they went the maiden talked to him, answering his 
 thoughts, so that he spoke not aloud. 
 
 And anon they came to a great cavern far within, 
 and there was an old man seated by a fire, and the 
 old man welcomed him. And he was very kindly 
 treated by the strange pair all day : in all his life he 
 had never been so happy. Xow as the night drew 
 near, the old man said to his daughter, " Can you hear 
 aught of your brothers ? " Then she went out to the 
 terrace, and, returning, said, " Xo." Then anon he 
 asked her again, and she, going and returning as be- 
 fore, replied, " Xow I hear them coming.*' Then they 
 listened, when lo ! there came, as at the door without, 
 a crash of thunder with a flash of lightning, and out 
 
THUNDER STORIES. 261 
 
 of the light stepped two young men of great beauty, 
 but like giants, stupendous and of awful mien. And, 
 like their father, their eyebrows were of stone, while 
 their cheeks were as rocks. 
 
 And the hunter was told by their sister that when 
 they went forth, which was every few days, their 
 father said to them, " Sons, arise ! it is time now for 
 you to go forth over the world and save our friends. 
 Go not too near the trees, but if you see aught that is 
 harmful to those whom we love, strike, and spare 
 not ! " Then when they went forth they flew on high, 
 among the clouds : and thus it is that the Thunder 
 and Lightning, whose home is in the mighty Katah- 
 din, are made. And when the thunder strikes, the 
 brothers are shooting at the enemies of their friends. 
 
 Now when the day was done the hunter returned to 
 his home, and when there, found he had been gone 
 seven years. All this I have heard from the old peo- 
 ple who are dead and gone. 
 
 This tale was told me by Tomah Josephs (P.)« It 
 seems to have nothing in common with the very widely 
 spread myth that the thunder is the flapping of the 
 wings of a giant bird, and the lightning the flashes of 
 its eyes. The tradition is probably of Eskimo origin, 
 supernatural beings partially of stone being common 
 to Greenland and Labrador. There is a strange but 
 entirely accidental resemblance between this story and 
 Rip Van Winkle, as in the distant sound of the nine- 
 pins like low-muttered thunder, the hospitable enter- 
 
262 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 tainment, and finally the seven years as one day. Ap- 
 parent resemblances are very deceptive. In the Es- 
 kimo mythology the mersugat or Tcutadlit, who are 
 the higher or benevolent spirits, protecting mortals, 
 are distinguished from the evil ones by dwelling in 
 cliffs, to which there are invisible entrances. 
 
 There is a remarkable resemblance between Katah- 
 din and Hrungnir of the Edda. Hrungnir has a face 
 of stone ; he is unquestionably a mountain personified, 
 as Miss Larned declares : " His stony head pierces 
 the blue sky." 1 Both giants are the typical great 
 mountain of their respective countries. Hrungnir 
 has also very great affinity with the Chenoo giant. 
 He has a stony hearty an insatiable appetite, and is 
 cruel and brutal. 
 
 The Iroquois have the very stone giants — or, as 
 Schoolcraft calls them, the stonish giants — them- 
 selves, and a very curious picture of them has been 
 preserved. 2 Of them he remarks, "Who the giants 
 are intended to symbolize is uncertain. They are 
 represented as impenetrable by darts." The connec- 
 tion between the stone giants of the Indians, the Es- 
 kimo, and the Norsemen, if not historical, is at least 
 identical in this, that they all typify the mountains. 
 
 1 Tales of the Elder Edda, p. 235. 
 
 2 Vide Cusick's Five Nations, 2d edition, and Schoolcraft's In- 
 dian Tribes, vol. i. p. 429. 
 
THUNDER STORIES. 263 
 
 The Thunder and Lightning Men. 
 (Passamaquoddy.) 
 
 This is truly an old Indian story of old time. Once 
 an Indian was whirled up by the roaring wind : he 
 was taken up in a thunder-storm, and set down again 
 in the village of the Thunders. 1 In after -times he 
 described them as very like human beings : they used 
 bows and arrows (taJi-bokque), and had wings. 
 
 But these wings can be laid aside, and kept for use. 
 And from time to time their chief gives these Thun- 
 ders orders to put them on, and tells them where to 
 go. He also tells them how long they are to be gone, 
 and warns them not to go too low, for it is sure death 
 for them to be caught in the crotch of a tree. 
 
 The great chief of the Thunders, hearing of the 
 stranger's arrival, sent for him, and received him 
 very kindly, and told him that he would do well to 
 become one of them. To which the man being willing, 
 the chief soon after called all his people together to 
 see the ceremony of thunderifying 2 the Indian. 
 
 Then they bade him go into a square thing, or box, 
 and while in it he lost his senses and became a 
 
 1 This tale is transcribed, with very little alteration, from a 
 manuscript collection of tales written in Indian-English by an 
 Indian. I retain the word thunders as expressive of the beings in 
 question. It has for title, A Story called "An Indian transformed 
 into a Thunder ! " 
 
 2 This word is one of the Indian author's own, but as I know 
 of no synonym for it I retain it. It is certainly not worse than 
 " Native- Americanizing." 
 
264 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Thunder. Then they brought hini a pair of wings, 
 and he put them on. So he flew about like the rest 
 of the Thunders ; he became quite like them, and fol- 
 lowed all their ways. And he said that they always 
 flew towards the sou' rf snook, or, south, and that the 
 roar and crash of the thunder was the sound of their 
 wings. Their great amusement is to play at ball 
 across the sky. 1 When they return they carefully put 
 away their wings for their next flight. There is a big 
 bird in the south, and this they are always trying to 
 kill, but never succeed in doing so. 
 
 They made long journeys, and always took him 
 with them. So it went on for a long time, but it 
 came to pass that the Indian began to tire of his 
 strange friends. Then he told the chief that he 
 wished to see his family on earth, and the sagamore 
 listened to him and was very kind. Then he called 
 all his people together, and said that their brother 
 from the other world was very lonesome, and wished 
 to return. They were all very sorry indeed to lose 
 him, but because they loved him they let him have 
 his own way, and decided to carry him back again. 
 So bidding him close his eyes till he should be on 
 earth, they carried him down. 
 
 The Indians saw a great thunder-storm drawing 
 near ; they heard such thunder as they never knew 
 before, and then something in the shape of a human 
 being coming down with lightning ; then they ran 
 
 1 The Eskimo say that the lightning of the Northern Lights is 
 caused by spirits playing at ball with the head of a walrus. 
 
THUNDER STORIES. 265 
 
 to tlie spot where lie sat, and it was their long-lost 
 brother, who had been gone seven years. 
 
 He had been in the Thunder-world. He told them 
 how he had been playing ball with the Thunder-boys : 
 yes, how he had been turned into a real Thunder him- 
 self. 
 
 This is why the Indians to this very day have a firm 
 belief that the thunder and lightning we hear and see 
 are caused by (beings or spirits) (called) in Indian 
 Bed-dag yek (or thunder), 1 because they see them, 
 and have, moreover, actually picked up the bed-dags 
 k'chisousaii, or thunder-bullet. 2 It is of many dif- 
 ferent kinds of stone, but always of the same shape. 
 The last was picked up by Peter Sabattis, 8 one of the 
 Passamaquoddy tribe. He has it yet. He found it 
 in a crotch-root of a spruce-tree at Head Harbor, on 
 the island of Campobello. This stone is a sign of 
 good-luck to him who finds it. 
 
 1 The manuscript is here difficult to understand, but this is 
 apparently the real meaning of it. 
 
 2 Thunderbolt. 
 
 8 I heard of the existence of this legend a long time before I 
 found it in the manuscript collection obtained for me by Louis 
 Mitchell. It is very curious as being unquestionably of Eskimo 
 origin, or common to the Eskimo ; also because it speaks of the 
 Thunders as always endeavoring to kill a great bird hi the south. 
 This is probably the thunder or storm bird, called by the Pas- 
 samaquoddy Indians Wochowsen or Wuchowsen, that is, Wind- 
 Blower. Another legend makes Thunder and Lightning the 
 sons of Mount Katahdin. 
 
 I may here mention that I am well acquainted with old Peter 
 Sabattis, the possessor of the " thunder-bullet." 
 
266 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 The thunder is the sound of the wings of the men 
 who fly above. The lightning we see is the fire and 
 smoke of their pipes. 
 
 Of the Woman who married the Thunder, and of their 
 
 Boy. 
 
 (Passamaquoddy.) 
 
 Once a woman went to the edge of a lake 1 and lay 
 down to sleep. As she awoke, she saw a great ser- 
 pent, with glittering eyes, crawl from the water, and 
 stealthily approach her. She had no power to resist 
 his embrace. After her return to her people her 
 condition betrayed itself, and she was much perse- 
 cuted ; they pursued her with sticks and stones, howl- 
 ing abuse. 
 
 She fled from the village ; she went afar into wild 
 places, and, sitting down on the grass, wept, wishing 
 that she were dead. As she sat and wailed, a very 
 beautiful girl, dressed in silver and gold, 2 appeared, 
 and after listening to her sad story said, " Follow 
 me!" 
 
 Then they went up on high into a mountain, through 
 three rocks, until they came into a pleasant wigwam 
 with a very smooth floor. An old man, so old that 
 
 1 It is impossible to distinguish in any Indian story between 
 lake and sea. 
 
 2 Both silver and gold were known in pre-Columbian times to 
 the Indians. I had a cousin who once found a very old stone 
 pipe in which a small piece of gold had been set. Particles 
 of gold are found in many mountain-streams in New England. 
 
THUNDER STORIES. 267 
 
 he was all white, came to meet them. Then he, 
 taking a short stick, bade her dance. He began to 
 sing, and as he sang she gave birth, one by one, to 
 twelve serpents. These the old man killed in suc- 
 cession with his stick as they were born. Then she 
 had become thin again ? and was in her natural form. 
 
 The old man had a son, Badawk, the Thunder, and 
 a daughter, Psawk-tankajnc, the Lightning, and when 
 Thunder returned he offered to take her back to her 
 own people, but she refused to go. Then the old man 
 said to his son, " Take her for your wife and be good 
 to her." So they were married. 
 
 In time she bore a son. When the boy could stand, 
 the old man, who never leaves the mountain, called him 
 to stand before him, while he fastened wings to the 
 child. He was soon able, with these wings, to make a 
 noise, which greatly pleased the grandfather. When a 
 storm is approaching, the distant rumbling is the mut- 
 tering thunder made by the child, but it is Badawk, 
 his father, who comes in the dark cloud and makes 
 the roaring crash, while Psawh-tanhapic flashes her 
 lightnings. 
 
 In after days, when the woman visited her people, 
 she told them that they never need fear the thunder 
 or lightning. 
 
AT-O-SIS, THE SEKPENT. 
 
 How Two Girls ivere changed to Water-Snakes, and of 
 Two Others that became Mermaids. 
 
 (Passaruaquoddy.) 
 
 Pocumkwess, or Thoroughfare, is sixty-five miles 
 from Campobello. There was an Indian village there 
 in the old times. Two young Indian girls had a 
 strange habit of absenting themselves all day every 
 Sunday. No one knew for a long time where they 
 went or what they did. But this was how they passed 
 their time. They would take a canoe and go six miles 
 down the Grand Lake, where, at the north end, is a 
 great ledge of rock and sixty feet of water. There 
 they stayed. All day long they ran about naked or 
 swam ; they were wanton, witch-like girls, liking ec- 
 centric and forbidden ways. 
 
 They kept this up for a long time. Once, while 
 they were in the water, an Indian who was hunting 
 spied them. He came nearer and nearer, unseen. 
 He saw them come out of the water and sit on the 
 shore, and then go in again ; but as he looked they 
 grew longer and longer, until they became snakes. 
 
 He went home and told this. (But now they had 
 been seen by a man they must keep the serpent 
 form.) Men of the village, in four or five canoes, 
 
AT-O-SIS, THE SERPENT. 
 
 269 
 
 went to find them. They found the canoe and clothes 
 of the girls ; nothing more. A few days after, two 
 men on Grand Lake saw the snake-girls on shore, 
 showing their heads over the bushes. One began to 
 
 sing, 
 
 " N'ktieh ieben iut, 
 Qu'spen ma ke owse." 
 
 We are going to stay iu this lake 
 
 A few days, and then go down the river. 
 
 Bid adieu to our friends for us ; 
 
 "We are going to the great salt water. 
 
 After singing this they sank into the water. They 
 had very long hair. 
 
 A picture of the man looking at the snake-girls 
 was scraped for me by the Indian who told me this 
 story. The pair were represented as snakes with fe- 
 male heads. When I first heard this tale, I promptly 
 set it down as nothing else but the Melusina story 
 derived from a Canadian French source. But I have 
 since found that it is so widely spread, and is told in 
 so many different forms, and is so deeply connected 
 with tribal traditions .and totems, that there is now 
 no doubt in my mind that it is at least pre-Colum- 
 bian. 
 
 Another and a very curious version of this story 
 was obtained by Mrs. W. Wallace Brown, who has 
 been the chief discoverer of curious Indian lore among 
 the Passamaquoddies. It is called : 
 
270 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Ne Hwas, the Mermaid. 
 
 A long time ago there was an Indian, with his wife 
 and two daughters. They lived by a great lake, or 
 the sea, and the mother told her girls never to go into 
 the water there, for that, if they did, something would 
 happen to them. 
 
 They, however, deceived her repeatedly. When 
 swimming is prohibited it becomes delightful. The 
 shore of this lake sands away out or slopes to an 
 island. One day they went to it, leaving their clothes 
 on the beach. The parents missed them. 
 
 The father went to seek them. He saw them swim- 
 ming far out, and called to them. The girls swam up 
 to the sand, but coidd get no further. Their father 
 asked them why they could not. They cried that they 
 had grown to be so heavy that it was impossible. 
 They were all slimy ; they grew to be snakes from 
 below the waist. After sinking a few times in this 
 strange slime they became very handsome, with long 
 black hair and large, bright black eyes, with silver 
 bands on their neck and arms. 
 
 When their father went to get their clothes, they 
 began to sing in the most exquisite tones : — 
 
 " Leave them there ! 
 Do not touch them ! 
 Leave them there ! " 
 
 Hearing this, their mother began to weep, but the 
 
 girls kept on : — 
 
 " It is all our own fault, 
 But do not blame us ; 
 
AT-O-SIS, THE SERPENT. 271 
 
 'T will be none the worse for you. 
 When you go in your canoe, 
 Then yon need not paddle ; 
 We shall carry it along ! " 
 
 And so it was : when their parents went in the ca- 
 noe, the girls carried it safely on everywhere. 
 
 One day some Indians saw the girls' clothes on the 
 beach, and so looked out for the wearers. They found 
 them in the water, and pursued them, and tried to 
 capture them, but they were so slimy that it was im- 
 possible to take them, till one, catching hold of a mer- 
 maid by her long black hair, cut it off. 
 
 Then the girl began to rock the canoe, and threat- 
 ened to upset it unless her hair was given to her again. 
 The fellow who had played the trick at first refused, 
 but as the mermaids, or snake-maids, promised that 
 they should all be drowned unless this was done, the 
 locks were restored. And the next day they were 
 heard singing and were seen, and on her who had lost 
 her hair it was all growing as long as ever. 
 
 We may very easily detect the hand of Lox, the 
 Mischief Maker, in this last incident. It was the same 
 trick which Loki played on Sif, the wife of Odin. 
 That both Lox and Loki were compelled to replace 
 the hair and make it grow again — the one on the 
 snake-maid, the other on the goddess — is, if a coin- 
 cidence, at least a very remarkable one. It is a rule 
 with little exception that where we have to deal with 
 myths which have passed into romances or tales, that 
 
272 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 which was originally one character becomes many, 
 just as the king who has but one name and one ap- 
 pearance at court assumes a score when he descends 
 to disguise of low degree and goes among the people. 
 But when, in addition to characteristic traits, we have 
 even a single anecdote or attribute in common, the 
 identification is very far advanced. When not one, 
 but many, of these coincidences occur, we are in all 
 probability at the truth. Thus we find in the mythol- 
 ogy of the Wabanaki, as in the Edda, the chief evil 
 being indulging in mere wanton, comic mischief, to 
 an extent not to be found in the devil of any other 
 race whatever. Here, in a mythical tale, the same 
 mischief maker steals a snake-girl's hair, and is com- 
 pelled to replace it. In the Edda, the corresponding 
 mischief maker steals the hair of a goddess, and is 
 also forced to make restitution. Yet this is only one 
 of many such resemblances in these tales. It will be 
 observed that in both cases the hair of the loser is 
 made to grow again. But while the incident has in 
 the Edda a meaning, as appears from its context, it 
 has none in the Indian tale. All that we can con- 
 clude from this is that the Wabanaki tale is subse- 
 quent to the Norse, or taken from it. The incidents 
 of tales are often remembered when the plot is lost. 
 It is certainly very remarkable that, wherever the 
 mischief maker occurs in these Indian tales, he in 
 every narrative does something in common with his 
 Norse prototype. 
 
AT-0-S1S, THE SERPENT. 273 
 
 Of the Woman who loved a Serpent who lived in a Lake, 
 (Passamaquocldy.) 
 
 Of old times. There was a very beautiful woman. 
 She turned the heads of all the men. She married, 
 and her husband died very soon after, but she imme- 
 diately took another. Within a single year she had 
 five husbands, and these were the cleverest and hand- 
 somest and bravest in the tribe. And then she mar- 
 ried again. 
 
 This, the sixth, was such a silent man that he passed 
 for a fool. But he was wiser than people thought. He 
 came to believe, by thinking it over, that this woman 
 had some strange secret. He resolved to find it out. 
 So he watched her all the time. He kept his eye on 
 her by night and by day. 
 
 It was summer, and she proposed to go into the 
 woods to pick berries, and to camp there. By and by, 
 when they were in the forest, she suggested that he 
 should go on to the spot where they intended to re- 
 main and build a wigwam. He said that he would do 
 so. But he went a little way into the woods and 
 watched her. 
 
 As soon as she believed that he was gone, she rose 
 and walked rapidly onwards. He followed her, un- 
 seen. She went on, till, in a deep, wild place among 
 the rocks, she came to a pond. She sat down and 
 sang a song. A great foam, or froth, rose to the sur- 
 face of the water. Then in the foam appeared the 
 
 tail of a serpent. The creature was of immense size. 
 18 
 
274 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 The woman, who had laid aside all her garments, em- 
 braced the serpent, which twined around her, envelop- 
 ing all her limbs and body in his folds. The husband 
 watched it all. He now understood that, the venom of 
 the serpent having entered the woman, she had saved 
 her life by transferring it to others, who died. 
 
 He went on to the camping ground and built a wig- 
 wam. He made up two beds ; he built a fire. His 
 wife came. She was earnest that there should be only 
 a single bed. He sternly bade her lie by herself. She 
 was afraid of him. She laid down, and went to sleep. 
 He arose three times during the night to replenish the 
 fire. Every time he called her, and there was no an- 
 swer. In the morning he shook her. She was dead. 
 She had died by the poison of the serpent. They sunk 
 her in the pond where the snake lived. 
 
 I do not omit this ghastly and repulsive legend for 
 the following reasons : One might hastily conclude, 
 from its resemblance to the old legend of the origin of 
 the Merovingian family, that this idea of the woman 
 with the horrible water spirit for a lover was of Cana- 
 dian French origin. But a story like it in the main 
 detail is told by the Indians of Guiana, and that of 
 the Faithless Wife, given in Kink's Tales and Tra- 
 ditions of the Eskimo (p. 143), is almost the same. 
 But in the latter the husband revenges himself by 
 stuffing the woman full of poisonous vermin. Rink 
 says that he had five different versions of this tale, and 
 that one was from Labrador, a country often traveled 
 
£P[I: N A (J /^E® 
 
 THE WOMAN AND THE SERPENT. 
 
AT-O-SIS, THE SERPENT. 275 
 
 by the Micmacs, and even by the Penobseots and Pas- 
 samaquoddies ; I myself knowing one of the latter who 
 has been there. I conjecture that this tale sets forth 
 the aboriginal idea of the origin of a certain disease 
 supposed to have come from America. It is popularly 
 believed among the vulgar that this disease can be 
 transferred to another person, thereby removing it 
 from the first. Of this the Rev. Thistleton Dyer, in 
 his Folk Lore of Shakespeare, says, " According to 
 an old but erroneous belief, infection communicated 
 to another left the infecter free ; in allusion to which 
 Timon of Athens (Act IV. 3) says, — 
 
 " ' I will not kiss thee ; then the rot returns 
 To thy own lips again.' " 
 
 Bonifacius, Historia Ludicra, has collected all the 
 instances known to classical antiquity of women who 
 had serpent lovers. The kings of the early races of 
 Central America laid great stress on the fact that 
 they were descendants of serpents. One could fill a 
 volume with all the Arab, Hindoo, and other Oriental 
 tales belonging to the beloved of " ophitic monsters." 
 
 I am indebted for this very curious and ancient 
 tale to Governor Tom ah Josephs, of Peter Dana's 
 Point, Maine. 
 
 The Mother of Serpents. 
 (Passamaquoddy.) 
 
