July 1, 1886.] 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



275 



and kettles should bo turned to wampum and silver, and the 

 women should be changed to birds, "and glisten with the 

 beauty of the starlight." " ( 'ome, my son," it said, " and 

 dwell no longer on earth. Look steadfastly at my beams ; 

 my power is now great. Doubt not, delay not. It is the 

 voice of the spii-it of the stars that calls you away to happi- 

 ness and celestial rest." 



Soon the lodge began to shake and tremble, and in a 

 moment it was rising in the aii\ Before the sisters had 

 time to escape the lodge was above the tops of the highest 

 trees. The bowls and kettles became scarlet shells, the poles 

 of the lodge were now glittering silver wires, and the bark 

 covering them was changed to the gorgeous wings of insects. 

 The sisters were all changed into birds of various plumage, 

 but Ovveenee, who still remained old and ugly. Osseo uttered 

 a peculiar yell, and O^veenee became young and beautiful 

 again. When the party reached the Evening Star Osseo's 

 father bade Osseo hang up the cage at the door. He told 

 Osseo that he had shown pity to him on account of his 

 wife's sisters, who bad ridiculed him whilst under the power 

 of the wicked spirit. " That evil spirit is Wabeno, the 

 magician, and be dwells in that little star that twinkles 

 yonder. Beware of him, lest his beams f;\ll on you." 



Osseo dwelt for many years in peace and quiet with his 

 father, and Osveenee bore him a son, who was as beautiful 

 as his mother and courageous as his father. As the boy 

 grew older the father made him little Itows and arrows. 

 Opening the silver cage, he let loose the uncles and aunts 

 for his little son to shoot at. One day the boy shot a bird 

 with his fatal arrow, and, behold ! a beautiful maiden stood 

 before him with the arrow in her breast. As the blood fell 

 on the planet the charm was broken : Osseo's son, all the 

 bh'ds, Osseo, and Oweenee felt themselves descending, till 

 they rested on an island in the Big- Sea- Water. 



The birds became mortals again, but were transformed 

 into fairies.* 



They remained as little people, 

 Like the pigmies, the Fuk-Wudjies, 

 And on pleasant nights o£ summer, 

 "When the Eroning Star was shining, 

 lland-in-hand they danced together 

 t)n tlie island's craggy headlands. 

 On tlie sand beach, low and level. 

 Still their glittering lodge is seen there 

 On the tranquil summer evenings, 

 And upon the shore the fisher 

 Sometimes hears their happy voices. 

 Sees them dancing in the starlight.t 



Now we must hear the story of one of these Puk-Wudjies, 

 or vanishing little men, in connexion with the Morning 

 Star. The Odjibwas have a myth concerning the time 

 when " all the inhabitants of the earth had died excepting 

 two helpless children, a baby boy and girl. The girl 

 developed rapidly, but the boy remained a dwarf, and 

 his sister called him He-of-the-Little-Shell. She made 

 little bows and arrows for him, and in time he became 

 a great hunter. One day he came to a small lake, and 

 saw a man on the ice killing beavers. He-of-the-Little-Shell 

 slipped out of his hiding-place, and wielding his magic shell, 

 cut off the tail of one of the beavers. The man was 

 surprised, on reaching home, to find the tail of one of 

 his beavers gone, and the same occurrence happening 

 every day, he became suspicious. One day he went 

 earlier than usual, and returned home before He-of-the- 

 Little-Shell reached the lake. The latter followed the 

 .stranger to his lodge, and let the man, who was no less 

 than Manabozho, see him. 



* Schoolcraft, " Hiawatha Legends,' 

 f Longfellow, " Hiawatha." 



p. 71. 



"Who are you, little man?" said Manabozho. " I have 

 a mind to kill 3'ou." 



" If you were to try to kill me, you could not do it," said 

 the little man. 



When he went home he told his sister they must part, as 

 Manabozho would try to desti'oy them. He asked his sister 

 where she would like to go. 



" I would like to go to the place of the breaking of 

 daylight. I have always loved the East. After I get there, 

 my brother, whenever you see the clouds in that direction 

 of various colours you may think that your sister, is painting 

 her foce." 



"And I," said he, "shall live on the mountains and 

 rocks. And I shall ever be called Puk-Wudj-Ininee, or the 

 wild man of the mountains." 



He then told his sister that he must go in search of some 

 INIanitoes, and after many adventures be returned to her. 



" jNIy sister, there is a Manito at each of the four corners 

 of the earth," * he said. " There is also one in the sky, and 

 a wicked one deep down in the earth. We must now 

 separate. When the winds blow from the four corners of 

 the earth you must then go. They will carry you to the 

 place you wish. I go to the rocks and mountains, where 

 my kindred will ever delight to dwell." 



Taking his ball-stick he ran up a high mountain, 

 whooping as he went. The winds blew, and his sister was 

 borne to the eastern sky, where she has been ever since, and 

 her name is Morning Star.f 



Blow, windf, blow ! my sister lingers 



For her dwelling in the sky. 

 Where tlie morn, witli rosy fingers, 



Shall her cheeks with vermeil dye. 



There my earliest views directed 



Shall from her their colour take. 

 And her smiles, throngb clouds reflected. 



Guide me on, by wood or lake. 



While I range the highest mountains, 



Sport in valleys green and low. 

 Or beside our Indian fountains 



Kaise my tiny hip hollo.f 



AMERICANISMS. 



(^AlpliabHically arranged.') 

 By Richard A. Proctor. 

 Do Tell ! One of the oddest of the regular Down-East 

 sayings. It does not in the slightest degree signify what it 

 says. In fact it means more nearly " don't tell " than " do 

 tell," being used precisely as country folk in England say, 

 " You don't tell me so 1 " " You don't say ! " and so forth. 

 An equivalent Yankeeism for " Do tell I " or " Dew tell 1 " 

 is " I vjant to know." 



Bough-face. A nickname applied by Northern aboli- 

 tionists to Northern favourers of slaverj*. 



Dovcjh-nut. A small i-ound cake, made of flour, eggs, and 

 sugar, moistened with milk and fried (Bartlettsays" boiled," 

 which seems absurd) in lard. 



Dove. In many parts of America " dove " is used as the 

 past of " dive." 



Down Easter. Used throughout the States generally for 



* Tlie Indians believe that the earth is a square and level plain, 

 and that the winds blow from the four corners. 



f Schoolcraft, " Hiawatha Legends," p. 110. 



X Ibid. p. 94. These lines are supposed to be addressed to the 

 winds by Wa-Dais-Ais-Imid, or He-of-the-Little-Shcll, on trans- 

 ferring his sister to a position as one of the planets in the 

 morning sky. 



