122 



♦ KNOWLEDGE 



[Feb. 1, 1886. 



tlieir sleep after one of their great feasts (especially 

 the dog-feast) miist be somewhat disturbed by horrible 

 nightmares. On these oceasions sorcerers, and all the 

 friends of the man, are called around to account for 

 the dream.* 



No doubt this was done with regard to the myth 

 already related, for we see that the chief really believed 

 that ho had travelled along the "Path of spirits" (the 

 ililkj- Way) and had entered the happy hunting-ground 

 of the Indian — viz., the sun. They believe that it is the 

 " land of happy souls, the realm of the blessed, the scene 

 of the joyous hunting-grounds of the hereafter."t 



It is interesting to trace the chief's path, and see how 

 it can be explained. The chief at first describes the path 

 (the Milky Way) as leading him through a shady grove 

 (the shades of night). The elevated ridge is the dusky 

 line or bank of clouds above the northern horizon, from 

 which the first rays of the Aurora horealis (the old man) 

 are seen. The old man is described as having white hair, 

 eyes of fiery brightness, and around his shoulders a robe 

 of .skins. The streams of auroral light, which sometimes 

 .assume a wavy appearance, suggest the idea of the old 

 man's hair, the flashing of the aurora corresponds with 

 the brightness of his eyes, and the robe of skins repre- 

 sents the auroral glare. J The old man bids the chief rest 

 awhile, and gives him the following directions. " See 

 yonder gulf (the twilight between Night and Day) and 

 the wide-stretching blue plains beyond (the blue Sky). 

 It leads to the land of souls (the Sun). You stand upon 

 its borders (first dawn of light), and my lodge is the gate 

 of entrance. But you cannot take your body along.'' This 

 corresponds with the belief among the North American 

 Indians that the souls of the departed either assume the form 

 of .stars or birds. They know that when any one dreams of 

 going on a long journey, the body remains in the same 

 place, so they imagine it must be their soul that travels. 

 In the same way at death they suppose that the body is 

 really dead, but the soul assumes the appearance of a 

 bird, and, flying upwards, disappears apparently in the 

 sky. For this reason birds are classed among the deities, 

 in some of the tribes, such as the Creeks and the 

 Natchez ; " § and, " as the as.sociate of the god of light 

 and air, the Aztecs reverence a bird called quet^nl, a 

 sjiecies of parroquet." Neither the Hurons nor Mandans 

 would kill the dove, for they believe that doves were 

 inhabited by the souls of the departed. || By some other 

 tribes, the dove is supposed to be the keeper of the souls 

 of the dead. It is very natural that birds should be 

 considered inhabitants of another world.^ As they fly 

 upwards they appear to vnnish in the sky ; they wander 

 about freely ; they are always singing, showing the 

 happiness of the blessed .spirits, and their plumag-e 

 (which is especially gorgeous among some of the 

 American birds) is a fit apparel for the inhabitants of the 

 regions of the sun. The fact of a bird flying over water 



* A whole tribe of Australians have been known to decamp 

 because one of tliera dreamt of a certain kind of owl, which dream 

 the wise men declared to forbode an attack from a certain other 

 tribe. — Tylor's "Primitive Culture," vol. I., p. 121. 



f Brinton's " Jlyths of the New World," p. 261. 



+ The Eskimo of the e-xtreme north imagines he sees the spirits 

 of the dead clothed in ethereal light, amusing themselves in the 

 absence of the sun, when ho sees the bright, ever-changing light of 

 the ain-ora, and calls it the Dance of the Dead. — Brinton's " Jlyths," 



263. 



§ Smithsonian " Sucond Report," p. 281. 



II Brinton's " Myths of the New World," p. 111. 



5f Among the Lithuanian's traditions the Milky Way is supposed 

 to he the path of birds. These birds are supposed to be the souls 

 of the departed, who fly away free and happy along this path to the 

 land beyond. — Tylor, " Prim. Culture,'' vol. i., p. 159. 



confirms the idea of its being a soul among the Indians, 

 for they know the body of an Indian could not possibly 

 pass over the water without touching it, as birds can.* 



But to return to our chief. He followed the directions 

 of Chibiabos, and le.'iving his bow and arrows and 

 dog behind him, was .soon on his way through the land 

 of " Shadows.' He is described as " bounding forward 

 as if his feet had suddenly been endowed with the power 

 of wings." t Possibly he, or rather his soul, assumed the 

 form of a bird, especially as we are told that he met 

 many beautiful birds on his way. At last he came to the 

 banks of a lake (the blue sky), and here he found a snow- 

 white c.".noe (or white cloud), and on this he floated acrcss 

 the lake, meeting his fair bride on the way. The lake 

 was covered with foam (in other word.s, the .sky was 

 covered with stormy-looking clouds), and the turbulent 

 waves threatened to swallow them up each moment. 

 Some boats (white clouds) were swamped and many were 

 drowned (that is, lost in the larger clouds). ;[ The canoes 

 in which little children friivelled met no waves and passed 

 over in safety (the children floated on .small clouds, which 

 being lighter floated higher in the air, and escaped 

 collision with the bank of heavy clouds below). 



At last the chieftain and his bride reached the 

 happy hunting-grounds, and here they wandered, free 

 and happj-, among beautiful flowers and meadows. How- 

 ever, their joy was soon ended, for the voice of a spirit 

 wafted on the breeze b.ade the chief return to earth, and 

 the spirit giving a few directions, the soul returned to 

 the sleeping chief. He awoke from his dream, and care- 

 fully related all ho had seen and heard, to the great 

 edification, no doubt, of the assembled listener.s, who 

 possibly believed that their chief had paid a special visit 

 to the home of the Great Spirit, and had really expe- 

 rienced all he related. 



Longfellow introduced this myth of the " White Stone 

 Canoe " into his poem, Hiawatha, in Part xv. " Hiawatha's 

 Lamentation." He is lamenting the death of his great 

 friend Chibiabos, who whilst hunting the deer crcssed 

 the Big Sen-Water, and was dragged beneath the ■ 

 treacherous ice liy the Evil Spirits. By magic he is 

 summoned thence : 



" And so mighty was the magic 

 Of that cry and invocation, 

 That he heard it, as he lay there, 

 Underneath the Big Sea- Water; 

 From the sand he rose and listened. 

 Heard the music and the singing. 

 Came, obedient to the summons. 

 To the doorway of the wigwam ; 

 But to enter tliey forbade him ; 

 Through a chink a coal they gave him, 

 Through the door a burning fire-brand ; 

 Ruler in the Land of Spirits, 

 Ruler o'er the dead they made him, 

 Telling him a fire to kindle 

 For all those who died thereafter — 

 Camp-fires for their night-encampments, 

 On tlieir solitary journey 

 To the kingdom of Fonemah — 

 To the land of the Hereafter.§ 



* "The Karens stretch threads across the brooks, in the Burmese 

 forests, for the ghosts to pass along." — Tylor, vol. i., p. 442. And 

 they believe that a dream "is a real journey of the .sleeper's soul," 

 for whicli these threads are no doubt provided. 



f Schoobraft, "Hiawatha Legends," p. 22.5. 



J This would suggest the idea of punishment in after-life, but 

 tliis did not form part of the belief of the North American tribes, 

 until lately, owing to the teaching of the missionaries. 



§ " The Algonquins believed that there are villages of the deceased 

 in the sun, and the ' Milky Way ' is the road that leads there. As 

 the spirits travel along this ' Path of Souls,' to the Land beyond the 

 grave, their camp-fires may be seen blazing as brighter stars." — 

 Tyler's " Prim. Culture," vol. i., p. 159. 