 There was once a couple well advanced in years. 
 They were powerful and rich in the Indian fashion, 
 but they were unhappy because they had no children. 
 
276 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 This was near the river St. John's, on the shore of 
 a small lake. 
 
 After the woman had gone in vain to all the medi- 
 cine men and rrCtSoulin^ she heard of an old doctress, 
 or witch, who lived not very far off. And though 
 hope was almost dead, the witch was consulted. 
 
 She gave the wife some herbs, and bade her steep 
 them in a pot out-of-doors, and then let them boil. 
 When the vessel should dance over the flame, the pro- 
 pitious moment would be at hand. 
 
 Everything succeeded according to the witch's pre- 
 diction. A few days after she appeared in the town. 
 The mother, who was a very proud woman, had in 
 advance hung up an Indian cradle with very fine or- 
 naments. The old woman was very dirty, poor, and 
 squalid. The proud woman was furious at the visit, 
 which mortified her in every way. She drove the 
 witch away with bitter words, bidding her begone 
 with her rags. The old woman went away mutter- 
 ing, " That woman — too proud — too ugly proud — 
 I '11 see." 1 
 
 What she saw was bad for the mother. She took 
 some more herbs from her box and threw them in the 
 fire, crying with a loud voice, " At-o-sis ! At-o-sis ! " 
 and imitated the motions of a snake. 
 
 When the proud woman was confined, she gave 
 
 birth to two large serpents. They had each a white 
 
 ring round the neck and red stripes down the sides. 
 
 As soon as they were born they went rapidly to the 
 
 1 The story was narrated in Indian-English. 
 
AT-O-SIS, THE SERPENT. 277 
 
 lake, and disappeared in its water. They have been 
 seen there, now and then, ever since. 
 
 She who gave birth to them was a Mohawk, and she 
 is called the Mother of Serpents. 
 
 Another Passamaquoddy tale gives the following ac- 
 count of the origin of the Serpent-race. 
 
 Once there was an Indian sorcerer came to a wig- 
 wam where there was a man who had a very handsome 
 daughter. 
 
 The magician wished to win the girl ; the father 
 made up his mind that he should not have her. 
 
 The magician told them that he was very wealthy, 
 and had a great lodge filled with furs and wampum. 
 It was of no use. 
 
 Then he told the father that if he would go and cast 
 his lines in a certain place he would catch as many 
 of the finest fish as he wanted. The old man went, 
 but took his daughter with him. 
 
 When they returned, loaded with fish, the magician, 
 smiling, said to the girl with great mystery, " When 
 you have cooked these fish, always throw away the 
 tail, and begin by eating the head first." 
 
 He knew very well that her curiosity and perversity 
 would make her disobey him. She waited with impa- 
 tience till the man had left, when she hurried to cook 
 and eat the fish. Thereby she became a mother, and 
 the magician had his revenge. 
 
278 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Origin of the Black Snakes. 
 (Passaniaquoddy.) 
 
 Far away, very far in the north, there dwelt by the 
 border of a great lake a man and his wife. They 
 had no children, and the woman was very beautiful 
 and passionate. 
 
 The lake was frozen over during the greater part 
 of the year. One day when the woman cut away the 
 ice, she saw in the water a bright pair of large eyes 
 looking steadily at her. They charmed her so that 
 she could not move. Then she distinguished a hand- 
 some face ; it was that of a fine slender young man. 
 He came out of the water. His eyes seemed brighter 
 and more fascinating than ever ; he glittered from 
 head to foot; on his breast was a large shining sil- 
 very plate. 
 
 The woman learned that this was At-o-sis, the Ser- 
 pent, but she returned his embraces and held conver- 
 sation with him, and was so charmed with her lover 
 that she not only met him more than once every day, 
 but even went forth to see him in the night. 
 
 Her husband, noticing these frequent absences, asked 
 her why she went forth so frequently. She replied, 
 " To get the fresh air." 
 
 The weather grew warmer; the ice left the lake; 
 grass and leaves were growing. Then the woman 
 waited till her husband slept, and stole out from the 
 man whom she kissed no more, to the lover whom 
 she fondled and kissed more than ever. 
 
AT-0-S1S, THE SERPENT. 279 
 
 At last the husband's suspicions being fairly aroused, 
 he resolved to watch her. To do this he said that 
 he would be absent for three days. But he returned 
 at the end of the first day, and found that she was 
 absent. As she came in he observed something like 
 silvery scales on the logs. He asked what they were. 
 She replied, Brooches. 1 
 
 He was still dissatisfied, and said that he would be 
 gone for one day. He went to the top of a hill not 
 far distant, whence he watched her. She went to the 
 shore, and sat there. By and by there rose up out 
 of the lake, at a distance, what seemed to be a brightly 
 shining piece of ice. It came to the strand and rose 
 from the water. It was a very tall and very hand- 
 some man, dressed in silver. His wife clasped the 
 bright stranger in her arms, kissing him again and 
 again. 
 
 The husband was awed by this strange event. He 
 went home, and tried to persuade his wife to leave the 
 place and to return to her people. This she refused 
 to do. He departed ; he left her forever. But her 
 father and mother came to find her. They found her 
 there ; they dwelt with her. Every day she brought 
 to them furs and meat. They asked her whence she 
 got them. " I have another husband," she replied ; 
 " one who suits me. The one I had was bad, and did 
 not use me well. This one brings all the animals to 
 me." Then she sent them away with many presents, 
 
 1 NskmahnH : coins of all sizes hammered out by the Indians 
 and made into pin-brooches. 
 
280 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 telling them not to return until the ice had formed ; 
 that was in the autumn. 
 
 When they returned she had become white. She 
 was with young, and soon gave birth to her offspring. 
 It consisted of many serpents. The parents went 
 home. As they departed she said to them, " When 
 you come again you may see me, but you will not 
 know me." 
 
 Years after some hunters, roaming that way, re- 
 membered the tale, and looked for the wigwam. It 
 was there, but no one was in it. But all the woods 
 about the place were full of great black snakes, which 
 would rise up like a human being and look one in 
 the face, then glide away without doing any harm. 
 
THE PARTKIDGE. 
 
 The Adventures of the Great Hero Pulowech, or the 
 
 Partridge. 
 
 (Micmac.) 
 
 Wee-yig-yiJc-Jceseyook. A tale of old times. Two 
 men once lived together in one wigwam in the woods, 
 on the border of a beautiful lake. Many hard-wood 
 trees made their pictures in it. One of these Indians 
 was Pulowech, the Partridge in the Micmac tongue, 
 but who is called by the Passamaquoddy Mitchihess ; 
 but the other was Wejek (M.), the Tree Partridge. 
 
 Now it befell that one day Pulowech was walking 
 along the shore, when it was winter, and he beheld 
 three girls, fair and fine, with flowing hair, sitting on 
 the ice braiding their locks. Then he knew that they 
 were of the fairy kind, who dwell in the water ; and, 
 verily, these were plentier of old than they are now, 
 — to our sorrow be it said, for they were good com- 
 pany for the one who could get them. And Pulowech, 
 knowing this, said, " I will essay this thing, and per- 
 chance I may catch one or two of them ; which will 
 be a great comfort, for a pretty girl is a nice thing 
 to have about the wigwam." So he sought to secure 
 them by stealing softly along ; but one cried, " Ne 
 miha skedajj ! " " I see a man ! " P., and they all 
 went head over heels, first best time, into the water ; 
 
282 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 and verily that was a cold duck for December in the 
 Bay of Fundy. 
 
 But though Pulowech had never hunted for sea- 
 girls, yet he had fished for seals, who are greatly akin 
 unto them, being almost as slippery ; and wotting well 
 that no man hath the mitten till he is refused thirty 
 times and many more, he went about it in another 
 wise. For this time he gat many fir boughs, strewing 
 them about as if blown by the wind, and hiding him- 
 self behind them, again came up and made a sudden 
 dart. Then the maids, crying as before, " Ne miha 
 shedap ! " " I see a man ! " went with a dive into the 
 deep. But this time he caught, if not the hair, at 
 least the hair-string, of the fairest, which remained in 
 his hand. And, gazing on this, it came into his mind 
 that he had got that which was her charm, or life, 
 and that she could not live without it, 1 or her cher- 
 ished sahultobee (M.). And taking it home, he tied 
 it to the place in the wigwam above that wherein he 
 slept. Nor had he waited long before she came, and, 
 with little ado, remained with him as his wife. 
 
 Now Pulowech, being himself addicted to sorcer}^ 
 knew that there were divers knaves of the same stamp 
 prowling about the woods, who would make short work 
 of a wife if they could find a plump young one in 
 the way, — they being robbers, ravishers, and canni- 
 bals withal. Therefore he warned his bride to keep 
 well within doors when he was away, and to open to 
 
 1 The magic hair-string plays a part in many of these tales. 
 It belongs to the sorcery of all the world in all ages. 
 
THE PARTRIDGE. 283 
 
 none, which she, poor soul, meant to obey with all her 
 might. But being alone at midnight, and hearing a 
 call outside, even "Pantahdooe! " M., " Open the door 
 to me ! " she wondered greatly who it might be. And 
 it was a very wicked wizard, a boo-oin, or pow-wow ; 
 and he, being subtle and crafty, and knowing of her 
 family, so imitated the voices of her brothers and 
 sisters, beseeching her to let them in, that her very 
 heart ached. " O sister, we have come from afar ! " 
 they cried. " We missed you, and have followed you. 
 Let us in ! " And yet again she heard a sad and very 
 earnest voice, and it was that of her old mother, cry- 
 ing, " NHoos\ rftoos' ', pantahdooe J '" M., "My daugh- 
 ter ! my daughter ! open unto me ! " and she verily 
 wist that it must be so. But when she heard the 
 voice of her dear old father, shaking and saying, 
 "Pantahdooe lohe cyowcheef" "Open the door, for I 
 am very cold ! " she could resist no more, and, spring- 
 ing up, opened it to those who were without. And 
 then the evil sorcerers, springing on her like mad 
 wolves, dragged her away and devoured her. They 
 did not leave two of her little bones one with an- 
 other. 1 
 
 Now when Wejeh, the Tree Partridge, came in and 
 found his friend's wife gone, he was so angry that, 
 without waiting, he set forth to seek her. And this 
 
 1 This Indian Little Red Riding-Hood story is very effective. 
 The wolfish sorcerers bursting in at midnight are even more ter- 
 rible, from a nursery melodramatic point, than the old wolf in 
 bed. 
 
284 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 was not wisely done, since, falling among them, he 
 was himself slain. Then Pnlowech, returning last of 
 all, and finding no one, sought by means of magic to 
 know where friend and wife might be. For taking a 
 woltes, or a wooden dish, he filled it with water, and 
 charmed it with a spell, and placed it in the back 
 part of his wigwam, just opposite the door. So he 
 laid him down to sleep, and in the morning when he 
 arose he looked upon the dish, — even the dish of 
 divination, — and lo ! it was half full of blood. Then 
 he knew that the twain had been murdered. 
 
 Then gathering all his arms, he went forth for 
 revenge, and passed many days on the path, tracking 
 the boo-oin ; and having the eyesight of sorcery, 
 he one day beheld very far away, upon an exceeding 
 high cliff, the knee of a man sticking out of the stone, 
 and knew that a sorcerer had hidden himself in the 
 solid rock, even as a child might hide itself in a pile 
 of feathers. Then throwing his tomahawk he cut 
 away the knee, and the boo-oin, his spell broken, 
 remained hard and fast forever in the ledge. And 
 yet, anon, a little further on, he saw a foot projecting 
 from a wall, and this he likewise cut off, and with that 
 he had slain two. 
 
 And as he went further he found by the way a poor 
 little squirrel, even Meeko, who was crawling along, 
 half dead, in sorry plight. And taking her up he 
 made her well, and placing her in his bosom, said, 
 " Rest there yet a while, Meeko, for thou must fight 
 to-day, and that fiercely. Yet fear not, for I will 
 
THE PARTRIDGE. 285 
 
 stand by thee, and when I tap thy back, then shalt 
 thou bring forth thy young ! " 
 
 Then going ever on, he saw from the mountains 
 far in a lake below a flock of wild geese sporting 
 merrily, even the Senum-kwak\ But he wist right 
 well that these also were of the boo-oi?i 9 whom he 
 sought, and placing a spell on his bow, and singing a 
 charm over his arrows that they should not miss, he 
 slew the wild fowl one by one, and tying their heads 
 together, he carried them in a bunch upon his back. 
 And truly he deemed it a good bag of game for one 
 day. 
 
 And yet further on he came to a wigwam, and 
 entering it saw a man there seated, whom he knew at 
 once was of the enemy. For he who sat there glared 
 at him grimly ; he did not say to him, " ^Kutahumoog- 
 wal ! ,! " Come higher up ! " as they do who are hospi- 
 table. But having cooked some meat, and given it in 
 a dish to Pulowech's hand, he snatched it back again, 
 and said he would sooner give it to his dog. And this 
 he did more than once, saying the same thing. But 
 Pulowech kept quiet. Then the rude man said, " Hast 
 thou met with aught to-day, thou knave ? " And the 
 guest replied, " Truly I saw a fellow's knee sticking 
 out of a stone, and I cut it off. And yet, anon, I saw 
 a foot coming from a rock, and this I also chopped. 
 And further on there was a flock of wild geese, and 
 them I slew ; there was not one left, — no, not one. 
 And if you will look without there you may see them 
 all dead, and much good may it do you ! " 
 
286 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Then the savage sorcerer burst forth in all his rage s 
 " Come on, then, our dogs must fight this out ! " 
 " Thou sayest well," replied Pulowech ; " truly I am 
 fond of a good dog-fight, so bring out thy pup ! " 
 And that which the man brought forth was terrible ; 
 for it was no dog, but a hideous savage beast, known 
 to Micmacs as the Weisum. 1 
 
 But that which Pulowech produced was quite as 
 different from a dog as was the Weisum ; for it was 
 only Jfeeko, a, poor little squirrel, and half dead at 
 that, which he laid carefully before the fire that it 
 might revive. 2 But anon it began to revive, and 
 grew until it was well-nigh as great as the Weisum, 
 And then there was indeed a battle as of devils and 
 witches ; he who had been a hundred miles away 
 might have heard it. 
 
 But anon it seemed that the Weisum was getting 
 the better of Meeko. Then Pulowech did but tap the 
 squirrel on the back, when lo ! she brought forth two 
 other squirrels, and these grew in an instant to be as 
 large as their mother, and the three were soon too 
 many for the beast. " Ho ! call off your dogs ! " 
 cried the boo-oin ; "you have beaten. But spare mine, 
 since, indeed, he does not belong to me, but to my 
 grandmother, who is very fond of him." 3 But this 
 
 1 The Amarolc of the Eskimo. 
 
 2 In another version of this story, the savage stranger puts 
 up a real dog against the squirrel ; and in the story of Glooskap, 
 it is that great man who makes the squirrel great or small. 
 
 3 This trivial episode of begging a call-off seems to have 
 
THE PARTRIDGE. 287 
 
 Pulowech, who held to his own in all things like 
 a wolverine, was the last man alive to think of, and 
 he encouraged the squirrels until they had torn the 
 Weisum to rags. 
 
 Then he who had staked it, bitterly lamented, say- 
 ing, " Alack, my poor grandmother ! Alas, how she 
 will wail when she hears that her Weisum is dead ! 
 Woe the day that ever I did put him up ! Alas, my 
 grandmother ! " For all which the cruel Pulowech, 
 the hard-hearted, impenitent Partridge, did not care 
 the hair of a dead musk-rat. 
 
 Now the host, who had thus suddenly grown so 
 tender-hearted, said, " Let us sail forth upon the river 
 in a canoe." Then they were soon on the stream, and 
 rushing down a rapid like a dart. And anon they 
 came to a terribly high cliff, in which there was a 
 narrow cavern into which the river ran. And on it, 
 thundering through this door of death, borne on a 
 boiling surge, the bark was forced furiously into 
 darkness. And Pulowech sat firmly in his seat, and 
 steered the boat with steady, certain hand ; but just as 
 he entered the horrible hole, glancing around, he saw 
 the sorcerer leap ashore. For the evil man, believing 
 that no one had ever come alive out of the cavern, had 
 betrayed him into it. 
 
 Yet ever cool and calm the mighty man went on, 
 for danger now was bringing out all the force of his 
 
 deeply impressed the Indians, who are generally sporting-men, 
 since I find it in both the Passamaquoddy and Micmac versions 
 of the legend. 
 
288 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 magic ; * and soon the stream grew smoother, the rocks 
 disappeared from its bed, and then from afar there 
 was a brightness, and he was soon in the daylight 
 and sunshine on a beautiful stream, and by the banks 
 thereof there grew the zvabeyu-beskwcm, or water- 
 lilies, and very pleasant it was to him to feel the wind 
 again. So using his paddle he saw a smoke rising 
 from a cave in the rocks, and landing and softly 
 stepping up heard talking within. 
 
 Nor had he listened long ere he knew the voice of 
 the man who had lured him into the canoe, and he 
 was telling his grandmother how, one after the other, 
 all the best boo-oin of their band had been slain by 
 a mighty sorcerer. But when she heard from him 
 how her beloved, or the one who had inspired the 
 Weisam, had been beaten, her wrath burst forth in a 
 storm, like the raving of devils, like a mad wind on 
 the waves. And she said, " If Pulowech were but be- 
 fore me, were he but alive, I would roast' him." The 
 man, hearing this, cried, " Aye ; but he is not alive, 
 for I sent him afloat down into the dark cavern ! " 
 
 And then Pulowech, stepping in before them, said, 
 " And yet I am alive. And do thou, woman, bale soh 
 boksooc!" (roast me to death). Then she scowled 
 horribly at him, but said naught ; and he, sitting 
 down, looked at them. 
 
 1 It is very characteristic of the heroes of these Indian talcs 
 that they gradually unfold or develop from small characteristics 
 to very great ones. There is a lesson in this, and it has been 
 perfectly appreciated by poets and similar sorcerers. 
 
THE PARTRIDGE. 289 
 
 This woman was of the Porcupines, who are never 
 long without raising their quills, and they are fond of 
 heat. Now there was in the cave much hemlock bark, 
 and this she began to heap on the fire. Then it blazed, 
 it crackled and roared ; but Pulowech sat still, and 
 said naught, neither did his eyes change. And he 
 called unto himself all his might, the might of his 
 magic did he awaken, and the spirit came unto him 
 very terribly, so that all the boo-oin, with their vile 
 black witchcraft, were but as worms before him, the 
 Great and Terrible One. And when the fire had 
 burned low he brought in by his will great store of 
 bark, so that the whole cave was filled, and closing the 
 door he lighted the fuel. Then the Porcupines, who 
 were those who had slain his wife and friend, howled 
 for mercy, but he was deaf as a stone to their cries. 
 Then the roof and sides of the cavern cracked with the 
 heat, the red-hot stones fell in heavy blocks, the red 
 flames rose .in the thickest smoke, but Pulowech sat 
 and sang his song until the witch and wizard were 
 burned to cinders ; yea, till their white bones crumbled 
 to ashes beneath his feet. And then he arose and 
 went unto his home. 1 
 
 1 In this Micmac legend, which is plainly a poem, there is one 
 very striking and original element in the art with which the 
 great knowledge and power of Pulowech are kept out of sight 
 until towards the final unfolding. When he picks up the Squirrel 
 it is with a full comprehension that he will be confronted with 
 the Weisum. From the beginning to the end, he is master of the 
 situation ; all goes on with him like the unfolding of Fate in a 
 19 
 
290 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 In this legend the hero passes the mysterious river 
 which separates in several Indian tales the ordinary 
 world from that where the evil giants, Jotuns, sor- 
 cerers, or witches live. It appears to correspond ex- 
 actly to " the stream called Ifing, which divides the 
 earth between the Jotuns and the Gods." (Edda, 
 Vafthrudnismal, 16.) The attempt by the Porcupine 
 host to roast the guest alive and its failure bears a 
 marked likeness to the scene in the Grimnismal, in 
 which King Geirrod vainly strives to roast his guest, 
 Odin, and is himself slain. 
 
 " Fire, thou art hot, 
 and much too great ; 
 flame, let us separate." 
 
 The grandeur of Odin and the behavior of the In- 
 dian are set forth in a strikingly similar manner in 
 both narratives. If any modern poet had depicted 
 this incident in so like a style, every critic would 
 have cried out plagiarism ! 
 
 The Story of a Partridge and his Wonderful Wigwam. 
 
 Once a man was traveling through the woods, and 
 he heard afar off a sound as of footsteps beating the 
 ground. So he sought to find the people that made 
 it, and went on for a full week ere he came to them. 
 And it was a man and his wife dancing about a tree, 
 in the top of which was a Raccoon. They had, by their 
 
 Greek tragedy, until the end, when, stern aud unpitying, he sits 
 in the cavern of fire and sees his enemies roasted alive before 
 him. — From the Rand Manuscript. 
 
THE PARTRIDGE. 291 
 
 constant treading, worn a trench in the ground ; in- 
 deed, they were in it up to their waists. 1 Then, being 
 asked why they did this strange thing, they answered 
 that, being hungry, they were trying to dance down 
 the tree to catch the Raccoon. 
 
