58 



KNOAVLEDGE 



[Dec. 1, 1885. 



playing beside a lodge ? Observe that beautiful and 

 active boj," said lie, at the same time darting something 

 at him from his hand. Immediately the child fell, and 

 was carried to the lodge amid wailing and Ir.mentation. 

 The she-she-a:wun of the meeta sans a sons' in behalf of 

 the child, asking that its life might be spared. "Send 

 me up a white dog," answered the companion of 0-no- 

 wut-a-qut-o, and a white dog was killed and roasted. 

 Part of it was divided among the {seople, and part of the 

 ror.sted animal was sent up to the sky bj' the master of 

 the feast, who said, " We send this to thee, great Mauito." 

 After the two wanderers had eaten their dinner, they 

 returned to the lodge b}' another path. 



Soon, 0-no-wut-a-qut-o became tired of this easy life, 

 and longed to return to the friends he had left behind. 

 With much reluctance his wife allowed him to return, 

 saying, " Since you are better pleased with the cares and 

 the ills and the poverty of the world, than with the 

 fieaceful delights of the sky, and its boundless prairies, 

 go ! I give you permission, and since I have brought you 

 hither, I will conduct you back ; but, remember, you are 

 still my husband. I hold a chain in my hand, by which I 

 can draw you back whenever I will. My power over you 

 is not in any way diminished. Beware, therefore, how you 

 venture to take a wife among the people below. Should 

 you ever do so, you shall feel the force of my displeasure." 



As she said this, her eyes sparkled, she raised herself 

 on her toes, and stretched herself up with a majestic air; 

 and at this moment, 0-no-wut-a-qut-o awoke from his 

 dream. He did not heed the words of his spouse, and 

 married a beautiful young woman, who died four days 

 after. He married again, but this time he disappeared, 

 and it is supposed that his sun-wife had called him back 

 to her home in the clouds.* 



There are mnny quaint Indian stories about the 

 moon, who was supposed to be the Goddess of Night, 

 Water, Darkness, Rest, Death, and sometimes of Sleep. 

 Among the Hurons the word for the moon is derived 

 from the word for water, and in Aztec theology the. words 

 for moon and water are often confused. In the same 

 way the words for sun and fire are alike in some of the 

 American languages. In Peru the festival of the God of 

 Water was held at full moon, and in Mexico the crops 

 were regulated by its different phases. 



The Brazilian mother carefully guards her child from 

 the moonlight, believing that the rays of the moon will 

 produce sickness, f The moon is supposed to produce 

 dampness, which causes so much sickness and death ; it 

 throws parts of the earth into deep shadow, wherein may 

 lurk a hidden foe ; and the cold light of the moon is 

 regardetl as in opposition to the warming rays of the 

 sun, which bring brightness and comfort to all on earth. 

 We cm understand, then, that to the wild Indian the 

 moon should be as an evil spirit, all its effects being 

 regarded as harmful. She is supposed to send dreams 

 btjth good and bad, and can please or torment at ple.i- 

 surc'. Of this the story of 0-no-wnt-a-qut-o is an 

 iu=,tauce, the moon herself taking part in the di'eam. 



The Algonquins believe that the moon is a female 

 spirit, wife of the great Manito, whose heart is the sun ; 

 whilst the Ojibwas believe that she is the sister of the 

 sun. The Algonquins believe that the moon brought 

 death and disease on earth, and she is supposed to kill 

 men, making them die a wretched death. J 



* Schoolcraft. " Hiawatha Legends," p. 228. 



t Brinton's " Myths of the New World," p. 140. 



i In Egypt it was supposed that Isis, the goddess of moisture 

 (^Isis being also the name of the moon), caused all sickness, and 

 sacrifices were offered to her in propitiation. 



The Aztecs believe that when the sun first disappeared 

 in the west, and the whole earth was left in darkness, a 

 victim had to be offered up for his return. A leper was 

 chosen, named NanahuatI, and he was burnt on the 

 funeral pyre. Metzli followed his example, and as she 

 disxppeared in the flames the sun rose in the cast. Metzli 

 is, no doubt, the aurora or morning light, in whose glory, 

 as it gilds the east, the moon wanes. 



It was supposed that dogs were in some way related to 

 the moon, because they were observed to bay at her. 

 The practice has cost them some pains and penalties.* 

 It is the custom among many races, such as the Peru- 

 vians, Tupis, Creeks, Iroquois, Algonquins, and the 

 Eskimos, to beat dogs during an eclipse.f These races 

 imagine that the eclipse is caused b}- a great sun- 

 swallowing dog, and they imagine th.it he will stop on 

 hearing the howls and cries of the dogs on earth. This 

 sun-swallowing dog is the Goddess of Night, who tries 

 to darken the world during the day. " The ancient 

 Romans sacrificed dogs to Hecate and Diana ; in Egypt 

 they were sacred to Isis. Thus as traditionallj- connected 

 with night and its terrors, the Prince of Darkness, in the 

 superstition of the Middle Ages, preferably appeared 

 under the form of a cur, as that famous dog which 

 accompanied Cornelius Agrippa, or that which grew to 

 such enormous size behind the stove of Dr. Faustus." 



The dog is supposed by the Shoshones to be their 

 ancestor, and the Nahuas hold the animal in such high 

 honour that it has a temple of its own, a congregation of 

 priests devoted to its service, statues carved in stone, and 

 an elaborate tomb at death. The dog is said to be repre- 

 sented by the god Chantico, whose audacity c.iused the 

 destruction of the woidd. In fact, we see that the dog 

 holds a very important position in the legendary lore and 

 supei'.stitions of the Indians. 



It is natural that eclipses should cause much wonder 

 and surmise among the savages of America. Even in 

 European countries the custom still exists of making f, 

 great noise and beating kettles and drums during an 

 eclipse. The idea is, as among the Hui-ons, that the 

 moon is sick, and that the iioise will help her to recover. 



As the North Americans imagine that the eclipsed sun 

 is swallowed by a great dog, so the Chiquitos of South 

 America believe that the eclipsed moon has been hunted 

 by wild dogs, " who have caught and torn her till her 

 light is reddened and dimmed by the blood flowing from 

 her wounds. So they raise frightful howls and lamenta- 

 tions, shoot arrows into the sky, and seek in every way 

 to drive the monsters oft'." J 



The Caribs imagine that the sun and moon are being 

 devoured by Maboya, the hater of light, whilst in the 

 Tupi language a solar eclipse is described by the words, 

 ".laguar has eaten .sun," and the tribes send burning 

 arrows to drive the beast away from his prey. 



It is strange that so little reference is made in Indian 

 folk-lore to the comet, which is of all heavenly bodies 

 the most awe-inspiring. Longfellow refers to Ishkoodah, 

 the comet, in "Hiawatha," two or three times, but 

 merely says : — 



Many things Nokomis taught him 

 Of the stars that shine in heaven ; 

 Showed him Ishkoodah, the comet, 

 Islikoodah, with fiery tresses. 



And again he says : — 



He, the Master of Life, descending, 



Gleamed like Ishkoodah, the comet. 



* Brinton's " .Myths of the New 'World," p. 143. 

 t "American Antiquities," p. 333 (Bradford's). 

 t Tylor's " Primitive Culture," Vol. I., p. 329. 



