September 1, 1886.] 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



nnn 

 000 



Experience Religion, To. To be converted ; to discover 

 that the profession of religion is good business. Many in 

 America, as elsewhere, experience religion in the sense in 

 which the man might be said to have experienced honesty, 

 who said — 'cutely, if not quite grammatically — " Honesty is 

 the best policy ; I say so, and I ought to know, for I've tried 

 Ijoth." 



Express. This word is always applied in America to the 

 I'apid conveyance of goods. 



E.vpress-mnn, Express-office, E.vpress- wagon. Words con- 

 nected with the express business, and needing no explana- 

 tion. 



Eye-opener. Generally anything which startles ; anything 

 which gives a lively expression to the countenance. Hence 

 applied to a S[)ecially strong morning drink, the frequent use 

 of which gives to the countenance a specially gloomy aspect. 

 Ei/is, skinned. " To keep the eyes skinned " is a grace- 

 ful way of expressing lively attention. Occasionally this 

 elegant expression is altered by the substitution of " peeled " 

 for " skinned." 



Face the Music, To. Equivalent to the Americanism, 

 "Stand the racket," and the English expression, "Come up 

 to the scratch." Probably the exceeding atrocity of most 

 American bands accounts for the special significance of the 

 expression. 



Fair atid Square. See E.vcursionist. 



Fair q/fand Fair up. Used for " clear ofT" and '• clear up " 

 in the south-western States, applied to the weather only. 



Fair Shake. A fair bargain. Described by Bartlett as 

 a " New England viUgarism." 



Fall. A common mistake for " fell," as " to fall a tree " 

 for " to fell a tree." Commoner, perhaps, in America than 

 in England. 



Fall, for " autumn." A word derived from the old 

 country, but now, unfortunately, out of use among us. 

 Fall and spring match far better than the Latin " autumn " 

 with the Saxon " spring." Webster of old, however, and 

 Anuandale of today present the word " fall " as good 

 English for autumn ; and until Englishmen call spring ver, 

 we may still hope that they will return to the good old 

 English "fall." 



Fan, Out. To come out (well) in examination. Bartlett 

 thinks the expression derived from a peacock spreading out 

 its tail. Far more probably it is derived from fanning, in 

 the sense of winnowing. 



Fancies. A term applied to stocks, the purchaser of 

 which has no means whatever of rightly estimating their 

 value. Used in stock gambling, a method of seeking ruin 

 known outside the States. 



INDIAN MYTHS. 



By " Stella Occidens." 



E have considered the Indian myths regard- 

 ing the Great Bear. We may now turn 

 our attention to the Little Bear and the 

 Pole Star. The latter must have puzzled 

 the observant Indian, for whilst the rest of 

 the stars were continually shifting their 

 position, this one star remained immovable. 

 The stars were supposed to be animated beings, and as 

 himting was the usual occupation of the Indiarts, the stars 

 were principally regarded as hunters. The constellation of 

 the Great Bear represented hunters in pursuit of a bear : 

 whilst the constellation of the Little Bear suggested another 

 party of hunters, guided by the Pole Star. Among the 

 Iroquois traditions is the following myth. 



A large party of Indians, whilst in search of new 

 hunting-grounds, wandered on for many moons, finding but 

 little game. At last they arrived at the banks of a great 

 river, entirely unknown to tiiem, where they had to stop, 

 not having the material to build boats. Lost, and nearly 

 famished with hunger, the head chief was taken very ill, 

 and it was decided to hold a council to devise means for 

 returning to their homes. Daring the dance preceding the 

 council, and while the tobacco was burning,* a little being like 

 a child came to them, and said that she was sent to be their 

 guide. Accordingly, they broke up their camp, and started 

 with her that night. Preceding them with only a gi-wiih, 

 or small war-club, she led them on until daylight, and then 

 commanded them to rest, whilst she prepared their food. 

 They slept, and when awakened by her they found a great 

 feast in re;idiness for them. Then she bade them farewell, 

 with the assurance of returning to them in the evening. 



True to her word, at evening she reappeared, bringing 

 with her a skin jug, from which she poured out some liquid 

 into a horn cup, and bade them each to taste of it. At first 

 they feared to do so, but at last yielding, they began to feel 

 veiy strong. She then told them that they had a long 

 journey to perform that night. Again they followed her, 

 and in the early morning arrived at a great plain, where she 

 bade them rest again for the day, with the exception of a 

 few warriors, who were shown where they could find plenty 

 of game. Two of the warriors had accompanied her but a 

 short distance when they encountered a herd of deer, of 

 which she bade them kill all they wished in her absence. 

 Again, promising to return at night, she took leave of them. 

 At nightfall she returned, sjiying her own chief would soon 

 follow, to explain to them how they could reach theii' homes 

 in s;ifety. In a short time he arrived with a great number 

 of his race, and immediately all held council together, and 

 informed the Indians that they were now in the territory 

 of the pigmies. The latter would teach them a sign ali-eady 

 in the .sky which would be a sure guide when they lost their 

 way. The pigmies pointed out the Pole star, and told the 

 hunters that in the north, where the sun never goas, 

 while other stai-s moved about, this particular star would 

 stand still, as a guide to the Indian in his wanderings. 

 They were to follow its light, and they would soon return 

 to their tribe, where they would find plenty of game, ifec. 



Then they thanked the good pigmies, and travelled 

 every night, until they arrived home safely. When they 

 told all their adventures, the head chief held a meeting of all 

 the trib&s, and they r&solved to give the star a name. They 

 called it Ti-yn-sou-dil-go-err (the star which never moves), 

 by which name it is known to this day.f Now, in the con- 

 stellation of the Little Bear there are four stars apart, and 

 three leading directly to the Pole star. The four stars apart 

 were probably the huntere, and the three leading to the 

 Pule star w6re the two hunters and the child. The pigmies 

 are introduced in the myth because their mi.ssion is to hel[) 

 hunters, and we have already observed their close con- 

 nection with the stars. 



As the Indians had observed the stationary position of 

 the Pole Star, so the disappearance for awhile of certiiin 

 groups of stars atti-acted attention. Stars which were to 

 be seen in the summer months were no longer visible in 

 winter. The Indians could not account for their absence. 

 In the Hiawatha legends, Schoolcraft relates a Shawnee 

 legend, in which may be recognised a constellation myth. 



* The fumes are supposed to ascend as prayers to the gods. 



t Smithsonian Institute, '• Myths of the Iroquois," p. 59, 

 vol. 1880-81. The above myth is related by Mrs. Erminnie A. 

 Smith, and is translated from the original language. She spent 

 many years among the Iroquois tribes, into one of which, the 

 Tuscarora, she was adopted. 



