244 



♦ KNO^A^LEDGE ♦ 



[June 1, 1886. 



INDIAN MYTHS. 



By " Stella Occidens." 



. . . slow, ascending one by one, 

 The kindling constellations shone. 

 Begirt with many a blazing star. 

 Stood the great giant Algebar, 

 Orion, hunter of the beast ! 

 His sword hung gleaming by his side. 

 And, on his arm the lion's hide 

 Scattered across the midnight air 

 The golden radiance of its hair. 



Longfellow. ] 



E have become acquainted with some of i 

 the Indian Myths about the sun, the 

 moon, and the Milky Way, and now we I 

 must turn our attention to the constella- 

 tions. Tliese groupings of brilliant stars 

 suggested to the vi^^d imagination of the 

 Indian many fanciful stories, whicli, how- 

 ever, are not as superficial as they may appear. If we 

 could understand their thoughts we could trace some reason 

 for these myths, which are founded on the everyday experi- 

 ences of these savage races. According to the Iroquois 

 ti-aditions the stars were supposed to be the souls of departed 

 warriors, or favoured animals and birds. The constellations 

 were thought to be gi-oups of especially favoured mortals, 

 the constellation Orion being that of an intrepid hunter 

 of enormous size. The Eskimos believe that the stars in 

 his belt are seal-hunters who missed their way, and they 

 call them the Lost Ones. The Iroquois believe that these 

 brio-ht stars are brothers, who left their home, where they 

 had been badly treated. They were pursued by their 

 parents, who have been ceasel&ssly chasing them.* 



The Iroquois tribe have an interesting story with regard 

 to the group of stars known as the Pleiades, or Dancers. 

 They believe that it is a group of seven little Indian boys. 

 The latter were in the habit of eating their supper of corn 

 and beans every evening on a little mound. After they 

 had eaten, the sweetest singer would sit on the top of the 

 mound and sing for bis playmates, whilst they would dance 

 around him. One day they resolved to have a great feast, 

 but unfortunately the parents refused to supply the food, so 

 the seven little Indians resolved to have a feastless dance. 

 As they flew round the mound to the sweet, enchanting 

 strains of the singer, their heads and their hearts grew 

 lighter. Suddenly the whole party whirled ofli" into the 

 air, and the inconsolable parents c;xlled after them in vain. 

 They arose higher and higher, whirling around their singer 

 until at last they reached the sky. Here they were changed 

 into bright stars, and as the Pleiades they are dancing 

 still. The singer, on account of his desiring to return to 

 the earth, was not as brilliant as the rest.f 



In the Northern hemisphere there is a group of stars 

 which the Odjibwas call Ojeeg Annung, or the Fisher stars. 

 They are supposed to be the same as the group of the 

 Plough, and the following tale is related respecting this 

 constiellation : — 



Once there lived a celebrated hunter on the shores of 

 Lake Superior who was so successful in the chase that 

 he was considered by some to be a Manito. His name 

 was Ojeeg Annung, or the Fisher, and was that of a 

 sprightly little animal common in that region. He lived 

 in a wild, lonely wood with his wife and his little son. 

 The latter wished to be a great hunter like his father, and 

 tried his skill on birds and squirrels. The only difficulty in 

 his way was the extreme cold ; his little hands would often 



* " Myths and Dreams." Clodd, p. 30. 



I " Bureau of Ethnology," 1880-81, p. 80. Smithsonian Institute. 



be frostbitten, and he would run home complaining to his 

 mother. One day, when he was returning with a heavy 

 heart, he saw a small red squirrel gnawing the top of a pine 

 bur. He approached near enough to shoot him, when the 

 squirrel sat up on hLs hind legs and thus addressed him : — 



" My grandchild, put up your arrows, and listen to what 

 I have to tell you." The boy obeyed somewhat reluctantly, 

 and the squirrel gave him the following advice. He 

 promised the boy perpetual summer and the pl&isure 

 of killing as many birds as he pleased if he would do 

 as he directed. He told the boy to cry bitterly, and com- 

 plain of the cold when he reached home and refuse to eat 

 anything. " This will naturally arouse your father's 

 curiosity, who will ask the cause of your giief. Tell him, 

 then, that seeing the snow always on the ground troubles 

 you, and ask him if he is not powerful enough to make it 

 perpetual summer. He will tell you to be still, and cease 

 crying, and he will try to bring summer for you. You 

 must then be quiet, and eat what is placed before you." 



The boy did as he was told, and all came true. The father 

 had a great feast, to which he invited some of his friends, 

 who then accompanied him on his journey. After twenty 

 days they arrived at the foot of a high mountain ; here they 

 followed a track which led them to a hollow in the moun- 

 tain. Ojeeg warned his friends not to laugh on any account, 

 for they were about to see the great Manito, who was 

 deformed. His head was enormously large ; he had a 

 queer set of teeth, and no arms, and his movements were so 

 awkward that the Otter laughed as soon as he saw him. 

 The Manito sprang at him, but the Otter escaped, and was 

 soon rejoined by his friends, who had brought some meat 

 for him. 



When the party reached the top of the mountain they 

 were very high up, and they all made attempts to try and 

 make a hole in the sky. 



All failed except Wolverine, who after the third attempt 

 succeeded in making a hole, and the Fisher quickly followed. 

 They found themselves in a beautiful plain, and the trees 

 were alive with birds of different plumage, warbling their 

 sweet notes, and delighted with perpetual spring. Fisher, 

 seeing some birds in cages, let them out, and they esavped 

 throttgh the opening in the sky. When the celestial in- 

 habitants saw the birds let loose, and the warm gales 

 descending on the earth, they ran to their lodges. It was 

 too late. Spring, summer, and autumn had gone ; even 

 perpetual summer had almost gone. They separated it with 

 a blow, and oulj' a i)art descended. Wolverine, hearing the 

 noise, escaped through the hole in the sky ; but the Fisher 

 was too late, and, being pursued, he was hit at last by an 

 arrow near the tip of his tail. This was the only vulnerable 

 spot in his body, and, after a vain attempt to descend to 

 earth, he laid himself down to die. He said : " I have 

 fulfilled my promise to my son, though it cost me my life ; 

 but I die satisfied in the idea that I have done so much 

 good, not only for him, but for my fellow-beings. Here- 

 after I will be a sign to the inhabitants of the earth, who 

 will venerate my name for having succeeded in procuring 

 the varying seasons. They will now have from eight to ten 

 months without snow." 



Next morning he was found dead with the arrow 

 sticking in his tail, as it can lie plainly seen at this time, in 

 the heavens.* 



The constellation of the Great Bear has given rise to 

 curious myths. Flammarion, in his " Astronomical Myths," 

 iu the chapter on the origin of constellations, remarks that 

 " the Iroquois, when America was discovered, called it 

 Okouari, their name for a bear. The explanation of this 



* Schoolcraft, " Hiawatha Legends," p. 121. 