 Then the man who had come said, " Truly there is 
 a newer and better way of felling trees, which has 
 lately come into the land." As they wished to know 
 what this might be, he showed them how to cut it 
 down, and did so ; making it a condition that if they 
 got the game they might have the meat and he should 
 get the skin. So when the tree fell they caught the 
 animal, and the woman, having tanned the skin, gave 
 it to the man, and he went his way. 
 
 And being afar, in a path in the forest, he met an- 
 other man, and was greatly amazed at him because he 
 was bearing on his head a house, or a large birch wig- 
 wam of many rooms. He was frightened at first at 
 such a sight, but the man, putting down his house, 
 shook hands with him, and seemed to be a right hon- 
 est good fellow. Then while they smoked and talked, 
 the Man of the House, seeing the skin of Hespuns, 
 or that of the Raccoon, in the other's belt, said, 
 " Well, that is a fine pelt ! Where did you get it, 
 brother ? " And he, answering, told all the story of 
 the Dancing Man and Wife ; whereupon he of the 
 
 1 To dance away the ground, or walk knee-deep in it, was 
 characteristic of wizards. So was the hearing of any sound at 
 an apparently incredible distance. To an Indian mind this tale 
 is weird and wonderful from the first words thereof. 
 
292 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 House became mightily anxious to buy it, offering 
 one thing after another for it, and at last the House, 
 which was accepted. And, examining it, the buyer 
 was amazed to find how many rooms it contained, 
 and how full it was of good furniture. "Truly," 
 said he, " I can never carry this as you do ! " " Yes, 
 you can," replied the Pil-wee-mon-soo-in (P., one who 
 belongs somewhere else, — a stranger). " Do but try 
 it ! " So he essayed and lifted it easily, for he found 
 it as light as any bassinode or basket. 
 
 So they parted and he went on carrying his cabin 
 till night-fall, when coming to a hard-wood ridge, near 
 a good spring of water, he resolved to settle there. 1 
 And, searching, he found a room in which there was a 
 very fine bed, covered with a white bearskin. 2 And 
 as it was very soft, and he was very weary, he slept 
 well. 
 
 In the morning, when he awoke, what was his aston- 
 ishment and delight to see above him, hanging to the 
 beams, all kinds of nice provisions, — venison, hams, 
 ducks, baskets of berries and of maple-sugar, with 
 many ears of Indian corn. And as he, in his joy, 
 stretched out his arms and made a jump towards all 
 these dainties, behold the white bear-skin melted and 
 ran away, for it was the snow of winter ; and his arms 
 
 1 A hard-wood ridge ; that is, where there is plenty of birch, 
 ash, and such trees as are necessary for baskets, dishes, canoes, 
 and other Indian wants. Hence it is mentioned in many tales as 
 a desirable place to live. 
 
 2 A sure indication of sorcery. 
 
THE PARTRIDGE. 293 
 
 spread forth into wings, and he flew up to the food, 
 which was the early buds of the birch, on which they 
 hung. 1 And he was a Partridge, who after the man- 
 ner of his kind had been wintering under a snow- 
 drift, and now came forth to greet the pleasant spring. 
 
 How the Partridge built Good Canoes for all the Birds, 
 and a Bad One for Himself 
 
 When a partridge beats upon a hollow log he 
 makes a noise like an Indian at work upon a canoe, 
 and when an Indian taps at a canoe it sounds afar 
 off like the drumming of a partridge, even of Mltchi- 
 hess. And this comes because that N'harnayoo, of 
 ancient days, the Partridge, was the canoe-builder for 
 all the other birds. Yes, for all at once. 
 
 And on a certain day they every one assembled, and 
 each got into his bark, and truly it was a brave sight 
 to see. First of all JKicheeplagon, the Eagle, entered 
 his great shell and paddled off, using the ends of his 
 wings ; and then came ICo-ko-kas, the Owl, doing the 
 same ; and KosqyC, the Crane, Wee-sow-wee-hessis, 
 the Bluebird, Tjid'ge^is-skwess, the Snipe, and Meg- 
 sweit-tchip-sis, the Blackbird, all came sailing proudly 
 after. Even the tiny A-la-Mussit, the Humming-Bird, 
 had a dear little boat, and for him the good Par- 
 tridge had made a pretty little paddle, only that some 
 
 1 Birch, buds are the food of the partridge. The unexpected 
 ending of this tale signifies the sudden return of spring. As 
 told by an Indian, it is very effective. This tale was told ine by 
 Tomah Josephs. 
 
294 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 thought it rather large, for it was almost an inch long. 
 And Ish??iegwess, the Fish-Hawk, who lived on the 
 wing, cried in amazement, " Ahweden skotije ! " "A 
 canoe is coming ! " when he beheld this beautiful 
 squadron standing out to sea. 
 
 But when Mitchihess, the great builder, was asked 
 why he had not built a canoe for himself, he merely 
 looked mysterious and drummed. And being further 
 questioned by the birds, he shook his head, and at last 
 hinted that when he built a canoe imto himself it 
 would be indeed a marvel ; yea, a wonder such as even 
 birds' eyes had never beheld, — an entire novelty, and 
 something to dream of. And this went on for many 
 days. 
 
 But in due time it was noised abroad that the 
 wonderful canoe had at last been really built, and 
 would soon be shown. And at an appointed time all 
 the birds assembled on the banks to behold this new 
 thing. Now the Partridge had reasoned that if a 
 boat having two ends could be rowed in two ways, one 
 which was all ends, all round, could be rowed in every 
 way. So he had made a canoe which was exactly like 
 a nest, or perfectly round. And this idea had greatly 
 amazed the honest feathered folk, who were astonished 
 that so simple a thing had not occurred to all of them. 
 
 But what was their wonder when Partridge, having 
 entered his canoe and proceeded to paddle, made no 
 headway at all ; for it simply turned round and round, 
 and ever and again the same way, let him work it as 
 he would. And after wearying himself and all in 
 
THE PARTRIDGE. 295 
 
 vain, he went ashore, and, flying far inland, hid him- 
 self for very shame under the low bushes, on the 
 earth, where he yet remains. This is the reason why 
 he never seeks the sea or rivers, and has ever since 
 remained an inland bird. 1 
 
 The Mournful Mystery of the Partridge- Witch ; setting 
 forth how a Young Man died from Love. 
 
 Of the olden time. Two brothers went hunting- in 
 the autumn, and that as far as the head waters of the 
 Penobscot, where they remained all winter. But in 
 March their snow-shoes (agahmook, P.) gave out, aa 
 did their moccasins, and they wished that a womai? 
 were there to mend them. 
 
 When the younger brother returned first to the 
 lodge, the next day, — which he generally did, to get it 
 ready for the elder, — he was astonished to find that 
 some one had been there before him, and that, too, in 
 the housekeeping. For garments had been mended, 
 the place cleaned and swept, a fire built, and the pot 
 was boiling. He said nothing of this to his brother ; 
 
 1 Having met Mr. Louis Mitchell, the Indian member of the 
 legislature in Maine, one day in Eastport, I asked him to occupy 
 the few minutes which would pass before I should take the 
 steamboat for Calais by telling me a story. He complied by 
 narrating the foregoing. It is very remarkable that the Indian 
 story-tellers of ancient days should have taken it into their 
 heads to satirize an idea which has been of late carried out 
 completely by the Russian Admiral Popoff, in his celebrated 
 circular war steamer. The story and all the Indian words in it 
 are Passamaquoddy. 
 
296 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 but returning the next day at the same time, found 
 that all had been attended to, as at first. And again 
 he said nothing ; but in the morning, when he went 
 forth to hunt, he did but go a little way, and, return- 
 ing, watched, from a hidden place, the door. And 
 there came a beautiful and graceful girl, well attired, 
 who entered the wigwam. And he, stepping softly, 
 looking through a hole in the hut, saw her very busy 
 with his housekeeping. 
 
 Then he entered, and she seemed to be greatly 
 alarmed and confused ; but he calmed her, and they 
 soon became good friends, sporting together very hap- 
 pily all day long like children, for indeed they were 
 both young. 
 
 When the sun's height was little and his shadows 
 long, the girl said, "I must go now. I hear your 
 brother coming, and I fear him. But I will return 
 to-morrow. Addio ! ' So she went, and the elder 
 brother knew nothing of what had happened. The 
 next day she came again, and once more they played 
 in sunshine and shadow until evening ; but ere she 
 went he sought to persuade her to remain always. 
 And she, as if in doubt, answered, " Tell thy brother 
 all, and it may be that I will stay and serve ye both. 
 For I can make the snow-shoes and moccasins which 
 ye so much need, and also canoes." Then she de- 
 parted with the day, and the elder, returning, heard 
 from his brother all that had happened, and said, 
 "Truly I should be glad to have some one here to 
 take care of the wigwam and make snow-shoes." 
 
THE PARTRIDGE. 297 
 
 So she came in the morning, and hearing from the 
 younger that his brother had consented to her coming 
 was very glad, and went away, as in haste. But she 
 returned about noon, drawing a toboggm (sled) piled 
 up with garments and arms, for she was a huntress. 
 Indeed, she could do all things as few women could, 
 whether it were cooking, needle-work, or making all 
 that men need. And the winter passed very pleas- 
 antly, until the snow grew soft, and it was time for 
 them to return. Till she came they had little luck 
 in hunting, but since her coming all had gone well 
 with them, and they now had a wonderful quantity of 
 furs. 
 
 Then they returned in a canoe, going down the river 
 to their village. But as they came near it the girl 
 grew sad, for she had thrown out her soul to their 
 home, though they knew it not, by meelahbi-give. 1 
 And suddenly she said, as they came to a point of 
 land, " Here I must leave. I can go no further. Say 
 nothing of me to your parents, for your father would 
 have but little love for me." And the young men 
 sought to persuade her, but she only answered sorrow- 
 fully, " It cannot be." So they came home with their 
 furs, and the elder was so proud of their luck and 
 their strange adventure that he could not hold his 
 peace, but told all. 
 
 Then his father was very angry, and said, " All my 
 life have I feared this. Know that this woman was a 
 devil of the woods, a witch of the Mitche-hant, a sister 
 1 Passamaquoddy : Clairvoyance, or state of vision. 
 
298 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 of the Oonahgamess 1 and of the KeHaTiks" And he 
 spoke so earnestly and so long of this thing that they 
 were afraid, and the elder, being persuaded by the 
 sire, went forth to slay her, and the younger followed 
 him afar. So they sought her by the stream, and 
 found her bathing, and, seeing them, she ran up a lit- 
 tle hill. And, as she ran, the elder shot an arrow at 
 her. Then there was a strange flurry about her, a 
 fluttering of scattered feathers, and they saw her fly 
 away as a partridge. Returning, they told all this to 
 their father, who said, " You did well. I know all 
 about these female devils who seek to destroy men. 
 Verily this was a she Mikumwess." 2 
 
 But the younger could not forget her, and longed to 
 see her again ; so one day he went into the woods, and 
 there he indeed found her, and she was as kind as be- 
 fore. Then he said, " Truly it was not by my good- 
 will that my brother shot at you." And she an- 
 swered, " Well do I know that, and that it was all by 
 your father ; yet I blame him not, for this is an affair 
 of N'kamayoo, the days of old ; and even yet it is not 
 at an end, and the greatest is to come. But let the day 
 be only a day unto itself ; the things of to-morrow are 
 for to-morrow, and those of yesterday are departed." 
 So they forgot their troubles, and played together mer- 
 rily all day long in the woods and in the open places, 
 and told stories of old times till sunset. And as the 
 
 1 P. Goblins and ghosts. 
 
 2 P. The Mikumwess is a Robin Goodfellow, who plays 
 pranks on people, or treats them kindly, according to his caprice. 
 
THE PARTRIDGE. 299 
 
 Kah-kali-goos, or Crow, went to his tree, the boy said, 
 " I must return ; " and she replied, " Whenever you 
 would see ine, come to the woods. And remember 
 what I say. Do not marry any one else. For your 
 father wishes you to do so, and he will speak of it to 
 you, and that soon. Yet it is for your sake only that 
 I say this." Then she told him word by word all that 
 his father had said ; but he was not astonished, for 
 now he knew that she was not as other women ; but he 
 cared not. And he grew brave and bold, and then he 
 was above all things. And when she told him that if 
 he should marry another he would surely die, it was 
 as nothing to him. 
 
 Then returning, the first thing his father said was, 
 " My son, I have provided a wife for you, and the 
 wedding must be at once." And he said, "It is well. 
 Let it be so." Then the bride came. For four days 
 they held the wedding dance ; four days they feasted. 
 But on the last day he said, "This is the end of it 
 all," and he laid him down on a white bear-skin, and a 
 great sickness came upon him, and when they brought 
 the bride to him he was dead. 
 
 Truly the father knew what ailed him, and more 
 withal, of which he said nothing. But he liked the 
 place no longer, and he and his went away therefrom, 
 and scattered far and wide. 
 
 This strange story recalls the Undine of La Motte 
 Fouque*. There is in it an element of mystery and 
 destiny, equal in every way to anything in German 
 
300 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 literature. The family secret, touched on but never 
 explained, which ends in such a death, is, speaking 
 from an artistic point of view, very skillfully man- 
 aged. It must be borne in mind that in this, as in 
 most of these tales, there are associations and chords 
 which make as gold to an Indian that which is only 
 copper, or at best silver, to the civilized reader of my 
 translations. 
 
 There is a characteristic feature of this story supe- 
 rior to anything in Undine. It is the growth in the 
 hero, when he knows the worst to come, of that will, 
 or stoicism, or complete indifference to fate, which the 
 Indians regard as equivalent to attaining mHeoulin, 
 or magic power. When a man has in him such cour- 
 age that nothing earthly can do more than increase it, 
 he has attained to what is in one sense at least Nir- 
 vana. From an Algonquin point of view the plot is 
 perfect. 
 
 I have given this story accurately as it was told to 
 me by Tomah Josephs, a Passamaquoddy Indian. 
 
 Hoiu one of the Partridge's Wives became a Sheldrake 
 Duck, and ivhy her Feet and Feathers are Red. 
 
 Wkarnziyoo, of the old time, there was a hunter 
 who lived in the woods. He had a brother, 1 who was 
 so small that he kept him in a box, and when he went 
 
 1 The word brother is so generally applied in adoption or 
 friendship that it cannot here be taken in a literal sense. The 
 brother in this case seems to have been a goblin or spirit. 
 
THE PARTRIDGE. 301 
 
 forth lie closed this very carefully, for fear lest an evil 
 spirit (Mitche-hant) should get him. 
 
 One day this hunter, returning, saw a very beautiful 
 girl sitting on a rock by a river, making a moccasin. 
 And being in a canoe he paddled up softly and si- 
 lently to capture her ; but she, seeing him coming, 
 jumped into the water and disappeared. On return- 
 ing to her mother, who lived at the bottom of the 
 river, she was told to go back to the hunter and be 
 his wife ; " for now," said the mother, " you belong to 
 that man." 
 
 The hunter's name was Mitchihess, the Partridge. 
 When she came to his lodge he was absent. So she 
 arranged everything for his return, making a bed of 
 boughs. At night he came back with one beaver. 
 This he divided ; cooked one half for supper and laid 
 by the other half. In the morning when she awoke 
 he was gone, and the other half of the beaver had also 
 disappeared. That night he returned with another 
 beaver, and the same thing took place again. Then 
 she resolved to spy and find out what all this meant. 
 
 So she laid down and went to sleep, wide awake, 
 with one eye open. Then he quietly rose and cooked 
 the half of the beaver, and taking a key (ApJcwosge- 
 hcgan, P.) unlocked a box, and took out a little red 
 dwarf and fed him. Eeplacing the elf, he locked him 
 up again, and lay down to sleep. And the small 
 creature had eaten the whole half beaver. But ere he 
 put him in his box he washed him and combed his 
 hair, which seemed to delight him. 
 
302 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 The next morning, when her husband had gone for 
 the day, the wife sought for the key, and having found 
 it opened the box and called to the little fellow to 
 come out. This he refused to do for a long time, 
 though she promised to wash and comb him. Being 
 at length persuaded, he peeped out, when she pulled 
 him forth. But whenever she touched him her hands 
 became red, though of this she took no heed, thinking 
 she could wash it off at will. But lo ! while combing 
 him, there entered a hideous being, an awful devil, 
 who caught the small elf from her and ran away. 
 
 Then she was terribly frightened. And trying to 
 wash her hands, the red stain remained. When her 
 husband returned that night he had no game ; when 
 he saw the red stain he knew all that had happened ; 
 when he knew what had happened he seized his bow 
 to beat her ; when she saw him seize his bow to beat 
 her she ran down to the river, and jumped in to 
 escape death at his hands, though it should be by 
 drowning. But as she fell into the water she became 
 a sheldrake duck. And to this day the marks of the 
 red stain are to be seen on her feet and feathers. 1 
 
 1 Related to me by Noel Josephs, a Passamaquoddy. Notwith- 
 standing its resemblance to Bine Beard, it is probably in every 
 detail a very old Indian tradition. It bears a slight resemblance 
 to several far western legends, which refer to peculiarities in 
 the duck. It is partly repeated in a Lox legend. 
 
THE INVISIBLE ONE. 
 
 (Micmac.) 
 
 There was once a large Indian village situated on 
 the border of a lake, — Nameskeek? oodun Kuspemku 
 (M.). At the end of the place was a lodge, in which 
 dwelt a being who was always invisible. 1 He had a 
 sister who attended to his wants, and it was known 
 that any girl who could see him might marry him. 
 Therefore there were indeed few who did not make 
 the trial, but it was long ere one succeeded. 
 
 And it passed in this wise. Towards evening, when 
 the Invisible One was supposed to be returning home, 
 his sister would walk with any girls who came down 
 to the shore of the lake. She indeed could see her 
 brother, since to her he was always visible, and be- 
 holding him she would say to her companions, " Do 
 you see my brother ? " And then they would mostly 
 answer, " Yes," though some said, " Nay," — alt telo- 
 vejich, aa alttelooejik. And then the sister would say, 
 " Cogoowa? wiskobooksich f " " Of what is his shoul- 
 der-strap made?" But as some tell the tale, she would 
 
 1 In this Micmac tale, which is manifestly corrupted in many 
 ways, the hero is said to be " a youth whose teeomul (or tutelary 
 animal) was the moose," whence he took his name. In the Pas- 
 samaquoddy version nothing is said about a moose. A detailed 
 account of the difficulty attending the proper analysis of this 
 tradition will be found at the end of this chapter. 
 
304 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 inquire other things, such as, " What is his moose-run- 
 ner's haul ? " or, " With what does he draw his sled? " 
 And they would reply, " A strip of rawhide," or " A 
 green withe," or something of the kind. And then she, 
 knowing they had not told the truth, would reply 
 quietly, " Very well, let us return to the wigwam ! " 
 
 And when they entered the place she would bid 
 them not to take a certain seat, for it was his. And 
 after they had helped to cook the supper they would 
 wait with great curiosity to see him eat. Truly he 
 gave proof that he was a real person, for as he took 
 off his moccasins they became visible, and his sister 
 hung them up ; but beyond this they beheld nothing 
 not even when they remained all night, as many did. 
 
 There dwelt in the village an old man, a widower, 
 with three daughters. The youngest of these was 
 very small, weak, and often ill, which did not prevent 
 her sisters, especially the eldest, treating her with 
 great cruelty. The second daughter was kinder, and 
 sometimes took the part of the poor abused little girl, 
 but the other would burn her hands and face with hot 
 coals ; yes, her whole body was scarred with the marks 
 made by torture, so that people called her Oochige- 
 ashw (the rough-faced girl). And when her father, 
 coming home, asked what it meant that the child was 
 so disfigured, her sister would promptly say that it 
 was the fault of the girl herself, for that, having been 
 forbidden to go near the fire, she had disobeyed and 
 fallen in. 
 
 Now it came to pass that it entered the heads of 
 
THE INVISIBLE ONE. 305 
 
 the two elder sisters of this poor girl that they would 
 go and try their fortune at seeing the Invisible One. 
 So they clad themselves in their finest and strove to 
 look their fairest ; and finding his sister at home went 
 with her to take the wonted walk down to the water. 
 Then when He came, being asked if they saw him, they 
 said, " Certainly/' and also replied to the question of 
 the shoulder-strap or sled cord, " A piece of rawhide." 
 In saying which, they lied, like the rest, for they had 
 seen nothing, and got nothing for their pains. 
 
 When their father returned home the next evening 
 he brought with him many of the pretty little shells 
 from which weiopeskool (M.), or wampum, was made, 1 
 and they were soon engaged napawcjik (in stringing 
 them). 
 
 That day poor little Oochigeaskw', the burnt-faced 
 girl, who had always run barefoot, got a pair of her 
 father's old moccasins, and put them into water that 
 they might become flexible to wear. And begging 
 her sisters for a few wampum shells, the eldest did 
 but call her " a lying little pest," but the other gave 
 her a few. And having no clothes beyond a few pal- 
 try rags, the poor creature went forth and got herself 
 from the woods a few sheets of birch bark, of which 
 she made a dress, putting some figures on the bark. 2 
 
 1 In Passamaquoddy wampum is called waw-bap. It is said 
 that a single bead required a full day's work to make and finish 
 it. It is not many years since it was made much more expe- 
 ditiously in certain New York villages. 
 
