618 



SOULIGNY 



[b. a. e. 



souls separate from the body, often in 

 human form, and continuing to exist after 

 death. 



The lack of tangibility of the soul has 

 led everywhere among Indians to the be- 

 lief that it is visible to shamans only, or 

 at least that it is like a shadow (Algon- 

 quian;, like an unsubstantial image (Es- 

 kimo), or that its trail and footprints 

 only can be seen (Shasta), or that it 

 glides through the air without touching 

 the earth (Omaha). Peculiar is the no- 

 tion of the soul as a butterfly or a bird 

 (Tsimshian, Bellacoola), which, however, 

 is not so common in America as in other 

 parts of the world. This idea is probably 

 derived from independent psychological 

 sources. The same is probably the case 

 with the my th ic notion of the " life" which 

 is kept outside of the body, in a box, a 

 hat, in the form of a thread, etc., and the 

 destruction of which terminates the lift' 

 of its owner (N. W. coast, California); 

 and of the identification of the soul of the 

 dead with the owl, which is of almost 

 universal occurrence. Perhaps the flit- 

 ting motions of the owl, combined with 

 its human likeness, have associated them- 

 selves with the idea of the unsubstantial 

 soul. Among the Eskimo the memory 

 image attached to the name is so strong 

 that the name has a separate entity and 

 is considered a soul which enters the 

 person who is given the name of the 

 deceased. 



The beliefs relating to the soul's exist- 

 ence after death are very uniform, not 

 only in North America, but all over the 

 world. The souls live in the land of the 

 dead in the form that they had in life, 

 and continue their former occupations. 

 Detailed descriptions of the land of the 

 dead are found among almost all Ameri- 

 can tribes. Often the physical condi- 

 tions in the land of the dead are the 

 reverse of those in our world: when it 

 is night here, it is day there ; when it is 

 summer here it is winter there. The 

 Eskimo tribes believe in several worlds 

 of this kind. Those who suffer vio- 

 lent deaths go to the sky, while those 

 who die of sickness go to another world. 

 The Indians of Vancouver id. believe 

 that the villages of the dead are near 

 their own villages, but invisible ; but 

 the most common notion is that of the 

 world of the ghosts lying in the distant 

 west beyond a river which must be crossed 

 by canoe. This notion is found on the 

 western plateaus and on the Plains. The 

 Algonquians believe that the brother of 

 the culture hero lives with the souls of 

 the dead. Visits to the world of the 

 dead by people who have been in a trance 

 are one of the common elements of 

 American folklore. They have been re- 

 ported from almost all over the conti- 

 nent. See 3fylholo(pj, Eeligion. (f. b. ) 



Souligny, A war chief of the Menom- 

 inee tribe, born m 1785. His grand- 

 father was one Souligny, an early French 

 trader, who married a Menominee wo- 

 man. In 1812 Souligny was one of a 

 large party of Sioux, Winnebago, and 

 Menominee which, under the British 

 colonel, Robert Dickson, captured the 

 fort at Mackinaw from the Americans. 

 The following year Souligny with about 

 50 warriors, and White Elk, a chief of 

 distinction, united with Tecumseh in 

 time to participate in the battle of Ft 

 Meigs, on Miami r., Ohio. He took an 

 active part in the battle at Mackinaw, 

 Mich., in which the American com- 

 mander, Major Holmes, was killed; he 

 also served in Stambaugh's expedition. 



souligny (1785-1864), head war chief of the menominee 

 (wis. hist. SOC.) 



Although he fought against the Ameri- 

 cans during the War of 1812, in the Black 

 Hawk war of 1837 he espoused their 

 cause. In Mar. 1855 Souligny and Osh- 

 kosh, another Menominee chief, visited 

 the office of the Milmmkee Sentinel and 

 asked that the editor give publicity to 

 their petition for the return of an Indian 

 child who had been kidnapped by the 

 whites. At this time Souligny was 70 

 years of age, but spoke with all the en- 

 ergy of one in the prime of life. He is 

 described as being a stout, good-looking 

 man, despite the loss of an eye. He died 

 of erysipelas in Dec. 1864, at his home on 

 the w. bank of Wolf r.. Wis., at what is 

 known as the Great Falls. His portrait, 



