500 TRIBES OF THE UPPER MISSOURI [eth. ANN. 46 



the supernatural powers whose business it is to interfere, and indeed 

 such their words imply on these occasions. It may have been some 

 such ceremony the Indian on the shores of Lake Superior made 

 which was mistaken for begging the animal's pardon. 



Mythology 



This subject would not present any useful information and only 

 tire the reader with endless fable without arriving at any impor- 

 tant conclusions. We could fill volumes with their stories of giants, 

 demons, transformations of men into animals and other shapes, but 

 do not think any fact thus elicited would avail any useful purpose. 

 There are a great many traditions that would seem to prove that the 

 doctrine of metempsychosis has formerly been the general belief, but 

 they do not appear to put much confidence in their reality at the pres- 

 ent day, and these stories are told more for amusement every evening 

 than anything else. Neither does it please absolutely to contradict 

 or deny that such things have been. In this way beaver are said to 

 have been once white men from the sagacity they show in building 

 their lodges, evading traps, etc. Thunder is said to be the flapping 

 of the wings of the large medicine bird. Piles of rocks are supposed 

 to have been heaped up by large white giants. The rainbow is called 

 the sun's wheel ; though they are aware that the colors are formed by 

 the sun shining through rain. All these and hundreds of others have 

 legends of their formation which are very long and one or two gener- 

 ally occupy an evening to relate. Most of them, however, contain a 

 kind of moral or double meaning and are occasionally interesting and 

 imaginative, sometimes obscure. 



To present an example we will record one recited by the " Thunder 

 Stomach," an Assiniboin warrior at the time we write and inter- 

 preted by myself, preserving as nearly as possible all the words and 

 actually all the ideas of the Indian. 



LEGEND OF THE ORIGIN OF THE URSA MAJOR AND POLAR STAR, BY THE 

 THUNDER STOMACH, AN ASSINIBOIN WARRIOR 



In the beginning a few Indians were made far in the northern 

 regions. No sun nor moon had yet been formed, and all was utter 

 darkness except the light of the snow. A lodge of Indians was sit- 

 uated on the bleak plains inhabited by eight persons who were seven 

 brothers and one sister. The brothers- all went out hunting and left 

 the woman at home working at raiment. In their absence a stranger 

 came outside the lodge and called to the woman to come out, using 

 flattering words with a sweet mouth, but she moved not, nor looked 

 upon his face. When her brothers returned she related the circum- 