 2 Probably by scraping. Birch bark (inoskwe) peeled in win- 
 
 20 
 
806 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 And this dress she shaped like those worn of old. 1 So 
 she made a petticoat and a loose gown, a cap, leg- 
 gins, and handkerchief, and, having pnt on her fa- 
 ther's great old moccasins, — which came nearly up 
 to her knees, — she went forth to try her luck. For 
 even this little thing would see the Invisible One in 
 the great wigwam at the end of the village. 
 
 Truly her luck had a most inauspicious beginning, 
 for there was one long storm of ridicule and hisses, 
 yells and hoots, from her own door to that which she 
 went to seek. Her sisters tried to shame her, and 
 bade her stay at home, but she would not obey ; and 
 all the idlers, seeing this strange little creature in her 
 odd array, cried, " Shame ! " But she went on, for 
 she was greatly resolved ; it may be that some spirit 
 had inspired her. 
 
 Now this poor small wretch in her mad attire, with 
 her hair singed off and her little face as full of burns 
 and scars as there are holes in a sieve, was, for all 
 this, most kindly received by the sister of the Invis- 
 ible One ; for this noble girl knew more than the mere 
 outside of things as the world knows them. And as 
 the brown of the evening sky became black, she took 
 her down to the lake. And erelong the girls knew 
 that He had come. Then the sister said, " Do you 
 
 ter can have the thin dark brown coat scraped away, leaving a 
 very light yellowish-brown ground. Tomah Josephs and his 
 niece Susan, of Princeton, Maine, are experts at this work. 
 
 1 This remark indicates the lateness of the Micinac version of 
 this very old myth. 
 
THE INVISIBLE ONE. 307 
 
 see him ? " And the other replied with awe, " Truly 
 I do, — and He is wonderful." " And what is his 
 sled-string?" "It is," she replied, "the Rainbow." 
 And great fear was on her. " But, my sister," said 
 the other, " what is his bow-string ? " " His bow- 
 string is ITetaksooioowcht " (the Spirits' Road, the 
 Milky Way). 1 
 
 " Thou hast seen him," said the sister. And, tak- 
 ing the girl home, she bathed her, and as she washed 
 all the scars disappeared from face and body. Her 
 hair grew again ; it was very long, and like a black- 
 bird's wing. Her eyes were like stars. In all the 
 world was no such beauty. Then from her treasures 
 she gave her a wedding garment, and adorned her. 
 Under the comb, as she combed her, her hair grew. 
 It was a great marvel to behold. 
 
 Then, having done this, she bade her take the wife's 
 scat in the wigwam, — that by which her brother sat, 
 the seat next the door. And when He entered, terri- 
 ble and beautiful, he smiled and said, " Wajoolkoos ! " 
 " So we are found out ! " " Alajulaa" " Yes," was 
 her reply. So she became his wife. 2 
 
 1 The Spirits' or Ghosts' Road, so called because it is believed 
 to be the highway by which spirits pass to and from the earth. 
 The Micmac version, belittled and reduced in every way, limits 
 this reply to " a piece of a rainbow." There is a grandeur of 
 conception in the Passamaquoddy myth which recalls the most 
 stupendous similes in Scripture. 
 
 2 This is the true end of this Indian Cupid and Psyche legend. 
 But the Micmacs having, for no apparent reason, made the Stu- 
 pendous Deity of the Heavens a moose (Team), have added to it 
 
308 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 another for the sake of the name, and which I give in due suc- 
 cession simply as an illustration of the maimer in which tales are 
 tacked together. I have very little doubt that the story as here 
 given is an old solar myth, worked up, perhaps, with the story of 
 Cinderella, derived from a Canadian-French source. There are 
 enough of these French-Indian stories in my possession alone to 
 form what would make one of the most interesting volumes of 
 the series of the Contes Populaires. The Passamaquoddy version 
 is to this effect : " There was a great being, a mighty hunter, 
 who had a wife, of wonderful magic gifts, and a boy ; and the 
 child became blind. After a long time his sight returned, and 
 he said so ; but his mother was suspicious, and did not believe 
 him." It is evident that she suspected that he saw by clairvoy- 
 ance, not by literal vision. " So one day she bade her husband 
 put on certain things which no one could behold who did not see 
 them in truth. Then she asked the boy, ' What has your father 
 for a sled-string?' (literally for a moose-runner haul). And 
 he replied, ' The rainbow to haul by.' Then she asked him yet 
 again, ' What has he for a bow-string ? ' And he answered, 
 ' Ke'taksoo wowcht ; ' ' The Spirits' or Ghosts' Road.' And once 
 more she inquired, ' What has he on his sled ? ' To which he 
 said, ' A beaver.' Then she knew that he could indeed see." 
 (T. Josephs.) 
 
 We can perceive by shreds and patches such as these the all 
 but loss of an early and grand mythology which has undergone 
 the usual transmutation into romantic and nursery legends. By 
 great exertion we might recover it, but the old Indians who re- 
 tain its fragments are passing away rapidly, and no subject at- 
 tracts so little interest among our literati. A few hundred dol- 
 lars expended annually in each State would result in the collec- 
 tion of all that -is extant of this folk-lore ; and a hundred years 
 hence some few will, perhaps, regret that it was not done. 
 
 It may be observed that in the Edda the rainbow is the heav- 
 enly road over which the gods pass. The rainbow is not the 
 Milky Way, but it may be observed that in this tale the two are 
 
THE INVISIBLE ONE. 309 
 
 curiously compared, or almost identified. But according to 
 
 Charles Francis Keary (Mythology of the Eddas, London, 1882), 
 
 " there is small hint in the Edda of the use of the rainbow as a 
 
 path for souls, save where Helgi says to his wife, — 
 
 " ' 'T is time for me to ride the ruddy road, 
 
 And on my horse to tread the path of flight,' " 
 
 which is more applicable to the Milky Way than the rainbow. 
 " We owe," he says, " to the learned Adalbert Kuhn some re- 
 searches which have traced the path of the Milky Way as a 
 bridge of souls from its first appearance in Eastern creeds to its 
 later appearance in mediaeval German tradition." (Zeitschrift f. v. 
 Sp. I. c.) In the Vedas the Milky Way is called the Gods' Path. 
 The American Indians firmly believe that the Spirits' Road is 
 one of their very earliest traditions, and I believe with them that 
 they had it long before Columbus discovered this country. 
 
 Since the foregoing remarks were written, Mrs. W. Wallace 
 Brown has obtained the following fragment, which was given as 
 a song, and declared to be very ancient : — 
 
 " There was a woman, long, long ago : 
 She came out of a hole. 
 In it dead people were buried. 
 She made her house in a tree ; 
 She was dressed in leaves, 
 All long ago. 
 
 When she walked among the dry leaves 
 Her feet were so covered 
 The feet were invisible. 
 She walked through the woods, 
 Singing all the time, 
 ' I want company ; I 'm lonesome ! ' 
 A wild man heard her : 
 From afar over the lakes and mountains 
 He came to her. 
 She saw him ; she was afraid ; 
 She tried to flee away, 
 For he was covered with the rainbow ; 
 Color and light were his garments. 
 She ran, and he pursued rapidly ; 
 He chased her to the foot of a mountain. 
 
310 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 He spoke in a strange language ; 
 
 She could not understand kirn at first. 
 
 He would make her tell where she dwelt. 
 
 They married ; they had two children. 
 
 One of them was a boy ; 
 
 He was blind from his birth, 
 
 But he frightened his mother by his sight. 
 
 He could tell her what was coming, 
 
 What was coming from afar. 
 
 What was near he could not see. 
 
 He could see the bear and the moose 
 
 Far away beyond the mountains ; 
 
 He could see through everything." 
 
 The old Indian woman ended this story by saying abruptly, 
 " Don't know any more. Guess they all eat up by mooin " (the 
 bear). She said that it was only a fragment. "If you could 
 have heard her repeat this," adds Mrs. Brown, " in pieces, stop- 
 ping to explain what the characters said, and describing how 
 they looked, and anon singing it again, you would have got the 
 inner sense of a wonderfully weird tale. The woman's feet cov- 
 ering and the man's dress like a rainbow, yet not one, which 
 made their bodies invisible, seemed to exercise her imagination 
 strangely ; and these were to her the most important part of the 
 story." The fragment is part of a very old myth ; I regret to 
 say a very obscure one. 
 
STORY OF THE THREE STRONG MEN. 
 
 (Micmac.) 
 
 There was a chieftain in the days of yore. He 
 had a great desire for a poor girl who was a servant, 
 and who worked for him. To win this girl he first 
 must lose his wife. He took his wife afar into the 
 woods to gather spruce-gum, and then left her there. 
 
 She soon found out that she had lost her way, and, 
 wandering, she lost it more and more for many days, 
 until she came at last to a bear's den, where, going in, 
 she found the Chief of all the bears, who welcomed 
 her, provided for her wants, and furnished her with 
 pleasant food ; but as the meat was raw he went into 
 a neighboring town for fire. And as she lived with 
 him she was to him in all things as he wished, and as 
 a wife. 
 
 So that it came to pass, as time went on, that a 
 new-comer was expected, and she bade the Bear pro- 
 vide the baby's clothes. And when the long-expected 
 infant came it was a boy, large, beautiful, and strong; 
 he was in everything beyond all other boys. 
 
 And as the child was born in a strange way, he 
 very soon displayed a magic power. No baby ever 
 grew so rapidly : when four months old he wrestled 
 with the Bear and threw him easily upon the floor. 
 And so the mother saw that he would be a warrior, 
 and the chief of other men. 
 
312 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 She loathed the life she led, and wished to leave, 
 and live as she had done in days of old. To this the 
 Bear would in nowise consent, and as her son was 
 human, like herself, he loved his mother best, and 
 thought with her. 
 
 One day he said, " Now I can wrestle well and 
 throw the Bear as often as I choose. When I next 
 time cast him upon the ground, catch up a club ; the 
 rest remains for you ! " 
 
 They waited yet a while till he had grown so strong 
 that the Bear was nothing in his grasp. One day they 
 wrestled as they ever did, and then the woman, with a 
 vigorous blow, strengthened by hate and famishing 
 desire of freedom and a better human life, laid him 
 in death upon the mossy floor. 
 
 They went their way back to the chieftain's town, 
 and found him married to the servant-girl. The mother 
 only spoke, and the wild boy tore down the wigwam 
 of the Indian chief just with a blow, and then he 
 called aloud unto the Lightning in the sky above, 
 " Come down to me and help me in my need ! Build 
 a grand wigwam such as man ne'er saw ! Build it, 
 I say, and for my mother here ! " 
 
 The Lightning came, and with a single flash built 
 such a home as man had never seen. 
 
 And then he said, " Mother, I mean to go and travel 
 everywhere, until I find another man who is as strong 
 as I. When he is found I will return to thee." 
 
 So on he went afar until he saw a man who lifted 
 up a vast canoe with many people in it. This he did, 
 
THE THREE STRONG MEN. 313 
 
 raising it in the water ; but the boy bore it ashore, and 
 lifted it on land. 
 
 And so the two agreed that they would go on to- 
 gether until they found a third equal to them in 
 strength, if such a man were living anywhere in all 
 the world. 
 
 So traveling by hill and lake, they went, until one 
 day, far in a lonely land, they saw a man rolling 
 a mighty rock, large as the largest wigwam, up a hill. 
 But the Bear's son, lifting the stone with ease, threw 
 it afar over the mountain-top, — threw it afar beyond 
 the rocky range ; they heard it thunder down the 
 depths below. 
 
 Then the three strong men went to hunt the moose. 
 He who had tossed the ship remained in camp to do 
 the cooking, while the others went with bow and spear 
 afar to find their game. 
 
 Now when the sun was at the edge of noon, just 
 balancing to fall, there came a boy, a little wretched, 
 elfish-looking child, as sad and sickly as a boy could 
 be, who asked the man for food. He answered him, 
 " Poor little fellow ! there, the pot is full of venison, 
 so go and eat your fill." 
 
 He ate, indeed, the dinner for the three. When he 
 had done he did not leave a scrap ; then walked into 
 the stony mountain-side, as any man might walk into 
 the fog, and in a second he was seen no more. 
 
 Now when the two returned and heard the tale 
 they were right angry, being hungry men. The man 
 who rolled the stone stayed next in turn, but when the 
 
814 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 little fellow came to him he seemed so famished and 
 he shed such tears that this one also gave him leave to 
 eat. Then, in a single swallow, as it seemed, he 
 bolted all the food, and yelled aloud with an insulting 
 laugh. The man, enraged, grappled him by the throat, 
 but the strange boy flung him away as one would 
 throw a nut, and vanished in the mountain as before. 
 
 On the third day the mighty man himself remained 
 at home, and soon the starveling child came and 
 began to beg, with tears, for food. " Eat," said the 
 chief, " as other people eat, and no more tricks, or 
 I will deal with you." But as it was with him the day 
 before, so it went now ; he swallowed all the meat 
 with the same jeering yell. Then the strong man 
 closed with the boy. It was an awful strife ; they 
 fought together from the early morn until the sun 
 went down, and then the Elf — for elf he was — cried 
 out, " I now give in ! " So both his arms were 
 tightly bound behind, and with a long, tough cord of 
 plaited hide the strong man kept his prey, the lariat 
 fast noosed about his neck. The child went on, the 
 strong man ever following behind, holding the cord 
 well twisted round his hand. 
 
 And so they went into the mountain-side, and ever 
 on, a long and winding way, down a deep cavern, on 
 for many a mile, — the light of sorcery shining from 
 the elf made it all clear, — until at last the guide 
 stopped in his course, and said : — 
 
 " Now list to me. I am the servant of a frightful 
 fiend, a seven-headed devil, whom I deemed no man 
 
THE THREE STRONG MEN. 315 
 
 could ever conquer, he and I being of equal strength ; 
 but I believe that thou mayst conquer him, since I 
 have found, by bitter proof, that thou canst conquer 
 me. Here is a staff, the only thing on earth that man 
 may smite him with and give him pain. Now, do your 
 best ; it is all one to me which of you gains, so one of 
 you be slain, for well I wot 't will be a roaring fight." 
 
 In came the evil being with a scream, and clutched 
 the Indian with teeth and claws. There, in the magic 
 cavern, many a mile from the sun's rays, they fought 
 for seven days, the stubborn devil and the stubborn 
 man, whose savage temper gave him fresher strength 
 with every fresh wound ; the more his blood ran from 
 his body all the more his heart grew harder with the 
 love of fight, imtil he beat away the monster's seven 
 heads. And so he slew him, and the watching elf burst 
 into laughter at the victory. 
 
 " Now," said the Elf, " I have a gift for thee. I 
 have three sisters : all are beautiful, and all shall be 
 thine own if thou wilt but unbind my hands." The 
 strong man set him free. And so he led the man to 
 another cave, and there he saw three girls so strangely 
 fair they seemed to be a dream. The first, indeed, 
 was very beautiful, and yet as plump as she was 
 lovely ; then the second maid was tall, superb, and 
 most magnificent, in rarest furs, with richest wampum 
 bands, the very picture of a perfect bride ; but fairer 
 than them both, as much more fair as swans outrival 
 ducks, the youngest smiled. And the young chieftain 
 chose her for his own. 
 
316 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 With the three girls he went into the day. Far on 
 the rocks above him he could see his two companions, 
 and a sudden thought came to his mind, for he was 
 quick to think; and so he called, "I say, let down 
 a rope ; I have three girls here, and they cannot 
 climb." And so the two strong men let down a cord : 
 then the first fairy-maid went up by it, and then the 
 second. Now the chief cried out, "It is my turn; 
 now you must pull on me ! " And saying this, he tied 
 a heavy stone, just his own weight, unto the long 
 rope's end, then bid them haul. It rose, but as it 
 came just to the top the traitors let it fall, as he sup- 
 posed they would, to murder him. 
 
 And then the chieftain said unto the elf, " You 
 know the mountain and its winding ways: bear me 
 upon thy back, and that in haste, to where those fel- 
 lows are ! " The goblin flew, and in an instant he 
 was by their side. 
 
 He found the villains in a deadly fight, quarrel- 
 ing for the maids ; but seeing him they ceased to 
 wrestle, upon which he said, " I risked my life to 
 bring away these girls ; I would have given each of 
 you a wife : for doing this you would have murdered 
 me. Now 1 could kill you, and you both deserve 
 death at the stake, vile serpents that you are; but 
 take your lives, — you are too low for me, — and with 
 them take these women, if they wish to wed with such 
 incarnate brutes as you ! " 
 
 They went their way ; the women followed them 
 along the forest paths, and ever on. Into this story 
 they return no more. 
 
THE THREE STRONG MEN. 317 
 
 And then the strong man said to his young bride, 
 " I must return unto my village ; then I '11 come again 
 to jou ; await me here." But she, as one to elfin 
 magic born, replied, " I warn you of a single thing. 
 When you again are at your wigwam door a small 
 black dog will leap to lick your hand. Beware, I 
 say ; if he succeed in it, you surely will forget me ut- 
 terly." As she predicted so it came to pass. 
 
 And so she waited in the lonely wood beside the 
 mountain till a month was gone, and then arose and 
 went to seek her love. All in the early dawn she 
 reached the town, and found the wigwam of the saga- 
 more. She sought a neighboring hiding-place, where 
 she might watch unseen, and found a tree, a broad old 
 ash, which spread its stooping boughs over the surface 
 of a silent pool. 
 
 An old black Indian had a hut hard by. His 
 daughter, coming, looked into the spring, and saw a 
 lovely face. The simple girl thought it was hers, her 
 own grown beautiful by sorcery which hung about the 
 place. She flung away her pail, and said, "Aha! 
 I '11 work no more ; some chief shall marry me ! " 
 and so she went to smile among the men. 
 
 Then came the mother, who beheld the same sweet, 
 smiling, also girlish face. She, said, " Now I am young 
 and beautif id again ; I '11 seek another husband, and at 
 once." She threw her pail afar and went away, losing 
 no time to smile among the men. 
 
 And then in turn the old black Indian came, and 
 looking in the spring beheld the face. He knew right 
 
318 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 well that it was not his own, for in his youth he never 
 had been fair. So looking up above he saw the bride, 
 and bade her come to him ; and then he said, " My 
 wife has gone away ; my daughter, too. You were the 
 cause of it ; it is but right that you should take the 
 place my wife has left. Therefore remain with me 
 and be my own." 
 
 He fares but ill who weds unwilling witch. When 
 night came on they laid them down to sleep, and then 
 the bride murmured a magic prayer, begging the 
 awful Spirit of the Wind, the giant Eagle of the 
 wilderness, to do his worst. A fearful tempest blew, 
 and all night long the old black Indian was out-of- 
 doors, working with all his power to keep the lodge 
 from being blown away. As soon as he had pinned 
 one sheet of bark into its place another blew away, 
 and then a tent pole rattling in the rain bounded 
 afar. It was a weary work, but all night long the 
 young bride slept in peace, until the morning came, 
 and then he slept. 
 
 Then she arose, and, walking to the wood, sat down 
 beside a stream and sang a song : — 
 
 " There are many men in the world, 
 But only one is dear to me. 
 He is good and brave and strong. 
 He swore to love none but me ; 
 He has forgotten me. 
 It was a bad spirit that changed him, 
 But I will love none but him." 
 
 And as she sat and sang, the sagamore her husband, 
 
THE THREE STRONG MEN. 319 
 
 paddling by in his canoe, heard the sweet song in- 
 toned in magic style, 1 and all at once recalled what 
 had been lost, — the two strong giants, the cavern and 
 the elf, the seven-headed monster and the fight, the 
 sisters and the evil-minded men, and the black dog 
 who leaped to lick his hand : it flashed upon him 
 like some early dream brought out by sorcery. He 
 saw her sit beside the stream, and still he heard her 
 song, soft as a magic flute. He went to her, and in 
 a minute he was won again. 
 
 And then she said, " This world is ever false. I 
 know another, let us go to it." So then again she sang 
 a magic spell, and as she sang they saw the great Cul- 
 loo, the giant bird, broad as a thunder cloud, winging 
 his way towards them. Then he came ; they stepped 
 upon him, and he soared away. But to this earth they 
 never came again. 
 
 This very singular legend was obtained for me by 
 Mrs. W. Wallace Brown. It is from the Micmac, and 
 is in the original from beginning to end a song, or 
 poem. For this reason I have given it a plain met- 
 rical form, neither prose nor poetry, such being quite 
 the character of the original. But I have not intro- 
 duced anything not in the original. 
 
 This story consists of a very old Indian legend 
 
 1 Not only the words, but the peculiar intonations of them, 
 were essential to produce the proper effect of a magic song. An 
 intelligent white man has left it on record that it required two 
 years to learn one of these incantations of only a few lines. 
 
320 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 mingled with a European fairy tale drawn through 
 a French-Canadian source. The incident of the Elf 
 who eats the food of three men is to be found in an- 
 other tale. In one version, the bride, finding that her 
 husband, though utterly deprived by magic of his 
 memory, has married again, sails away on the great 
 bird, leaving him forever. I have naturally rejected 
 this senseless termination in favor of one found in an- 
 other form. 
 
