22 



♦ KNOWLEDGE 



[Not. 1, 1885. 



INDIAN MYTHS. 



Bi " Stella Occidens." 



Should you ask me, whence these stories — 

 Wlience these legends and traditions ? 

 ***** * 



I should answer, I should tell you, 

 From the forests and tlie prairies, 

 From the great lakes of tlie Northland, 

 From the land of the Ojibways, 

 From the land of the Dacotahs. 



I repeat them as I heard tliem. — Longfellow. 



URING the long, cold, -winter uights, the 

 Indians gather rotind the cnmp-fire, and 

 relate the wonderful tales and myths of 

 their country. Under the great pines, in 

 an evei'-green forest I'f the Rocky Moun- 

 tain region, by the blazing light of the 

 camp-fire, and surrounded lay tlie darkness 

 of night, stands an old man, telling in simple language 

 the story of Ta-wats, the hare-god, and his encounter 

 ■with Ta-vi, the sun-god. The Indians are great actors, 

 and tell more by action than by words. The elders listen 

 with reverence, whilst the j-ounger members are often so 

 excited as to dance with delight, or shiver with fear, 

 according to the influence of the orator and his story. 



The old man tells them how in long past times the sun 

 god Tii-vi was free to roam about the world at pleasure, 

 scorching people when he came too near, and leavino- 

 them shivering with cold when he hid away in his cave. 

 One day Ta-wats, the hare-god, was sitting round the 

 camp-fire, out in the woods, with his family gathered 

 round him, waiting for the sun-god to come oitt of his 

 cave and warm them. At last they grew tired of waiting, 

 and fell asleep. The sun-god then approached the hare- 

 god and his familj^ so near that he scorched Ta-wats' 

 shoulder. Then Ta-vi ran av.-.'A' and hid himself, for he 

 was afraid that the hare-god woitld be angry. When the 

 latter woke u|i, and found how badly the sun-god had 

 treated him, he was very angry, and determined to be 

 revenged. He travelled for days and days, meeting with 

 many adventures, and overcoming many obstacles. At 

 last he arrived at the brink of the world, and here he 

 waited patiently tmtil he should see the sitn-god. Pre- 

 sently the latter, thinking his enemy had gone, peeped 

 out, and the hare-god shot an arrow in his face, but the 

 rays of the sun burnt the arrow before it reached him. 

 Ta-wats shot again and again without efiect, until at last 

 he sent a magical arrow, which never ffiled to reach its 

 mark. This struck Ta-vi full in the face, and the sun 

 fell to pieces, setting the whole earth on fire. The hare- 

 god fled, but as he fled the burning earth scorched his 

 feet, his legs, his body, until at last only his head was 

 left. ^ This went rolling along, bumping over rock and 

 crevice, across mountains and valleys, throtigh deep 

 ravines and abysses. Finally the eyes of the hare-o-od 

 burst, and tears gushed forth in such a flood that it 

 quenched the fire. The sun-god was conquered, and he 

 was summoned to appear before a council to await 

 sentence. The judges condemned him to travel across 

 the sky day after day, on the same path, and he was only 

 to appear at certain times. The days, nights, months and 

 seasons were also regulated by this council. 



The Algonquin race have" the beautiful myth of the 

 Red Swan, somewhat similar to the above. They 

 believe that the hunter Ojibwa, whilst skinning a bear, 

 noticed that the sky gradually became tinged with a 

 bright red light. He saw a beautiful red swan with 

 brilliant plumage flying across a lake, and tried in vain 



to shoot it, his arrows proving useless. He then tried 

 three magic arrows, only succeeding, however, in striking 

 the swan with the third. The wounded bird flew off, 

 feebly flapping its wings, until it sank at last under the 

 water. Ojibwa pursued the red swan westward, and 

 discovered that she was the daughter of an old magician. 

 The old man had lost his scalp, which Ojibwa found for 

 him, and put back on his head. The magician then 

 gave his beaut ifitl daughter, the Red Swan, to Ojibwa, 

 as a bride, and they returned to the earth together. In 

 Longfellow's " Hiawatha,'' this myth is referred to by 

 lagoo, the marvellous story-teller, at Hiawatha's wedding, 

 when he relates the story of "The Son of the Evening 

 Star " :— 



Can it be the sun descending 

 O'er the level plain of water ' 

 Or the Red Swan floating, flying, 

 Wounded by the magic arrow ? 

 Staining all the waves with crimson, 

 Witli tlie crimson of its life-blood. 

 Filling all tlie air witli splendour, 

 "With the splendour of its plumage ? 



Shortly after the Sun had been connemned to travel 

 across the sky, another council was held to elect a Moon 

 which was to shine during the night. Whippoorwill, 

 God of the Night, was chosen to preside at this council. 

 After a long debate, a frog offered himself as a willing 

 sacrifice, and was chosen. Various magical incantations 

 and ceremonies were used, and he was changed- into the 

 new Moon. Naturally the Moon gives no heat, being 

 made out of the cold body of a frog. 



The Dahkotah Indians believe that the Moon is made 

 of something good to eat— as good, probably, as green 

 cheese. When the Moon is ftrll, a great number of small 

 mice commence nibbling until they have eaten it all up. 

 A new Moon then begins to grow tmtil it is full, when 

 it is in ttirn devoured.* 



The Dahkotahs count their months by the iloon, as 

 follows : — 



1. Witeri, Jiinuary ; the hard Moon. 



2. Wicata -wi, Fctruarij ; the racoon JIooiL 



'■'•. Istawicayazan-wi, March ; the sore-eye Moon. 



4. JIagaokadi-wi, April ; the JMoon in which tlie geese lay eggs: 

 also called Wokada-wi ; and sometimes Watopapi-wi, the 

 Moon when the streams are again navigable. 



~i. Wojupi-wi, May ; the planting Moon. 



Ti. Wajustecasa-wi, June ; the Moon when strawberries are red. 



7. C'anpa-sapa-wi, Juh/ ; the Moon when choke-cherries are ripe. 



8. WAi\\tow-\ii, August ; the harvest Jloon. 



9. Psinhnaketu-wi, Sfjiiemler ; the Moon when rice is laid up to 



dry. 



10. Wi-wajupi, Octolxr ; the dryiug rice Moon. 



11. Takiyura-wi, Xnmnher ; the deer-rutting Moon. 



12. Taliecapsim-wi, Sccemhcr ; the Jloon wlien the deer slied their 



horns. 



The Indians have many myths concerning Day and 

 Night. Schoolcraft, in his " Algic Researches," de- 

 scribes the Huron natlire-myth concerning Day and 

 Night : — "Iosco," says Tylor, ''seems to be los- 

 keha, the White One, whose contest with his brother 

 Tawiscara, the Dark One, is an early and most 

 genuine Huron nature -myth of Day and Night. 

 Iosco and his friend travel for years eastward and 

 eastward to reach the sun, and come at last to the 

 dwelling of Manabozho, near the edge of the world ; and 

 then, a little beyond, to the chasm to be passed on the 

 ■way to the land of the Sun and the Moon. They begin 

 to hear the sound of the beating sky, and it seems near 

 at hand ; but they have far to travel before they reach 

 the place. When the sky came down its jiressure would 



* Neill's " History of Minnesota." 