 The calling on the Lightning to build a wigwam is 
 probably a mistake. It is more likely that it was sum- 
 moned to destroy the chief's wigwam, but the narra- 
 tor, confused with the subject of the hero's strength, 
 changed the original. The invocations of Lightning, 
 and subsequently of the Storm Bird are probably en- 
 tirely Indian, though there are Norse invocations to 
 Hroesvelgar, or the Eagle of the Northwest, as we 
 read in Scott's Pirate. 
 
 The black whelp or small black dog is in this tale 
 ominous of evil. It causes oblivion. In the Edda to 
 dream of the same thing is the most evil of all Atli's 
 bad dreams (vide the second lay of Gudrun, 41) : — 
 
 " Seemed to rne from my hand 
 Whelps I let slip. 
 Lacking cause of joy ; " 
 
 and in the very same song (24) he takes a potion 
 which causes oblivion. But there is even a third 
 point in the Atlamal in Groenlenzku, which resem- 
 bles one in the Indian tale. It is where the half en- 
 chantress Kostbera warns Hogni against leaving her : 
 
THE THREE STRONG MEN. 321 
 
 " From home thou art going : 
 Give ear to counsel ; 
 Few are fully prudent ; 
 Go another time." 
 
 In the Norse lay we are told that to dream of a 
 white bear indicates a storm, but here it means a 
 strange and terrible event. Long before I met with 
 this, I observed that the introduction, or mention, of 
 a white bear-skin in these Indian stories invariably 
 intimates some strange magical change. 
 
 But it is most remarkable of all, that, while the 
 poems of the Edda have nothing but a very few in- 
 cidents in common with the traditions of the western 
 tribes, they are inspired throughout with a strange and 
 mysterious sentiment or manner wonderfully like that 
 of the Wabanaki. As regards literal resemblance the 
 following coincidences may here be noted. 
 
 In a widely spread Norse tale a very small goblin 
 sustains a long and obstinate contest with an immense 
 white bear. 
 
 The Norsemen invoked the Eagle Giant of the 
 Winds, as Scott has shown in his song of the Reim- 
 kennar. The same being is invoked in this legend. 
 
 The whelp, as an omen of evil, is mentioned in the 
 Edda. In this tale he causes forgetfulness. A potion 
 of oblivion is also mentioned in the Norse poem in 
 close connection with the omen of the dog. 
 
 If we accept the termination of this tale as given 
 
 in the Micmac poem it amounts to this : A certain 
 
 woman causes the whelp to lick the hero's hand. 
 21 
 
322 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 This causes forgetfulness. The hero marries her, and 
 thereby loses his first wife. In the Edda, Brynliild, 
 who has morally the first claim to Sigurd, says of 
 Crymhild, " She presented to Sigurd the pernicious 
 drink, so that he no more remembers me." In the 
 saga of Thorstein, Viking's son the hero, is made by 
 the witch Dis to utterly forget his bride Hunoor. 
 
 The Kalmuk tale of How the Schimm-Khan was 
 Slain contains striking analogies to this of the Three 
 Strong Men. 1 In it the hero associates with three 
 men, who take turns to cook. Their food is devoured, 
 as in this tale, every day by a little old witch who is 
 very strong. He overcomes her by craft. His com- 
 panions, instead of drawing him up by the rope, as 
 agreed on, leave him to perish, in order to possess 
 themselves of a treasure. There can be no doubt as 
 to the Hindoo origin of this and many more plots 
 found among the red Indians. But a careful study 
 of the Norse story convinces me that the tale did 
 not come to the Wabanaki through any other than a 
 Norse source. 
 
 Since writing out the foregoing poem, with the com- 
 ment, I have received from Louis Mitchell the Pe- 
 nobscot version of it. It is about twice as long as the 
 Micmac story, and differs from it very materially. In 
 it the hero conquers the goblin by getting possession 
 of his red cap. In the Norse tales the same incident 
 occurs in different forms. He then fights with a 
 copper demon ; also with one of silver and another of 
 1 Sagas from the Far East, London, 1873. 
 
THE THREE STRONG MEN. 323 
 
 gold. Each devil, while he is sharpening his sword, 
 exclaims, " Hurry ! hurry ! I am hungry ! " The last 
 of the three, the Kcha mitche-hant, or great devil, has 
 three heads, which replace themselves when cut off ; 
 but the hero summons a lion (pee Hahlo) and an eagle, 
 who devour each a head, when the demon, to save the 
 last, surrenders. There are old " aboriginal " inci- 
 dents in this Passamaquoddy tale, but the European 
 elements predominate to such an extent as to call for 
 the following remark from the Indian writer : — 
 
 " This story is ended. When Indians in it, as they 
 do in many others, speak of kings and queens or ships 
 and ivory, I think they got it all from Europe. But 
 perhaps when the Indians came here from Asia they 
 brought these stories with them. Thus they very 
 often mention ivory, calling it white bone. They also 
 mention cities. But these things are not new, for 
 they were handed down from one generation to an- 
 other." 
 
 I have to add that, while the story agrees with an 
 universally spread Aryan fairy tale, it is very remark- 
 able that it should add to these, several strictly Ed- 
 daic details, such as the white bear. 
 
THE WEEWILLMEKQ'. 
 
 I. How a Woman Lost a Gun for Fear of the Wee- 
 
 ivillmekq\ 
 
 There was a man and his wife who had got to- 
 gether all they had for the fall hunt. They went up 
 the St. John's Eiver ; they left the village of Foxer- 
 bica; they went twenty-five miles beyond it. They 
 passed the falls on the upper side to get some game. 
 They cooked and ate. They got ready to start again ; 
 they launched the canoe. 1 They shoved the canoe 
 twenty-five feet from the shore. The woman turned, 
 and upset it. It went like lightning down the rapids. 
 They had hard work to get ashore, and lost their 
 gun, traps, kettle, and everything. They escaped with 
 great trouble ; they had trouble to save their canoe. 
 
 The man was in great grief at the loss of his gun. 
 
 He sat down and sang : — 
 
 " Nici sigi psach ke-yin, 
 Dich m'djel mieol wagh nuch'." 
 
 I am sorry, 
 
 I am in great trouble. 
 
 There came two Indians down to the portage where 
 the man and his wife sat. They asked him why he 
 
 1 This story and the preceding are taken word for word from 
 the Indian narration. The singular precision of minute details 
 is very characteristic of many of these legends. 
 
THE WEEW1LLMEKQ\ 325 
 
 was so sad. He told them all. One of them was a 
 m'teoulin. He asked of them, " Could you tell your 
 gun if you saw it ? " The woman cried quickly, " I 
 could ! " He was not pleased at her forwardness, but 
 put the question again ; when she as pertly answered, 
 " Yes," for her husband. He looked sternly at her, 
 and said, " Are you sure ? " To which she cried, 
 " Yes, yes ! " Then he said, " If you are very bold, 
 and not afraid of anything, you may get it again." 
 And this, too, she took on herself, saying, " Oh, yes, 
 I'm not afraid ; I'll get it," making no account of 
 her husband. 
 
 Then, by the order of the man, she went to a ledge 
 just below the falls, where they are seventy-five feet 
 high. There was a little projecting rock on which 
 she could just sit, — a horrible place. Below it was 
 a dreadful eddy, in which nothing could live. He 
 helped her down to it, and she was in mortal terror, 
 as such glib-tongued women generally are when there 
 is the least danger. Then the man went away. 
 
 And as she sat there, trembling and half dead with 
 fright, she saw Something come up out of the eddy, 
 — even out of the worst of it. It rose ; it was an 
 awful sight, — a kind of monstrous head, with great 
 forked horns and terrible eyes. She was stiff as a 
 stone with fear. The lost gun lay crosswise on the 
 prongs of the horns. It moved slowly on through the 
 eddy, glaring at her. It came nearer and nearer; 
 the gun was within her reach, but she was too fright- 
 ened to touch it. Then the monster passed by and 
 
326 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 sank into the water, and was seen no more, nor was 
 the gun. 
 
 They got her back with trouble from the place 
 where she sat. The m'teoulin was furious with rage 
 at her, that he had taken such pains for nothing. He 
 said, " This serves you right for your impudence and 
 forwardness. Learn your proper place, and never 
 undertake to do what is none of your business." He 
 then condoled with the husband, but said, " If you 
 could give me all you could think of, I could never 
 get your gun again." 
 
 By this women may learn not to speak too quickly, 
 or propose to do men's duties. u Hu 'sami rfzama 
 wiucJi wee lei ?i > aga samee n gamma wiool petin'L" 
 (P. " Too quick with the tongue, slow with the 
 hands." 1 ) 
 
 1 Though the Weewillmekq' is a worm inhabiting the forest 
 and found in dry wood, it is certainly identified, or confused, by 
 the Passamaquoddy Indians with the alligator, or some kind of 
 a horrible water-goblin, which appears to have many points in 
 common with the Chepitchcalm, or dragon of the Micmacs. This 
 story was related to me by Tomah Josephs, now Indian governor 
 at Princeton, Maine. 
 
 Among various notes I find the following : — 
 " The weewillmekq' becomes human at times, even now." 
 " Six years ago," said T. J., " I was in the woods collecting 
 boughs, and I saw a weewillmekq^ on a tree. The thunder kept 
 approaching the tree on which it was, and finally struck it. It 
 seemed to me as if the worm had attracted the lightning." (Au- 
 gust 26, 1883.) 
 
 " The Weewillmekq' is a small worm, sometimes two or three 
 inches long. It is seen sometimes in the water as large as 
 
THE WEEWILLMEKQ'. 327 
 
 II. MuggahmaM 'adem, the Dance of Old Age, or the 
 Magic of the Weewillmeka\ 1 
 
 (Passamaquoddy.) 
 
 Of old times. There lived in a village many In- 
 dians. Among them was a handsome young man, 
 very brave, a great hunter. And there was a beau- 
 tiful girL What was her name ? Mahli-hahn-sqwess, 
 or Kaliwahdazi, — I don't remember which. But she 
 was proud and high-tempered, and, what was worse, 
 a great witch, but nobody knew it. She wanted the 
 young man to marry her, but he was very busy get- 
 ting ready for the fall and winter hunt, and had no 
 time to attend to such a thing ; and told her so very 
 plainly. 
 
 Yes, he must have been very plain with her, for she 
 was very angry, and said to him, " You may go ; but 
 you will never return as you went." She meant that 
 he would be ill or changed. He gave no heed to her 
 words ; he did not care for her nor fear her. But far 
 
 a horse. Then it has horns. It is a very horrible-looking little 
 worm." 
 
 1 This mysterious being is called Wee-wil-li-ah-mek in Penob- 
 scot. The correct pronunciation is very nearly Wee-wil-l-mekqu' 
 for both Penobscot and Passamaquoddy, but this would be a diffi- 
 cult utterance for any one who has never listened to the Algon- 
 quin soft gutturals. 
 
 Mrs. W. Wallace Brown informs me that " the Weewillmekqu* 
 is a snail." This would account for its being thought to inhabit 
 both land and water. 
 
328 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 away in the woods, far in the north, in midwinter, 
 he went raging mad. The witch had struck him, when 
 far away, with her magic. 
 
 He had with him an elder brother, a great brave, a 
 very fierce man. He, not being able to do aught else, 
 did the most desperate thing a Wabanaki Indian can 
 do. He went down to the river, and sang the song 
 which calls the Weewillmekq*. 
 
 " We que moh wee will l'mick, 
 We que nioh ni'cha micso, 
 Som'awo wee will l'mick ! 
 Cardup ke su m'so wo Sawo ! " 
 
 I call on the Wee-will-1'mick ! 
 I call on the Terrible One ! 
 On the One with the Horns ! 
 I dare him to appear ! 
 
 It came to him in all its terrors. Its eyes were 
 like fire ; its horns rose. It asked him what he wanted. 
 He said that he wished his brother to be in his right 
 mind again. 
 
 " I will give you what you want," said the Wee- 
 willmekq', st if you are not afraid." 
 
 " I am not afraid of anything," said the Indian. 
 
 "Not of me?" 
 
 " Not of you nor of Mitche-hant, the devil himself." 
 
 " If you dare take me by my horns and scrape 
 somewhat from one of them with your knife," said 
 the monster, " you may have your wish." 
 
 Now this Indian was indeed as savage and brave as 
 the devil ; and he had need to be so to do this, for 
 
the weewillmekq 9 . 329 
 
 the Weewillmekq' looked liis very worst. But the 
 man drew his knife and scraped from the horn till he 
 was told that he had enough. 
 
 " Go to your camp," said the Worm. " Put half 
 the scrapings into a cup of water. Make your brother 
 drink it." 
 
 " And the other half ? " asked the Indian. 
 
 " Give it to the girl who made all this trouble. She 
 needs medicine, too." 
 
 He returned to camp, and gave the drink to his 
 brother, who recovered. When the hunt was at an 
 end they went home. 
 
 They arrived at night. There was an immense 
 lodge in the town, and a dance was going on. The 
 younger brother had prepared a cool drink, — sweet 
 with maple-sugar, fragrant with herbs, — and in it 
 was the powder of the horn of the Weewillmekq'. 
 The witch, warm and very thirsty from dancing, came 
 to the door. He offered her the cup. Without heed- 
 ing who gave it, she drank it dry, and, turning to her 
 partner, went on in the dance. 
 
 And then a strange thing happened. For at every 
 turn of the dance she grew a year older. She began 
 as a young girl ; when at the end of the room she 
 was fifty years of age ; and when she got back to the 
 door whence she started she fell dead on the floor, 
 at the feet of him who gave her the drink, a little 
 wrinkled, wizened-up old squaw of a hundred years. 
 
 Aha, yes f wood enit atokhahgen, mug g oh malit 
 adem. This is the story of the Dance of Old Age. 
 
330 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 But you may call it /Sektegah, the Dance of Death, 
 if you like it better. 1 
 
 III. Another Version of the Dance of Old Age. 
 (Passainaquoddy.) 
 
 It was in the autumn, the time when Indians go up 
 the rivers to their hunting-grounds, that two young 
 men left home. They ascended the stream ; they came 
 to a branch, where they parted : one going alone, an- 
 other with his married brother. This latter, with the 
 brother, had left in the village a female friend, a 
 witch, who had forbidden him to go hunting, but he 
 had not obeyed her. 
 
 And she had cause to keep him at home, for, when 
 he was afar in the woods, and alone, he met one day 
 with a very beautiful girl, who fascinated him, and 
 gave herself to him. And when he said that he did 
 not know how to conceal her from his friends she told 
 him that she was a fairy, and could make herself as 
 small as a newly born squirrel, and that all he need 
 do was to wrap her up in a handkerchief and carry 
 her in his pocket. When alone, he could take her out, 
 enjoy her company, and then reduce and fold her up 
 and put her away again. 
 
 1 This extraordinary story was related to me by Noel Joseph, 
 at Campobello, August 26, 1883. I am indebted to Mrs. W. 
 Wallace Brown for the incantation song. The Weewillmekq' 
 has, as it appears in several tales, an extraordinary resemblance 
 to the Norse dragon. It cures mental diseases. It seems to be 
 the same with the Chepitchcalm. 
 
THE WEEWILLMEKQ'. 331 
 
 He did so, but from that hour, while he carried 
 the fairy near his heart, he began to be wicked and 
 strange. This was not caused by her, but by the girl 
 at home. He was entirely changed ; he grew devil- 
 ish ; he refused to eat, and never spoke. His sister- 
 in-law began to fear him. When she offered him food 
 he cried out, " Unless I can devour one of your chil- 
 dren I will have nothing ! " 
 
 When his brother returned and heard all this, he, 
 too, offered him meat, but met with a refusal and the 
 reply, " Give me one of your little children." To 
 which he answered, " The child is so small that it will 
 not satisfy you. Let me go and get a larger one." 
 Then he ran to the village and informed his friends of 
 what had come over the brother. And as they knew 
 that he was about to become a kewahqu? (chenoo) 
 they resolved to kill him. 
 
 But there was a young man there, a friend of the 
 sufferer, who said that he could save him. So all who 
 were assembled bade him try. 
 
 And when night came he went apart, and began to 
 sing his mHeoulin, or magic song. When it ended 
 there was a loud sound as of some heavy body falling 
 and striking the earth, which fairly shook. The next 
 morning he called all his friends and the married 
 brother, and showed them a human corpse. " Now 
 leave me," he said. u Go to my friend and tell him 
 that I have food for him." The Indians did so, and 
 in horror left the two cannibals to devour their dis- 
 gusting meal. When the insane youth was satisfied, 
 
332 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 his friend asked, " Have you had enough ? " He re- 
 plied that he had. 1 Then the magician said, " You are 
 bewitched by the girl who forbade you to go hunting ; 
 she knew you would find a maid better than she is. 
 Now come with ine." 
 
 They went to a small lake ; they sat down by its 
 side ; the sorcerer began his magic song. And as he 
 sang the waters opened ; from the disturbed waves rose 
 a huge Weewillmekq', a creature like an alligator, 
 with horns. And, as the terrible being came ashore, 
 the magician said, " Go and scrape somewhat from 
 his horn and bring it here ! " The young man had 
 become fearless ; he went and did as he was bid : 
 he scraped the horn, and brought the scraping. 
 
 " Now, my friend," said the magician, " let us try 
 this on a tree." There was a large green beech grow- 
 ing by them. It was simply touched with the frag- 
 ment from the horn when another color spread all over 
 the bark as rapidly as the eye could follow it : in an 
 instant it was dead, and in a few minutes more it fell 
 to the ground, utterly rotten, as if it were a century 
 old. 
 
 "Now," said the sorcerer, "we will experiment with 
 this on the witch who wishes to destroy you." So as 
 it was night they went to the village. A dance was 
 being held, and the beautiful tall witch having paused 
 to rest, the two men approached her. The young man 
 placed his hand on her head ; he held in it a scraping 
 
 1 The human body which supplied the meal was probably in 
 reality a deer, or some such animal. 
 
THE WEEWILLMEKQ'. 333 
 
 of the horn of the weewillmekq\ As he did so she 
 grew older in an instant, — she became very old ; a 
 pale color rippled all over her ; she fell, looking a 
 hundred years, dead on the floor, shriveled, dried, and 
 dropped to powder. 
 
 " She will not trouble you any more," said the sor- 
 cerer. " Her dance is over." 
 
 This is the same story as the preceding, but I give 
 it to show how differently a tale may be told by neigh- 
 bors. In one it is the spretce injuria formce, the 
 wrath of rejected love, which inspires the witch to 
 revenge ; in the other it is jealousy. In one she in- 
 flicts madness ; in the other she turns him into a 
 cannibal demon, as Loki, when only half bad, was 
 made utterly so by getting the " thought-stone " or 
 heart of a witch. This legend was sent to me by 
 Louis Mitchell. It is written not by him, but by 
 some other Passamaquoddy, in Indian-English. 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 
 
 3fteoulin, or Indian Magic. 
 
 The study of magic as it is believed in or under- 
 stood by the Indians of America is extremely interest- 
 ing, for it involves that of all supernaturalism or of 
 all religion whatever. But if we, declining all ques- 
 tion as to the origin of monotheism, limit ourselves 
 definitely to what is known of Shamanism alone, 
 we shall still have before us an immense field for 
 investigation. Shamanism is the belief that all the 
 events and accidents of life are caused or influ- 
 enced by spirits, and as fear of suffering is in all 
 men, but particularly the savage, the strongest moral 
 emotion, the natural consequence is a greater fear of 
 evil invisible beings. The result of it is a faith that 
 everything which is obscure or invisible is supposed 
 to be the work of mysterious agents, generally evil. 
 Thus all disease whatever, all suffering, pain, loss, or 
 disaster, or bad weather, is at once attributed either 
 to a spirit or to some enemy who practices witchcraft. 
 The Shaman is the priest or doctor, who professes to 
 be able, by his counter-charms, to counteract or neu- 
 tralize this devil's work. 
 
 It will be long ere the scholar definitely determines 
 whether Shamanism as it now exists originated spon- 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 335 
 
 taneously in different countries where the same causes 
 were to be found, or whether it is historical ; that is, 
 derived from a single source. I believe that while 
 darkness, hunger, fear, and similar causes could not 
 fail to create a rude religion anywhere, as Moncure 
 Conway has shown, yet that the derivation from one 
 beffinninsr, or at least later modifications from it, has 
 been very great indeed. 
 
 Investigation indicates that it was in Assyria, at a 
 very remote age, that Shamanism had, if not its origin, 
 at least its fullest development. The reader who will 
 consult Lenormant's work on Chaldean magic will 
 learn from it that the fear of devils and the art of 
 neutralizing their power were never carried to such 
 an extent elsewhere as in the Land of Bel. Now as 
 Shamanism has at the present day its stronghold 
 among the Turanian races of Central Asia, it may 
 greatly strengthen the theory, somewhat doubted of 
 late, of the early Accadian predecessors of the Chal- 
 deans and their Turanian origin, if we can only prove 
 that their magical religion was the same as that of the 
 Tartars. So far as my reading has aided me, I am 
 inclined to believe that they are identical. " Magic " 
 went so far among the former that, while they dis- 
 covered natural remedies for natural ills, they never 
 doubted that one was as much the result of sorcery as 
 the other. This theory spread everywhere. 
 
 Shamanism, or a vague fear of invisible evils and 
 the sorcerer, may indeed have sprung up independently 
 in Tartary, Central Africa, Finland, and North Amer- 
 
336 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 ica. But it is almost incredible that the use of a drum 
 inscribed with magical figures, the spirit flight of the 
 angakok or Shaman, and twenty other characteristics 
 of the art should have become, without transmission, 
 common to all these countries. Shamanism has prob- 
 ably been at the root of all religions ; there was a great 
 deal of it in all those of the Semitic races, and, ad- 
 mitting this, it is not difficult to see how from Chaldea 
 and Babylon it may have found its way into Africa, 
 where black savages, who would have rejected a higher 
 religion, would grasp greedily at what they sympa- 
 thized with. The only real difference between the 
 Yoodoo and Pow-wow practices is that the former is, 
 so to speak, the blacker and more revolting. This is 
 because a low state of culture has induced the believers 
 in it to retain more of the coarse witchcraft on which 
 Shamanism was based, or out of which it grew. 
 
 For wherever Shamanism exists, there is to be 
 found, in company with it, an older sorcery, or witch- 
 craft, which it professes to desjnse, and against which 
 it does battle. As the Catholic priest, by Bible in- 
 cantations or scriptural magic, exorcises devils and 
 charms cattle or sore throats, disowning the darker 
 magic of older days, so the Shaman acts against the 
 real wizard. Rink tells us that among the heathen 
 Eskimo the Shaman is sacred, and witchcraft a deadly 
 crime, but that the latter is the secret survival of a 
 more ancient religion. Voodoo, whether practiced, as 
 it is to-day, in Philadelphia, New York, Havana, or 
 Senegambia, deals with alleged devils, poisons, chicken 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 337 
 
 bones, the ivory root, unnatural orgies, — all, in short, 
 that can startle and astonish ignorant natures ; it is 
 the combination of the oldest faith with its successor. 
 Far higher forms are those of the magic of the black 
 Takowri whom one meets divining about the streets of 
 Cairo, or of the Arab proper, which brings us fairly 
 to the Cabala and the Jew, Cornelius Agrippa and 
 Eliphas Levi. 
 
 It is not difficult to understand how Shamanism, 
 with its drums and darkened rooms, its conjuring of 
 evil-doers and extraction of diseases in tangible forms, 
 should have spread from Central Asia to the Lapland- 
 ers and Eskimo, and thence to the red Indians. Very 
 little attention has been paid to the intercourse act- 
 ually existing at the present day between these races. 
 I have met with a Passamaquoddy Indian who spoke 
 French well, who had been educated at a mission 
 school, and who had been among the Eskimo. As 
 regards legends and folk-lore, no one can read the 
 Eskimo tales and those of this volume and not feel 
 that the Algonquin is to the man of the icy north 
 what the gypsy is to the Hindoo. As regards the 
 early religion of both races, it is simply identical, and 
 it is far too peculiar in its many similar details to 
 have simply sprung up, as many might assume, from 
 the common likeness in customs of all savages. For 
 there is in both a great deal of " literary " culture, 
 especially in the Algonquin, and it would be little less 
 than miraculous that this too should have assimilated 
 by chance. It does not help the " opposition " to 
 22 
 
338 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 point out that Algonquin legends declare that their 
 ancestors came from the west. Even so, they came 
 from the Pacific coast, where Eskimo Shamanism 
 exists in its most decided forms. But in any case 
 it cannot be denied that in the red Indian mythology 
 of New England, and of Canada and New Bruns- 
 wick, we have a collection of vigorous, icy, powerful 
 legends, like those of a strong northern race, while 
 those of the middle continent, or Chippewa, are far 
 feebler and gentler. Hiawatha-Manobozho is to Gloos- 
 kap as a flute to a war trumpet. 
 
 It is absurd to laugh at or pity the Indian for be- 
 lieving in his magic. Living as he does in the woods, 
 becoming familiar with animals, and learning how 
 much more intelligent and allied to man they are 
 than civilized man supposes, he believes they have 
 souls, and were perhaps originally human. Balaam's 
 ass spoke once for every Christian ; every animal 
 spoke once for the Indian. If a child can be put to 
 sleep by singing to it, why cannot insensibility to pain 
 or a cure be caused by the same process ? He is told 
 that the wafer becomes the body of Christ ; this may 
 confirm his belief that the Indian god Manobozho 
 turned bits of his own flesh or his wife's into raccoons, 
 for food. If it is difficult for any educated or culti- 
 vated man to conceive how, if any condition or phase 
 of supernaturalism be admitted, any other can be de- 
 nied, how can the Indian be logically blamed for be- 
 lieving anything ? But the greatest cause of all for a 
 faith in magic is one which the white man talks about 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 339 
 
 without feeling, and which the Indian feels without 
 talking about it. I mean the poetry of nature, with 
 all its quaint and beautiful superstitions. To every 
 Algonquin a rotten log by the road, covered with moss, 
 suggests the wild legend of the log-demon ; the Indian 
 corn and sweet flag in the swamp are the descendants 
 of beautiful spirits who still live in them ; Meeko, the 
 squirrel, has the power of becoming a giant monster ; 
 flowers, beasts, trees, have all loved and talked and 
 sung, and can even now do so, should the magician 
 only come to speak the spell. And there are such 
 magicians. Why should he doubt it ? If the squirrel 
 once yielded to such a power in man, it follows that 
 some man may still have the power, or that he himself 
 may acquire it. And how much of this feeling of the 
 real poetry of nature does the white man or woman 
 possess, who pities the poor ignorant Indian ? A few 
 second-hand scraps of Byron and Tupper, Tennyson 
 and Longfellow, the jingle of a few rhymes and a few 
 similes, and a little second-hand supernaturalism, more 
 " accepted " than felt, and that derived from far 
 foreign sources, does not give the white man what the 
 Indian feels. Joe, or Noel, or Sabattis may seem to 
 the American Philistine to be a ragged, miserable, 
 ignorant Indian ; but to the scholar he is by far the 
 Philistine's superior in that which life is best worth 
 living for. 
 
 The magic of the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot, 
 like the magician himself, is called meteowlin, m'cleoo- 
 lin, or m'teoulin. It is the same effectively as meda. 
 
340 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 which is from the same root. It is a power, but 
 opinions differ as to how it is acquired. It is certain, 
 as I was told by an old Passamaquoddy Indian, of 
 Sebayk, near Campobello, that some children are born 
 m'tSoulin. They manifest it, even while babes, by 
 being capricious, eccentric, and malicious. Others 
 acquire the art as they grow older. From all that I 
 have heard I infer that m'teoulin takes two forms, 
 — one of witchcraft, the other of magic. The former 
 is innate, or may be acquired ; the latter, for aught 1 
 know, may be sometimes inborn, but is generally ac- 
 quired by fasting, abstinence of other kinds, and cer- 
 emonies. The two are distinctly different. Rink 
 found in Greenland and Labrador that the Eskimo, 
 as I have said, made this difference. 
 
 I will now give, word for word, the remarks of cer- 
 tain Indians on this subject, beginning with those of 
 an intelligent and prosperous old man, who is cer- 
 tainly enlightened and Christianized very much be- 
 yond the average of his race. I had asked him if 
 there were any m'teoulin, or magicians, living. He 
 replied : — 
 
 "There are. Many at St. John and Sebayk are 
 still m'teoulin. I saw this myself thirty-five years 
 ago at St. John's. There was a deaf Indian there. 
 The white men were abusing him. They spat on him. 
 By and by a mHeoulin from St. John's came, a man 
 of thirty-five or forty. I saw this. The m'teoulin 
 asked them not to abuse the deaf and dumb Indian. 
 They turned on the m'teoulin. Then he screamed so 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 341 
 
 horribly, so awfully, and looked so like a devil that 
 the men were frightened. They fell on their knees, 
 and could not move. They let the man go." 
 
 This is precisely what is narrated by many writers 
 of the Shaman screaming and distorting of the fea- 
 tures. Very few people know of what the human 
 voice is capable. It can not only be trained to divine 
 song, but to such demoniacal howling as to deafen 
 and appall even the guardians of a lunatic asylum. In 
 Lapland, Central Asia, or on Nootka Sound the in- 
 itiated are trained in remote solitudes to these utter- 
 ances, to which no one can listen without terror. My 
 informant continued : — 
 
 " Two or three weeks after I was in another place. 
 We spoke of the m'teoulin. The white folks ridi- 
 culed them. I said there was one in Fredericton, and 
 I said I would bet ten dollars that he would get the 
 better of them. And they bet that no Indian could 
 do more than they could. So the m'teoulin came. 
 And first of all he screamed so that no one could 
 move. It was dreadful. Then he took seven steps 
 through the ground up to his ankles, just as if it had 
 been light snow. When I asked for the ten dollars, 
 the white men paid. I gave it to the m'teoulin." 
 
 Among the Greenland Eskimo the sorcerer, writes 
 Rink, " after meeting with tomassuk, or guardian spir- 
 its, sometimes manifests it by his feet sinking into the 
 rocky ground just as if in snow." He uses the very 
 words of the Indian who described the same thing to 
 me. And very recently in Philadelphia, in fact while 
 
342 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 I was writing the preceding remarks, a spiritualist 
 named Gordon performed the very same trick. Hav- 
 ing been detected, a full account of the manner of 
 action appeared in the Press of that city. It was 
 done by a peculiar method of stooping, and of con- 
 cealing the stoop behind a skirt. It was a very odd 
 coincidence that the explanation should thus present 
 itself while I was seeking it. 
 
 This Shaman Eskimo trick was known to the Norse- 
 men. In the Saga of Thorstein it is said that Ogan- 
 tun, a noted sorcerer, when stabbed at, " thrust him- 
 self down into the ground, so that only the soles of 
 his feet could be seen ; " and of Kol it was said that 
 "he could pass through the earth as well as walk 
 upon it." 
 
 "Women are sometimes mHeoulin. There is one 
 at Psesuk (Bar Harbor) now, this summer. You 
 
 have met her. She is 's wife. 1 If you offend 
 
 her she can hurt you in strange ways. 
 
 " She is a good doctor. Once she cured a man. 
 When he got well he could not pay her for the med- 
 icine. His name is Louis . She asked for her 
 
 money ; she asked many times ; she could not get it. 
 He was going to the woods, far away, to trap ; he said 
 he would pay her when he returned, but she wanted it 
 then. She said, ' I will never forget this ; I will be 
 revenged.' He went far up the St. John River with 
 his traps ; he set them in the stream for beaver. All 
 
 1 I am acquainted with all the parties, but for obvious reasons 
 suppress their names. 
 
TALES OF MA GIC. 343 
 
 that lie caught that winter was sticks, and sometimes 
 an eel. Then at the end of the day he would say to 
 his man, ' It is of no use.' And then they could hear 
 the witch laughing behind the bushes, and tittering 
 when he came home. So it went on long. Then he 
 was sorry, and said, 4 1 wish I had paid that woman 
 what I owed her.' And at once they heard a voice 
 from the bushes, or rocks, say, ' Louis, that will do. 
 It is enough.' And the next day they caught two 
 beaver, and every day two, and so on, till the season 
 was over. 
 
 " This happened in 1872, in Miramichi Waters." 
 
 There does not appear to be any single approved 
 method of acquiring m'teoulin. Some, as I have 
 said, are born to it, but they appear to be wizards or 
 witches. Others are formally trained from boyhood 
 by the experienced magicians. Others acquire cer- 
 tain gifts by certain ceremonies or penances. Of this 
 kind was the power obtained in the manner narrated 
 in the following story, which I heard from an old 
 Passamaquoddy : — 
 
 " There was once a young man who wished to be- 
 come a very wise and brave warrior, like his father. 
 And his father said to him, ' I get all my luck of 
 every kind from my dreams. You can have such 
 dreams ; any man can, if he will do a certain thing ; 
 but that thing is not easy for a young man like you. 
 You must sleep seven nights with a virgin, and never 
 touch her.' 
 
 " The young man thought this over for a few days, 
 
844 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 and then asked his father how it could be arranged or 
 managed. 
 
 " ' I will tell you,' replied the old man. ' Find a 
 girl ; the more beautiful she is and the more you 
 want her, the stronger the magic will be. Go to the 
 parents for their daughter as a wife. Cheat them so. 
 Before you marry get seven bear-skins, and let no 
 man except one know anything about it. Make him 
 clean them. One skin should be cleaned every twenty- 
 four hours. Seven days must pass so.' 
 
 " The young man was accepted by the parents ; he 
 sent the seven bear-skius to the young woman ; they 
 were married ; they went to their wigwam. He lay 
 on the bear-skins ; he directed his wife to make an- 
 other bed and sleep on it. They lay apart. The 
 bride thought this was strange ; she told her mother 
 of it. The mother said, ' Never mind. By and by 
 it will be all right.' The wife thought it was all 
 wrong. When seven nights had passed the bride- 
 groom disappeared. He was not seen in his village 
 for twenty-five or thirty years. Then he returned to 
 his father. He could divine all things by dreams. 
 He had but to take the magic bear-skin and sleep on 
 it, and dream. He could tell where to find good hunt- 
 ing or fishing. He foredreamed war with the Mo- 
 hawks. Can any man do this ? They say so, and I 
 have known many who tried it in vain. They could 
 not pass the trial successfully." 
 
 "There are stones in the forest with names on 
 them. They give great power to dream. I have seen 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 345 
 
 in my dreams the mHeoulin of ancient times, — the 
 magicians, my father told me, of long ago. I have 
 seen them diving under the waters from one island to 
 another. I have seen" them dive ten miles. 
 
 " When I was young, J. N., who was a great mH6- 
 oulhi, offered to teach me the art. I could have be- 
 come one, but I would not. I did not think it was 
 right. 
 
 " Once old J. N . and my grandfather hunted in the 
 woods. It was near Katahdin, the Great Mountain. 1 
 And they wanted everything. They had got out of 
 everything. One night old N. said, ' I can bear this 
 no longer. Would you like a nice pipe of tobacco ? 
 We have had nothing but meat for four weeks.' So 
 he went away for a short time ; perhaps it was an hour. 
 He returned with a box. There was in it three pounds 
 of tobacco ; there was cheese, rice, and sugar ; there 
 was fifty pounds of provision in all." 
 
 This famous mHeoulin was long a popular gov- 
 ernor of the Passamaquoddies. I have a curious old 
 brass candlestick, said to be one hundred and fifty 
 years old, which he owned all his life. The following 
 remarkable reminiscences of this very clever old saga- 
 more were given to me by Marie Sakis, a Penobscot : 
 
 " The old governor was a great rriteoulin. He 
 had got it among the Chippewas. He said that it 
 
 1 Katahdin, like the Intervale near North Conway, is haunted 
 and enchanted ground, abounding in fairies and other marvelous 
 beings. But there is not a mile square of New England which 
 has not its legends. 
 
346 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 would come to pass that lie would die before the 
 next snow-storm. No, he did not care himself, but my 
 husband's mother did, when she heard this, and she 
 cried. Then he said, ' Well, I will try to live, or else 
 die in a month ; but it will be a hard fight.' So he 
 made him a bow, and strung it with his wife's hair ; 1 
 and having done this, he shot an arrow through the 
 smoke-hole of his wigwam. 2 
 
 " All this was at Nessaik, near Eastport. Then he 
 said to his wife, ' Take one of your leggins and put it 
 on my head.' She did so. Then he took medicine. 
 A rainbow appeared in the sky, and a great horse-fly 
 came out of his mouth, and then a large grasshopper. 
 He cried to his wife, 4 Do not kill it ! ' And then 
 came a stone spear-head. 3 
 
 " ' Now,' said the governor, ' this is all right so far, 
 but the great struggle is yet to come. It is a iccc- 
 wittmekq' who has done this.' (You know what that 
 is: the Passamaquoddies call it weewihnehq . It is 
 a worm an inch long, which can make itself into a 
 horrid monster as large as a deer ; yes, and much 
 larger. It is mteoulin ; yes, it is a great magician.) 
 4 1 am going to fight it. You must come with a small 
 
 1 In a Chippewa legend a boy confers magic power on a bow 
 by stringing it with his sister's hair. 
 
 2 This is also mentioned in a legend where it is said that every 
 arrow killed a supernatural enemy. 
 
 3 This is all in detail perfectly Shamanic. The smell of the 
 fresh fish after such a fight is the same in an Eskimo legend. 
 The horse-fly (gan) is Lapp. 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 347 
 
 stick to hit it once, and only a mere tap.' l But she 
 would not go. So he went and fought with the Wee- 
 willmekq'. He killed it. It was a frightful battle. 
 When he returned he smelt like fresh fish. His wife 
 bade him go and wash himself; but let him bathe as 
 much as he could, the smell remained for clays. The 
 pond where he fought has been muddy and foul ever 
 since. 
 
 " The governor could with a gimlet bore a hole in 
 any tree in the woods, and draw from it as he pleased 
 any kind of wine or other liquor. Once he was far in 
 the forest with some white gentlemen ; he wished to 
 entertain them. He did this, to their astonishment. 
 He produced tobacco in a miraculous manner when it 
 was wanted. Then, returning to Eastport, he went to 
 Mr. Pearce, who kept a store, and showed him that a 
 certain amount of wine had disappeared from his bar- 
 rels, and paid him for it. He never drank wine or 
 spirits himself. 
 
 " He once went hunting. He took his wife with 
 him ; she was enceinte. It was in midwinter. She 
 had a great yearning for green corn. He put a dish 
 on the ground, and there fell from above ears of fresh- 
 boiled green corn into it. ' There,' said he, ' as I 
 promised, you have it.' 
 
 " She had a silver cross and beads. One day she 
 
 lost it, and grieved very much. He said, ' Put that 
 
 wooden dish upside down, near the fire.' It was done, 
 
 and when she turned it up the cross was under the 
 
 l In the legend of Partridge, a mere tap stuns the water-fairy. 
 
348 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 dish. And lie said the Ketawks, or Spirits, had 
 brought it." 
 
 The following legend, told me by Tomah Josephs, 
 sets forth another manner by which rrfteoulin may be 
 acquired. 
 
 " There were two Indian families camped away at 
 some distance from the main village. In one lived a 
 young man, and every night he would go to the other 
 wigwams to see some girls. His mother warned him 
 that he would come to harm, for there was danger 
 abroad, but he never minded her. 
 
 "Now, one night at the end of winter, when the 
 ground was bare of snow, as he was walking along he 
 heard something come after. It had a very heavy, 
 steady tramp. He stopped, and saw a long figure, 
 white, but without arms or legs. It looked like a 
 corpse rolled up. Pie was horribly frightened, but 
 when it attacked him he grew angry. The object, 
 though it had no arms, fought madly. It twined 
 round him ; it struck itself against him, and thrashed 
 itself, bending like a fish all about. And he, too, 
 fought as if he was crazy. He was one of those whose 
 blood and courage go up, but never down ; he could 
 die, but never give in till dead. Before daylight the 
 Ghost suggested a rest, or peace ; the Indian would 
 not hear of it, but fought on. The Ghost began to 
 implore mercy, but the youth just then saw in the 
 north Kival lo Jcesso, the break of day. Then he 
 knew that if he could but endure the battle a little 
 longer he should indeed get a great victory. 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 349 
 
 " Then the Ghost implored him, saying, ' Let me go, 
 and whatever you may want you shall get, and good 
 luck all your life.' Yet for all this he would not 
 yield, for he knew that by conquering he would win 
 all the Spirit had to give. And as the first sun-ray 
 shone on him he became insensible, and when he 
 awoke it was as from a sleep. But by his side lay a 
 large, old, decayed log, covered with moss. He re- 
 membered that during the fight he had seemed once 
 to plunge his fist, by a violent blow, completely into 
 the enemy up to his elbow, and there was a hole in it 
 corresponding to this wound. He had torn away the 
 other's scalp -lock, stripping the skin down to the 
 waist ; he found a long, hairy-looking piece of moss 
 ripped from the end of the log to the middle. And 
 all about lay pieces of moss and locks of his own hair, 
 testifying to the fury of the fight. 
 
 " He was terribly bruised and torn, but that he did 
 not heed, for now he was another man, and a terrible 
 one. His mother said, ' I warned you of danger : ' 
 but he had conquered the danger. He had all the 
 strength of five strong men, and all the might and 
 magic of the Spirit ; yes, the Spirit itself was now in 
 him. After this he could do anything, and find game 
 where no one else could. To conquer a ghost gives 
 power." 
 
 To conquer the dead, or to fight terrible spirits, to 
 thereby absorb their power, and finally to keep them 
 in a struggle until the day shines on them, is both 
 Norse and Celtic, if not, indeed, world-wide. But 
 
350 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 the grim sjnrit of this narrative is Norse ; it is that 
 of the hero wresting from a corpse's hold the sword 
 of victory. 
 
 " Farewell, daughter ! 
 
 Fleet give I thee, 
 
 Five men's bane, 
 
 If thou it believe." 
 
 But the great element or chief cause of magic 
 power among the Indians is that of Will. It mani- 
 fests itself in many forms, mere courage being one. 
 Thus the Weewillmekq' confers supernatural ability 
 or other favors only on those who are not afraid of it. 
 The demon Log, as we have just seen, gives strength 
 and prosperity to a man for simply fighting like a 
 bull-dog. Beyond courage, pluck or bottom is with 
 these Indians as nearly allied to magic as poetry was 
 among the Greeks, or with an Eschenwaya. When 
 the true magician " gets mad," and continues to get 
 madder till the end, he is invincible. Allied to this 
 is perseverance. The Eabbit is rewarded with skill 
 as an enchanter merely for continuing to try. His 
 very failures have this in them, that he keeps on res- 
 olutely, though in a wrong road. No one can fail to 
 be struck, in these legends of the Northeast Algon- 
 quins, how often a boy, or adult, when asked if he 
 can do a difficult thing, replies, " I can try." All of 
 this apotheosis of pluck, perseverance, and patience 
 is far more developed among these legends than in 
 those of the Chippewas or other western and south- 
 ern tribes, at least so far as I am familiar with 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 351 
 
 tliera. It exists wherever there are red Indians, but 
 the Eastern Algonquin seems to have thought it out 
 more and made more of it than others have done. 
 Therefore his cycle of myths, or his Edda, occupies 
 a higher place. It is less chaotic ; it is more con- 
 sistent ; it is a chorus in which every voice is trained 
 to respond to or correspond with the leader. In this 
 respect it has a remarkable resemblance to the Scan- 
 dinavian myths and poems. In its theory that magic 
 power may be obtained by " penitence," — I do not 
 mean here " repentance," — that is by self-inflicted 
 pain, it agrees with the Hindoo, and in fact more or 
 less with all religions. But it is only, I believe, in the 
 red Indian and Hindoo creeds that it is distinctly ad- 
 mitted that man can attain the power to do both good 
 and evil, or whatever he pleases, if he will only pay 
 for it by suffering. The doctrine of power through 
 penance is so simple and obvious in its origin that it 
 would long precede monotheism. A man exercises 
 himself with great exertion in lifting stones, as in an 
 Eskimo tale, till he is strong ; he practices shooting 
 arrows and running after them, as in the story of the 
 Chief's Son, till he can outrun them. Then the secret 
 of such marvelous deeds is supposed to exist in the 
 bow, and it becomes a fetich. 
 
 A very important part of rri'tSoulin is the materials 
 employed. In Old World magic these are exclusively 
 objects which startle or disgust, parts of the human 
 body, dead reptiles, or things singular and rare. 
 Among the Indians, very commonplace articles are 
 
352 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 employed indifferently with those of the former kind. 
 The magic consists not in them, but in the magician 
 and his methods. He has had, let us say, his dreams, 
 or received, while alone in the forest, his inspirations, 
 which have told him what to do. He takes the ob- 
 jects suggested, and with them performs his wonder 
 works. Sometimes he tells others to do the same with 
 the same things, but in this case he is still the motive 
 force ; it is Ms enchantment. In illustration of this 
 I give the following legend : — 
 
 Far in the woods was an Indian town ; near it lived 
 two old people, who had two beautiful daughters, and 
 no son. The girls were very shy. They seldom let 
 themselves be seen. They would not listen to the 
 young men. 
 
 The chief of the tribe had a fine son, a great 
 hunter, and skilled in mysteries. 1 The young man 
 wanted one of the girls. His father went to their 
 parents and obtained their consent, but the girls re- 
 fused to be married. 
 
 There lived in the village a young man who was 
 neither strong, handsome, nor clever at any kind of 
 work. Hearing that the chief's son had failed to get 
 one of the shy or proud girls, he said — but all in jest, 
 for he had but a poor opinion of himself — that he 
 was the right kind of a man to get them. " If they 
 had, for example, only seen me, now," he exclaimed, 
 
 1 In Passamaqnoddy, N'paoidin: a man learned in mysteries, 
 a scholar. This is my own Indian name. It is apparently the 
 same with boo-bin ; that is, pow-wow man. 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 353 
 
 " they would have wished to be married at once ! " 
 Then they all laughed, and proposed that they should 
 go that night and try to see the girls, and how they 
 would receive the plain looking youth. 
 
 So they went quietly, about supper-time, and entered 
 so suddenly that the girls had not time to hide behind 
 the curtain, and so were obliged to receive the visit- 
 ors. After supper they engaged in playing Ming- 
 wadokadjik. In this game a ring is hidden in the 
 ashes or sand, and each player, with a pointed stick, 
 makes a plunge until the ring is hit, and brought out. 
 (This is Indian poker. — T. B.) 
 
 So the evening passed, and nothing was said of mar- 
 riage ; and at last the guests went away, and for some 
 time the young man made a jest of his having gone 
 courting. One day he was far and alone in the woods, 
 when he met an old woman of very strange appear- 
 ance. She was wrinkled and bent with extreme age, 
 and her head was braided up with a very great number 
 of sakcdobeek, or hair-strings, which hung down to her 
 heels. After greeting him civilly, she asked him if he 
 was really anxious to marry one of the beauties whom 
 he had visited. " O Nugumee " (grandmother), he 
 replied, " I do not care about it." " Only if you did," 
 she replied, " I can give you the one you want, if you 
 will only say so." 
 
 Now the young man saw that the old woman was in 
 earnest, and he replied that in fact he would be very 
 glad to get one of the girls, but that no girl worth 
 having would look at him. Then the old dame, taking 
 
 23 
 
354 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 one of her hair-strings, said, " Roll this up, and carry 
 it in your pouch for a while ; : and then go, and, catch- 
 ing an opportunity, toss the cord upon her back. But 
 take care that she does not know that you have done 
 this, and let it be indeed a secret to all." 
 
 So he took the sakalobe, and, visiting the girls once 
 again, threw it on one of them, more hopeful of success 
 this time. And the cast succeeded, though she said 
 nothing then. But the next day, alone in the woods, 
 he met her, for she had followed him. And she said, 
 " Tamealeen ? " " Where are you going ? " "I am 
 going hunting," he replied. " But, if you have not 
 lost your way, what are you doing here ? " "I am 
 not lost in the woods," she replied, but said no more. 
 Then he, seeing how it was, said, " It would be better, 
 though, if I returned with you to your parents, and 
 told them that I found you lost, and showed you the 
 way home." And having done this, the girl's father, 
 noting that she liked the young man, asked him if he 
 wished to marry her ; and as both were willing, and 
 something more, the wedding feast was soon ready, 
 the friends invited, and the couple settled down. 
 
 Some days after, the husband, seeing his wife wear- 
 ing the magic hair-string, asked her, " Where did you 
 
 1 One of the infallible ancient methods to make anything 
 into a fetich, or amulet, is to carry it a long time about the per- 
 son. Familiarity, as Heine observes (Reiselbilder), gives a silent 
 life, or apparent sympathy, to even old clothes. Thus domestic 
 well-known objects become fairies, and thus they talk to chil- 
 dren. 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 355 
 
 get that pretty sahalobe ? " " I found it," she re- 
 plied, " in my 'ntuboonk " (usual sitting place in the 
 wigwam). This caused the young man to reflect how 
 kindly he had been treated by the old fairy or witch, 
 and how easily he, without any merit, had won his wife, 
 and then to think of the deserving young chief's son 
 who had failed. So, taking him into the woods, they 
 found the old woman, who, kind as ever, did for the 
 chief's son what she had already done for his friend, 
 and gave him also a magic hair-string. And using it 
 in the same way he in like manner won the other sis- 
 ter ; and it was indeed well, for she was the one whom 
 he wanted most. And the two men whose wives were 
 sisters (weclioosjifc), were on the best of terms and 
 much together. 
 
 Now the young chief reflected that his brother-in- 
 law had been very kind to him, for little cause, and 
 thought how he could repay him. So he asked him 
 one day if he would like to be a swift runner. " Truly 
 I would," replied the other. " Then go and gather 
 some feathers, and let them blow when the wind is 
 high, and chase them. You will soon be able to out- 
 strip the wind, and when the art comes it will never 
 depart from you." Then he did this, and became so 
 swift that no man or beast could escape him. 
 
 Yet again the chief's son said, " Would you like 
 to become strong and very active ? " And as he of 
 course said " Yes," the friend replied, " Dress yourself 
 in the worst and raggedest garments, and attack the 
 first man you find. He will catch you by the clothes ; 
 
356 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 but do you slip out of them and run." This he did ; 
 the first man whom he met was a lunatic, who gladly 
 grappled for a fight. So he slipped out of the clothes 
 and ran ; but the madman thought the apparel made 
 the man, and beat it a long time, and left it for dead. 
 But after he had done this with many men he indeed 
 became strong and active. 
 
 Then the chief's son said, " I will teach you quick- 
 ness of sight, so that you may perceive animals while 
 hunting, though other men may not. Take a hand- 
 ful of moose's hairs ; hold them firmly in a roll be- 
 tween your thumb and finger ; hold them up in a 
 high wind and let them go. So you will be able to 
 perceive, in time, all the moose. And to see deer, or 
 any other animal, you must take their hair and treat 
 it in the same way." So he did ; and by means of 
 this magic became so keen of sight that he beheld 
 every beast. 
 
 Yet again the chief's son said, " Would you see 
 birds where no other men can ? " And he, assent- 
 ing, was told to strip the feathery part from a bird's 
 quills (cliehakadegci), and, blowing it into the air, 
 look carefully in the direction in which it flew. And 
 having practiced this also, he became very perfect in 
 the art. 1 
 
 1 The secret of these spells is very apparent. But the teacher 
 would make the pupil believe that the successful result would 
 greatly depend on the color and kind of the fur or feathers 
 employed. It is curious to observe how, in the over-refinement 
 of " sport " among gentlemen, the idea that this or that is " good 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 357 
 
 Now, having learned all these things, he asked the 
 chief's son how he could learn to see the fishes of the 
 sea. And being told that he must collect all kinds 
 of fishes' bones, and burn them and pound them to 
 dust, he did so ; and, having blown them up into the 
 wind, he could see all manner of fish and call them 
 to him. 
 
 This young man went afar in his thoughts ; for re- 
 flecting that the whales were giant-like in power, he 
 wondered what might be done by magic with them. 
 And his friend said that it was true that the whales 
 could give to man unearthly power and exceeding 
 long life. " For," said he, " they never die till they 
 are killed, and by their aid one may live on till life 
 borders on immortality." So burning a piece of whale- 
 bone (jpootup-awigun), he pounded it to powder, and, 
 standing on a rock that jutted out into the sea, the 
 sorcerer blew the dust seawards. And erelong he 
 saw dark spots far away, and as they grew to be more 
 numerous they became larger, and yet more numerous 
 anon, and for every grain of dust which he blew there 
 came a whale ; and yet he blew again seven times. 
 Then the whole school of immense creatures came to- 
 wards him ; and he that was largest, or the sagamore 
 of the whales, swimming close to the man on the rock, 
 said, " Why hast thou called me ? " And he replied, 
 " Make me strong." 
 
 form " and " the correct thing-," which must be done, has had the 
 effect of establishing much which is mere fetich. A fox in Eng- 
 land and a bear in Canada must be killed in a certain way by 
 men of caste. 
 
358 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 And the Whale answered, " It is well. Put thy 
 hand in my mouth ! " And, doing this, he found and 
 took out a golden key. 1 " Keep that," said the Whale. 
 " While you have it you will be safe against man, 
 beast, or illness. The foe shall not harm you ; the 
 spirits which haunt the wilderness shall pass you by ; 
 hunger and pain shall not know you ; death shall not 
 be in your road." 
 
 So the young man thanked the great magician, and 
 went home ; and as it had been promised it came to 
 pass. All was ever well with him ; trouble and trial 
 were with him no more. Those who were in his vil- 
 lage never knew hunger; the wild game abounded, 
 and came to them when called ; no enemy attacked 
 them ; the sun and moon smiled on them ; they sang 
 the songs of the olden time, and played the flute in 
 peace. 
 
 In time the old chief drew near the end of his life, 
 and his son asked the friend if his father's days could 
 not be prolonged. But the magician thought it best 
 to let him pass in peace ; and he did so. Then the 
 young chief offered his place and power to his brother- 
 in-law (wechoosuV) ; but he refused it, and passed his 
 life in aiding his friend in every way by his power 
 and wisdom. JTesjjeahdvoksit (here the story ends). 
 
 This legend is little more than an enumeration of 
 the recipes popularly employed to obtain certain pow- 
 
 1 This is a manifestly modern addition. There is every indi- 
 cation that the story itself is ancient, probably Eskimo. 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 359 
 
 ers. It may be observed that it is limited to all that 
 a real Indian requires. It is very different from what 
 a white man or an Asiatic savage would have wanted; 
 and there is just enough truth and common sense in 
 the methods recommended to make the whole plausi- 
 ble. The reader will observe that the magic hair- 
 string and locks of hair play the same important part 
 in m'teoidin that they did in Old World magic. This 
 is hardly one of the coincidences which can be attrib- 
 uted to spontaneous development from similar causes. 
 It may be such, but there may be also an Eskimo side- 
 gate through which it entered from the other side. 
 
 Another magic means was the influencing high and 
 mysterious powers. Of this the following is an ad- 
 mirable illustration : — 
 
 Tumilkoontaoo, or the Broken Wing. 
 (Micmac.) 
 
 An Indian family lived on the sea-shore. They 
 had two sons; the eldest of these was married, and 
 had many small children. They lived by fishing; 
 they chiefly caught eels. 
 
 It came to pass that the weather was so stormy that 
 they could not fish. The wind blew terribly night and 
 day ; the waves were like dancing hills. Hunger made 
 them fierce. One day the father told his boys to walk 
 along the shore and see if no fish had been cast on the 
 beach. 
 
 A young man went ; he went far along ; and as 
 he went the wind was ever worse ; it blew so fiercely 
 
360 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 that lie could hardly stand. It seemed to come from 
 a point of land. He resolved to pass it, and when 
 there he saw the cause of the tempest. Upon a 
 kwesopskeak' — a high and rocky ledge, a bold cliff, 
 but surrounded by the water — sat the Wind-Bird, 
 or storm-sagamore himself, flapping his wings, and 
 thereby raising all the wind. 
 
 Then the young man, who was brave and wise, re- 
 solved to outwit the wind-god. And approaching 
 him and addressing him as ]\ T ikskamich, " My grand- 
 father," he inquired, " are you cold ! " And he 
 answered, "Nay;" but the young man insisted that 
 he must be suffering, and offered to carry him on his 
 back to the main-land. 1 And the offer being accepted, 
 he carried the mighty bird from one weedy, slippery 
 rock to another, up and down, jumping anon, and 
 wading through the pools. But at the last rock he, 
 with full intention, stumbled and fell as if by accident, 
 yet managed it so well as to break one of the wings of 
 the eagle, as he indeed meant to do. Yet he made 
 great show of being very sorry, and, having set the 
 wing, bade the bird keep quiet, and not move his 
 wings for many days ; not till the wound was healed 
 should he stir them. " Sit still, Nihshamich" he 
 said, " and I will bring you food ; I will be attentive ; 
 you shall want nothing." And the god sat still: 
 there was a calm on the water ; no leaves moved in 
 the forest ; there was no wind in all the world. 
 
 1 It would appear that while the bird flapped his wings he did 
 not fly. I believe this was the same with the Norse Hrosvelgar. 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 361 
 
 The young man went home ; there was not a breeze, 
 the canoe went smoothly over the sea, the eels could 
 be seen in the depths, the Indians caught fish by 
 thousands ; never before had they caught so many. 
 And the sagamore of the birds sat still ; the Wind- 
 Bird waited to get well ; the young man fed him every 
 day. 
 
 There can be too much of what is good ; good turns 
 to evil, sweet to sour. After many days of quiet calm 
 the sea was covered with Ogokpegeak, a scum which 
 is caused by sickness among the fish, and which is 
 thrown off by them, for they suffer in still water. 
 Then the fisherman can no longer look down into the 
 sea ; then he cannot use the spear. 
 
 Then the young man, examining the wing of the 
 storm-bird, said, " Grandfather, it is much better ; 
 move it but a little now, that I may see ! " So he 
 moved it ; he gave a flap, and lo ! a slight ripple passed 
 over the surface of the sleeping sea. And striking 
 lightly with his wings, again there came a breeze, and 
 the Ogohpegeak, or the scum, was blown away, and 
 the Indians fished again, and all was well. 
 
 So they had the Wind-Bird for a friend, and the sea 
 was smooth or stormy as they willed. But these Indians 
 wished for more than they could manage. They grew 
 tired of catching small fish ; they wanted whales. " Let 
 us go and catch the Bootup ! " said the elder brother. 
 " How will you take him ? " asked the younger. " I will 
 entice him with the peejioogwokan" said the elder, 
 " with my pipe." So he sat by the sea ; he played on 
 
362 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 the pipe; lie played, but no whale came. So they 
 went back to their small fishery. 
 
 This is manifestly the beginning and end of a very 
 ancient Indian mythical tale. The Micmacs have 
 tacked on to it a ridiculous fragment of an indifferent 
 French nursery tale, without an end and without any 
 connection with the Indian beginning. The tradition 
 is probably entirely Eskimo. Among the Greenlanders 
 there is a caste of whale-fishers, separate and apart, 
 and this story, in its second stage, was applied to teach, 
 JVe sutor ultra crepidam, — that all should stick to 
 their trades, and that though a sorcerer might rule 
 the winds it did not follow that he could win the 
 whales. 
 
 I have spoken before of the curious identity of the 
 Indian storm-king, or Wind-Bird, with that of the 
 Norse Hrosvelgar. When among the Chippewas, 
 west of Lake Superior, I met with a white man who 
 had received the name of Thunder -Bird from the 
 Indians still further west. 
 
 The magicians of all countries, be they of Africa, 
 Asia, or North America, are invariably represented 
 by travelers as holding their flock in subjection, and 
 never being doubted as to power or skill. But there 
 are skeptics or Agnostics among the men of the woods 
 as well as among those of civilized cities. There are 
 shrewd fellows who cannot only detect impostors, but 
 turn their tricks to their own advantage. An amus- 
 ing illustration of this is given in the following story : 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 363 
 
 Fish-Hawk and Scapef/7'ace. 1 
 (Micmac.) 
 
 Two men met and talked : one was Fish-Hawk, the 
 other was Scapegrace. Now the Fish-Hawk can fly 
 higher than any other ocean bird, and he is proud 
 and particular as to his food ; he is only beaten by the 
 eagle. When he dives and takes a fish the eagle 
 pursues him ; he lets it drop ; the great sagamore of 
 the birds catches it ; but to less than the chief he 
 yields nothing. But the Scapegrace will eat any- 
 thing ; he is heavy in flying ; he is slow and of low 
 degree. 
 
 So when the Scapegrace proposed to the Fish- 
 Hawk that they should become partners the proud 
 bird was angry in his heart, but said nothing, as he 
 was crafty, and as it occurred to him that he could 
 punish the other ; and this he was the more willing 
 to do because the Scapegrace actually proposed to fly 
 a race with him ! So he said, " Let us go together 
 to a certain Indian village." And they went off to- 
 gether. 
 
 The Fish-Hawk arrived there far before the other. 
 And on arriving he said, " Beware of him who will 
 come after me. You will know him by these signs : 
 he is ugly and heavy ; he will bring with him his own 
 food. It is coarse and common ; in fact it is poison. 
 He wishes to kill you ; he will offer it. Do not eat of 
 it, or you will die." 
 
 1 Wiskumagwasoo and Mahgwis. The Mahgwis, or " Scape- 
 grace," is a kind of sea-gull. 
 
364 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 Then having been very well entertained himself, he 
 took his departure. Scapegrace soon appeared, but 
 was treated with great reserve. He offered his food, 
 and the people pretended to eat it, but took good care 
 to quietly throw it away. Then he told the chief that 
 he was seeking a wife, and asked if there were girls 
 to marry in the town. To which the chief replied, 
 " Yes, there is a mother with several daughters, of the 
 Amalchoogwech? or Raccoon tribe." 
 
 He went to see the girls. A bad name had gone 
 before him. One of them stood before the lodge. She 
 saw him, and cried, "Mahgwis wechooveet ! " "Scape- 
 grace is coming ! " They received him as if he had 
 been Sickness. He was welcomed like filth on fine 
 clothes. They cried out, " Ulummeye ! " " Go home ! " 
 He asked the mother if she had daughters. She an- 
 swered, " Yes." He asked her if she would give him 
 one. She replied, " I will not." So he went his way. 
 
 Now when he had gone Fish-Hawk came again, and 
 asked if Scapegrace had been there. He inquired 
 if all had passed as he predicted. They said it had. 
 Then it occurred to him to pass himself off for a great 
 prophet, a wise magician, well knowing that he could 
 make much of it. So he said, " It is well. Remember 
 that you would have all died but for my foresight. 
 That wizard would have poisoned you all. But have 
 no fear. In future I will watch over you." 
 
 Then he said to a man of the people that if at any 
 time he should see a large bird flying over the village 
 it would be an omen of great coming danger. " Then," 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 365 
 
 he said, " think of me ; call on me, and I will come." 
 So he departed. 
 
 The man thought it all over for a long time. He 
 was shrewd and wise. " He foretold the coming; of 
 Scapegrace," he reflected. " Now he pretends to be a 
 very great sorcerer. We shall see ! " 
 
 Sure enough, in a few days he saw a bird flying 
 on high. "That," said he, "must be the Wis-kuma- 
 gwasoo." He called him, and he came. " You spoke," 
 he said, " of danger to our town. What is it ? " 
 
 " There is great danger. In a few days your town 
 will be attacked by a Kookwes. 1 Unless you save 
 yourselves you will all be devoured." 
 
 " What shall we do to be saved ? " asked the man. 
 " When will he come ? " 
 
 " In seven days," replied the Fish-Hawk. " Before 
 that time you must take to your canoes and flee afar. 
 You may get beyond his reach, but you cannot before 
 that time get beyond the horrible roar of his voice. 
 And all who hear it will drop dead." 
 
 " How can we escape this second danger ? " asked 
 the man. 
 
 " You must all close your ears, so that you can hear 
 nothing. When the time is over you may return." 
 
 The man's name was Oscoon. 2 He led the people 
 away. He closed their ears ; he did not close his own. 
 Once he heard a far-away whoop. It was not very 
 
 1 In Passamaquoddy Kewahqu', a cannibal giant, who is also a 
 sorcerer. 
 
 2 Oscoon (M.) : the Liver. 
 
366 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 terrible. But he said nothing. After a time, the 
 scouts who were sent out returned. They reported 
 that the Kookwes had departed. They had not even 
 seen him. It was a great escape. 
 
 The people thought much of Oscoon. They made 
 him their chief. In a few days the Fish-Hawk re- 
 turned. He spoke to Oscoon : " Did the giant come ? " 
 " He did." " You escaped ? " " By following your 
 advice, we did." "And in which direction did he 
 go ? " x " Surely you, who know so much about him, 
 must know that better than we do." Then the Fish- 
 Hawk saw that he was foimd out. He flew away, and 
 never returned to the town to play the prophet. 
 
 He who would cheat must watch his words well. 
 
 As in the preceding tradition, there has been tacked 
 to this a fragment of a very poor French tale about a 
 king, a great city, a royal carriage, and the forest of 
 wild beasts, borrowed from so many old European ro- 
 mances. But what is here given is apparently really 
 Indian, and it shows with spirit and humor how men 
 tricked one another, and rose in life by trickery, in the 
 days of old. 
 
 There are naturally contradictory opinions on such 
 
 1 Here the Fish-Hawk inadvertently betrays himself. In the 
 Edda, Loki changes himself into a falcon and flies to Jotunheim 
 to make mischief, as usual. Odin also changes himself to a hawk 
 or eagle when he is chased by the giant Suttung. There is a 
 strong Norse color to all this tale. The Fish-Hawk is very Loki- 
 like and tricky. 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 367 
 
 a subject as to what constitutes the morality of magic. 
 The old Shaman or Manitou regarded witchcraft as 
 wicked. The Roman Catholic has taught the Indian 
 that all sorceries and spells except his own are of the 
 devil. Hence it came that I got from two Passama- 
 quoddy Indians, next - door neighbors, the following 
 opinions : — 
 
 Tomah. — " There was once a man who hated an- 
 other. So he prayed until he became a snake," etc. 
 
 Another Indian. — "If a man wanted to be ?nH6- 
 oulin he must go without food, or sleep, or saying his 
 prayers, for seven days. Yes, that certainly. He must 
 go far into the woods. He must go again when his 
 power was used up." 
 
 The faith in and fondness for magic were so great 
 among the Algonquins that there is not one even of 
 their most serious histories into which it has not been 
 introduced. The Passamaquoddies will narrate an in- 
 cident of their wars with the Mohawks. The first time 
 it will all be probable enough ; but hear it again, when 
 the story-teller has become more trustful, and some of 
 the actors in it or the scene will be sure to end like a 
 Christmas pantomime in fairy-land. With them m'te'- 
 oulin covered everything ; it entered into every detail 
 of life. I do not think that it was so deeply felt 
 even by the ancient Babylonians or the modern Arabs 
 and Hindoos as by our red men. It is no wonder 
 they prefer the Catholic religion to the Protestant. 
 
 There is a Micmac legend which is so magical and 
 mystical, so inspired with Eskimo Shamanism, that it 
 
868 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 would not be remarkable if it had been originally a 
 sacred song. This is 
 
 The Giant Magicians. 
 
 There was once a man and his wife who lived by 
 the sea, far away from other people. They had many 
 children, and they were very poor. One day this 
 couple were in their canoe, far from land. There 
 came up a dense fog ; they were quite lost. 
 
 They heard a noise as of paddles and voices. It 
 drew nearer. They saw dimly a monstrous canoe 
 filled with giants, who greeted the little folk like 
 friends. " Uch keen, tahmee icejeaok f " " My little 
 brother," said the leader, " where are you going ? " 
 "I am lost in the fog," said the poor Indian, very 
 sadly. "All, come with us to our camp," said the 
 giant, who seemed to be a good fellow, if there ever 
 was one. " Truly, ye will be well treated, my small 
 friends, for my father is the chief ; so be of good 
 cheer ! " And they, being much amazed at this gen- 
 tleness, sat still in awe, while two of the giants, each 
 putting a tip of his paddle under their bark, lifted it 
 up and put it into their own, as if it had been a chip. 
 And truly the giants seemed to be as much pleased 
 with the little folk as a boy would be who had found 
 a flying squirrel. 1 
 
 1 A story like this of giants in a canoe would very naturally 
 originate about the Bay of Fundy, where, in the dense and fre- 
 quent fogs, all objects assume greatly exaggerated apparent di- 
 mensions. One often beholds there, on the shore, " men as trees 
 walking." 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 369 
 
 And as they drew near the beach, lo ! they beheld 
 three wigwams, high as mountains, in size according 
 to that of the giants. And coming to meet them was 
 the chief, who was taller than the rest. 
 
 " Ha ! " he cried. " Son, what have you there ? 
 Where did you pick up that little brother ? " " Noo, 
 my father, I found him lost in the fog." "Well, 
 bring him home to the lodge, my son ! " So the 
 giant took the small canoe in the palm of his hand, 
 the man and his wife sitting therein, and carried them 
 home. Then they were taken into the wigwam, and 
 the canoe was laid carefully in the eaves, but within 
 easy reach, about a hundred and fifty yards from the 
 ground. 
 
 Then an abundant meal was set before them, but 
 the benevolent host, mindful of their small size, did 
 not give them more to eat than they would have needed 
 for about ten years to come, and informed them in a 
 subdued whisper, which could hardly have been heard 
 a hundred miles off, that his name was Oscoon. 1 
 
 Now it came to pass, a few days after, that a com- 
 pany of these well-grown people went hunting, and 
 when they returned the guests must needs pity them 
 that they had no game in their land which answered 
 to their size ; for they came in with strings of such 
 small affairs as two or three dozen caribou hanging 
 in their belts, as a Micmac would carry a string of 
 
 1 Mr. Rand suggests that this may indicate the dark color of 
 his tribe. Eskimo legends speak of people among them who 
 wefe black. 
 
 24 
 
370 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 squirrels, and swinging one or two moose in their 
 bands like rabbits. Yet, what with these and many- 
 deer, bears, and beavers, they made up in the weight 
 of their game what it lacked in size, and of what they 
 had they were generous. 
 
 Now the giants became very fond of the small folk, 
 and would not for the world that they should in any 
 way come to harm. And it came to pass that one 
 morning the chief told them that they were to have a 
 grand battle, since they expected in three days to be 
 attacked by a Chenoo. Therefore the Micmac saw 
 that in all things it was even with the giants as with 
 his own people at home, they having their troubles 
 with the wicked, and the chiefs their share in being 
 obliged to keep up their magic and know all that was 
 going on in the world. Yea, for he would be a poor 
 poiowow and a necromancer worth nothing who coidd 
 not foretell such a trifle as the day and hour when an 
 enemy would be on them ! 
 
 But this time the Sakumow (M.), or sagamore, was 
 forewarned, and bade his little guests stop their ears 
 and bind up their heads, and roll themselves in many 
 folds of dressed skins, lest they should hear the deadly 
 war-scream of the Chenoo. And with all their care 
 they hardly survived it ; but the second scream hurt 
 them less ; and after the third the chief came to them 
 with a cheerful countenance, and bade them arise and 
 unpack themselves, for the monster was slain, and 
 though his four sons, with two other giants, had been 
 sorely tried, yet they had conquered. 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 371 
 
 But the sorrows of the good are never at an end, 
 and so it was with these honest giants, who were al- 
 ways being pestered with some kind of scurvy knaves 
 or others who would not leave them in peace. For 
 anon the chief announced that this time a Kookwes 
 — a burly, beastly villain, not two points better than 
 his cousin the Chenoo — was coming to play at rough 
 murder with them. And, verily, by this time the 
 Micmac began to believe, without bating an ace on it, 
 that all of these tall people were like the wolves, who, 
 meeting with nobody else, bite one another. So they 
 were bound and bundled up as before, and put to bed 
 like dolls. And again they heard the horrible shout, 
 the moderate shout, and the smaller shout, until sooel 
 moonoodooahdigool, which, being interpreted, mean- 
 eth that they hardly heard him at all. 
 
 Then the warriors, returning, gave proof that they 
 had indeed done something more than kick the wind, 
 for they were covered with blood, and their legs were 
 stuck full of large pines, with here and there an oak 
 or hemlock, for the fight had been in a forest; so 
 that they had been as much troubled as men would be 
 with thistles, nettles, and pine splinters, which is truly 
 often a great trouble. But this was their least trial, 
 for, as they told their chief, the enemy had well-nigh 
 made Jack Drum's entertainment for them, and led 
 them the devil's dance, had not one of them, by good 
 luck, opened his eye for him with a rock which drove 
 it into his brain. And as it was, the chief's youngest 
 son had been so mauled that, coming home, he fell 
 
372 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 dead just before his father's door. Truly this might 
 have been deemed almost an accident in some families ; 
 but lo ! what a good thing it is to have an enchanter 
 in the house, especially one who knows his business, 
 as did the old chief, who, going out, asked the young 
 man why he was lying there. To which he replying 
 that it was because he was dead, his father bade him 
 rise and walk, which he did straight to the supper 
 table, and ate none the less for it. 
 
 Now the old chief, thinking that perhaps his dear 
 little people found life dull and devoid of incident with 
 him, asked them if they were aweary of him. They, 
 with golden truth indeed, answered that they had 
 never been so merry, but that they were anxious as to 
 their children at home. He answered that they were 
 indeed right, and that the next morning they might 
 depart. So their canoe was reached down for them, 
 and packed full of the finest furs and best meat, when 
 they were told to tebaK-dihw\ or get in. Then a 
 small dog was put in, and this dog was solemnly 
 charged that he should take the people home, while 
 the people were told to paddle in the direction in 
 which the dog should point. 1 And to the Micmac he 
 said, " Seven years hence you will be reminded of 
 me." And then tokooboosijik (off they went). 
 
 1 Strange as it may seem, there is not the least exaggeration 
 in this. Lieutenant-Colonel Barclay Kennan told me that when 
 surveying in the far North Pacific he had an Eskimo dog which, 
 in the thickest fog, would scent the land at a great distance, 
 and continually point to it. 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 373 
 
 The man sat in the stern, his wife in the prow, 
 and the dog in the middle of the canoe. The do«- 
 pointed, the Indian paddled, the water was smooth. 
 They soon reached home; the children with joy ran to 
 meet them; the dog as joyfully ran to see the chil- 
 dren, wagging his tail with great glee, just as if he 
 had been like any other dog, and not a fairy. For, 
 having made acquaintance, he without delay turned 
 tail and trotted off for home again, running over the 
 ocean surface as if it had been hard ice ; which might, 
 indeed, have once astonished the good man and his 
 wife, but they had of late days seen so many wonders 
 that they were past marveling. 
 
 Now this Indian, who had in the past been always 
 poor, seemed to have quite recovered from that com- 
 plaint. When he let down his lines the biggest fish 
 bit ; all his sprats were salmon ; he prayed for Gos- 
 lings, and got geese ; moose were as mice to him now ; 
 yea, he had the best in the land, with all the fatness 
 thereof. So seven years passed away, and then, as 
 he slept, there came unto him divers dreams, and in 
 them he went back to the Land of the Giants, and 
 saw all those who had been so kind to him. And yet 
 again he dreamed one night that he was standing by 
 his wigwam near the sea, and that a great whale swam 
 up to him and began to sing, and that the singing 
 was the sweetest he had ever heard. 
 
 Then he remembered that the giant had told him 
 he would think of him in seven years ; and it came 
 clearly before him what it all meant, and that he was 
 
374 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 erelong to have magical power given to him, and that 
 he should become a 3fegumoowessoo. This he told his 
 wife, who, not being learned in darksome lore, would 
 fain know more nearly what kind of a being he ex- 
 pected to be, and whether a spirit or a man, good or 
 bad ; which was, indeed, not easy to explain, nor is it 
 clearly set down in the chronicles beyond this, — that, 
 whatever it might be, it was all for the best, and that 
 there was a great deal of magic in it. 
 
 That day they saw a great shark cruising about in 
 their bay, chasing fish, and this they held for an evil 
 omen. But, soon after, there came trotting towards 
 them over the sea the same small dog who had been 
 their pilot from the Land of the Giants. So he, full 
 of joy, as before, at seeing them and the children, 
 wagged his tail and danced for glee, and then looked 
 earnestly at the man as if for some message. And to 
 him the man said, " It is well. In three years' time I 
 will make you a visit. I will look to the southwest." 
 Then the dog licked the hands and the ears and the 
 eyes of the man, and went home as before over the 
 sea, running on the water. 
 
 And when the three years had passed the Indian 
 entered his canoe, and, paddling without fear, found 
 his way to the Land of the Giants. He saw the wig- 
 wams standing on the beach ; the immense canoes were 
 drawn up on the water's edge ; from afar he beheld 
 the old giant coming down to welcome him. But he 
 was alone. And when he had been welcomed, and was 
 in the wigwam, he learned that all the sons were dead. 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 375 
 
 They had died three years before, when the shark, the 
 great sorcerer, had been seen. 
 
 They had gone, and the old man had but lingered a 
 little longer. They had made the magic change, they 
 had departed, and he would soon join them in his own 
 kingdom. But ere he went he would leave their 
 great inheritance, their magic, to the man. 
 
 Therewith the giant brought out his son's clothes, 
 and bade the Indian put them on. Truly this was as 
 if he had been asked to clothe himself with a great 
 house, since the smallest fold in them would have been 
 to him as a cavern. But he stepped in, and as he did 
 this he rose to great size ; he filled out the garments 
 till they fitted ; he was a giant, of Giant-Land. With 
 the clothes came the wisdom, the muteoulin, the mani- 
 tou power of the greatest and wisest of the olden 
 time. He was indeed Megumoowessoo, and had at- 
 tained to the Mystery. 
 
 This very remarkable and evidently ancient tale is 
 one of that kind which the keepers of tribe chronicles 
 among the pagan Indians do not tell to the world, 
 and which they conceal from white men. It is not a 
 fragment, nor is it unfinished, as some readers may 
 suppose. Its plot is of a much higher nature than a 
 novel, which ends in a marriage. To an Indian, whose, 
 ideas of earthly happiness were not in money, houses, 
 and lands, personal power was the one thing to be most 
 desired. As a Passamaquoddy said once to me, " To 
 be rich in those days meant to be a great hunter and 
 
376 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 always have plenty of meat for everybody." Hence 
 the desire to be great and strong, to be able to entice 
 wild animals, to run like the wind, to be crafty in all 
 things, especially in making war ; hence to have pro- 
 phetic dreams. All of this was to be attained by ni'te- 
 oulin, or magic. The highest ambition of an Indian 
 was to become a J\fegumoowessoo, a mystical being, 
 which is explained differently as fairy, faun, sylvan 
 deity, but which means one who enjoys all the high- 
 est privileges of humanity allied to the supernatural. 
 This is what the hero of this story gets by favor of 
 the giant. 
 
 It may be observed that in this tale the Indian 
 cannot explain to his w r ife what he nevertheless per- 
 fectly understands ; that is, the exact nature of a Me- 
 gumoowessoo. The giant, by speaking of his own 
 kingdom, gives the true key of the whole mystery. He 
 has attained magic power so far as one can exercise 
 it in this life. Like Glooskap he can be, or unlike 
 him prefers to be habitually, a giant. He has battled 
 with the Chenoo and Kookwess ; he has, like Hercules, 
 fulfilled his mission ; and now he departs for his own 
 realm, that of the Megumoowessoo, as Arthur went to 
 Fairy-Land, as Buddha to the unknown Nirvana, — 
 that is, to something beyond the conception of poet 
 or theosophist. 
 
 I suspect that the period of seven years, and again 
 of three years, had been employed by the Indian in 
 preparing himself by penance for m'tSoulin. The 
 respect of the Indians for the number seven is so 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 377 
 
 remarkable, that if it be true that Deus imparibus 
 numeris gaudet, they are in that respect, at least, like 
 deities. Whenever seven or a white bear's skin occurs 
 in these tales, there always lies hidden a magical mys- 
 tery. 
 
 It is not the least remarkable feature of this tale 
 that it abounds in that quiet small humor which re- 
 calls the adventures of Captain Lemuel Gulliver, 
 The Indian, like the Norseman, was such an implicit 
 believer in his own myths, and he had evolved them 
 so entirely from himself without borrowing, — since 
 we may regard him as one in this respect with the 
 Eskimo, — that no human characteristic detracted 
 from the dignity of the Manitou. 
 
 There is a strong suggestion in this story that the 
 giants were whales. This and the incident of their in- 
 habiting a mysterious country beyond the sea and the 
 fog would identify them with the enchanted land of 
 the Eskimo, visited by the Angakok in their trances, 
 and by others in kayaks. This country was named 
 Akilinek, " a fabulous land beyond the sea." The 
 whole story of Malaise, the man who traveled to 
 Akilinek, is in every detail extremely like an Indian 
 tale. (Rink, page 169.) It has also a Norse affinity. 
 The land of the giants was supposed by both Iceland- 
 ers and Indians to be in the North Atlantic. There 
 is a Norse tale of a man changed to a whale which 
 indicates a common origin with the one here given. 
 
 It is believed that the Wbt&oulin can, when speak- 
 ing, make themselves heard to whom they will, at any 
 
378 THE ALGONQUIN LEGENDS. 
 
 distance. They can confer with one another secretly 
 when miles away, or make themselves known to many. 
 I was informed by an Indian in all faith that an old 
 witch who died in 1876, twelve miles from Pleasant 
 Point, was heard to speak in the latter place when at 
 her last. A very intelligent Passamaqnoddy told me 
 that when Osalik (Sarah) Hequin died he himself 
 heard all she said, though sixty-five miles distant. I 
 am certain that he firmly believed this. ^This woman 
 died a strange death, for she was found standing up, 
 dead, in the snow, with her arms extended and 
 " hands sticking out." It is generally believed that 
 she was killed by other mHeoulin. 
 
 There are really very few ideas in modern mesmer- 
 ism hot known to Eskimo or Indian Shamans. Clair- 
 voyance is called by the Passamaquoddies Meelah bi 
 give he. 
 
 GLINT-WAH-GNOUR PES SAUSMOK. 
 
 N'loan pes-saus, mok glint ont-aven 
 
 Glint ont-aven, nosh mor-gun 
 
 N'loan sep-seess syne-duc 
 
 Mach-ak wah le-de-born harlo kirk 
 
 Pes-sauk-wa morgun pa-zazen. 
 
 Dout-tu cowall, yu' eke ne-mess comall 
 
 Dow-dar bowsee des ge-che-ne-wes skump, 
 
 Na-havak dunko to-awk w'che-mon wh'oak 
 
 No-saw yu-well Mooen nill 
 
 Mask da-ah gawank la me la-tak-a-dea-on 
 
TALES OF MAGIC. 379 
 
 Di-wa godamr Kudunk-ah dea-on 
 Glor-ba dea-on glom-de-nec 
 Gliiit-wah-gnour pes sausmok. 
 
 THE SONG OF THE STARS. 
 
 We are the stars which sing, 
 We sing with our light ; 
 We are the birds of fire, 
 We fly over the sky. 
 Our light is a voice ; 
 We make a road for spirits, 
 For the spirits to pass over. 
 Among us are three hunters 
 Who chase a bear ; 
 There never was a time 
 When they were not hunting. 
 We look down on the mountains. 
 This is the Song of the Stars. 
 
 " Ahboohe b'lo maryna Piel to-marcess " 
 We poual gee yuaa 
 Mar-yuon corded delo son 
 Ne morn-en nute magk med-agon 
 On-e-est Molly duse-al ca-soo-son nen. 
 
 Tumbling end over end, goes Piel to mercess, 
 
 With feathers on his eyes. 
 
 To the maple -sap ridge we are going, 
 
 Our lunch a cod-fish skin ; 
 
 One est Molly's daughter goes with us. 
 
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